I happened to have the day to myself, and the weather forecast for the coast was sunny with Lincoln City's forecast slightly warmer than Newport's. I put my running clothes on and hopped in the car. I decided that I would stop at every beach I noticed between Newport and the Lincoln City outlet mall and run at least a mile.
First stop: Beverly Beach. Beautiful and windy. I couldn't find any good firm sand to run on but I went 1.23 miles there.
Next I stopped at the Devil's Punch Bowl. There wasn't much fizz in the punch today.
There were lots of steps to get down to the Beach, so that was a bonus! Beautiful beach to run on. Totalled 1.14 here.
I passed Cape Foul Weather and strangely, the blue skies turned to gray. Fogerty Beach was pretty chilly, with nothing but very soft sand. I struggled to run .44 miles here. If you can call my motions running!
Gleneden Beach was also dark, but the surf was fun to watch.
The tide chased me, causing me to increase my pace and scurry up the beach a few times! Firmer sand here, and I enjoyed 1.83 miles in spite of the lack of sunshine.
Things were looking a little better when I got into Lincoln City. I went down to the Taft District and forgot to take any pictures of the beach there, which was crowded with lots of people, but this is from the deck overlooking the bay.
The sand there was very soft too, and I had to stick to a trail at the back edge of the beach. After my 1.04 miles, I sat on a sunny bench watching people playing on the beach and ate my eagerly anticipated lunch. Ok, here's what I had. Diced smoked chicken breast (smoked on our Traeger), string cheese sliced into little rounds, halved cherry tomatoes, and basil leaves, all sprinkled with basalmic vinegar. Fantastic! I'm taking it to work tomorrow too!
Next stop: The outlet mall! It was very cloudy and chilly there, but what did that matter? Some of my favorite stores - the Ann Taylor Loft, Maurices and the Gap - had some beautiful things. I brought just a few home and left the rest. I am still amazed and grateful every time those size 6 pants fit. It is so much fun to try on clothes.
As I headed north out of Lincoln City, the skies cleared, and Road's End beach was beautiful. I took a 2.68 mile run/walk, noticing some soreness in my legs. That sand-running works different muscles for sure!
8.36 miles altogether, but breaking it up that way made it easy. I ended my beach day sitting on a log and gazing at the breakers rolling in for awhile, counting my blessings. How awesome is it that I can drive less than two hours and be at this incredibly beautiful place so different from my home? I thank God for my good health, strong body, my amazing husband, my loving and large family, wonderful friends, great job working with fantastic people, my church family...and the list goes on and on. I am truly grateful for my many blessings.
This was so much fun, I may need to make it an annual event. Anyone want to join me next year?!
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