Monday, April 12, 2010

Another Beautiful Day in the Outer Banks!/Monday Brain Exchange


Could life be any better?  Perfect temperatures!  Great friends! Good food!  No schedule!  THE OCEAN!

"Beach Kill - I can never resist taking pictures of beach kill."


You reach the top of this path and there it is!

Only if you have really good eyes will you see the dolphins in this picture!

I went for two runs today. The first one was this morning. I ran on the beach, a great deal of the time with no one around but the ocean and me!  I went more than 6 miles and it took me a long time. I ran fairly slowly and stopped to watch dolphins and take pictures.  There was  a dolphin feeding very close to the shore. I tried to get pics but blew it.  The sun was so bright I couldn't preview what I had taken!  I saw many dolphins but had the most fun watching  one feeding close to the shore.  As I was headed back I saw what I thought was  a bird after something on the beach.  As I got closer I realized it was a seal. It headed back into the water.  I watched it for awhile but then went back to running and looking for dolphins!  Overall I was just having a great time.

LOVING BEING HERE!

I came back and got in the hot tub and read my book.  The whole day was all about doing nothing constructive.  Later in the day everyone headed back to the beach. I decided to run again.  When we got there I was very distracted from my run by ALL THE DOLPHINS! They were everywhere.  They were in pods of 9 or so and everywhere you looked you could see them feeding.  I would run a few feet and stop to watch them  again.  They were in one area in particular and even jumping out of the water.  I had SO MUCH FUN watching them.  I asked some fishermen if this was common and they said in all the years they have been coming they have never seen so many  going so "crazy." I did get a whole two miles in but it was very very hard running because the tide was in so far that you had to run on very soft sand and it was tough!  I tried but without a lot of success.

Now for the Monday Brain Exchange from One Little Tri Girl:
How do you train?  Do you use a schedule, have a coach or go with the flow?  Do you train alone or with group?
I definitely use a schedule if I am training for a marathon or a half marathon.  I use Hal Higdon most of the time and am rather anal about following it. If I am not training for a longer race I go with the flow.  I run five days a week and have a minimum number of miles I "have to do."  I have never had a coach but love the idea.  I don't run with a group but would love to at times.  I do have a great weekend running partner!

25 comments:

HappyTrails said...

I love you being there, too! Sounds like a very grand time. I am sure seeing the dolphins is really neat. It looks so peaceful. Glad you are having fun and recharging your batteries!
Kathleen

Unknown said...

Your ocean shots are wonderful! The ocean and beaches are so different from ours and I love that! It looks like you're having a great spring break! I am taking a half day Friday and Mon.-Wed. off from school. It's hard...I've been doing sub plans for 2 weeks!!! I have a lot of sick days since I've been at this a while and I rarely miss school. I just have a guilty conscience though and I still haven't "broken the news" to my families yet. I hope you continue to enjoy your days off, see you soon!

Marlene said...

Sounds like a beautiful run! Glad you're enjoying yourself and taking in all the sights. I would love to be near the beach right now!

MCM Mama said...

Beautiful pictures! Sounds like you are having a lovely time!

Molly said...

wow, that's a lot of dolphins.

I'm going to google Hal Higdon...I need to pick a marathon training plan. Not sure which direction to go to train for anything over a half.

Anne said...

Sigh...I sure wish I was there! What a great pic of you running on the beach...sounds like you're having an amazing time! I love dolphins :)

Ewa said...

not only are you in this beautiful place but you got to watch the dolphins. Me wants to go there. Now.
I usually have a training plan but I am very flexible following it.
A coach, somebody like Jilian from Biggest Loser would be good for me. I need somebody to kick my butt ever so often. Now one thing I would not like though is psychoanalysis of why I am the way I am.

Monica said...

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!

newrunner said...

You are very inspiring! Making sure to get your run in even while on vacation, way to go!

Lisa said...

Oh my, that looks like running heaven :) Glad you are having a nice relaxing time. I'm not jealous. No really, I'm not :)

Darlene said...

I am so jealous........ Have fun!

Julie said...

I am officially jealous!! I am also in love with that darn ocean:) By the way who is that hottie running on the beach? You are looking good girl!!

Libby said...

Looks gorgeous!!! Looks like a glimpse of my run (looking at the gulf of mexico) but way less hot. I probably would have just stopped to watch or walk really slowly through that part

Char said...

Those photos are gorgeous. I could almost smell the brine. And dolphins! Must have been a spectacular run.

Amy said...

How amazing to see all those dolphins, they are such beautiful creatures. Sounds like you are having an awesome getaway!

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

So glad you are enjoying your trip. The outer banks is pretty much my favorite place to go. To answer your questions ... I didn't get my keens yet. I get to choose the ones I want. And I do run with my camera. We bought a small cheaper one that can fit in a pocket. I put it in a ziploc bag and put it in my race belt.

Pining for Pinterest said...

Oh my goodness!!! Can you sense my jealousy right now!? It looks like such a great trip. Glad you are enjoying yourself :) Did you just finish Change of Plans by Jodi Picoult?

misszippy said...

That looks so nice! I am very jealous of your laid-back, unconstructed time! Enjoy the rest of it.

Alisa said...

Gorgeous! There is nothing like running with an ocean backdrop in my opinion.

I've used Hal a few times too now I kinda just create my own =). LOL

Heidi said...

You vacation sounds absolutely amazing. The type of vacation I love. A whole lot of nothing but doing the things you love to do. WOW!

Tricia said...

lovely pics!

Oh, and I saw you leave a comment on Jens blog about a coupon code for RunningSkirts.com

Mine is still active. Use "endurance" to receive 15% off your order following checkout. (it shows up after you checkout)

Jess said...

Beautiful pics!

I actually have a funny dolphin story: We were staying on Sanibel Island here in FL, and one morning at the beach, someone starts screaming, "Shark! Shark!" Pepople are screaming and yanking their kids out of the water, and I look up from my book and say to Jerry, "That's a dolphin, not a shark!" Soon, people realize the mistake in indentification and suddenly, they're all rushing back inTO the water in order to try and swim with the dolphin. Crazy.

I Run for Fun said...

What a heavenly vacation! You got to see dolphins and a seal. Love that you got such entertaining runs!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Dolphins?! What a great run!!!

Anonymous said...

I would pause to watch the dolphins if I had the opportunity too! What fun! (Found you via the Monday Brain Exchange post for this week!)