It’s hard for me to keep quiet about my unhealthy food obsession (or is it obsession with unhealthy food?) at work. So when coworkers talk about weekend plans and where to eat, my ears can’t help but perk up. Talks usually lead to favorite places and invariably I mention East Side King. After building lots of excitement (and months of trying to coordinate schedules), the time had finally come for some of my coworkers and I to go on an East Side King trailer crawl!
Congratulations to me as I finished up my first trimester of training and move onto the second. It’s really my own way to break things up. The training plan really focuses on building a strong base for twenty-two weeks, so there’s still some time before a real change in training comes along.
Anyway, Week 12 was a good week! It started with the CapTexTri, which went great! I took a few days off to recover before hopping back in the pool and some biking. The weekend was harder than I planned, but I think I was still recovering from the race. Saturday had a great 35 mile ride, which led to a tough 12 mile run on Sunday. The legs are tired, but I’m feeling stronger!
<
p>Twelve weeks
down, twenty-four to go!
Italian food. The last bastion of Austin’s food scene that has yet to be conquered. In a creative, deeply talented culinary scene, it’s perplexing that such an approachable, crowd-pleasing cuisine is virtually non-existent. You might say “But what about [this place]” or “You’re forgetting [that place]“, but I assure you, I am not forgetting any place. Austin’s Italian landscape is a desert, and it has been for quite some time.
To try to crack the code of Austin’s Italian food plight, Nic Patrizi of The Jalopy food truck renown, is trying his hand at cracking the Italian code. Growing up in a huge Italian family out in Beaumont, Nic spent lots of his free time at his family’s eponymous (SAT word!) restaurant. Now he’s taking recipes from the way-back machine and putting his own twist on them. Along with his cousin, sister, and other friends and family, they’re launching the Patrizi’s food truck out on the east side. It’s set up next to The Vortex with covered seating (hand-built by Nic’s cousin) on tables and chairs from the original Beaumont restaurant, served on original plates. And being right next to the Vortex, you can get drinks at the bar.
I was lucky enough to enjoy a complimentary soft launch sampling of some of the upcoming menu items. Check out the pictures below — it’ll be like you were there too! The meatballs, made with meat from Salt & Time, had great texture and flavor. The fresh, homemade ricotta may have been the best thing on the table. He could package and sell that cheese and be just fine. The fettuccine was a new recipe Nic was trying out got progressively better as they worked out the cooking time. All three pasta dishes had great flavor, particularly the tomato sauce under the ricotta.
From what we tasted in the early goings, Patrizi’s is going to bring the level of Italian food up quite a bit. Check ’em out on Facebook (and occasionally on Twitter) for hours and menu specials.
Sometimes a series of events predisposes you to dislike something. We’ve all been there, whether it’s long lines, noisy crowds, or sold out menu items. In this case, it was cold, windy, and our orders took a little longer than they should. But the food –oh the food– once it arrived erased all that. This is the paradox of Melvin’s Deli Comfort.
My first Olympic Distance (aka International Distance) triathlon is in the books! On Monday I finished the CapTexTri held completely in downtown Austin. We swam in Lady Bird Lake, biked up to the Capitol and along the water, and ran through the Dallas-y condos that seem to be popping up all over the place. Despite the unsettling warning about possible e. coli in the water from all the rain we had, I’d say everything went quite successfully!
I’ve done an average-at-best job about keeping you, the people of the Internet, up to date on my triathlon lifestyle. Case in point, I’m signed up for the CapTexTri this coming Monday! Less than a month ago I decided it would be worthwhile to get a sort of training “status report” by doing an early-season race. Now that race is here and I’m actually really excited about it!
Two years ago I took on the CapTexTri sprint distance with moderate success. Now I’m signed up for the Olympic Distance. The swim, which is 1500 meters, loops around Lady Bird Lake. The latest report is the water temperature is 69*. That makes it wetsuit legal, which at the risk of overheating, means I’ll be wearing a wetsuit.
The bike course is a six-mile loop around downtown, completed twice for the Sprint and four times for the Olympic totaling about 24 miles. It’s a rather technical course (90-degree turns, hairpins, laps), so I’m not sure how I’ll fare. Last up is the run, which is two laps of the 5k course (6.2 miles total). I had a great run when I did the Sprint. Hopefully I can repeat that this time around. As for the weather, well, it’ll be warm, but that’s no surprise.
So what am I expecting time-wise? For the swim, if I could be out of the water in 30 minutes, that would be huge. The bike is going to take well over an hour. Let’s say an hour and twenty minutes. And the run will hopefully finish up in less than forty-five minutes. Tack on seven minutes for transitions and we’re looking at a potential total time of two hours forty-two minutes. Can’t wait for the first tri of the season!
<
p>Game on!
My longest week of training is in the books! And by longest, I’m referring to ever. Twelve hours of swimming, biking (and biking and biking) and running.
On Wednesday my company had its semi-annual Fun Run, though I question their definition of “fun”. It was a world of pain, culminating in an overwhelming stab in my pride when I finished in second. “Fun” times indeed!
On Saturday my neighbor Kevin and I drove way out to the boonies for a ride hosted by the Austin Cycling Association. We both did the 50 mile course (opting not to do the 61, 78, or 105 mile routes…). It was a great day to be out for ~3 hours and enjoy the rolling hills and beautiful weather.
Nine weeks down, twenty-seven to go! That’s 25%!!!
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!
