The madness continues on......

This month has been an absolute FREAKING blast, from the Colorado Rockies to the beaches and parties in Key West, I've been on the move.  I'm astonished that I'm lucky enough to meet such amazing, genuine people.  In the big picture, this past year has been a re-birth.  While reflecting on life (as we all do this time of year) I can't say I would have done it any different.  I might have saved a few extra pennies here and there but I always say "we have our whole lives to earn more money". Anyway the past 2 weeks consist of the following:

The week before Christmas went along as most weeks do.  Training, work and eating.  Luckily, during this seemingly normal week I found a new favorite drink and a favorite quick meal and it's not pizza.  I would say I'm addicted to Culture Club's Ginger Kombucha.  The fact is, most people will never like it and probably think it's gross.  If you're not sure what it is CLICK HERE.  All I will say is, give it a shot...you might have a better bathroom experience :) The new snack is delicious red cabbage, broccoli, red quinoa, red onion, diced sweet potato, spinach and kale topped with avocado.  I'll always thrown in some roasted garlic, homemade salsa or generic italian spices too.  Satuee everything but avocado until it's to your desired tenderness, add quinoa and avocado....eat up and refuel.  Finally...it's been getting very cold down here (37 during the sunday AM run).  The vivid colors and placid lake made for a nice picture before the run started.  Still knocked out 13 miles though, no big deal.  By the way, just because I'm from MI, doesn't mean I like the cold!!!

After my friend Jessica slaved over my "ugly sweater" for hours, my Sarasota family proceeded to forget that we had agreed to even have such an event.  That'll be why I'm the only person wearing an ugly sweater...and everyone else is pretty freaking dressed up.  No big deal though, the ladies were all about the teddy bear and dirty mustache (after a few drinks).  The next day it was time to get ready to head to Key West, where the new Christmas experience would begin.  Picked up my Mom and Gerry from Miami International Airport. Of course this was after I got my dose of hair gel and cuban food.  

Key West For Christmas: I have to start by saying, I definitely miss the old days where my whole family would get together and celebrate.  I ALSO have to say I think my family has evolved into crazy people who could possibly kill each other if left alone in a room for more than 5 minutes. Surprisingly, there were more families wandering about in the evening, leaving the streets bare, except for the late night karaoke singers and the prostitute dressed as Mrs. Clause. As it was my Mothers first trip down, my friend Katie and her family (KW locals) gave us the grand tour and welcomed us to their home with open arms....and scooters!!!  Essentially, we all ate a butt load, stayed up way past my bedtime (9pm) and spend a ridiculous amount of money in the name of FUN! This takes me back to the beginning of this blog!  Without meeting amazing people like Katie, my level of fun and experiences wouldn't nearly be as memorable.  I mean she literally flew me over Key West and landed me on the ground safely...how freaking cool is that? Finally...my dear friend got married and reminded me that I need to get my act together if I ever plan to have a sweet family to support my triathlon endeavors!

I'll be in Key West again this weekend, but will be in much pain.  Ragnar Relay, a 199 mile relay with 6 of my crazy fast running pals is set to commence this Friday.  I'll be meeting more amazing people along the way and having fun with Jessica Crate, Jessica Glover from Jet City Espresso and many other Tampa road runners...Until then!!!

---