Owen's Fish Camp

We really like food! and on the flip side, I am not a very good cook.  Even though I have MANY issues with food, I still like it and appreciate a great meal. My husband knows this and he has been finding some very interesting restaurants for us to try out on date night. This week we had an impromptu date night to a place in downtown Sarasota called Owen's Fish Camp. Do not let the name fool you- it isn't a dive- but I will get to that.

 We got to the restaurant around 5:30...I know, I know- but I like to eat early and this place doesn't take reservations except for parties of six or more. There is not a lot of parking near it either but we did snag a spot only a couple of streets over on Oak and it was a gorgeous night so a slight walk with my hubs was nice. We were seated right away (yes i know it was 5:30) and immediately approached by our waiter, who got our drinks on the table right away. Then we had the hard task of choosing what we were going to eat.

Honestly, it was a very hard choice. They had about 20 different items that I would have loved to try out and they all looked good. Dave and I discussed and ended up with...

Bloody Mary Oyster Shooters- these were so good. They come in orders of 2 so of course we had 3 orders but they were worth it. The bloody mary was just spicy enough but not too spicy that I wouldn't want to eat about 10 more of these.

I knew going in that I was going to order the cheesy grits...the issue I had was that what I wanted to eat for dinner really didn't pair well with grits. I went back and forth between fried catfish, seafood cobb salad, and the fried green tomato salad and that is what won out.  Their fried green tomato salad with goat cheese and ham crisps was AMAZING!!! I really could have done without the actual salad part and just had the tomatoes, cheese, and crisps. The cheese went great with the fried green tomatoes and I  still got my grits. The grits were nice and creamy and worth every calorie!!!!

Dave got the fried oyster po boy with shoe string fries- and being a fry connoisseur these were really good!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE DESSERT!!!! I like things sweet and usually chocolate- they did have a chocolate special but I thought I would try somethings different (gasp!) Dave and I decided to share (not something I usually do) Bourbon Pecan Pie with Fresh Cream and Ice Cream. This may be a little crazy but I have never actually had Pecan Pie so this was my first taste, and I was not disappointed. It was so gooey and the homemade whipped cream was delish!! I may have to try this somewhere else but it was a great ending to our meal.
During dessert, I noticed that there wasn't a seat available and I am sure that during season, it must be hard to get a table. The food was excellent and the service was great. Would definitely recommend this place and I will be going back- they have fried pickles that I still need to try.

It was a good thing that I had 14 miles to run the next morning (I told you, I have issues!!)

I give this place a 3.5 out of 5 :) and if you need someone to go with you- I'm your girl!!

One Step at a Time,

"Crazy"? Aptly Titled

Long runs? Yes, I am the crazy person who enjoys running longer (not actually faster). I would rather run 10 miles than 3. I like spending hours rather than minutes...but 13 miles was my long run this week right? Isn't that the distance people sign up for races and pay good money for a tshirt and medal? Yes, that is how far my long was this week.
Did I also mention that this run was going to be done on the treadmill because I have 3 children who can not be left home alone for 2 hours? What does one do when running 2 hours or so, my advice watch TV shows or movies that will keep your focus off of what you are doing. I have said before I swear by my iPad - love it!!! I watch many different shows from Downton Abbey to Real Housewives of New Jersey. It really helps when having to run indoors. After I ran my 13 on Sunday, my running partner for the WDW Marathon and sister in law Becky came to visit. Her training plan called for 11 miles and being the crazy person that I am, I volunteered to run with her since she didn't know the area or distances.
Yes my friends, you read that correctly, after 13 on Sunday, I ran 11 yesterday. WE left around 7:30 p.m. (learned my lesson about running during the day from the infamous 15 mile epic failure) and the first street was well lit. Now, I wasn't 100% sure of the route we were going to run but I did know that a portion of it was not on streets with ANY lights ...hmmmm... maybe I should have remembered the headlamp, maybe next time. Ran down my favorite street where it was probably a good idea that I couldn't see anything because usually I see an alligator or two, so it was much better for me that I pretend there weren't any. When we got to the crossroad, I thought we were going right (down the lighted streets) but Dave had told Becky to go left, so that is they way in which we went. There were a few lights on this road as well as many runners which we had to avoid on the narrow sidewalk. We got to SR70 and oops I forgot, no lights on this street either. Becky used her iPhone flashlight app which apparently drains your battery :( Running in the dark takes a lot of focus, and at this point I was trying to do math (not my strong suit) while trying to avoid bumping into Becky and the wall I was running next to. We made it back to Lorraine but we still had about 4 miles left to go and once again these road are not very well lit (come on Lakewood Ranch, we need better lighting) when we got back to Greenbrook and started to go straight, I figured out the distance that we needed could be done on Loraine (in the dark) or on Greenbrook ( well lit path), which would you choose? We chose the later and had a interesting (avoiding cars) run down and back for a solid 11 miles ( 24 in 2 days furthest for me yet!). It was so much fun running with my sister in law but I think next time I need to plan a bit better (the story of my life). Next week is 14 miles and this week I am a single parent most of the week. I'm sure there will be some great things to share...and I really am a bit crazy.

One step at a time,

Tower of Terror 10 miler

I LOVE Disney! I love running! So, what could be better than running at Disney right? I have done a couple Princess Half's, I am going to do my first (and probably only) marathon at Disney in January, I did the Tower of Terror 13K and the Wine and Dine half a couple of times as well. I have to say though, I was extremely disappointed in this race. Not because of the actual run. I ran this race with my husband (he isn't a runner, only did it with me for my birthday) and we didn't have grand plans for PR's , we just really wanted to have a good time. The race started at 10 pm and usually they start at Wide World of Sports or Epcot, well this race started and ended at Hollywood Studios. Dave and I (being the Disney freaks that we are) had the very bright idea to park at the Swan and Dolphin and walk over to the race...best decision ever!!! If I do this race again (it is a Disney race even if it wasn't the best), I would totally recommend doing this. Not only do you not have to take the buses with all those stinky runners afterwards but you don't have to get there 3 hours ahead of time either. We were meeting up with some of my running peeps, so we did get there early BUT we could have gotten there at 9:15 and still been totally fine. The positive things I have to say is the pre-race. Disney did an excellent job at changing things after last years Princess (almost couldn't get to the corral because there were so many people), They had the corrals right there where everyone was hanging out. You walked into the corral and were grouped together to walk to the start. This made things so much easier and a lot less chaotic. They also had porta potties in the corrals and some at the starting line as well (great job Disney!) We lined up- really really close to the starting line (huge mistake for us!)

We started and I really wasn't trying to run very fast, apparently though I was. I usually use Runkeeper but since the Princess where my phone died at mile 12 I decided not to use it, another mistake. In the past Disney races, there have been character stops within the first mile or right past it- not so with this race (and we were planning to stop at them). We went up the on ramp (sorry Tracy) and once we got to mile 1 I started looking for characters - ummmmm didn't have any. This race took you to Animal Kingdom, where we did see stilt characters from the Lion King (I think) this was at almost mile 3, then you run around the parking lot (not into the park) circle around and head toward Wide World of Sports. Now, technically this was an inaugural race because they added a bit of distance to the 13K- but the course was extremely similar, so I KNEW we were going to be running down a trail and I still disliked it. I did see the witch doctor from The Princess and the Frog between Animal Kingdom and Wide World of Sports, but I didn't think that was a character I was willing to stop for. The trail road was decorated "Halloweeny" but nothing too spectacular. We ran through WWS and ran around a baseball field and a track (woot woot) and then we were headed back to Hollywood Studios. On our way back we saw the Big Bad Wolf (what movie was he in?!?!?!) Running into Hollywood Studios (or any Disney park) is always a very special time. The music was good and running through the back lot and having our pictures on the Jumbo Tron was okay, but once again, there were NO characters out!!! When I did the 13K the finish was up the hill behind Tower of Terror,  they took that hill out for this race and before I knew it the finish was ahead of me and we were finished.  Not one EVIL QUEEN to be seen!! This was advertised as a race with villains and I was very disappointed to not see any!

I would have to say that it was nothing like the Princess, so I if you are thinking that it may be the same, it isn't. I still love runDisney, but I may have to save my money for a race with a little more. More what? More everything. My next race is the WDW Marathon and to say I can't wait is an understatement. 

RunDisney, if you are listening next year, please have some Evil Queens or Pirates- please ??

Redeemed

As you all know from leading last weeks 15 mile debacle, I was having some serious issues with my training. I was actually really excited about running my planned 11 miles on the treadmill. The reason for having to use the treadmill is because I have these pesky things called kids (totally joking). But I do have 3 children and a husband who works very hard for our family which means that he isn't always home on the days that I have to run long.
This weekend we were able to go with him on one of his business trips to the Swan and Dolphin Hotel. We have stayed here many, many times and it is in my top 5 Disney hotels. The reason that I love staying here is because there is a nice and safe running loop and access to the Hollywood Studios parking lot to run through as well. I also can walk with my kids to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios as well. So on Saturday, I got up and ran my scheduled 5 miles and it felt amazing. I don't really know if it was because of where I was running or the fact that I knew that this next weekend we will be back to Disney for the Tower of Terror 10 mile race.
To say that I am excited for this race would be a massive understatement. It is happening on the day after my 34th birthday and it is my favorite distance and technically the course is very similar to the 13K I did 2 years ago.
I digress... so I put my kids in their beds, gave them kisses and tucked them in and jumped on my trusty treadmill with 3 45 minute shows to watch. This is my not so secret weapon when tackling longer runs on the treadmill. I watched Glee, Last Stand, and Real Housewives of Miami- I do not discriminate on quality TV (ha!) I really enjoyed the new drama Last Stand- it reminded me of the Unit except with submarines :) So once I got through the first 2 shows I was 8.5 miles and I was feeling really good and considering the 15 mile, I really needed the confidence boost. When I got to the 11 mile mark, I just kept going (love when that happens) and when I got to 12, I could have kept going. I have 3 days until we leave and with my confidence boost and adrenaline from being running at Disney again, I expect great things.

One step at a time,

Improvising

After the awful 15 miler I just ran I was feeling very disheartened. I was really questioning wether or not my body was going to be able to handle all of these miles. My biggest issues are never with my legs though - this week my jaw has been sore from chewing gum for almost 3 hours while running. I know it may sound strange but I always seem to get odd illnesses when running. Biggest issue is the dreaded kidney stones so hydration is also a major factor. So after saying all of that - I am going to go for a more moderate training plan. I am NOT an elite athlete (no matter how good my intentions were) and I want to finish this marathon with a great experience and a continued love my running :)
So I am going to do the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 plan. The mileage looks doable and the funny thing is that it skips 15- which sounds great to me!!

One step at a time,

15 Miles (the bad and the ugly- there really wasn't any good)

So, it has been 2 days since the run that I have been dreading writing about. It was SO HARD!! It was so hard that I have been questioning my decision to train for this distance while mothering 3 children and being a loving considerate wife to a fire chief. It has made me doubt myself in so many ways and really dislike running for a few days (gasp!)
The first 4 miles was good- Dave and I talked, I listened to music, and I just ran like I normally would. We made the turn at Lorainne and University and it started to go downhill- yes my friends the run started getting bad at mile 4 and I had 11 more to go. The initial problem is I had never run this route before, I had never been down this road at all so I couldn't gage the distance (which i need) and then there was the lack of anything- I didn't see another car at all for about an hour and a half. Once again, Dave was wonderful throughout this whole run- he kept encouraging me to keep going and my mind kept screaming at me to stop. When we got to the end of University (who knew that it ended, I have only lived here 7 years!?!?!) I was half way done and it was REALLY hot (89 degrees) and I knew I now knew how far I had to run home. I have always heard people say respect the distance and on this day the distance schooled me. I was a mess and literally shuffled my way home very very slowly. The only positive being that I did finish (there wasn't any way else to get home) and that I learned a few lessons. I learned that I need to fuel and hydrate better, my way just isn't cutting it. I also am very thankful that this race starts early in the morning because from now on long runs are going to be before the sun comes up and not at high noon!
I know that I can do this and that it's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard people would be running marathons every day. I also learned that my goal isn't what is good for someone else, it is only for me. So what if it takes me FOREVER as long as I finish the task. I didn't give up and I am still following my plan- it may need some tweaking but I still keep taking it one step at a time. I also learned that I need to wear sunblock because these crazy running tan lines are the worst!!!

Training

 

I just finished week 1 of my training plan which was a fairly easy week. I have been building my base miles all summer long, running medium mileage (7-10) regularly and keeping my miles high. So every time I went looking for a training plan I was super disappointed because I was lowering my average daily miles A LOT. So, even though I am NOT an elite runner I found the plan above and I will work with it. I love routine and schedules and this one will keep my mileage where I want it and looks easy to follow.
With that being said today was the first day of week 2- i know you can read but it does say 13 miles. UMMMM yeah, I hadn't run 13 miles since the Princess Half last March. I have NEVER ran 13 miles just as a a training distance ever BUT I know that this whole training for a marathon this is going to push me past what I have ever done before. So, I strapped on my Newtons got my iPad and treadmill ready and away I went. Yes, you read that correctly, I ran it on the treadmill. Why?? Well partly because I haven't really figured out my hydration plan yet and I was concerned that I may run out of water and partly because it was pouring rain. Mostly though it was because of the water. I have a tendency to get kidney stones and I really can't afford that AT ALL during this training so the treadmill it was.
I will not lie- running 13 miles on the treadmill is not really a fun activity (even with movies and TV shows at my fingertips). It is boring and part of the reason I love running so much is being outside while I do it. I tried to get into the movie I was watching but my mind kept wandering and I kept looking at the time and distance. I tried to break it up into 3 mile increments in my head so once I got to 7 I kept saying- 3 more to 10- 3 more to 13 and ... I did it. 2:12 for today's time- it isn't the greatest time in the world and it isn't the worst, but it is what I had in me today and the fact that it is done make me very proud of myself (another of the reasons I love running). The funniest part is that I literally jumped off the treadmill and went to pick up Lexi from school. Those poor pre-school parents must have thought I was crazy (i did change my clothes quickly but I was still sweating a lot). My day is not over yet though, still have to pick up my older kids, go to work at the cheer gym, take Ryan to swimming practice and then homework and the rest.
 I am not super mom, I make many mistakes and I just want my kids to learn to care about others and work hard for their  dreams and the only way I know how to teach them that is to lead them by example. This isn't a blog where I always will be upbeat and peppy- I KNOW there are going to be days when I do not want to go out and get the miles done and I will do it anyway. This is my accountability, but it also is not only going to be about marathon training, we have a lot going on around here with all of our kid activities, to the things that God is trying to teach me through my daily walk with him as well.
Welcome along for this crazy ride...15 miles next week..hmmm I'm up for the challenge (although my body may be protesting a little bit).

One step at a time,

Judgement

I have not blogged in a while and I really felt like I should today. I have been really struggling with my
Christian walk lately. Not because I am struggling with who and what I believe but because I am
frustrated by other believers.
I have spoken with so many
people who have said
to me "I don't go to church because of the people" and this makes me so frustrated. Who did Jesus come
to save? ALL So to be like Christ we should love ALL people right? We should accept ALL people because ALL of us have fallen short have we not? (Romans3:23)
All day yesterday people kept
asking me "Did you support
Chik fil A today?" Ummmmm... we support Chik fil a financially every day (sometimes twice) but how was all of the hoopla yesterday loving others? Showing them the love that Christ asks us to?
Don't get me wrong, I totally advocate sticking up for what you believe in- but not by alienating and belittling others. This is where Christians get a bad wrap- by judging those that we have to right to judge.
We ALL have sins in our life and how can you reach out in love when you are just loving those who are lovable and agree with what you think?
I want to be a Christian who loves those who others don't- just like Jesus did - because I think that is what he would want me to do.
I want to show my kids that even if you don't agree with what someone else believes,doesn't give you the right to be a bad example of what you believe.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPad]

So. What have I been up to...

Well since I last wrote I have...

*Competed in Ragnar Florida Keys...GO RAGTAILS
*Got and passed 2 MAJOR Kidney Stones (one while running Ragnar (yes I am a beast!) and one the week before running the Princess Half)
*I have had kidney stone surgery (for the one that got stuck while running Ragnar-boo!)
*PR'ed at the Princess Half with a 2:07 finish and my hope for a sub 2 will be attained at the Disney Wine and Dine in October
*Signed up for the Tower of Terror 10 miler the day after my birthday and the 2013 WDW MARATHON!! woot woot!!
*Started my own Mary Kay Business
*Have been a super mom with kids activities EVERY NIGHT of the week
*Started working at Dynasty Elite Cheer All-Stars

and much much more.
My goal right now is to blog more consistently about all of the crazy things going on so that I can remember them.

Stay Tuned because the best is yet to come...

Ragnar Nation

All my bags are packed (jammed full!) and I'm ready to go...
Ragnar Florida Keys starts tomorrow and we are leaving for Miami later this afternoon. To say I am excited would be an understatement but I am also nervous with leaving my kids (great friends and a wonderful husband does help with this!). I will be tweeting throughout the race so check me out at CrazyKyle5 for all the Team Ragtail updates and pics.
21 miles for me 200 for my team...
Bring it ON!!!