Run 25: Virgin Islands National Park

I did not want to run.

The logistics of it seemed exhausting. When. Where. Which order. Heat and humidity. Roads with crazy turns and no sidewalks. Daughter and husband playing in the waves while I tried to convince myself up some energy. Run in peak heat or after the waves have me salty and sandy. Does it really matter if I skip running this park? And then there's sunscreen.

I've never liked sunscreen. Mum would lay out a towel and slather us down while putting up with (my) squirms and complaints she was tickling me too much. How lucky I was she tried to make those moments of connection. Then reapply later on my sandy, sunburned-anyway skin. Which hurt.

I don't get the timing right.

I don't like the feel.

It's hard to rub in and did I get it everywhere?

But how cool that it can keep my skin from burning and mutating. How great that I can get giggles from my girl as I slather her down while she insists she could do it herself. And how great that I can find options that allow me to use less (rash guards, SPF clothing) and better-for-the-ocean chemicals because it maters.

Reef-safe sunscreen is not a joke or luxury if you're going in the water. Those corals and fish and polyps and turtles are doing their best to clean our ocean for us but they are struggling. And we're the ones who made it this way. It's worth the effort of reading labels to have the chance to see thriving marine communities. Some options even have sparkles.

#runningthenationalparks #adventureintheparks #virginislandsnationalpark #troubleinparadise #choosereefsafe #rangerkevin #turnsouttheyserveddrinksatthebeach