"Running for Power & Strength"

Running along the beach in the wet sand feels amazing and makes you feel so powerful being close to the ocean and it's great power and beauty. I love running on both dry and wet sand at the beach. Of course running on dry sand is extremely hard but one of the best workouts for strength, power and building stamina. As you are running your feet sink in the dry sand and you must use your leg muscles to power through the sand to keep moving through it. Makes for a amazing leg training workout doing sprints or intervals in the dry sand. 

  Running on the wet sand gives you a harder surface to run on and much it's easier to run a longer distances when running on wet sand. Big draw to running on wet sand is.. You can run barefoot which I love to do. Another big draw is running on wet sand means your close to the water and the waves crashing on the shoreline. It's also a great workout to run through the water as it's crashing under your bare feet as you are running right along the shoreline. Depending on the size of the waves you'll have to lift your legs higher and make a wider strides to run through the water and this is a awesome workout for your legs and okole (glute) muscles..

I competed in a Super Fitness competition which was held on Maui and one of the fitness events was a 1/2 mile beach sprint run. We began the run right in the middle of the beach in the deep, dry sand and had to sprint run through the dry sand a quarter mile to a turn around point at the end of the beach. When we made it to the quarter mile turn around flag we were to run straight back, but some of the competitors took a detour down to the wet sand along the shore line and then headed back to the finish line. The sad part is the contest rules didn't state that we could make a detour to the wet sand and I along with most of the girls ran right back to the finish line through the hot, deep, dry sand which was much harder to sprint through the 1/2 mile back. The first 1/2 mile through the sand pumped my thighs up so much that my quads were burning the whole 1/2 mile back to the finish line.

My quads were so pumped up running through the dry sand on the way back it felt as though I was sinking with every stride I took. I was lucky living in Hawaii and within mile from a sandy beach I was able to train for a year running on the beach in the loose sand. My body, and legs were more than ready for this 1/2 mile beach run. I was excited to burn through the sand as if I was running on a flat hard service. I was also the only girl that did the race bare footed. Being barefoot gave me an advantage running in the dry sand. Wearing running shoes makes for added weight and you're weighted down which makes you sink deeper in the dry sand with every step. Not something you want if you're in a race.

When I trained for the race I did wear my running shoes while running/sprinting through the sand. It made me get use to the added weight and made my training more difficult. I trained with shoes so that when I ran barefoot I would not have the added weight and be able to fly through the sand faster and without sinking. It made a big difference in my 1/2 mile time as well. My suggestion if you try running in the sand on the beach... first train with running shoes then take them off and go barefoot and enjoy the amazing feeling of the sand on your feet as your power through it.  Nothing better than feeling the wet sand and the ocean water washing over your feet as you're running through it.. Running on dry or wet sand with or without your running shoes is a great way to change up your running routine and give you a great leg workout. Feel the freedom and the power within every stride.. ✿