5K On The Sand

I mentioned in my last post that I would be doing a virtual 5K for my home town’s  “Community Foundation Run”. This is a big event held each year. There is a lot of money raised for different charity/ organizations. I registered for the run a few weeks ago. It was to be held on April the 4th. Due to the Covid-19 scare, they chose to cancel the race and asked everyone to do it virtually on our own time between now and midnight April 4th.

I decided to do the 5k (3.10miles) while I was at the beach. I thought I would be at an advantage running on a flat beach one way and back. 

I was wrong. 

Have you ever tried to run on sand? It was not that easy. I ran on dry firm sand but I did not have that bounce in my run to help my stride.

Nick made sure to stay behind me as he did his regular morning walk. I stayed in his view. He can almost walk as fast as I run. He turned and headed the other way before I started coming back (now he was in my view and I never caught up with him). He did this so he could beat me to the end to take a photo of my finish. 

This was my 3rd 5K. The first one I did was a couple years ago. I was 10lbs lighter and finished at 38.34 minutes. This time I came in at 41.29.

I never prepare for these things. This time I had a big meal the night before and was still sore from a workout my daughter had me doing just a couple days ago. I walk every day, but never run, so when I do a 5k run, I will run a little and walk a little. Maybe one day I will train myself to beat my record instead of lose to myself. 

I logged into the site and entered my time and a photo for proof. I will be receiving a T-shirt in the mail soon. 

I doubt I will, but if I am the winner in my age group (female 50-55) I will receive a great amount to donate to a charity of my choice. My choice will be the Crisis Pregnancy Center. This is a Christian organization that help pregnant ladies make the right choices for their unwanted pregnancy through counseling and/or adoption. 

I am back home on higher ground now. I wish I could have stayed longer at the beach. It was so nice down there but It was suppose to rain the rest of the week and with nothing open we didn’t want to sit in the camper every day. It was fun while it lasted. 

It’s Different Here

We packed the Ford Escape (aka Betty) and headed to the beach. Before we got out of the drive way, a little bird was flapping around the hood of the car in a frantic. Nick said “I bet she has a nest under the hood”. Sure enough, she did.

We hated to do it, but we destroyed the eggless nest and went on our way.

We got wind that the county would be making everyone stay home, so we got out while we could. We wanted to stay at our “other home” since it had a better view. We still practiced our safe distancing. We carefully filled the tank with gas not to touch the grip bare handed. We have kept our hands washed and make sure to sanitize our hands constantly.

We were able to stop at our half way point near Darlington got take a pit stop. They have clean restrooms. We also grabbed some fresh veggies and some Angel food cake. 

The roads were clear with only minimal traffic. That was nice. Once we go to our camper and set everything up, we headed out for a walk. It was quite.

It felt odd and strange.

I get up every morning and have breakfast then walk out to the beach for some quiet time with Jesus and coffee. 

(This cute cup was a surprise gift from Jean at “bjsweetnothings” blog)

There are usually lots of people out, but not this time. It’s just so different here. Sort of a weird vibe. This is normally a busy time of the year. Everyone is behaving, minding there own business and keeping their distance. I’m not complaining though. I actually like it. Throwing up a hand wave and a smile with everyone is fine with me. 

We have been able to get curb side or carry out food from our favorite restaurants and have a stock of food in the camper to get us by for a while. The grocery stores are still open but we are trying to avoid going. We can smell the grills cooking all around the campground. We will be doing some grilling out too. 

We did a lot of walking and tomorrow morning I will be running a 5k...Alone. This is an event I registered and paid for in my home town, but it got cancelled due to this crazy pandemic. They ask that we all do it on our own and turn in our times. What a better place to do it than here at the beach. 

I’ll let you all know how I did in my next post. Wish me luck. I’m not really prepared for running and I’m still sore from a workout I did at home last week.