Barefoot Marc and I ran on Siesta Key Beach this morning. Two runs, 5k apiece at a conversational, easy pace. I had to take a 10 minute break between the runs to take a work call (boo).
My favorite, favorite, favorite part of this run was towards the end of the second run when I'd begun to fatigue. I jetted out onto a sandbar that got further and further from shore. At one point, Marc and I were cooking along at a decent clip (for us) and I realized we were at least 20 or 30 feet from shore, flying along a parallel ribbon of white sand with 0-12" of clear Gulf of Mexico washing over.
This was absolutely the most unadulterated and abundant joy I have experienced in recent memory.
But then, it got even better. Precisely at the moment when I realized how overjoyed I was and unleash a full blown smile, I made eye contact with a lady sitting in the shallow water with her family. The instant we exchanged a very, very warm and happy smile, my pace increased, my stride became more fluid and the fatigue I'd been feeling vanished. It was a jolt of positive energy and it was really in this moment that I knew that I was running smiley.
Here is a direct link to the full-size imageand yes, that person is wearing shoes, heel striking away knowing she's protected from this powdered sugar quartz sand, incidentally voted this year's #1 Beach in America (it's true.) She must've thought Marc and I were just nuts to run barefoot on this dangerous surface.
It's worth further mentioning that this beach is crawling with runners and MOST of them are in shoes. It absolutely boggles my mind.
This is the second time Marc and I have run Siesta Key Beach on the first Sunday of the month. It's a regular thing, so if anyone is interested in joining us, there's your invitation.
Siesta Key - it ain't too shabby. Full size image here.
If you really, really want to geek out on this place, check out what Google Images has for it.
