Relax and Rebuild...spring break at the beach!

I just returned home from a most fabulous vacation to Florida for spring break with my friend DL.  An escape to sun, fun and the beach was much needed and this trip was one of the most relaxing/yet fun trips I've had in a very long  time.   It was the perfect combination workout, relax, shop and celebrate. The polar vortex of this winter turned my life upside down and inside out and left me  frozen without any control under a very large snow drift.  There was no reprive from the frozen-ess.  Just when it would warm up just a little and I'd start to thaw out,  another artic blast would blow in again.  After such a long extreme winter,  a trip out of here was so needed for a change of scenery, soak in some sun, build in a little more training and relax in the sun.

We loaded 3 tweens, 2 teenagers, 2 moms into a suburban with 2 bikes and a lot of luggage, left our neighborhood sub at 4 am and drove south practically without stopping to the ocean beaches of Florida. Did you know in a new suburban with a large tank and with bladders that will allow it you can drive 6.5 hours without stopping!

worth the drive!

We rented an adorable house on the beach sufficient to house all we hauled with us in the suburban.
My mission was to: 
1. relax, 2. clear my head 3. smile and have fun 4. workout 5. catch some sun 6. sweat 7. play on the beach 8. have more fun

We set  no alarms,  and I woke up and sat at the beach and saw dolphins with the  sun coming up,  or drank coffee on the porch.  I went for some great runs and its nice to see that  when you aren't trudging through snow, frozen wind and can shed a few base layers fitness is actually starting to come around and my easy run pace is actually starting to look decent again.  I did swim and bike some mainly for recovery and to enjoy being outside.

 Part of rebuilding strength and fitness is getting strong and following a plan and starting back at the basics. I floundered all winter randomly working out without direction, that got me through the polar vortex, but now I am now more focused again.   I started working out regularly with my long time personal trainer Mark Nilles who has been pushing me to a new level with some great strength workouts. He recently expanded his gym which only enables him to push us even  harder with more room and more toys.

Its been fun slamming some metal around

I have also started working with my friend Jen Harrison to get fast running and help direct me in my new adventure of marathon training with using bike racing and a few triathlons to cross train and keep me sane. So far, I have been more than thrilled in just the few weeks she has been coaching me. Now I need to get a few more races on the schedule! 

Even though I am focused again and loving being back to training and working hard, my goal  on this trip wasn't to  focus on training. I wanted a vacation to sit by the beach, play with the kids, celebrate spring and have fun and enjoy not having to get up at the crack of early and be on a mission to check off a lengthy to do list as I do regularly on most days. Balancing being a single mom, full time work, running a house, and trying to train some leaves me running crazy most days.  So,  sitting still on the beach was perfect!

beach souvenirs

moms on the beach

Betty bikini on the beach to recover!

Dinner out with this very interesting man

We returned home after another 14+ hours in the car in which I confess started liking country music (again).  It seems spring may actually have made its way to the midwest.  I have a slight tan, a smile on my face and am ready to face real life again.