I had the beautiful mix of family, exercise, and eating healthy this weekend as my brother, Brian, and sister in-law, LInda, visited via Erie, PA. My sister, Jamie, is local along with her two kids, Justin and Grace, so it made for a great time together. It’s not always easy to fit training in while on vacation and certainly I sacrifice that when appropriate. Family first! Here I’ll share how I ate healthy and worked in fitness on a jammed packed Easter weekend.
Friday’s plan was to meet mid-morning to go to the Treasure Island Friday Market followed by lunch at a new vegan restaurant my niece found, The World Vegan Cuisine, in St. Petersburg. I was able to get a run-bike-run workout in prior and with it being an easy workout my plan was to fast until lunch. I packed drinks and a couple Lara Bars in case I needed it at some point in the day. I also picked up some bananas at the market earlier. We made another stop before lunch so by the time we ate I was starving but it was a good thing as I’m dropping weight and the fast went a bit longer.
Lunch was great and we took in the Imagine Museum – glass making. It was interesting how the process worked. We walked a fair bit and knew Saturday was going to be a big day so we packed it in early Friday night.
We again were meeting mid-morning and I had to coach at 7 AM so that meant I had to do my long run starting at 4:45 AM. I had a great run and time coaching with team, showered, and then headed to St. Pete where I met the family at the Saturday Morning Market at Al Lang Stadium. There I had a black eyed pea with island spices sandwich from a vendor that was awesome!
We then took the Cross Bay Ferry from St. Pete to Tampa where I did carry with me a Lara Bar and a drink to get me through any spots of hunger. In Tampa we ate at the Columbia in the Tampa Bay History Museum. I had black bean soup over rice…hit the spot.
On the ferry ride back at some point my brother and sister ended up with me…just the three of us. We talked a lot about our childhood. Good stories and challenging ones that make us who we are now. It’s interesting how those life experiences impact us still. This was a pretty deep conversation with them that just organically happened.
Sunday morning as I was running early before meeting again, it hit me reflecting back to our talk. I stopped in my tracks and texted them. I shared I would never forget the talk on the ferry and it was one of the most memorable moments I’ve had with them.
I’ve never felt closer to them. We are a small family but wow, we are tied together in a great way and strong. We make each other better.
Sunday morning I got up early, completed a duathlon simulation with a few extra bike miles added in. Around midday the family traveled to Beverly Hills, FL to visit where our parents are buried and paid tribute. On the way back we took to a trail to the Dames and Peace Caves. It was a peaceful day with the gang and we all got some good exercise in on the trail.
Monday morning came around quick and I was back at a short run and ride before meeting the family for lunch on North Redington Beach at the Sweet Sage Cafe where I had a portobello sandwich and sweet potato fries.
It was a great weekend spending time with the family in every way. I was able to train, eat healthy, laugh, and share life long moments. I learned more about myself and I’m thankful I have them in my life to explore more. Although I have a lot of flaws, I strive to get better. Learn, try, tweak, get better, fail, learn, reflect, try, tweak, get better, fail, learn, reflect, try, tweak, get better... and that’s all I can do and that is empowering. Try to get better each day…
Embrace the time we have with our loved ones…
– Add Health to Your LIfe
The Healthy Giraffe 
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