Taper Time/Busy Weekend!

With less than two weeks to go to Space Coast (AH!), things are starting to slow down.  I'm starting to get really excited/nervous/anxious for the race to get here.  This week I started my taper.  My goal is to do mainly easy runs and keep my legs fresh, but not tired.  I've been thinking about my last marathon recently and been trying to remember how I prepared, packed, etc...  But, that was five years ago.  And honestly, I thought I had it ALLL figured out.

I had a finishing time of 4:55 at my last marathon (Gasparilla 2006) .  Everyone keeps asking me what my goal is, and really I  have two.   1, FINISH!  Get that medal, beach towel, and shirt and go on with my bad self.  2, I would really like a time somewhere between 4:30 and 4:45.  In fact, I would be tickled pink if I was able to pull number two off.

This past weekend was a busy one.  I was fortunate enough to have Friday off (Thank you to all our veterans!), and able to get a lot of stuff around the house done.  Ben and I lounged around Friday night in order to get ready for the Busch Gardens 5K on Saturday morning.  This particular 5K is one of my favorites.  There are no clocks or chips and you have to know someone that works at Busch Gardens/Sea World in order to enter.  It's really cool to be able to run though the park when there is no one there.  Here is a picture of some of our group from this year:

Congratulations to Cami (red shirt) for winning overall female and Roberto (black shirt) for winning 3rd overall male. After the race (and breakfast) was over, I had to go to a one-year-old's birthday party.  And then Ben and I had a formal dinner at the Hyatt downtown.  (Crazy, busy!)  Here's a photo of me and my honey all dressed up:

Sunday morning I met up with Jamie at the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, which is right around the corner from our townhouse.  I haven't really run on the trail in a while, but it is 3.1 miles from home so I normally run there, get some water, and run back.  But, I almost forgot how beautiful it was.  Not to mention, it was very nice mix up the scenery.  Jamie and I don't get to hang as much as I'd like to, so it made the miles go by super quick because we were chatting and catching up the whole time.  Here are the splits from our run:

Laps 10

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 1:23:06.1 9.01 9:13.5 1 9:20.7 1.00 9:20.7 2 9:16.3 1.00 9:16.3 3 9:03.6 1.00 9:03.6 4 8:57.5 1.00 8:57.5 5 9:13.2 1.00 9:13.2 6 9:13.8 1.00 9:13.8 7 9:18.6 1.00 9:18.6 8 9:20.6 1.00 9:20.6 9 9:18.0 1.00 9:18.0 10 :3.3 0.01 8:12.4

It was a little faster than I normally go, but it felt good!  It was amazing to catch up and get the long(er) run in so early in the morning.

The afternoon was a little more somber for Ben and myself.  Ben's uncle David passed away away on Sunday, October 30th at the young age of 49.  Here is a photo of Uncle David along with Ben's mom, Patricia (left), and grandmother, Kathleen (middle):

Uncle David always welcomed me in to the Raposa/Rosier family with open arms.  When Ben and I got engaged, David told me to start calling him Uncle David right away.  He always had a smile on his face, even though he was sometimes in severe pain.  And he always remembered every occasion with a card.  Whether it was our engagement, a birthday, or just to say hello.  He was a kind and generous man who will be sorely missed.  The ceremony was beautiful and touching.  There were clearly many people in the community who felt the same away about David, because the room was filled to the brim.

In a way it was a reminder that life isn't always fair, but you have to deal with the hand you are dealt to the best of your abilities.  Hope you all have a great week, and you utilize all your cards!  Love y'all :)