Refreshing Runs

To celebrate the last days of summer before Labor Day, my mom and I did a road trip to visit my sister-in-law in Boston.  After we spent time with her and explored the city (a lot of walking was a good substitute for running that day), we headed to Cape Cod for a few days.  This was the first time I visited the Cape and I definitely fell in love with the area.  It reminded me a little bit of the Hamptons but still unique in its own right.  I am a new fan of the bed and breakfast and enjoyed meeting other guests at the inn as well as conversing with our friendly inn keepers.  Folks there told us that late August, early September is the best time to visit and I couldn’t agree more–days were warm in the 70’s, with little to no humidity, and evenings were cool and balmy.  It was a peaceful place to visit and unwind from the daily grind of the city.  

There is nothing better than running in places you are visiting for the first time.  I certainly enjoyed exploring the town of Chatham, where we stayed, by foot during my eight and five mile runs.  The eight mile run was in the early evening (and I even had mom running a little bit with me at the start) as depicted by some of my favorite photos below:  

Chatham Public Golf Course--I love the blue Adirondack chairs

Boats along the shoreline (during my morning run there were seals playing in the water; I could hear them barking about five blocks away and for a few moments thought the island was haunted with ghosts)

My Thomas Kinkade shot

I love the architecture of this spin-off traditional Cape Cod

Garden stone entryway

Thinking ahead for next summer...

Run along the street

I found this sign interesting and had to figure out what it meant. According to the Massachusetts Driving Manual,"A 'Thickly Settled' district is an area where houses or other buildings are located, on average, less than 200 feet apart." If you find a "Thickly Settled" sign in Massachusetts, don't think of it as a quaint sign. Consider it as a 30 mile an hour speed trap because the law states that speeds over 30 mph in a "Thickly Settled" or business district are not considered reasonable and proper."

          

Lighthouse Beach, Chatham, Massachusetts

We returned from Cape Cod on Friday and to keep the vacation state of mind going I went to the Jersey shore on Saturday with my parents.   I knocked out my 14-mile long  run in 2:22 traverssing 7-mile island (Avalon and Stone Harbor) twice.  I topped it off by cooling off with a rip-tide float in the ocean (it was much warmer than Cape Cod) and napping on my beach towel.  Oh, how I do not want summer to end!  I was holding on to that day on the beach as long as possible. 

Avalon, New Jersey: "Cooler by a Mile"

Now that vacation is over I do feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the next leg of my training schedule.  I rested on Sunday by doing light weights and a little bit of rowing on the rowing machine.  Today I did a seven-mile run and have more runs planned throughout the week.  Running in these new and familar destinations has helped to break up the monotony of running the same place day in and day out. 

Boardwalk run

End of the island, Avalon, New Jersey Boardwalk run Avalon, New Jersey: "Cooler by a Mile"

Week 5 Recap (8/28-9/3): 4 days of running totalling 32 miles (including 14 mile long run), 1 cross training day (including weights)