Day 251, 114 To Go

September 8, 2013

It was a beautiful day.  I spent the morning on the beach soaking up the sun.  I soaked up so much, I now look like a lobster, but a freshly roasted one.  Tomorrow I will need to take some precautions so I don't really burn bad.  Right now, I am just lightly roasted.  It has not really been warm enough so far to necessitate sunscreen.  Today was different and I was too late in applying sunscreen.  To be honest, sunscreen bothers me.  On one hand, too much sun can cause bad burns and skin cancer.  On the other hand, they use so many horrible chemicals in sunscreen, that they can cause cancer.  I think I'd rather contract my cancer the natural way.

Anyway, my little ones had a great time at the beach today.  They meant business.  They were ready for action and nothing was going to get in their way.  Don't believe me?  Take a look:

Are they just ridiculously cute, or what?  Yeah, they are mine, but come on!

Anyway, today was Sunday and that means it is time for the long run.  I found myself sitting on the couch, relaxing after a big meal thinking about my blog and what I would write.  Then I realized: Oh shit!!  I haven't run yet!  It was only 6:30, but it was dark out and there is almost no moon.  It is in the crescent phase and barely at that.  There are no lights on the beach other than the lights that bleed from the homes on the street.  

I got ready quickly and headed out.  My biggest fear for this run (other than running in the dark on a fairly unfamiliar beach or getting mugged by some random gangs of teenagers) was stepping in a hole dug by some child during the day.  I know I dug a few for my kids today and pretty much every other kid on the beach dug one.  I am fairly certain I would snap my leg in half if I accidentally fell in one while running.

Here are my numbers:

Time: 1:00:00

Distance: 6.31 miles

Pace: 9:30/m

Max Pace: 7:33/m

Calories: 607

Avg HR: 127

Max HR: 145

I ran nice and easy tonight and it felt great.  I misjudged the length of the beach because I ran about 2 miles down before I hit an area that was a little lower and the ocean had crept up and it was too wide to cross without getting my shoes wet (wetter than they already are...and they stink bad enough).  I figure the beach must be at least 3 - 4 miles long.  I would love to try in the daytime, but it will have to wait until my next vacation here.

I only ran an hour even though I felt good enough to go longer.  I was just bored running in the dark and I had had enough.  If I had started earlier, I would have gone longer.  Next time.  Later folks!

Run for Life!!