Wonderful!

It really felt like spring outside today. It's been so long in coming. Loved it!

First off, a very Happy Birthday to my sister Alison!! And congrats to my son Matt who rode 75 bike miles today. You rock, Matt!!

I started out the day with a long run from the RAC. As I was leaving the neighborhood, I saw more wild turkeys. This time with a few toms in the mix.

The scheduled route was 17.6 miles and included about 1 1/2 loops of Silver Lake. Since I'm tapering for Boston, I decided to forgo the complete loop to cut off about 1.8 miles from the route. I ran the first few miles with Deb Krause. I hadn't seen her in a long time. It was so nice to chat with her again.

It was just a beautiful morning for a run.

Talked with Tina at the Foster Arends stop and she agreed ... the Boston Marathon jackets run small this year. I looked at adidas.com and all the comments on the jacket say the same ... runs small. It's also on the short side. Glad it's not just me. Also, Emily and her boyfriend will join us for the Boston Bash potluck on Monday and in Boston as well. Hoo-rah!! They were preparing to put up the greenhouse in the Hy-Vee north parking lot. The sight of flowers, plants, trees ready for planting will really make it feel like spring. On the run I chatted with someone I hadn't met before .... Melissa.

Randy, Melissa, Mark

Congrats to her ... she said she's lost 50 pounds in the last year. Wow!! She's training for Grandma's (along with her husband) which will be her third marathon. Thanks Jen and James for the water stops!! Those orange slices really hit the spot. :-)

Jen and Melissa

Mark, Melissa, Jen, James, Randy

Thirty five degrees. Perfect!!

That's Andy in the "lead" above. He's running so well. That was the last time I saw him. :-) Until we got back to the RAC. I chatted with the guys ...

Nice, Andy!!

and then headed out for a little post-script for the run ending the morning with 17.36 miles. I struggled a bit at about 15 miles but overall it was a good run. Then it was off to the Crown for breakfast with Jim, Liz, Sara, Mike, Andy, Roger, Tom. Didn't get out of there until after 12:30. Yikes.

Mike, Roger, Tom

Liz, me, Jim

Sara and Liz ... so cute!

Breakfast

This afternoon, I made some banana bread for my neighbors.

And another batch of m&m cookies (for Fetzer). This evening I attended the TriRochester season kickoff pizza party at Rochester Cycling & Fitness. They had a great turnout.

Zack Nevala

I won an American Family Insurance cap, and purchased some GU for Boston, and a pair of cycling sox.

For kicks and giggles, I bought a red daisy flower for my handlebars. Sadly, it doesn't fit and I'll have to return it. My handlebars are too fat. Guess it's made for a kid's bike. Go figure. :-) I'd love to have this sweet hot pink cruiser!!

Time to call it a day. Good night.