About last night (and this morning)....

It's been such a busy weekend for me. Not "hectic" busy, just "up & down traveling" busy. On Saturday I drove to Estero, FL with my mom, sister & daughter to visit my aunt. I wasn't aware that there was a place called Estero, FL until we started planning the (very last minute) trip. We had such a great time! Well... minus a small incident (it's a long story.... involving a speeding ticket... I don't want to talk about it). The beaches there are beautiful (perfect for running) so Mommy, Jule, Kai and I took an "at the beach but not really 'at the beach'" selfie...

Then we drove back and got ready for more birthday celebrations for my sister-in-law Gail, which involved dinner at Asia Bay in Ft. Lauderdale. After the drive to and from Estero, driving to Las Olas felt painstakingly far (it really isn't that far and it's mostly highway driving), but I would drive to Estero and back TWICE just to eat the food from Asia Bay again...

(fried rice with shrimp, lobster, cashews & pineapple chunks...served in a pineapple "bowl")

After a late night, I certainly wasn't in the mood to run this morning. Normally I am up and out the door without hesitation on my running days, but the past 2 weeks have been a challenge. Hearing about multiple recent stories of loss have been hard. And that, combined with less than ideal sleep durations, have left me feeling (emotionally & physically) exhausted. So this morning, when the alarm went off at 5am, I only got up because I had to, not because I really wanted to.

At the beach I was greeted by this...

...the simplistic beauty of nature which never ceases to amaze me...

...or take my breath away.

My taper long run breakdown...

I have (in general) a pretty consistent pace all throughout. 

My 2-part tip on "how to maintain your pace throughout your long run"...

1. Find a song you love and put it on repeat

2. Then match your cadence to its beat 

(See what I did there? with the rhyme? It will help you remember what to do... You're welcome.)

Today's song of choice...

Post run pics...

Next week is the first official race week of my 2015 race season!!! I'm really excited about the Miami Half Marathon and all the festivities that come with my race weekend. It's going to be an awesome event!!!

How was your training this week? 

Have you ever eaten at Asia Bay? What's your favorite dish?

For those of you running in the Miami Full/Half marathon next weekend.... are you ready to be #MiamiFamous????