26kms along my favourite piece of NS shoreline

This post is a bit of an experiment as I'm sending it from my Blackberry. I intended to head back to the city tonight but find I'm too weary to drive after an especially tough long run, so am going to snuggle in for another night by the fire at our country place instead.

My route today started and ended on Risser's Beach - which (other than PEI where I grew up) is my favourite place in the world. The forecast called for mild, sunny weather so I was looking forward to running along my favourite piece of shoreline. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong. Though the sun made a few brief appearances early on, it was cold, grey and windy for most of the three hours it took me to run 26kms. I've no idea what the windspeed was - but high enough that I thought I might be blown into the ocean as I crossed the bridge to Bell's Island.

Despite the less than ideal conditions (or, more accurately, because of them), today's run was excellent preparation for the race I'll be doing late next month - Hamilton's Around the Bay - a hilly 30km course. At least, that's what I kept telling myself as driving sleet forced me to run the 2km length of Crescent Beach with my eyes closed! I'm told the weather is unpredictable in Hamilton at the end of March so it's conceivable it will be much like it was here today - though I certainly hope not.

Fortunately, the conditions along the remainder of the route were considerably better so I was able to enjoy visiting many of my favourite haunts - Green Bay, the boardwalk along the back bay at Risser's Beach, Crescent Beach (with the wind at my back), and Bell's Island. (I'll add a few pics when I get back to my computer tomorrow.) And I loved having them almost entirely to myself. Due to the cold weather, I crossed paths with only a handful of dogwalkers the whole time I was out.

Green Bay Beach - and my dream home.

It's time now to organize myself for an early start in the morning and ice my knee for a bit. Given the extra effort it took to run 26kms in today's conditions, I feel good overall - though I expect I'll be a tad stiff tomorrow - a small price to pay for the good fortune of being able to indulge my passion for running.

Monday am:  Click here to see other photos from my run.  And here for a reminder of the importance of being grateful for good health and doing what you can to maintain it.