Have I Mentioned how much I Love Beach Running?

Though nothing but rain and wind were predicted for the Oregon Coast last week, we took our RV over there and parked it where we could enjoy the view of the Yaquina Bay Bridge and be cozy inside. Just as predicted, it was a stormy weekend with plenty of rain and wind, but on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there were also periods of sunshine. I love the Oregon Coast so much. I just have to share some pictures I took on my runs, which were carefully timed during sunny periods!

Thursday was the only day it didn't start out raining, so I took a morning run. It was windy but so beautiful with a little blue sky giving me hope as I headed up the bridge in the raised sidewalk.

 From the top, you can see a trail running along the edge. That is where I will run the next day, all the way out that sandy strip.

 This day, I cross the bridge and head over to the State Park on the other side. From the parking lot at the park, it doesn't look quite as lovely looking back where I came from!

 I took a trail down to the beach and ran down there awhile, then took a rough steep trail back up to the parking lot. Oh ouch, as I was scrambling up the trail, I stood up and banged my head on a branch. Lucky it didn't knock me right back down. I still have a sore bump!

 I headed back over the bridge and just as I got to the stairs at the other side, the rain came dumping down. I sprinted for the RV park, and who should I see but this man wearing the world's best rain gear and his very wet and handsome chocolate lab.

Bless his heart, this kind man keeps offering to buy me some really good rain gear like he has. With his excellent rainwear, pouring rain and driving winds do not deter him from long morning walks with the good Zeek dog. It would take more than fabulous rain clothes to get me out in weather like that. Lucky for me, in the less than five minutes it took to get to the RV, the rain stopped and we took a cool down walk along the marina.

Day 2, Friday, we went down to the bay front in the afternoon, walked around and enjoyed some ice cream. Since it wasn't raining, I decided to get my run in on the way back.  I found the entrance to that lower trail.

 Pretty cool looking up from beneath the bridge.

This is after crossing it, looking back at the trail, which was a bit wet right there. Just past this point was a homeless camp in the trees, but no one was home.

The trail turned into a bunch of big rocks and boulders that I had to slow down to navigate, then came the fun sandy part, which I followed til it reached a gate blocking entrance on the jetty.

Then I ran on the beach out as far as I could to the ocean. 

Here's looking back.

And just to prove the sun really was shining for awhile, here's me and my shadow.

 Such joy to run on this rolling path, with the beach grass and seagulls and water and wind and beautiful patches of blue sky and clouds and amazingly fresh air.

This was a dry run, no raindrops at all!

Day 3, Saturday, we were once again out and about, doing a little shopping and out for lunch. We stopped at Agate Beach. A gentleman was playing a flute in the underpass walkway, and the acoustics were amazing! But oops, beach access was blocked by this stream.

I had to go to the road and walk down a bit to this lovely pallet bridge to cross to the beach!

 Beautiful.

 The clouds change so quickly, the view is ever changing.

 Then it was back to the very special bridge once again, as the clouds have rolled in and a gentle mist started to fall.

I had hoped to cross the road and run along the south jetty on the other side of the bridge this morning, but I confess when I woke up and heard rain pattering on the roof, I stayed in bed and skipped the run.

When we got back home, I was jogging down the sidewalk to help Will, thinking how good it feels to run, when suddenly I tripped on an uneven piece of concrete and went sprawling. Oh ouch ouch ouch. When my old body was finally able to get up, I was amazed and thankful to discover nothing but one skinned palm and one skinned knee. Once again, I realize how fortunate and blessed I am to be uninjured and able to run, and how quickly one mis-step can change that.  I thank God for every day that I can enjoy this blessing and his great creation.

Exercise: Delight or Dread Part 2: Resist Robbing Your Running Partner

Here I am again, with more helpful pointers on how to make exercise a happy habit in your life if you are not currently habitual about it, or to encourage you to keep it up if you are.

Planning a fun future event that demands physical conditioning is a great way to motivate your rear end off the couch to engage in pulse-raising activity.  Especially if the event involves people who are near and dear to you. If that's not possible, at least find some people who are fun to hang out with. Your goal is to be in slightly better shape than the others, so that you don't have to kill yourself trying to keep up with the rest of the gang. That might demand hard work, unless all the people who are near and dear to you are old couch potatoes!

So as I mentioned before, the near and dear people who were my fellow cruise travelers agreed that a trip up the South Sister would be a great motivator to be in shape by August. Since two of those people are under the age of 25 and are avid CrossFit workout fans, well, we just won't be able to allow them to set the pace or they will kill the rest of us old folks. But this activity is a great motivator to get out six days a week to either take exercise classes, run, climb the stairs at the stadium next to my school, Zumba, and find some hills to hike on weekends. The South Sister hike is only a 12 mile round trip, but with a 4900 feet elevation gain.

Another fun thing is to schedule some 5ks or 10ks or whatever distance you are comfortable with. It's really fun to walk and talk with friends and get some exercise with no worries about speed. It's also fun to set a goals for a time you'd like to beat and get out and compete.

Last year a couple of co-workers and I enjoyed walking the 5k "iRun for Kids", which is sponsored by an organization that provides classroom grants for our school district. Those co-workers didn't sign up this year, but a couple of teachers invited me to run with them. We got separated at the bottleneck going over the bridge, and I fell in behind someone who seemed to be running at a good pace for me. I soon realized she was someone I knew and hadn't seen in ages, so we ran together and visited. Time flew by as we talked. She placed second in our age group last year, and wanted to be one of the top three this year, so she was on the lookout to pass other women who looked to be our age! As we neared the finish line, I said I would fall back so she could cross the finish line first because I didn't care about placing. She said no, let's cross at the same time and see what happens. So we synchronized our steps and crossed together. After we got our drinks and bananas, we got our results. Much to my dismay, I placed 3rd and she got 4th. I felt like such a swindler! My time was 10:17, and hers was 10:23. The timing chip was on the bib, so I must have been leaning forward just a bit more!

These are my co-workers, Katie and Kerrie.

Well, let's set the robbery aside and talk about something else. (Oh the guilt!) Want to see my medal?

I put this on today and circled my living room serving cookies and fruit, trying to get my guests (my boys, their girls and my brother Doug and his wife, 7 people in all) to notice. I had to ostentatiously circle the room twice before anyone noticed it. I might have even flung it around a bit. But I still feel guilty. (I'm sorry Liz, I really hope you're not mad! You were so gracious!)

This was the first time I have actually run side by side with someone. My running has always been solo, and I thought I preferred it that way, enjoying the time to myself to think, pray, listen to music or an audiobook. To my surprise, I found that time went even faster while visiting with someone, and I went faster also.

It made me realize what a lazy slug I have have been lately because my running time has really slowed down, and I haven't been pushing myself. So I would probably improve my fitness by running with someone who is slightly faster than me so that I would push myself a little more. So message me if you're a runner who would like to torture me into going a little faster!

So, are you going to grab some friends and sign up for a 5k or 10k together soon? Or is there a challenging hike you'd like to do this summer? How fast would you like to be able to run a mile? What other goals do you have that inspire you to work out?