For those of us who live in Central Texas, it's no surprise Austin ranks No. 16 in the American Fitness Index ranked by the American College Sports Medicine.  Driving anywhere near downtown, at virtually any hour of the day or night you can see people enjoying walking or running along Lady Bird Lake.  Driving along Capital of Texas Highway be sure to watch for the hundreds of cyclists out and about logging their training miles, take a dip in Barton Springs pool, rent a kayak, canoe, or even take it some paddle boarding or rowing along Lady Bird Lake at any one of a number of rental places.

We moved to Austin more than 10 years ago and continue to grow in our appreciation for all the outdoor activities available in Central Texas.  Christy grew up spending time in the Hill Country, and has been a big advocate for me spending quality time with Rebecca outdoors.  She's incredibly supportive of Father/Daughter quality time together.  Yes, I'm a lucky guy.  I went into this trip coming off a cold, which is not ideal for a short hiking and camping trip.  Thankfully I rallied.

Although I've been a runner my entire life, I've only recently entered races longer than 10K's.  My first half-marathon was in November 2009, San Antonio Rock and Roll (1:44).  My first trail race was Pikes Peak Ascent (4:09), and in training I'd never gone longer than 20 miles in one run or longer than 4:09 of time on my feet in Pikes Peak.  That changed this past weekend.  In probably a bit of an unusual move, I opted to bypass knocking out a traditional marathon and test my body for the first time at that distance on a 50K trail run, and then just keep going for another 5 miles...