Tag Archives: weather

Going for Gasparilla

Posted on by Run DMT
2

Late last Saturday evening, I bit the bullet and registered for the Gasparilla Distance Classic 5K.  Since I’ve been feeling pretty good and my bladder is still holding stong, I feel capable to run a 5K.  So why not go for the Gasparilla gold?  After all that little bit of runner bling will look so lovely resting on my big ol’ baby bump.

 

The weather has been ridiculously frigid by Florida standards since December which makes it awfully difficult for me to find any motivation to run.  We’ve also had a really wet winter and I hate running in the rain.  Plus, since becoming pregnant, my sleep pattern has been so out of whack that I can’t seem to summon the energy to run in the early morning (my favorite time of day).  So, all of these stupid excuses seem to get in the way of any running, but I needed to find some room for running with a race only weeks away.

 

For the past month, I’ve maintained my training with wogging (jogging/walking).  I’ve kept my pace around 11:00-11:30 mm and remarkably throughout my little wogs around the neighborhood, I haven’t had a constant urge to pee, which is pretty amazing for a running pregnant mama.  But since I never know when an unsuspecting cough or sneeze will strike, I think I will start wearing a panty liner to avoid wet wogs just to be safe.

 

On Tuesday, the sun was shining. Our temps began to warm up to normal highs for this time of year and the sun greeted me like an old friend.  With every step, I soaked up the sun’s rays and I found my mojo once again.

3.10 miles

Time 35:17

Ave Pace 11:22

Max Pace 8:23

 

Then, on Wednesday our temps dropped again and the rain returned, but an e-mail from Tiffany, my running partner, later that evening coerced me to run in the cold early morning on Thursday.

3.18 miles

Time 41:50

Ave Pace 13:11

Max Pace 9:29

 

I feel confident that I will wog my way to the finish in about 40 minutes and hopefully, I can keep my race adrenaline from forcing me to run too fast for my bladder’s sake.

Places I Love

Posted on by Run DMT
15

Every week, I visit I Heart Faces and promise to participate in the challenge, but I then I get distracted and forget to submit my photos.  But not this week!  Although this week’s challenge seemed relatively easy, it was difficult to narrow down my favorite places.

 

England
About 5 years ago, we traveled to Chester, England for my friend, Suzie’s, wedding.  During our holiday, we drove to Edinburgh, Scotland (where Allan was born), York (the city where I completed my final teaching internship) and visited Whitby (Allan’s hometown).  Although I had seen many pictures of Whitby, it wasn’t until I physically stepped foot in the town that I understood why Allan gets homesick.  Since my college days, I have always loved England, but I fell in love with little quaint little sleepy seaside town.  Honestly, pictures do not do it justice and simply cannot reflect the beauty of Whitby.  Someday we’ll own a small little cottage summer home there visit again.

 

 

 

New Orleans
Can you believe I spent a weekend in New Orleans and this is the best picture with “faces” I can find?  These cute little Jamie Hayes voodoo dolls were more willing models than my DH.

 

 

This southern city is truly full of soul in more ways than one.  New Orleans has the best food, best music and the best people.  I’m planning a trip back to the Big Easy for my 40th birthday in 2011.

 

 
BTW…Good luck to the Saints in the Super Bowl!  Who dat?!

 

New York City
Last year, we were fortunate to spend two kid-free weekends in New York City.  Our May trip was Allan’s first time in the Big Apple.  He usually doesn’t like having his photo taken, but he willingly posed for this shot.  Look closely at the photo to see why Allan thought he was being so clever.

 

 

The Beach
I love the beach and so do my girls.  Thank heavens we live in a state that is almost surrounded with soft sand and beautiful blue water.  I can’t wait for the warm weather to arrive so we can start packing the beach bags and head for the waves again.

 

 

Disney
Living in Florida, you either take for granted that you live in a state with miles of beautiful beaches and Mickey Mouse or your take full advantage of it.  It’s been a year since our last trip to the Magic Kingdom and I miss the magic. Therefore for Mother’s Day this year, I requested a weekend at Disney.

 

 

 

Camping
Both Allan and I camped as kids, but until our friends, Erika and John, reintroduced us to the idea of camping a few years ago, we had forgotten how much we loved it.  Now, we camp a couple times of year with our friends and it’s something we all look forward to, except when it’s raining.

 

 

North Carolina
We can also thank our friends, Erika and John, for our love for North Carolina.  For the past three years, our two families have enjoyed sharing a cabin and playing in the snow in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  However, last month was probably our final trip to the mountains for awhile.  We’ll have to see if our next little one will be an intrepid traveler, car sleeper or car screamer like his/her sisters were as infants.  Another car screamer would make me head for the hills for sure!   Fingers crossed we can return to North Carolina in 2011.

 

 

 

 

Hooters
So, I cheated a little with this one, because my friend and absolutely FABULOUS photographer, Kelly, took this family photo.  I really love Hooters, however, my pregnancy nose can’t stand the smell of chicken or fried food, so I’m really missing sunsets over the Gulf and hot wings and pitchers of beer at the New Port Richey Hooters these days.  Food aversions really stink.  (No pun intended.)

 

 

 

Home
Dorothy said it best.  There’s no place like home. As much as I love to travel, it feels so good to come back to the comforts of home after any trip.

 

 

Also submitted at…

Totally Tubular

Posted on by Run DMT
16

We love to plan winter trips to North Carolina to offer our girls a chance to play in the snow.  The weather during this year’s trip to Boone, North Carolina called for snow showers, but to this Florida girl it felt like blizzard conditions.  Unfortunately, the heavy snow and wind made it difficult to do anything outdoors.  As much as we wanted to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, visit Grandfather Mountain or climb Chimney Rock, all those activities were simply out of the question due to the weather.

 

Snow tubing at Hawksnest Resort in Seven Devils was also on the top of our tourist “To Do List”, however, that didn’t seem to not be in the cards the first few days of our trip.  Each day, we visited Hawksnest’s website for updates on their activities, but the weather conditions made driving to the top of the mountain and snow tubing far too dangerous.

 

Of course, when we finally made it to Hawksnest, the girls had a fabulous time!  Emmalynn and I rode together the first few times until she decided she was brave to tackle snow tubing alone.

 

 

Feeling a little less adventurous, Allana rode with Dad a few more times.  Once she noticed Emmalynn’s lack of fear, Allana attempted once alone and then her fear slipped away down the slope as well.

 

 

 

Since I lacked the specifics on how to snow tube, the friendly Hawksnest staff gave me a few pointers along with a big push down the slope.  Of course, when one staff member heard I was from Florida, he teased me relentlessly.  Hey, I know water sports not winter sports!

 

 

The trick to snow tubing is to use your heel as a break.  Given my height, I discovered I lacked the ability to break.  I heard a rumor that if you ride on your belly, then you could use your toe as a break, but I wasn’t willing to try belly tubing with a bun in the oven.

 

I quickly learned the importance of lifting my rear when approaching blocks of ice on the slope…the hard way.  (No pun intended.)  The bruise on my backside would become a lovely North Carolina souvenir.  I went snow tubing and all I got was this lousy bruise.

 

I also tried my butt hand on the tallest slope (~1000 feet), but preferred the smaller slopes. The height didn’t bother me, but the constant spinning at full speed down the slope reminded me of the Mad Tea Party Ride at the Magic Kingdom. Since I felt as though I would produce chunks on the slope other than piles of ice, I stopped myself about 3/4 of the way down and walked the remainder of the way.

 

After riding solo, the girls wanted to try tubing together, but only one ride down the slope proved that to be a bad idea.  When the girls hit an ice wall, Allana lost control and Emmalynn was propelled out of the tube.  She landed face first on the slope.  Thankfully, the staff ran to Emmalynn’s rescue and carried her to the bottom.  Poor thing scratched her face, bruised her forehead and was terrified to go alone again.  She rode with Dad for the remainder of our session.

 

Two hours later at the slopes, we were all happy that we finally hit the slopes in more ways than one and ready for more snow tubing hot cocoa and delicious cookies as big as our head at the snack bar.

 

Musical Monday: Winter Wonderland

Posted on by Run DMT
11

Trudging through the streets of NYC at Christmas time during what is now being affectionately referred to as the “Blizzard of  2009” felt like walking through a snow globe. Drifts of swirling snow cascading from the skies made the moment truly magical. But when the winds picked up late Saturday night and the snow and freezing winds hit my face, the magical moment fled as quickly as my mascara running down my cheeks. Neither was a pretty sight!

 

I meant to post Jason Mraz’s version of Winter Wonderland for last week’s Musical Monday, however, when we returned home from our trip I laid down for a long winter’s nap. I just love Jason Mraz and his fun, upbeat version of this holiday classic captures the exact essence of our anniversary getaway to NYC.

 

 

I’ll be posting about our NYC trip shortly, so watch for it. And there’s more snow (hopefully) in our future as we’re heading to a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina this Saturday. We’re excited to spend a week in another Winter Wonderland!

Damp and Delusional

Posted on by Run DMT
7

Isn’t it funny how some days you can’t get motivated to run?  You drag your feet.  Every step seems like an effort. 

 

That’s how I felt on Tuesday.  I had to force myself to run.  The weather is still miserably hot here and the humidity is stifling.  Therefore, Tuesday was not my best performance.

 

Distance 4.70

Time 48:70

Ave Pace 10:14

 

And then, there are some days when you jump out of bed before the alarm wakes up.  You’re ready to take on the world and some serious miles.  Today was that day. 

 

Tiffany (my running partner) arranged to meet at our usual spot at 5:15 this morning.  I woke up before the alarm buzzed and in record speed, I dressed and headed out the door to meet her.  About a half mile into my warm-up walk, I felt a light sprinkle.  I looked up and in my best Christopher Robin impersonation muttered, “Tut.  Tut.  It looks like rain.”  And then the skies opened and a monsoon rain fell on me.

 

I took it as a sign that my warm-up was over and I ran the next half mile to meet Tiffany.  With each squishy step, I remembered why I hate running in the rain.  Then, my MP3 player short-circuited. 

 

When I made it to our starting point, there were no signs of Tiffany although I was a little early.  It gave me some time to properly stretch and wring out my running skirt.  Ten minutes later, there was still no sign of Tiffany and I knew she had probably sent me an e-mail stating how she was going to take a rain check on the run and crawl back into bed.

 

Once I finished stretching, the rain stopped and I had to decide if I would run my 9 miles or go home.  I elected to start running and ran towards Tiffany’s house.  Maybe she noticed the rain stopped and she would be on her way to meet me?

 

When I arrived at her house, I spotted a light shining in the kitchen.  I lightly tapped on her front door.  A dry, beautifully groomed runner resembling a Barbie doll answered the door with a smile.  Tiffany informed me of an e-mail she had just sent bailing on today’s run.  However, now that the rain had passed and a disgruntled running partner stood at her doorstep, she quickly changed her mind and she was ready to go the distance. 

 

For the next soggy 9 miles, my Saucony shoes kept squishing and it sounded like we were being followed.  Then, my water-logged running skirt kept slipping off my hips and I looked like a stripper runner. 

 

But the real fun occurred around mile 7, when blisters began burning the bottoms of my pinky toes.  Like I said, today I was highly motivated to finish 9 miles.  Staying persistent,  I continued running through the pain.  With each agonizing step, I remembered why I hate running in the rain so much. 

 

9.0 miles

1:47:49

Ave Pace 11:58

 

It wasn’t my greatest performance, but at least I made it and stayed miraculously motivated through it all.    However, it will be a long while before I run in the rain again.  Hopefully, my shoes will dry out before then.

A Frogalypse

Posted on by Run DMT
4

With the torrential downpours and thunderstorms over the past couple of days, I haven’t run since Tuesday.  When no rain clouds appeared this morning, I ran out the door for a 4 mile run.

 

Today’s run was gross.  Let me rephrase that.  The run was good, but the roads were disgusting.  I have never seen so many squashed frogs.  I suppose the rain confused them or perhaps the rains gave them the courage to explore beyond the cypress swamps, but the results looked like an amphibian apocalypse or what I’m calling “A Frogalypse”.  With visions of froggie guts hopping into my head, my college biology class came back to haunt me. 

 

I also spotted a flattened armadillo, which became one with the rode after being continuously run over and a few squashed snakes.  Yuck. 

 

Oh, the humanity!

 

I’ll try my best to shake off the horrible images that still haunt me to share my stats with you.

 

Tuesday- 3 miles

Time 29:31

Pace 9:50

 

Thursday- 4 miles

Time 38:16

Pace 9:34

 

***Disclaimer: No amphibians were harmed in the making of this post.  All amphibians sited were already dead.  Although I did not stop to inspect the flattened amphibians to determine if the creatures in question were frogs or toads, “frogs” were merely selected for the sole purpose to tell a humorous tale and lack any real scientific evidence to make such a classification.***