Running is stupid sometimes

Let me clarify....

Running - at the beach - in August - in Georgia - is practically stupid.



This weekend we were celebrating my parent's 40th wedding anniversary at the old homestead on Tybee Island, GA. I took a vacation day friday, so after working a full day on Thursday we packed up the car and made the 6 hour drive down to the island. Luckily the kids slept part of the way and it went much better than I had anticipated.


Friday was sooooo relaxing. Mom had been down there all week, and Dad came down thursday as well. So in the morning we all hung out, and of course the kids couldn't wait to get down to the beach. It wasn't blazing hot like I expected, but mid-80's and really sunny. We put up a canopy to give some shade, the water was warm, and everyone had fun.




The girls playing with Uncle Mikey and Aunt Summer in the water. They live in Charleston so we don't get to see them as often as we (or the kids) would like. The girls really love getting to visit with their uncles!

Dad even got in on some of the action hanging with me, mom, and Bigun in the surf.


Dolphins! That close to us. You can see a dolphin in the background as they are getting out of the water, and a closer shot at one. There was about 4 playing gently in the channel there on their way back out to sea.

In the afternoon my brother Michael and his wife Summer made it down from Charleston. Michael has another awesome European tour coming up this fall, and we got to hear all about the summer tour through Germany/Austria and France, as well as the North American tour he did earlier this year.


Savannah is a big port city, so they get big cargo ships coming through the channel like that! When the ships come through that close, it makes the biggest waves we get on our beach from the wake. really cool.

Aunt Summer, Evil Genius, Bigun, and Uncle Mikey playing in the surf

That girl knows how to work a pole too well. Daddy's going to have to work on that. Daddy rule #1 in effect!

Fried seafood for dinner was outstanding. Something about eating seafood on the beach....

Saturday morning I got up to go run. I knew it was time to do the August half marathon in my "13.1 every month" challenge. So I figured while it was flat and I know the island well, I would get out and clock it for august. I filled up the Camelbak with that nasty desalinated water, sparked up the garmin and took off.

It was in the mid-80's already, leaving about 9 am. I was just going to hit the roads on the island for 13.1 miles in any configuration I could possibly get. The first 3.4 miles were right around the house and the lighthouse when I felt a familiar grumble. I thought there were some public restrooms near the lighthouse, so I headed back that way. Nothing doing. Heading back to the beachhouse for a quick stop and it turns out the whole rest of the fam was heading out to breakfast. I should have joined them.

Back out on the roads, I made it about another 10 minutes before the wheels started coming off. Seriously, 45 minutes into this run it was so hot and humid it felt like I was running through soup! I was still, for the most part, holding around an 8 minute pace. Legs were dead, lungs were filled with moisture, I felt like a zombie out there. And I was only about 6 miles into a half marathon.

So I took an e-Gel at 6 miles, and felt better. Took another e-Gel at 10 miles and was ready to take it on home. At 12.5 miles I ran out of that nasty water and got a really bad cramp. It's tough to drain the camelbak, this bad boy takes about 90 oz of fluid and I filled it up. I needed every drop I could squeeze out of it. The cramp was on my left side right at the bottom of my rib cage, so I walked it back to the house. Final run was 13.0 miles in 2:05:14 for my first half time over 2 hours since march.

Now that the temps have cooled down some, I might try again just to put up a better time. I've got some longer runs on the schedule anyway.




As if the day wasn't rough enough, we went back down to the beach about 12:30 on saturday, and while playing in the ocean water Bigun got stung by a jellyfish!! That will certainly put a damper on things. She was in less than knee deep water for her, and I was only about a foot away from her and didn't get anything. It really hurt, but we went back to the house, treated with vinegar, and she was ok pretty soon afterwards.


We then ate more fried seafood. it was fantastic.


Sunday was just a get up and drive home kind of day. Took right at 6 hours, including a stop for lunch and a stop at South of the Border for a potty break. 6 hours is a really long time for a 4 year old and a 6 year old to sit in the car! It was 94 degrees when we were in Savannah at 11 am, and only 83 degrees when we got back to Raleigh at 5 pm. Insane!!





Bigun riding the waves with Uncle Mikey, and both girls enjoying the surf with their Grandmother.


All in all it was a wonderful way to celebrate 40 years worth of marriage. Relaxing, just sitting in the ocean letting the waves gently float us around, and spending time with family. It's all that really matters.