Good God, it was stupidly hot this morning. And by "stupidly hot" I mean that
anyone who would row in it is stupid. There were actually quite a few other boats
out on the water, so I'm not the only stupid one. Of course there are plenty of
people who don't mind heat, or so they keep telling me. I find it difficult to
believe, myself.
It was around 90 degrees out, with humidity probably around 40% -- not steambath
levels, but enough to be annoying. Now, I know there are plenty of places where
that get up into the 90s, with 90% humidity, where summer is the prime athletic
season. Remember, though, most rowers are out at dawn, in the coolest part of the
day. 88 degrees was the low here today. Out of curiosity, I looked up the
low temps in Philadelphia, Boston, and DC, three cities full of rowers that are
known for their steamy summers, and they all have lows in the upper 60s/low 70s.
Even my old stomping ground, Houston, where morning rows could feel unpleasantly
sticky, has average lows around 75.
Interestingly, weather.com claims Tempe, where our lake is, also has average lows
around 75 for July and August. I don't know where they got that number --
predicted lows for the next ten days range from 83 to 95, and that's about normal.
(I believe the Houston average, because that's siilar to the temperatures they
have predicted now.)
You're whinging again.
Yes, I know. I defend my right to whine in the
face of a completely unreasonable climate.
*Sigh* So how long are we stuck hearing this?
The rest of July, all of August, and half of September, or at least until
we get a front that allows the words "unseasonably cool" and "Arizona" to be
mentioned in the same breath. Speaking of breath, don't hold yours.
Here's
wishing luck to the local crews heading off to Sacramento to race in Regionals. At
least they should have the advantage if it's hot there.