Warm-up: walk 5 minutes Run: 35 minutes Cool down: walk 5 minutes
The Tuesday night thunderstorms provided a temporary relief in terms of the humidity on Wednesday morning. I was at the park by 6:10 AM. It was overcast with the slightest hint of a breeze and fog settled in the low areas. The air was still ‘moist’ so, technically, that’s considered humidity, I suppose. However, the combination of the early hour and the cloud cover prevented the moisture from becoming suffocating.
My run was uneventful. I tried picking up my pace a bit at times—before the maelstrom hit me late last summer, I ran a fairly consistent 13:30 pace. Granted, not Speedy Gonzales (anyone remember him? Would any of the old Bugs Bunny or Hannah Barbera cartoons be considered ‘appropriate’ now? But I digress) but faster than previously nonetheless. However, since getting back to running after this, I have slowed down considerably–I think I might be at a 15:00 pace. I believe this is more psychological than anything else.
I was three-fourths of the way finished with my run when the sun began to burn away the clouds. It is absolutely amazing how quickly the weather heats up in this area. The temperature and the humidity rose exponentially and by the time I started my cool-down walk, I was drenched in sweat.
I have lived in the Gulf Coast area for over five years and I’m still not acclimatized. Go figure.
Which leads me to my current dilemma. The summer semester begins soon and I’m scheduled to teach an American Literature I class during the month of June (yes, June–’first term’ as it’s called. This means I have to cover 200+ years of American literature in four weeks.) The class meets Monday through Friday, for two hours a day. So, what’s the problem? The class meets from 8:00-9:55 AM.
When am I going to run?
No, seriously—when am I going to run?
I have identified two options, so far.
Option 1: Run in the evenings. Someone actually suggested this to me a week ago when I was complaining about the early morning heat and humidity. However, there are drawbacks. 1. Where I live isn’t ‘runner’ friendly—this is why I go to the park. 2. I run alone, so the prospect of running in the park in the evenings by myself isn’t all that appealing. I feel safe running in the park in the morning because I figure the drug dealers and juvenile delinquents are still in bed.
Option 2: Going to the rec center on campus and running on the indoor track. This wouldn’t be too bad (at least it is air-conditioned) but 1. I hate running on the track—it is only 1/10 of a mile and I end up feeling like a hamster on a wheel. 2. Going to the rec center means a greater possibility of running into (metaphorically, not literally) a student. I don’t want to be responsible for the emotional and psychological scarring which results from seeing your English teacher in industrial strength spandex. 3. As it has already been established that seeing said English teacher in spandex (and admitting it) puts a student in a life-threatening situation, I could wind up a becoming a serial killer before the end of the term.
So far, these are the only two options I’ve come up with. I’m open to suggestions.
Maybe not the best option, but still an option: Split your run up and run half in the morning and half in the evening. That way you don’t have to get up that much earlier.
Can you run during lunch and then eat your lunch at work?
Hello Dani,
Honestly, unless I get up at 4:00 AM to run (wearing a miner’s hat–you know, the one with the flashlight) splitting isn’t really an option.
Also, the whole lunch running thing doesn’t work. First, I teach part-time then I go to another job. Second, the heat and humidity in this area at mid-day is dangerously bad, as in heat-stroke inducing bad, as in “literally drop dead” bad.
Thanks for the suggestions though and thanks for reading
First let me say that I’m impressed that you’re still running outside. I had to give it up about a week ago. The humidity here makes the air so thick I can hardly breathe…which I learned is important for running…who knew right…LOL!! The summer months are tough…early, early morning works if you’re one of those annoying perky people that can get up at 4:00 am and still be functional at noon. I’m not…and I would guess you’re not either. If you are, then I take back the annoying part…
Late evenings may work but I’ve found that it doesn’t get comfortable enough for me until after dark…which is not conducive to running alone. For me it is treadmill season and I’m stuck indoors, at the gym, on a treadmill. Of course, I don’t have to worry about becoming a serial killer as I have no students that may see me in spandex…I think you may have to risk it. But think about the great literature it would be. You know it would become a crime novel, Lifetime movie…maybe even an episode of Snapped…The Spandex Killer. Well maybe that doesn’t count as literature but it would be entertaining.
Okay I guess I wasn’t much help. Sorry! But I’m also impressed that you can cover 200 years of American Lit in 4 weeks. That IS impressive. I say run when and where you can…fall will be here soon!! Happy Running!!
Well, you know me–I’m quite obstinate (or is that just a polite way to say ‘stupid and stubborn’?). The humidity here is suffocating–you walk outside and there’s so much moisture in the air you run the risk of drowning. Sunrise begins at about 5 or 5:30, so it is possible, but then it puts the general public at risk—I’m not the most pleasant person that early in the day. Like your area, it doesn’t really start to ‘cool off’ (and I use that term very loosely) until around 7 or later. There is the outdoor track on campus; I think it is a one-mile track and it is well-lit, so that could be a possibility.
However, I think I’m going to have to resort to the indoor track. Maybe I can wear a disguise; but then again, I like the sound of “Snapped…The Spandex Killer” and there are benefits to imprisonment–free meals, free medical/dental, free housing, free clothing, free cable—hell, I could probably even earn my PhD while in prison, all on the tax-payer’s dime…
Don’t be too impressed with the 200 years in 4 weeks. It is really impossible to cover anything significantly in that short of a time frame, so my lectures are sort of reduced to ClifNotes on crack. Also, to cover everything I feel I need to, the class is seriously reading intensive (not that the majority of them will read, mind you). In fact, I am going to email all the students on the class roster and give them a reading assignment before the class even starts. This will accomplish two things: 1. I can start right in on the necessary lecture notes and 2. The students who think this will be an easy ‘A’ will look at the assignment and say “Oh f*ck” and drop the course, thereby leaving me with only the serious students.
Okay, As I may have already told you, I LOVE the heat and humidity. I love everything about it. I love what it does to my hair (it makes it curly), I love the way my skin feels, I love the way it makes time feel slower….I could go on and on. So what I want to suggest is this, wake up and get your ass to the park by 6 AND go without your watch. I want you to go to the park for the rest of the summer until………November 1st WITHOUT your watch. And I want you to run the same path you always run, sometimes slow and sometimes fast and I want you to not care about “the time” in which you run it. Then do things like feel the heat on your skin and pay attention to how it feels breathing it in. Watch the birds and all that crap. Just be in the moment and don’t pay attention to the time and the heat. I know you think I am crazier than you thought I originally was but that is the kind of thing that the humidity makes me think of…slowing down and being in the moment and watching the life that goes on around me. It’s like being in a think fog and fighting your way through it but instead of trying to get through it really fast if you slow down you can see better.
WOW…all of that over humidity.