Summer Running: The Heat is On

Today I am 190.0 pounds of rolling thunder.

The heat is on, and the running has gotten gritty. I have to say, however, I like running in the heat much more than battling the cold. I don't know about the rest of you, but bundling up in layers and then peeling them all off after an hour or so of running in the freezing cold is not my favorite thing.

Another big plus to running in the warm weather is the fact that I seem to be finding my wind again. Last week, I even climbed my arch nemesis big hill without stopping and it felt good.

Now I'm still the same walking and running wimp that has to take periodic walking breaks, but recently I've made my normal circuits with far fewer and far shorter walking breaks. I'll probably never not have to allow for some degree of walking, but it feels great when I can fight up over the bumps I call hills without slowing to a stroll.

The other change in my formula this summer has been to cut out sodas. That's right. No more Cokes, or colas or pop. Man, as a person addicted to that knockout punch of caffeine, this has been a tough one.

But I've noticed some changes. My weight is down (a little) and my endurance is up. I don't feel those tremendous energy swings that I did while on the sauce.

So the heat is on, and the soda is off. Hopefully I'll catch some of you out on the road in the near future. Remember, if you see the world's slowest human out there pounding the pavement, give me a wave as you run on by.

From Man to Manatee in One Run

Jan. 28, 2013

Today I am 192.2 pounds of rolling thunder.

So today was one of those rare mid-winter days when a warm breeze blows into town, and all over the city windows are flying open and curtains are being pulled wide apart to let the sunshine in.

The humid air felt more like a pre-storm day in April than a typical dry cold day in late January.

If you heard those emergency sirens today, perhaps you thought they were coming for me. We've all heard about the whales that beach themselves for no known reason, and then the entire population of some resort town on the coast spends days and dollars trying to get the beast safely back out to sea.

It was so warm today I decided to launch my run today wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Gone were the double layers of tights and sweat pants. Gone were the days of donning a T-shirt, turtleneck, pullover and a jacket just to stay warm. Gone were the headband and hat combining to keep my ears warm.

Today was back to the freedom of summer. And back, too, were those pearly white legs that hadn't seen sunlight since late autumn. I'm sure the glare blinded many a driver as I rolled slowly past them on my 6-mile run/walk.

It's a real feeling of freedom when you can give up the trappings of winter, lose the heavy clothes and run unencumbered, even if it's just for a day.

Somewhere around mile No. 4 I went from man to manatee. It was so warm that I shed my shirt and became something resembling the giant marine mammal.

Surely there were villagers who were going to rush up and try to put me back in the ocean (it's OK, I live thousands of miles from the ocean). Surely if I slowed to a stop they'd be sure I had beached myself in the hope of being saved.

No, it was just the world's slowest human running sans shirt for the first time in months and not a manatee. Call off the sirens. Townspeople go back to work. Nothing to see here. Just a guy, his radio and a pair of running shoes.