Charlotte weather has gone from pleasant highs in the upper 70’s to swamp ass highs in the lower 90’s. It’s way too early for this kind of oppressive heat. Some people can thrive in heat, but I am not one. 
Not only does the heat and humidity suck me dry of energy, but it also makes me irritable. Normally I’m ready to workout as soon as it’s quittin’ time, but not today. Instead of throwing on workout clothes and going for a run, I came home, stripped down to underwear, and plopped my swamp ass myself on the couch.
But it’s hard to ignore that nagging voice that says, “You know you’ll feel better after a workout.â€
I reminded that little voice, “Yeah, I usually feel better after workouts, but not when it’s so damn hot that I feel like I’m gonna suffocate.†(see…irritable)
That must have shut the stupid voice up, because I proceeded to get lost looking through photos I snapped a few weekends ago.
I remembered how lovely it was that afternoon as I meandered through my neighborhood taking pictures of anything that caught my eye. Believe it or not, I even came across a blackberry tree! Somehow I thought blackberries were a bush? Maybe the thing I thought was a tree was actually a bush, I don’t know. But I did eat a few of the berries and they were blackberries and definitely weren’t poisonous. 
Anyway, all that imagining somehow rejuvenated my energy stores. Now I’m sitting in my running clothes and planning out a quick & dirty workout. To honor the fatigue I have felt all day, I’m not planning a “balls to the wall†workout. The plan is to run to a nearby track as a warm-up, approximately 1 mile, complete 4-6, 60 second sprint intervals, then run 1 mile back home. See, quick and dirty! Hopefully my energy and mood will improve, but I have to admit, this early onset of heat has me dreading summer. I’m not ready to be stuck inside the gym on a machine. Boo!
How do you adapt your workouts to the summer heat?
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Blackberries do grow on bushes… pretty sure what you saw is a mulberry tree. Mulberries look like blackberries, but are a little bit smaller. We’ve got them all over my neighborhood. Gotta love a free snack 🙂
Interesting!! I’ve never seen a mulberry or any mulberry products…..they were very tasty!
yep, definitely a mullberry tree! 🙂 they’re equally delicious as blackberries though!
This is amazing to me. How have I never come across a mullberry tree?! Now that I know for sure I haven’t been eating poisonous berries, I want to frequent my neighborhood mulberry tree. 😉
i remember picking blackberries at a bush at my camp over the summers..they were amazing freshly plucked 🙂 and I am so jealous that SUMMER requires you to be inside…winter was killing me with the cold, just looking at the treadmill makes me cringe now!
I grew up picking blackberries too. There is nothing like a warm, freshly picked berry! The treadmill makes me cringe too–which is why I NEVER get on one! I’d rather freeze or burn up!
I can’t believe it’s 90 degrees where you live! Today it was 70 in Eugene but it’s going to be raining the rest of the week 🙁 I’m so ready for summer! When summer actually shows up here, I workout in the morning before work so I’m not running in the heat.
Ummm….yeah—it’s 90 degress and sweeeeaaaty! I want to move to Eugene-except for the rain. 😉
I moved to Montana to escape the heat 🙂 now I don’t have to get up before sunrise in the summer to run
Maybe I need to move to Montana too. It has been soooo hot this week and humid. I hope it cools off before your wedding.
I live in western North Carolina and in the summer I just work out first thing – otherwise there is no way I’m going to do it later when it’s hot!
Apparently that is the obvious answer—and yet it didn’t dawn on me. I just cannot seem to drag myself out of bed anymore. I barely make it to work on time.
I second the mulberries. I have a mulberry tree in my yard, and your photos match what mine looks like. Got to love free berries!
Yes–free berries are awesome! I’m so excited to have learned about a new berry! Growing up, we had blackberries all over the place. Seeing them in the store for $5/pint seems like such a scam!
i am a freak and i LOVE it hot. i even really enjoy running in hot weather. i am a freak.
nicole, it’s funny that you despise hot weather so but like hot yoga??? speaking of which…i miss you on wednesdays! 😉
You are a freak. 😉 Here’s the thing–I like hot yoga, but only if it isn’t too hot. I’ve been sad to miss your class the past few weeks. I’ve had a really hard time handling the heat in afternoon classes–my heart starts beating really fast and I feel like I’m gonna faint. Hopefully I’ll get used to the heat and be able to make it to class again soon. Lord knows I need it!
This weather is absolutely awful. I know I whined about it all the time last summer, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to kill me this year.
I’m impressed you got in a run outside! I’m already sticking to the treadmill. Sad.
Lol! You can whine about it this summer—this is certainly not the last time I’m gonna do so! As I get older it seems like my threshold for heat is lower and lower. The only reason I run outside is because I hate the treadmill more. Fingers crossed we get a cool front soon.
Umm… I don't adapt my workouts to the summer weather – please tell me how!! I'm in Orlando – equally if not hotter than the Charlotte weather! When I lived in Charlotte I was lucky enough to be RIGHT behind a YMCA so I'd just jump in the pool – now, not so much.
Well, apparently everyone else gets up early and works out. Since this is happening for me, I’ve just been sucking it up and running in the heat or going to the gym.