Running by the stars... (house)

This Saturday was probably the most eventful training run I have had over the past few months. Liz, one of my running buddies, invited Chris, Julie and myself to run with her in Avila, which is one of Tampa Bay's premier private country club communities. I have always wanted to see inside of that community, so I jumped on the opportunity to go over there and run with the group.

It was probably the coldest run of the year for me, as the starting temps were about 40 degrees. We ended up running 16 miles in around 2:25 and the temps were probably 45 when we finished. It was cold and because the community had a lot of trees, it never really warmed up.

So basically, it was a very cold running tour of Avila...

I enjoyed every minute of it, as I got to see so many houses of some of the big names in Tampa. So how big were these houses? Massive!!! It is so funny, because in my neighborhood there is one house that looks like it doesn't belong here. It is a custom home and it seems so huge... maybe 4,000-5,000 square feet.... well that is probably the smallest house in Avila...whew!!!

There was one house that looked like a castle!! No joke... don't believe me???

I told ya....

Anyways, my body felt a bit on the stiff side today, so after church I ended up running 7.5 miles, which has made my muscles feel so much better.

This upcoming week, I will be running the Turkey Trot with my dad on Thanksgiving day. It will be a 10k race, and I'm going to race this thing all out. I am hoping to break 41 minutes, as my 10k pr is unofficial, but it was 41:52 when I did a time trial right before the Chicago Marathon. I think that should happen... but thinking and doing are two separate things, right?

Anyways, it will be nice to race again... and the really nice part is that I will get rewarded with tons of great food later that day!!!