It's a habit-forming need for more and more.

Patio Playground, Topsail Beach, NC
Relax, damn you.

Currently, I am about halfway through Born To Run (I have bad reading habits) a tale of insanity, ultramarathoners, drug cartels, barefoot running, and a lot of alcohol.

We are now on vacation at Topsail Beach. At the last minute I decided to actually bring running gear. Since the CLE I have been in running-hibernation, and it is time to break out. My belly is getting soft and my muscles slack.

However, reading this book I am loathe to put on shoes. Instead I am going to try a week of barefoot beach running and see what kind of damage that might inflict. The book is chock full of wonder showered on runners who have discovered the pain-free joy of barefoot running.

Since the CLE, I still feel residual pain from the foot injury (as yet undiagnosed) which the wife thought a stress fracture and I thought some kind of pulled tendon.

Topsail Four Mile

Distance: About 4 miles. Really, who cares.
Temperature: 76º

I begin by hitting the ball of the foot. This is an involuntary reaction to the assumption that hitting the arch or rolling heel to toe will be jarring, or expose the foot to unknown pain from foreign objects. After only a few strides I adjust, hitting the beach midfoot, feeling the impact. And they are correct. My alignment corrects itself, and I feel relaxed.

Running next to the surf is uncomfortable. Though the sand is firm, spalshing in the waves is not helpful. Further up the sand is looser, and harder to run in. Further up, the sand is firm, and gives a little, which is nice, but my right knee begins to hurt -- I am running on a slanted surface, slanted towards the ocean. I decide I must run on the beach.

I keep my eyes on the beach, which is a shame, because I would like to take in the surroundings, but I learn how to do that, too. I learn that running over tiny shells does not actually hurt.

Super Bon Bon Genius Playlist
Games Without Frontiers - Peter Gabriel
I’m Afraid of Americans (160 bpm) - David Bowie
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Murder By Numbers - The Police
One World (Not Three) (168 bpm) - The Police
Connection - Elastica
White Girl - Soul Coughing
I Got You - Split Enz
It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M.
So Far I Have Not Found The Science - Soul Coughing
Everyday I Write the Book - Elvis Costelo & The Attractions

It was a glorious run. For my efforts I have created two mammoth blisters, one on the pad of each large toe. Looking forward to how that plays out tomorrow.

First beer -- 10:30 AM.