Let's talk about my hair

From the inside of my apartment, today looks like the perfect day to run.  It's sunny.  There isn't a cloud in the sky.  The leaves are falling off the trees so you know you will get to hear them crunch under your sneakers with each step you take.  It's a classic New England fall day.

What that really means is that it's windy.

I did a Castle Island loop run this afternoon: I ran from my door, followed the Dorchester Bay shore line, went around Castle Island in South Boston and headed back home.  It's my favorite route.  I love running by the ocean.  There's something really soothing about looking out into the bay and seeing nothing but ocean-- no buildings, no concrete.  Just sea.  Also, most of the route is in Southie, so I'm pretty much guaranteed to see some hilarious townie or a ridiculous Jersey Shore-esque dude bro.  So it's entertaining, too.

Back to the wind, though.  I had a lovely tail wind until I got to the war veteran's statue by the fort at Castle Island.  (Said tail wind totally helped lower my split time, which was nice.)  Once I made the turn to start the second half of the loop, the wind was no longer behind me.  Instead, it was blowing directly at me and totally getting sand in my eyes.  No bueno.  Despite the issues, the run was pretty good.  I started off feeling weak and wondering if I would be able to run the ten miles I set out to complete.  By the time I got to the third mile, the doubt was gone and I knew I would have a decent outing.  My splits were about ten seconds off my PR, but my legs felt strong.  It was good to know I could easily complete ten miles after not running that distance for about three weeks.  (Moment of full disclosure: my right knee was sore throughout the run and is not feeling fabulous right now, either.  I'm going to stretch, ice it and hope I will never have to write about it again.)

While the wind had at least a somewhat positive impact on my run, it did absolutely nothing for my hair.  I'm pretty sure I looked like Sideshow Bob meets Sporty Spice by the time I got home.  A significant portion of my hair was no longer in my ponytail.  Instead, it looked like a bunch of crazy (albeit well-highlighted) snakes were trying to escape from my scalp.  I even took a photo:

So I'm exaggerating a bit.  The wind didn't exactly make my hair go all Medusa.  But it still looks kind of insane.  I'm not one of those girls who can rock a cute, sporty headband and a ponytail.  The headbands just fall off my little head.  But clearly, I need something to assist the ponytail when it comes to keeping my hair out of my face when I run.  Because this?  Is not a look I'd like to keep rocking.  Are hats the solution?  Braids?  Ugh.  Do other curly-haired girls have this problem?  Where's the sporty Fashion Police when you need them?

Distance today: 10.22 miles

Time today: 1 hour, 32 minutes (9:02 split)