Dripping and Cursing

[By Crabby]

No, This is Not Crabby

Is there anyone out there who actually likes to exercise in hot humid weather?

If so, you may want to excuse yourself, because this is going to be one whiny-assed post.

It's not entirely my fault--I've lived most of my life in coastal Northern California. I'm accustomed to mild summers tempered by cool evenings. Except during occasional "heat waves," early summer mornings tend to dawn crisp, fresh and lovely.

Most importantly, I grew up learning that "wet" goes with "cold." Not with "hot."

"Hot" and "wet?" That's crazy talk! Or pornography. Certainly not weather.

And even though I've spent a few random years on the East coast, I seem to forget, like mothers who get amnesia about labor pains. Now that I'm back east again, I'm suffering from a recurrence of an disorder common to California natives: Pleasant Weather Entitlement Syndrome.

So when the weather gets hot and humid, it feels not just uncomfortable, but like something is profoundly wrong.

Somebody must have screwed up. Something is broken. I want my money back! People simply shouldn't be expected to put up with something as ridiculous and gross as summer humidity, it's outrageous! (Last summer I spent a couple months in Washington D.C. and there'd be times I'd walk out of an air-conditioned building and just start laughing out loud).

Here in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the weather is heavenly compared to the Southeast. It hasn't even gotten hot here yet. Not only is P-town located in a northerly location, but if you were to peruse a map looking for a place where refreshing sea breezes would likely be found (and you were not willing to live on a raft in the ocean), it's kinda hard to beat:

Water Everywhere!
(Photo via flickr)

And yet I can still find something to gripe about.

Sure, it generally is very pleasant in summer--we just happened to have a few warm muggy days recently.

And....Aacckkk! California girl melts down.

I innocently went for a morning run-- and came back drippy and red-faced and exhausted and miserable. What the heck? What just happened???!!!! Oh, my goodness, it's... it's... humidity!

So I'm wondering: how the hell do you folks who live somewhere with real heat and humidity exercise outdoors? How is it even possible?

Sure I've read the general hot-weather exercise advice you tend to get and it sort of boils down to the obvious:

1. Acclimate slowly; your body, once trained, learns to sweat more quickly and copiously.

(Note: This is great when it comes to exercising! Not so great when you're just trying to get from your car to an important meeting and your well-trained body decides that your dry-clean-only outfit needs immediate drenchification).

2. Drink plenty of fluids.

3. Dress in cool, loose, light-colored clothing.

Probably Not Advisable
[Photo credit: Iain Farrell]

4. Avoid midday sun.

5. Wear Evil Sunscreen.

6. Don't go outside in the first place!


So I'm clearly not the expert here--have you folks had any experiences with hot humid weather? Any advice?

Does Your Hometown Have "Issues?"

[By Crabby]

Doctor, Sometimes I Just Feel So... Dirty!
(Photo credit: Spike)

So there's a new book out called "Who's Your City," which is about different places to live and the people who choose to live in them. And guess what? It's written by a guy named Richard Florida. It would be even cuter if he lived there!

I haven't read the book, but the Boston Globe did a thing on it, and it looks pretty cool. For instance, it has tips about finding the best place to live given your life stage and personality and goals and such.

(Psssst: wanna make some money in real estate? The author went on Stephen Colbert and they both agreed: just follow the gay people around. And hint: they all just moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts!) OK, maybe not every single one.

P-Town: Probably Still A Safe Investment

(Photo: Beach Comber)

Anyway, this whole concept of personality and place intrigues me. I'm one of those people who's totally opinionated about good places to live. Theoretically, I know it's all subjective, but in my heart of hearts I truly believe that the places I like are the "best."

People who live elsewhere must therefore either be: (a) unfortunate; (b) complacent; or (c) just plain crazy.

But come to find out, other people with different goals and personalities really do have perfectly legitimate reasons to live where they do. Even if it's somewhere I would hate to live!

Harummph! How is this possible?

So Florida (the guy, not the state) took a look at the way different personality types tend to cluster in different places. Not just in trendy neighborhoods, but in huge swaths of the United States and the world. And he found out some interesting things.

For example, check this out:

(Note: If you can't see it very well, you can go here instead--it's the "personality map").



Isn't it cute how the "agreeable people" all got together and decided to form a picture of a duck?

And isn't it sad that apparently a big part of the country forgot to have any personality at all? Whoops!

I was relieved to find out that I've entirely avoided living places where the "extroverted" and "conscientious" gather. Instead, I've been drawn to locations where the "open-to-experience" and "neurotic" folks hang out. Exactly on target!

Sorry Extroverts! You'll Just Have to Amuse Yourselves Without Me.
(Photo by adwriter)

So why do people with similar personality traits end up clustering together? According to Florida, one possibility is selective migration. Agreeable and conscientious types do NOT like to move, and the extroverts and open to experience people do, so people start sorting themselves into similar personality types.

Sure, sounds plausible. Whatever.

To me, as interesting as the big regional variations are, they seem kinda minor compared with the "neighborhood" factors. If you live in a hip urban neighborhood in say, New York--wouldn't you have more in common with people in a hip urban neighborhood in San Francisco or Chicago or even Paris? Instead of, say, other Northeastern folks who live in gated suburban communities or retirement homes or housing projects or farm towns?

The Sushi Place? No Problem. Make a Right at the Church,

Then Straight Ahead for About 300 Miles. Can't Miss It.
(Photo by docman)

I would tend to agree with the author that the place you live has a huge impact on your life. It can affect your employment options, the kind of people you'll meet, and even your opportunity to exercise and find healthy things to eat. (This is, after all, a health blog so it seemed wise to work in something about health. And hey, Cranky Fitness did actually do a post once on the importance of walkable neighborhoods).

Yet it seems like a lot of people just stay where they were born, or end up somewhere sort of arbitrarily and get trapped there, without ever really choosing.

How about you folks, do you like where you live? Does it suit your goals and personality? Did you choose it, or get stuck with it?

The Rock Walk

[By Crabby]



A Little Obsessed

Do any of you have a particular walk or hike that you love so much that you'd move over 3,000 miles just to get to enjoy it whenever you wanted?

Well, I don't either, I swear. There are LOTS of reasons we moved to P-town, not just for the Rock Walk. (And "the Rock Walk" is just our name for it, I have no idea what the locals call it).

But for me the Rock Walk is one of those rare experiences, like a massage or a cup of coffee in the morning, that I pretty much always enjoy. It's not exercise, because exercise is a pain in the ass, and this is fun. We've been coming here for years, yet I never seem to get tired of it, no matter how many times I've gone back and forth over the same damn rocks. Each time feels unique, with variations in tides and weather and seasons and wildlife and such.

Still, I worry that now that we're going to be here at least half the year, I'll just do it too many dang times and wear it out. Should I consider rationing it? Just once a week or something? But then I have coffee every morning and I haven't worn that out yet...

This is a terrible time of year to take a picture of the rock walk, because the sea-grass (or whatever that stuff that pokes out of the water is) is a dowdy brown color. The walk is much prettier when the grass is lush and green, or even better, when it's dressed in autumn reds and golds.

It also doesn't help that I'm crap at taking pictures. Hey Hilary, could you please pop on over to Provincetown and give me a hand here?



As Close as I get to Meditation

Oddly enough, doing the Rock Walk involves walking on rocks. They are mostly big wide flat rocks, but there is enough un-evenness to require a certain sort of subtle attention, most of which is not even conscious. A few jumps, a little scrambling here and there--there's just enough maneuvering to keep a good part of the body and brain pleasantly engaged. If one is prone to trances, it is a great little trance-inducer.

(However, I have a particularly obstinate brain that can keep up the mind-chatter even on the Rock Walk. But I believe it's quieter chatter).

The scenery gets more beautiful the further out you get (better pictures this summer, I promise) but all along the way there are birds and shells and pretty ripples in the sand and weird washed-up things to check out. And if there is anything more calming than the sound of the tides gurgling and whooshing through the rocks, I sure as hell don't know what it is.




At The End

I usually just turn around and go back. Round trip from town, it's about 90 minutes, and, well, there are no bathrooms out there and given my morning coffee consumption I'm usually pretty ready to head for home. But for those with bigger bladders or who don't mind peeing behind a rock or in the water, there are uncrowded beaches to frolic on and a lighthouse to go take a look at.

(Also, as we discovered one summer afternoon a few years ago, there's apparently other fun to be had. An unusually long walk took us by a remote section of beach where the boys in the dunes were not very inhibited! Fortunately, if you've got little ones in tow, they'll tucker out long before you'd happen by this rather X-rated display of natural wildlife. And it wasn't just nude sunbathing, either, if ya know what I mean. The activity was strangely un-furtive though, we got a cheerful wave from a couple of guys as we passed by on our hike).

Does anyone else have a walk that you just love, or that has unusual scenery of any sort? Cranky Fitness would love to hear about it!

And Note: Do not adjust your computers--I will not be this mellow and boring indefinitely. Crabbiness will soon reappear... in fact, faced with a mountain of moving boxes to deal with, I can feel some coming along nicely already!