The desert is hot and is getting hotter. The sunrises are beautiful. I am beginning to love the early morning runs. I have settled into a routine and sat down on Friday evening and plotted out an almost nine mile run that would include a midway stop at Old Town Coffee Company for some nourishment and a refill of my water bottle.

Then, up came the winds on Friday night without a wind advisory being issued. I was unprepared for the intensity and the particulate that suddenly is swirling in the air, even as the winds eventually died down on Saturday morning. I run with exercised-induced asthma so worry about what I am breathing in while I run. My step dad did not ride his bike on Saturday morning as planned. The winds were too much.

I got up as planned at 4:30 am and started getting ready as quietly as I could. I was told by both my mother and my step father to not go. I opted for an altered route within the community they live in so that I was never more than a half mile from the house. This way I could stop at the end of any mile and basically be at the house. I could also always walk back if the air was too much for me. Since I didn’t get out the door as early as I had originally planned, I settled for a five mile run within the area near the house.

What keeps you from running? Are you currently training for a race? How far are your weekend long runs?