Another big milestone on the slow (oh-so-slow) slog to Not Summer here in Abu Dhabi.

I was able to jog, outdoors, for the first time since …

I had to go look this up. For the first time since May 5, only Six Full Months before.

And before that? I made it outside only three times in April, and always after sundown.

I had tonight off, and went out in the dark, but it was still 85 degrees with a feels-like temp of 89.

It was nice to be out there, aside from the sapping heat. I don’t mind the silly little bike/stepper machine I bought back in March, but going around Khalifa University (which is really a high school) on the rubberized track allows a person to see something more interesting than the interior of a tiny apartment. Kids playing pickup cricket. Women in abayas walking. Laborers boarding a bus. Kids playing pickup soccer.

I would like to think I can do this outdoors thing for the next six months, but it’s still too early to be sure that will happen. We’re going to have more heat before we’re in the 80s consistently. So it’s not like I’ve taken apart the exercise machine and put it in storage.