a lovely challenge

So I was up in Comox mowing for some new people and staring at the ocean every time I turned around. I decided that when I was done, I was going to run my steady 7km around Goosespit...park? Is it a park? It looks like some naval base or something. It's a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze and clouds being puffy all over the sky. It is SO rad an idea...in theory.
I got down there and started changing out of my hard as fuck Garden Hoe coveralls, and the breeze felt a little more windy down here in the sun. Whatever, I got into the passenger seat and put on my clean socks and running shoes, sorted out my ipod decided to hide my keys under my mower in the back. No pockets.
I set out for it on the road. My left foot had a gimp in the top of it, when I tried to push off on my toes. It messed me up, so I twice stopped my timer(or thought I had) and took off my shoe and massaged and twisted my poor foot, trying to get it to snap back to where it must belong. No dice. I kept going, just with a bit of a funny step. I figured it would go away as I warmed up, and it did.
The road ended, or there was a gate into the base that I couldn't go through. So I went onto the beach...oh yeah; the beach here is rocks. It is so hard to run on rocks! Sand is one thing, that is slow. I only know this now because now I have tried to run in both sand, and pea gravel, as well as big, loose rocks. In my mind it was going to be so beautiful. I didn't exactly picture myself doing any Baywatch-style running on the beach, I am not delusional about how I run, but this...I didn't picture this at all. Which is funny because I have been here a bunch before. I just saw it in my mind differently since I've never run here, along this "beach".
So, I was taking really slow-mo steps, and every third step felt like I was sinking and my ankle was turning, turning, oh! Saved! I decided that this was going to be a strength building run. I was not going to turn my ankle here. I was going to train to...I was nervous about even thinking it. I don't want to jinx my summer...I'm afraid to write it, but...well, I was going to train my ankles not to roll this skate season. I was going to use this crappy, difficult--challenging surface to my advantage.
I was running into the wind, and it was really windy. I just kept my eyes on the ground, wary of taking a bad step. I slowed my already usually slow pace, dug in my feet with each step and tried to enjoy the feeling of this hard work. I looked out on the waves a little...in my mind I had pictured my head up, and looking over the water alot more, but this crazy surface demanded my attention at every step. 2kms, it told me, and I'd found sort of a happy higher ground, running along a sandy, pebbly ridge up a ways from the water.
There was a log sticking straight out from the beach, pointing at Courtenay across the water, and when I came around it, the whole beach was sand and seagrass from there on. A big blue crested heron rose up from under the sand dunes that fell sharply down into the calm tropical blue water. I was around the point. I stopped my timer, took out my earphones and just stood for awhile in the sun, out of the wind, watching the heron circle me, trying to decide whether to stick around.
That was really hard, and I was only at 2.85kms. I turned back and ran along, closer to the water, just above the wetline, in the pea gravel stuff. I started pushing myself a little on the way back. I was rising to this challenge today. I was running into the wind again...how the fuck is this possible? and no fkn fair! were the initial thoughts, but then I really felt the wind and it seemed to be circling me, my own tornado I was creating, and that was a cool idea, so I was happy. My nose was really sniffly, and after making sure I was truly alone out here, I tried a farmer blow- another first for me! And a last as well...the wind...yeah, it didn't go so well..well, I thought it had...for probably half a km, and then my face felt really cold? Oh man, I can't even believe I wrote that...should I delete?////Nope. Its funny...now.
So. Ew. And Then...back to the main road eventually...it got so hard on the rocks, I was grunting, feeling a little stumbly wobbly, the ankle rollers were deep and I had to go with them and let myself move slowly over and down, then pick the foot up bodily and move it forward with the rest of me without overextending it and putting too much weight on and hurting it. Getting pretty grumpy, at this point, too. Hungry. Thirsty. The after work run.
I ran the last 2.5 at the same pace as I went on the so called beach, I think...I haven't plugged in the machine to look yet. All the way to the bottom of the hill, then back, past my truck to the pull-in lot on the marshy inside bay and back. Resting now. So tired. Proud.
Played on the beach as I cooled down, to stretch my legs some more, pickin up sticks and tapping them on the different sized rocks, throwing only the prettiest rocks into the waves, trying to skip smoothed old oyster shells, letting my hair blow all over the place and cover my face in the wind...feeling very lucky to live here.
Now I'm ravenous! I finished my shower and felt like I couldn't stop myself from eating. I kept on putting crackers and cheese into my mouth like I was on auto pilot! Chicken in the oven...hungry robot girl out.

Man this Ipod Machine makes it hard to get my set list out, if I rewind too far, the whole thing gets dropped. Here's what I remember hearing:
There was some eighties songs in ther at the end, too..
Grammatical Gumshoe K-Rec and Estea El
Sigur Ros Svefn G Englar
CCR Fortunate Son
Ween The Grobe
Beck Black Tambourine
Coheed and Cambria Blood Red Summer
Coheed and Cambria Junesong P
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of the Dead something
DEvo secret agent man
Kinks something good