Welcome, Spring!

I feel like that would be the title of most blog entries today. What an incredible day! After a few days of rainy mid-forties sunshine and 60 has been more than appreciated. It has been forever since I've got in a blog post. It seems so hard now that you can write a new status in a sentence or two and be done with your day. But then you miss out on some of the more interesting minute details of the run, like:

~ Thank goodness for a gorgeous night that gave me an excuse to do my beastly speed workout not on the treadmill (intervals of one mile, two miles and 2x800m - worst track workout ever, so boring!)
~ Almost getting hit in the crosswalk by multiple cars. Doesn't anyone read the driver's manual or even the big reflective signs?
~ Running upon a little girl around 7 screaming like crazy for her dad. Seriously, I heard her for a block before I saw her. She had fallen off her scooter and totally jacked up her elbow (similar to my experience, though not as bloody). I did my best to help her out and back to her house a few feet away without being a creepy stranger. She finally made it through her front door and off I went.
~ The trails in Frick Park have finally thawed and while still damp, they were not mucky but rather quite springy. I literally felt like I was on a gymnast's mat
~ While I was doing my 'speed' workout, I still feel a bit like molasses. My confidence was definitely boosted when I sped past a biker. I don't understand how he was staying upright, but regardless, I passed him
~ Possibly one of my favorite parts was coming back through Regent Square. I passed a dad wearing the Pgh Marathon from the first year feeding his baby. His three year old daughter jumped up with excitement when she saw me run past, pointed and exclaimed "Runner!". SO CUTE! I think the dad was a little embarrassed, but I loved it.
~ Final great thing about this early spring run - procrastinating until after 6 to go running and get home while the sun is still up!