Tag Archives: humidity

Happy Friday Run

Posted on July 1, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a Running Commentary post instead of my usual Lame Post Friday?  For one reason, I ran.  For another reason, the Utica Boilermaker 15K is one week and two days away; it is just about time for this blog to become All Boilermaker All The Time.

It was dreadfully warm at work today.  When I left the building at lunch time to pick up a prescription (at The Medicine Shoppe in Ilion, a great place to do business with), it was even more oppressive outdoors.  Yikes.  But I had only run Sunday and Wednesday this week (don’t judge me).  It would be a really good idea to run.  Rumor had it there would be a terrific storm right about the time I was scheduled to leave work.  Of course I don’t believe everything I hear.  Anyways, if there was thunder and lightning, I could run in place on the mini-tramp while watching my DVD of Nosferatu (regular readers may remember how I am obsessed with that silent vampire movie from 1922).

When I left work, it was raining a nice, gentle rain, which had cooled things off nicely.

“This is great,” I said to the co-worker I walked out with.  “I can totally run in this!”  My plan was made.

First I had a couple of stops to make.  As I got to them, the rain began to pour down in a most torrential fashion.  I was drenched before I entered the first stop.  Of course, due to my odd personality quirk, I laugh at such weather, so it was really no problem getting drenched.  I bet the cashier at the second store that it would stop raining by the time I got home.  And, what do you know, it did. I happily put on my running clothes and got going.

The first thing I noticed was that the lovely coolness I had enjoyed as I left work was gone.  The sun was hot and the humidity was back.  Never mind that, I told myself.  Just run.

I took off down German Street, turning right, because I had turned left on Wednesday’s run.  I headed toward the HARC building, because I wanted to check out the new playground behind it.  They had their grand opening recently, but I have not been there since it was a work in progress.  It seemed to take a long time to get to the end of German Street.  I persevered, dodging around the puddles and trying to ignore the humidity.  I concentrated on running smoothly and taking deep, full breaths.

The playground looks pretty good.  I entered through the archway and started around the blacktop path that surrounds it.  There are a few exercise stations.  Cool!  I’ll have to come back and try them. I’ve been meaning to incorporate different exercises into my workout.

I was able to continue a slow, steady pace without too much discomfort.  I did not reach the “I Can Rock This” stage, but neither was my body crying out for me to for the love of God stop running.  I made it for a full half hour.  Perhaps a longer run, with a few hills, would have been a good idea, especially given the proximity of the Boilermaker.  However, I plan to run again first thing in the morning.   I’ll see how bad-ass of a run I can do then.

After my run, a shower felt great, and a glass of chocolate milk tasted delicious.  Now I have finished my blog post, so that is another chore done.  I think it is time to commence celebrating my weekend.  Maybe I’ll watch Nosferatu.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

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Waaaait a Minute! I Never Got My Beer!

Posted on September 9, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I ran earlier.  It was a pretty lousy run, but I did not despair of writing a passable Running Commentary post.  The trick is to get to the computer while it is all still fresh in my mind.  Well, I tried, but the damn computer was updating.

Then again, I don’t think I was thinking all that many great thoughts during the run.  Mostly I was gasping for breath in the humidity and wondering why the rain wouldn’t start and give me some relief.  Or does rain get rid of humidity instantaneously?  Perhaps it would not have given me any relief at all.  At least it would not have made me appreciably wetter, because I was covered with sweat before I started.

All of this was no great matter, though, because at least I ran.  And by virtue of running on my Monday holiday, I had only gone two days without running.

I can’t say it was a particularly fun run.  Partway through it I felt that I was not enjoying myself and asked myself why I keep thinking I like to run.  I answered, I like to run on weekend mornings, when it is cool and I feel fresh.  Unfortunately, you cannot only run two days a week with five days break in between.  That would not make for enjoyable weekend runs.  Then I pointed out to myself that when running in hot weather my leg muscles warmed up faster.  My leg had felt quite discouraged at the beginning of the run but were doing better by the end.

I carefully pointed out to myself beautiful flowers in people’s lawns and window boxes.  Scenery always helps.  I envied people who were sitting on their front porches. I would have liked to be sitting still on my front porch, possibly with a beverage.

That was when I thought of beer.  A nice cold beer.  How good would that taste?  I thought, VERY.  So that was the reward I kept in my head for the rest of the run.

I finished the run and my cool-down walk before the rain.  I had a lovely cold shower, ate some food and waited for the computer to cooperate.  Then I wrote this blog post, which I am afraid is not as good of a Running Commentary as I had originally envisioned.  Then again, at least the whole post was not about How I Can’t Write a Post Today.  We’ll save that for Lame Post Friday.  I’m going to call this a Non-Sequitur Thursday and hit Publish.  I hope you’re having a lovely day.

 

 

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The Heat Is Already Wet

Posted on August 20, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, this is embarrassing, although I suppose I should be used to it by now.  I ended yesterday’s post with a silly prediction that I would be explaining once again why I could not write a decent post.  I was kidding!  I meant to write a good post!  I really did!

However, it is a well-known fact that shit happens.  And sometimes doesn’t happen.  In this case what did not happen was my brain functioning.  I’m going to blame it on the continuing heat and humidity, which I had not expected.  At least, I had not expected it to be so bad.  I thought yesterday was supposed to be the worst day.  I thought we were supposed to get thunderstorms at some point which would cool things off.  Another cruel hoax by the weather people!

I really can’t spend another post complaining about being uncomfortable, so I will share one of Steven’s and my movie memories.  One of our favorite hot weather movies is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.  In this movie, it is very important to the plot that the city is in the middle of a terrible heat wave.  In the middle of one night it rains.  The next day, the wonderful Thelma Ritter (one of our all-time MOST favorite actresses) says, “You’d think the rain would have cooled things off.  All it did was make the heat wet.”

Steven and I often use that line, or variations of it, when it rains.  Unfortunately, it has not rained yet, and the heat is already wet.

In the meantime, it is, indeed Wuss-out Wednesday, and I have rehearsal for Roxy is less than an hour (I did mention the play I’m in,  didn’t I?  I’ll no doubt write even more about it as time goes on).  What will I come up with for Non-Sequitur Thursday?  Time will tell.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Shoveling Something

Posted on August 19, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I keep telling myself that you don’t have to shovel humidity.  That is really a good thing, because it would be damn uncomfortable to be outside hefting a shovel in this heat.  Yes, I know,  who could complain about the hot weather after the long, cold winter we just endured?  A lot of people apparently.

I did experience some relief from the heat last night.  My lovely niece and nephew-in-law (silly word, nephew-in-law, but I don’t want to make it sound like she married her brother) got central air and gave us their window unit.  It’s not your usual kind of window unit; it sits on the floor and has an exhaust tube that goes out the window. Very handy if you prefer a fan in the window when possible, which we do.

That is a good point about the weather, by the way.  I don’t mind it so much being hot during the day as long as it cools off at night.  I can even live with it being swelteringly hot at night if I don’t have to work the next day.  I get dreadful insomnia in the heat.  And that reminds me that I pretty much do have to work every day.

Ah, from there I could segue over into a lament that I was not born wealthy, like the heroines in those Regency Romances I dote on.  Of course, they are not always fabulously wealthy.  Sometimes they have a “respectable competence.”  Sometimes it’s straightened circumstances or even genteel poverty.  Sometimes they are constantly being dunned by creditors or (horrors!) have to take a position as a governess or companion.  From these situations, of course, they are usually rescued by some rich, titled hottie.

Isn’t that nice?  I have led myself from bitching about the weather to daydreaming about romance novels.  I’ve tried to write a romance novel.  Perhaps I should try again.  As soon as I have finished the one I am working on, which I VOWED I would finish.  In fact, why am I not working on it right now instead of messing with foolish blog posts?  Ooh, that makes a good exit line.  I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow,when Mohawk Valley Girl explains once again why she cannot write a decent blog post.

 

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And Now to Hydrate

Posted on July 8, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Welcome to another post in All Boilermaker All The  Time.  The race is taking on a looming presence in my psyche.  I approach it with trepidation and anticipation.  Today I lean more toward anticipation.  After all, it’s not just a race:  it’s a party!  And by “party” I don’t mean the after-party at the Saranac Brewery.  I mean the race itself.

It’s going to be FUN!  People will cheer, shake noisemakers, and hold up funny signs.  Bands and DJs will play music.  I’ll make silly jokes with the other runners.  More importantly, at long last it seems that running itself has gotten back to being fun for me.  Just running.  I love it.

I went for a short run this morning.  I confess to a brief feeling of disappointment that it was not pouring rain.  I considered bagging the run and going for a long walk later, like I did on Monday.  Then I thought about how it was supposed to be hot and humid later, that I really don’t like to take more than a day off at a time, and that if I ran right away I would probably drink less coffee, an important factor in my quest for hydration.

I set out thinking to do a mere twenty minutes.  I decided to include the hill by Valley Health, since I had run a fairly flat route on my last run.  It was already quite humid.  It is supposed to be humid on Boilermaker Sunday.  I suppose it is too late to get really acclimated to running in heat and humidity.  Well, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

And it wasn’t.  I got sweaty, of course, and pretty thirsty.  I ran for 28 minutes, then walked ten as a cool-down.  I stopped home before the cool-down and picked up the bottle of water I had foresightedly left for myself on the deck (my computer is telling me foresightedly is not a word, but I think it is) (OK, I’m pretty sure it’s not, but it is what I mean).  Side note:  the water bottle thing is  what I do every time I run, but I wasn’t sure if I had ever mentioned it.

I felt pretty happy with myself for running, especially when it began pouring rain later in the morning. Then again when the sun came out and it got stinking hot in the afternoon. I hope I’ll feel as happy on Sunday after 15 Ks.  I’ll let you know.

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Post from a Melted Brain

Posted on September 6, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Unofficial end of summer, my ass. We’ve had two warm, humid days, the second REALLY warm and humid. What little brain I had has melted. Luckily for me it is Lame Post Friday.

I did write some today. Not a lot. But some. I don’t think it was very good, but one can’t be brilliant 24/7 (I know, some of you are maintaining that YOU certainly can while the others are snarking that I probably can’t be brilliant 1/1. What sarcastic imaginary readers I have).

I didn’t do anything besides go to work and come home. Nothing exciting happened on either ride. And I could not make myself go for a run on this hot, humid day. My God, I am PATHETIC! I’ve got to get a grip on myself!

These things happen in the writing life. We try to write, we find we cannot think of anything to say. Some of us sensibly put the computer away and clean the house or play solitaire. Some of us press on, determined to make that blog post every day. And we all know which group I fall into.

I fear I do too many of these I Can’t Write a Post Today posts. Could it be time for me to stop trying to post every day? Maybe try for three times a week? No, I can’t do that. I’ll just try to write more better posts (YES, I mean “more better,” let it go). I’ll start tomorrow. Happy Friday, everyone.

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I Sweated Out This Blog Post

Posted on September 3, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

People call this the unofficial end of summer, but I think Mother Nature is letting us know it ain’t so. As I sit writing this at my place of employment (my shift hasn’t started yet so sit back down, you have no reason to tattle to my boss), my pants stick to my legs and a coating of sweat threatens the Oil of Olay I put on my face earlier.

But I was not writing a blog post to complain about things. I mean to write about the run I took this morning. I had originally thought NOT to write about it. After all, this is not a blog about running. On the other hand, it is not a blog about me not being able to write a decent blog post either, but I seem to write a lot of those, too.

Be all that as it may, Steven had another early shift today, so i took the opportunity for another pre-dawn run. One might think the dark air would be cool and pleasant, but one would be mistaken. The humidity was thick, the temperature was none too low and the breeze seldom.

Oh, just listen to me grumble, and it gets worse before it gets better (I confess, as I write this I am laughing at myself. What a kvetch!). What bothered me first was my own legs. They felt as if I had not used them in weeks. What a crock! I ran Sunday and walked on Monday. And I did not spend all day lounging on the couch in between.

I wondered if I should have warmed up before starting. I used to stretch but then I read how you should not stretch cold muscles. Warm them first, I read, with a light jog. Well, I start my run slow, you could call it a light jog if you were so inclined. I suppose what you are supposed to do is jog in place for a minute or two, then stretch, THEN start your run. Oh, who has time for these things? And personally, I find it is best to get out the door and away from my comfortable house as soon as possible or I will find an unassailable reason for staying home (I can be very persuasive).

Before the run I had had quite a debate in my head as to where to run. I like to take different routes. But I still feel some nervousness running prior to four in the morning. Would it not be better to stick to proven safe streets? Then again, different routes can stimulate the mind. Finally I set out in my usual direction down German Street. There was no point in stimulating my mind too much.

I went all the way up German and hooked around to run back down Church Street. The only thing of note I observed were some vines growing over a privacy fence. They seemed bigger than I remembered. Had it been longer than I thought since I ran down this side of the street? Or had they grown really fast in the recent rain? It was not until I was writing this just now that it occurs to me, they may be mutant vines that will begin to eat people soon. I suppose I was still half asleep. I don’t usually miss a good B movie reference like that.

Soon I was approaching Main Street. Some people avoid Main Street. I’ve never had a problem there and continue to walk and run that way. However, early hours seem to make a difference, at least in my head. I decided to cross Main and run down Washington to Green Street. Then I could run by the police station. That would make me feel secure.

It seemed to take a long time to get to Green Street. My legs were feeling better, but I was really feeling the humidity. As I ran by the police station I realized there was a whole parking lot between me and any cops that might be there. If I was accosted by a bad guy could I count on the police hearing me? I do have a loud voice. Then again, what kind of messed up bad guy accosts a middle-aged lady running by the police station at four in the morning? Maybe there were surveillance cameras. If the extremely unlikely happened, it could at long last be my ticket to an appearance on World’s Dumbest.

As I continued towards Meyers Park I debated how much longer I should keep running. I was over 20 minutes so I had at least met the minimum goal I had set for myself. Of course one likes to do more than the bare minimum (one being me).

I took the long way home for a total run time of 33 minutes, the same length as my last run. As usual I walked around the block with my schnoodle, Tabby for a cool down. The best thing about these early morning runs is knowing that it’s DONE. As the heat and humitidy increased, I was increasingly glad that was so.

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Don’t Sweat It

Posted on July 3, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I saw that the weather report today said 84 degrees instead of 90, it just sounded SO much cooler. Plus, it was prior to 7 a.m., well before it should reach 84. I could run. It would be great. As you may have guessed, it was not great, but I’m going to write about it anyways.

I woke up this morning NOT in the mood to run. Then I tricked myself. I said, “It would be a good idea if I went running.” You see, if I had said, “I should go running” or “I ought to go running,” I would have cleverly come up with any number of very good reasons NOT to run. But I had to acknowledge that, yes, it would be a good idea to run. I ran.

Right away I felt the humidity. I decided that it was good that I was running; I didn’t have to run fast. This would be a nice, steady, fat-burning run. I read a whole big thing once that when you run fast and hard, your body reaches for the high-octane fuel, provided by the protein and carbohydrates you consumed. When you run slow and easy, your body burns the low-octane stuff, the fat. I have since heard that this was not the case. However, I usually run at a slow rate and if I am running on a regular basis, I find that I am less fat. I spent a few blocks reflecting on this, mostly dwelling on the pleasing image of me not fat.

I soon became quite sweaty and realized I forgot my headband. Then my glasses fogged up. I tried to move them a little away from my face. I have some contact lenses I could wear to run in but I wonder if the sweat dripping into my eyes would be a problem. I’ll have to try it.

I ran in the opposite direction I had run on Monday, out German Street and around various residential streets, ending up on the path that used to be a hydraulic canal. I ran that path recently beginning out Main Street. Today I started at the other end and followed it to Main Street, detouring onto sidewalks when I had to.

I ended up doing 33 minutes, one minute longer than I had done Monday. I thought one minute extra was OK. As Tabby walked my cool-down with me I realized I had forgotten my bottle of water. I took a shorter cool-down walk than usual, and I’ve been hydrating ever since.

I’m afraid this hasn’t been a very amusing post about a run. As I was running I was thinking of any number of interesting things to say, but right now they elude me. Guess I’m not re-hydrated yet. On the other hand, it is Wuss-out Wednesday. I’ll try to be more entertaining tomorrow, on Non-Sequitur Thursday.

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A Pretty Good Hill for a Monday

Posted on June 24, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I did not run on Wrist to Forehead Sunday (don’t judge). Then I failed to write a blog post as Monday (today) progressed. Finally I determined to go home, run, then write about the run.

My plan for Sunday had been to run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC), a ferocious hill, for those of you who are not familiar with it. I did not see how I could do such a thing today. Then I thought about how triumphant I would feel, posting on Facebook that I had done it. I thought about being at the top of the hill saying, “Yeah, I’m bad!” Still, I argued with myself, it is not easy to cross German Street at 4 p.m. on a weekday. Herkimer traffic can be heavy at that time. At last I decided that if I COULD cross the street, I would take that as a sign and run the damn hill.

The thing I mostly don’t like about running in the afternoon is that my dog, Tabby, is so happy to see me come home. She doesn’t want me to leave right away. She wants me to stay and pet her or take her for a walk. I reminded her that she does not like to run with me; she likes to stop and sniff and frequent intervals. She lay down underneath the coffee table. Ah, she understands, I thought. Then she jumped up with a hopeful look on her face as I opened the door. No, Tabby. I was in kind of a down mood to start with. A sad dog did not help.

Nonetheless, I set out. And right away the warm temperature and humidity did not feel good. No matter, I thought. A good sweat never hurt anybody. And I managed to cross German Street. Ah, my bold plan was working.

Only it wasn’t working very well, because as German Street sloped slightly upward as it does, I realized I was in no shape to run up a hill like the one to HCCC. The hill by Valley Health, perhaps I could manage. Then I got to the gate to the unknown park. I think it is called Brookfield Park, but as it is not clearly labeled, I persist in referring to it as the unknown park (not capitalized). The ground sloped up as I ran in. It was an effort. A good enough hill for a Monday

I have not run through this park in over a year. I wondered what effects of flooding remained. It is not a very extensive park. A road runs up into it and by a couple of large sports fields. I’ve seen soccer games going on as I’ve run by, and once I heard a bagpiper practicing up in some trees. Further down the road, across a footbridge there is a picnic pavilion and some grills. Beyond that is a path that leads to the back road to the college. In August the DARE 5K goes from the college down that path, in the opposite direction to what I was running today.

I had it in mind to run on that path, if it was still intact. Of course, I would not do anything stupid. If it was half collapsed, I would not run that way. Then I saw that the footbridge was blocked on both ends with some chain link fencing, a stern-looking CLOSED sign on the end near me. So much for that plan.

There are probably a lot of bugs near all those trees anyways, I thought. I ran to the end of the road I was on and turned around. My legs were not happy with me, but they did not collapse under me, which I found encouraging.

Back onto the village streets, a sprint across German as soon as I had a chance. How long was I going to run for? 29 minutes, the same as I had done Saturday? 32, to increase by 10 percent as I had planned to do Sunday? Neither seemed within the realm of possibility. I thought, it’s hot, it’s humid, I worked all day. I am out here running AT ALL. This is good.

It seemed to take a very long time to get back to my street. When I was almost there, I passed a neighbor sitting on her porch. Her dogs greeted me with barks.

“It’s too hot to jog!” she said.

“I know!” I answered. “But I gotta do it!”

My run ended up being 28 minutes, which I thought was pretty OK. Tabby walked around the block with me for my cool-down. A breeze finally started blowing as we were almost home. Nice. A shower felt even nicer. And it will also feel nice to hit “Publish,” and know I’ve made another post.

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