Shorts: Enough said

Well, hello, late March!

I have definitely been keeping my eye on the weather this week.  It is unseasonably-oddly-crazy warm in Minnesota.  A couple of days ago, it was 60 degrees in the southern part of the state, the warmest temperature ever recorded here for the first week in January.  I ran at lunch on Wednesday and Thursday, both days in 3/4 running tights - or as they're called in my home, "short pants" - and it was just not quite warm enough for shorts.  But anyone who had a conversation with me lasting more than five minutes knows that I have been bursting to try, just for the utter novelty of wearing shorts in January.

Today was the day.  I looked out the window and saw sunny skies - a key factor in winter shorts judgment - and then checked the weather online.

GAME ON!

I will admit that I jumped the gun a little bit, especially with a moderate breeze that lasted for the first mile.  I saw one other runner wearing shorts (a kindred spirit, no doubt) and a lot of runners with full tights, jackets and hats.  Once I finished the first mile, though, I was comfortable for the rest of the run.  Yes!  It was so much fun.

Taken quickly by my own timer, not a stranger.

All of the snow was melting.  The sidewalk on which I ran has lots of pedestrian traffic, so the footprints in the snow got packed down the most - and are the last to melt.  I think the sidewalk looks pretty like this.

Also, later in the run I saw a squirrel sleeping or lounging in a tree.  It is obviously not as cool in photograph form because it looks like any old squirrel.  But know that this guy sat in this exact position for at least a minute.  Doesn't his tail look...aerodynamic?

 

Then, after I finished the impromptu photo shoot, I got worried and said out loud, "Are you sick? I hope you aren't sick!" and only then looked around to see if people were within earshot.  Then he scurried up the branch.  He wasn't sick after all.

Good run. 

Happy Friday to you!  I hope you have a great weekend, Reader!