The Department of Parks advised the public of a “temporary road obstruction within the Botanical Gardens,” noting that a ”large tree, located near Camden House, suddenly snapped, blocking the roadway within the Botanical Gardens.” A spokesperson said, “A Department of Parks crew is working expeditiously to clear the obstruction and ensure the safety and accessibility of […]

A new café and garden lounge, The Botanist, has been launched in Bermuda’s Botanical Gardens A spokesperson said, “Founded by three food and drink lovers—Stuart, Henric, and Pete—The Botanist offers a unique fusion of fresh food, great drinks and art in Bermuda’s Botanical Gardens. Come for the food, stay for the drinks and uncover the […]

The novella Darien Shockra and The Bermuda Triangle – Part 1 by Bermudian author David Kneisler and Stefan Lukjanczuk has won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award. A spokesperson said, “Kinetikz Publishing is thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated urban fantasy novel, “Darien Shockra and The Bermuda Triangle – Part 1,” written by David […]

[Updated with video] Benn Smith and Christian Ebbin sailed away to victory in the Edward Cross Long Distance Comet Race this weekend. Smith and Ebbin powered their way to the finish line in a time of 1:49:32, Alan Frith and Sara Frith crossed the line in second clocking 1:52:31, and Maxwell Curtis and Wesley Tucker finished […]

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Bermudian producer Wendy Tucker-Tannock’s film Bull Street will be screened at AMC Empire 25 in Times Square on September 20. A spokesperson said, “Bull Street comes to AMC Empire 25 in Times Square on September 20. New Yorkers now have the chance to witness this compelling story of family, justice, and the fight for one’s […]

The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute announced the return of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, featuring Oscar-nominated shorts on September 26 and October 2. A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute [BUEI] is excited to announce the return of the annual Manhattan Short Film Festival, screening this year’s Oscar-Nominated Short Films in our Tradewinds Auditorium […]

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[Updated] The police are appealing for the public’s assistance in locating a reported stolen car. A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Police Service is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a reported stolen car. “The vehicle involved, described as a royal blue and silver Hyundai Creta with licence plate 03028, was apparently removed from outside a […]

[Updated] The police are appealing for the public’s assistance in “locating a reported stolen car.” A police spokesperson said, “The vehicle involved, described as a grey Nissan Qashqai with licence plate 40639, was apparently removed from outside a Skyline Road, Smiths, residence sometime between 9:00pm Friday, 4th October and 9:15am Saturday, 5th October 2024. “Police […]

Z návratu Donalda Trumpa do Bílého domu bude profitovat jeden z jeho nejviditelnějších příznivců: Elon Musk. Přiznaně transakční vztah obou idiosynkratických sólistů je v moderní historii bezprecedentní.

We're working on bringing this place back. We miss the fluorosphere, and many of its regulars have emphatically said the...

Destroy the World, новое видео KING SATAN, доступно для просмотра ниже.
#King_Satan #KingSatan
Видео: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh6XhDdb78I

Shinichiro Watanabe compares COWBOY BEBOP to LAZARUS but admits nothing beats his experience on SPACE DANDY in this interview.

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REVIEW – Fall is here, and the weather has turned chilly at night.  That means Christmas is coming soon, and before I can say “Jingle Bells” it will be time to decorate the house.  While many of the decorations in our house are traditions that have been used for years, we are always up for […]

REVIEW – My first smartwatch was the Pebble, which I found to be instantly invaluable by displaying my notifications right on my wrist and then letting me decide if they were important enough to pull my phone out. For me, this has been the primary function of my smartwatches to this day. Other functions and […]

REVIEW – 3D printing is fun and challenging. You can download countless free files from sites like Thingiverse and Printables, Cults 3D, and Thangs, or create your own using Fusion 360 TinkerCAD. It takes time, patience, and a love of tinkering, but it can be great fun. Many 3D printing enthusiasts will agree that incessant […]

THE SPELLSHOP IS A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (#7), A USA TODAY BESTSELLER (#13), AND AN INDIE BESTSELLER (#10)!!!!!!!! I’M SOBBING!!!! Thank you so much to everyone at Bramble/Tor/Macmillan who made my dreams come true, including the incredible Ali Fisher, Dianna Vega, Caro Perny, and Julia Bergen! Thank you so much to my amazing agent Andrea Somberg who has been with me for 18 years and 28 books! And thank you to the wonderful booksellers and readers who made this possible!!!! I love you all so much!!!

The famous Distance Challenge fridge magnets

It's been a few months, but I finally have some time to sit down and blog my having completed the Austin Distance Challenge (long course), sponsored by the Austin Runners Club.  I'd done most of the events before, but decided to do the challenge itself (six races, culminating in the Austin Marathon), because I wanted to put more structure into my training for the marathon. I'd done several in the 90s, but this was my second of the century and I wanted to do better than my last one (2013).

The first race was the Run Free Texas 80s 8k (for those who don't think in metric, that's about five miles) up in Cedar Park.  Naturally enough, there were a couple of DeLoreans, each outfitted with a flux capacitor.  Time travel being what it is, they were obviously the same car but from different time periods. :-).  The course was through residential neighborhoods and parks and had some rolling hills -- nice for a beginning of the season race.

Back to the Future!

The second race of the Challenge was the Run for the Water Ten Miler.  The course was along Lady Bird Lake and up through Tarrytown and then back downtown, There were some great hills on this course and let me know I needed more hill work...And, ironically enough, it was raining. :-)

Rain and hills

Race three was the Decker Challenge, a half marathon in early December with a course around Decker Lake.  It's notorious for hills and really bad weather.  (The last time I ran it, it was in the 40s and pouring rain).  If anything, last year, it was a bit too warm.  The hills were pretty brutal, though. 

My face when attacking the hills

But Santa was there!
After that, we had a month break until the Rogue Distance Festival 30k (about 18.6 miles) in early January.  This one was fairly cold and probably my least favorite of the events.  It was up in Cedar Park again and ran through residential neighborhoods which was fine.  There was an issue with marking the course, though, so most of us got off track, which meant the mile markers were out of order so it was impossible to figure out a pace. (I think at some point, we were going in circles -- and ended up going about a mile farther than we should've.).  Still, it was my longest run before the marathon and I was kind of glad it happened that way. 

Yay!  I'm done! :-)

With four events done, it was all downhill from there.  Literally.  The 3M Half Marathon starts up in the Great Hills area and runs a straight line down to downtown. It also has a swag bag filled with useful (and not so useful) 3M products.:-)

Leo checks out the swag bag

This one also started out pretty cold and way too early :-). 

Before dawn, in the warm car before the cold race.

I really enjoyed this one, though, and it was a nice preview of many of the neighborhoods on the marathon route.

Finisher!

The piece de resistance, of course, was the Austin Marathon in mid-February.  I like the course, but the first time I ran the Austin Marathon, it was all downhill, starting up north and snaking its way downtown.  Now, there's a good bit of uphill until around mile 18.  I still like the course, though, and it's not like the hills from the Decker Challenge or the Run for the Water races.

I was pretty happy with my time -- my second fastest of the century!  I did it in under 4 hours, which had been my goal.  Next year, I'll work more on speed, but this time, I just wanted to not have my quads seize up in the last two miles :-).

Running through UT campus

Made it! Best time of the century!

Anyway, thanks to everyone involved in putting on the races and the challenge itself: organizers, volunteers, emergency personnel, and all the rest!  You keep Austin running!

This past year, I signed up for the Austin Distance Challenge again, because it was intrinsically fun, but also to ensure that I would get enough running in for the Austin Marathon. The Distance Challenge, sponsored by the Austin Runners Club, involved five races: The Run Free 8k, the Run for the Water 10 miler, the Decker Challenge half marathon, the 3M Half Marathon, and the Austin Marathon.

The Run Free 8K is out in Cedar Park, a considerable distance from downtown.  It leaves from one of the high school football stadiums and winds through residential neighborhoods before returning to the starting line. It's a nice start to the fall training season.

The first piece of the puzzle

Run for the Water goes through downtown and along the lakefront. It's one of the prettiest routes in the challenge and much of it is along routes I train on.

Starting line on Cesar Chavez

The drum group at the finish line

A friend got this shot of me at the starting line.

After that came the Decker Challenge -- a hilly route just east of Austin in Decker, and notorious for terrible weather.  This year, it wasn't bad --- a bit misty with a steady drizzle. By the finish line, my glasses were so fogged up I had to take them off to see anything at all. Which made it difficult to see things like potholes...

Glasses fogging up as I climb the hills

Blindly crossing the finish line

 Not on the Challenge, but still an Austin staple was the Turkey Trot!  One of the more fun races, it usually features a good number of costumes and a large helping of whimsy.



After the holidays, the next race was the 3M Half Marathon. It's almost the exact opposite to the Decker Challenge, because it's all downhill. It starts up in the Great Hills area and winds its way downtown. This year it was a particularly fast run because there was an incredible wind out of the north. Several folks, including myself, were nearly blown over as we ran past the UT football stadium.

A selfie at the starting line

the 3M photographer got a shot of me taking my selfie

After the finish in sight of the Capitol

And the last race was the Austin Marathon!

But. About three weeks before the race, in the middle of the night, I slipped and came down on the edge of my entertainment console and tile floors. Result? A nice set of bruised ribs and a strangely linear scar on my right side.

By race day, I could still feel it a bit but had gone on short runs with only minor discomfort, so I decided to go for it.  The first half went pretty well, but the second was less pleasant.  But I'm still glad I did it...

Looking all chipper and optimistic before the race starts

Vulcan salute for the photographer

Gritting it out with a hundred yards to go

Finished!

So my time for the marathon ended up being a personal worst, although I did make it under five hours :-).

Anyway, thanks to all the organizers, volunteers, emergency personnel, and everyone else involved in putting on these races! You keep Austin running!
Next up? The Capital of Texas Triathlon! Hopefully there won't be rain...

Weeks before the new fiscal year, Congress still hasn't finalized NASA's 2025 budget.

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