Body Needs to Adjust to Weather Changes

At some time every autumn, it seems, I step outside when it is the upper fifties for the first time of the season.  I always seem to shudder at how extremely cold it feels and suddenly wish a return to the long, hot summer I just left.  But soon thereafter, every time in fact, I acclimate myself to the seasonal cooling and find myself enjoying the more temperate climate.  But first I have to pass through that initial boundary of "shock" at the long-missed cool temperatures.  I feel something similar may have happened to me today, but in reverse.

From time to time during this extraordinary, brutally hot and humid summer, I have ventured out on short runs outside through my neighborhood.  Often these runs would be limited to one or two laps around my block.  Mostly, though, I confined my running to indoors with temperature controlled and in the 70's with low humidity.  This morning I tried to see how long I could stand it outside under a slightly cooler-than-normal 81 degrees and moderate 66% humidity.  I had hoped, as I wound my way up and down familiar streets on my long-established neighborhood running course, to run 7 miles or more.  But I only managed to get to 4.83 miles and felt overheated and exhausted.  Still, my recovery from the run seems to be going well.  I'm inclined to think that my negative reaction to the run wasn't as much due to being out of shape, which I know I'm not, as it was against the abruptly unpleasant weather, as mild as it was in comparison to the summer's generally roasting heat. 

I'm going to test this out in a couple of days and run once again for a substantial distance outside.  Maybe my body, like it does when it finally acclimates itself to cooler conditions, will get used to the less pleasant warm temperatures.  At least that's what I'm hoping.  In any event, I think I'm going to skip that local half-marathon race next Saturday and wait for cooler weather.