October 17th, mid-October, Fall, for crying out loud!! Only in Southern California can one expect to see temperatures hovering around 100 by mid-morning. Yikes! My boyfriend, Michael and I left for the beach. As we drove, the weather clearly wasn't getting any better. For every minute spent on the road, another degree inched upward on the thermostat. I was chewing my nails by the time we reached Huntington Beach at noon on Saturday. Still HOT! Jeeeeezz...
Then, by some miracle, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, a fog rolled in. Or perhaps it was already there. I don't know how these things go at the beach, but it was wonderful. Fog is mysterious. At first, I wondered aloud, "Is that fog?" because the wisps were so subtle. By the time I answered myself, "Yea! Fog!" the whole area was socked in thick whirling mist. My spirits lifted immediately, and we ran all eleven miles on flat land which is another miracle when you're from Temecula. Mmmmm...it was a beautiful run complete with interesting people, some roller blading, biking, running, walking, some pushing babies, and some chasing babies. There were dogs everywhere. A three-wheeled motorcycle exhibition, volleyball competitions, and Hurley was there sponsoring a surfing competition, although, I don't know how they saw the surfers for all of the fog. I couldn't even see the ocean much less the surfers! And beautiful bodies, my God! Not an extra ounce of flesh to be found. Watching those volleyball players and surfers getting ready to go out to compete inspired me to run a little harder. I think the smell of bonfires and roasting hot dogs on that overcast, cloudy day was my favorite. It made me hungry!
This long run felt like a party even though it was hard work. I finished with a limp and a layer of salt coated on my skin. The nice thing is that with all of the distractions, I hardly noticed my discomfort until about mile nine when I kept asking, "Are we nearly there?"
Michael patiently checked the Garmin again, "Almost," he assured me.
"Almost, my eye," I responded. Yes, by mile ten I was a little grumpy and more than ready to stop, but with his encouragement, I kept going and made it to exactly mile eleven. (I wonder what it feels like to be so gifted that he can run forever seemingly without much effort).
I highly recommend trying out new places for long runs. It helps to be distracted by new scenery, and if it's hot again next week, I'm definitely going coastal!
The other thing about this miracle run...as soon as we left...like 300 feet out of the parking lot, the clouds dissipated, and the day was again, hot and sunny.
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