Captain Gelato And The Ocean Swell

Oh what an awesome run!  I was dying for something new today and decided to get a mix of beach and rock in.  On route to my run I hit Hannaford to pick up dinner, and they were giving away 5 tasty samples of gelato!  Oh yeah!  It didn't really matter what they were giving away, I was going to eat it, but the gelato seemed to give me quite a burst of energy.  A bit reminiscent of spinach for Popeye I might say.

I started the run at Ferry Beach, warmed up a bit to give the gelato some time to settle and headed off along the beach with the most gorgeous sun behind misty clouds.  I ran along the beach until it ended then hopped up on the road for a brief bit before hitting the trail around Prout's Neck.  From there it's a fantastic speedy run on bedrock, over planks and bridges, a bit of mud and through rose bush tunnels.  The trail opens up here and there but towards the end reveals stunning views of Scarborough Beach, and more importantly a real nice ocean swell with perfect pealing a-frames.  I was planning to head back for a surf session in the morning, so I was real excited to get a preview of what was in store.  After a few fun smooth rocky sections it was on to Scarborough Beach.

I picked it up a bit on the sand curious to see the condition of the waves closer to the houses.  There were half a dozen or so people in the water with 3 to 5's rolling in but not too many were being ridden.  I was only planning on running for an hour but I also wanted to hit the end of the beach before turning around.  The turn around took 36 minutes and felt only mildly sluggish but I gained new vigor with the setting sun now in my face.  The beach went by fast and I went through the Prout's Neck section as quick as I could stopping only once to stare at the gorgeous, powerful waves.  Running along the ocean at high tide with waves crashing, the smell of salt in the air, clanking rocks, and squishing mud underfoot is just heaven.  After the road section it was back on Ferry Beach for the eight tenths of a mile or so back to the parking lot.


Excellent fun run with a great mix.  All I need now is a 4 thousand footer in the middle...


efficiency:  Yeah, gelato.  Good to run with no races on the horizon and just feel and be.

distance:  8ish
duration:  1:09:27