OK, I'm back! Been away from the blog for a month...

Sheesh, I have no idea how a month has slipped by and I've not kept my loyal reader(s) abreast of all that happens around here!



Austin Half-Marathon:(Feb 15th)

I'm disappointed with the Austin Half-Marathon and likely won't return.

[BEGIN RANT]
1) What's up with charging $97 for a half-marathon?
2) No race-day packet pickup and they wanted to charge me $7 to park the car to go inside the runner's expo to pick up my packet? You're trying to sell me a bunch of stuff at the expo and you want to charge me 7 bucks to park?? Austin, you're FULL OF YOURSELF! And your traffic sucks badly!
3) Inside the expo it took 45 minutes to pick up my packet, what's up with that?
4) They RAN OUT of tee shirts?! Ninety-seven dollars to run your crummy race and you ran out of shirts? This is 2nd grade math, y'all. Your event filled up well before race day. Each registration has a shirt size listed. Tabulate those numbers and you will know how many shirts to order. Geez.
5) The course bites. Not only is it hilly, NOT fast, but poorly laid out. Route the ENTIRE marathon runner flow through a single-lane alley after mile 3?
[END RANT]

Before the race, Sonya, Evan, Dennis, & Rick:


I went into the race with Plantar Fasciitis (foot owwie), but still managed a 1:46 time:


HEB did a great job of providing all sortsa GREAT food after the event! HEB is king:


A cool chic who took our group picture, Bianca:


Evan, Chris, unknown, & Kristen:


Rick and Evan enjoying some delicious breakfast:




Park To Park 5 Mile Race, Houston Museum of Natural Science, & Mountain Biking (Feb 21st)

Great little race in downtown Houston! It runs from Discovery Green Park to Herman Park. I ran a decent 37:00 race.
Evan, June, Stephen:


Pam (ran an INCREDIBLE 33:55!), Stephen, Geri, & Evan:


AFTER the Park-To-Park race, I was riding my bike back to downtown to return to my car, when I rode right past the Museum of Natural Science. People who know me know how I'm totally drawn to neat mechanical stuff. Go inside, nah. But WAIT, I'm right here, right now! I locked my bike and went inside to check out all of the neat Energy Exhibit stuff:



AFTER the museum, I decided to go Mountain Biking in Memorial Park. The last few times I've gone, I always ask people "where is the technical stuff" (challenging terrain). This time, a guy told me where the REAL stuff is! It's called "The Triangle"...He told me to ride down the sidewalk to the Arboretum, then RIGHT THERE at the corner of the driveway, there's an almost-hidden trail that "drops in". He told me that as soon as I dropped in, I'd see a tunnel that goes under Memorial Drive. "The Triangle" is the area bordered by 610, I-10, and Memorial Drive. A little known secret! Shh! He wasn't lying:


The Triangle IS thoroughly technical! Be careful, it's ROWDY! The picture does NOT do the terrain justice. Here:





The Houstex Machine and Tool Show, GRB convention center (Feb 25th)

Those who know me know my absolute delight in all things mechanical, especially machine tools! My great friends over at CeeSan Machine and Fabrication not only invited me to ride along with them, they had an admission ticket for me and fed me plenty of cold beers during the show! I just LOVE my friends!
Evan, Curt, Festus:


I'm always so pleased to check out cool tooling:


Hanging out with Danny O from MLC Cad:




The Prickly Pear 10 Mile Trail Race, San Antonio (March 7th)

I had the pleasure of running in the Prickly Pear 10 mile race! Great event! Those who run might be aware of the "runners high" that you experience when the endorphins are flowing (or whatever it is that makes you feel so euphoric). Trail running amplifies the runners' high by about a factor of 10! Prolly because you're so very focused on ONLY the rugged, rocky trail right in front of you! Good stuff! Patti, Dennis, Sonya, & Evan:


I'm pleased with my 1:33!