Tourist Running on Marco Island

With my friends still asleep in the hotel room, I tried opening the door quietly in the dark only to hear the loud thud of the extra security latch.  I muttered that I was sorry, undid the latch, and stepped into the bright hallway.

I set out on an exploratory 8 mile run on Marco Island that Friday morning at 8AM. This was to be my last taper run before the upcoming Glenda Mooney Half Marathon.  On the beach it was already hot and sunny.  If I had ask a helpful staff member about running options, I probably would have heard that it’s best to run early, like 5:30AM early.  I was enjoying a long girls weekend with grad school friends who have scattered across the country, and catching up on each other’s lives seemed more important the night of our arrival than turning in early and setting an alarm clock.

I started from the Hilton, turned left, and ran on the packed sand at the top of the beach.  I ran out of beach one mile into the run.  Off the shore a crane was placing huge boulders in the water to protect the shoreline, and more boulders blocked my path.  I turned around and decided to run near the shore.  On the southern beaches on which I’ve run on the east coast, I do not like to run near the water because the beach slopes too much.  On this Florida beach on the Gulf coast, the beach did not slope.

After four miles I texted my friends to let them know that I was moving slowly and stopping to take pictures. They had just gotten up.  I reported that I had four miles to go and that they should go about their morning.  I would catch up later.

   

I reached a wildlife protection area and stopped to read a sign about it.  I was feeling warm, but was hydrated and fine.   I was eager to explore this pleasant surprise, but I discovered that this wasn’t a good place to run because the beach began sloping and the vegetation crept to the slope.  There was no room to run.  I turned around and ran back toward the Hilton.

I arrived at the hotel after six miles to cool off and take a break.  I saw my reflection in a mirror and became alarmed at the sight of my red face.  Again, I assessed how I was feeling.  I was overheated.  I reasoned that having heat exhaustion wouldn’t be a good way to begin this reunion trip.  The heat and the extra work running on the sand would have to suffice for my 8 miler.

   

Trying to pack light, I brought one set of running clothes.  Deciding I might want a do-over, I washed them in the sink and set them out to dry.  When I went to sleep I thought Zumba on the beach sounded like more fun for the next morning.  I slept right through it.