"There is no telling how many miles you will have to run (or ride) while chasing a dream." I read this somewhere, I am not sure where, but it rang true with me. I thought it was appropriate for this week's blog.
My weekend started early: I took Friday off work to prep for a fundraiser and a 5k with the TEAM. I did get to sleep in, which is rare and very much appreciated. Then a teammate, Jacey, and I headed out to City Place to grab lunch and promo our event on May 14th.
QUICK PLUG: Sips 'n Strokes will donate 50% of the proceeds for our event back to LLS. On May 14th you can join us at the Sips'n Strokes studio in City Place for a nite of painting, wine, food, raffles, and fun. All proceeds of the evening (including the 50% donation from the studio) will benefit LLS. Come have some fun and help us be superheroes as we save lives together!
After collecting gift card donations and other raffle prizes, we were off to the Sunfest 5k Downtown. I had my sights on setting a personal best in a 5k run, but the wind (my so-called training buddy) had a different plan. Running in that weather was like running behind an airboat on HIGH SPEED. I finished in 35:04 or something like that. Not my best by far and yet not my worse either. Just not what I wanted to do. So how do you recover from a bad run?? With FREE BEER!!! Even if it was Coors Light (at one time I would have loved that) it was still free and cold and fantastic!!!
Jacey and I hung around Sunfest a bit before heading home. We saw friends and even danced with Captain Morgan! It was a fun night! I even took my picture with the Michelin Man... (I was a michelin baby with rolls like tires; so, I just had to get the photo!)
So off to bed for an early morning training... Well, that was the plan anyhow. Apparently my alarm did not have the same plan as I did. I overslept and missed my training. That was probably a blessing since I was pretty sore from the run. Man, it was only 3.1(ish) miles but it kicked my butt! Jacey and I both opted for a Sunday morning ride since we both missed training.
Up early - TAKE 2... This time, my internal clock was not letting me oversleep. Guilt from missing training with the team, I suppose. Jacey and I met in Delray and we decided we would take the short run south first then north to finish our ride. We started at Linton, road south to Camino Real, and then north to Palm Beach Inlet. I was done after 14 miles of wind. My left calf was aching still from Friday's run (you would think I never run with how sore I was).
After a short stop to stretch something happened. I found my carrot to chase. Barbie and her friend Skipper zipped past Jacey and I like they were the schitzizzle. Ha! Not in my town you don't! I looked at Jacey and said "ready for a short sprint?" Off we went. Actually Barbie tried to hold on a bit. It was kinda cute, but more annoying. We had to drop them. Up to 20+ just to get rid of them.
Off to Boynton Beach Inlet. We took a quick detour along the beach before the inlet. As we came off Old Ocean Ave, there was Barbie and Skipper again. We let them go ahead. We took another detour down a board walk just to enjoy the scenery and to fuel up. It was nice to be in an area with no wind and tree cover. Nice and relaxing. The calf was still hurting, but I was determined to complete this ride. We sprinted to Boynton Beach Inlet to fill up waters and take a quick potty break. Then back to heading north.
It was just north of Lake Worth were we caught Barbie and Skipper. It was right around the incline on Southern where we were able to pass them. Jacey and I sprinted again and took that incline at 21-22mph, just to show them how it is done. I know it is petty, but for today, those two girlies were my carrot and I was chasing! Thanks to Coach McTorture, I can actually do that now!!
Once we got to Palm Beach, we decided to take a break from the wind and take the rest of the way to the inlet in a relaxing gear. I am glad we did. We saw an amazing tree (see photo), the Living Wall in Palm Beach, and even heard some music from Sunfest.
We made it to Palm Beach Inlet and had about 25 miles to go to get back to our cars. And guess what??? We had WIND!!! I know I have mentioned this before and you must be tired of reading it, but the WIND in Florida SUCKS! It swirls and shifts and is just plain annoying. (First thing Mc Torture said when I mentioned the wind - "Hey, The wind is your friend!" I don't know about the rest of my team, but I call BS!!!!)
With just two more miles to go, we finally caught on to a pace line. These guys were at 21-22mph. Could not have come at a better time! God does listen, because he answered my prayers right there! I don't know where these guys were 62 miles before, but... better late than never!
You know, you certainly hear the funniest things in pace lines. We are always calling out stuff for courtesy, for safety, just to make sure people are still paying attention and on the line... "Curb!", "Sand!", "Water!", "Debris!", "Car Back!", "Runner Up!", "Crab!", "Snot Rocket!"... You just never can tell what you will hear!
In any case, I can say only one thing, and this picture proves it... Today was a better beach day than a cycle day. Only when I was done, I was DONE! I had absolutely zero desire to leave my house once I got there: So, I showered, put on jammies, and took control of the couch and TV remote. (ugh, more Royal Wedding today!!! When will it end?)
As I usually do with my blogs, I started off with some quote, saying, intro to a story... then I make you read the entire blog before I tell you why I chose that particular gem.
I have a dream! Not like Dr King, although a great dream that was/is... I have a dream we will one day live in a world where there is a cure for cancer. All cancers. I have just chosen blood cancers due to my connections with blood cancers. I have no idea how many miles I will run, bike, or swim until there is a cure, but you can rest assured I will not stop until there is one. (I sometimes feel like Forrest Gump... Running to nowhere, but everywhere at the same time!)
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