It's Spring! Wait, no, it's not...or is it?

Snow on March 30? Really?? I gave the weather a pass on Saturday when it snowed because, I don't know, just because. Today though, April is only 2 days away and it's completely inappropriate to be dodging snowflakes at this time of year! I protested the snow this morning with a nap, so there.

Once the snow cleared and the sun came out, I decided to go visit the trail. I admit it, I didn't want to today. I was cold, I was grumpy, and I had no motivation. Bleh. So, I faked it. I put on my running gear and took off in the van to go run a couple of errands. The thermometer was reading 38, then the sun went back in the clouds. Seriously? I'm not a cold weather runner, but anyone who has run with me in the winter already knows that (and is probably sick of hearing about it). Give me 90 degrees and humidity any day over gray days and freezing temperatures.

I finished my errands and decided to change up the routine at the trail: rather than starting at a trailhead, I started in the middle. I decided that a little mind game might be in order just to get me to finish the planned 4 to 5 miles. I started at the parking area on That Road and went south. As I approached the roundabout at Church, I spooked a mourning dove from beside the trail but it didn't actually leave. It fluttered around overhead but stuck around. Hmmm, interesting. I decided to investigate on the way back.

At the roundabout I debated what to do: go back the way I'd come on the paved CCT or head north on the rail trail. Rail Trail won. I kept revising the plan as to how far to go on it before doubling back, finally decided just to take it up to Country Club and back. As I started the 4th mile, I realized that I had just hit cruise mode and had picked up the pace a good bit. It usually takes me 2-3 miles to get warmed up but it still surprises me when I look down and see the Garmin's evidence. Effort felt good, but I was coasting along at a 9:40 pace. Not a good idea with the IU Mini on Saturday, so I pulled back a tiny bit. Still felt pretty good though. It's nice to have runs like this again, it's been a year getting it back!

As I got back to the roundabout on Church, I started looking to see if the dove was still there. Yep, in fact, this time I saw two of them: the male nervously fluttering about and the female sitting on the nest. *big smile* That means SPRING IS HERE!!! So in spite of the yucky, gray, snowy day, baby birds are in the works. I was so excited about this that I actually went back to the van, grabbed the cell phone, and went back to get some pics. Thank you doves for coercing another half mile out of me: 5.5 miles today.