Florida...

It's taking me awhile to recoup from being away and am scrambling to play catch up. I was ahead of school when I left for Florida but the funny thing is, you don't stay ahead when you don't get anything done for a bit. I came home and quickly had to get back into homework mode. The trip was awesome! Corey and I had a blast and have decided we could definitely live in Jacksonville if the need ever came up. We got in Sat. evening and made a friend on our flight who was running in the half marathon, so she rode with us to the expo to pick up our packet. She also happens to be very involved in all the breast cancer events and is putting a team together for the 3 day walk, which I've been very interested in. Anyone else want in? The marathon was at 8:30am on Sunday but they warned that the parking would be near impossible and recommended the shuttle system that they offered. So, I got up at 5am (3am, Arizona time!) got ready and had Corey drop me off at the shuttle pick up (and Starbucks didn't open until 6:30am, so no early morning treat!) The run was beautiful and I got to see Corey about 8 times! I got this little jump of excitement the first time I spotted him on the beach cheering me on and it really helped those four miles where the "hard packed sand" was loosened a little by a couple hundred runners! It was hot and humid and I can't say I actually enjoyed much of the run and had some painful moments but finished in a little over 4 hours and one minute (the GPS I was using said I ran 27.3 miles so I kinda stopped checking my time and didn't really know how my run was pacing.). If I'd known I was that close to breaking four hours, maybe I'd have picked it up a little somewhere! Or maybe not! I was tired, sunburned and had welts in my armpit from my ipod armband (which is now a pretty scar!) but so glad I ran it. The whole town came out and showed their support and there was so much pink! It was really inspiring how important this run was to so many people. I was very glad to see lots of "survivors!" After the run, Corey and I took a long nap that didn't have to end when kids are done sleeping (thank you so much Bob and Babb family for taking care of our ladies! You are too wonderful to us)! We spent every day at the beach after the run and just loved driving around the city without worrying about answering obscure questions from our kiddos. Tom got some certificates for 2 nights at the Marriott from work and was so nice to give them to us so we have the Babbs to thank for our first two nights! That really was so thoughtful of them! When we got home, the girls barely missed us and were quickly asking when they could hang out with their cousins again. Really, we had such a good time. I recovered fairly quickly and am now gearing up for the Ragnar relay this weekend. The run starts this Friday at 1pm, but I don't start my first leg until around 11pm or even later, depending on the prior 10 people. I think it's going to fun... I hope! Thanks so much for every one's support and well-wishing for this marathon!