Brown Socks

Over the funk...

So it has been a week since my "tears on the trails" incident.  One week later it looks like my black cloud has finally passed, but not without a few more aches and pains.

So my workout and run at the gym were good. But, not without pain for the following 2 days. It's been a long time since I have been that sore after a workout...ugh.

Still learning ...

On Thursday I went to the greenbelt for a run, but it was crappy once again.  Halfway down the hill of life my stomach started to turn. I figured I could run through it, but it didn't go away. I made it halfway to the dam (which isn't very far) and turned around to go back to the car. It was too hot and my stomach felt too sick to try to push through it. But then, as I turned around to go back to the car I started to feel better. So I headed down the main trail in the opposite direction, thinking that the issues had passed. But then a mile down the trail, my stomach started turning again.  So, once again I turned around to go back. I'm starting to feel very discouraged at this point...I just wanted to have a good freakin' run! So, I headed back to the HOL and wouldn't you know, halfway up I started to feel better. I actually felt strong going up the hill, so I decided to veer off on the side trail that we took on the Belt course. I went along that for a while, and the stomach issues came back.  I was done playing this game, so I went back to the car and went home.

This whole stomach thing was frustrating me. I hadn't eating anything too crazy for lunch and I felt like I was well hydrated...yet I felt like I had eaten large amounts of roughage, if you know what I mean.  And then I realized that just like last time I had this issue on the trail,  I ate a large bowl of cereal in the morning... Dairy was the culprit! I've read that it can cause GI issues, but hadn't really thought about it...Problem solved, thankfully.

Higher likelihood of injury: 1) trail-running, or 2) running the puppy around the block?

The answer is 2. The puppy cut me off on our run yesterday morning (he's still learning how to run on the leash), twisting my ankle and sending me flying forward (in the middle of the street no less) to land on my right knee. Did I mention that it was in the middle of the street... while half the neighborhood was heading to work?

The fall really did a number on my ankles- I twisted the one, and somehow screwed up the other one that is still healing from my tumble down the hill of death a few weeks ago.  Ouch- another disappointing run...

Friday Hike

 

Can you even see Marcel in this picture in his camouflage?

So yesterday afternoon Marcel and I decided to go somewhere new, and we agreed on the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve . I've seen the entrance to the preserve many times while driving back and forth on 360, but never gave it much thought. When we were talking about finding a new place to go, it popped into my head.  I'm glad we checked it out- it ended up being a perfect hike- not too far (about 2 miles) and not too flat (you know how Marcel likes the climbs).  I swear this child is going to be kicking my butt on the trail runs soon enough- he was running up the hills like they were flat- not a drop of sweat. Marcel thought the hike was a little short, so I promised him we could go on a hike on Sunday morning while Zack ran.  I figured we would go down to the greenbelt, but he asked to go to Enchanted Rock because he wanted to hike the steep rock spaceship looking thing. He doesn't realize that Enchanted Rock is 80 miles away. I almost said "no, not this weekend", but the more I thought about it, the more I thought a little day trip would be a perfect way to spend our Sunday.  Zack agreed, and Marcel got his way- he will finally get his steep hill this weekend.

Finally, the cloud has passed

On my schedule this week is "recovery".  Recovery from my non existent long run last week. My first inclination was to try to make up for my bad run this weekend, but I decided to keep to the schedule...the next 2 weeks are considered "hard" weeks with two consecutive days of quality workouts and weekend long runs. So I went out this morning to run as long as I could before I needed to be home to go to Marcel's Kung Fu (rumor was that he was to test to his blue-stripe today, but he didn't). I planned to do the Powerline loop, then add on as much as I could before turning around. I ran the loop until the bottom of the hill of death, then decided to continue on the same side and over the hump instead of crossing the creek. I got back to the main trail and ran a bit more, and realized I needed to turn around. I finished my run happy (!) and satisfied that I was over my funk.  My ankles were a bit weak from the puppy incident, and I had to go down the hills a bit slower, but it was all good.

So, tomorrow we are off for a mini day trip which I am looking forward to. Heading to the Hill Country always a great way to get away from our hectic Austin life.  I'm hoping to stop in Fredericksburg to get some fresh bread at the bakery as well.  And maybe some homemade fudge too... mmm.

Shout-outs, Good Times, Tears...

First off,  some shout-outs...

* Thanks for all the great comments about my 50K vs 50M goals- it's great to have y'all out there! It helps to get feedback from people who really get it!

* Wishing Angie a quick recovery from her surgery ! I know most of y'all know Angie, but if not, check out her blog- she is an inspiring woman with a truly amazing story! Get well soon Angie and eat some fries for me!

* Also- Wishing TJ good luck on his 50+ mile goal at his 12 hour night race this eve! Can't wait to hear about it. 

Running- Wednesday, Thursday

My schedule was a little off this week due to moving my long run to Monday, so I decided to do my hill workout on Wednesday, and my "steady" run on Thursday.

As I left work on Wednesday to head to my hill run, I couldn't decide where I wanted to run. My inclination was to go to the Hill of Life and find some hills in that area to run, but I really wasn't feeling running down big loose rocks. I wanted to find a place where I could focus on going up and down the hills without having to focus on staying upright as well...Not that I don't enjoy running on rocky hills (I really do!) but I wanted to concentrate on keeping a steady speed up and down the hills.  I decided on Barton Hills (road run) but at last minute I decided to go to the greenbelt and check out the trails by the 360 access. I figured I could find dirt trail loop that I could run in the "Toy (store) loop" area.  I scouted out a few of the trails and found a way to connect a few trails to make a short loop that was perfect for my hill running ability (which is lacking).  I did the loop (and various combinations of the many trails) for about 45 minutes and headed back.  I'm learning to like these hill workouts... Good Run.

Thursday was my "steady" pace run, also at the greenbelt.  Last week I wandered off the trail a bit, and Thursday was more of the same, just not as much wandering. I came home with about 25 mosquito bites and and my ankles scraped up from bushwhacking over in the grotto area.  I just hope that I didn't get into any poison ivy... Good Run.

Hiking Friday

Friday was a hike with Marcel- our new thing is hiking and talking on Fridays after school.

We had a great hike- but we were out on the trails much longer than I expected.  We just kept going, and going, and going... I told Marcel about the different places that we could check out, and he wanted to see them all. We finally headed back to the car after a few hours of wandering around.  Marcel was complaining that his legs were dying, but then he kicked my butt going up the Hill of Life.  For real. 

Crying Saturday

And that brings me to today.  Today, I had one of the worst runs I've had in a long time, perhaps ever.  I made it 2 hours out of the 3 1/2 that I planned.  The low point was when I decided that I wanted to go cry on a rock and couldn't find a place to sit that wasn't swarmed with horseflies  (or bees)- it was miserable.  My heart wasn't in my run today, and I don't know if I wanted to cry because I wasn't able to complete what I started out to do, or because I was missing being home with my family on a Saturday morning, or what... I have no idea, but it is the first time this has ever happened to me. I usually don't break down mentally like that- even in tougher, longer runs . I was struggling with the decision whether to continue or to go back to the car for about an hour. I think the struggle may have upset me more- as tough as I wanted to be, I cut my run short because I just wasn't enjoying myself.  It was definitely one of those moments where I asked myself "why do I do this?". 

I know there were a few things that contributed to my crappy run- the horseflies were terrorizing me and it was damp and dreary- and very humid.  I  also heard something large fall from above near the Gus Fruh rock climbing wall. I couldn't see any people climbing, so I assumed it was a large rock. It freaked me that the sound was near the place that I had just run through. It really spooked me and it took me a few miles to shake that feeling. I'm thinking that the combination of all that stuff combined with the mental struggle of "being tough while running vs. being happy while running" put me over the edge, causing some tears to be shed. 

We had a good laugh when I got home and told Zack that I couldn't find a place to sit and cry- It seems so silly now, but I really was a mess at the time.  I'm over it, and ready to have another good run tomorrow.  I think I will stick to Town Lake or the neighborhood tomorrow to give my body a break from the mosquito and horse fly bites. 

Water at the Dam

I'm back from NC, finally.  Man, that trip really wore me out! I was at an institute for violence prevention- learning how to create logic models, evaluate programs, and become a better leader...The days were 12-13 hours long.  I realized that I am "no college student"...the days of being able to bounce back from sleep deprivation and long hours in class ARE OVER. I was so delirious by the end of the 5 day training- I tried to stand up to exit the airplane- WITHOUT TAKING OFF MY SEAT BELT. I then proceeded to wobble like a drunk person as I exited the plane.  And to think I used to do all that, and party too... (the karoke doesn't count as partying, I was FORCED).

So I rested on Friday and went out for a run with Zack yesterday. We decided to plan only half the run- to head up to 35th street from Town Lake via the Scenic Route- then once we were up to 35th, we were just going to find a good way back. It was fun- we ran across Mopac (well, that wasn't fun..eek), we ran through the Brykerwoods neighborhood down to Lamar, along Shoal Creek, then returned to the trail.  It was a fun way to run, without a plan (or half of a plan)- we will do more of those runs.

Today, rebelling against the Superbowl, we decided to go to the greenbelt instead.  We didn't realize that the Superbowl didn't start until late afternoon...Not that there is anything wrong with the Superbowl, it just isn't our thing. So anyway, there is water at the dam at the Greenbelt! It is the first time I have seen water falling over the dam  since last year.  I actually got my trail shoes wet for a change, wet and muddy - the best way to be. 

I also took this photo of Salado, which I really like. It isn't often that you see him still when he is outside, I was happy to capture him at a "contemplative" moment.

Good Week

Now that I am back on an exercise schedule I am feeling more grounded.  While I really enjoyed the break from the pressures of following a schedule, I'm happy to be back on track.  I guess that is where the " My Love/Hate Relationship with Running"  comes in....

I survived the Wednesday spin class,  and it was actually easier than I thought it would be. Not being a biker, at all, I figured that I would be hurting. But perhaps it was because I wasn't turning the dial "half-turns" every time because I wasn't sure what to expect.  Or perhaps it is because I still (surprisingly) have strength in my legs from my training. We did an interval workout which allowed for a nice amount of recovery. I think adding some spin classes and more cross training will both good for me both mentally and physically.

I took Salado for a run on the greenbelt on Thursday evening which was great.  He is really learning how to run with me both on and off leash.  On the main trails of the greenbelt I always run with him on a leash (though most people don't) and he is doing very well running with a loose leash.  He is a very high energy dog that needs a ton of exercise (or he acts like a maniac in the house) so I am glad that between the 2 of us we are active enough to keep him happy.

Yesterday I headed to the gym for a short workout. I spend almost 50 minutes in traffic driving  to the gym. When I finally arrived at the gym, I checked to make sure I had everything I needed- in my bag- turquoise shorts- check, my black top- check, socks- check, and shoes- check. Had all the essentials. I headed into the locker room, began to pull out my clothes to find that my turquoise shorts were actually my turquoise jacket. I had no shorts and I was not about to workout in my black pinstripe work pants pants and my Nike stretch top. Aggh.  So I blew it off.  After  Friday rush hour traffic, driving 5 miles per hour for 50 long minutes, I didn't want to drive any more to go get those shorts. I made a note to myself to leave a full set of workout clothes in the car for future mishaps...

In following my New Year's resolutions,  Zack and I have a running date today! We will be heading to the Powerline which I am sure will be barren since all of the trail runners are running Bandera today.   Now I just hope that I don't get us lost...again.

Finally, a run over 30 minutes long...

Zack and I went down to the Greenbelt yesterday for our own Resolution Run on the greenbelt (the Mayor was encouraging a 3-mile run at Town Lake, but we opted for something less crowded and more nature-y).  It  was my first longer run since Sunmart, up until yesterday my runs were about  30-35 minutes long, with a few 45 minute elliptical workouts here and there.  The run was supposed to be around 7.5 miles but ended up being around 9 miles - to be explained in a bit....

So, I wanted to show Zack the Greenbelt from start to finish (or finish to start was actually the way we went) so we dropped my car off a Zilker Park and drove up to the Hill of Life to start off the run.  We headed down the hill toward Sculpture Falls, getting a good rhythm when Zack asked if I had my car key with me- my car was parked at the finish point of our run, so OF COURSE I had the key. Or, maybe not....I realized that I had left my key in his car without thinking.  So, I had to turn around and go get the key-adding an extra mile and a half to my run.

We had a great run, it was very nice to run with Zack, we rarely the chance to do so and it was awesome.   My knees were a bit achy, I seem to be dealing with some ITB issues post-Sunmart, but nothing compared to the pain I felt at Sunmart.  I feel like now I have a higher tolerance for pain having run for hours through achy knees and an achy hip.  Anyway, I am looking forward to more runs with Zack now that we have planned to run together on the weekends since we are hooking up some childcare for Marcel. 

After our run we caught a matinee- Brokeback Mountain, and I was depressed for the rest of the day.  Not really, but it was so sad that I started crying a few hours later thinking about it.  I don't even know why, but it really broke my heart.

So, I am back on track to train for some 10-18 mile runs starting in March.  The coach from my Sunmart group sent me a schedule (a pretty tough looking one at that) to keep up my fitness and improve my speed in the next few months.  It is a cool mix of speed work and runs on both trails and roads.  It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  And Zack has somehow convinced me to go to a spin class tomorrow. I am not looking forward to it- I hear the first class kills your butt- but I really want to throw some new activities into the mix. 

Greenbelt Thanksgiving

Behold my husband's first greenbelt running experience:

Sunday Afternoon Hike

At Turkey Creek Trail in Emma Long Park

This is me on the trail:

"Marcel, slow down!  Mommy can't run on the trail today, I ran for a very long time this morning.... Come Baaaack, I can't move very fast!"

Just me and the deer

Went out for my 6 mile Powerline run this morning. But... never made it to the Powerline (about 4 miles into the loop). I got lost...I thought I would "go for it" and try to find my way around starting from the dam, but somehow I ended up in the mountain bike area and decided to turn around about 50 minutes into the run. Despite getting lost and the near panic attack that went along with it, I loved the run. It is cool here in Austin, finally, and it was nice to breathe cool fresh air.  It is amazing how much more endurance I have, and how much stronger I feel in the cooler weather.  I was running uphills that I usually walk and wasn't gasping for air at the top. 

I brought my camera along and took some photos of the trail- you can see how much it changes along the route:
 

And the Hill of Life, the start and end of the run:

Assigment: Photo Essay Part 2

So, Zack banished me from the house Sunday morning to go around town to take photos of my favorite places in Austin. I  figured I would drive around town and take photos of my favorite buildings, signs, public art, and the trails.  I ended up only visiting the trails...and spent most of my time taking photos at the greenbelt...go figure.

I started out at Blunn Creek Preserve. I have posted photos from Blunn Creek on Brown Socks and Chili Powder, but here are a few more. The photo on the left was taken at the Scenic Overlook - a little alcove off of the path. The photo does not do the view justice by any means. The photo on the right is a trail marker that reads "Volcanic Overlook", very ominous huh?  I like the idea that this preserve, now surrounded by a major highway, a high school, a college, and a neighborhood, used to be the site of a volcano millions of years ago. I'm getting into all of this Austin cave/volcano/rock history these days. I even looked for a book on that very subject at the library today...

Next stop was the Greenbelt. I took this photo at one of the greenbelt entrances that I have used throughout the years.  You can find this "not an entrance" behind Toys R Us. And yes, it does bring you down to the creek. It is a very nice hike down via this path actually .

Next, a cave. The cave on the right of the double cave picture is Airman's.  I don't know if the other is actually a cave, but it looks like one to me...Years ago I went through the (tiny) first part of Airman's with some friends- the cave has a very tight squeeze, called a  "keyhole", that you have to have to squeeze through. When I got to the end of the first room, I found a baby bat hanging from the ceiling and I freaked out and squeezed back out, leaving my friends inside. It was a crazy experiences,  looking back, I can not believe I went in there...

And, a few pictures of objects that people have placed in various places throughout the greenbelt: A bunch of rocks placed on top of a big rock, a McDonald's straw on the creek crossing sign (why?), and an animal skull perched on a rock below Airman's cave. 

Oh, and let's not forget this graffiti that I found under the 360 overpass...Someone sure likes Kenny.

Labor Day Adventures

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of meeting yet another RBFer- I am not a Runner- Alejandra, who was in town for the weekend and doing an 8 miler at Town Lake.  Very much a runner and a very sweet girl.  She mentioned that she took some photos of the trail, I hope to get to see Austin through her eyes!

Later in the day we went to Bastrop State Park for the afternoon.  I'm in love.  Pine trees, pine needles, pine cones... If I go missing soon, it is because I have moved to the park. To live.  Scrape me up a bed of soft pine needles and ferns- I'm set.

 

I had no idea it would be so much like home! Zack had told me that I would like it, but I had no idea how right he was. So much like my grandparent's camp.  Bastrop is about 30 miles away from Austin, so won't be a regular thing, but man, it's like being home.

The Chain

A few of y'all have asked about the chain crossing at the greenbelt- in the photo that I linked to last week, it looks pretty darn crazy. But I swear it is fairly easy to get across, as long as you watch your feet. In attempt to show that the chain crossing isn't as bad as it looks, I took a photo of it today while I was out on my photo mission. I figured if I shot the picture from the runner perspective it would clearly show where the feet go to get across. If you look a few feet down from the chain you can see that a grey silt covering the trail. I'm afraid I didn't really represent the ease of crossing the chain very well in this photo:

Perhaps it's the angle. It really isn't that bad!

Assigment: Photo Essay

I have been a ball of nerves this week with my new job, the hurricane, and the reproducing laundry in the house!  Before I suffered a meltdown, Zack sent me out to take pictures of things that I love about Austin.  He insisted that I put the laundry down, charge the camera battery, and get the hell out of the house. No surprise that I ended up at the trails.  But no running today. I could settle any hard feelings from last week that I had with the trail, and enjoy being down there without expectations or pain.

I attempted to get my photos together in a post a few hours ago- I had almost all of the pictures uploaded, and a bunch of little musings. However, as you can see- it isn't here because I somehow erased it.  Poof! - gone. 

So, for now- my favorite picture of the day:

Yes, that is here in Texas.  While all of the trees and greenery is parched and dry- you can still find colorful leaves lining the trail at the greenbelt near the 360 access trail-head.  You rarely see that around here.

Saturday Hike

Yesterday Zack went to a movie with a friend, and Marcel and I decided to check out one of the local parks.  We chose McKinney Falls State Park because we liked the pictures on the Austin Explorer website. When we arrived, a park employee suggested that we hike the paved Onion Creek trail that would bring us down to the creek.  So we did.  Except I thought that I had read online that the Onion Creek trail was under 2 miles long. Well, we find out after about 45 minutes of walking, that it was longer.  My little man was started to complain that his legs hurt and we were still nowhere near the end! Luckily I had a snack for him, which seemed to help his regain his energy.  Apparently the loop was more like 3 miles.

We looped back around to the car, then decided to check out the Rock Shelter. We hiked down to that area and found the rock shelter (picture below).  Apparently the rock shelter was formed by the flooding of Onion Creek, and was used by the Tonkawa Indians from (if I remember correctly) 400 A.D. to the 1800s.  We thought it was pretty cool, but turned around without exploring further. Sonic slushes were calling our name!

For more pictures the park (and my son's descriptions of things) go here.

Mini rain storm

I went down to Town Lake today to get a 4 mile run in before work.  It was nice to get out on the trail- I haven't run on it in a few weeks and it was nice  to run on a smooth surface for a change.  It also appeared that they were filming a movie or video under the corkscrew today, so I had some momentary entertainment as well.

This afternoon Marcel and I planned to go to the Greenbelt to look for caves. But, at about 4:30 it started to pour, so I called it off.  Then, after I picked Marcel up and started to drive  home, it cleared up almost instantly.  So we went down to the greenbelt, as originally planned.  It was a nice small 2 mile hike (or so). The creek filled up a little with the rain so we spent some time crossing the the falls in an area known as "three falls".  We hiked around in the rocks and explored in some of the cave-like areas. We looked for Airman's cave, but still didn't find it- I had crap directions I guess.

Marcel hiking around in the area upstream from Gus Fruh pool, called "Three Falls". The cave is somewhere around here, we just don't know where.

Don't ask me how he did it, but Marcel managed to take this photo as I was running by him.  That photo pretty much describes how I feel when I am running around on the trails; happy and goofy like a little kid.

Trashed

O.K., so a few days ago I posted a picture from Campbell's Hole at the Greenbelt, it showed Marcel hiking up the dry creek-bed. For Austinites unfamiliar with this area, you can access it from the Barton Skyway exit of Mopac- where the road dead ends is the trail head. You can also access it from behind the Barton Hills Elementary school which will put you on the opposite side of the creek as the Barton Skyway entrance. Anyways, this used to be one of my favorite places. When the creek isn't dry, there is water running down the creek and people hang out on the rock "flats" on the sides.  Seven years ago, during the summer this was the place to be if you were like me and my friends- waitresses with few responsibilities, making enough cash to pay rent, buy groceries, and buy beer. We lived to go to Campbell's Hole- as soon as our shift was over, we were headed to Bongo's drive thru to grab some Keystone Light, and head down to the creek.  There we would sit in the water and drink beer and hang out until the sun went down. There was always a drum circle for entertainment. We always met up with old friends and coworkers and met new people every time we went. There were folks with dogs, snakes, parrots, lizards- you name it. Good people- artists, musicians,hippies, college students, tattooed people like me... Good people who respected the nature. At the end of the evening, we would always climb up to a cave, up a steep bank to the high up on side of the rock wall. I would literally run up that bank, shoeless (Birkenstock sandals don't make for great hiking). Once up there we would hang out with folks then pick up any garbage that we found in the cave (a can or 2), then we would head down to the flats and pick up anything that was left behind, usually a few beer cans.

As you know, Marcel and I are exploring hiking places around Austin once a week. On my run last Sunday, I was unable to catch a glimpse of Campbell's Hole because I was on the opposite side and the trees were obstructing the view. I had heard from a few people that Campbell's hole "wasn't the same these days", but I figured it couldn't be too different. I was interested in going back down to see the hole without water, and reminisce a bit. I told Marcel about the cave and he was game- and though we didn't plan to climb up to it (it would be too steep for a 4 year old) I thought he may like to see it from below.

We made the hike down to the creek from the Barton Hills side. It was a nice, steep hike down, and we were greeted by a few folks running with their dogs.   When we got down to the bottom, we walked out into the creek and hiked up to the main part swimming hole. Without water, this part of the Greenbelt was still very beautiful- white smooth rounded rocks in the middle of the creek, worn down by the water, and the sharp darker edges of the "flats". And of course all of the trees on either side. Marcel loved it of course, and we found 5 or 6 snakes slithering around the small pools of water that still existed.

We made our way toward the opposite side of the creek where the cave is. There is a little trail that leads up to the cave, and then the trails runs up and down the creek on that side. As soon as we stepped onto the trail, my stomach turned. There was trash everywhere. The closer we got to the cave path, the more trash. There was so much trash back there in those woods it would have filled up dozens of garbage bags. Looking up into the cave,  I saw more trash- tons of crap in the cave. Trash everywhere. There were even garbage bags full of trash, sitting there, as if someone thought they would be a good Samaritan, but got completely overwhelmed by the amount of trash and just said "fuck it I'm leaving this shit here".

It was awful. I know it has been 7 years since I used to hang out there and a lot has changed. But how do people suddenly stop respecting the greenbelt? We were so fearful of losing the privilege of using the greenbelt, we picked up our trash and any small bits of trash that others left. We brought a bag with us for our trash, and we crossed the river with that bag of empty cans, even when the water was rushing and you had to swim across. We didn't want our favorite place to become a garbage pile, or to closed to us because of our disrespect. I just can't believe it, it made me sick to see it look like that. I couldn't even explain to Marcel why it looked that way- because I don't understand myself. Why would people choose to hang out in nature, but not care if it smelled like a dump? Remember I mentioned that I could run up the trail to the cave? I would break an ankle or slice off a toe doing so now. I just don't get it. 

On a side note, I have to mention how strange it is for me to run on the Greenbelt now- it used to be such a social place for me, a place for drinking and smoking. Never would I have believed I would have the endurance to run the entire thing (as I will be doing soon), I mean I was smoking many many cigarettes at that time and my exercise was my work waiting tables. Strange. I'll see if I can dig up any old photos of us at the greenbelt, I'll post them if I can find any.

Anyway from now on, I'll stay on the other side of the creek- the clean side. Tripping over rocks is something that happens to every trail runner- but I should not be tripping over a Old English 40oz bottle and a KFC box.

Photo: Some of the trash-it got much worse deeper into the woods. I took this photo before I realized how bad it was ahead- I just wanted to get the hell out of there and didn't snap any photos of the really bad parts.

Tonight's Hike

Campbell's Hole- Barton Creek Greenbelt

Back out there

I had a good easy run around the neighborhood this morning. Thankfully! I was apprehensive about getting back out there after Saturday's disaster of a run. Today I headed out at as soon as the sun came up for a 45 minute run around the "Medium" hilly section of the neighborhood. Stayed away from "Major" hilly section today, but plan to zig-zag up and down the hills later this week for a hill workout. No hills today though, just one short climb before turning around and heading back home.

Surprisingly, I wasn't aware of any soreness in my arms and shoulders from the kayaking yesterday. Oh, but I feel it now, do I ever. I feel like the muscles between my shoulder and neck are black and blue. Oh, and I forgot to mention the idiotic sunburn I got yesterday in the kayak...I put sunscreen on my arms and shoulders, but forgot to put it on my legs. I'm not in the habit of doing so since my legs don't seem to get much sun while running. But, sitting with your legs stretched in front of you in a kayak on the lake - that's another story. The tops of my legs are burned in such a way that it looks like someone poured red Kool-Aid on my legs. All uneven and blotchy. I even think I have a bit of a sunscreen hand print on my left leg. Needless to say, I wore pants to work today...My husband got a good laugh.

This evening, Marcel and I went over to Blunn Creek Nature Preserve to check out the trail. Located in between 135, Travis High School, and St Edward's University, it is definitely an odd place to find such a cool trail. When I first pulled up to the entrance on St. Edwards Drive, it appeared to be overgrown and forgotten. I wasn't sure where to park, but had read in a few places on the Internet to just park there on the street, so I did.  Once we got beyond the overgrown entrance, it opened up into maintained little trails. At most trail intersections there were markers to let you know know where you are going, a plus in my book! In just 40 acres (or so) the trail had it all- creek crossings, flat soft runnable surfaces, rocky climbs, scenic overlooks- in a mini sort of way.  The Volcanic Overlook was my favorite part of the hike/run, with a view of my former college in the distance-

As he did on Friday, Marcel bolted off immediately, running over rocks, tree branches, and creeks. He is unstoppable. Our hike turned into a run (of course) and I got about 2 more miles in at the trail after we found our way back to the car. My new trail running partner it seems, is my 4 year-old son.  At least out here in the less traveled trails I am not getting looks from people like I am torturing him while running with him at Town Lake. Always get a few of those disapproving looks, like I am forcing him to run out of punishment for not eating his peas or something.

My favorite photo on our hike is the one below- for some reason the setting was on sepia, but I think it looks pretty cool that way.