Single Girl... Streaking

Otherwise known as... In the Kitchen, and It's HOT

In the winter, when most people are bundled up in layers upon layers of clothing, I am privileged to live in the Sunshine State, where more often than not folks can wear shorts on Christmas.  Northerners come down and wear t-shirts when we are all bundled up, and I get it, because fifty degrees is lovely when you've come from a place where you have to put on three layers simply to go out and get the paper.

I have experience with the phenomenon that is a true winter, having lived in Canada while attending graduate school, but that's another post for another time.

The point is that winter in Florida is lovely.  And clear.  And perfect.  You can sit outside for hours.  You can grow the most amazing garden.  You can do anything you want outside, as long as you want to.  It is... the best.  

I imagine, for the rest of the country, that is what summer is like.  It's the reason people look forward to summer, besides kids being off from school (and teachers too), and you know... tomatoes. 

Summer in Florida is hell.  Summer is walking outside and the hair one has spent carefully blowing dry, turning into a big ball of frizz, in about a minute.  Summer is sweating walking from the house to the car.  Summer is doing everything one can to avoid being outside for more than five minutes.  (Except the beach, or anything to do with the water.  In general, being at the beach is doable in the summer... as long as you have an umbrella.  Without an umbrella, leaving by noon is best if you want to avoid sunburn.)

Summer is an afternoon rainstorm pretty much guaranteed every single day between 3 and 6 p.m.  Sometimes that's a plus.  Rainstorms are dramatic and awesome if one is indoors.  If one is trying to get from work to the car to home, rainstorms are a pain in the neck.

For years, as much as I love Florida winters, I have loathed the summer.  This year, though, I'm trying something... different.

Last year, having completed a thousand kilometers (about 620 miles) running, I thought that the next challenge, completing 1017 kilometers, would be a piece of cake.  After all, I already did it once, what was another 10 miles?  I didn't quite anticipate a complete shut down of motivation after completing the 1000 kilometer challenge. 

Nonetheless, it happened.  This girl did not persist.  I couch potatoed.  And imbibed.  More than one should.  Or at least, more than I should.  Truth. 

And so, five months into the challenge having only completed less than twenty percent what is needed if I am going to meet the goal, I knew something had to change.  On Memorial Day I happened to listen to the Human Race, one of podcasts by the folks at Runners World.  It's like This American Life, except all the stories center around runners.  The episode was about a man in his 60s who has run a 5K (3.1 miles) every day since 1993.  Wow.  Incredibly impressive.  At the conclusion of his story, the host mentioned the Runners World Summer Run Streak, which involves running at least one mile every day from Memorial Day until the 4th of July.

I thought... I can do that!  I can run at least a mile a day for just over a month.  And get life back into balance.  As I've gotten started, I've been using social media to keep me accountable, but I know that will have to end.  It's just too much. 

Tuesday I had a social to attend with the other folks in my school district who share my position.  The social was at four, at a location about 30 minutes from my home.  I left work exactly on time, drove home, and ran a mile before jumping into the shower, getting ready, and meeting my friends.  I knew better than to leave the run until after the social, when I would have eaten and celebrated our year with some well-earned refreshment. 

Tuesday was only the second day of the streak, but I knew if I didn't run, then June would be lost too. 

I can't lose June.

And so the streak continued.

Today I heard distant thunder as I arrived home.  The sky was cloudy, but not too dark.  I ran upstairs, threw my running clothes on, hair in ponytail, and most importantly, the shoes, and took off immediately.  I was able to get in two good miles. 

Running in the heat, which I have abhorred for years, is not so bad as long as it's brief.  I am not out to run five miles, and definitely not ten, but one or two or maybe even three seems doable.  I make sure to drink a full bottle of water about thirty minutes before setting out, and then I drink more water when I get home, and the cold shower is... the best reward. 

In the past few days I've learned that while the air is hot, it's also breezy, and my neighborhood, while quite safe, is also incredibly shady.  And when running in 90 plus temps, shade is a beautiful thing.  Florida may be one hot kitchen in the summer, but I am learning that I can certainly take the heat.