The Heat is On

As I sat here to write this, I glanced up at the thermometer readout; Noon and 84 degrees already! Yup that cool snap we had last week with “The Wedge” is over!! “The Wedge” by the way is a phenomenon where a low pressure center gets trapped between the Appalachian Mountains and the Bermuda High. It brings cooler winds from the north to northeast, cloudy skies and a little rain to the Carolinas.

This past week, I’ve been taking advantage of “The Wedge” to get out of the house for a brisk walk up and down my street every day. Today might be a little more of a challenge. With me getting all these steps in, my Fitbit thinks that I’m some kind of stud and wants me to double my daily goal of steps. I’m not falling for it; I know that the sweat factor is gonna double anyway.

Oh yeah – there is one more thing. With the heat, the mosquitoes are out. My neighborhood mosquitoes are bad boys; I can’t out-walk them. I can outrun them, but not for more than half a block before my arthritis kicks in.

Arthritis is one of the main reasons I’m trying to get serious about getting more exercise. My doctor tells me that now I’ve retired, I no longer have an excuse not to do ½ hour every other day. Did I mention that she was a star basketball player for the University of South Carolina and is a member of the SC Athletic Hall of Fame? She is not gonna take any excuse from me, so I’d better get with the program.

I think I’m beginning to see the positive effects of the walking. My hips start hurting farther down the path than they used to. Once the pain level gets lower, then I’ll respond to the plaintive cries of my Fitbit and increase my goal. Don’t get too excited, Mr. Fitbit, I ain’t gonna double it like you want. At my age, moderation is the key. And it won’t get cooler for a long time.

I know you are thinking that I should join a gym and exercise inside. But not just yet; I have a membership in a gym but going to the gym is listed as a “high risk” activity during the coronavirus age by our state health department. So I’ll wait for a vaccine or herd immunity, thank you very much.

The onset of the perspiration season is going to make me make a couple of changes. I’ve been walking in the mid to late afternoon after completing the projects I’ve set up for the day. I think that will have to change to mornings or mid day at the latest.

The other thing that will have to change is my walking attire. It’s been cool enough to walk in the t-shirt and blue jeans that have been my pandemic attire for the past few months. I’d just pop on my WUSC-FM cap and pop out the front door. But I’m beginning to come back just a little too “dewy” to keep doing that much longer. So I’ll just pop off the jeans and don a pair of my old exercise shorts from my days teaching aerobics at the YMCA. I’ll be the one out there rocking the 80s and 90s exercise fashion. Please don’t laugh.

If things get much warmer, and they will, I just might bring back another hot afternoon tradition from my youth. I might drag the hose off the reel in my front yard, attach the sprinkler and play in the spray a while. If you happen to drive by, there is nothing to see here, keep moving. Oh MY!