Photo Credit: Jared Goralnick
Thanks to my friend Jared (and his mad planning skills), we had an organized running group for the conference. We declared an 8:00 meeting time for each morning of the week and anyone who wanted to get in a workout (of varying levels) was more than welcome to join.
I was the first one there and slowly more and more trickled in. We had about 12 folks show up the first morning. We took off and set for the same trail I ran on yesterday. This time we took a right once we hit the trail and along the way small pace groups were naturally formed. Today was my “long run” and I’m supposed to focus more on endurance and spend my first 50:00 of this workout running at a (very) slow pace. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, forcing yourself to slow down is so much harder than picking up speed. I was afraid my 10:00 miles were going to push me towards the back of the pack, but turns out we were all rolling around the same speed… well, and I creeped my speed up a little.
After doing an out and back in 50:00, the rest of the group headed back for the hotel. I had to get in 1:45 so i kept going. The weather was almost perfect running weather. It was coolish (around 40 degrees) and overcast and so much more enjoyable than yesterday. I kicked up my speeds and did my 15:00 pushes. I felt great and as I expected, crossed paths with countless runners, joggers, walkers, and bikers. I think every single one of them greeted me with a “good morning” or a “hello”. I couldn’t get over how friendly this city is! Such a contrast to D.C. It’s not that people are mean, but people are just more closed off. You will almost never be greeted (or even acknowledged) by someone who doesn’t already know you… and if you do, chances are they’re new to the area (and not yet jaded).
I have to say, so far, despite the rainy weather, I think I like this city. In addition to the friendly encounters, it seems like Austin is really healthy/active. I ran by the boat house where the UT Crewe team practices. I must have crossed paths with 50 or so girls carrying their boats getting ready to hit the water.
The trail is also very well taken care of. It was clean, had many water fountains, and most importantly, there were mile markers reliably placed every quarter mile. They were a nice clean serif and very legible while moving at a quick pace. Leave it to me, the designer, to notice things like the typography on a sign…
