Sandpiper Plyometrics

One of my favorite things about blogging is coming up with fun titles for my posts. I came up with several ideas in my mind before finally settling on today’s title, “Sandpiper Plyometrics”. I’ll explain later.

I also enjoy finding interesting visuals to go along with my blog articles. I found this lovely photo of Sandpipers foraging in the surf that inspired me to write a haiku…

The Sandpiper Dance

     At the water’s edge
          Sandpipers dance in the surf
               Advance, then retreat

Okay, now onto more mundane things. Like what the heck is Sandpiper plyometrics?

I went on a long run on the beach yesterday, planning to run 1 hour. I ran northward toward the pier in Rodanthe. I was running in the wet part of the sand, just above the surf line. Just like the sandpipers. I got to the pier in about 15 minutes. I stopped to stretch under the pier, leaning against the pilings for balance. Then I refilled my water bottle at the little fishing store.

I continued running north until my stopwatch said 30 minutes. It was time to turn around, and I was bummed that my run was half over, as I was really enjoying myself. I checked my water level, and had plenty, so decided to keep going 10 more minutes. I must have run to the edge of town, because at the 40 minute mark, I arrived at the last house in sight. So, I turned around.

It felt very awkward at first to run in the opposite direction. My body had adapted to running with the slanted surface of the beach on my right side; however, now things were reversed! After a few minutes, I was back into a good groove. The sand in this part of the beach was comprised of larger pieces of shells, which gave way too easily under my feet. I moved in closer to the surf to get better footing. Occasionally a wave would crash up the beach unexpectedly and soak my socks and shoes. Then it was Squish, squish, squish for about ten steps.

I made a game of trying to dodge the waves before they could catch me. It reminded me of the way sandpipers forage for food along the surf-line, and dodge waves at the last second. Sometimes the waves came up so fast, I had to sprint hard to avoid them. It felt like a powerful plyometric workout. I played this game of “Sandpiper Plyometrics” for about 10 minutes. I was pretty tired after that, so ran easy the rest of the way home. It was a great run. I am really enjoying my beach trip.

BTW, here’s an article from Triathlete Magazine about Plyometrics.