Fire in Oak Hill near Y was a little too close to home, literally

I just returned from a weekend in Austin. I had intended to leave Austin nearly 10 hours ago and as I opened the door of the house my mom and I both noticed a huge amounts of smoke, the smell of wood burning and a bazillion sirens going off. Cars were stopped on the hill, some blocking our driveway, others just trying to get by; as it turns out they had evacuated Callbram Lane. Emergency vehicles of all kinds were rushing by.

As the hours went on more even fire trucks came. I saw trucks from Westlake, Oak hill, Lake Travis and Austin. It was a crazy and awesome sight to see everyone working together. Smoke was everywhere and ash was falling like snow flurries. 

 

We got the voluntary evacuation notices and started to pack things up; computers, important documents, clothes, etc. We waited though, it seemed the fire had moved farther down the hill and over and our area was clearing up. It was unpredictable though, the wind was fierce, making it difficult for fire fighters to contain the fire. This is about the time the news picked it up, because the fire was close to the Pinnacle where ACC has a campus. 

People on their roof tops watering down their houses

Just as we were calling my dad to tell him things were ok and we were staying in the house, the power went out. Ok, NOT, staying in the house. lol 

Helicopter helping fight the fire

A fire fighter soon came to the house and said we should get inside because they were bringing large planes in to drop water and he didn't want us to get hurt. He said we could leave but we would need to hurry, before the planes started dropping water. So we gathered everything up and headed out. We are all safe, thank goodness!

The Austin American Statesman has a nice updated report on the fire and where it stands. At the moment there are several streets that have been evacuated and homeowners are not allowed to go back until tomorrow at the earliest. About 10 homes were destroyed and more were damaged. Read the story and updates here.

What to help those that were effected? There is a wonderful, Texas based, non profit organization that gives help to homeowners that have been impacted my natural disasters, Associa Cares. If you know someone that lost their home or their home was severely damaged, please contact Associa Cares and submit a request for financial or other assistance. 

And finally, before  I hit the showers and wash off the grime and smoke stench,  I just have to say thank you to all the fire fighters, police and other emergency response people throughout the Greater Austin area for doing such a wonderful job keeping everyone safe today.

Trotted the Austin 5 Mile Turkey Trot in Record Time!

Austin 5 Mile Turkey Trot

My last running event was on October 23rd when I ran the Walk Wag Run 5; I wasn't expecting this run to go that well. One run every month doesn't bode well for good running times. But I surprised even myself with my lightening speed and energy. With more than 18,900 other runners, I ran the new 5 mile route with little to no issues and only had to walk twice. This for me is a huge success. I hardly ever run straight through and never can I remember running 5 miles without intervals. For some reason the energy of the other runners and the thought of eating mounds of turkey, stuffing and pie motivated me to run like the wind...or at least like a brisk breeze.

My brother and sister-in-law decided to volunteer for the event, which meant we got down to the event at 6:30 am for a 9:30 start. A bit early but when free parking is involved with the threat of 20K plus people running, getting up early seemed like a good idea. It worked out great, my bro and SIL ended up not having much to do until the race started so we watched turkeys being chased by pilgrims, encased men in body suits running amuke, grown men in turkey costumes and lots of ladies dressed as Indians. Running events seem to be a good reason to dress as one might not dress under normal circumstances. And why not right? Halloween is only one night and maybe one has more than one costume in the closet. What better time to wear that "fall inspired, turkey, Indian, Pilgram" outfit?

Austin 5 Mile Turkey Trot 

 The first mile was frustrating, there were too many people running and worse, people were walking with dogs and strollers so it was a lot of running in place, darting between wheels and tiny feet. Why do people that walk want to get up so close? Don't they know they are going to get run over my the runners? First mile I finished about 11:42...not my best time. As I looked down at my watch and saw the time and thought about the 4 miles ahead of me I thought back to my brother and our conversation earlier when he asked me what I thought I would run. I had said then kind of joking, if I didn't run less than 12 minute miles I should just stop running. Ugh...I typically slow DOWN when I run so starting off at 11:42 didn't seem like it was putting me in a good position.

I decided then to pick up the pace and just keep running to mile 2 and see where I was at I've forgotten what I ran but the point is I was still running! Two miles without stopping. Feeling on a high!

I ran to mile 3 without stopping in 32:42 which was so amazing. The route was still packed, it was difficult to get a good steady run in, a lot of run quickly around someone, slow down to wait for someone in front of you. But I kept going, rounded the corner onto 1st street and ran over the bridge. I saw my sister-in-law and brother at the end of the bridge cheering on the runners, waved and ran to the finish line. five miles in 50:54.

My best time ever! Less than 2 years ago I hadn't run more than a 5K and running 2 miles at a 12 mile pace wore me out. Now I am running personal records. I see 9 minute something miles in my future!

2009 Bike Run Yoga Challenge: Get a FREE T-shirt!

Bike Run Yoga is my idea of the ideal Tri. The real concept though of Bike Run Yoga is more about doing events you love, not what MY ideal triathlon would be. (Although the thought of what my ideal Tri would be is how the company got started.) Also, it doesn't mean those three activities have to happen in a typical triathlon event process. It is about participating in events that show off what you love to do, to challenge yourself, to promote a healthy life style and to most importantly, have fun!

My friend Ginny and I just completed our century ride and I got to thinking about all the events I had completed or was planning on completing this year and how great it would be to have a Bike Run Yoga t-shirt that has on the back a list of all the events, like a concert tour shirt, to really celebrate all my accomplishments. It is tough to complete one event be it a marathon, triathlon, duathlon, century ride, yoga competition or other event. It is even tougher to dedicate the time and energy to complete multiple events in one year. How great would that be to be get a free t-shirt that commemorates all your efforts and shows off all the events you completed in one year?

Bike Run Yoga wants to help you celebrate your 2009 achievements! Come join us in the the 2009 Bike Run Yoga Challenge! Complete the challenge and get a FREE personalized event t-shirt that lists YOUR events for 2009.  Anyone that meets the requirements below can win. You still have time in 2009 to get a free shirt!

What does that mean? It means, complete all the requirements and get a t-shirt that lists all your events for 2009 on the back; the front will be the Bike Run Yoga logo; The events will be listed on the back with the name of the event and the event date.

Requirements:

1. Make a commitment to the challenge (this means post a comment here and tell me you are doing the challenge)
   
2. Follow/subscribe to Bike Run Yoga blog (that's THIS blog)
3. For 2009, complete 12 events (Tri, duathlon, run, ride, swim or yoga event)
4. FYI for 2010 - must complete 24 events
5. Must be a finisher at the event (we use the honor system for verification)
6. Submit your events,email address, full name and shipping address to Bike Run Yoga no later than January 5, 2010

Once your events are submitted, a Bike Run Yoga celebration t-shirt will be custom made for you and shipped to you in 4-6 weeks.

As an example, here is a list of the events I have either completed or will complete by the end of 2009. Join me in this exciting challenge and show off your

Tour Dallas April 4
Big D ½ Marathon April 5
San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon May 31
Too Hot to Handle 15K July 18
Hotter N Hell 100 August 29
Tour Des Fleur's 10K September 19
Susan G Komen 5K October 17
Light the Night Walk October 18
Texas Yoga Asana Championships November 8
Thundercloud Turkey Trot November 26
San Antonio ½ Marathon November 15
White Rock ½ Marathon December 13

Questions? click here to email me.

Staying Fit Should be a Lifestyle, Not a Task

I believe staying fit shouldn't be a task or chore checked off a list each day, it should be a lifestyle. On a typical day I go to the gym, yoga class or ride my bike around the lake but today my exercise program consists of housework. And I'm ok with that, know why? Because daily activity can burn as many or more calories than a dedicated workout session.

I belong to 24hr Fitness and was fortunate enough to receive a BodyBugg free from the gym for getting training sessions. I used it for almost 6 months and found out some interesting things. I wore it almost every day, all day and found working at my desk was almost as active as sleeping, which was nill. Little things like walking while I brushed my teeth helped increase my overall calorie burn. This might seem obvious but how many people just stand there and stare at themselves in the mirror? I took the stairs instead of the elevator, I parked a little farther from store entrances, did every day house chores and did my regular workout routine. Yard work or vaccuming and cleaning was just as good burning calories as working out in the gym.

Now, not all general chores will equate to a gym workout. Total calorie burn depends on what chores you are doing and what exercise you are doing. But the end conclusion is a dedicated time to workout isn't necessary to have a healthy lifestyle. And working out doesn't have to be dedicated to just going to the gym or yoga class. Obviously I'm not buildng much muscle pushing a vaccum or cleaning the bathroom today but I am burning calories so I don't have to feel too guilty I skipped yoga today.

I've stopped using the BodyBugg. I found it was irritating the skin and since I exercise outside quite a bit, I was getting a very funny tan line. I know, vain reason. In the end though, I know what I need to know. I know how many calories on average I burn in a day, with our without exercise so I am better equipped to manage my calorie intake along with my exercise program. Here are some other things I learned - Working out at the gym results in modest calorie burn, cardio of course burns more, running burns more than cycling and Bikram Yoga? Couldn't get a good read, too sweaty!

Hope you find a way to integrate working out, whatever that means to you, into your every day life. Being healthy and fit should be something you are, not something you have to "do".

Namaste

The Week of Two Ten's

Here is an exert from my marathon experience earlier this year. My Team in Training group was running 20 miles this particular weekend and I was in Austin so I ran with my friend Ginny and we didn't like the idea of running 20 miles so it became our weekend to run two ten mile runs back to back. The mind is a powerful thing!

5/11/09 - The Week of Two Ten's. My friend Ginny and I are running the San Diego Marathon together at the end of May. She has been training on her own but matching the Team in Training schedule and decided to come to Austin with me to run 20 miles this past Saturday. In talking, we decided 20 miles was too much and way to overwhelming and we would rather run 2 - 10 mile segments. So it was the weekend of Two Ten's. Our first mistake might have been not running on Thursday like we were scheduled, instead we ran Friday morning. I wear so much technical equipment on my arms, I managed to chaff the inside of my left arm pretty raw. Who would have thought I would need Body Glide for just three miles?! I put Neosporin on it and tried to let it air out and at least scab over but I sweat so much I knew Saturday was not going to be very fun. Then, some how on the way down to Austin Ginny and I managed to damage ourselves even more, she with a pinch mark from the seatbelt that welted up and me with a large scrap on my leg. We looked like we had been through the ringer and we hadn't even run yet!

We had discussed our route and decided to stick close to Town Lake because several running stores provide water and it is fairly safe. It was abnormally hot and humid, only adding to the joy of running Two Ten's. Our plan was to run up Congress, around the capital, down to the lake and around the lake twice.

Somewhere around mile 14 or 4 of my second 10, I knew my knees were really mad and the remaining 6 were going to be pretty tough. But I was on the downward slope so I kept going. The nice thing about the Nike ipod sensor is the count down of miles so it tells you how much more you have to go. The down side is it tells you how much farther you have to go. Pushing the button every few seconds doesn't make it tell you less distance faster...it is very methodical that way. Mile 18 I realized I had gone as far as my last long run and I only had two more miles to go. That isn't hard right? Two miles, less than a 5K...easy breezy. As my watch beeps for me to run another 5 minute...I winch at the thought of picking up my legs one more time. My walk is more dragging of my feet and I notice my shoes are covered in dust from the trail.

I managed to get all the way around the lake twice and had about a mile left. I ran up Congress and around a few buildings, well, walked/hobbled around a few buildings and was never more happy than when the ipod said I had completed my workout! Such joy! I had made it! Two Ten's!

Today was a 60 Mile Bike Ride and Bikram Yoga

I’m suppose to be training for Hotter N Hell (HNH), a century ride in Wichita Falls, Texas in two weeks. It is suppose to be the hottest, most grueling century ride with gusting winds and relentless sun. I rode the full 100 miles last year and didn’t think the conditions were that bad, then I read it was a mild year. So I am trying again this year and started training, if that is what you can call it, after I finished my marathon earlier this year.

My friend Ginny and I are planning to ride together. Neither of us seem to be very dedicated to any century ride training schedule we found online even though we both searched and found several we thought we could live with. Life tends to get in the way.

Today in an effort to get myself ready for HNH, I decided I needed to ride 60 miles. I planned to get up early, ride to the lake and find my friend Rhonda from Team in Training, she was my running partner in training and she became a mentor. I knew they would be down at the lake running so I thought I would ride down and find her and ride my 60.

Here is a tip for you, when you set your alarm, make sure it is AM not PM! Ugh! Amazingly I got up on my own at 7 am so I hurried and got myself ready and was on the road by 7:30 am. I made it almost around the lake before I saw Rhonda. They were running 6 miles and almost done, I was riding 60 and had just started! So off I went.

The lake was really busy, Lukes, Team in Training, other running groups, families, casual walkers, hey all seemed to be out today. I managed to ride in and amongst the people without falling which I consider to be a big feat. (I tend to fall a lot.) I rode about 45 miles before I decided I wanted to stop but I had already told everyone I would ride 60 so I kept going. Every few miles I calculated how I would finish, ride around the lake twice, ride down Lawther trail, or take Lawther twice and go around the lake once. This managed to occupy my mind for some time.

On the home stretch, only 7 miles left and I’m headed back from Lawther. That last little bit seemed like eternity and my legs were burning but I made it. Sixty miles, three electrolyte supplements, four bottles of water and one granola bar.

You may be wondering if I just rode 60 miles why I would decide to go to Bikram Yoga. It makes me feel good and I’m a little crazy. Bikram Yoga is one of those things I can do even when I don’t want to and come out feeling great and glad I went. I love feeling clean sweat running down my body, it tells me I am taking care of myself. I love watching myself in the mirror going farther in poses, going deeper and watching my body do things I never thought it could. It is hard, painful, sweaty and darn hot but it is also one of the best forms of exercise I do. It is 90 minutes of me doing something just for me.

After 60 miles on a bike and 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga, a well deserved Mexican dinner was in order. I just got back from Los Amigos in Grapevine where I celebrated the birthday of my good friend Deanne. So yummy. If you have not been there, you should try it before urban development takes over.