Up in the Air

It is truly amazing what a person can accomplish in one day.

As I begin to type this post its nearly 2:00 pm EST and I am currently 30,000 feet in the air flying some where over the southeast. I am officially on my way to St. Louis, but just this morning I was running 18 miles around the Winter Park neighborhood and tonight I will be setting up out booth for work. Crazy, right?

Just before 6:00 am I met with a local Orlando Runner’s Club (ORC) runner who is training for Disney as well. She had sent an e-mail earlier this week pleading for a 20 miler partner. My sister had injured her self after last week’s half (Don’t worry she is fine, just needs to rest her legs) leaving myself partnerless as well. The stars aligned and I agreed to meet her for my 18 and her 20.

Before I headed out the door I made my traditional long run meal of an Arnold’s Thin with Almond Butter, Pear Butter, and Raisins.

When I met up with Lisa it was very dark and cold. Very, very cold. Brrrr…

We set out on our first 6 mile loop with ease. We held a steady sub 9:00 minute pace and got to know each other. There is no better way to learn a person’s life story than heading out on a long run with them. 😉

Mid-way through we both realized we had no clue where to turn next. Luckily, we passed a fellow runner’s house who just happened to have his lights on. We could see him through the windows and knew he would help us find the way. We stopped and he was happy to guide us back. I swear ORC runners are just awesome!

Back at the cars we re-fueled – I had some gatorade – and the two of us joined the large ORC group that meets at 7:00am for the usual 10 mile loop.

The plan was to do the 10 miles and then I would do an extra two after that. Turns out we lost the group and Lisa and I got lost again. We turned the 10 mile loop into a 12 mile. Ooops! My Garmin beeped 18 miles just as my car was in eye sight. Perfect!

Running with Lisa was awesome. We talked the entire way and were able to keep great pace. I finished the 18 miles just shy of 2:50:00! Wooppeee!

My run may have been relaxing, but after that my morning was rush, rush, rush.

I had exactly 1 hour from the time I walked in my apartment door to shower, prepare breakfast, eat, and finish packing. Oy vey!

Breakfast was quick, but delicious.

I had two eggs in a basket.

And an entire Mango with Plain Oikos and Granola.

Mangos are so cheap right now at Publix. Yum!

Thanks to my lovely time management skills I was able to leave my apartment at 10:30am on the dot. I reached Caitlin’s with time to spare and she happily drove me to the airport. God bless great friends who live close to the airport and don’t mind driving you there, no matter how many times you fly a year. 😉 Love you Caitlin!!! You’re the Best!

Luckily, the airport was pretty uneventful but my early morning was catching up with me. I stopped at Starbucks a caffeine jolt in the form of a Joy Tea Non-Fat Misto.

I saw the holiday Joy tea on display and had to try it. I was hoping for a peppermint tea, but instead found myself drinking more of a ginger tea. It was very tasty and woke me up.

Once on the plane I dug into my prepared lunch of Cold Roasted Veggies from last night’s dinner.

I love eating cold veggies, but I immediately regretted the decision when I opened the tupperware and the scent of the veggies filled the air. I hope my neighbors weren’t too upset with my smelly, tasty meal. 😉

For dessert I had a discarded Gingerbread Man that Caitlin claimed was not pretty enough to ice.

Pretty or not, he still tasted good to me. 😉

My 18 mile run is finally catching up to me. My legs are not enjoying sitting still and are causing me alot of discomfort and pain. Hopping on a plane immediately following a long run probably wasn’t the smartest decision I’ve ever made, but I didn’t have a choice. 🙁

I am now an hour into the flight and already can’t wait to land. When I hit publish on this you will know I made it to St. Louis safely. Until then, I better catch up on some trash mag reading.

See ya tonight!

EDITED TO ADD:

As soon as we landed in St. Louis it was non-stop working.

We set up our booth for the tradeshow.

I snacked on an Pear.

And we had dinner.

Wine was needed at this point

(x2)

Salad

St. Louis Style Pizza with Mushrooms and Onions

Sooo good. The crust was thin as air. After eating what felt like nothing all day, I helped myself to multiple servings.

Now, I am ready for bed. It is going to be an exhausting next couple of days.

Wish me luck!