Enjoying My Fit-cation

Hola, readers! I know I’ve been absent over the last 13 days (yikes!), but I have a good reason, I swear. I was in beautiful, sunny, amazing Key West, Fla. enjoying my last spring break with my future roommates!

We all say hi!

I was determined to make this last spring break one to remember and I don’t think I could have done any better than hanging out with these two fabulous ladies. Libby and I are from upstate New York and were anxious to escape the frigid weather, while Victoria is from Key West and was coming back from her spring break in Puerto Rico (lucky!). Our dates crossed, so Libby and I packed our bags and headed South for a few glorious days of fun in the sun.

However, I’m still training for my half-marathon, so I knew I was going to keep up my running while I was down there. Lucky for me though, I have two fantastic friends who helped me squeeze in fitness throughout the entire trip.

I woke up on Saturday while the others snoozed and hit the ground running. I only had three miles on my schedule that day, so I was anxious to get it over with and enjoy the rest of the day. Plus, I didn’t want to run when it was super hot out for fear of the rays tuckering me out too soon. I was able to enjoy views like this:

I'm in love with water, so this view is amazing.

And this…

Love, love, love.

Victoria’s mom had a genius idea on Sunday — biking! We all hopped on old-school bikes and went five miles around the island, just exploring and enjoying the views. It was a fit adventure we all experienced together, so it was a win in my book!

Soakin' in some good ole' vitamin D.

Libby and I said goodbye to Victoria on Sunday because she had to head back to school, but not before she introduced us to some fabulous food from her Cuban heritage. Make sure you have a napkin nearby because you may start drooling.

Guava pastries, meat turnovers and potato balls, oh my!

She also told us to make sure we sampled some conch fritters before we left. Taking her suggestion, Libby and I stopped by The Conch Shack, where Victoria was the very first customer. Yes, this food is fried, but it was so darn delicious!

Nom, nom, nom.

Libby and I went back for seconds a few days later. They were so darn delicious!

Deliciousness.

Alright, back to fitness. On Monday, Libby and I woke up early to experience parasailing! I had gone once before, but was never dipped in the water. Libby had never been, so I knew right away it was something we needed to do. And for the low price of $29, why not?

Up, up and away!

This doesn’t really count as exercise, but I thought the pictures were awesome and I wanted to share with y’all.

About to get dunked.

However, I must brag a bit because our instructor told us that he hadn’t seen such a smooth, solid return landing in a very long time. Thank you, strong legs!

Coming in for a landing.

Afterward, I planned on running, but Victoria’s grandpa came to visit and brought along a surprise — free access to a snorkeling adventure! There wasn’t much time before the boat left, so we grabbed our stuff and hustled out there. It took us an hour to travel out to the marine reservation, but then we jumped right in and swam with the fishies for an hour. It was an amazing experience and I loved seeing all the cool coral underwater. Afterward, we were treated to margaritas. Score!

I won't say no to a free drink in beautiful sunshine.

Tuesday was our last day in the Southernmost City, but that didn’t stop Libby and I from getting our sweat on. I ran four miles in the morning, then Libby and I hopped on bikes again and rode downtown to fit in all of our tourist-y adventures. First up, the Southernmost Point, of course!

Mile zero.

We also hit up the Hemingway Home. All of my journalism, creative writing and literature professors should be proud.

Fun fact: Hemingway loved his cats.

Then we walked all over downtown, squeezing in about five miles before biking back to the house. ‘Twas a good day!

Unfortunately, we had to leave the glorious warm weather and return to the much colder New York. Luckily, spring is almost here. It was 55 degrees the other day and today it reached 35…woohoo! I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family and some friends from high school during the second half of my vacation. But I’ve kept up my running — I did my last long run today (post about that coming soon)!

Now I’m nestled back in Oswego and prepping for my busy work week. Time to tackle some homework!

If you’re still in school, how did you spend your spring break? If not, what’s a favorite memory from one of your vacations? I’m going to remember this one forever!