Saturday report

This morning, Josh had to be at work for an event at 6 a.m., and I swore up and down that I'd get up with him to get an early start on my Saturday long run. Well, you can guess how that turned out. I woke up long after he left, took Wish out for a short walk and then headed out, just after the sun ducked behind the clouds. It was humid, but I was crossing my fingers that the clouds would rule the morning while I was out there.

And rule did they ever. I made it about two miles before it started to sprinkle, and by the third mile, it was raining steadily. The rain stuck around for the rest of the run, and my shoes were squishing by the end.

I looped around the river by downtown St. Paul and got a cool view of the cathedral on the gray skyline:

A few weeks ago, my running buddy Molly and I were reminiscing about how many of our long runs in what seems like every spring marathon training cycle have been done in the rain. There's something about a spring Saturday morning that just seems to bring the precipitation!  Spring rain, of course, has the tendency to make a run cold and uncomfortable.  A rainy summer run can still be tough, but it's usually not bone-chilling. The added bonus is that the whole scene is so green and gorgeous and you know the rain is going to make every plant even peppier.

Like this one!

After the run, I made my strawberry protein shake and hunkered down to catch up with some of my DVR'd programs (as well as Father of the Bride Part II) before heading over to help out a pal at Rock the Garden, an annual music festival at the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden that draws 10,000 people. The skies cleared, the temperatures heated up quickly, and it turned into a great day for a concert (although I was stationed inside the museum for my shift).

We just finished a walk with Wish, and I will leave you with his "OH PLEASE LET ME AT THAT SQUIRREL" face. I mean, literally, he was trying to get at a squirrel while Josh held his leash and I photographed the escapades.

If anyone ever asks me to define longing, I will recommend considering this picture.