Seward sunset run

I was going to cross train at the gym tonight but it was so clear outside and the sky was so blue that I just had to tie on my running shoes and head outside.

I ran around 3:45 p.m., right as the sun was setting. I choose the Lowell Point route, which is 9.1 miles from my house and follows Resurrection Bay.

It's always colder running along the bay, the wind damp and sharper, but the views are SO incredible.

I love the pink streaks in the sky. The tide was coming in and so I turned down my iPod and listened. There's something about running in the snow while hearing the tide crash along the beach that is both surreal and calming.

The pinks faded to orange and then a wonderful lavender blue as I ran. I took the first couple of miles slow and enjoyed the view, and the sounds, and the way my body felt.

When I hit Lowell Point Road I picked up the pace. This is a dirt road that weaves along the bay out to Lowell Point, where most of the kayakers take off from. There's not much traffic this time of year so I had the road to myself. I think four cars passed the whole time.

I stopped at Lowell Point and shot this.

The odd thing about Alaska is that after the sun sets, it doesn't get dark right away. Instead, the air is suspended in a lavender twilight. I love this time of day, love the twilight, love the lavender shadows and how still everything feels.

I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling, even though my thighs were cold and tight. My mind wandered and I thought about my book and the story I need to write for work and what I would cook for supper and how I couldn't wait to see my son's face when he comes home from college next week.

I thought of how remarkable it was that I had ended up in such a place.

Running: 9.1 miles, a slowish 9:25 pace

Reading: Oops! My library books are totally overdue.