Thanksgiving seems to make everybody post lists of what they’re thankful for. Instead, I will just describe all the good things about today’s run, and state that I’m thankful for everything that made that run happen (which is a lot of things).
Late in the afternoon I stepped out the door into cool evening air. I walk a short distance on a reasonably quiet street, past a school. Turn at the quaint church, where there are always flowers laid at Mary’s feet. At the telephone pole I start running, crossing the train tracks almost immediately. There are no signals at this place, just a path worn away through some grass by many people crossing the tracks here. I run on the right sidewalk, along the wetland. Some days I’ll see a rabbit here, but not today.
Then I reach the beach, just 3 or 4 minutes into my run, and turn to follow it. Today there was plenty of wet, hard sand for me to run on. Early in my run there were several seagulls flying the other way, about 5 feet above the ground. I’d like to say that I spent time dodging seagulls, but they’re much too smart to run into me. The beach was relatively empty. There were just some people going for a walk, a couple of runners, and a handful of hardy vacationers who were determined to have their day at the beach. There were also many people walking their dog. Watching a greyhound sprint through the surf is quite a sight.
Further on there were a dozen surfers in the water, waiting for the next big wave. Close to my turn-around point I spotted a dolphin jumping clean out of the water. It looked like a group of 2 or 3, lazily making their way up the coast. My way back is (obviously) very similar to the way there. I did spot the dolphins several more times. I also passed my neighbors, who said a quick hello as I jogged past. Working out is always better if other people know that you’re doing it. To top off a perfect run, I ran a dead even split. (Plus nine seconds really, but who’s counting?)