Emmett, Laura and I are starting our on the weekly Signal Hill run. It is cold and starting to rain. I remind Emmett that the last time I ran with him it was cold and rainy and hilly. “At least it is not windy,” he answered. Did you have to say that?
The next night, there are 13 of us gathered in the beach parking lot for the 5K Rose Rahl Road Race. The wind is 21 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. We are all standing with our back to the wind watching the palm trees bend in the wind and finding various ways to say “It sure is cold out here.” Today is Emmett’s birthday, tomorrow is Todd’s. For one day every 5 years, they are in the same age bracket, so tonight they are racing. We are starting at the AREC water fountain at Ocean and following the bike path along the beach past the pier and then turning around and coming back.
The way out is directly into the wind. Unfortunately, AREC members are skinny, so there are no opportunities to draft off anyone. The wind is deafening. I shout something to Zack and he says something back, but I can’t hear him. We are on opposite sides of the bike path so we don’t crash into each when hit by strong gusts. The sand makes it difficult to see anything.
Right past the first bathroom, is our turnaround point, and we head back, now with the wind. And in the space of a couple of seconds everything changes. I can still see the sand blowing by me, but I can’t feel the wind any more. It is strangely quiet and suddenly running is effortless. I see other AREC runners heading towards me. They are bent forward, and their heads are down to keep the sand out of their eyes. I can see them struggling to stay on course and keep moving forward. They seem like they are in a different world. The silence is eerie and makes everything seem unreal.
Afterwards the usual comment was “This is the worst wind I have ever had to race in.” All in all, it was a pretty nasty night. But everyone seemed to have a great time. And now everyone is asking when the next AREC race will be. That might be something fun for the club to do.
Afterwards we went to Panama Joe’s, because it was Emmett’s birthday and he was finally old enough to drink.