Photos

RUNNING IN GEORGIA (near Augusta)

(to see RUNNING IN ST PETE, scroll down)

My husband and I spent a long weekend in Georgia with my sister and her husband (blog date 10-30-11). With a half marathon coming up, I needed to do a 10-mile run to keep on track with my training. Lucky for me, they had the perfect neighborhood and the perfect day for it.

Getting started from Larisa's house.

I appear to running so fast! I failed to turn on the action shot feature at this point. Not going fast at all.

The action shot feature is on now. The neighborhood where my sis and her hub live is absolutely beautiful.

I'm hanging in there with my nice 'n slow pace.

This is the country club, which costs mega bucks to join, my sister has learned. They don't golf anyway.

A nice shot off the golf course.

I loved seeing the fog.

The red leaves made me so happy. I told my husband, "We came to Fall!" He got a real kick out of that.

Another picturesque shot that I didn't really do justice. It's cool manicured garden with a lake in the background misted in fog.

There were inclines throughout my run. I needed some hill training, no matter how slight.

I don't know what this plant is but I thought is was so cool. Looks like garlic, but I don't think that's what it is.

I stepped off the main road to get this shot, which I love.

It's so rare that I'm genuinely happy during a run, but I truly was excited to be out in the cool weather admiring the beautiful scenery. The podcasts always help, too.

I thought this house had an amazing exterior. My sister and her husband rent their house in this neighborhood, and my sister laughs that they don't belong there because it's so fancy! I think she fits right in because she's super stylish with her interior design background.

More fall colors. Love it.

More inclines. I can make it!

The bright red is my favorite.

This weeping willow made me happy, too. Was there anything on this run that didn't make me happy? No, I don't think so.

A lovely house for sale. Yes, please! Can I live here?

Dips in the road. Not something I get to see in Florida much.

It's getting warmer, but not too warm. Just pleasant.

Sweats had to come off after the first five mile lap around the neighborhood. I left them on my sister's porch while I did lap #2.

Because I did two laps, I didn't take many pics the second time around. All looked the same, just brighter.

And that's my fun run in Georgia. I still love where I live in Florida, but I'm glad I have a wonderful sister and brother-in-law to visit.

RUNNING IN ST PETE

I love where I live. Even when it's so hot, I still love it. I took a series of pictures on my 8-mile run today (blog date 10-14-11) starting at the top of the parking garage from work.

I kinda like that you can see my arm holding up the camera in my sunglasses.

I feel the need to prove that I'm actually running while taking most of these photos. Sure, I'm not running fast, but that's not the point. The point is I'm out there getting it done. The camera has an "action shot" feature, so the photos aren't blurry and I guess that's why I felt I had something to prove.

The new Dali Museum is quite lovely from the outside. I haven't been inside yet. I love the foxtail palms.

 

Heading toward the Pier. Not the best angle. Doing this take-pics-while-jogging thing reminded me of "Yes Man." In the movie, Zooey Deschanel's character combines running and photography. It's not that difficult if you don't care about everything looking perfect.

Just proving I'm here, still running. Enjoying the scenery. Listening to podcasts.

Passing the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.

From Bayshore Drive to the end of the Pier and back is 1.2 miles.

The end of the Pier.

Spa Beach in the background. Still smiling. At least for the pictures.

Water break! Very important on hot days. It's good to know where water fountains and bathrooms are along the route of a longer run. I have two bathrooms I could have used during this run. Luckily, didn't need to.

The smile is fading. My cousin, Alyssa, is always smiling during her run. She has a genuine grin in any of her pics. I don't know how she does it.

The smile is actually fake now. But I'm done with the Pier, so that's great. Moving on toward the Vinoy. I don't get to turn around for another 3/4 of a mile, but I already did the Pier twice, meaning I get to run right past it. Somehow, that works well for me psychologically on the way back. My brain kinda thinks I cheated, but I didn't!

 

About turn!

 

I'm heading back. Great feeling. The squirrels in Vinoy Park are quite friendly because people feed them a lot.

Nice view of the Pier. Apparently, the upside down pyramid is going to be torn down. I think I heard that somewhere. I wonder what they put in place of it.

Downtown

On my way back, passing the Vinoy.

Getting passed by another runner. Happens to me a lot.

Really feeling the heat. Thought I could handle 87 degrees after 94-degree average all summer! Although I did sweat a lot more then. So that's something. My shirt around the abdomen is soaked in sweat, but I didn't get a shot of that.

It truly makes me happy that I get to run past the Pier without going down it again. So much about running is mental. It's one of those funny tricks I play on myself to run the Pier twice before moving on so I don't have to do the second lap on my way back. Also, trying to do simple math while running is a real mental block for me. It takes about 10 minutes for me to figure out this equation: If the parking garage to the end of the Pier is 2.5 miles, and back up the other side of the Pier is another 0.6, how far have I gone? AKA what is 2.5 + 0.6? Really, it took me 10 minutes to figure it out today. I was listening to podcasts while trying to come up with the sum, so that didn't help either because it's distracting. In a good way.

The Dali again. Another mile or so and I'm back to the garage and my car where a nice, warm water bottle is waiting.

And that's my typical running route. I must say, even when I'm in pain, I love it. The sights really do help.

Warning: Don't forget your sunscreen like I did! Your sunburn probably won't match your outfit either. It's a lot redder in person.

Even if it's not hot out, when the sun is shining, I really recommend applying the sunscreen.