June 1, 2000 -- 11:00 PM EST

Let me tell you about my frying brains. Up until now, I have never been quite so obsessed about the summer weather. Usually I complain it is hot, and get reacquainted with my ice packs to stay cool rather than for my bum ankle. Now that I'm six weeks into marathon training, I hang on pins and needles for the weather report on the news and I triple check it against weather.com and the Orlando "Slantinel" to make sure of what the weather will be like. I am particularly anxious that June 24th be a good day weatherwise because that's the longest walk this month -- three hours! I do NOT want to be on a treadmill for three hours! I would much rather be outside!

In the chart below, the apparent temperature refers to hot hot the combination of heat and humidity feels to you. If I score a white box or worse on this chart I start making other plans for my workout because I don't need to be courting heat stroke. I either plan on gym, or think about a night walk with Paul, or plan a split workout -- half in the morning and half in the evening. Sometimes I skip and make it up the next day early in the morning.

Today is 91 deg F with a 44% humidity. So the heat index is 95 and earns me a white box for "extreme caution." I'll be at the gym. Ciao!

The OTHER thing about heat and humidity? Panties!

I'm ordering Coolmax underwear. That's it. I can't take it. I've been soggy in my nether regions for too many days running and despite changing right after working out, I have diaper rash, dammit, at the age of 24. It wouldn' t be so bad if my workouts were short, but these hour-plus sessions? That's too long to be hanging out in wet underwear.

I don't need this!

~Astrophe