Running on vacation and beyond

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Originally uploaded by stradamitchell

Vacation
I brought my running shoes with me to the beach and mentioned to my dad en route that I might be interested in a run while there, to keep up with my couch-to-5K training. We arrived Saturday, had dinner, checked out some sights, and turned in.

The next morning, Dad was all ready to go, in gear straight out of his bedroom. So we ran on Sunday morning, which worked out very well because while it was beautiful and sunny when we left, after I got out of the shower it was thunderstorming. We biked in the afternoon, got caught in another prolonged rainshower, and then stayed in to recover from the wetting with our first (of many) viewing of My Neighbor Totoro, as well as some Olympics once the kids were in bed.

And again on Monday and Tuesday, my dad was all set to go running first thing in the morning! I hadn't really planned to run every day but since Auntie M was available to keep an eye on the kids (as well as watch endless repetitions of Totoro), we were good to go as long as we were back in 30 minutes. It's pretty motivating just to have somebody right there, saying "let's go!" The weather was beautiful, and we alternated routes daily from the neighborhoods to the boardwalk, to the shoreline on wet sand.

One thing that was really annoying while running on the beach was all the dogs. Especially because there are signs everywhere along the boardwalk that say in large letters, "DOGS PROHIBITED ON THE BEACH AT ALL TIMES." There were dozens of them! Running in front of me, leaving poop everywhere, chasing tennis balls into the surf, chasing birds, and hardly any of them leashed. I think I almost twisted my knee jumping out of a dog's way. Once the lifeguards arrive at 10 a.m. and enforce the prohibition, all the dog owners skedaddle.

Thankfully, when the kids were actively on the beach playing in the sand and waves, the only (scary) creatures around were the (oh so malevolent) seagulls and sandpipers. Rosie only jumped out in the street to avoid a leashed dog once while we were on the trip. That is so frightening for me, to have her running into traffic! Cars are much more dangerous than dogs, but her fear is so intense that she can't resist the flee-response.

We went for a long bike ride on Wednesday with the Dash in the bike trailer and Rosie in the trail-a-bike, no running. But back to running on Thursday and Friday! We were so active, with the running, biking and walking everywhere, that I allowed myself to eat some foods that I have been mostly avoiding, like fried things and in larger portions. My favorite meal of the trip was at The Cultured Pearl, with its fabulous new location and interiors. There were birds in cages, koi ponds everywhere (inside and out), waterfalls, which just inspired a relaxed meal with lots for the kids to explore. Monkeyrotica and I shared a sushi & sashimi platter, Dash enjoyed a "kobe" hotdog with star-shaped french fries, and Rosie ate edamame and steamed rice. Auntie M let her sample her teritaki chicken bento, while my dad had some crab soup and shu mai.

Rosie and Dash are already looking forward to going back next year!!

Beyond
Yesterday, Rosie told me she wanted to run to our local park, so we put on our sneakers and took off. I recalled that a new neighborhood boy, Ben, told me that he was on his 3rd grade track team, so we swung by his place to bring him along. His mom, who also has a one-year-old, was happy enough to let me take him. Rosie and he were fairly well-matched with the running, despite her height and lack of training. He was very proud of his sprinting abilities and liked to ask us to run ahead while he hung back to charge past after a minute or two. We were out for about 45 minutes, then dropped off Ben to head home for dinner. If he's interested again, I'll be glad to grab him more often. Maybe Rosie and he can be on the track team together!