Our trip to The Keys

This weekend was our 10 year wedding anniversary! Wow 10 years. We decided to head to Marathon. We've been there a couple of times and really enjoy going. 

Saturday morning we woke up early picked up the car and dropped off the dogs. We actually got on the road before 9! That's really good since Dan got home late Friday. 

Our first real stop was at Jimmy John's. One of the few fast food places I can eat. 

Yum a #14. Best sandwich ever!!

We lucked out and really didn't have any traffic coming down US 1 from Florida City to Key Largo. That's where we usually get stuck.

As we were coming south on US 1 we started to see the Key Largo bridge. I'll be back in two weeks to run the Key Largo Bridge Half Marathon. It was kind of nice to see the bridge and be able to judge how hard it will be to run up.

We were able to check into our condo early! We stay at CocoPlum Beach & Tennis Club. It's a great place to stay. It has a full size kitchen, which is great for me. The place is dated, but that doesn't really matter to me. I love the fact that it is on the beach.

Sunday we woke up had breakfast and coffee and started our morning adventure. We wanted to stay in Marathon. We drove out toward the airport and our first stop was the EAA Air Museum. It's small but they do have two aircraft you can tour. They have a DC3 and Beech 18.

We drove through the old airport! My husband flew into this airport in 1983 back when they had commercial service.

Next stop was Crane Point, but they were closed. So we headed out for Sombrero Beach. WOW it was a beautiful park with a beautiful beach! And it's dog friendly! 

We drove out to the old seven mile bridge. 

I don't think I could have driven on this bridge. Very narrow!

Old Bridge (right) New Bridge (left)

We ended our day by laying on the beach with a beer!

Monday we went to the Turtle Hospital. It is a great place to visit if you are in the area! 

We finished our day by laying on the beach again!

We had a great time! Just love visiting The Keys. I'll be back in just a few days to run the Key Largo Bridge Half Marathon.

Have you ever visited The Keys?

RaceJoy

I will be running with RaceJoy during the Space Coast Half Marathon!

What is RaceJoy?

Well, RaceJoy is a great app that you use while running in races. It tracks you on the course via your phone. And it only tracks you during the race. It's great for your friends and family to follow while you are running. The best part is they don't have to be at the race!

When I run the Space Coast 1/2 it will be my 6th time running with RaceJoy! I personally LOVE the app. It's great because my mom can track me while I run and try to get a great (or not so great) photo of me. Also my husband uses it to see how I'm doing while he's on the road.

I was one of the first testers at the To Write Love On Her Arms 5k back in April.

It is available on the iPhone and Android phones.

After you download and open the app this is what the iPhone app looks like. I took screen shots off of  my phone. Sorry I don't have a droid to show that app.

Choose the race you are running. I'll be running the Space Coast Half Marathon.

Choose the correct login. I chose Athlete Login for this post.

Once you have selected your name and claim your bib you get to this screen.

This is where all the fun stuff is!!

The "Event" button sends you to a screen that gives you ALL the info you need about the event, the course, schedule and lots more!

The "Track Me" button is how you track the runner. There is a $1.99 fee. It will give you exact location of your runner. Plus some bonus features. 

This is what it looks like when you tap on the "Track Me"

The "Social" button will allow the app to update Facebook on your wall. The app will not update on Twitter. They are working on it.

The "Cheer" button is where you can send your runner cheers!

 

The "Post Race" button has lots of great info. There is a Meet Up option which is included in the $1.99 fee. It also will have the results and next years race date!

And the last button is the "Results"! This of course is where you can see how well you did!

That's my take on the app. I hope this helps anyone wanting to use the app during a race or even as a spectator. 

Check out their Facebook page.

Follow them on Twitter.

Race Recap: Ghostly Gecko 5k

Saturday I ran the Ghostly Gecko 5k! It is race 3 of 7 in the Running Zone Foundation Race Series.

And just like last year I dressed up again this year. Except this year I got more creative. Last year I wore my cheerleading suit from high school. Yes it still fits, well it did last year not sure about this year I'm too scared to put it on again. Anyway this year I dressed up as Snow White. I want to be Snow White for the one of the Glass Slipper races in February so I figured if I'm going to make a costume why only wear it once. 

Thank goodness Carrie from Sparkle Athletic has a DIY on how to make the costume! My costume may not exactly look like hers, but I tried! 

I wished I could make the fancy collar, but I'm not that talented when it comes to the sewing machine so I went for the basic rectangle. 

While I was working on my costume I had an idea! I just needed to convince my mom to dress up as the Evil Queen. So she agreed and I made her costume too. Luckily it only required that I make a collar and cape. My mom goes to most of my races and takes my photo. We like to call her my official race photographer!! 

This race we were able to use RaceJoy app! Mom and I stopped by the booth and had our pictures taken.

I was determined this race to not have any pain. I used 8 1/2 strips of KT Tape just to make sure. 

This was not my best starting photo.

The first mile was great! No pain! I may have gone too fast the first mile, but it felt so good I was just flying. The last 2.1 were slower than the first, but that's ok. Someday I'll get my time back to sub 30:00 for a 5k.

My time was 30:24. Not bad since last week my time was 31:16. 

This screen shot is from the RaceJoy app.

Bread Machine Bagels

Here's my recipe for bagels. 

Because of my food intolerances it makes it very difficult for me to find store bought bagels. And my wonderful husband found a recipe online! 

Bread Machine Bagel

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

3 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 quarts boiling water

Directions:

Place water, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting.

When cycle is complete, let dough rest on a lightly floured surface. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil

Cut dough into 9 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your thumb. Twirl the dough on your finger or thumb to enlarge the hole, and to even out the dough around the hole. Cover bagels with a clean cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Carefully transfer bagels to boiling water. Boil for 1 minute, turning half way through. Drain briefly on clean towel. Arrange boiled bagels on baking sheet covered with cooking spray.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned.

After I take the dough out of the machine it gets weighed and divided up equally into 9 bagels.

Calories 166 Fat 0.5g Carbohydrates 35g Fiber 1g Protein 4g

Witch Way 5k

Saturday I ran the Witch Way 5k. It was the 2nd year that I ran this race. They have a personal record challenge. Since my hip was bothering me I decided that I was not going to even try to beat last years time. 

Of course I just had to run it because who doesn't want to run in a costume!

Even though I wasn't running for time I still finished in 31:15. 

My friend Joney and I before the race!

My Mom and I!

Maybe next year I can beat my personal record on this course!!

Stride Box

Back in May I received my first Stride Box in the mail. I was so excited when it arrived. Who doesn't love to get goodies in the mail!

First what is Stride Box? 
It's a monthly subscription box for runners that delivers an a assortment of running accessories, gear and nutritional products to your door each month.  It costs $15.00 per month.

I was sorta nervous the first time I opened the box. With my food intolerances, it limits what I can eat. Most processed foods have corn, corn by products, nuts or artificial sweeteners. 

The first month was full of surprises. I discovered a few products I could have and a few I couldn't. That's how it's been ever since. But I have discovered that this is a great way for me to find new products that I can have. Of course that's the entire point to the box and it's the best thing I've ever ordered!

So here is what I got this month!

Here's what it looks like!

They always include The Stride Guide which is great because it lists the prices.

And here's everything I got!

This is the "big prize." Well that's what I call it.

And of course every month there is a sticker!

As of right now I have not sampled any of the goodies from this month. But I'm excited to try them!!

Running Costume

I love getting dressed up for races. And this weekend I'm running in the 6th Annual Witch Way 5k in a costume. 

I have put some thought into what I was going to wear. Last year I wore my high school cheerleading outfit. This year I decided to make my costume. Running in polyester in Florida humidity isn't fun. 

I decided to dress up as Mike Wazowski. I met him at Disneyland earlier this year.

It was very easy to make. I had the shirt, visor and sparkle skirt, all I needed to do was cut the felt into the eye, mouth and horns. I am all about easy running costumes. 

The visor was easy. I printed the Monsters INC logo and used double sided tape to tape on to the visor. I really hope it stays on while running:) The horns are pieces of felt I safety pinned on.

The shirt I got at Target. The eye and mouth I cut out of felt and stitched them together. I used safety pins to attach to the shirt.

Here's the finished product! Can't wait to run in it Saturday! 

Do you run in costumes?

Training run

My view this morning before I started my run. I always walk out to the beach for my warm up. Since it was high tide I ran on the sidewalk a block off the beach.  

Today wasn't my fastest day, but I ran non-stop. Which was a first since I started running outside again. 

Like I said my time was slower than normal, BUT at least I did it!!

One last look at the beach before my cool down walk home. I love living two blocks from the beach!!

October Milage Goal

Since it's the 1st of October (really? where did the year go) I've decided to share my mileage goal for the month.

Run 75 miles!!

Do you have any run goals?