Sunday was the 33rd Annual Decker Challenge Half Marathon — a beast of a course full of hills and unfriendly weather from start to finish. I knew it would be tough, but there seems to be a disconnect between what I think my ability is and what my ability actually is. But let’s start from the beginning.
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The Decker Half Marathon Preview
Short version: Run up a hill. Run down a hill. Repeat.
Longer Version: The Decker Challenge is this Sunday out near the Travis County Expo Center. As I mentioned awhile back this isn’t just any ol’ 13.1 mile run. This is an act of aggression against runners of all kinds. Here’s the elevation chart again. At least the weather will be runner-friendly: 42 degrees, cloudy, not too windy.
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p style=”text-align: left;”>I’ve been semi-seriously preparing for this course, picking out hilly routes and focusing on speed work. The best tactic I had though was actually going out and running the course. It wasn’t quite as bad as expected, but certainly demands respect. At this point my goal is to go sub 1:40. As Colin pointed out (based on my past goal-compared-to-result) I’ll probably come in around 1:34. I’m not so confident, but we’ll see how it all shakes out. I’ll be wearing
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#750. Wish me luck!
Running with the Haze
Four feet down, one ear up, one tongue out. That’s the checklist for my running buddy. She’s a minimalist — no watch, no music, no shoes. She runs for the love of running (and to maybe chase a squirrel or two). Her name
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is Hazel and she’s my dog.
Recently Hazel has been tagging along on leading my morning runs. On our first few outings she’d try to run as fast as possible, so I’m thankful she’s starting to get that we’re not in the Iditarod.
Now we’re at the point where each morning as I’m lacing up my shoes, she trots over and pushes her nose into my hands. She’s either trying to tell me I’m tying them wrong or she wants to make doubly sure that I know she wants to run. The guilt I feel when I leave her behind is nearly enough to entirely scrap my training plan to take her along.
So what’s her plan? I’m looking to get her up to 10 miles. At this point she’s run 6 miles, leading the way the whole time. Recently she tagged along from some intervals totaling
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5.5 miles. For now I’m looking to take her out twice a week for a 5-6 mile run as her “long” run and maybe one other shorter jog. Hopefully in six months or so she’ll be able to get up there. The big unknown is how far she could go right now. She cruised through 6, but we’ll take it slow from here.
It’s great having a running buddy to enjoy the dark, early mornings. With her logging more and more miles, you’ll be sure to see her make more blog appearances soon. And I should point out, where she really wins is, after our run I go to work and she gets some R&R.
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Hill Country Pierogi – Get Polished
Do you like dumplings? Of course! How about ravioli? Who doesn’t? Kolaches? Duh! And empanadas? Yes. Get to the point. The point is, every culture has its own take on dough filled with something delicious and then cooked. Well the Polish have something pretty fantastic known as pierogi and they’re taking Austin by storm. A couple (Brit and Rob) from New York City NEW YORK CITY!? yes, New York City, are showing Texas a thing or two showcasing traditional recipes and modern twists of a understated delicacy.
Push Yourself
Thanks to some Twitter motivation, Ev and I are embarking on The Push Up Challenge. The brainchild of @melruns and encouraged by Austin Fit Magazine, the idea is simple:
Day 1 – Do 1 push up
Day 2 – Do 2 push ups
Here’s where it gets tricky
Day 3 – Do 4 push ups
Day 4 – Do 8 push ups
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p>Each day double the number of push ups from the day before. Take this all the way up to 100 push ups (or for the binary-minded, 128 push ups). It’s a daily goal, not an in-a-row goal, so it’s fair game to break them up. Just get them done, however you need. After that you can keep increasing or just
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stay at 100 per day. The choice is yours. Good luck and get started!
Worst Case Scenario
I’m taking a brief step away from the typical Mike-centric post to tell a story of heartbreak, disappointment, and superhuman abilities that indirectly affects me. This past Sunday my long-distance running buddy/nemesis frenemy Colin ran the Philadelphia Marathon. “Run” doesn’t really capture the whole story. You see, Colin has been busting his hump with the singular goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. New qualifying standards were put in place this year making it more difficult. The requirement for a 26 year old male is to run a marathon under 3 hours 5 minutes. To put it another way, crazy fast.
Odd Duck Farm to Trailer
On my third (and likely final) visit to Odd Duck I’m prepared to write about my experience. It’s not your typical food trailer that hits a niche market (like vegan ice cream, frozen bananas, pizza, or any other single-focus mobile eatery). No, rather it’s effectively a gourmet kitchen placed in a gravel parking lot, propped up on wheels, and enclosed by wood panels and screens. The short version: amazing. The long version: keep reading.
And unfortunately due to Daylight Saving Time, the lighting does not accommodate cell phone camera pictures, so you’ll have to use your imagination (and some pictures from the wide world of the Internet).
Kat’s Ice Cream
I get excited trying new trailers and I get excited eating ice cream, so Kat’s Ice Cream was right up my alley. Set up on South First Street in an unassuming trailer, Kat’s serves up homemade vegan (yes, vegan) ice cream. The flavors are built on one of three milk bases: soy, almond, or coconut. You’d hardly know it though. I’ve enjoyed what Kat has to offer twice now and need to share what my tastebuds got to experience.
Well Hillo There
I had an eye-opening revelation recently brought on as a result of some race research. My next race in the Austin Distance Challenge is the Decker Challenge half marathon. I figured it would be a good idea to check out what exactly the course had in store now rather than later. I had heard it was hilly, but didn’t really think twice about it. I’m not sure what piqued my curiosity but I sure am glad it was piqued. Turns out “hilly” isn’t the half of it. Let’s go to the data.
Looking at what could easily be mistaken for an EKG, the elevation profile for the Decker Challenge is, in a word, absolutelyridiculous. There’s approximately zero flat ground. You’re either going uphill, downhill, or really uphill. I pointed out two hotspots that caught my attention. The first arrow is pointing at a 9.2% grade. Get on a treadmill and put it on 9%. Yea. After that, there are some merciless downhills taking you to the lowest point on the course. Immediately you hit a 6.2% incline, which isn’t bad, particularly when compared to the laughable 8.2% incline right after. If those were the only hills on the course it would be considered difficult. But those are just two of the approximately 21 uphills that will be embracing the pack of runners in December.
To prepare I’ll be running as many long runs as I can on the steepest hills I can find. Goals for the race will have to be set shortly before game time so that I can see how the hill training pays off. One thing’s for sure: I won’t be setting any personal records at this race. It’ll be more survival than anything. Can’t wait!
Eat St Gets the Tex-Med Treatment
Update: Unfortunately, due to extenuating circumstances with their location, Lizzie’s Lunchbox is permanently closed.
Halloween was all treats for Lizzie’s Lunchbox when Eat Street came by to profile the bright pink truck. Back in Austin for their third session of trailer interviews, Eat Street came out on the first day to get a first-hand look at Tex-Med at its finest. Drawing a big crowd, their presence and all the social media excitement offered great exposure to Lizzie’s Lunchbox. I’m hoping to see the buzz continue for this awesome truck and its awesome owner.
As for me, I showed up ready to give my take on what Tex-Med means to Austin (and more importantly, me). I checked in with the Eat Street crew to not-so-subtly let them know I’d
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be happy to share my thoughts on camera. They were busy interviewing Lizzie’s running group so I hopped in line. Best thing ever? Free cookie while waiting to order. Soon it was my turn and I ordered up a Tex-Med Pita with chicken, combo-ed (chips, hummus, tabbouleh), and reluctantly passed on a second cookie.
I got my food and hung onto it for awhile waiting for the film crew to wrap things up and want to talk to me. Soon after I was on a picnic bench chatting with the producer, camera man, and sound guy. They noticed my chicken pita and preferred it to be lamb, so they ran up to the window and got a quick order of lamb. A little television magic switched my chicken pita to lamb and we were off and rolling. I’ll spare the details, but I talked about the food, the location, and Lizzie herself. It was a lot of fun sharing how much I like Lizzie’s Lunchbox! Like I told Eat Street, it’s a very welcomed addition to the North Austin food scene.
Fin.
PS- It should be no surprise that I visit Lizzie’s Lunchbox often: it’s near my office, sells great food, and run by awesome people. Since the Eat Street event I went back to Lizzie’s again (yes, twice in one week). This time I ordered strictly from the Specials menu. It was a perfect day to sit outside and have a hot bowl of corn & tomato tortilla soup. Alongside
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came warm, spicy beerbread / cornbread with much-appreciated real corn kernels baked in.
To go with the soup I got the pesto chicken salad sandwich on a croissant. So fresh, so buttery, so pesto-y. It could easily be a fixture on the normal menu. I’m sure there will be plenty more reviews of Lizzie’s, and I can’t wait to get back there to try something new.
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