Originally I planned on an early morning solo 14 mile, out-and-back trail run. My alarm set for 5:30, I didn’t make it. I was wiped out and decided to sleep in. I slept until 7:30. And then I sat around some with my middle son, oh a couple of hours, before deciding, I wasn’t gonna make a trail run, because I was on a time-schedule (today I was taking the boys out to grandpa & grandma’s for a swim day with cousins – Yes, I was gonna travel the road of The Accident)
Instead, I laced up my road shoes and headed out the door for a nice hilly run around the top of town, knowing I’d return home sooner this way. Then I made my way down the bike path to the northern beaches (Monarch Beach).
Lots of runners out this morning. Something I noticed beneath these gray skies, that these runners are much different than the runners I meet up with on the trail. Not one of the fifty, sixty, heck maybe 70 of the runners, smiled or even made eye contact with me today. Finally, as I ran the boardwalk along The Strands, a walker smiled wide. I returned the smile, relieved.
It seems out on the trail, almost every smiles. Certainly everyone makes eye contact. Perhaps because it’s much rarer to come across another runner on the trails I run, so we acknowledge each other. Who knows.
After running all 3 beaches (Monarch, Salt Creek and Dana Strands), I began my descent up out of Salt Creek with my accident injury starting to flare up (xray results come Monday or Tuesday). Still, even with the ache, I was happy to make the difficult climb up Stonehill (which really isn’t that difficult compared to some trail hills), and made it back home thrilled to get in a couple hours on the road.
I called my son out of the house, and we finished this run off with one lap (about 1/2 mile around the neighborhood). He’s 8 years old and we have plans of running a 5k together this Thanksgiving : )
Miles logged this morning: 11.24
The Only Trail on this Run – Coming into Monarch Beach
Creek Flowing into the Ocean / Ocean Flowing into the Creek
Running at Salt Creek Beach / Around the Bluff is The Strands
Murals Leaving Salt Creek Beach
Man. I used to surf at Salt Creek regularly when I was in college. I remember the place fondly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about trail runners. Maybe that's why I'm spending more and more time on the trails these days.
Ya, those were the good ole' days. Before kids (not that children are bad, of course), my husband I and lived across the street from Salt Creek. We used to crash on that beach practically daily (never surfed it, and certainly never ran it -- but we put plenty of hikes in around the bluff).
ReplyDeleteI'm a Strands Gal, myself. Those Salt Creekers, they're too rad for me : )