Beach Running Gear (Read 564 times)

Hi Alyssa- You are making a nice comeback from your stress fracture! I run on the beach in Miami, FL a lot so here's my 2 cents... 1. I always wear shoes. There is nothing worse then coming down hard on a shell or rock (or crab). I have a pair of "beach" sneakers that I wear only for running on the beach since even if you run on the hard pack they get so sandy you can't wear them anywhere else. Mine are stability running sneakers, but I say whatever shoes you use regularly are fine, just don't expect to get all the sand out. They may get splashed a little by the ocean, but if you run close to low tide you should have plenty of wet sand to run on at the edge of the water. 2. I usually run slightly slower, just because like trail running the softer surface and angle of the beach slows me down. Sometimes I will do a Fartlek on the sand which is a good way to work some speed in. One word of warning- you will want to do at least the 1st week of runs slower than normal because 1) the sand will work your calves harder and 2) the heat and humidity here is brutal and takes awhile to get used to. Even first thing in the morning the sun blazes down on you and if the sea breeze hasn't kicked in yet, you will definitely feel the heat and summer. 3. I always run within 2 hours on either side of low tide, so that there is plenty of hard wet sand to run on. It's a little harder than running on the road, but it is a great workout! You can find the low tide times here- http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/floridaatlanticsites.html, Hollywood Beach is near the bottom. It's a nice beach! Enjoy your runs!

It may have just been me, but I got a nagging calf injury the week I did my runs on the beach (spring vacation with the kids). I tried to rest, but always had that nagging feeling that I could run through it. In the end, the only way I could get back to totally pain free running was to shut it down--which I had to do. The shut down derailed me, got me out of my training mode, and I am just now starting to claw back. When I described my injury to runners with my experience than I, the first question was always "did you hurt it on a beach run?" Maybe it is me, but I would say enjoy the sun and surf and sand, but be careful....you may end up doing more harm than good.