Beach!

So I spent the second week of August at the Jersey shore with some friends. We rented a house and spent the week swimming, hanging out on the beach, eating clam chowder, and, of course, running. Here are some photos from an early-morning run on the sand:

Just after sunrise

Some of my friends were there already watching the sun rise, so they took a picture of me before my run.


I heart sandpipers!


I had no idea how far I was running. In my mind, I wanted to run until I could see the Barnegat Lighthouse in the distance. Every once in a while I left the water's edge to climb up on a life-guard stand and scope out the horizon. Below is the view from the stand, where the lighthouse is just barely visible. It was actually clearer in person.

I ended up running 8.4 miles that day. On the way back, my IT band was aching from running on the steeply-slanted shore, so I took my shoes off and felt better immediately. When I reached the beach entrance to get back to the house, I jumped in the ocean and let it splash my legs. It felt great!

So there is my very un-Jersey Shore-ish experience at the Jersey shore. It was a great time and a great opportunity to get some barefoot running in on the sand. My legs have been feeling really good lately, so I hope to be doing a lot more running this fall.

Back to work

Last weekend, I got back from a week-long vacation at the Jersey shore. It was a great time - completely devoid of fist pumping and poufy hair - and I have some great photos to post from my two early-morning runs.

Although I had good intentions in running in the mornings, I still ate lots of not-so-healthy food and planned on making it up by exercising more when I got home. I came down with a cold though (who gets a cold at the beach?!) and only yesterday did I manage to get out for a short run. It wasn't much, but it made me feel energized throughout the whole day, and I'm thinking about getting up super early while it's still summer and running before work as often as possible. I guess that will depend on how early I can get to sleep the night before!

Anyway, I have pictures and details from the vacation that I will post later. You really can't get much better than a sunrise run along the ocean on the east coast! For now it's back to work...

Summer running

Miles: 3.2
Pace: 10:55

The weather has been warm and dry for a while now, and I'm enjoying it so much! It was perfect beach weather this weekend. I even went boogie-boarding in the ocean for the first time. I had been sitting on the beach under an umbrella reading Christopher McDougall's Born to Run (more about how much I like the book in another post), and the umbrella kept blowing away. I got so frustrated with it that I took it down, and I didn't want to sit and bake in the sun, so I figured that my other option was to get wet. I waded out into the numbing water while my favorite support staff took to the waves with a boogie board. After a while, he asked if I wanted to try, so I did, and I had a great time. I liked being out farther in the water and rolling over the waves, and then being swept along toward the shore with them when they were just right. I'll have to work on my skills for next time, but I definitely enjoyed myself and I am happy that I tried something new.
I went for a run on Friday evening after getting to the shore house and ran a route I had run two years ago, which was about 3.2 miles. I pressed the wrong button on the stopwatch, so I don't have a time for that, but it was a great run because of all of the people I got to see. I seemed to have been out at the universal dog-walking time, so everyone was out and about with their puppies, big and small. One dog was huge and white, and I'm not entirely sure that it wasn't a polar bear. I came back from the run to a full house: more people had arrived for the 4th of July festivities, bringing the total to about 15, and I was introduced to some whom I had never met before. Unfortunately, they will always remember me as the girl who apologized for being sweaty and gross.
On Saturday, the support staff and I went for a bike ride, which was approximately 3.5 miles, although I can hardly consider that a workout. The bike trail I usually ride on is flat, but it seems hardcore in comparison to the level roads by the beach.
We had to come home yesterday - much to my disappointment - although I stocked up on fudge and clam chowder to ease the pain of parting, and I'm enjoying summer at home now, too. Tonight I went for a run on the road before it got too dark, and I found it very peaceful and relaxing. I took a route I've never taken before, and it had a great view over the valley and to the ridge beyond. The route took me by an old dairy farm which still has some cows, horses, and chickens, and the scenery was just perfect. I was a little afraid that I wasn't visible enough to cars, since the road curved in several places and did not have a shoulder, but I made it through safely and feeling very well. Some of he hills were tough, but I feel that they gave enough of a challenge to make it a very good run. I didn't know how far I was running, and it turns out that it was 3.2 miles. I guess that distance is getting to be my standard easy run now. I think that I am becoming acclimated to the weather, and I look forward to doing a lot of summer running this season.

A look back at June, a coincidence, and a new swim suit

Miles: 4.1
Pace: 9:51
Total miles for today: 4.6

I ran today, after having done a short run on Monday and yesterday, partly because I don't think that I'm logging enough miles. I know that mileage goals must be reached gradually in order to prevent injury, so instead of taking days of full rest in between long and/or hard runs, I'll do an easy mile or two. When I get used to that, I can then increase the distance of the long runs. I'm thinking about this because I looked at my June stats and saw that on days when I was supposed to bike, I didn't do anything (mainly because of rainy weather). In fact, I only biked 5 miles during the entire month of June, and almost every week in May and June, I only ran 3 days a week. Rest is good, but I can probably handle more work, and I think I will need to if I ever want to move beyond the plateau I've reached in the 5K.

My run today was a little hot and humid, but the sun wasn't very strong by the time I ran, so it wasn't bad. I wanted to do a distance that was somewhat substantial because I'll be busy this weekend and might not be able to run that much. It turned out to be just over 4 miles and felt a bit easier than yesterday's run. Yesterday's run was a little more interesting, though. I had the late shift at the reference desk, so I ran in the morning, at around 9:30. It was a short, sweet 2-mile jog on the back roads by my house. On my way home, a car passed me, and I thought that it really looked just like the library director's car, although I knew it couldn't be because he lived about a half-hour away and had no reason to be driving around back roads in the middle of nowhere. When I got into work, there was a party being held for him, because he is retiring and yesterday was his last day. I popped into his office to congratulate him and wish him well, and he asked if it was me that he had driven past that morning. He had been driving from one library branch to another to say goodbye and thank you to the staff, and he happened to take a very scenic route to do so. ("Very scenic" meaning "totally out of the way" - I guess you're entitled to that when you're the boss and it's your last day.) I know I was gross and sweaty, and I just I hope I wasn't also flailing my arms around too much or bouncing ridiculously on my toes, as I have been told I used to do. Oh well. It was interesting. I wonder who I'll come across next in my travels...

Speaking of travels, the next place I'll be running is ... the beach! On Friday morning, my support staff and I will be making our annual trek to his friend's shore house for some 4th of July festivities. We'll stay there until Sunday, so I hope to get a run in at some point during the weekend. Luckily I have a new bathing suit to wear this year. I was feeling woefully inadequate in my last bathing suit, since I lost a lot of weight since I bought it, and the top is too big now. (Some people drown in rip currents -- I would have drowned in my tankini.) I stopped at Kohl's on Sunday and was so happy to find one that I feel completely comfortable in. It's somewhat sporty (Nike Swimwear) but also very cute and modest, too.


If I'm feeling confident, I also have a new not-so-modest suit, but the few inches of pudge that won't budge off my belly might prevent me from breaking it out this weekend. I feel so much better about my appearance than I did at this time last year, but I don't know if my confidence is that high yet. I bought the suit, which is a step. I'll be sure to get lots of use out of the Nike one, and hopefully I will get some use out of my Nike sneakers as well!