This past week I was on travel status for work in Atlantic City. The conference I attended was at a casino there, and they pretty much try and make it so you never have to leave the grounds. And if I wasn't a runner I probably wouldn't have done so. But being from the desert I at least have to get out to look at the ocean, which I think I've said before is endlessly fascinating to me. The weather was cool and extremely windy the whole time I was there, but I went running anyway.
I was going to go early on Monday morning before the meetings started, but it was raining and I went back to bed. Tuesday was cloudy and the rain seemed to linger in the morning, but I was able to get out that afternoon. I ran south along the boardwalk, all the way to where it ended. The waves were crashing in on the beach due to the wind, which was behind me for the first half. When I reached the end of the boardwalk I turned around into a very strong headwind. It was slow going at a few points but I endured. There was a fishing pier that I wanted to go on to get closer to the surf but it was fenced off about halfway down so I only was able to go a few paces. Some of the properties I ran past were remodeling and advertised a condo on the beach for $1.8 million, or one a few lots back toward the city for only $750k. Crazy. I went a full 6 miles and running on wood the whole time was a new experience. The part of the boardwalk going south was in good shape, much different from the next day's run.
I knew the weather was going to be cold when I returned home so I went ahead and ran on Wednesday as well. This time I headed north, starting out against the wind this time in order to have it at my back for the second half, going past the most heavily populated parts of the boardwalk. There were plenty of people out but because of the weather it wasn't overly crowded. At one point I passed a small group gathered around a guy lying on the ground. A policeman was there as well and I couldn't tell if the guy had passed out or if something else was going on. Anyway, once I reached the last hotel in line going north the boardwalk suddenly became deserted and the quality of the boardwalk itself deteriorated. Many of the boards were splintered and a few times felt like they could give way under my feet. My plan was to follow the path around the north side of the point, but I reached a point where it was blockaded and I could go no further. The buildings were in bad shape, including one that must have been a hotel at some point and then became a run-down apartment building. It looked to me like once you get away from the tourist parts of the city that the rest of it's not in the best of shape. Since I had run only a bit over two miles my plan to run with the wind behind me for the last half was thwarted. Once I reached my original starting point I had to run another .8 miles south and turned back to get the wind in the face again for the final push. I got in my 6 miles but it wasn't how I'd originally planned it. Good thing I'm flexible.
I returned to snow in Kansas City. It was coming down as the plane landed, the first snowfall in May in these parts in over a century. Today it was still cold and misty in the morning, and I ran 6 miles on the treadmill. It's supposed to warm up again tomorrow. Maybe this time it'll stick.
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