What It’s Like to Live (and Run) in Florida
Welcome to Day 2 of NaBloPoMo! For the first day of November, I wrote about becoming a runner, and a little about my teenage years growing up in Illinois. So how did a midwesterner end up in Florida, anyway? Well, I grew up near Chicago during some of the coldest winters ever. As a matter of fact, I had the dubious honor of being there for the coldest day in the city’s history. On January 20, 1985, the temperatures reached 27 degrees below zero. But the WIND CHILL factor put it at 80 below. You’ll still hear references to that day- for example, in the recent polar vortex people were saying it was the coldest recorded temperature since 1985. Like that’s not bad enough (I mean, seriously- who would want to live in that?) the midwest is very, very, dark and gloomy in the winter. Growing up there, and then in college (I know- I went to college up there as well- what was I thinking???) I just thought I was a person who experienced cycles of depression. Well, yes- and those cycles went with the seasons. I moved to Florida in my 20s, tried to move back north, dealt with my depression once again, and then settled in Florida permanently in 1999. I should specify that I live in South Florida- the area that comprises Miami, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. This part of the state is very different than other parts. Miami is a very international city, Boca and West Palm Beach have a lot of transplants from New Jersey and New York, and then when you go further north, Florida becomes more like the deep south. (As an aside, I sure would hate to be the governor of Florida- it would be a challenging job!) In South Florida we have two seasons- hot, and warm. During the “warm” season (November-March) it might still be hot- or it could get kind of chilly at night. Sometimes we’ll get down to the 50s at night, and every once in a while we’ll see 40s. But once the sun is up- and it’s sunny almost every day- it gets warm. My favorite Florida weather is when it’s in the 60s and sunny. We also see a lot of 70s in the winter, and also, alas, 80s. The sun is a huge factor here. 90s in Florida is very different from 90s in Illinois. We’re much closer to the sun, and we feel it. During the other season, it’s really hot and humid. Our temperatures are consistently in the low 90s, but with the heat index we’re about 100 most days in the summer (and spring, and sometimes fall) months. We’ll get down to the 70s at night, but often in the summer our low will be 80. Arg. So, if you love running but hate running in the heat, don’t live in Florida. If you live in Florida and can’t stand the heat, don’t be a runner. Since I’ve resolved to live in Florida and love running, I’ve embraced the heat- it’s all you can do. You can run early in the morning and you can run in shorts and a sports bra (that’s what I do in the summer) but you’ll still be hot. You really do get acclimated to it though. I actually know people down here who don’t run when it gets down into the 40s overnight because it’s too “cold.” Ha ha… they clearly didn’t grow up in Chicago! Another thing… in central and northern Florida they have this thing where the ground slopes upward… and then back down… otherwise known as “hills,” ha ha. Here in South Florida it’s completely flat. I definitely count that as a minus- hill running is great for leg strength. I’ll also look at races like the St. George marathon and think how much fun it would be to run it someday… and then I wonder how in the world I would train for a race like that! So, no hills. But we do have this: Being near the ocean makes up for a lot. We live about nine miles west of the beach, so it’s not an everyday thing. When my kids were little we used to go to the beach all the time, but now I have to make a special effort to get there. When I’m running longer distances I like to run to the beach. As you can see, living in Florida has its pros and cons. Since my Seasonal Affective Disorder dictates that I live in a sunny climate, I focus on the pros. Sometimes the heat and humidity start to feel overwhelming, but then I think how 80 below felt…. and you know what? I’m good. Where do you live? Do you like the winter? How about the heat- could you live in Florida?