Birth of the Cool

As well as being the title of one of my favorite jazz albums, that perfectly sums up what it felt like to run this morning.  The oppressive heat and humidity (80 days at over 100F) have finally broken, and while we're still getting up into the mid-90s, the mornings are noticeably cooler.  It was in the upper 50s/lower 60s this morning, and it felt wonderful.  I ran with Frank, and we did 8 miles averaging in the 7:30s.  While we weren't exactly cruising, we weren't really pushing either.  My gauge for a really good 8 mile run is to break under an hour, and we were just a handful of seconds over that.

Dang, but it felt good.

Of course, Texas is getting a lot of media play at the moment due to all the wildfires raging throughout the State - a lot of them in or around Austin.  The high winds of the past weekend, combined with the almost total lack of rain for the last 6 months and scorched ground from a long brutal summer was the perfect storm waiting to happen.  One of the biggest fires is in Bastrop, not too many miles away from us.  It has almost completely destroyed the mystic pines of the Bastrop State Park (a favorite "running nirvana" location of mine, and scene of the old "Sweaty Twenty" runs), and I heard reports that at one point the fire was spreading at almost 60mph and was 24 miles long and 20 miles wide.  To date it has consumed 34,000 acres and destroyed 550 homes.  That's a lot of newly homeless people.

The Bastrop Fire - photo courtesy of Kerri West

And that's just one of many wildfires in and around the Austin area.  Yesterday I could smell the smoke in the air from my house.  I know several people who have been evacuated from their homes, and are waiting to see if they have anywhere to go back to.

You just never know, and there but for the grace of God......

But I'm going to end up on a positive note with a Gavin story.   Nancy and I were arguing the other day (forget what about - something really silly no doubt), when Gavin piped up - "girls, you're both pretty.  Now let's go home".

End of argument - it's practically impossible to continue arguing when you're laughing so hard.

Kudos to my 6 year old diplomat who knows exactly how to handle mum and dad!!!