Hola! It's been a while since I've had a moment to update the blog. I was lucky to escape the freezing sub zero temperatures, treadmill and the 200 meter indoor track I've been training on in Toronto with a last minute getaway to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It's about a 4 hour flight from Toronto and a great place to escape the winter wonderland.

We booked a last minute all inclusive trip to a resort called Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro which is on the eastern side of the island of Dominican Republic. It was a huge resort, with about 5 or 6 ginormous pools, a beautiful beach and tram (trolley) which ran all day to transport people from the lobby, restaurants, pools and beach. I had flashbacks to my last visit to the dominican (it was to the other side of the island - Puerta Plata) and doing a 20 mile long run in the rain in a 1.5 mile loop, they recommended tourists stayed within the compound at that resort. I woke up at the crack of dawn the first morning there and put on my running skirt with delight and was pleasantly surprised by the size of Gran Bahia Principe resort especially since I found if I ran around the entire perimeter of the resort, It was about 5k. After my first 5k loop, I was really feeling the humidity, whew like running under water. For my long runs every other day, I opted for 2 loops and occasionally threw in some 150 meter pick ups at the end of the runs. I ended each morning run with a plunge into the warm carribbean waters - aw - heaven! That was the extent of my training last week.



















The new cheetah haute pink skirt & cheetah strappy top were great in and out of the water. I'm amazed at how quick they dry. The first 4.5 days of the trip were very rainy all day....pretty much a downpour, but luckily the sun made an appearance for the last 2 days of our trip. It was so nice to simply wear a running skirt & strappy top (no tights, mittens, tukes) that I didn't mind running in the rain at all. I am a warm weather runner - give me the heat any day over the cold. I swear my muscles and joints just perform better when they are warm.

So now - as I type this post, I'm am back in the great white north, looking outside at the snow and ice and trying to motivate for another sub zero run. It's 14 below right now, but if I wait a while the temperature might get up to 7 below (that's a difference between having to wear one or two pair of tights). I really do need to start ramping up my mileage and workouts since the spring running season for me is about to begin. Races on the horizine for me include, the Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington on March 1st (as a training run) and then the following week the Disney Princess Half in Orlando (really looking forward to that one!). We have great new "princess inspired" skirts & tops that we will be revealing at the Princess Half Marathon. It's the first year for this great womens running event and it's gonna be awesome. After that, I will be running the 30k around the bay (which is the oldest road race in North America - even older than Boston) and then of course, Boston!