Austin Update!

OK, so I fell off the blog posting wagon. I see a comment from someone out there asking me not to revert to my old habits, but it seems it already happened. This time the excuse is that I'm in Austin, and I've just run out of time and energy to sit down at the computer to update the blog.

Let's see if I can sum up the last two weeks and a half weeks...

Amanda and I have been having an absolute blast here in Austin. We've been doing some great training, we've been hanging out with all of our good friends, and we've been enjoying the great weather.

Our routine seems to have evolved into getting up very early in the morning. I think I've seen the 5:00 o'clock hour more this past couple weeks, and I have to admit that I like it. We've been joining the UT masters at 6:30 some days; we've been doing runs at Town Lake other mornings; and we've been visiting numerous of Austin's great coffee shops and restaurants on other mornings.

Normally I come to Austin in mid-February, so I'm in a bit better shape when I arrive. My typical Austin trip is centered around logging a bunch of bike miles in prep for an early Ironman. This time around it's a bit different. We showed up here out of shape, and anxious to get going with the training.

Since being here we've come to realize that we really like getting in shape at sea level. It's not quite as painful as it is in Boulder! It's coming along nicely, and I feel that I've already made some noticeable gains.

Today was one of a few three-sport days we've had. The UT pool is closed, so we made it over to one of Austin's gems: Stacy Pool. It's free and it's 100ft in length. Notching 100 yds in just three laps makes the yardage add up much more quickly!

Next up was a nice run around Town Lake. Richie Cunningham is in town, in order to escape the cold Boston winter, so he joined me for the ten-mile loop. It was a bit cooler today, which made for perfect running weather. We ticked away at a comfortable pace chatting about pretty much anything under the sun. I haven't had too many run partners lately, so it was nice to have that company for a change.

My final session was an easy spin with Amanda through some of Austin's great neighborhoods. There are very few flat parts of town, so this ride, like most, was a bit hilly. It feels great to be at sea level, especially when on those climbs!

I'm not making any promises, but I will do my best to keep up those updates.

Thanks for checking in!