Weekly Recap- August 5-11, 2013

I am so, so sad that summer is over.  I start back to pre-planning next week.  And I'm dreading it because that means no more early morning runs during the week.  I'm planning on running around 7 at night (since I have to run before we eat otherwise I get bad cramps and this is about as late as I can go).  But tonight at 7 it was still 87 with a heat index of 93.  It's going to kill me! 

I didn't do any training runs this week.  I saved them all for the races this weekend.  Kristin from A Mom on the Run and I ran 4 races in 36 hours!  So much fun!

Friday--Tour de Pain part 1--4 miler in 42:11 (but according to Garmin it was 4.09 miles so, Mile 1: 9:45, Mile 2: 10:25, Mile 3: 10:48, Mile 4: 10:24, Mile 4-4.09: 8:06, average pace: 10:18)

Saturday morning--Tour de Pain part 2--5k in 29:50.  7 seconds off my PR...boo!  (Mile 1: 9:30, Mile 2: 9:41, Mile 3: 9:46, Mile 3-3.1: 6:49, average pace: 9:32)

Saturday afternoon-- Tour de Pain part 3- 1 miler Sizzler--Official time was 7:47 but all of our Garmin's said we ran more, around 1.1. My Garmin said my mile was 7:11

Sunday morning--Drenched 5k--we ran with Kristin's son so we walked almost all of it.  We didn't time ourselves and it was nice to chat and get wet.

Total miles this week: 11.39
Total miles in 2013: 361.76
Total miles: 790.25

Five Things Friday- August 9, 2013

1) I am up at my parents in Jacksonville for the weekend to run the Tour de Pain, extended version (meaning I am also running the Drenched 5k on Sunday!)  A total of 4 races in 39 hours!  The Tour de Pain kicks off tonight with a 4 mile beach run.  I've only run on sand once before and I remember being so sore the next day.  So I really have no goals in mind for any of the races this weekend.  I don't even have a plan for tonight's run (I've worked up to 28 straight minutes of running--do I still do that before I start my intervals?  Or do I do what I normally do and run a mile then start intervals?).  Then tomorrow morning is the 5k. I have no idea how sore I'll be so no plan for that one either.  Tomorrow afternoon is the 1 miler.  I do plan to run that one straight.  Good news is that this will be my first 4 miler and 1 miler so automatic PRs!  My outfits are all ready! (Thank you for supervising, Bella!)

2) I am also running some virtual races for Jost Running.  I will be running the August Home Run 5k on Saturday when I am running the Tour de Pain 5k.  I won't be wearing the bib, but it's so cute!  And the medal is a hot dog!  I'll be submitting my times and I'll post a picture when I get the medal.















3) On Tuesday I got a haircut and colored it darker.  I really like it!  A great way to start off the new school year! (when I saw this picture I almost didn't recognize myself!)

4) I can't believe the summer is already over!  Pre-planning starts back at school on Monday and Meet the Teacher is Thursday afternoon!

5) **Adding on--I am figuring out that I am starting to have a hard time remembering things.  I see run-related things that I want and then forget about them!  So I thought I'd start a little wish list here so I don't forget (plus, my bday is in a little under a month in case a certain someone is reading). 
 ~White Tiara Visor from Running Princess
~Some Gone for a Run Tees in M: Womens Everyday Runners Tee Runner's Tiara in Lush Berry,  Womens Everyday Runners Tee Florida State Runner (Royal/Orange) in Charcoal Gray,
~ I can always use more Sweatybands!
~Road ID (Wrist Slim, color purple size Small)
~Mizuno Women's DryLite I Run T-Shirt (size Medium)
~Nathan Sports StrobeLight in Pink

Clermont Blogger Dinner- Red Lobster

So last night I headed to the Red Lobster in Clermont for a blogger dinner. 

I knew this was a smaller setting and I wouldn't know anyone so I was a little nervous.  I was glad that I was able to bring my husband--I'm pretty shy.  But I shouldn't have been!  I left the dinner thinking about how it was so much fun and I loved that it was a smaller setting!

I saw a couple of the girls from the Yelp event the night before.  Summer, Heidi, and Vanessa remembered me and said hello.  They were the gals in charge of the event.  We also met the general manager of the store, Kellie. 

When we sat down, we were able to order whatever drink we wanted.  I decided to try the Berry Mango Daiquiri.  It was so pretty when it came out and tasted delicious!

Kory had a beer (I think it was the seasonal Sam Adams)

And I dug into the biscuits right away.

Some Seaside Starters (appetizers) came out-- the Southwest Chicken Pizza, Spicy Buffalo Chicken Bites, Lobster-Crab-and-Seafood-Stuffed Mushrooms, Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp, and Sweet Chili Shrimp.

I helped myself to all of them except the buffalo bites (oops--already ate some before I took the pic).  Kory kept trying to get me to try a little of the buffalo bites but I'm a wimp.  I did steal a piece of the blue cheese though.

My favorite is still the mushrooms. So yummy!  When we were full, the wonderful wait staff (Drew and Kim) boxed up the appetizers and put them in the beginning of our to-go bags! 

And we got to learn some interesting things about Red Lobster that I didn't know.

• The restaurant we were in was the prototype and the restaurant is modeled after Bar Harbor, Maine.
• The East Colonial Drive and Sanford restaurants are trying out a new service called Seaside Express Lunch.  You order and pay when you arrive, grab a number and a seat and lunch is served very quickly and should be under $10.  These are the only 2 locations in the country to be trying this.
• They started a new menu last Fall with "Maine stays".  These are food options that will stay on the menu and not vary.
• There is a Happy Hour from 3-6pm with drink specials and $5 appetizers.
• There are also special menus available--a Lighthouse menu with lighter options and an allergy menu.

For dinner, I had a half dozen steamed oysters and snow crab legs.  I chose a Caesar salad to start.  The oysters were yummy.  Sometimes they can be too chewy or sandy and gritty, but these were just right.  And the crab legs--delish!!  I sure made quite a mess but it was worth it!

Kory had the Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and for dessert we split the Warm Chocolate Chip Lava Cookie.  Kory really enjoyed the peach-bourbon BBQ glaze on the shrimp.  And the cookie--it was heavenly!  A warm chocolate chip cookie with melty chocolate in the middle topped with ice cream??  It can't get better than that!

And the conversation was so much fun!  Jen had new Google Glasses she was trying out so she was passing them around (Kory tried them).  And Bess, Joe, Vanessa and I talked about our time in Gainesville and the Gators.  The conversation just flowed.  There was no awkwardness and it was just plain fun!

Oh, and I can't forget about the awesome swag!  A lob-stah tote and a very generous gift card!

 Thank you to Red Lobster and to Heidi, Vanessa, Summer, and Kellie for setting this up!

Orlando Yelp Event- Red Lobster

What a great event!  I met up with my friend Cecille last night at the Orlando Yelp event at the Red Lobster on East Colonial Drive.  Red Lobster went all out with this social group!

We were provided 2 drink tickets when we arrived.  I ordered the Sunset Passion Colada.  Oh my.  This was sooo good and refreshing!  I would definitely order this again! 

 

Then the Cheddar Bay biscuits came out.  These are seriously my favorite bread/biscuit item you can get anywhere.  They're so cheesy and just perfect (and I was good.  I only had 2 the whole night!)

 They brought out some appetizers.  My plate doesn't look very pretty (Sorry, I had already dug in when I remembered to take a picture!)  I had the Sweet Chili Shrimp and the Lobster-Crab-and-Seafood-Stuffed Mushrooms.  (And the Cheddar Bay Biscuit of course!)  The shrimp definitely had a kick, but the sweetness made it tolerable for me (I'm a wimp!!)  But the mushroom was my fav!

 Then they placed some additional appetizers out for us to enjoy.

The Southwest Chicken Pizza

Fiesta Salad

And Shrimp Tacos

I had to try a little of everything, of course!  The Southwest Chicken Pizza was yummy and had a kick, as did the fiesta salad.  I loved the salsa on top of the shrimp taco!

They also had Tilapia off their Fresh Fish menu.

 Up next, it was time for another drink. I got the Island Colada Especial.  It normally comes with a sidecar shot of Disaronno Amaretto and sprinkled with nutmeg, but I declined both.  This tasted soo banana-y which is just what I wanted!

They brought out some more entrees for us to enjoy.

Lobster Lover's Grilled Cheese.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Alfredo

Both of these were amazing!  The grilled cheese was so grown up and the Parmesan Chicken Alfredo is perfect for the non-seafood lover.

 You can't forget dessert!

 I sampled the Chocolate Wave cake and the Carrot Cake.  The Chocolate Wave cake was so decadent.  Five layers of chocolate---yum!

And we even got swag!  A cute lobster tote bag and a gift card!

 

We learned some great info, which I'll share with you tomorrow. And we had great servers--Helen and Jon (I think that's his name!)

 

I had a great time with Cecille and the Yelp gang!

 

 

Weekly Recap- July 29-August 4, 2013

Dumbo training is in full force!  Less than a month until we travel to Disneyland.  I cannot wait!  Today's long run was rough!  Here's hoping our 14 miler in two weeks isn't as bad!

Tuesday-- 3 miles in 30:00 (Mile 1: 10:09, Mile 2: 9:55, Mile 3: 9:53, average pace, 9:59)
Thursday-- 4 miles in 40:31 (Mile 1: 9:47, Mile 2: 10:10, Mile 3: 10:38, Mile 4: 9:58, average pace: 10:08)
Saturday-- 4 miles in 41:50 (Mile 1: 9:31, Mile 2: 10:49, Mile 3: 11:01, Mile 4: 10:29, average pace: 10:28)
Sunday-- 12.5 miles in 2:37:36 (Mile 1: 10:30, Mile 2: 10:33, Mile 3: 12:12, Mile 4: 12:12, Mile 5 12:20, Mile 6: 12:19, Mile 7: 12:22, Mile 8: 12:15, Mile 9: 12:31, Mile 10: 17:58, Mile 11: 15.18, Mile 12: 11:28, Mile 12-12.5: 11:21, average pace: 12:37)

Total miles this week: 23.5
Total miles in 2013: 350.37
Total miles: 778.86

Giveaway Winner- Rock City Skirt

Congratulations to

Teresa M.

 for winning a Rock City Skirt!!!

 Teresa, email me at onceuponarun (at) hotmail (dot) com by Monday at 4pm and I'll get you your info for your skirt!!

Five Things Friday- August 2, 2013

1)  I got my RunChat runbassador AND Sweat Pink goodies in the mail this week!  Can't wait to spread the word!

 

2) I had my first marathon nightmare.  I dreamt that the end was right after you exited the Magic Kingdom.  I was running and saw my family on Main Street so I knew it was close to the end.  And I was surprised at how strong I felt, even though I was tired.  As I ran through the finish, I noticed the clock said just under 2 hours. I thought that was weird but figured I saw it wrong or it was a clock for something else.  I got my medal and headed home.  A couple of hours later, I got an email saying that I was disqualified because I only ran 10 miles, not 26.2.  I was shocked and couldn't figure out how this had happened.  I followed all the other runners and while my body didn't felt like I had run far, I just couldn't determine what went wrong.

 

If I'm already having nightmares, I'm in trouble!!

 

3) On Thursday, a scary thing I happened.  I got tapped by a car.  I was coming up to a neighborhood and as I came up to the crosswalk, I noticed that there was a car behind the closed gates (and I remember this because we have friends who live in there.  I always try to see if I see them when I'm running and I remember thinking that I couldn't tell if it was them yet since they were behind the gate).  The gates are set pretty far back, so I knew I had plenty of time to cross, since this happens often.  Well, as soon as the gates opened, the car flew out of the gates and through the stop sign.  She slammed on her brakes at the last second.  My hand ended up on the hood of her car and her bumper tapped my leg.  She looked shocked.  She was turning right so I was coming from the way she should have been looking too.  In that last second I remember thinking "Oh ****, she's going to hit me."  I still can't believe how fast she came up.  Just a reminder to me that there are drivers out there who aren't paying attention and I need to be extra cautious.

 

4) Today I some adorable tanks in the mail.  I ordered them from RufflesWithLove on Etsy.  The Gators one is for the Gridiron 5k at the end of the month (and goes with my orange and blue Rock City Skirt) and the It's my (r)un-unbirthday tank is to wear on my birthday, after the Disneyland Half Marathon.  They're so cute!

 

5) **Adding on--I am figuring out that I am starting to have a hard time remembering things.  I see run-related things that I want and then forget about them!  So I thought I'd start a little wish list here so I don't forget (plus, my bday is in a little under a month in case a certain someone is reading). 
 ~White Tiara Visor from Running Princess
~Some Gone for a Run Tees in M: Womens Everyday Runners Tee Runner's Tiara in Lush Berry,  Womens Everyday Runners Tee Florida State Runner (Royal/Orange) in Charcoal Gray,
~ I can always use more Sweatybands!
~Road ID (Wrist Slim, color purple size Small)
~Mizuno Women's DryLite I Run T-Shirt (size Medium)