What is more appealing- You Decide!

I can't decide if riding/running in 85+ degrees and humidity or riding in 100 degrees and no humidity is more fun. Previous post is an example of how fun running in the heat AND humidity can be. Plus side of that is that your mouth is still producing saliva and if worst comes to worst, you can drink your own sweat as it rolls in streams down your face. It is not so much fun when you start to lose it and see black spots and start to shiver because your body's electrolyte content is running low, and before it gives in, it warns you to STOP EXERCISING NOW or pay the price for a few days after. I went through that on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Without gas in the tank, I didn't have much real estate to cover and found myself bonking 2 hours into a ride. Fun times.

Lets now examine Scenario B: A lovely day such as today (96 degrees), or any day this summer, I set out for a ride, knowing that I will be hot the minute I set off. The pavement below my wheels today felt like lava, thats right, lava. Although I have not ridden over hot lava, I am pretty sure that this is the closest I'll get, until Kona. I was seriously worried my tires would burst from the hot pavement below. In an effort to keep my water bottles frozen ( as they always are when I set out) for 5 minutes longer, I decided to ride up Lefthand to Jamestown. I arrived in Jamestown 8 miles later with water bottles whose ice had completely melted. This within the first hour of my ride.

Today's ride also graced me with the presence of crosswinds, a lovely concoction when you combine it with heat- think blowdryer set on high. I for sure thought I'd land in the Creek 20ft below me a few times on my descent. With my knuckles white, I arrived back down safely. I pushed onward on 36 to attempt a 3 hr ride. Crosswinds pushed me halfway across the highway a few times and the drinks of hot water I got out of my bottles didn't make things much funner. Speaking of hot water, when you are already hot and exhausted and want something cool and know that you need to drink, does the sensation of hot water entering your mouth just make you vomit? I find it even harder to drink when that is the case. Anyhoo, I had no choice as my tongue was pretty much stuck in the back of my throat and I was unable to swallow due to the dry-as-bones humidity. I returned from my ride, close but not quite on the 3 hr mark, parched and surprisingly dry. Turns out no humidity at all may leave you like a wilted flower, but at least you finish with almost dry clothing. And as an added bonus, you get to lick the salt from your arms and face right back into your body if you prefer.

All jokes aside, I do think that although this may all be perfect training for Kona, one should be seriously cautious about exercising in these extreme temps. I may come across as a whiny wimp, but I have come a long way. I used to never exercise during the day in the summers, and only go before sunrise and after sunset. As much as I'd like to convince my body otherwise, it just does not like the heat as much as it likes damp 50 degree weather. But every workout in the heat counts as a check mark on my list of developing a thicker skin and trying to teach my body that it will endure some long hours in it.