Weekend Wrap
It was a great weekend! Lots of running like usual but we also got to visit with my parents and some friends.
Saturday morning started with Jacquelyn and Joaquin's cross country team hosting the Bay Area Middle School Cross Country Championship race locally. It was nice to be able to drive to the meet in less than 15 minutes. Unfortunately as I left the house, it started sprinkling and was raining pretty steady by the time I got to the park. The team did amazing in those wet grass conditions and we saw lots of PRs. The rain cooled things off quite a bit and in Florida we'll take any touch of cooler weather. Jacquelyn won the race. This was huge for her because she has come in second for the past two weeks. So proud of her for how hard she has worked at this and taking it serious. I was recently explaining to another parent about the discipline in running. She doesn't just go out for a run and runs whatever. She has a training plan like most of us and Tuesdays are her speed days. On Tuesdays when she comes home from school, she knows that she has to immediately eat dinner and be ready for a tough workout. She does lots of foam rolling and core work. It's the little things like always remembering to take water to school to make sure that she stays hydrated. She has quickly learned that the hard work on Tuesday nights will pay off in the race on Saturday so she really tries to give it her best effort. Saturday was a PR for this season. She ran 11:08 for a 3K, which is 5:58 overall pace.
Saturday evening was a lot of fun. We don't get to chill often as a family on a Saturday night since Carlos works two Saturdays a month. We got to visit with some friends from Javi's former soccer team. I have really missed not having them on the side lines with us but with there was a big shake up of soccer teams with the age groups changing from school year to birth year calendars. We moved Javi back to Tampa Bay United this season. Since there was a crowd of us, I figured it was a good night to make homemade pizzas. We do this a lot on the weekends. I buy the dough at Publix and often they already have it rolled out, making it even easier. Sometimes it is in a bag and I have to roll it out myself. I used to hate rolling it but I've gotten pretty good at it and can get it round. I sautéed onions and peppers Friday night so those toppings were ready to go. I usually use the leftovers from my fridge that week like an extra piece of grilled chicken or I just go through the veggie drawers. I bought the mozzarella at Sams and got a 5 pound bag for $12 versus the 2 pound bag at Publix for $9. We made two cheese pizzas and one pepperoni because of so many kiddos. I dabbed the crust with olive oil and sprinkled some herbs on the crust to give it flavor. The other two pizzas were more geared towards the adults. Carlos topped one with alfredo sauce, onions, peppers, spinach, and brie. I made the other one a margherita pizza with fresh tomato, spinach and sliced mozzarella. It was all super yummy!
I didn't get a chance to run or workout on Saturday with the early morning cross country meet followed by a soccer game in Brandon. I am trying a different training schedule and had a 6 mile tempo planned for Sunday. It wasn't as fast as I would have liked it but I'm still happy with my times. My splits were 6:45, 6:47, 6:52, 6:50, 6:50, and 6:45. I just didn't seem to have my game on from the get go. Saturday was a little late for me and pizza was not ideal before the tempo. I really felt like I needed a shake out since I hadn't run since Thursday except for the hill intervals on the treadmill at the gym on Friday. Regardless I'll take those paces at 75 degrees in Florida at 6 AM. When I finished, my mother dropped Jacquelyn off at the trail. I had brought my bike with me to the trail and rode next to her while she completed her 6 mile long run. It was nice to keep moving the legs after the tempo but I forgot a protein shake and wasn't feeling the best afterwards.
On Sunday afternoon we visited Harvestmoon Farm in Brooksville. It was just too hot for us for a farm day. After about an hour my nine year old melted and just wanted water and to go home. What happened to the jeans and flannel shirts? We were in tank tops and dry fit! It didn't compare to the pumpkin patches in Alabama. We really miss Tate Farms and cool weather. There wasn't even a trailer ride to go pick your pumpkin. I told the kids I'd buy a pumpkin at Sams. Juan Carlos did ride the cow train and the little boys enjoyed the jumping pillow and petting zoo. We all wandered through the corn maze while the little boys used up some of their energy. Cute little family outing but probably won't go back next year!
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and is off to a fantastic Monday!
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