OBX running

I keep trying to figure out what it is I want to say about my weekend of solo running on OBX (Outer Banks of North Carolina).  It wasn't a stellar run.  The air was sweet though.  Blog worthy.

It was a beautiful day.  There was no blast of wind in my face to discourage me, and yet, I wasn't feeling it.

The green was still green and the sky was still blue.  I saw runners and cyclists.  Surfer dudes and fishermen in giant diesel coughing pickup trucks.  The roads were my only option.  It is hunting season.

The watchful lady looked over me with her solitary eye.  I ran from shaded roads to blinding sun and back again.  I was scolded by Canadian Geese, probably because I'm a southern girl, but you never know with geese.  They don't seem very discerning.

And I ran into a deer friend of mine.  Literally, within feet of him.  If I'd been insane, I could have reached out to touch his chestnut coat.  He was magnificent.  I heard him make a low woofing sound of air as he took me in.  The wet black nose flared, and his wide eyes widened.  I'm pretty sure he's telling his deer wife about the magnificent human runner he met on the road.  As I slowly extracted my phone from my pocket for a photo he jumped two graceful bounds that covered about 20 feet, and then he stopped, posing for the camera.  His gaze said, "So are you going to take it, or what?"

I took the photo, and then we both ran on.

I dropped past Shutter Up and ate a small piece of banana and took some water, but it wasn't quite enough.

Or perhaps too much.

Within a few more miles I was done, and I headed for the shower.  Initially, I thought I wasn't strong enough to finish.

And then I shrugged off the mantle of guilt and said, "this kind of thinking is unproductive".

I went back to eating too much pie, drinking margaritas and enjoying the time I get with my father at the beach.  Because some things are worth feeling guilty about, and dropping off a solo vacation run just isn't one of them.

Besides, I told myself on Saturday, It's not like you're training for a marathon or something.  You're just running.  A lot.

~savor the run~