This morning I met Meghan at Davis Island for the Tampa Sharks run. This is really my last week to get a long run in before the New York City Marathon if I want to have any sort of taper. Meghan is training for the Disney Marathon this January and agreed to join me.

We met the group at 5:30 at the Marjorie Park Marina. The weather was absolutely perfect this morning. It was actually a bit chilly out that early. The route is 9.6 miles and weaves all throughout Davis Island. The organizer puts out water and sports drink every few miles. He said there was about 80 of us out there this morning.

Meghan and I did 10 miles together through Davis Island. She joined me for 1 more mile on Bayshore before heading back. I was so grateful to have her there. Running with a buddy is always so much better. She also made me push my pace a little bit, which was greatly appreciated.

I continued on Bayshore for a few more miles. When I got to mile 14 I my knees were starting to be grumpy so I decided that would be a good place to turn around. I ran/walked the last 4 miles back to my car.

Including the run/walking, I finished 18 miles in 3 hours and 35 minutes. Not too bad considering my body is still very much recovering from Augusta 70.3. Now starts a taper after the shortest marathon training cycle in history.

After the run I came home and got ready for lunch.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Caroline asking if I’d be interested in trying out PDQ. Patrick is a certified Chick-fil-a enthusiast and has been anxiously awaiting the opening, so I told Caroline we’d like to try it out.

A couple of days later, I got an email from their CMO inviting me and my family or friends to attend a training session and enjoy a complimentary meal. I got invitations for Patrick, myself and my parents.

Being vegan, I wasn’t really sure if they’d have anything I could eat there. I figured it’d be a good time to see if it was a place that could cater to our herbivore/carnivore situation.

The restaurant was packed but the line moved incredibly fast. It didn’t seem hectic and there were plenty of tables still open and clean. I was impressed. I spent 1 year of my life as the Restaurant Supervisor at the Vinoy. I’m pretty sure my head would have exploded if I’d walked in and seen that. However, everyone was super friendly and the management was walking around greeting guests.

Aren’t my parents the cutest?

One salad immediately caught my eye, the Grilled Chicken Salad was mixed greens, tomatos, candied almonds, craisins and blueberry-ginger vinaigrette. I love any and all things ginger. When I got to the cashier I asked if the dressing or toppings had any dairy in them. She pulled the allergen sheet from the side of her registered and confirmed there was no dairy in that salad. So I ordered the Grilled Chicken Salad… 86 the chicken.

My Parents each ordered a salad and Patrick got a chicken sandwich. The food came out insanely fast for the number of people that were there. It really couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes.

The Family’s food:

My Grilled Chicken-less Salad:

I was so impressed with this salad. Being a quick service restaurant I really wasn’t sure what to expect but, it was awesome. Just as I suspected, I loved the blueberry ginger dressing. My Dad got the same salad (with Chicken) and completely agreed. My Mom loved the fact that you can see them breading the chicken so you know it’s not frozen.

Patrick and my Mom also tried out the milkshakes. They both said they were “really good”.

I’m really glad we’ve found another restaurant close by that we can both enjoy. Patrick said he is especially glad to have a place to satiate his Sunday chicken sandwich cravings. Thanks for having us PDQ! We’ll definitely be back.

Have you tried PDQ? What was your experience?