Rollin' 'cross the Bridge

This week we were on vacation at Sunset Beach, NC.  It's a wonderful place, where you can relax, take it easy, and of course, get some good runs in! Let's get the run recap out of the way...

• Monday: 4.71 at an 8:49 pace.  It was windy and a bit rainy, but overall, a good run.  My calves were tight, but even though I ran stopped and stretched at mile 2, I kept a good pace.  I was sluggish for first couple miles, as it had been a while since a good run.
• Tuesday: Ran a mile with my kids (yes, I'm counting that), and then ran 4 miles with My Lovely Wife.  I wore my 5Fingers on this run, and yes, my calves were very tight again!  Kept the pace easy though.
• Wednesday: 8 miles with My Lovely Wife.  Normal shoes this time.  Kept pace easy and it was a very good run (mostly because I got to run with my wife!)
• Thursday: A Fast 5.7 miles with my normal shoes (with mile 2 and mile 5 at an 8:04 pace), with an overall pace of 8:11.  Then I ran 2 miles with my Number One Son. That was good too! (also did the 2 mile run in my 5Fingers).
• Friday: Back at home, did an easy 3 miler in my 5Fingers (9:03 pace).

So far, 28.45 miles.  Hopefully, I'll get a good long run in tomorrow to round out the week.

So, the Beach.  Very nice, very pleasant.  Got to stay with My Lovely Wife's parents, so that was very good.  Also got to spend time with her Grandmother (Nana), so that was a double-bonus.

It also may be the last time we got to drive across the old swinging bridge.  They are building a new bridge (non-swinging, non-draw) to replace the old one, and it may be done by the time we visit again later this Summer.  Who knows.  It's a one lane bridge, pretty bumpy (wooden planks on iron or steel -- I think) and you can't go more than 10 mph on it or else it rattles your car apart, but it's been there since 1961 and it has helped defined the beach since.  It is pretty much a residential beach, with only a few commercial stores on the beach.  I don't know if the new bridge will bring more commercial stores (probably), but I hope they keep the spirit of the beach intact.  But enough about that :)

I did run across the bridge last year, and I don't really recommend it.  I ran early in the morning, which was good, as there was less traffic on the bridge.  They don't mention pedestrians explicitly, but they say that bicyclists must cross after the cars, so I ran pretty much sprinted across the bridge as fast as I could after the last car, but still didn't make it before the car traffic started coming back the other way.  Fortunately, they were nice and drove extra slow when passing me.  The new bridge is supposed to have a pedestrian walkway, but we'll see.  It's a pretty steep incline (since it's a bridge) so it might be a tough climb.  Ask me again later this summer about it!

I won't say that it has been a good week in running, as I still have my long run to go, but actually, it has :)