I Miss February

This morning's run was painful. Is there are a stronger word than "suffer?" It wasn't hot, just thick. The air was disgusting. How's that for positive?

I drove to the Percy Warner Park entrance to meet my friend Kevin, who invited me to join his running group. About 15 skinny folks (and me) started running shortly after 5:30. The plan was to run five miles. I felt good the first mile, even at a brisk pace of 8:40/mile. These folks were fast. I told Kevin it should be interesting to see how the run goes.

Somewhere during Mile Two, as we ran through the grounds of the Belle Meade Plantation, the skinny people started pulling ahead. Kind Kevin dropped his pace slightly as I dropped mine. Around 2.5 miles, drenched and wheezing, I told Kevin to go ahead. I could not cool off or get enough air. I sweat more than most people anyway ... Most in my family can't tolerate this kind of soup. Around 3.5 miles, I tanked. The last third of the run was mostly miserable, and would have been worse if I hadn't stopped briefly. I noticed five or six others along the boulevard who were doing the same. Calgon, take us away.

Humidity was nearly 100% and the dewpoint was 70 degrees. Check out the chart below and this good explanation:

Dew Point °F
>75°F Extremely uncomfortable, oppressive
70-74°F Very humid, quite uncomfortable
65-69°F Somewhat uncomfortable for most people at upper edge
60-64°F OK for most, but all perceive the humidity at upper edge
55-59°F Comfortable
50-54°F Very comfortable
<49°F A bit dry for some

The final numbers on the run: 4.9 miles at 46:32, a 9:25/mile pace. The only solution is to rest and get back out there tomorrow.