The weather at the beach was spectacular this weekend: intense sunlight and temps in the low 60s. My sister invited a college friend, who brought her Garmin GPS/HRM on run #1. That thing is WAY COOL. She updated me on pace per mile and distance throughout the run. I love instant feedback. We ran seven miles, and in Florida the landscape is flat, so they were speedy (7:30 to 8:00 pace). I ran the same course two days later. Anyhow, if you're in Destin sometime, Sandestin resort is a nice place to get in some distance miles without having to deal with traffic. However, it seems like half the resort is under construction, so I'm guessing that many people do not have a peaceful vacation, unless you enjoy the sound of tractors passing by every five minutes.

During my second run, I did beginner speedwork intervals (two minutes hard fast run, two minutes light jog, times three, with one extra minute sprint at the end for extra pain). That went well, although I was tired at the end of the seven miles. Best not to combine distance with speedwork. For some reason I can't keep myself from trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Other than those two workouts, I sat around by the pool and soaked up the rays. And I went shopping. I bought some Defeet Levitator socks at the Saucony outlet for $5 a pair and tried them out on my run. I get very annoyed by the seam that runs across the top of the toes. The Levitators don't have that seam; therefore, they rock. Wish I had bought more, already.