You Say Tomato

Our town is so small – how small is it? – our town is so small that some nights on the local news, they don’t have much to say. It’s a good thing that they don’t have a lot of bad news to report, but on the other hand, what they choose to fill the time is sometimes pretty funny.

The other night they gave five minutes to the weatherman. He said it was hot, humid, and dry all day, and tomorrow was expected to be hot, humid and dry. What else can you really say at this time of year in our part of the country? After he reported this weather news, which was news to no one, he still had four minutes and 53 seconds to fill.

First he shared a photo of a local viewer who had grown the biggest tomato in the area. This viewer is now in the lead in some contest the weatherman is holding. Next he shared a photo from another viewer of a potato with three toes.

In the midst of reporting on these crucial items, he reminded us that it was hot, humid and dry, in case you missed it the first time he said it.

He also shared the vital information that if you put s’mores on your grill in this weather, the chocolate will get all runny and the marshmallows will get soft even without turning on the grill. Just FYI.

What is the point of this post, you may be asking yourself. What does it have to do with fitness? Hold on. Oh yeah: It’s really hot, humid and dry. So remember to hydrate! If you already drink your six 8-oz glasses of water every day, you might add one or two more. If you don’t drink enough water, think about adding some to your day. If you get bored with water there are all kinds of tasty flavor packets you can add, like Lipton Green Tea to Go or Ocean Spray On the Go.

The second point of this post is to remind you to be sure to check and see if there are any severe heat advisories in your area before you exercise outside. We did not think to do this Monday before our trail run and it turned out that there was one in effect. No wonder it was so hard!

The third and final point for today is this: if you have any mutant vegetables growing in your garden, be sure to let your local weatherman know. He may need filler.