Run to a new beat

What will this run bring...?

This week has been mildly painful and frustrating for me in terms of running. My calves and I have not been on friendly terms and it definitely showed. I even cheated on my running shoes with a spin bike for a bit of "cross-training". Okay, that's something I should do more of, anyway, but being stuck in a relatively small space with smelly men can hardly compete with running free by the beach. (Unlike much of LA, the gym in my apartment building is not the place for celeb spotting)

So, when I got up this morning, with thoughts of calf compression sleeves, BioFreeze, which feels much like an ice-bath (aka heaven!), I decided to dedicate today's run to re-discovering the fun in my run.

Sometimes I feel like my Garmin steals the spotlight. Actually, that's 99% of the time. I run to beat my Virtual Buddy, which is pretty sad if you think about it. Don't get me wrong, I still (generally) have a blast in the process, but I'm hardly paying attention to myself.

Since I obviously couldn't go cold turkey (have to make sure I run a round number of miles of course), the Garmin took its usual place on my left wrist. But, tricky me, I hid the pace bit so it wouldn't be staring back at me every time I took a peek.

Mmm...

After a gourmet breakfast of CLIF bar and coffee, Shot Bloks in hand, I was out the door. (My dear friend, the stick, was standing by, waiting for my return)

Turns out, it was smart to take a day or two away from running. I felt pretty good and cruised to LAX and back (so glamorous...but I love running under planes landing and taking off. Next time I'll bring a camera). I stopped to stretch a few times, which was much needed...especially after some climbing action, but overall, I ran happy.

My not-so-tricky Garmin display

Did I check my pace? Oh heck yes. Turns out, my eyes naturally go there, no matter what I do. But it's okay, I had some fantastic new music on my Shuffle, which kept me pretty distracted and relaxed. On that note...I will have to share my killer playlist soon.

And yes, I ran exactly 10 miles.