Beach To Chowder Run

A view of the water and bridge heading into Astoria.

I was able to convince Jason that going and running on the beach would be a great idea for our birthday :) A few weeks ago I signed us up for the Beach to Chowder Run in Long Beach, WA. They do a 5K, 10K, and this year added a half marathon. Since I only have two weeks until the Seattle Half I just signed us up for the 10K. I'm extremely glad that I did since following a run on Tuesday I developed the biggest blister I've ever had on the ball of my foot. I NEVER get blisters. This one was terrible.

I found an extremely cheap room that turned out to be just fine considering the fine decor in the room. There was a bed, toilet, tv, and it was warm so it worked for what we needed. I actually slept better there than I have in quite a while. Of course, Jason and I always seem to have odd challenges. He was bit by a spider Thursday night and his forearm swelled to a frightening size. He had to ice it and it seemed to feel better.

Here's the famous sign where the race finish was located. The start was actually down on the sand.

A pic of me before the race.

A picture of Jason following the run. It was hard on him. He has done zero running or working out of any kind. He managed to stay with me the whole time until the last half mile or so. I thought he was right behind me. I expected him to fly past me at any moment. I was shocked to finish and not see him right away. He has never ran a 10K before so I think he did great considering. I'm glad he ran with me but he worried me a bit. I kept asking him if he was alright.

I also used my iPod that kept track of our miles. We actually went 6.7 miles instead of the 6.2. I'm sure it's hard to do an accurate course on a beach. Poor Jason.

Me afterwards. I was very happy that my blister didn't cause any issues. It was hard to just walk on it before but as I got started it felt fine. I knew it was there and each mile that passed I was very thankful that I wasn't hurting. Afterwards I changed and was expecting to find a bloody mess for a foot and discovered that somehow it even looked better than before the race. What a huge blessing. I'm hoping it continues to heal so I don't have issues for Seattle.

The run was awesome. It was a great course and they had great giveaways and food afterwards. It was an awesome experience. I hope we get to go back next year.

FOR THE RECORD~ I BEAT JASON BY 31 SECONDS :)