Double Digits

I'm at the point in half marathon training when my long runs enter the double digits.  This is my favorite part of training.  I love the feeling of running a 10+ mile long run.  This morning, a group of us set our for a solid ten miles.  It was fabulous.  The weather in Upstate NY is unseasonably warm and we actually hit 70+ degrees today.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing and we were all running with short sleeves and shorts or running capris.  I was actually hot while I was running.  For those of us who run in extreme winter weather, these warm weather runs are incredibly exciting.  When most of our winter runs occur in single digit temperatures, it feels so good to embark upon warm spring running when we are actually running in the double digits.  Usually, it's about 40 degrees during mid-March, so these super warm temperatures are particularly exciting.

The kids loved the warm weather.  They were able to play outside in their T-shirts.

This weekend wasn't just about enjoying the warm weather, though.  It was all about good food as well.  We had a potluck dinner with friends on Saturday and a traditional Corned Beef dinner with relatives tonight.  Since Saturday was St. Patty's Day, I had to make this:

It's a Chocolate Guinness cake (Nigella Lawson's recipe) and it's incredible.  It's my most requested cake.  

It's a good thing I ran 10 miles today, because I certainly ate my share of good food this weekend. 

Obviously, we had a great weekend.  It was so warm and sunny and springlike.  But, the most exciting part is that our entire week is going to be like this.

I know the wether will get cold again.  We won't go as low as we were a few weeks ago, but we will probably drop back down to the 40's again for a few weeks.  After all, it's not often that it gets this warm in March.  So, we're going to enjoy it while it lasts.  The week will be spent playing at the playground, taking walks, grilling, running outside, and soaking up the sun (with plenty of sunblock, of course).  Even though it won't last, it will certainly help us get through the last few weeks of winter/spring weather.  It's just nice to have temperatures in the double digits.