I worked from the coast today as we are re-modeling our kitchen and needed to be present when old work surfaces were removed and templates made for new ones. As part of the project we are refinishing the kitchen cabinets and part of the work involves a lot of sanding. Well..... I know now how those cabinets must feel!
The Puppeteer scheduled me for a 1 hr 40 min run today. I waited for the contractors to leave and decided to head out later in the afternoon. I knew that it was windy and that it was basically blowing from a southerly direction so, being smart (or so I thought) I decided to run five miles south on the Old Oregon Inlet Road (basically into the wind) and then head back north again on the beach.
Holy crap! It was an "interesting" run! On the plus side, it was pretty mild - 70 F (about 20 C for my European friends) and the thunder showers that came through earlier were already heading off towards Bermuda somewhere and the sun was out, but boy, it was REALLY windy! I checked the weather channel when I got back and apparently the winds were sustained at 30 mph plus with gusts of between 50 and 60 mph! It was very difficult to find a rhythm going south and at one point a really strong gust caused me to trip over my own legs and I came very close to wiping out. I struggled south for five miles and looked forward to getting onto the beach for the return leg and getting a little bit of shelter from the dunes......
Well, the dunes did provide a little bit of shelter but, rocket scientist that I am, I completely forgot to factor in.... sand blasting! It was like being in the middle of a sand storm out there!I was very pleased that I had dedcided to wear running tights and not just shorts - my legs were continuously peppered. The wind turbines on the new Jennet's Pier were turning so fast that I thought that the whole structure might take off. To add insult to injury there was an unusually high tide that forced me to run the entire 5 mile return leg on the soft sand - brutal!
By the time I got back my left arm was very red and my neck was coated in sand which was stuck to the sweat. The last couple of miles felt like running in treacle and I was struggling to maintain even 11 min mile pace!
On the plus side, I did get in my 10 miles and I got a lot of fresh air! Best of all, for most of the return leg, mine were the only foot prints on the beach. Nice!
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