No Time to Waste

Thursday night's run was a total blast! I was nervous that the heat and humidity was going to affect my participation -- but I ran my fastest 5k time ever. Flat roads and the compulsion to prove myself helped aid in the score!

*** I have gotten several questions about what run club and Running for Brews really is! Well, we meet at a bar, down here on Thursday night it is Yard of Ale on Howard. Then we run 5k around the neighborhood, ending back at the bar. Drinks, socializing and PRIZES follow. It is an awesome time and way less about the running and way more about the people in the group. I found my people in Portland through the NoPo Run Club and hope to do the same with Running for Brews in Tampa. *** 

The group was huge, but very inviting and welcoming. As soon as we got back to Yard of Ale  I found some people to chat with. This was most of my conversation all night: "You don't have an apartment yet, you've been here for 48 hours and you are already at run club?!" 

Ummm.... YES!!! 

NoPo you treated me so well, I knew there was so reason to waste any time in Tampa. Waste not, want not, right? I spent three solid months being lonely and sad in Portland, not knowing how to find or make friends. I am not willing to have that experience in Tampa. I have to live here for two years -- so even if I leave two years from now deciding that I hate the city, I will be darned if I say I was miserable or lonely. Watch out Running for Brews - I will make you you will be my friends!! 

A community sponsor at the event meant craft soap for all, which was a delight later that night at the hostel! Everyone was also talking about the river floating trip that was going to be held Saturday. A fellow runner looked at me, and very seriously said:

"Do yourself a favor and be there." 

Best advice ever. 

Thursday night I could barely sleep I was so excited. Friday meant a morning WOD at CrossFit Jaguar, then meeting and moving into my apartment with Jessie, then I was going to float the Rainbow River Saturday. But I'll get to that later. 

Friday morning's WOD was a lot of fun. I definitely like working out in the morning a lot better than the evening. We did a quick warm-up, then practiced seated box jumps and then onto the WOD:

21 deadlifts

27 double unders

15 deadlifts 

45 double unders 

9 deadlifts 

63 double unders 

The prescribed weight was 155 -- but that is about my max and after a week in the car and a week in Ft. Lauderdale there was no way my hamstrings were going to be up for that. So I knocked it back to 105 so I could attack the entire thing unbroken. 

And get this -- my double unders were friggin amazing! I was knocking out sets of 20! Previously my max set in a row was 15, and I could never do that during a WOD before. There's some magic down here or something... 

Getting the guns warmed up for our move into an apartment on the 3rd floor! Feels like I got two WOD's in! 

Anywho, after that I had to rush up to our apartment in Tampa Palms. Jessie is great and I can tell we are going to have a great year -- we already get along really well. My move in was a bit speedier than hers, I really didn't bring anything. But it was fun to get to meet her family and start to see our apartment unfold. 

NO PICTURES -- IT WAS AND IS A MESS AND YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT. 

In the meantime you can look at how cute Jessie and I are post-move in enjoying our first beer as roomies. 

Plus I know what you really want to know about is the rafting adventure extraordinaire that I went on. So I am going to tell you all about it!  

Floating for Brews!

Rainbow River is about an hour and a half north of my apartment and it was imperative that we all be at the Wal-Mart parking lot promptly at 8:30. So I got up at 6 and left by 6:30, but obviously we were not all on time and ended up in the parking lot for almost an hour. It was almost 10 by the time we were with our floaties on the river. Obviously mine was one of the last to get blown up so I waited to do it at the river. Obviously I started to blow it up at the exact same time a lightening storm came through. 

There I am pumping my floatie when it starts to rain. When I look up everyone has disappeared. Assuming they are all being babies and hiding from the rain (which is even stupider because we are about to get into a river) I keep on filling my float. Thats when the lightening started. Suddenly I realized I was standing under a tree, holding a metal pump and next to me was the metal box for the pumping device. 

I have never run so fast. 

I hightailed it back to where the group was hiding (from the rain, not the lightning). I informed them that I was over Florida and that maybe this adventure was not for me. Obviously they laughed. I informed them that I was already conquering my completely rationale fear of alligators to accompany them on the trip. The leader started to say there were no alligators when I lost it:

"THERE ARE ONE-TO-TWO ALLIGATORS LIVING IN THE RAINBOW RIVER. The main guy who works here has been working since 1977 and hasn't ever heard of one attacking, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT couldn't HAPPEN!!!"

More laughter ensued and I felt a lot better once the lightning passed. I got into the float and tied onto the group assuming one of us wasn't going to make it home. I was wrong.

We all had a good time and I am glad I stuck it out. There were zero alligator sitings, but people were joking about the one-to-two alligators for the next several hours.

We were starving after the float and all met up at a local restaurant called Swampy's. I don't know if the food was good or if I was just starving, but the meal was so satisfying I almost laid my head on the table and just spent the night there. The hour and a half drive back to Tampa was killer. I didn't get home until after 8pm! And to think, I thought I could float and go to a beer fest that night in St. Pete's.

At Swampy's -- glad to be alive!

Here is the link to a cool video one of the guys made about our rafting adventure: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=272774286168880
That's probably about all our intermittent internet will let me upload tonight! I already was on the phone for 40 minutes this morning with them... guess I'll be making a repeat call tomorrow!