10mi. Palm Beach on Christmas Day – a great idea for a run. John and I easily made the drive to the center of WPB on completely empty roads. I guess this was a first. not having to open the gifts before anything else. John and I both thought this would be a good idea to start a great few days!
We met Erica, Dave Stone, Kara, Lauren, and a few I didn’t know at the Clematis fountains. A few homeless folks milling around and a security guard watching the sand sculptures was all we saw. We ran across the under construction North Bridge to Palm Beach, where Richard Kaplan and Rick Luise were waiting. We ran north on the Lake Trail, through the well-manicured gardens and backyards of the Palm Beachers lucky enough to live on the water. It was breezy from the north, but we were protected by the homes and large hedges. Two rollerbladers joined us, stayed with us, then left faster than we were going. The morning was sunny and I enjoyed light conversation with John and the others.
At the inlet turnaround most people drand from the fountain and we took a group picture. A few dog walkers, some cyclists and neighbors out for a walk passed us in the small rest area at the inlet.
We came back south along the Atlantic Ocean, windy but surprisingly small waves for the day. We started seeing nice cars driving past, a few Aston martins and a Rolls Royce. The Golf and Country club was starting to get patrons, we stopped at the croquet fields to drink water again on the way back. The wind was with us and in no way did it feel like a 10 mile trot, we ran an average pace of 8:27 said John’s watch. That was quicker than I thought we were going.
Once back at the fountains, we got Starbucks treats and went back to the fountains and sat on the lawn chairs in the middle of the green. It was nice out, some sun peeking through, but the frappucino I was drinking made me cold! Dave Stone brought champagne and OJ, so some of us had mimosas, thanks for that! Another guy Steve with a dog came and sat with us, we stayed for about 1/2 hour then drove home to open gifts. This was a neat way to begin the holiday!
drun4fun 