Hello :) Hope you are having a good start to your week!
After yesterday’s post about the 7 course vegan feast, I left you with a cliff-hanger about Sarasota. The weather was warm but the rain put a real damper on our plans to hit up the beach and relax all day! We decided to see if we could cancel our hotel that we had booked and save some money by heading back to my mom’s place. Luckily enough, we could cancel and then we decided to spend the day in Sarasota looking around.
We went to St Armand’s Circle and it was really fun. Tons of shops and such. However we didn’t stay very long with the rain. After that we headed to the Sarasota outlets and decided on this place for lunch. When I saw the sign I knew it would be up my alley:
:mrgreen:
There is just one location of the Fast n Fresh. Eric and I could see this restaurant doing SO WELL in Toronto!! They definitely need to expand.
When I walked in there was a sign that said you could customize your own sandwich or salad!!! Ummm…basically a vegan’s dream! How cool is that?
I was all business as I decided on my wrap. ;)
Eric got a Chicken Ceasar Wrap!
I got a veggie wrap. I deemed this the vacation of wraps. I just can’t get enough of them! Wraps are such a great way to pack in a ton of veggie servings.
Amazingly I ate every last bite ;)
Then we hit a few shops…My eyes bugged out of my head and I screamed when I saw this store called Fit 2 Run- The Runner’s Superstore. A runner’s superstore!?!? I left Eric in the dust and sprinted to the entrance. ;)
Not only do they have a treadmill to test your gait with various sneakers on, but they have an indoor track to run on!
As you may know, I have had a terrible time with blisters ever since I started running. No one has ever been able to figure out why or fix the issues (even my foot doctor who made me custom orthotics!). I decided to have my gait analyzed and see if I was truly the severe overpronator that I thought I was. Well, it turned out that I am only a mild pronator and the Brooks I was wearing for the past two years were for severe pronation! Doh.
Additionally, the sales person said that I have very tiny ankle bones and narrow feet and I should have been running in narrow width all this time! This could be why I get blisters a lot because my heel slips around.
After trying and running on many pairs, these BROOKS Adrenaline GTS 10’s were the PERFECT fit! I have high hopes for these babies.
You know how they say when you try on the right wedding dress, you will just know? Well as soon as I tried these on (in narrow width) I finally felt like they were ‘the one’. They felt great and hugged my heel like a warm embrace. :mrgreen:
I also picked up a pair of my favourite running shorts:
And blister socks that the saleslady swears by (she is a marathoner)
They are sooooo comfy. I saved a ton of money by shopping in this store, so it was a win win situation all around! If you are ever in the Sarasota, Wellington, or Tampa area I highly suggest you check out this amazing store!
By the way, have you guys seen these new Five Fingers running ‘shoes’??? Apparently they are all the rage…
After the outlets we headed back to my mom and John’s place. By this point we had driven 6 hours yesterday and we were ready to relax and unpack out suitcase.
We had a quick and easy dinner:
Salad with tomatoes, mary’s crackers, and red wine vinegar:
Butternut squash:
Hummus with toast:
Some type of orange…not sure what kind it was, but it tasted like a cross between an orange and a grapefruit. Pure love!
It is still raining here so we are going to hit up some of the outlets in Naples today and I am going back to SUPER TARGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yes. It will be off the hook.
My Approach To Exercise While On Vacation
I haven’t had any formal exercise for the past couple days, but I hope to run in my new sneakers later today when the rain stops.
My approach to exercise on vacation is to exercise when you can fit it in, but don’t stress when you can’t.
I also like to try new forms of exercise. We swam a lot at the beach and also in the hotel pool a couple times last week. We also have done a ton of walking, so even if I don’t get in formal exercise I know that I am being active.
Last week, I was able to fit in really strong workouts each day because I knew that there would be a few days of really early mornings with little sleep when I would not be able to fit a workout in. I love to workout while on vacation because it just makes me feel so good and I feel like something is missing when I can’t get in a good sweat to start the day.
What is your approach to exercise while on vacation? Do you take a break, try new things, or stick to your regular routine?
I need to look into those shoes!! I also have very narrow feet, tiny ankles, and get BAD blisters when I run!
I am heading to Sarasota next weekend to visit the boyfriend’s family… I am definitely going to look into the running store and that delicious restaurant! Thanks for sharing!!!
I bought that same pair of Brooks shoes this past November because I too have really narrow feet. They are amazing and hug my narrow (not so little) feet just right! I hope you like them as much as I do. :)
Between the awesome looking wraps and that running store, I just drooled all over my computer. I’ve actually seen someone race in those five finger shoes, and I thought it was just about the craziest thing ever. When I’m on vacation, I try to stick to my regular running routine, but if I’m too tired or don’t have time, I don’t cry about it.
Angela, we actually have something like Fast n’ Fresh in Canada, it’s called Freshii, check out their website:
http://www.freshii.com/cdnmenu-lunch.php
In regards with the exercise, i usually just try to not stress over any exercise and just enjoy the moment of the holiday :)
I feel like when you are on vacation, you are SO much more active than you think. Walking around, shopping, touring, etc. There’s no sense in giving up precious time with family/friends. However, if they are sleeping or doing something else, by all means–work up a sweat and get those endorphins pumping!
lol–I would be “all business” while checking boxes for my wrap too! That place sounds great :)
I just did a post about exercise on vacation–being more flexible and not stressing out is definitely my goal. I’m still pretty rigid with my plan, but I have gotten SO much better about it as time goes by. It’s definitely nice to take a break from “formal” exercise when on vacation and enjoy activities you don’t normally do. Glad you guys are having a great trip!
A runners superstore! I would love to go there!
Glad you found the right fit of running shoes. Years ago when they first launched the ASICS Kinsei I was determined to get a pair as they were supposed to be “the” shoe. Turns out “the” shoe was not meant for my foot! I was in the completely wrong style!
I used to have a very strict schedule on vacation…exercise early in the morning and then walking around all day. But lately I have just been much more mellow about things. I am excited to go to Japan and Singapore in April and I am anticipating lots of walking and maybe some yoga, but I’m hoping to stay out of the gym as much as possible!
Getting fitted for shoes was the best thing I’ve ever done for my running.
And Hunni wants those 5 fingers for fun. We’re in debates as to how much he’ll use them.
I would take a trip to Florida JUST for that store!!! I guess the beach doesn’t hurt either :P Do you know if there’s a similar store to this in Ontario? Now I’m kind of dreaming of finding the one (as in, the right shoe :P ).
I feel the same way when it comes to exercising on vacation. I try to fit it in as much as I can, but definitely won’t pass up on doing something else! On vacation I’m usually pretty active as it is (walking around) so I don’t feel bad if I have to skip a day. Truthfully, I always seem to lose weight when I’m on vacation. I think it’s because when I’m in front of the computer working I get bored and I’m more likely to snack, and I’m definitely not as active since I’m sitting down!
Freshii is a sweet take out/fast food place that seems just like Fast n Fresh!! There are locations all over downtown Toronto!
I have been thinking about this topic lately as I am headed on vacation in a little under two weeks. I have a half marathon coming up in June, so I am thinking that I will run on the treadmill a few days when and if I can, but other than that, I see vacation as a time to give your mind and body a break!
ooh how exciting is it when you find a superstore devoted to one of your favourite things? I must admit my favourite “superstore” is one devoted entirely to storage but then I am more than a little tragic ;)
I always plan to workout at some stage during holidays. Last time I was abroad I worked out a few of the mornings – just short cardio workout DVDs that had been burned onto my MP4 player. I am not so good with morning workouts at the moment so I’m not sure how I would manage if I was to go abroad. Am going to stay with my “in laws” for the Easter weekend. It’s not abroad but on the other side of this teeny weeny country so I’m hoping I’ll redisover “morning exercise mojo”. I know there’ll be a fair bit of booze consumed though the thoughts of easter chocolate leave me pretty nonplussed because I seem to eat chocolate most days ;)
Most of my travel usually involves some sort of jet lag and I used to be hard on myself to make sure I fitted in some sort of exercise. Now, unless I have a race coming up that I really, really want to go all out for, I just run when I can (it’s fun on trips to find places to run that take you out of your comfort zone). If I’m going home to my parents I make walking with my mum a priority (can chat and get exercise!). We don’t stay at resort-type places so I count walking around new places as exercise (and often that can be all day if you don’t have a lot of time to see everything). I think you’ve got a balanced approach to that and you’re getting all your usual veggies etc so enjoy!! I love that wrap. I’d make them for lunch more often but they usually end up soggy by the time I eat them.
That “design your own sandwich” card is brilliant btw, and a what a great choice of toppings!
That running store would be like a dream come true! SO awesome!
So happy to hear that you’ve finally found the right shoes. I’ve been wearing the adrenaline line for the last year and they are fabulous. I nearly drooled on my laptop keyboard with the picture of the running super store. So unfair that we don’t have one in Ontario. :(
That build your own sandwich card is genius!
I love restaurants like that! I am usually a bad exerciser on vacations because I just don’t do it. It is just so hard to fit it in with everything else going on. However, my last two vacays were snowboarding trips to Colorado so I guess that counts as working out!
LOVE vibram 5 fingers. I have a whole page dedicated to them on my blog…but it’s more about the barefoot running style, which I’m just starting to get into. Every single thing I read about it makes SO much sense..it’s incredible. I’m currently reading the book Born To Run which is amazing, and completely changing the way I view running. :)