I’ve gotta say, these Trailer Food Tuesdays events are pretty fantastic. Since the first one early last year, they’ve really found their groove and know how to show off Austin’s food trucks to Austin’s hungry residents. Ev and I headed down after work hoping to meet up with friends and try some new-to-us trucks.
The Austin Food & Wine Alliance took over part of the Salt Lick estate to put on their second annual Live Fire! meatacular. With 16 fantastic chefs putting their twist on meat+fire (here’s a look at the menu), complimented by several equally talented pastry chefs crafting some special desserts. Not to be left thirsty, the wine, beer, and spirits flowed freely from Texan vineyards, brewers, and distillers.
Week 7 was tough! My body was definitely still in recovery mode from the Boston Marathon, but my brain said “suck it up”. So after 6 days of complete rest, I picked up where I left off. Turned out that was a major shock to my body and for most of the week I was exhausted. The big ride on Saturday was hilly like whoa, which left me extra tired for Sunday’s brick run-bike. Finishing up Sunday’s ride was a relief, though a peek at Week 8 washed that relief away.
Seven weeks down, twenty-nine to go!
On East 11th St, as you drive past the throngs of semi-crazy meat fanatics waiting for (in my and countless others’ opinions) the best barbecue money can buy, you’ll come across a lonely trailer set up in an empty grass lot. Artistically painted on the trailer you’ll find a curious word name: Micklethwait.
And Week 6 is a wrap! One activity — The Boston Marathon. The remainder of the week was rest and recovery, or at least try to rest while we traveled back to Austin. Time to get back into it!
Six weeks down, thirty to go!
In light of everything that happened at the Boston Marathon this year, I couldn’t decide how to write this post, or to even write one at all. Despite the personal accomplishment and significance of the race itself, the cloud hanging over the event for so many others in Boston, the running community as a whole, and around the world can not and should not be forgotten. With that in mind, I want to recap the everything from my perspective, chronologically, to capture the emotional highs and lows of the weekend.
::TRUMPET FANFARE::
The. Boston. Marathon. This is it. The big one. Honestly, it’s probably the apex of my running career. But that’s ok. It was a tough, occasionally hidden, road to get here. Now that it’s here, it’s pretty surreal. But before we fall into any sappy, nostalgic mumbojumbo, I’ll give you a quick preview of what’s about to happen this weekend. 
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This Ironman training thing is tiring! Put another week in the books. It was another long-ish week, coming out to nearly 10 hours, and finishing up with a hard run. Not exactly ideal for what should be tapering for THE BOSTON MARATHON, but it felt good. Even as a long week, it was still pretty run-of-the-mill. That is, except for Sunday.
To close out the week I ran the Statesman Cap 10k. It’s the biggest 10k in Texas and 5th biggest in the US. I won’t get into the details now (because you can read all about them here!), but it turned out to be a harder effort than I probably should have run. So now it’s just a matter of taking it easy from now until next Monday. Boston here I come!
Four weeks down, thirty-two to go!
Another Cap10K is in the books! Over 15,000 people took to the streets to take on a pretty tough 6.2 mile course through downtown Austin. For me it was my 3rd go at it. Last year I ran for my company’s corporate team en route to a PR. This year, with Boston NEXT WEEK, I chose to take it a little easier. But things don’t always go the way you choose.
Week 3 is a wrap! It was pretty uneventful, other than those pesky 9 workouts. Most notable was getting my new bike all tuned up! I swung by Bicycle Sport Shop just before Trailer Food Tuesdays to pick up my ride. When I dropped it off on Saturday, I had gone in with the intent of only getting the crank arm fixed so I could screw the pedal back in. To fix that? Only $30 and two days. But I also needed (according to the mechanics) a new chain, a new cassette, both wheels trued, new pedals, and a deluxe tune-up.
Needless to say, a little more than just $30. But whatever, I was getting a great bike back up to nearly new condition… almost. I took the bike home assuming all was well and good. You know what they say about assuming, right? It means you’re an idiot. It meant I needed to take the bike back Wednesday evening to address quite a few issues, namely the wheels weren’t trued, I needed new brake pads (which should have been discovered in the deluxe tune-up), and the shifters wouldn’t, well, shift into the big gears (another item that should have been caught in the tune-up). Needless to say, not pleased with the level of service thus far.
Semi-redeeming, the service I received Wednesday night made everything better. It may have taken an hour and a half, but they fixed up all of the things left undone from the tune-up. So now I’m all set with a new, awesome bike that’s going to make me go really fast and tackle the 112 mile portion of the Ironman.
Here’s a preview of what the new bike looks like. Full post coming in due time!
Three weeks down, thirty-three to go!
