Beach runs

Now that the sun rises earlier each day, I've gotten into the routine of running on the beach in the mornings a few times each week. The stretch of beach that runs in front of the Hotel del Coronado from NAS North Island to the Naval Amphibious Base is about 1.5 miles, so a down and back of 3 miles is the perfect route for my runs. I use the term "run" loosely since I'd call my 10:00 per mile pace more of a jog! I've always been a morning person, so I love that I can get up at 5:00 a.m. and get a workout in before I have to be at work for 8:00 a.m. I'm determined not to take for granted the fact that I'm only a 5 minute walk from the beach!

Almost every morning run for the last couple of weeks, I've been privy to some pretty amazing sites. Each event random, but moving in its own way. As you can see from these pictures, this morning it was hundreds of sand dollars washed up on the beach! I've never seen anything like it! Usually, stumbling across one sand dollar still whole is like finding hidden treasure, but there were clusters of 30-50 still in-tact sand dollars strewn all along a mile section of the beach this morning. I immediately thought of my sister Monica when I saw them; she and I share a passion for collecting sea shells! Not ones that you can just buy at a beach shop, but ones we've found ourselves. I don't take my camera on runs with me so I returned to the beach post-run with camera in hand for these shots.

Of course, finding sand dollars on the beach was just one of many ways mother nature has rewarded me for donning running shoes and heading towards the Pacific Ocean in the chilly, early morning air. One morning last week I stepped outside to a bone-chilling drizzly morning. Determined that there must still be some military toughness left over in me somewhere in my now cushy life, I determinedly shut the door behind me and headed in the direction of the sound of pounding waves. As I rounded a corner that allowed a full view of the beach and ocean, my breath caught as I gazed upon a full arch rainbow over the ocean. Not just a vividly-colored ribbon in the sky, a streak of early-morning sunlight had escaped through the clouds and was illuminating a three-masted sail boat off in the distance. It was like a spotlight was being shown on the vessel under the arching rainbow. Startling and spectacular all at once.

A couple of mornings prior to the rainbow-sailboat sighting, I was running along and kept catching glimpses of something moving out in the water. It was right at dawn and I couldn't really make out what it was. I kept running along until enough light from the sunrise allowed me to spy the source of movement. I literally stopped in my tracks and stood in amazement as at least 2 dozen dolphins (or porpoises, not sure which) played and surfed through the gently rolling waves. Although I've encountered these beautiful mammals numerous times on fishing trips with my dad and even spent hours in the water off the beach of Pensacola holding one with my buddy Rob trying to save its life (we did!), I had never seen so many at one time. They were swimming into the barrels of surf and riding the waves until I could no longer see them when the wave pounded the beach. I thought for sure they would beach themselves by coming so close, but none did. I reversed course and started walking back up the beach from where I had just ran to follow them as they played. I must've walked parallel to this moving playground for at least 15 minutes until they headed out to deeper water and I could no longer see them.

One of my first pre-sunrise encounters came on a morning run about a month ago. After waking up earlier than intended and not being able to go back to sleep, I decided not to fight it and just got my day cranked off before dawn. Although the beach is somewhat illuminated by the hotels along the water front, it was still quite dark as my footfalls fell into a comfortable pace with the water lapping at my feet. Don't worry Mom, it's quite safe and the beach is patrolled! My attention was divided between early morning thoughts and the rhythmic sound of the waves when I looked further up ahead and saw an image I couldn't quite figure out. It looked like several headlights heading my way but with a lot of shadows moving in and out of their beams. After a few more minutes, the mystery was solved as a whole class of Navy BUDS candidates/SEALS closed the gap between me and their formation. It was comforting to know that I wasn't the only early-morning runner out there! Although I still miss being in the military, a feeling of freedom washed over me as I reminded myself that I was out there running by choice and not by mandate!

With all these sightings, I take off in anticipation each morning for my runs excited about what might be awaiting me!