I know I just posted about Cow Tipping Creamery, so I’ll keep this brief.  After some drinks with a friend at nearby Freedmen’s we zipped over to the Rancho Rio Eatery to see any trucks were still open.  Secretly I had been  hoping for some ice cream.  Alas, Cow Tipping Creamery’s lights were off and the windows were closed.  Just before we backed out of the parking lot, the two men of the family-run operation walked out of the truck.  My friend asked if they were absolutely closed, to which they said yes.  What happened next is the stuff dreams are made of.

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There’s an unassuming trailer in a nondescript parking lot in a oft-forgotten part of town.  In that no man’s land on Burnet Road, north of 2222 and south of Anderson, one trailer is making noise by offering an uncommon combination of tasty fare.  The Hot Rod Coffee Trailer specializes in coffee to get you going in the morning, and then naturally shifts gears to serve up fancy-sounding hot dogs.  Why?  Well, why not.  And to round things out, the trailer is all about motorcycles and muscle cars.  Coffee, hot dogs, horsepower.  I’m in.

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Well it’s January, so you know what that means.  The 3M Half Marathon!  This will be my third bout with the speedy downhill course.  It’s this very race where I have set  my two previous fastest half marathon times (thank you, downhill course).  So what’s in store for this year?

As is customary, I’ll set a realistic, fairly conservative goal and then back it up with several excuses as to why I don’t think it’s too conservative.  Then, once at the starting line, I’ll scrap my entire plan and run as hard as possible to the finish.  That’s exactly what happened two years ago.  Last year was a bit different wherein I planned the whole time to run as hard as possible.

This year I’m focused on Boston training.  I’m looking to put in a solid time, but I don’t think a PR is in the cards this go-round [see above re: goals].  However, since this falls within Boston training, and my training plan says I should run 18 miles this weekend, you’ll find me running home from the finish line to get close to that 18 mile mark.  Sick?  Yes.  What else can I do?

To make matters more interesting, the always-reliable, never-wrong weather forecast shows a race temp in the mid-30s with a 40% chance of rain and a solid 16 mph headwind (the race is point to point from north to south).  Don’t believe me?

I love this race because it runs right by my house, and my superwife has rallied our neighbors to come out to cheer me and the other runners on!  I can’t wait for Sunday morning!  Let’s do this!

AWESOME EDIT:

Per the wisdom of commenter Laura, and verified by Google, there will in fact be a tailwind for the race!  Huzzah!

Long overdue, starting back in September, I signed up to be a part of the Austin-Boston Food Blogger Swap again.  I did this last year and had a great time, so I jumped on the chance to participate again.  Quick refresher: food bloggers from Austin and Boston are paired up and send each other food items from their respective home cities.  The plan this time was to send our packages out by October 15th to put some sort of “end” date (since we know nothing gets done without deadlines).

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It’s December 10th.  You know what that means??  It’s Day 1 of training for the Boston Marathon!  Or at least it was supposed to be.  Instead I’m on something of a temporary medical leave starting today for the next 10-12 days.  Nothing like a doctor’s strict “don’t exert yourself” to bring things to screeching halt before they can get started.  So for now I’m talking the next week and a half off to think about resting before intense training begins.  My biggest concern is how much fitness I’ll need to regain after two weeks off.  Ok, end of pity party.

New official start date for training: December 24.  Let the countdown begin!