Nature, miles and friends

On February 25, 2015 By DGThomaIn Exercise, Family, Food, Friends, Writing4 Comments

While much of the country has been dealing with extreme weather, in my area we’ve been more fortunate. Austin, TX residents woke Saturday morning to a mild 64 degrees. It was a perfect day for a long training run. If you have to run long, you may as well run for fun! Bastrop State Park is a short 15 miles from my home. Running in nature while I train is a great distraction.

A fire devastated Bastrop State Park in September 2011 along with many other areas of Bastrop County. The fire destroyed many of the ancient pine trees. It affected 96 percent of the park. The fire was a tragedy, but it has been wonderful watching the rebirth of the park, aided by many volunteer organizations and their members.

Dez, Ron, and myself arrived at the park with two expectations; to complete an 11 mile training run and to enjoy ourselves. We put no constraints on time or speed. Dez and I kept to the trails as much as possible while Ron opted for the park roads.

The trails range from sand, gravel, or packed dirt and is easier on your body than pounding on pavement. The steep inclines and declines work muscles not used in street running and compel careful navigation to prevent falls. The combination is a great workout.

We quickly realized that it was going to be a silly, fun day when we started laughing at everything. We stopped along the way to take pictures, to view the blackened, fallen trees and to enjoy the newly planted baby pines.

Throughout the morning, park guests greeted us and we shared waves and greetings in return. At mile 6 we found a restroom, which had been recently renovated and was sparkling clean. While we were stopped, we visited with Ranger Carpenter and learned a few facts about the park rehabilitation.

We stopped at mile 9.25 to enjoy a bit of solitude at a pond hidden among the trees. I had spent the day in search of the elusive Houston Toad. We were pretty sure we heard one in the distance while we were at the pond.

The park ranger we spoke with encouraged us to find a tree and claim it. He suggested we take our picture with the tree and return annually to document the growth. So we each picked one and began a tradition.

Our final mile tally of 11.5 miles was full of fun. After surviving our trek through nature, we ate lunch and stopped by Austin City Wide Garage Sale. This weekend the sale was being held in Bastop, Texas. After an hour and a half of wandering through the maze of exhibits we were a few dollars poorer and a few items richer, and our energies had been fully expended.

We ended our day with sweets from the Sugar Shack in Bastrop. We each had two scoops of ice cream and I brought home treats for later. It was a lovely day and the best one I’ve had in a while. A special thanks to my cohorts today for helping me make wonderful memories!

Toto we’re not in Austin anymore…..

On February 18, 2015 By DGThomaIn Exercise, Friends, Humor/Light HeartedLeave a comment

I’m still playing catch-up on my training for the Zooma half marathon. I am slowly building up both time and distance as the date moves closer. Tonight we ran through downtown Austin.

We started at the Treaty Oak on Baylor and ran down 6^th street toward the interstate. At the interstate we looped around and started down 5^th heading to our car. As we ran we wove our way through tourists, 5:00 o’clock workers heading home, valets parking cars, homeless people and early evening patrons heading into one of the many bars that pepper 6^th street.

We discovered a sign for the best hamburger in Austin, one that said they had the best dumplings in Austin and discovered an entirely different town alive with entertainment.

We drive these roads every day, but everything changes when you’re on the ground at 5:00 PM on 6^th street in Austin. We may not be setting any speed or distance records but we did have a lot of fun!

See you on the trails!

Motivation where for art thou?

On February 11, 2015 By DGThomaIn Exercise, Humor/Light Hearted, WritingLeave a comment

I’m not talking about the motivation of New Year’s resolutions. I’m talking about motivation for the lifestyle of exercise and eating healthy food that I have professed to follow for the last ten years.

I know my motivation was here in December! It was there when my good friend and running partner said, “Let’s do the ZOOMA TEXAS HALF MARATHON at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, in Bastrop, TX. She and I ran the half marathon in 2009. That year, we completed a training program of sorts to prepare for the “challenging course through the scenic Texas countryside with rolling hills”. Or as I like to describe them, “the brutal hills with a few flat stretches thrown in.

As I write this on February 7, 2015, 7:00 PM, I checked the website. The countdown says 48 days. Now you would think that would motivate me. So far I have not run one full mile since the first week in December. I hope it works! I planned to get on the treadmill this morning, but excused myself, due to a fender bender I had yesterday. No, I’m not really sore and I wasn’t injured, but it gave me a great excuse. In December, we were traveling a lot, so I didn’t train. My husband, who is always motivated, ran while we traveled. The first week in January, I had the flu, so I took January off, even though the flu lasted less than a week.

So looking at the countdown, I have to admit, these are all a lot of excuses. I’m out of time for excuses. In just over 6 weeks, I have to run 13.1 miles of not so gently rolling hills. So in the morning, my plan is to drive to Bastrop State Park and run/walk some hills. Wish me luck!

My hope is that perhaps my motivation will return soon. If you see it, would you please send it back? I sure could use it about now.

P.S. As always, be careful what you ask for! Monday morning, two different friends reached out and invited me to go for a run with them this week. Motivation or not, run I shall!

Veggie Burger , can I get fries with that?

On February 4, 2015 By DGThomaIn Family, Food, Humor/Light Hearted, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

When I first gave up red meat, chicken, pork etc., there were very few options for fast food dining. Sometimes when you travel it feels like fast food is the only option and certainly the most convenient. Today most national chain restaurants and many small local diners offer multiple options for vegetarians, vegans or any other meal plan you may follow.

Veggie burgers aren’t my favorite meal, but when Burger King started serving veggie burgers a few years ago, BK went to the top of my list for grabbing a quick meal while traveling. Today, people who want more alternative menu choices have many more options. I can almost always find a salad, a fish option or a bean dish. At the Counter Custom Built Burgers in NYC, I had a wonderful custom made Ahi Tuna burger. Many restaurants have developed their own veggie burger recipes. Elevation Burger in Austin, TX has a vegetarian and a vegan option. Both are equally delicious and made from real vegetables.

Recently, in the Dallas, TX area I was trying to find a quick drive thru meal. We stopped at a Taco Cabana, but I was stuck on the phone. I waved my husband inside thinking I just wasn’t in the mood for beans and rice.

There was an In-N-Out next door to the Taco Cabana. We pulled up to the drive thru window, I asked, “Do you have a veggie burger?”

A cheery, “Yes we do!” floated through the speaker. “Awesome”, I thought and replied, “I’ll take the combo with a veggie burger. No cheese and no sauce.” As she repeated back, “A veggie burger with lettuce and tomato only?” I answered, “That’s correct.”

As I Anticipated some yummy salty French fries, I pulled up to the window. This was my first visit to an In-N-Out burger and so far it was looking good. Receiving my food from a smiling server, we pulled into a parking spot to “check” the order. Diving into the fries was a delicious treat; hot, crispy, fresh and salty. Unwrapping the burger, I quickly realized something wasn’t quite right.

There was definitely lettuce and tomato, but that was it. No patty, just bread, lettuce and tomato. My husband carried the burger back inside. When the server asked if I only wanted lettuce and tomato and I said yes, that’s what I got.

When he came back out carrying the burger , he confirmed, “Nope, this is the In-N-Out version of a veggie burger.” Laughing, I had a delicious lettuce and tomato sandwich. At least it didn’t have any soy. Kudos to In-N-Out on the most authentic veggie burger I’ve ever had.