Havin' a heat wave--a tropical heat wave
For the eight-billionth (eighth) day in a row, it is roasting there in Ithaca. Let's take today for example. As I type this, the temperature is 83 F; the humidity is 69%; and the heat index is 88 F. Now, before you Southerners start talking about how you'd like to trade, I would like to report the current weather for Rock Hill, SC. There, it is 80 F; the humidity is 61%; and the heat index is 82 F. So it is actually hotter here than it feels in Rock Hill. And we don't have air conditioning!
Fortunately, with record highs yesterday and temperatures that have been unseasonably high (as in it's never really this hot here) for a full week, we are officially having a heat wave. The average high this time of year is 76 F, with an average low of a cool 56 F, meaning that it's never difficult to sleep. It dropped to about 78 F last night. Cloud cover is trapping the heat. We spend the days hoping it will storm, giving us a temporary reprieve.
My running has not been going well. I had an awesome 9-mile long run a few weeks ago and a great 10-miler when I was out with my dad two weeks ago. Last week, I barely slogged through 10 miles of an 11-mile run. I made it through my 3-mile runs all right this week (one of which went great, but was at 7am), and I survived a difficult 6-mile run on Tuesday. Today I went out for 8 miles (it's a cut-back week, thank God). I was dying by the end of the second mile. After three miles, I felt like I couldn't go another step. I shortened my run intervals, stopped and stretched, and chugged my Gatorade and made it to the 3.5 miles. Then I decided that I could probably go another half-mile to do the entire 8, but any benefits would probably pale in comparison to the extra pain and dehydration I would amass, so I turned around. I think that was the best decision I made all week. I finished relatively strong, but my average speed for the seven miles was 12:30 min/mile. I am just going to have to get up earlier to do my runs from now on. It wasn't considerably cooler, but the shade might have been better. At least it would have been mentally easier than running at 11 am.
Later, Jud and I went to the mall to be somewhere with air conditioning. We went through Best Buy and then bought a few books at Borders and spent a few hours reading and sipping on iced lattes at the adjoining cafe. I am finally reading Flowers for Algernon. It's excellent so far.
Well, that's about all I have to say right now. The heat is making me too tired to type more. ;-)
Fortunately, with record highs yesterday and temperatures that have been unseasonably high (as in it's never really this hot here) for a full week, we are officially having a heat wave. The average high this time of year is 76 F, with an average low of a cool 56 F, meaning that it's never difficult to sleep. It dropped to about 78 F last night. Cloud cover is trapping the heat. We spend the days hoping it will storm, giving us a temporary reprieve.
My running has not been going well. I had an awesome 9-mile long run a few weeks ago and a great 10-miler when I was out with my dad two weeks ago. Last week, I barely slogged through 10 miles of an 11-mile run. I made it through my 3-mile runs all right this week (one of which went great, but was at 7am), and I survived a difficult 6-mile run on Tuesday. Today I went out for 8 miles (it's a cut-back week, thank God). I was dying by the end of the second mile. After three miles, I felt like I couldn't go another step. I shortened my run intervals, stopped and stretched, and chugged my Gatorade and made it to the 3.5 miles. Then I decided that I could probably go another half-mile to do the entire 8, but any benefits would probably pale in comparison to the extra pain and dehydration I would amass, so I turned around. I think that was the best decision I made all week. I finished relatively strong, but my average speed for the seven miles was 12:30 min/mile. I am just going to have to get up earlier to do my runs from now on. It wasn't considerably cooler, but the shade might have been better. At least it would have been mentally easier than running at 11 am.
Later, Jud and I went to the mall to be somewhere with air conditioning. We went through Best Buy and then bought a few books at Borders and spent a few hours reading and sipping on iced lattes at the adjoining cafe. I am finally reading Flowers for Algernon. It's excellent so far.
Well, that's about all I have to say right now. The heat is making me too tired to type more. ;-)
posted by megan at
7:36 PM
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