Training in the Rain and the Joys of Town Lake

Ah the Rain - Thursday was a test of wills. My boss David's Birthday Happy Hour would start at 6, I forgot my training shorts, and it was raining. What to do what to do? Ah head to a bar and start drinking early. Sip a cold one and watch the long awaited rain pour from the heavens.....hmm NO!! Instead I got determined, headed down to the thrift store, bought some 2 dollar exercise shorts and changed in the store.

I realized getting in 5 miles would mean getting to happy hour about 30 minutes late, provided traffic was not crazy getting to the gym (which it would be due to the rain), or the gym was not packed (which it would be due to the rain)....Hmm what to do? Ah the small gym right behind where I work would be open and the free pass I had would get me in. Presto. Sure enough there was practically no one in the gym, however the one person in the gym was running on the one treadmill in the gym! It seemed the rain and the training gods had teamed up to make sure I got my drink on early this day....BUT NO!

Standing in the rain on South Congress, the obvious solution--the one I had been avoiding all along--well it would not let me take off to Shangrila (the name of the bar where we were meeting) so easily. Hello? It's called Town Lake, it's like 2 blocks from here, it has 10 miles of walking trails, it's wet but it's waiting! So I was off! I got my 5 miles in and rediscovered my love of walking town lake.

I enjoyed it so much I returned on Sunday and put in 8.5 miles on the trail. I could have done the full 10 but the 1.5 miles that wind down Riverside and over I35 scares me a bit. It's mainly the Gandalf lookiing bum that lives in the bushes over there and um.. his imaginary friends. Ah, but the rest of the trail, how enjoyable: The young lovers, the little kids on the Zilker train, the rambunctious dogs in the water, the hot bods and their flexing muscles as they zip by, the determined rowers, the little birds and squirrels scampering about, oh and the 6O-plus-year old man out on his afternoon bike ride wearing nothing but a little black leather loin sack .....ah yes this is what makes walking Town Lake such a joy! I will be doing many more miles round about the lake in weeks to come.

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by Patricia McDonald on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 @ 9:56 AM CT