Thursday, August 18, 2011

In which us Floridians learn that we are not crazy

Two days ago, while I was plugging away at my 5 miles on the treadmill, I heard on the news that 'drier air' was moving into Florida.  I looked at the map and it was not moving into Tampa, but north of the city.  Also, I was very skeptical as to what 'drier air' could do for me, personally, as an individual.  What does this really mean?  How much drier?  It is still Florida in the summer, won't dry air be mobbed and humidified like it is no one's business?

(For those of you who remember that my gym has a 30-minute limit on cardio equipment, here is what I did for the 5 miles: I ran for 30 minutes, stepped off the treadmill, refilled my water bottle, made sure that there wasn't a hoard of people walking in to use the treadmill since all four were free, and stepped right back on the treadmill to finish.  No one really seemed to care).

Then, last night, I finally got out to run a 5-mile-turned-into-a-3-mile-for-various-reasons run.  And let me tell you:

The air was noticeably drier.

So much so, in fact, that I could for real run.  At a respectable for real speed.  And I realized that no, I was not crazy.  The weather has been horrid.

I confirmed this today with a native Floridian who had thought she was not tolerating heat so well any more.  Oh no.  She is tolerating it just fine.  This summer, though, has been intolerable, even for the natives.  How are us northerners supposed to survive, much less run?

Anyway, the drier air stuck around for today, which was fab since I had another 8-mile run.  And let me tell you, it was so unbelievably less awful than last Sunday's 8-mile run, that I was smiling for joy (as opposed to last weekend, when I wanted to lie down on the pavement and cry for a while.  A shady part of the pavement).  I didn't even need to follow the 1.86-mile-loop-around-the-drinking-fountain.  Bliss.

...okay, not bliss.  But definitely more manageable.  We love you, drier air!

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