After a substantial freak-out in a swimsuit and lingerie shop a week ago - since I broke not one, not even two, but three large mirrors last year (yes, I am aware of the bad luck repercussions, what's that 21 years of bad luck?) and have not seen what has been going on below my waist in more than six months - operación bikini has been hanging heavy on my mind. It is funny how you can sort of grow accustomed to the look of your upper torso and well, lose all awareness of the thigh and butt area. That is until faced with it, in high definition thanks to the unflattering mirror and light combos shop dressing rooms have going on. So, I not only gasped in shock in the dressing room, but also blew up at my friends who wanted me to do a 'fashion show' of various suits I was trying on in preparation for a trip to Aire de Barcelona, the thermal Arab baths in the Born.

Thank god the actual Aire de Barcelona space was VERY dimly lit. And as a PS- the Arab bath spa is divine and everyone should visit at least once, I am seriously considering becoming an Aire Barcelona junkie and, dare I say go once a month, hey, pampering is important people, and why the hell not go dunk in thermal baths and get my sauna on each month, it is only €25 for an hour and a half session?

Back to the point, so, by not seeing my lower waist, I had created another picture of it in my mind, in my head, the waist, butt and thigh area looked more like, say, Brooklyn Decker's or another model's. So, after the shock, I gave myself a stern talking to and decided to go on Bikini Operation, full force--of course, I lagged behind another week as getting up in the early morning to run, well, is just NOT in my DNA.

Last night though, clad in running gear and after a handful of Doritos and since my roommate came home, seeing me in said gear, there was no turning back. I sucked it up and went for a run from the Poble Sec hood down to Barceloneta, and damn did it feel good, FYI, 6.30pm is the perfect time for a run, yes, you will run into an odd group of annoying school children, but if you make it a long run, you will catch a very beautiful sunset and the port and beach at that time are much more chilled out. So, the operation has commenced, even though, still outfitted in running gear and iPod in hand, I walked myself right into Schlecker on my way home and bought a large Crunch bar.