Would someone please, PLEASE, explain this whole Global Warming thing to me.
I mean, seriously, what the heck is going on weather-wise?!
I umpired a high school baseball game in Chicago on Saturday,
March 21, and it was gorgeous. Sure, I was wearing a jacket, but was comfortable, actually sweating a bit.
It snowed about a week ago in Chicago. The White Sox re-scheduled their home opener due to the weather.
I ran 9 miles in Houston on Sunday, April 5, at Memorial Park, which has a nice near-3-mile loop. It was in the low-60s, what was quite comfortable for running, yet quite surprising for Houston.
Now it brings me to Saturday, April 12, a gorgeous-looking day in Chicago. Not a cloud in the sky, which I thought was perfect because I was doing an 18-mile training run in preparation for the San Diego Marathon on May 31.
I parked along the lakefront, not far from Irving Park Road, and as soon as I got out of my car, I knew it was cool, if only because I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and my Sugoi jacket from the 2008 Nashville Marathon.
I was set to run, though a bit chilly, with the temperature probably about 40 degrees.
The first six miles were pretty uneventful, though I did see a runner wearing shorts and, well, just a training bra, or whatever the heck it was, and that was quite a site, and surprising. I saw other runners in shorts too, though not many. Others along the lakefront this Saturday were in sweatpants, some had hats and gloves on; some even wore Ugg boots with cheerleader-like pom poms. (Seriously).
As I coasted into mile 7, I realized that my Garmin watch had lived up to its billing: over-priced, over-rated and under-performing. The thing was dead; the screen was blank. I had to assume it was a battery-charging issue, but who knows.
Maybe these Garmin watches are good for some, but I certainly am not sold on them. At least not the one I have, which I’ve been using all year. I wish I was still using my $75 Timex; I never had such problems, as I do with this Garmin beauty.
Good thing I of course knew the route and the mileage, so I wasn’t relying on the Garmin for that. But I sure could have used it for the time, my interval-training, etc. Oh well.
As I reached the 10-mile mark, my left hand was cold, really cold. Like my fingers felt number. The iPod played The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin and when he counts to three in Spanish (un, dos, tres), I actually used my fingers to count – just to move my fingers.
As I said, it was frickin’ cold out there.
How cold, you ask? Well, when I got back into my car, the temperature said: 37 degrees.
Thankfully, though, the iPod survived. Here were some of my favorite songs from the 18-mile journey, in no particular order:
- Smack That by Akon.
- Amazing by Seal
- Bang The Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren, especially since this song puts me in a Hawaiian state-of-mind since the singer has ties to our 50th State.
- Dance Into the Light by Phil Collins
- Rollout by Ludacris
- The World’s Greatest by R Kelly, which actually was my go-to song for motivation with that Nike running gimmick I previously used.
Here’s hoping summer – or at least warmer weather – arrives soon, very soon.
And yes, that was me moaning how hot it was running last month in Orlando.
Must be Global Warming,
Ross.
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