First, Sunday was over 40 degrees. That was a first for the year for sure. It hasn't happened for a long time. That first led to another. I ran outside. Now, I've run outside many many times before but since we're in the middle of winter, it's been awhile. Months. So for the first time since probably October, I ran outside and boy was it awesome. The weather was perfect. There was barely a breeze, though it did pick up a bit as I ran across the Mississippi River for the second time in my run. That time it was blowing against me so it made it a little tiresome at the end of a fairly long run. But, it turned out to be great all around. For some reason, I love running over the river and I got to do it twice with this run. I ran a total of 6.77 miles according to Daily Mile.
This run led to another first. Despite having lived in Minneapolis for over 5 years, I've never ran on either of the River Roads. It's a very popular spot for recreation so it's kind of weird that I'd never done that. For those of you who know the area, I started at Minnehaha Park in south Minneapolis and ran north on the West River Road to Lake Street. I crossed the Lake Street bridge (which turns into Marshall Ave halfway across the bridge), going across the Mississippi River into St. Paul. I then turned south and took Mississippi River Blvd down to Ford Parkway. I crossed the Ford Parkway bridge (which turns into 46th Street once you get across), then followed 46th St to Minnehaha Parkway and back to the park. It's essentially the Walk MS route, backwards. The route was a little slushy and puddly and there was some soft snowpack on the trail. That mean I had to do a lot of hopping and skipping to avoid my feet being submerged in frigid puddles. It also meant that every step on the snowpack was a little uneven so it was a big workout to my ankles and inner calves. Kind of like running in sand. I found those areas to be exceptionally sore on Monday and Tuesday. It was a great run. Anytime I'm outside I feel so much better. I did feel some of my old knee pain/IT Band Syndrome coming back. I'll have to keep an eye on that.
Monday morning rolled around and on my way from the Target Center to my office, someone rear ended me in our new car. First accident for the new car and first time anyone has EVER hit me in my almost 10 years of driving. Grrrrrr! It pushed me into the van in front of me which happened to be a guy doing some work in my office. No damage to his car. Also, no damage to the car that hit me. Unfortunately all of the damage was concentrated on my poor little Elantra. :( My front license plate holder is now bent and there are two holes poked in my back bumper, left by the screws on the dude's front license plate. It looks like a vampire bit it in the butt. So, now we're trying to figure this all out with insurance, etc. Damn that guy in a hurry.
The last firsts for the week have to deal with work. Our office is closed this entire week (a definite first in my tenure there) for a network, operating system and phone system upgrade. We're getting Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, and a VOIP phone system. Wahoo! So, Monday we had about a half day to do real work, then we started cleaning up our workspaces and I moved my cube to a new one. I'm now by the window which is the first time I've had that since being there. Yay! Sunlight! Tuesday we had an all staff retreat and today we volunteered at Second Harvest Heartland. Tomorrow is another cleaning day. We're literally scrubbing our office from top to bottom. Then on Friday we'll be trained and getting used to our new gear. We have Monday off for President's Day.
Today, after volunteering, Jill and I took a walk on the West River Road near our office. It was a little chilly but we did a bit over 4 miles. We're looking forward to a day lifting in the gym tomorrow. I think we're on triceps/chest...maybe biceps/back. I don't really remember. More on that later.
Happy Hump Day!
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Addendum: I originally included the following information in my post, however didn't want to spill the beans too early. I think I've given it plenty of time though so here's another first that should have been included above.
At the end of the day, things got significantly better when my sister, Kaci, who had called me during my run on Sunday and I missed it, called me on that evening. She was calling to let me know that I'm going to be an aunt! Up until this point I've been an aunt to only one person, my sister-in-law's daughter, Megan. That's been great but I'm so stoked for my own sister to start bringing kids into the world! This is my first blood-niece/nephew. It's also the first grandchild for my parents and the first great-grandchild for my grandparents on my dad's side. Today I went to Target and of course had to look at the Twins and Gophers onesies. The kid's going to be stylin' in Minnesota gear! I pretty much can't get over this and am so looking forward to visiting in April. Wooooooooooo!
Running outside... YEAH!
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