Whew!
It’s Sunday night and I’m just catching my breath from a fun (and fitness) filled weekend!
On Saturday morning, I had the opportunity to attend the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Downtown Orlando! A member of my staff at work is currently battling Double-Negative Metastic Breast Cancer, a very rare and aggressive form of the cancer, and so we organized a team to walk in her honor. It was a beautiful event, with nearly 15 direct colleagues in attendance and over 30 volunteers from our student body helping to keep the event running smoothly.
Full Sail University, my alma mater, sponsored a tent at the event! They let us crash and stay cool in their shade before and after the race.
There were so many incredible sponsors at the event and more adorable pink accessories than I could wrap my little head around.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
The beautiful Marilyn Usher (left), the strong, FABULOUS woman our team walked in support of at the event!
With a crowd of over 50,000 attendees, it was a very crowded race, yet a few of my friends and I decided to break from the pack and attempt to run the full 5k. Other than a few traffic jams that forced us to slow our gait, we managed to run pretty much the entire 5k!
We were a bit sweaty, but quite happy to make it to the finish line!
If that wasn’t enough, my husband and I decided to hit the gym that afternoon and I tore up the elliptical trainer, mainly in an effort to loosen up my tight muscles. We had done an intense leg workout two days prior and I was still so sore, I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the day.
But wait! I’m not done!
Yes, despite the run in the morning and the mid-day workout, I wasn’t ready to call it a day and take a nap just yet.
That evening, I participated in The Neon Run, a glow-in-the-dark 5k hosted at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. I won’t go into too many details about the organization of the event (they ran out of glow sticks, for Pete’s sake!), but I can say that I loved running at night and to the hypnotic beat of EDM!
Before the race. I’ve got my highlighter yellow shirt and glasses on and I’m READY to party!
I will admit that running in the DARK on a grass track is a bit of a challenge, as you can’t really see holes until you step in one, which made for a very paranoid run. Every 1/4 mile or so, we entered a “glow tent,” which basically consisted of us being DOUSED in glow-in-the-dark paint (hopefully nontoxic) and then running through a makeshift tent filled with strobing black lights.
Look at me! I’m phosphorescent!
All in all, it was a very athletic day and I feel good knowing that I didn’t fall into my normal weekend trap of eating badly, drinking heavily (calories, not binge-drinking), and vegetating in front of the TV.
And, even more exciting, several of my friends that attended the morning event now want to attend future races and charity events with me! Since we’re finally in “running season” in the south, there’s a new 5k, 10k, or half-marathon practically every weekend! So this could turn out to be the fittest autumn I’ve ever had!
On that note, it’s time to get some grub in my belly! After Saturday, I definitely think I earned it. Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
The Memoirs of a Yo-Yo Dieter 