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Back to the Food Reviews!

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It’s been WAY too long since I’ve posted any sort of blog post about food, food trucks, or really anything you put in your mouth. In an effort to get back to it, I’m going to try something a little different. Rather than a full, detailed post about each and every food truck I’ve visited (like I used to do), you can expect more ad hoc “summary” posts about places I’ve really enjoy recently. The focus will probably still be on food trucks, but honestly that’ll be because that’s where I eat most!

To kick things off, this past weekend Evelyn was out of town. And I went a little overboard, so I’ll (try to) keep things brief.

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Rogue Distance Festival Half Marathon Race Report

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I made a promise to take it easy after Ironman Arizona. For the six weeks that followed, through the end of the year, there’d be no structured training or races. Keeping to my word, the next race I signed up for wasn’t until 2014. The Rogue Distance Festival 30K, Half Marathon, and 10K. On January 5th. I signed up for the half marathon on a whim. I didn’t anticipate getting sick the week of the race, nor did I think there’d be a nasty cold-front dropping in race morning. But so it goes, and so I went!

RDF_forwhitebkg_web

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Food Truck Fans!

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Food trucks, amirite? Everyone and their non-Facebook-using moms know I’m a huge fan of food trucks. But apparently some food trucks are fans of mine! After Ironman Arizona I received an extra fancy surprise from two of my favorites. Thanks to some coordination from Tony (the man behind FoodTrailersAustin.com) and Ev, Cow Tipping Creamery and Guac n Roll created menu specials named for me!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pI3SAsjAeEA/UpZirK44ojI/AAAAAAAAIK4/zYTbX5qcnzQ/s144-c-o/IMAG0376.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/111172613525874451856/IronMikeSpecials#5951052451413533234″ caption=”Post-race, IronMike.” type=”image” alt=”IMAG0376.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” ]

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Ironman Arizona Race Report – The Run

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We’ve made it to the final installment. Don’t miss the story getting there, the swim recap, or the bike report though!

The Run – 26.2 Miles

Finally! Time to show this race who’s boss. Almost. Within the first 20 steps I realized that every muscle in my core was shot. I guess remaining tense and hunched for six hours takes more energy than I thought. Even still, my first couple of miles were right around my goal 8 minute pace. I saw Ev, Travis, and the rest of my support crew at Mile 4 and gave a big smile, though I wasn’t feeling terrific.

IMAZ run smile

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Ironman Arizona Race Report – The Bike

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Don’t miss the journey to the start or the swim leg of the race!

The Bike – 112 Miles

Pulling through the starting chute I saw Ev and Travis there cheering me on for a long day of pedaling.

That's me on the left!

That’s me on the left!

The course rides out 18.7 miles, turns around to the start, and then repeats that two more times for three total out-and-back loops – aka, a mental nightmare. The way out is slightly uphill most of the way, with a pretty noticeable incline just as you approach the turnaround point. I will say, the road conditions were incredible, and for that I am thankful.

IMAZ bike course

IMAZ bike elevation

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Ironman Arizona Race Report – The Swim

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Wait! Don’t miss Part 1: Getting to the Start

The Swim – 2.4 Miles

Race morning came around after only 2 hours of sleep. I left Ev in the room to get a little extra sleep while I went down to prep my bike. I got body marked, loaded up my bike with most of the food I’d be eating that day, and made one last bathroom stop before meeting up with Ev.

IMAZ water

The calm before the storm.

She snapped one last picture before I suited up and got take on the Ironman.

IMAZ pre swim 1

IMAZ pre swim 2

from Ev’s perspective

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Ironman Arizona Race Report – Getting to the Start

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When training takes almost a year, and the race itself takes nearly half a day, the recap is sure to be wordy. To spare you, I’ve broken it up into more reasonable pieces. Without further ado…

Getting to the Start

Taking on an Ironman requires an inordinate amount of preparation and planning. Simply getting to the starting line is a small miracle, but thanks to my great support crew, I made it with shockingly few hiccups along the way. Sure, those 36 weeks of training were critical, but so, too, were the 1,100 miles between Austin and Tempe. On the Thursday before the race, Evelyn, Travis, and I loaded up the car and set off to Arizona.

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Ironman Arizona Race Preview

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IT’S HAPPENING! The journey started 36 weeks ago when I completed my first workout of my Ironman training plan. Since then I’ve done (approximately) 368 workouts. 104 dips in the pool, 130 rides on the bike, 134 times lacing up my shoes. 418 hours worth of pushing myself forward. And now, when it felt like it would never get here, it’s time for Ironman Arizona!

IRONMAN-Arizona

On Sunday, all of the work done to this point will be put to the test. Mentally, I’m ready. I was ready months ago, mainly wishing to be done with training. Physically, I don’t think I’ll ever say “I’m ready”, but I’m ready enough.

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Trailer Crawling with Truck by Truckwest

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txtw

For six days, Truck by Truckwest, a new food trailer showcase, took over Austin’s mobile food scene. With a $20 pass you could access special deals at over 60 Austin food trucks, trailers, and carts. Some gave out free samples, others provided discounts, and a few put together exclusive menu items. As for the food trucks, the incentive came in the form of one, winner-take-all, voted-by-the-people $10,000 prize. I’d call that a big motivator!

So of course I participated in this city-wide food trailer crawl! In total I tried 17 different dishes from 15 trailers, with some surprising (and not-so-surprising) favorites. For me, my favorites came from my already-favorite trailers, like both stackers from Cow Tipping Creamery and the chopped brisket slider from La Barbecue. The dark horses included Valentina’s TexMex BBQ (smoked brisket tacos) and Llama’s Peruvian (Saltado de Pollo Sanguche (grilled chicken sandwich)). That’s not to say others weren’t delicious too. Most were excellent, with only one or two considered disappointing.

As for the event itself, I’d call it a big success. Considering the fragmented world of food trucks, where any given truck may not know it’s own schedule from day to day, coordinating such an effort is no small feat. For the most part, trucks were communicating their deals and honoring them just at the sight of a TXTW badge. Some were eager to have those badges come up to their window (Celia Jacob’s Cheesecake Experience comes to mind as being super enthusiastic). The only feedback for the event would be to create a mobile app to help organize a person’s TXTW experience, but that’s a future nice-to-have, and not a criticism.

So who got my vote? Well, that’s my little secre… COW TIPPING CREAMERY. Not for nothing, they are seemingly incapable of creating anything short of a masterpiece in ice cream form. Now, I don’t know if they’re going to win, but I sure hope they do. My fear is

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that the voting may become a popularity contest regardless of the food that was served during TXTW, but that can’t

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really be helped.

As for the winner… I’ll update this post when it’s announced shortly. But really, we’re all winners. Because that was a lot of food for not a lot of money. Can’t wait for next year!

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