Kansas is flat. Florida is flatter.
I workout at an airport in Pompano Beach Florida. The trail here is one big square. About a Mile on a side. 1.6 Km if you must. 4.5 miles once around.
Thing is that here, where the air is liquid even in the dry season, there are some seriously small micro-climates.
Riding around that big old box I can see where there was a Thunderhead just off shore. I can do that loop on the bike in about 17 minutes reliably, although today I was taking things easy and relaxed a bit.
Standing at the gates, I put the camera in the gap between them and squeezed off this picture.
The point is that you have to be able to read the weather.
When I was in Philadelphia, I had a long run. It was 15 miles, about 28 km in one direction away from the car. I'd stop and have a break and skate back to the car. It was predictable. You would be able to read the radar and say that it would be a good dry run that day and not get out and be wet. After all, on a 3 hour workout, getting soaked in the middle of it is simply not an option.
Here things are different. If you liked yesterday's weather, you will like today's. In this specific case, warm and sunny with leopard spots of storms marching across the radar developing into some strong storms later.
Welcome to Wet Season.
I have to watch. Things can change at a moment's notice. I have stood in that same spot and known that I was going to get quite wet by the time I got back. Not today actually because that little leopard spot disappeared and reformed twice in the two hours I was at that park.
One of the adaptations I made was to get ceramic bearings in my inline skates. You can run them through water and they do not rust, they're made out of material similar to the coffee cup you took out of the dishwasher last time you ran the thing. Regular steel bearings rust if you look at them wrong.
I get to the car on the other side of the park now and since it is still warm, I am using one of the two bottles of water that I carry to pour over my head and helmet, shoulders and arms to cool down to be able to go around for another hours. Yet another adaptation.
Endurance Sports are subtle that way, you change things to put yourself through the workout over the years. Eventually you get where you are going even if it isn't the way you were going last time.
Florida is a very granular place. Just a little way away and the entire character of where you are at has changed.
Weather, Neighborhood, Opportunities.
I suppose that would be why people move here. It never freezes, we're only 8 miles below the freeze line in winter. Maybe further because of the "Global Warming That Does Not Officially Exist" nonsense. Most people who own property can tell you how far above sea level they are. Mine is 15 feet, 5 meters, and is the highest point on the block if not in town. You need to know because if it rains on your roof, it will drain into the neighbor's property or pond in their yard - or not.
Everywhere you live will change you. So if you are moving down here, remember to spay and neuter your pets and especially your MAGA relatives, and get ready for the changes.
And get a good radar app for your phone. Or two. Plus Ceramic Bearings.
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