Corn? Cattle Prices? Dry heat, please...

I got out the door at 5:40 this morning to do a quick three miles before my husband had to head off to work. I had resolved that I wouldn't run anything shorter than 4, but the clock got me this morning. So I ran a "fast" three early.

I get that we need rain. Drought is a bad, bad thing. It kills crops. Farmers sell off their cattle. It drives up the cost of food. But let's look at it from a glass half-full perspective--we don't have to mow the grass as often. Okay, that's it for a list. Not mowing the lawn is good. From a runner's perspective, though, the dry heat at the beginning of the summer was awesome. Maybe those Arizona folks are on to something.

I stepped out the door, and my first thought was, "Oh, scheisse. It's 80 degrees already." Just go.

I don't like having a time limit for my runs, but I was very aware of my husband's need to get out the door for work, so I needed to go. My legs felt stiff. My shoes felt heavy. My steps were a shuffle.

A quarter mile in, and my mind started to click. Every now and again, I would get a slight breeze coming off the soybean fields, and then a ten degree change two steps later that would take my breath away. I stopped thinking about my legs, my feet, my lungs. I started thinking about staying loose.

Three miles. One car. Two workmen at a church up the road. And just me and the road. What a great way to start the day. I do miss the dry heat. Time for coffee.