I went running this morning. This is nothing new as of late, since I’ve been exercising at least 3 times a week by either running or going to the gym as part of the latest Operation No Shirt. What was new is I tried running down a trail I had never been on before. The trail starts about a half mile from my apartment and curls around a golf course and down to the bluffs near the ocean. As a change of pace from just running around the park, I thought running down the trail would be fun. I’m running with a decent pace and enjoying the surrounding of the woods when I get to the bluffs. I check my Nike+ iPod to see I’m about halfway to my goal, so I decide to turn around. Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention to exactly where I had come from. For the majority of my run, trees were directly on my left, so on the way home I make sure they’re on the right. However, I didn’t realize that over the last few hundred feet, trees were on my right and so should have been on the left to start the run back. So I run for a little while and realize I’m almost down to the beach, which would be the exact opposite of the way I wanted to go. I back track, and this time end up near some sort of industrial facility. Again, not where I want to be.

At this point I’m frustrated with myself for forgetting the way home, plus I’m getting a little cranky from not having morning coffee yet. Eventually I realize the path that I’m convinced is the wrong way is the only path left, so I take it. Thankfully, I start seeing some familiar areas and eventually make it back to the street. To top this little adventure off, the fog had become a gentle rain, and when I finally got back to the apartment, I was drenched. I’m amazed the one day it rains during the summer is the day I decide to explore a trail only to get soaked and a little muddy at the same time.

As a side note, this Operation No Shirt has become wildly successful. I started back in mid May, and have now lost about 13 pounds. Probably the most important part of my weight loss comes from regularly eating fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. I no longer eat frozen pizzas for dinner or fast food for lunch. I also started lifting weights at the gym and just recently started running at a regular basis. I’d say I’m in the best shape of my life since high school when I was playing tennis everyday of the week.