A few weeks ago, I asked David to wake up at the gorgeous hour of 4AM so I could do my long run on the beach. This weekend he was able to sleep in while I stepped out from Casa Marina Hotel for a run along Jacksonville Beach. The weather and my leg weren’t in the mood to cooperate unfortunately, so I didn’t get in a long run…but I ate their famous brunch just like I had. We’ll call it carbo-loading {to make me feel better} for the coming week as I know my IT band will heal quickly and I’ll be making up the miles.
The Casa Marina Sunday Brunch menu is so extensive that my food sensitivities weren’t even an issue! Why can’t someone make me a spread like this after every long run?! {look for my write up on Crave Local this week.}
Here is an Instagram type tour with us around Jacksonville Beach {thanks to my Sony NEX which allows me to send photos to my phone}, which we decided to call a belated birthday get away since I was traveling without D last week.
Casa Marina Hotel – Historic part of Jacksonville
RTTF making my mark..at least in the sand since I didn’t get to run it out.
David’s stellar burger with avocado and friend egg from Zeta…
I plead the fifth on who ate most of the fries.
The awesome WHOLE red snapper served as part of the Sunday brunch
buffet which draws in a huge crowd at the hotel every weekend.
I’d like to say I wasn’t pouting about my leg for a portion of the weekend, but the truth is that I was. It hurt to sit, walk, stand, etc and thus I was rather pre-occupied and didn’t even remember to pack a swimsuit! Luckily that man is amazing and he listened patiently then cracked jokes to help change my focus.
Checkout the purpose of Accountability Monday’s>>
Want to participate? Fill out this form and I’ll be featuring people each week (see Your Goals below)!
Goal check in: Write…A LOT was the goal and I feel good about this. I am learning how to optimize my time and for me that means writing a lot in advance and then editing later when I can clean up and refocus.
Goal for Week: Improve my travel writing and video skills. Continue learning more photography tips.
Next week goal is to resolve the cause of my leg pain.
Aug 19
AM: Complete rest
– I had ideas of doing things, but could tell a 100% rest day was needed. I was able to be extremely work productive getting all that time back!!
PM: Chiro and 30 min massage!!
Aug 20
AM: 10 miles with 30 sec @10K every 3 minutes + 20 min walk
PM: Core + 30 min stretch
Aug 21
AM: Easy 8.1 miles + 20 min walk
– woke up later than normal, so I didn’t finish the 10 miles I had planned, but tried to still really enjoy my outdoor sweatfest.
PM: 3.4 miles + 20 min walk + upper body + stretch
Aug 22
AM: 4 Min Ninja Ab Workout + 45 min bike + foam rolling
PM: 10 min elliptical + 25 min yoga
Aug 23
AM: 8 miles – 2 miles easy, 2 HMP, 2 MP, 2 easy + 20 min walk
PM: Hip hop abs + stretch
Aug 24
AM: Champion Event – Ab workout + yoga + 20 min walk + 15 min bike
PM: Drive to Jacksonville
Aug 25
AM: 2 mile run then rain, lightning, knee pain
Tried again later and did 4.25 miles miles + walk on the beach.
PM: Frustration was settling in big time. D wanted to go for a run so I decided to try again and got in another 6 miles. Everything felt tight, but no pain…fingers crossed Monday brings relief!!
This weeks featured GEAR is the watch I cannot live without my Garmin 910XT with heart rate monitor. I recently told you about my experience with the Polar RC3 Watch and it’s definitely a great cheaper option, but here is what I love about this watch:
- Vibration – I ADORE this feature. You can set it to vibrate on miles or when doing workouts. So much easier to run intervals with a vibration than trying to hear a beep.
- Battery life – HUGE battery life. Even during marathon training I can go weeks without charging which means not worrying about a charger when I travel.
- Customization – You have the ability to customize what data you want to see on each screen. This has been huge for me to track HR and pace with ease.
- Intervals – Super easy to set up intervals on this watch
- Buttons – I know the touch screen is cool, but when you are a sweaty mess it’s not always easy to get it to trigger so I like having buttons. Never once an issue getting a response.
- Multi-sport – Started doing more biking and swimming in Miami, so this was a great feature. I will get back to more of those post marathon.
UPDATED Feb 2014** It is an expensive watch, but so far I’ve found it to be worth it for the HUGE set of features provided. As my focus expands I am enjoying these as well:
- On the bike trainer I can track RPM’s to hit 90 and help build my running speed
- It makes swimming easier because I don’t have to remember laps
- Unfortunately after consistent daily use, I am now having issues with the HRM. Even using all the tricks I’ve found it spikes and drops on runs and is useless on bike rides
The one watch I still need to test out is the Garmin 610, which is the newest watch for runners and does have a touch screen. I am interested to see how that screen works in the Florida summer swamp like conditions!
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Gratitude Journal
Aug 26
I am grateful for learning the difference between feedback and criticism. It doesn’t always make it easy, but definitely changes the conversation.