Don’t Make The Weather Gods Angry…

Why does it rain as soon as I step outside?  Simple. I have angered the Weather Gods.

Why does it rain as soon as I step outside? Simple. I have angered the Weather Gods.

...You Won’t Like Them When They Are Angry.

I’m convinced. The Weather Gods decided to screw with me today. I awoke to a hot, humid, rainy morning.  Not too conducive to power walking.

Not a problem.  I spent the morning with one of the dogs at the vet for some allergy meds. “I’ll walk after the vet visit.” Or so I thought.

While at the vet the sun teased me, shinning ever so brightly.  I hurried home, suited up and stepped outside.  The downpour commenced.

Bastards!

So I kept myself busy with cleaning, hanging the new shower curtain, doing laundry – making sure to go up and down the stairs as many times as possible. I have so much pent-up energy that I don’t know what to do with myself.

I’m waiting for 6:00 pm to roll around. As I keep an eye on the weather, it’s clear I’ve lost the favor of the Weather Gods.  It’s now 91 degrees out – 99 with the humidity – and I see black clouds rolling in from the west.  Possibility of a thunderstorm at 6:00 pm – 70%. Sigh.

Saturday’s forecast is worse.

The Weather Gods demand a sacrifice. Perhaps I can invoke the mystical help of an ancient Mayan jaguar goddess.

Or better yet, I’ll just shell out the $7 fee and use the treadmill at the country REC center. That will teach them to mess with me!


Tired Of Being A Workout Wuss

Today's humidity filled workout.

Today’s humidity filled workout.

I hate humidity. It’s my kryptonite. I’m a wuss in its presence. Who in their right mind wants to feel as if they are wearing a warm, wet blanket.  Ugh!

For the last few weeks, the weather has been either scorching hot and humid or rainy and muggy. So yes, I get dressed in the morning for a power walk. But do I actually leave my air-conditioned house to do the power walk? Not so much.  Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind sweating when I workout. I just don’t like sweating because I walked out my front door.

Well a few days ago, I decided my weather wuss days were over. I spent about 90 minutes outside weeding and trimming the rose bushes. I kept pushing off this chore to the point where the rose bushes were covering the walk to our front door.  Nothing like getting poked and scratched by thorns every time you leave the house to motivate you.  I set Friday for the day and figured it would double for my workout. Of course, the temps topped 99 degrees, making it the hottest and muggiest day of the year.  Awesome!

But I didn’t burst into flames from the heat or melt away in the humidity.  I just kept myself hydrated and wore a baseball cap. Yes I was a hot mess afterwords. And sure, I was still sweating after I got out of the shower, but it felt great working outdoors.

So this morning I walked for nearly 45 minutes. I did 2.5 miles and my pace was just over 17 minutes/mile. While today’s not a scorcher like Friday, it is still hot and muggy outside.

H/T to Popsugar Fitness for some basic guidelines to follow for exercising on hot days: drink lots of cool water, wear a hat and loose-fitting clothes, take it easy, and walk in the shade.  I did speed up my pace near the end and that resulted in some mild abdominal cramping. So that tells me I need to keep to a moderate pace and try a shorter walk tomorrow.

 


Walking On Sunshine – Yeeeee-Ouch!

What I walked through this morning.  Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn/ freedigitalphotos.net.

What I walked through this morning. Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn/ freedigitalphotos.net.

I took a power walk this morning, or I should say I tried.

My first mistake was that I left the house at 9:30 a.m. It was already over 100 degrees. Now, if I was in Virginia, I would just pick a path with lots of tree coverage. However I’m in Arizona. Trees are slim pickings. I’m visiting a desert. Walking after 9:00 a.m. is nuts.

My second mistake – no hat. Since I started power walking at the end of February, I’ve never considered a hat an essential part of my gear. Well today it felt like my hair was going to combust.

My third mistake was the fast pace. My thinking was to get this over with as fast as possible. Heh! I just ended up going through my water a lot faster than normal. OK, I admit that I poured some water on my lava hot head. Consider it fire prevention.

Nearly out of water, I ended up turning around, feeling defeated. Total distance – 9/10 of a mile. Very sad.

Thankfully I put on some sunscreen before I left the house. Yes, I was hot as hell during the walk but my skin did not lobster.

Tomorrow I’m going to try again, but I think I need to be out the door at 6:00 a.m. The sun isn’t as strong that time of day. But tonight, I’m going to get a hat.


Clint Made My Walk

Screen Shot 2013-03-17 at 4.35.30 PMIt’s cloudy, windy, rainy and 38 degrees out. Walking 2.5 miles was the last thing on my mind today. But alas, I laced up my pink and black nikes, put on some stretchy pants, and slid into my blue hoodie.

The first mile was awful. The cold breeze was blowing in my face and I couldn’t keep my hands warm (note to self: knit gloves). I was miserable and just wanted to go back home.

To make the walk even more enjoyable, starting at the 1.5 mile mark my remaining path was all up hill. For the more experienced walker/runner, think of a 1.0 incline on a treadmill. But to me, it was going up the side of a mountain.

I tried to go faster to end my misery quickly but I just ended up with a slight cramp in my right calf. As I stopped to tie my shoelace and stretch my leg, I saw him coming towards me.

Actually barreling at me. His leg movements, fast and frantic, were worthy of a grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks. I just finished tying my shoelace when his 2 large front paws crashed into my chest, knocking me promptly on my butt.  I looked up and got a big sloppy kiss on the mouth. 

I learned my harasser’s name is Clint, a playful 10 week old yellow Lab who lives in my neighborhood.

It is not possible to have bad thoughts when an adorable puppy crosses your path, especially one who gives great hugs and loves to snuggle. Clint was what I needed to snap me out of the whiny hole I was digging. The truth is I felt great after the walk and can’t wait until tomorrow’s walk.

That’s what I need to remember the next time I start to whine. That, and my new friend Clint.