Just Didn’t Tri

Saturday was a lazy day in preparation for today’s triathlon. I spent the morning with a bag of kettle corn browsing the Winter Park farmer’s market and people watching on a bench on Park Ave.

In the afternoon I attended a three hour heart opening workshop at Guruv Yoga. It was a mixture of practice, learning, trying and laughing. I was able to get into many poses that I never thought possible (thanks to their direction and encouragement). What I took from that workshop will definitely encourage me in all future practices.

After yoga my mom, brother Harrison and sister Kendall came to visit me! All my family lives over two hours away and this was the first time they came to se where I love. It was great! First stop was Dechoes where my mom and I sorted through some crazy things to find a few gems.

I have two favorite vegan restaurants in Orlando: Infusion Tea and Ethos Vegan Kitchen. They had already tried Infusion Tea, so yesterday it was time for Ethos- the greasiest, yummiest vegan food around!

This was my family’s first time at an all-vegan restaurant like this, so it was really fun ordering our food. I made sure Mom got my favorite, the “What’s the Dilly, Philly?” and the kids ordered pizza with sausage, pepperoni and tomatoes as their toppings. We also got a salad to share around the table.

Everything was incredible! The family couldn’t believe there were no animal products in any of the dishes. The pizza was creamy, crust was perfect and sausage so flavorful. I had most of my sandwich… plus some salad and pizza :)

I love eating at regular restaurants as a vegan, but sometimes it is fun to show others all the possibilities within a vegan diet. I’m glad they loved everything so much :)

Of course I had to fit in some restaurant yoga! My mom said I need to stop posting photos of my butt in the air so I did a simple standing pose. ;)

And crow! Can’t resist.

Dinner got even more interesting when Kendall lost a tooth! I hope the tooth fairy was good to you, Kendall!

It was an awesome evening with my family :) After dinner I grabbed some Jeremiah’s with a new friend. Jeremiah himself was actually there serving the guests. It felt like I was meeting a celebrity! He tried to open me up to new flavors but I stuck with my favorite: a small mango/coconut.

Just Didn’t Tri

This morning I was registered to compete in the Moss Park Olympic Triathlon. I always dream about oversleeping and missing a race, and this morning (even with two alarms) the nightmare came true. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. when the race started at 7:00 a.m. and is 45 minutes away.

I’ve been preparing for this and visualizing myself competing (and doing very well) for about two months now. I studied the course and who else was competing. I ate a ton for extra energy. All my bags and bike were packed. Heck- I even paid $90 for it!

I can’t explain how disappointed I felt when waking up and realizing what had happened. I cursed (and I never curse). Then I moped and went through every emotion out there. Then I realized that even in the toughest moments happiness is a choice. Moping will do nothing for the tri situation except make it worse.

I am going to use this experience as the one time I oversleep and miss a race. Honestly, I’m glad it was a shorter-distance tri and not an Ironman or marathon!

Today I plan on completing all three legs on my own. The day goes on!

Have you ever overslept and missed a race? Do you have any trouble sleeping before a race?

Lazy Sunday

Sunday is church, farmers' markets, brunch and afternoon naps. Sunday is enjoying life in the slow lane. Sunday is by far my favorite day of the week.

This Sunday began with a 13.1 mile run around downtown Orlando. It was a strong run and I even felt myself dealing with the 90* Florida heat better toward the end! Dixie completed the last 1.25 miles with me. My puppy is becoming a stronger runner, too!

After I cleaned up from my run I iced, showered and headed out to brunch with Jon. Breakfast foods have always been my favorite, but most restaurants don't make vegan breakfast foods (even though it is so easy).
Lucky for me, Ethos Vegan Kitchen is known all around town for their 100% vegan Sunday brunch. Complete with mimosas, tofu scramble and fluffy pancakes with real maple syrup, this is the place to be!
I was really hungry so I ordered three plates. Just kidding! Jon dove in head first and ordered half of the menu. Luckily he enjoyed it all. :)
I actually did quite the opposite and didn't order enough! I ordered the short stack with 2 pancakes, but from now on I'm going for 4! Still, these are the best pancakes- topped with Earth Balance and real maple syrup!
Another reason Ethos is great is because it is close to the Lake Eola Sunday Market!
Lake Eola is a gorgeous lake in the middle of downtown Orlando. Every Sunday vendors come together for a cozy market. It's not my favorite when compared to the Winter Park Farmers' Market, but it's still good!

I stocked up on local honey and produce for the week.
After the market I took a lovely afternoon nap. Then it was snack time before I headed to the pool! Swimming after a hot long run seems to be working for me :) I did a moderate 1000 m.
Now I am eating the house and getting things together for the week. I might watch a movie and take Dixie for a walk to finish off a wonderful Sunday.

What is your favorite day of the week?

Hakuna Matata

I love my life.

This morning I ran 19 glorious, hot miles in preparation for Grandma's Marathon in two weeks. I set out for 20, but I ended up close to home a mile early so I just called it a day. I started later in the morning than planned and the heat was intense. It was about 90* outside which leads to dehydration and headaches for me. Thanks to walking and a random cold water fountain I completed the 19 mile trek around town.

After a quick icing session and shower I inhaled an entire cantaloupe on my way to the Winter Park Saturday Farmers' Market. This farmers' market is my favorite (I've been here several times before) but now it's even more exciting because my new house is just a few miles away!
I met y friend Janna and her mom to peruse the goods, stock up on produce and find some flowers for my house!

The trip was quite the success :)

I immediately bought an organic blueberry iced tea to try to cool off!




I have two empty flower boxes in front of my new house so I wanted to find some flowers to fill them! I like what I ended up with:
Now I've just got to google how to plant them :)

We ran into many friends on our trip- including sweet Lucy, a friend's doggie!

I stocked up with a few bags of local produce... including several large tomatoes! And of course I got a huge (unpictured) bag of kettle corn that just might not make it to the end of the day :)


The best part was by far the very end. I went to buy a raspberry iced tea right before the market closed but the vendor had just sold out. He saw my disappointment and offered to make me a special treat! He pureed a cup of fresh raspberries and mixed the juice with freshly-brewed iced tea. It was heavenly!!!

Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day off. I actually don't feel like I worked out at all, so I may honor my itch and do some yoga and go for a swim. It's a beautiful Saturday!

Do you practice hakuna matata in your life?

Madison Downtown Farmers’ Market

Last week I was lucky enough to stroll the Madison, WI downtown farmers’ market with Heather. The photos are fantastic, so I’m going to let them speak for themselves :)