Run: The plan was for about 30 minutes of running along the surf

Distance: 3.2 miles

Time: 32:08

Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)

Legs: ★ ★ ★ .5

Gut: ★ ★ ★ ★

Energy ★ ★ ★ ★

Mind: ★ ★ ★ ★

Overall: ★ ★ ★ ★

Soundtrack: Disturbed, Indestructible

I woke up a little sore this morning, but I did need to get in 2 runs during this "work week", and it was looking like another great day for a beach run. Today we came out to Sea Gull Beach, which is right in West Yarmouth, MA. This place was amazing.

A beach-side condo with a little add-on LIGHTHOUSE!

The beach was a lot more sandy than yesterday, and still had calm waters for the kids. For me, the sand was a lot more even and packed down by the surf, so it was a lot less challenging to run on. I ended up running through several areas with "Private Property" signs. I figured no one was going to mind the kind beach-running stranger, and most of these folks were probably renting their friends' properties. So I cruised on by with a smile and a wave until I hit the Bird Conservation Area.

You gotta draw the line somewhere. I was not going to run through the Bird Conservatory.

I guess it's one thing to not disturb the sun-worshipers, it's another thing to blow up some protected wildlife ground. So even though I was only about a 0.75 miles out, I turned it around to explore the opposite end of the beach. After racing past my starting point, and saying hi to the family again, I came across my next barrier - the bay inlet.

No getting past this waterway. Time to change course again.

No way I was making it across this chasm. So change of course again. I noticed that along the drive in to the beach there was a beautiful marsh bay right where this inlet opened up into. I decided to head along this little trail until I found it. I figured there would be some great trail running back there, and the view would be spectacular.

A beautiful sand marsh bay... unfortunately, also protected!

The view was great, but unfortunately (and fortunately, I suppose) the whole area was also protected. So, change of plans again. I guess that I did want to get some road running in this week, so I made my way to the road that we had taken into the beach area. I was about 2/3's done with the run anyway, and I knew that the road would be pretty much free-reign for running. Turns out, this was a pretty nice view as well.

Not my usual road run. Nice view from the road of the marsh bay.

I made my way to what looked like a good turn around point, and then headed back to the beach. All in all, a little bit of everything in this run. This is one of the great parts of running in uncharted territory. It's always great to explore, but you have to be up for making the most of the course that you can get. Happy legs and happy soul is all that matters. There will be plenty of time next week for 4:30 AM tempo runs and hills!

Hot and sweaty after an interesting beach-trail-road run!

And, in case you are interested, here is the location if you'd like to repeat today's experiences:

Stay sandy, friends. See you again soon, Cape Cod!

CMM - The Running Obstetrician, July 24, 2015

Run: The plan was for about 30 minutes of running along the surf

Distance: 3.5 miles

Time: 37:08

Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)

Legs: ★ ★ ★ ★

Gut: ★ ★ ★ ★

Energy ★ ★ ★ ★ .5

Mind: ★ ★ ★ ★ .5

Overall: ★ ★ ★ ★ .5

Soundtrack: Led Zeppelin, Box Set, Disc 2

Oh man, this was just the perfect way to spend a little part of this summer vacation! With our three little ones, a beach trip to Cape Cod was a great plan. My kids love beaches, hotel swimming pools and fried seafood - so this was a perfect pick. I had fond memories of the Cape as a child, and it has been a long time since I've been out here myself.

A beautiful Cape cottage about 0.5 miles into my run.

One of the things that I was looking forward to was getting in a beach run or two so that I could post some cool pictures for everyone. Today's run certainly lived up to my expectations. We made our way out to Mayo Beach, part of Wellfleet, MA. We basically picked our beach based on friendliness to little kids. This beach certainly was mild as it was on the bay side of the Cape and had very little to no surf.

I decided to get running once I saw that the tide was coming in and I was going to lose some of my surf-side running territory to the sea. Beach running is certainly its own animal. I suppose I was planning on running a tempo run today, but beach running provides its own challenges for the legs and the mind. It's not trail running, but it's also not road running. For example, how often do you have to climb over a rock jetty when running on the road?!?!

The tide came in just enough that I had to CLIMB over this rock jetty!

Also, running on the sand is the ultimate in low impact. In fact, the sinking of your foot into the soft sand causes you to work even harder for each step. It's sort of like hills without the hill. And when you step into something really wet, or find a good sized rock under the sand, your trail running skills will certainly come in handy.

So I was hoping to make this great run out to the tip of the coast that I could see from where I started. What ended up happening is when I came around the corner I found this HUGE bay that was probably 2 miles around to the other side to continue on to what originally looked like a continuation of the coast.

Some of the bay that I found when I got around the corner of where I had started.

So basically I decided that the tide was coming in, the family needed to get some lunch, and no way was I turing today's run into a 6 or 7 miler on the sand! I picked out a reasonable turn around point, gave a tap to the wooden stairs and turned it back around.

About 1.7 miles out. As good a turn around point as any!

It's funny how most beach-goers will look at the beach runner in a little bit of disbelief. I sort of agree in that your pace is much slower and your stride is made funny by the soft sand. I got many nice waves and hello's as I ran by a lot of people getting some sun, but then ran into a group of Canada geese who weren't too happy to see me crossing their path!

A small flock of geese not so happy to see me coming. — A small flock of geese not so happy to see me coming.

All in all I got in a great run, and I think that I worked as hard as if I had run intervals on the road. The natural surrounding were certainly a great part of the run! I'm not sure if I could do a beach run every day, but mixing things up is always the best way to go. I covered some good ground today, as you can see from the map of the Cape below.

Mayo Beach in the heart of Wellfleet, MA.

We'll see what tomorrow brings, and if I can find some time to steal away for another beach run tomorrow. Until then, stay sandy my running friends!

Sandy dirty is a whole different kind of dirty! Yeah Beach Runs!!

CMM - The Running Obstetrician, July 23, 2015