Vacay Day 5

Today was another run day.  I haven't decided whether I just default to running because it's easiest and I'm without my regular schedule or if it's because I just really really love scenic runs (as much as I'm trying to love Houston, it's not exactly what you'd call 'scenic.'  Okay, not even remotely what you'd call 'scenic').  Probably a mix of both, I would imagine.  Anyway, Bishop and I went for broke today and totally bagged naps so we could just beach it all day which left me giddy at the prospect of doing a run to the jetty, one of my favorite spots at Newport Beach.  My mind raced with what kind of run to do - naturally I can't just straight up RUN, that would be boring, so I settled on a good old fashioned fartlek.  The Newport Beach boardwalk lends itself well to fartlek runs as the blocks are quite short so it's easy to pick a block and start sprinting for a bit.  It was lovely - upon arriving a the jetty (the end of the peninsula - there are crazy waves there, the locals call it 'the wedge' and it's well known for surfing but I've just always referred to it as 'the jetty') I did the following 4 minute plyo circuit to justify myself hanging out there for a minute:
     20 sec burpee (full sprawls and jumps, baby, not just plank), rest 10 sec
     20 sec mountain climbers, rest 10 sec
     20 sec high knees, rest 10 sec
     20 sec jumping jacks, rest 10 sec
     REPEAT the goodness, with the exception of doing any plyo of choice for 30 sec. on round 2.  Love it.
And then it was a return fartlek into the headwind.  Which is somewhat evil, but also somewhat invigorating for some reason.

When I got back to the family's beach spot, I thought I'd be done but then couldn't resist the opportunity to do some sand sprints between the ocean and the boardwalk - it's not all that often I get this caliber of a a beach to do such training.  So off went the shoes and I did 8 or so (yep, magic number 8).  At each end I did some sort of plyo or stabilizing move, i.e. single leg squat with touchdowns, jump squats, etc, just to keep it interesting.  I think Bishop's family thought I was crazy, but oh well.  I played their odd version of paddle ball with them after so I could attempt to fit in again.  Even now I'm not clear on the rules of this game...

There were I think 3 balls going at once and you were playing with someone across from you and you wanted to be the last one standing, or something along those lines...it was fun, nonetheless.  But I think everything is more fun when you're at the beach.

Last day tomorrow...that's always a sad thought!