Santa Monica - Part Deux

So, our run started out really well. The ocean breeze was wonderful, and the view gorgeous along the ocean. The "boardwalk" (which was made of concrete and asphalt) was not crowded at all. We got to Venice Beach pretty quickly, and had some shade from the buildings along the beach. One of the buildings we passed was the "Shul on the Shore", which was right next to a "Sexeteria". (Shul is Yiddish for synagogue.) Later we passed some tiny tennis courts. I had to stop to ask what they were playing - they called it "paddle tennis" sort of a cross between Ping Pong and tennis. It looks something like "platform tennis". Here's a link: http://www.platformtennis.org/info/index.shtml.

We had a lot of fun run/walking along the beach. Then we turned to go down to the marina and we lost the ocean breeze. It got pretty hot, and we got lost once. We were happy to turn around and go back to the beach, but then I got an ankle split (kind of like shin splits, only it was just one ankle). We ended up having to walk the last 3-4 miles or so, but we still made 11 miles. On our way back we passed "Muscle Beach" (you know - where Arnold Schwarzenegger got his start). We didn't see many muscle men, mainly just tourists posing for pictures on the machines! We made it back to the hotel and were able to rest for several hours and shower.