So Austin has all this stuff Houston doesn’t have. Like, extensive greenspaces and terrain. Our first weekend here we took Ike hiking on the Zilker greenbelt and I was like, “You know? I’d enjoy taking him trailrunning down here.”
“Oh,” you think. “She thinks she’s going to start running again. Haven’t we tried this before?”
Yes. But that was BORING running. Who wants to run on pavement? Alone. With nothing but your iPod and self-doubt. YAWN. This will be different! It’s pretty! There are rocks to avoid! And waterfalls (apparently- I haven’t gone that far) and birds and squirrels and trees! And Ike! He loves to run so it’s fun to run along with him. He’s a pretty good motivator. Plus, the faster we run, the less he’ll bark at the other dogs we pass.
So I bought some running shorts at Lululemon. And 3 weeks went by. In my defense, it rained a lot and I never wanted to go after work. Today was pretty so we went. In all, we walked/jogged 3.5 miles. 1 full hour. (So no 6-minute mile here!) I obviously walked more than I jogged, but I still got my heart rate up several times. And I was pretty dehydrated b.c I got a headache halfway through. I was like, “Should I run through it? Does it work like that? Can I Days of Thunder a headache?” I kept going. The headache stayed until I got home, ate lunch/dinner and drank some water and iced tea. Oh, I love you, South, and your iced tea!!
[Note: We have iced tea in Houston, and I'm sure it's just as good, but for whatever reason, I hate the water in Austin. I think it tastes like lakewater. And everyone drinks the tap water like it has no flavor at all and they're all crazy. So instead of being unhealthy and drinking soda, or pretentious and drinking sparkling mineral water, I've been ordering iced tea at restaurants. And I'm getting more accustomed to the flavor of the water, but still not there yet.]
So I think this is a fairly sustainable hobby, for me anyway. I’m not doing much else (athletic), so it feels good. (She said as she dipped her french fry into the mayonnaise.)
In other news, we’re filling out an app for a cute 2 bedroom duplex on the near east side. Knock on wood that it works out and we’ll be moving in in 2 weeks. (Huzzah! I can wear more than the same 5 outfits!) And Dave had an interview on Friday- the first one he was excited about. But it didn’t work out and he got an even better lead yesterday afternoon, so keep your fingers crossed for that, too.
Ike is laying with his head on my lap because he is exhausted from his long weekend, which has included laying in the morning sun, jogging, and visiting state parks.
