The smoke from the Canadian wildfires became a problem here again last week. Poor air quality plus extreme heat has certainly made athletic training more difficult this summer, confining our activities to late in the day and sometimes making them a no-go. On one day that I took Livia for her run at the park, I started to feel short of breath just from walking. By the time we returned home, my voice was scratchy and my lung congested.
The air quality had been rated merely “moderate.” Knowing that Marshall was more sensitive to air quality problems than the average person, I’d left him at home, but I hadn’t realized how much the smoke would bother me (Livia claimed to be unaffected). The hazy, orange moon was a sight worth seeing, though.
BTW, I know that a mask would filter out some of the fine particulate in the air, but wearing a mask also makes me feel short of breath. So I probably wouldn’t wear a mask unless the air quality were rated “unhealthy” or worse, and if it were that bad, I wouldn’t leave the house unless I had to. Livia flat-out rejected the notion of wearing a mask when I suggested that she might use one.
For now, the air quality has returned to normal. Let’s hope it stays that way for a long time.