Approaching

Low clouds hung overhead. A swift north wind ushered in an arctic breeze. Just like the flick of a switch, the weather pattern changed. A late afternoon glow thrust an ominous inky hue over the ocean. Winter was returning. The rains approached.

As my running entourage proceeded on, we chatted about the past few weeks. Alex had been out of town, snowshoeing amidst a family visit in the Adirondacks. My heart ached jealously. The models predict us to get up to 14” of rain in the next ten days. Hopefully that will produce a snowy dumping of gorgeous proportions upon the Trinity Alps. But for now it was a little drizzle and dark clouds ahead of the storm. We bobbed up and down along the contour of the dunes. My gaiters (the Dirty Girl ones) made for some amusing dirty jokes that kept us occupied. They also kept my feet from being flooded with sand.

The sun dipped behind the waves on the Pacific and we were thrust into darkness. Leaving the dunes, we turned back once more to the ocean. Tiny lights littered the horizon. Crab season began last week and fishermen have been working tirelessly to bring in as many as possible before the storm hit. They were returning to the harbor for the night. A long line of boat lights drifted to shore like the glow-in-the-dark version of the Loch Ness Monster.

Yes, winter is approaching. And I can’t wait for the rain. All this sunshine is pussifying me. (Yes, pussifying, my own new word.) Bring on the tough running.

One month until the Little Su 50K.