But today I got to jog again at Siesta Key Beach in Florida like I did the last time I visited this blog with a post (bad, negligent blogger!). This time I took my 11-year-old daughter who seems to enjoy running.

I am in Florida for the week. The kids are off of school and we're visiting the grandparents. I decided to give a 5K run a try and looked for one in the area of Sarasota. I found a great one on Siesta Key - the 4th Annual Siesta Key Beach 5K Run/Walk for Mental Health Awareness. It was so fun, yet so very hot! I got to about 2.5 miles and started to walk, fearing that I might pass out and totally embarrass myself. But then a woman in headphones, a good 20 years older than I, came up from behind and tapped me and waved me to keep going. She ended up getting first place in her age division.

Though I've been running at the gym at home (it's been too cold for running outside!), I got used to running outdoors on sand. All last year a sandy beach, my backyard, was my "treadmill." This race was so great because it was all sand, no pavement. If you're on the west coast of Florida around this time next year and you like running in 5Ks, go to this run.
 

There are plenty of excuses to plan beach vacations to Grenada this time of year. Tropical and swept by northeast trade winds, temps average a heavenly 84°F (29°C) right now. Situated at the southern tip of the Grenadines on the postcard-worthy, electric-blue Caribbean Sea, it’s dubbed the “Island of Spice” for its bountiful of mace and nutmeg crops, and it offers everything from diving to yachting, spas and a hopping nightlife scene.