Andrew Schrauben

Tuesday evening this week I went for a run with my dog Haven in 90-degree, humid heat. Just 14 hours later I went running again, a 5-mile lunchtime run with a few co-workers, with the temperature at the same 90 degrees. However, that second run was MUCH HOTTER. Why?

The sun. Tuesday evening's run was after 8pm and the sun had just ducked below the trees (but hadn't set yet). On top of that my route was along tree-shrouded dirt roads, so the road didn't see much direct sunlight throughout the day. In fact, it didn't seem quite so hot to me, although my dog was definitely feeling it.

Meanwhile, Wednesday's noon run was on city sidewalks exposed to the glaring high sun. Not only was the running surface hot as a griddle, my body was soaking up the sun's radiative heat, too. Yeah, my legs were tired from running the previous evening, but the heat was absolutely sweltering in comparison.

To top it all off, my softball team played it's 16th and last game of season Wednesday evening! I was definitely feeling tired after seven innings playing shortstop and running the bases. So today, my legs are getting a day off from running to catch up on some rest!