Pirate Booty

Since I officially ended my birthday festivities on Saturday it's time to re-group. I was going to extend my birthday throughout the month, but after Saturday's many drinks and dancing, I'm closing the book on it. I'm beat.

I'm so glad March is almost here and I've got so much stuff to look forward to. While March means lots of training it also means lots of college hoops and a baby shower for Big Sis. Also, I'm going to pace a work buddy at his very first 5K. I have been helped at a lot of races from various pacing buds and I'm stoked to finally return the favor. In addition to pacing, I'll be volunteering before and after that very same race. St Patty's Day pay it forward, here I come!

This weekend is the mother of all Tampa running race weekends - GASPARILLA! ARGGH! If you recall, in the past I ran the Gasparilla full marathon before they canceled it two years ago. Fortunately, they still have four other races to choose from. I feel fortunate that these distances aren't ones I typically run. This means guaranteed PR on my first ever 15K and it's only my second time running an 8K so we'll see how that goes. Thus, I selected the mini challenge (Select 55 Mini Challenge, just to name the sponsor I suppose). I thought about doing the all four races thing but then I remembered I was not insane. Ha!



I'll be lacing up for the 15K on Saturday and then again on Sunday for the 8K. I'm happy to share these events will all of my local running friends. It really is like a big party for runners. Plus, the pirate theme is a total bonus. When else can you say booty all day long and not get really strange looks? Ken, don't answer that.

That's all for now folks. Hope you all are having a great week thus far!

Thankful Thursday

BIG thanks for all of the birthday wishes yesterday. Thus far, this birthday has been like Chuck Norris. It kicks ass. I say thus far because I've got a full weekend of fun festivities planned and I'm so looking forward to all of the hoopla. I obviously love celebrating birthdays and try to drag mine out as long as I can. Heh.

Since I have been celebrating myself and my birth, today, I'm thankful for me. Now before you get all "Oh no she di-in't!" on me, let me explain.

As a person who writes a blog and talks endlessly about herself you'd think I was a full-on big time supporter of myself. However, in full disclosure, this isn't always the case. At times, I can feel like a big, huge dummy. And I sometimes struggle with confidence and have to remind myself that it's ok to make mistakes. I'm terribly hard on myself and have issues with "just letting things go."

I know a lot of others who deal with this as well and I feel as though I can reach out to those folks through this blog and say, you know what? It's ok to be thankful for you. And celebrate you. Sure, none of us is perfect and that's absolutely fine, but every now and again we do need to pat ourselves on the back for getting through this life that can be so demanding of our souls.

I'm not trying to get all Dr. Phil on you but I always feel the need to be "real" and open with you guys. There are bumps in the road and they leave me wondering what I should or could have done better or differently. My dad always used to tell me not to worry about past decisions because you made the best one that you could at that time. He was a very smart guy.

My life's not all rainbows and butterflies. It's actually more unicorns and puppies with an occasional jackass thrown in for good measure. And I'm quite happy the vast majority of the time. In fact, the entire month of February has been more "Chuck Norris" then I could have even imagined. But, I can get bogged down in the "what-if's" and the "why-me's."

So instead of lamenting how I sometimes can't do basic math (fine, a lot of the time) or how sad it is that I can buy sports bras made for tweens, I'm going to celebrate that I am a great speller, an awesome friend, and I can totally remember movie lines after having only seen a movie once.

I'd much rather be me than anyone else, bad math and all.



What are you thankful for today?

32 years

Happy Birthday to me! Since I'm turning 32 today I've compiled two lists with 32 items. Fortunately for you all I'm not turning 82 or this would take forever. These 32 years have seen some ups and downs with the ups far outweighing the downs. Thus far my life has been pretty awesome. I have a great family, amazing friends, and a job that keeps a roof over my head. I honestly cannot complain.

Since some of you, no doubt, have yet to send your gifts, I'll let you know what you can give me this year. Your gift to me is to continue to share your lives and keep reaching for that next goal. Thanks for reading and inspiring me. It's what keeps this blogger going.

In my first 32 years I have:

1. Completed 6 marathons.

2. Gone skydiving.

3. Been to Europe.

4. Been to Mexico.

5. Finally made a snow angel.

6. Learned to ride a bike.

7. Learned to ride a bike with clipless pedals.

8. Swam with a dolphin.

9. Swam next to big sleeping manatees.

10. Won a beauty pageant. (Yup. Kill me.)

11. Was a member of a live studio audience for a game show. (The Weakest Link.)

12. Fallen in love.

13. Adopted a dog from a rescue group. Love you Lloyd Doggler!

14. Gone whitewater rafting.

15. Kissed a stranger.

16. Eaten oysters, escargot, and sea urchin.

17. Flown in a helicopter.

18. Been to the Louvre in Paris.

19. Gotten a tattoo. Or three.

20. Completed a mud run.

21. Been heartbroken.

22. Acted in a play.

23. Had a reading from a psychic.

24. Swam in the Mediterranean.

25. Gone to numerous hot yoga classes.

26. Farted in numerous hot yoga classes.

27. Visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

28. Gotten a college degree.

29. Met DMX, Method Man, and Gavin Rossdale. Yes, totally random and not that exciting.

30. Contributed to charities and volunteered.

31. Been in a television commercial. So what if I was ten?

32. Started a blog.


In my next 32 years I want to….

1. Eat Beluga Caviar.

2. Complete a century ride.

3. Travel to Japan.

4. Spend the night in a haunted house.

5. See the Northern lights.

6. Sing 1 song well at Karaoke.

7. Get body painted.

8. Go on a for real camping and hiking trip (Yosemite!).

9. Ride every single ride at Cedar Point (even the spinny-vomity ones).

10. Run the Athens marathon.

11. Dance in the rain.

12. Buy a house.

13. Cook something super complicated (I’ll take suggestions on this please).

14. Try a week of eating only fruits and veggies.

15. Go on a safari to do the list item below.

16. Ride an elephant, camel, or llama.

17. Read a “classic” that I missed in school (War and Peace, A Tale of Two Cities, etc).

18. Ski or snowboard (I swear I will ski or snowboard before I die!).

19. Paddleboard and/or surf.

20. Drive a race car (test track of course).

21. Visit Ireland.

22. Take my soon-to-be born nephew to as many cool places as I can afford and his parents will let me.

23. Learn to play poker.

24. Grow and keep a plant alive.

25. Knit a scarf or socks or anything really.

26. Own a jar of La Mer.

27. Read the Bible in it’s entirety.

28. Get married and have some kids. Get married and have some kids. Get married and have some kids. Get married and have some kids. Get married and have some kids.

29. Get an article published in a magazine.

30. Go on a game show.

31. Say the following phrases and mean them: “Quick, follow that car!”, “I’ve been kicked out of better places than this!”, “Go ahead, make my day.”

32. Be thankful for every single day.

Birthday Suit

Ok, so since tomorrow is my birthday, I asked my favorite fashion blogger to help me select an outfit for this weekend's festivities.

My only request was that it be under $100 since I'm balling on a budget. Not only did she select one outfit within budget, she found TWO outfits in my price range. This could not have been easy for a girl who loves high-end fashion. I'm so proud!

She did an amazing job and best of all - it's all stuff I can go buy right now. Not to mention, these are looks I LOVE. Dresses and heels? Yes please!

Thanks so very much Brooke!

Go see my fabulous outfits HERE.

Michigan Vacay Recap

And I'm back in Florida after a most lovely and winterful vacation to the mitten (that means Michigan cause it's shaped like a mitten, get it?). I flew up on Thursday night and had a great long weekend visiting one of my bestest friends and her fiance, who is very nearly a bestie at this point. Love him. You all may know them as Red and Spike.

The Tour de Mitten began on Friday with a drive up to Grand Rapids.



Our stop in Grand Rapids was to check out the wedding venue and the famous artwork "La Grande Vitesse." We then drove to Traverse City for the Winter Wow Fest. This festival was totally my idea and I must have said how ridiculous the 5K portion of that idea was about nine hundred times while running said 5K.

The driving portion required copious amounts of snacks. Ok, let's be honest here, these aren't snacks. They are sugar comas waiting to happen. At least there is a water in this photo. I probably should have just gotten a diet coke to wash it all down. Cause you know...diet coke is totally the calorie savor.


Upon arrival in Traverse City there wasn't much by way of snow but there was this ice on the railings by the lake. And since I was triple dog dared...


After we ate dinner (Yay Mexican and margaritas before a 5K!) it was flurrying a bit and I hoped for some snow in the morning. Sure enough, Saturday morning I woke to an excited Red telling me to look outside. I squealed in delight at the beautiful white blanket that covered the ground. I'm such a Floridian.


Pre-5K we filled up on cherry pancakes, since Traverse City is the cherry capital and we all wanted to be certain we'd crap our pants half way through the race. Heh. Go read the race report HERE and come back. Yes, I'm the idiot who thought a 5K in the snow would be a great idea. Did I mention it was a 4 loop course? And no, it wasn't in a living room, but nice thought Gatorate.

With the 4 loop race completed and with the help of a small child, I made my very first snow angel.

We did a little shopping in Traverse City and stopped to take some photos. They included this awesome hand puppet fight that Spike and I got into. There was no honey badger so I chose the squirrel and bested Spike's porcupine with the flying squirrel attack. Flawless victory!


We left Traverse City and headed toward Lansing where we ate entirely too much sushi. Or not enough. It was one of the two. And on Sunday there was some church going and some family time with the Spikes. I'm totally prepared for the upcoming nuptials now and know everyone's name by heart. Score!

The final stop of the tour on Sunday was to Hell which is pretty odd since we went to church and then Hell. That doesn't seem normal but oh well. We're all a little kooky.

I had such a total blast in Michigan and am so happy I got to see so much snow! It was perfect! I also ate and drank entirely too much and must now detox. That little 5K didn't even put a dent in what I did. But it was vacation and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. Thanks again Red and Spike, I love you guys!

Happy President's Day all! Lloyd and I have lots of snuggling time to catch up on.

Thankful Thursday

I have the day off today to pack and head to the airport later to go see my favorite redhead and bestie Morgan! We have plans to head up to Traverse City for this fun festival. I'm praying for snow because my Floridian self wants to make a snow angel, snow man, or some other such snow made object. I'm also hoping to have another sushi eating contest with Spike. I still say I won the last one based on sushi to weight ratio alone.

We also have plans to do some wedding stuff and I've been promised that even though I'm sleeping in the guest room AKA The Wedding Prep Room there is still room for me to sleep amongst all of the glitter. Just kidding, I don't think there's glitter....

Anyway since I've really taken this week to dive into tri training I've been a spinning and swimming machine. Well, more like a machine who needs a serious tune-up. In any event today I'm thankful for spin class. It's a seriously awesome way to get reacquainted with the bike when I don't have time to schlep Dolly out to the trails.

Of course, the first two classes reminded me how much spinning can hurt...

So inappropriate right? Heh.

In any event I love me a good spin class and am and thankful to be past the aforementioned, ahem, hurty-bits.

I'll be back from the mitten state on Monday and have some fun stuff planned for the blog next week since it's my birthday week. Email me if you need gift ideas. Hee hee!

What are you thankful for today?

Wordless Wednesday

The co-workers and me.

The Reporter and Me.

Flo Rida.

Shirtless-shoulder-riding-on-his-bodygaurd-Flo Rida.

Rock N Roll Half Marathon St Pete Race Report

The night before the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in St Petersburg, FL, I had a horrific dream. My friend Strawberry E (who wasn't even going to St Pete so I'm not sure how she ended up in this dream) and I were going to the race start and I told her that we were 30 minutes late. We parked and ran up to the race start. The meanie dream lady race director told us too bad that we couldn't race.

I told her I wanted a refund and she responded by looking at my Garmin and saying, "You haven't run enough for a refund." I told her I was in taper and she said, "You don't need to taper for a 1/2." At about this point in my dream I was devastated. And then I woke up with two more hours to sleep and ponder my stress level. Hahaha.

Fortunately, my actual race went nothing like my dream and I could not have asked for a better race day. My alarm went off on time and I headed to St. Pete to meet up with The Reporter. She and I were both a little concerned about how we would feel racing after completing a Miami race just two weeks ago. We both joked that we had that excuse in our back pocket should we suck it up at RnR.

It was down right cold for us Floridians at the start of the race. The temps were in the mid-40's but the wind chill made it feel like the 30's. We huddled together with a group of runners that just kept getting bigger. Apparently we all decided to do what the penguins do and share our body heat. It was pretty funny.

The Reporter and I separated and headed to our corrals and I was happy to see a few familiar faces while we waited to start. I LOVE the time separated corral starts. It makes the start so much less congested and it seems that everyone in my corral was where they should be because we were all around the same pace. Hallelujah!

I had plans to meet up with my buddy Gatorate so he could pace me but I didn't see him until about mile 3 or so. He was in the back of my corral and had to sprint to catch up to me. But considering how fast he is it probably wasn't that difficult.

We chatted and ran along and I didn't drop my throw down hoodie and gloves until about mile five. I was trying to stay close to the 1:45 pace group because I really just wanted to run a 1:44 for a PR. As we ran along I kept seeing my Garmin under 8 minutes per mile. I thought we were running faster than a 1:45 but I just stayed with the group and when we seemed to hit cruise control by mile 8 I knew the main pacer was just giving us a good buffer.

The course itself was flat and the only weather issue was a little bit of wind but I'm used to windy runs along the bay where I live. St Pete is a beautiful place to run so that defnitely helped.

Around miles 9 and 10 I was wondering if I was going to bonk at some point but I just kept telling myself that I was going to PR and make up for the shit show that was Miami.

When we got to mile 10 I knew the PR was in the bag. I was feeling the pace but not struggling too badly and when we got to mile 11 I told Gatorate I was done talking. Heh. He said it was cool and continued to tell me awesome stories of his hash runs and pointed out a statue in a local park that the hashers had put flour on. Let's just say it was like a Betty Crocker bra on this poor marble lady. So yeah...it was awesome.


The picture above is proof that I take some awful race photos. I look like a deranged person. It cracks me up. I was still wearing my long sleeved shirt that I had intended to throw down during the race. I wound up wearing it the entire race and took it off for the post race pics because I wanted to show off my new outfit. Poor fashion planning on my part but I had no idea I'd be as cold as I was.

As we got to the 12 mile mark Gatorate reminded me and those around us that all we had to do now was smile for the camera and get our PRs. He yelled for me to kick it in as soon as we could see the finish line. I admit I probably picked up the pace a tad bit too far out but what the hell. I do what my pacer says.

We got toward the clock and Gatorate was yelling "One forty-four! Go! Go!" And I looked at the clock and thought, "Ack! I gotta get there before one forty-five!" But as I crossed I remembered that I was ahead of the clock and saw the 1:43 on my Garmin and knew I had PR'd. Hallelujah! Suck it Miami!

Me and Gatorate. Thanks so very much Gatorate - you are a fantastic pacer!

Happy to share that The Reporter also had a PR! Woo hoo! Congrats girl!

New outfit is Moving Comfort.

Final thoughts on Rock N Roll:

There was some controversy leading up to this race because of other local races being in competition and the Rock N Roll brand being purely for profit. In addition there were some parking fees and shuttle fees that a lot of folks were surprised by, although I think most of the parking fees had more to do with the city or venue versus the race series from what I've read. I admit to being surprised by the fees as well. However, when I look at what it cost me in Miami versus what I wound up paying yesterday, I got off pretty easy in St Pete.

The race itself was well organized and the post race goodies were nice with more than just a bagel and a banana. The best part was the "free" Flo Rida concert. It's not every day that you get to watch a big name artist with all your running buds.

Granted, I had a free race entry since my company sponsored those of us who wanted to run it, I don't feel as though it was a race I'd never consider again. I will absolutely still support the local races but Rock N Roll does a good job overall.

Final Time: 1:43:21

Thankful Thursday

It's Friday eve and I've got so much to be thankful for today. It's list time!

Today I'm thankful for:

1. Basketball and Will Ferrell. As a basketball fan I love that the NBA finally got it's collective head out of it's rear and is playing again. As a Will Ferrell fan I love that he announced the line-up for the Bulls-Hornets game.



2. My BIL. I am so thankful that my sister met such an amazing man in her hubs, M. Not only is he going to be amazing dad but he has one of the most admirable and coolest jobs ever, he's an Air Force pilot.

3. Bank fraud security. Yesterday someone tried to buy a bus ticket in England on my dime. Bollocks! Thankfully my bank caught it and stopped the transaction.

4. One week until I see Red and Spike!

5. One week until I may see some snow! Please snow Michigan!

6. Flo Rida. He's the after Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon concert. I'm pretty stoked about this and hope to "get a good feelin..."

7. Finally going to see The Artist tomorrow night at a historic old theatre. What better place to see a silent film right? The movie has received rave reviews and I love seeing as many of the Oscar noms as I can. (By the way Midnight in Paris was fabulous!)

8. Only three months to go until I meet my godson and nephew, Baby R!!!!!

9. The team name for my upcoming relay: Just the Tip. Heh.

10. My birthday. You still have 14 shopping days!

What are you thankful for today?

Dolly and B.o.B.: Together Again

This weekend was a full on blast. I love-love-love the week after a marathon because I'm basically a sloth with a penchant for a nice glass of wine, perhaps a beer or two, and the most delicious foods I can get my hands on. Now don't get me wrong, I got in my recovery runs, which included a six mile jaunt on Saturday, but I also got in some recovery food and beverage(s).

My weekend also included seeing a movie (Underworld. Entertaining but nothing to write home about) and a long over due bike ride with Dolly. Since I stayed out way past my bed time on Saturday night I wound up taking Dolly out for a ride solo later than I had planned. And because most of my riding buddies had already started or wanted to ride a lot farther I got alone time with Dolly to get reacquainted. The good news is that I had no issues with clipping in or out and we racked up 21 miles fairly easily, aside from that slight beer headache. Heh. It's funny because 21 miles used to seem like a big deal to me and now I tackle it with a hangover. Don't judge me, I was still in recovery week. Ha!

The only thing that did happen during this ride was that a couple decided to bring out their very small son to this multi-use trail to ride his bike with training wheels. I totally get that it's a multi-use trail and everyone should be able to enjoy it. However, the parents were riding in front of this little guy and he was swerving like Demi Moore on a whippet.

As I approached I said "on your left," no less than four times. He, being about 6 or so, had no clue and didn't seem to hear me. I was almost at a complete stop before his mom got him to move over. Needless to say I was ticked because that could have been very bad. I'm not comfortable enough with my handling to just zip around him. Had he made one swerve in front of me we both could have been hurt.

I told his dad as I passed that they should put the little dude in between them and he basically rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah. Keep riding." Of course I then told him, "Well good luck then and don't be alarmed when your kid gets run over."

Normally I wouldn't have said anything but since I've seen an accident out at this trail before I felt that I should at least warn them. I am going to assume that the later I ride out there the more of this I'll see because most of the "serious" riders start earlier. Since I now have to switch into tri-training mode I'll be sure to keep those beer headache rides to a minimum.

I did watch the first half of the Superbowl yesterday but mainly just for commercials and the half time show. My two cents: the Egyptian opener was a snooze but the Like a Prayer ending made up for it. I'd love to be as fit as Madonna at 53!

One last thing, my girl Strawberry E has started a blog and her first post is her recap from the Miami Marathon. Swing by her blog and say hello!

Happy Monday!

Thankful Thursday

Happy Groundhog Day people! I love Groundhog Day. Mostly because I love the movie and Bill Murray. Bing! I saw that the groundhog predicted 6 more week's of winter but I don't think that includes Florida. I'm pretty sure we're an exempt state. But that's not what I'm thankful for today.

I'm actually most thankful that the Miami Marathon and trip to Miami are done and behind me. I'm thankful that I can sleep in on Saturday and change my training to include swimming and biking again. I may even throw in a crossfit style class or hot yoga again here and there. I'm just thankful to have my life back. Ha!

Of course this isn't to say I'll stop running because we all know how much I love it and I have some cool races coming up. But it is a lovely time for me to get in some other activities I enjoy. Like having a glass of wine on a Friday night again! Yes, I could have done some of this stuff before but I actually like to take my training seriously and when I'm in it, I thrive on it.

Thus far this week I've been kind of a garbage disposal and I'm enjoying this recovery period. I do plan on swimming in the morning and getting in a short run on Saturday. But not until 8 AM! Hooray! After my run I'm gonna lay by the pool and again be so thankful that marathon number six is in the books and I've got nothing but a bright future ahead of me. Pass the sunscreen please.

What are you thankful for today?

Wordless Wednesday

One Man's Obsession, Lazy Runner, me, and Cuban Running Crisis

Hollster, me, The Full Mary Winner Samuel Kipkosgei Malakwen of Kenya (ran a 2:16!), and P-Funk

My running buds.