This wasn’t much of a long run, but it was warm and gorgeous and we were itching to get to the beach.  We all need a vacation!

• Starting time: 8:00 am.
• Starting temp: 73 degrees F
• Finishing temp: 75 degrees F (sunny)
• What I wore:  Lululemon skirt, tank.
• Route: South Beach!

So, this run is one of the many, many reasons I love running.  First, I got to run with my husband, which is awesome.  I love that we can do this together.  Second, we were able to explore the paths and parks around South Beach, that we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.  We happened upon gorgeous waterfront parks and playgrounds and even a few tasty and fun-looking restaurants.

Our first mile or so took us south through Lummis park and then, wanting to stay off the sand, we headed up to the sidewalk to get farther south.  We explored a walkway out to the beach and came upon a gorgeous brick-paved pathway along the water.

Beware: I’m about to load an onslaught of gorgeous beach photos to make you all very jealous. This is where it gets awesome.

We had to stop and take a couple photos.  This is about mile 1.5 or so.

After our little OMG it’s so beautiful! moment, we continued on a path that took us around the southern tip of South Beach, where we encountered both Deborah running on the path and Dexter heading out on the Slice of Life to drop off his latest victim.

We just kept running, seeing where the path would take us.

It finally ended at a major intersection around mile 3, so we turned around.  We found some water fountains and ate some jellybeans because they were in my pocket (not sure since when, but hey).

We looped back and instead of heading up to the street, we stayed on the hard-packed sand along the top of the beach.  It was an idyllic run and the reason I love running (did you get that yet?).

Adam headed back to the hotel when we got to that point; I continued for another mile or so and then looped back too.  It was hot; starting to get pretty busy on the running path and I was ready for some breakfast.

I love exploring new places on my feet.  We had an amazing long run in New York City in November that took us down the river greenway and even up and through most of High Line Park.  It’s such an intimate way to get to know a city – and to find the places we want to head back to when there’s more time.