Cat & Mouse

Its taken me all week to get to writing about my walk on the beach last Saturday - at least the physical part of the walk. I wrote about the intangibles of it on my regular blog days ago. And, I even wrote about the physical part here earlier today. Then I hit a wrong button & puff it was GONE. That's the second time that's happened to me this week. I don't know how the heck its happening, but its beyond frustrating.

When I arrived at the beach I intended to stick to the "easy" trail that parallels the beach. Call me lazy, but the thought of a rocky beach and/or sinking into sand didn't really match what I had in mind for a productive walking experience. Things started out well... for a few feet. Then this.... the trail totally blocked with water. I attempted to go around the water only to end up with water to my ankle. I managed to pull my foot back very quickly and no water made it into my shoe.

So, over the logs I climbed to the main part of the beach. There were rocks. There was sink halfway to your knees sand. There was the water logged sand with just a little bit of cushion to it.

When I walk on the beach, my favorite place to walk is as close to the waves as I can get. In the winter, I try to stay dry just because its COLD. In the warmer months, I'm right in the edge with bare toes. It freaks Young Sir out because he is scared of ocean type water. But its not uncommon to find me up to my knees walking in the water. Which gives some serious resistance to the walk... especially when a larger wave comes in and you have stay upright.

And so it was on this walk... me playing my game of cat & mouse with the water. The one where the water is the cat & I am the mouse. By the time I arrived at the beach, the tide was working its way in. The first part of the walk, I was able to skirt the waves with a little side step. That progressed into a quick little jog to avoid the waves. Which turned into a full sprint to beat the water & stay dry. Pretty soon I was running when I didn't need to be... when there were stretches of sand without too many rocks so I didn't have to worry about slipping or twisting an ankle on them. It was kind of like natures way of doing intervals. About the time I'd feel like I was going to die there would be rocks & about the time I was breathing easier it would open up to sand again.

At about the 1.0 mile mark, it happened. The cat caught the mouse and I was soaked nearly to my knees. Talk about COLD!!! Now right then & there I could have easily called it good and made my way back to the car. Or I could have gone back to the now dry part of the trail above to avoid getting caught in another wave. I did neither. Instead, I kept walking right at the edge for another half mile or so. Sometimes outrunning the waves, sometimes falling prey to the cat. Until I came to this...



There is really no getting around this pile of logs & rock unless the tide is extremely low. And then you run the risk of not making it back around before the tide blocks it off again. But, this marks the first time I have ever walked the entire accessible length of this particular beach. This is a beach I have been walking on since I first came here 17 years ago! I feel like its a bit of an accomplishment that I pushed on to the last possible spot... especially with my pants & shoes HEAVY with water (and sand).

The walk back up the beach was when all the good intangibles happened. As I was trudging along with my heavily soaked shoes & pants I could really feel the burning in my calves. Much of the walk back I didn't bother to avoid the water at all. The resistance of the water felt really good. There were a couple of particularly strong waves that about knocked me over. That's when I decided I should go to the edge again... for the sake of my phone if nothing else, lol.

I have always loved walking on the beach. I think I had possibly forgotten what a workout it can be to play cat & mouse with the water... but it really is a fun way to get your heart pumping & change things up from time to time. This was my first time ever running on the beach (unless it was to get away from a wave) and I LOVED IT!

Total distance a little over three miles. Not the miles I could have logged at the gym... but sometimes its the quality, not the quantity. :)