Hat’s Off to the Heat Wave!

From the title, you’re probably thinking one of two things.
1. I must be crazy.    Or
2. I must have spent the entirety of last week in a refrigerated body suit. 

Unfortunately, I don’t own a refrigerated body suit, and I have it on fairly good authority that I’m not crazy.  So hear me out.

First, let’s recap.  Last week record high temperatures were set, forest fires continue to rage all over the province, contributing to the horrendous air quality, and I shared my list of ways to stay active in the heat. 

So how did my plan to stay active in the heat work out, you ask?
Well, first of all, thank you for asking.  On Wednesday I ventured to my neighbourhood outdoor pool after work, along with a thousand other people. The pool was packed, with a lineup out the gate.  I did manage to swim and lounge in the pool for an hour or two, but I did find that I had to continuously remind myself to actually swim and use some muscles rather than just lazily floating on my back.  Let me say, it would have been game over if I’d had an inner tube. 

Thursday, as it seemed to get even hotter, I headed to the beach to try swimming in the ocean. Because, you know, it’s free.  I was scared it was going to be too cold, but given the scorching temperatures, there wasn’t such a thing as too cold anymore. It was glorious. Much more spacious than the pool, no line-ups and did I mention it was free?
I swam for awhile, then headed over to beach yoga, where I was the only one not sweating.  This is when I realized that not only does being immersed in water keep you cool while you exercise, it also keeps you cool for a while afterwards. Eureka! A new strategy for exercising during overwhelming heat waves!

So, I managed to keep fairly active during the heat wave and thankfully it’s cooler this week so far, so getting back into my regular fitness routine has been easy.
But I did have another heat-wave related struggle:  Finding food to eat.

As you know, I hate grocery shopping, and even though I sought the comfort of the air conditioned grocery store on more than one occasion last week, I didn’t feel like cooking or preparing food. Similarly to Patti, I avoided the kitchen like a cat avoids water.  Luckily, summertime means an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables at the market.  So the only meals I prepared were salads and combinations of fruits and yogurt.  It turns out the heat wave actually helped me eat healthier foods, aside from the occasional visit to the ice cream parlour, but that will be our little secret.
The heat wave also helped me incorporate other fitness activities that I may not have tried if my regular exercise wasn’t so unbearable. 

So thank you heat wave!  Until next year…