Posts

And with last weekend gone, we are not going to have any more free weekends in Austin until mid-October. Now let me be clear, this is not a complaint. We have several fun things lined up over the next few weeks: A weekend at Lost Pines resort in Bastrop with some friends Our traditional Labor Day weekend at the lake with some other friends Several weekends in Baton Rouge, which will probably get filled up with activities since we’re not there very long Then the first weekend of October we fly to Spain for two weeks, partly for work, partly for fun So yeah, world’s tiniest violin and all that. But there is something nice about being at home, getting takeout, and just having a quiet weekend with Carrie and the cats. ...

Wow, we’re already through August. I was having a conversation with some friends about how it’s so silly to have commentary about the passing of time like that. But yet, here I am, making silly statements. The last two weeks have been relatively chill, which is nice. We’ve taken advantage of our Alamo Season Pass to see the Odyssey and Spiderman. We actually saw Spiderman twice, which was fun. But the big update of the past week is that I’ve actually gotten my bike up and running again. I went for two shorter rides after work this week, and I went for a ride with a few folks from the gym this morning. It’s so nice to get back on the bike. After the ride I went for a 3 mile run around our neighborhood, as I want to make sure I’m getting the running in. ...

This coming weekend will be quiet. Carrie is at a craft retreat with her friends, and it’s just met and the cats. I’m going to use the time to be quiet and be a homebody. I have a few things to do around the house, but mainly I am going to get my run in on Saturday, and just try to get caught up on… I’m not even sure what. ...

It’s already halfway through this year. A lot has gone on this year for Carrie and I, but it is surprising how quickly we got here. When we got back to Austin after being in Baton Rouge for Mardi Gras, it was just March, and here we are. I took the opportunity after Mardi Gras until we went back to Baton Rouge in June to get very focused on my exercise and nutrition. It was good to have several solid months of schedule. Made some good progress on my fitness goals, and I continue to hit PRs on my lifts at 48 years old, which is pretty cool. I have gotten back to running again, working through some injury issues, so that’s nice. The goal is to complete two half-marathons this fall. One in October in College Station and one in December in New Orleans. ...

On New Year’s Eve I decided I wanted to go walk 10 miles with 20lbs in my rucking backpack. I decided on a route that would take me down Far West and up Ladera Norte. If you aren’t familiar with Austin cycling, Ladera Norte is a pretty standard hill climb here in town. It’s very steep, and it provides a good challenge without having to ride out. I decided that this was the perfect route for my ruck. I headed out with 2 liters of water, some food, and ready to go at 8 AM. ...

Welcome to 2026, and of course the world has craziness waiting for us. As this weekend was my birthday, I wanted to fill it with some fun stuff. I had had a good couple of weeks off from work (including my all-time long rucking adventure, a post on that later), and I got to cap that off with my birthday. As we go into 2026 I will post my personal goals on here like I did last year, I also want to update everyone on my 2025 goals. Those posts will come in the next couple of weeks. ...

I had the best of plans to get out on the water in my kayak to do some fishing, but a case of food poisoning ruined that a few weeks ago. But with our upcoming trip back to Baton Rouge for the holidays, that left one weekend to get out and try to catch some fish, and I was excited to bring the kayak to Cypress Creek park on Lake Travis to see what I could find. ...

I ran my first half marathon in two years today. It was a journey. I’ve had some issues with my hip, and while it flared up for the first 4 or so miles it eventually relaxed and I was able to get through it. I’m very motivated to get through the physical therapy I’ve signed up for this hip thing. My pace got faster as the race went on, but the hip has kept me from running like I had hoped I would in the beginning of the year. I’m hoping to do the ole man river half in Kenner in December. Hopefully the PT will have made some in roads by then.

As we are about to head back to Austin for a few weeks, I wanted to take a minute to highlight one of the things that really brings me joy. One of the great things about our neighborhood in Baton Rouge is all the cats. And for the most part, a lot of them are very friendly. Today I wanted to talk about all my cat friends. This is Asher. He lives in the apartment below us. He’s a very chatty guy. Also, yes, that is a total trap. He doesn’t like his tummy rubbed, even though he will gladly show it to you while he flip flops. He often greets me when I go walking or running in the morning. ...

Wow, I was recapping our trip in the beginning of July and now it’s mid September? The last four weeks have been great from an exercise and nutrition point of view. And now I find myself in Ankara, Turkey! This time of year really is my favorite. As soon as Labor Day passes, college football starts up, and we can start envisioning days that aren’t brutally hot. Well I needed to catch up, so here we are. I’ll hopefully get some more interesting pictures from Ankara.