If Less Is More Then None Is Best

Davis Islands 10mi

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I know, it’s been awhile. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I blew off my long run yesterday and I had to make it up. I didn’t train over the weekend and all I have to offer for this is excuses. In the words of David Mamet (by way of Al Pacino), “Your excuses are your own.”
After a four-day hiatus, my legs feel great and I’m starting to think that maybe I had been overdoing it a bit. I start out from the downtown YMCA and follow the first ten miles of the Gasparilla Marathon course through Davis Islands and downtown.
As soon as I’m off of Davis Islands’ main drag, the morning traffic dies down and I run comfortably in the oncoming lane, avoiding the sidewalks as much as possible. Most of the western shore of the island is clogged with monstrous faux haciendas and starter castles, so the water views are hard to come by, but I’m enjoying the quiet of these empty streets and the cool air under overcast skies. At the island’s southern tip, I run past the airport towards the turnaround point at the yacht club. Here the view opens up and I watch the cranes and barges at work across the channel, their running lights still on in the cloudy morning twilight. I’m listening to the sound of my breathing, my footsteps on the asphalt, and the persistent clang of rigging against the masts of the sailboats at anchor in the harbor.
“Do you know how far it is from the yacht club to the roundabout,” an elderly woman asks me as I circle back past the airport. “I have no idea,” I tell her “I’m just running around aimlessly,” and I realize I must be feeling pretty good. I don’t know where any of the mile markers are and, for once, I don’t really care.