Summer heat...not so bad!

I've never liked summer heat.

Let me rephrase that.

I've always hated summer heat. (Much better.)

People seem to think that because I grew up in Yuma, Arizona (known as "The Armpit of Arizona"), I should be used to heat. But here's the problem--I've always been an indoor sort of girl. I've was so in love with air conditioning that I didn't make peace with that awful heat.

Then I became a runner at the end of October last year. It was late enough in the year that I didn't have to deal with heat. I enjoyed running through the winter and spring. And then it started to get warmer, and really humid, and I was miserable. I even blogged about joining a rec center so that I could run indoors.

And at that rec center, I discovered that there's something worse than running in warm, humid weather--running inside. I did a total of two runs at that gym, and I realized that large quantities of sweat are definitely preferable to large quantities of boredom. I figured out that if I just bucked up and dealt with the heat (and made sure I left the house early enough, and slowed my pace), running outside during the summer was suddenly doable. I canceled my rec center membership and haven't missed that indoor track or those treadmills one bit.

And then I discovered something amazing. I've had the kids outside more this summer, with Backyard Bible Clubs and a recent outdoor playdate and other outdoor activities, and it's not so bad. Running in the warm, muggy mornings has gotten me acclimated to heat and humidity for the first time in my life. I certainly wouldn't want to spend all day, every day outside, but it's wonderful being able to enjoy myself even when I'm hot.

It took me 32 years to acclimate to heat. So let's hope we never move anywhere that has a lot of snowy weather. I've never had to shovel a sidewalk. I'm not even sure I'd know how. This old dog may be able to learn some new tricks, but living with blizzards might be taking it a bit too far!