I don't like humidity

I'm training for the Richmond Marathon in November 2005.

There used to be a Raleigh Marathon, but for the three years that they held it, something managed to go wrong. The first year, they had to postpone the race one week because a snowstorm was forecast so the police pulled their support, but the storm didn't happen. Imagine a group of runners who were primed to run a marathon on Sunday. They were told Friday "no, there's going to be too much snow." They wake up that Sunday and see nothing on the ground. No one laughed.

The second year, helpful officers of the law directed the front runners off course, causing them to run less than the requisite 26.2 miles. Those who were trying to qualify for Boston were, well, let's say they were disappointed. Luckily, the race director smoothed things out with the BAA and those who would have qualifed did.

The third year, utiltity crews were cleaning up branches and downed power lines after one of the worst ice storms on record. I had to tiptoe over black ice. The Raleigh Marathon seemed to be a jinxed race.

Anyway, I ran 15.1 miles this morning in Umstead Park. I started around 8, and as the morning progressed it got hot and humid. This means I'm sucking in more water vapor than oxygen. I run slower than usual. Afterwards, I literally had a pain in the butt - I guess I overtaxed my glutes going up the last hill. But overall my pace was pretty steady. I am looking forward to 50 degree mornings.