... get the hell out of Florida.
I love visiting Florida. I love the palm trees, and the sun, and the beaches, and spending time with Stevie's family where there is never a shortage of laughter, not to mention good food and booze.
But man do I hate running down here. Especially when I come visit in August. The humidity is so overwhelmingly oppressive that it's a miracle I get in any miles at all.
The suffocating humidity makes the running torturous, while the absence of hills or trails just make it boring. Add the vexing nature of Stevie's neighborhood and the whole thing begins to reek of futility.
When I first started visiting here in 2012, I was confronted with a neighborhood so complicated that an out-of-town runner was almost guaranteed to get lost. My first few runs back then were a nightmare and only lasted 20 - 30 minutes.
While her overall town is situated on a grid, the individual neighborhoods are anything but. Streets twist and curve like the varicose veins of the elderly residents, with each new curve completely renaming the street, following a pattern known only to the original cartographer. This is a neighborhood that names four different streets, all within a quarter mile of each other, the names NW 19th Manor, NW 19th Pl, NW 19th Str, and NW 19th Dr.
Not confusing enough? Let's name two main streets a mile away from each other Coral Ridge Drive and Coral Springs Drive.
And there are canals. Canals everywhere. It's hard to remember which canal each one is and which side of it you're on.
Through all this nonsense I ran 12 miles today. I methodically ran laps around the area while stopping back at Stevie's dad's place for water every few miles. I didn't leave until about 8:30am, and I'd set out to do 10, but surprisingly I felt ok enough in the heat and humidity to knock out 2 more miles. Dare I say I am acclimating to Stevie's insane neighborhood and the ridiculous humidity?
When I finished I was of course soaked from head to toe in my own sweat and enlisted Stevie's dad to take some pictures:
I figured since my clothes were already soaked, I may as well jump in the pool with all of them on. So that's what I did:
Nothing better than finishing a long run with a dip in the pool.
I guess Florida ain't all that bad after all.
I love visiting Florida. I love the palm trees, and the sun, and the beaches, and spending time with Stevie's family where there is never a shortage of laughter, not to mention good food and booze.
But man do I hate running down here. Especially when I come visit in August. The humidity is so overwhelmingly oppressive that it's a miracle I get in any miles at all.
The suffocating humidity makes the running torturous, while the absence of hills or trails just make it boring. Add the vexing nature of Stevie's neighborhood and the whole thing begins to reek of futility.
When I first started visiting here in 2012, I was confronted with a neighborhood so complicated that an out-of-town runner was almost guaranteed to get lost. My first few runs back then were a nightmare and only lasted 20 - 30 minutes.
While her overall town is situated on a grid, the individual neighborhoods are anything but. Streets twist and curve like the varicose veins of the elderly residents, with each new curve completely renaming the street, following a pattern known only to the original cartographer. This is a neighborhood that names four different streets, all within a quarter mile of each other, the names NW 19th Manor, NW 19th Pl, NW 19th Str, and NW 19th Dr.
Not confusing enough? Let's name two main streets a mile away from each other Coral Ridge Drive and Coral Springs Drive.
And there are canals. Canals everywhere. It's hard to remember which canal each one is and which side of it you're on.
Through all this nonsense I ran 12 miles today. I methodically ran laps around the area while stopping back at Stevie's dad's place for water every few miles. I didn't leave until about 8:30am, and I'd set out to do 10, but surprisingly I felt ok enough in the heat and humidity to knock out 2 more miles. Dare I say I am acclimating to Stevie's insane neighborhood and the ridiculous humidity?
When I finished I was of course soaked from head to toe in my own sweat and enlisted Stevie's dad to take some pictures:
I figured since my clothes were already soaked, I may as well jump in the pool with all of them on. So that's what I did:
Nothing better than finishing a long run with a dip in the pool.
I guess Florida ain't all that bad after all.
yeah man, imagine training in that 8 months out of the year. No Bueno!!! - Joe from Fl
ReplyDeleteThough I might have preferred training down here for Boston this year. Damn snow...
Delete