I woke to warmer than expected temps, and a bright early morning thanks to DST. Heading out towards the overpass, I decided to see what a beach loop would feel like, haven't headed east in quite some time, and the thought of ocean scents and sounds felt like a nice reward- so off I went! Up and over the overpass then settling in for the 4 miles until I took the left up to Dania Beach Blvd. Once again the calculation on the MapMyRun GPS seemed longer than I remember...but now I was curious; just how many miles is this loop anyway? And as for the Plan, I was due for a 10-er, a nice little break.
One of my favorite stretches is the long (it feels long) lonely road to Dania Beach. As usual per Sunday mornings, there are plenty of cyclists and a few other runners out there, as I pushed through strong blustery headwinds to make it up onto the Intercoastal overpass ... and cruise down past the beach parking and head south along the beach itself. The walkway cuts down from Dania Beach to North Beach, where lots of runners, cyclists, bladers and walkers are busy getting their morning exercise. At this point, I had stopped hearing the miles prompt and had no real idea how far I'd gone, but was onto a fine stretch when I made my pit-stop at North Beach.
I took my time, took a few more pix and headed back west on Sheridan with the wind at my back. It was a pretty torturous time although I kept a run up until the last bit before climbing the overpass one more time before home. The distance said 11.25. I used to think that loop was about 13. Either way, it felt good to know I could pull that off and that I'm still 'on schedule', more or less, on my plan.
Meanwhile, I caught the last 6-8 miles of the NYC marathon and saw the women's and men's winners cross the finish line, all in world record time. It is hard to describe what its like watching a world class runner cruise through sub- 5 minute miles at the END of a marathon, while I struggle just to RUN any distance at all...and the crazy motivation it gives me to know just what I CAN do, by comparison.
Congrats to the runners, winners and finishers at NYC yesterday, for a job very well done! And I remember to pat myself on the back: I put my mind to complete that run yesterday and I did. It is small accomplishments, unsung, that sometimes put us back into a place of confidence. Grab them when you see them unfold for you: they are your daily gifts.
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