Running On the Beach

I am in Florida for the week. The kids are off of school and we're visiting the grandparents. I decided to give a 5K run a try and looked for one in the area of Sarasota. I found a great one on Siesta Key - the 4th Annual Siesta Key Beach 5K Run/Walk for Mental Health Awareness. It was so fun, yet so very hot! I got to about 2.5 miles and started to walk, fearing that I might pass out and totally embarrass myself. But then a woman in headphones, a good 20 years older than I, came up from behind and tapped me and waved me to keep going. She ended up getting first place in her age division.

Though I've been running at the gym at home (it's been too cold for running outside!), I got used to running outdoors on sand. All last year a sandy beach, my backyard, was my "treadmill." This race was so great because it was all sand, no pavement. If you're on the west coast of Florida around this time next year and you like running in 5Ks, go to this run.

Added April 25: I came in fourth in my age category. Who knew!

Creative Commons photos by stephthegeek.