Kirsten Captures

This weekend our city is being invaded.

By the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Racecars screaming down the street from 8am to 6pm. Strangers from across the country (and the world) filling the city in their shorts, sneakers, race shirts, and unshaven faces.

I had a lovely 8am wake up call to cars zooming outside my window at full speed. Sigh. I will attempt to stay away from downtown as much as possible this weekend.

Last night we unexpectedly came upon the Grand Prix Parade coming down Beach Drive. Usually I do not care for parades… but there were marching bands!! I love marching bands!! They are so amazing and I love the beat of the snare drums. Yes, I am a total marching band groupie.

I found myself enjoying the rest of the parade. They had antique cars, speeding police motorcycles, hot air balloon fires, and so much more! Oh boy oh boy!

Workout

Yesterday I had a good spin class until my foot strap snapped in the middle of my favorite part of the class! Bummer. I quickly switched to another bike but lost some steam. After class I foam rolled my crazy tight quads and IT bands then was so sore! Unbelievably sore!

This morning I went to the Vinoy to get my workout done for the day. Since I missed working out Tuesday and Wednesday, I did full-body lifting today.

Guess who I worked out next to??

Vanessa Hudgens!!

Ok I am a huge High School Musical fan and would have HSM screening/baking parties with my friend Laura in high school. For my birthday sophomore year of college, my roommates took me to a play version of HSM. OBSESSED. I know all the songs. I still have a crush on Zac Efron.

Anyways…

I immediately recognized her as she walked past me to the treadmills. I was so shocked! She is in town shooting Spring Breakers and is staying at the Vinoy along with Selena Gomez. Selena was apparently at the Wednesday spin class! Crazy. Well Vanessa Hudgens ended up coming into the weight room and working out right next to me! She kept glancing over at me which was kind of strange. I think she was probably in awe of my intense lifting! Haha I wish.

She was doing some pretty good exercises with the bosu ball and dumbbells but was deeply engrossed in her phone and not working terribly hard. I was tempted to go up and talk to her but figured she would want to be left alone A) because she’s a movie star B) because she’s working out. I hate it when people are chatting while I’m working out!

What really struck me is how normal she looked. On screen I always thought she was exceptionally beautiful and fit. But she looked like any other girl. Without the trucker hat..

But her body was not perfect by any means. She wasn’t exceptionally fit or skinny, just… normal. It was a refreshing realization to see just how warped our perceptions are of celebrities in the media. They have their imperfections too. At least I don’t have weird 23 year old girls gawking at me in the gym, hoping for an autograph.

😉