Guess what? Texas has hills! Coming from Florida, where everything is flat as a pancake, this is actually a challenge for running. Several years ago I visited my sister near Chicago, and we took up a trip up to Door County, Wisconsin. I did my usual running mileage during that trip, and felt like I was constantly running either up or down a hill- and I returned home with a terrible case of shinsplints. It turns out the “too much, too soon, too fast” caution applies to hills as well.
Luckily, I’m just returning to running after the hip injury, so yesterday did my 2 minutes run/8 minutes walk x 3 (for a total of 30 minutes) and tomorrow will progress to 3 minutes of running/7 minutes of walking, x3. I don’t think I’ll do much damage to my shins with that schedule!
Yesterday we did a scavenger hunt in downtown Austin. We got clues on my phone and had to walk around the city finding different landmarks and solving puzzles. It was REALLY FUN! Well, except for the incident of the “Capital Clue” where we couldn’t figure it out, walked around and around the Capital building, got overheated and thirsty, and one of us actually cried (it wasn’t me.)
But we rebounded from that debacle and went on to finish the hunt! Our team, the “Floridian Fireballs” finished 13th out of all the teams who did the hunt in the last thirty days.
I have to admit I’m a little depressed about the fact that we ranked behind a team named “We Tried,” but the important thing is that it built character! And we really did learn a lot about the city. The name of the tour is Urban Adventure Quest, and they have scavenger hunts in 69 different locations. I highly recommend it!
The other thing we seem to be doing is going on a scavenger hunt of every vegan place in the entire city. We’ve only been here 2 1/2 days (and spent part of one of those days in Waco, visiting Baylor University) and so far we’ve been to three vegan restaurants, a vegan taco truck (food trucks are a huge thing here), an all-vegan ice cream parlor, Voodoo Doughnuts (which has a large vegan selection), the flagship Whole Foods location, and an all-vegan grocery store. How is that all even possible???
Luckily we walked seven miles yesterday, and today we have a hike planned, otherwise we might all return home weighing 500 pounds. But my philosophy is always to live it up while on vacation!
Okay, we’re off for a hike and more eating! Hope everyone has a great Friday!
Do you try to eat healthy while on vacation, or throw caution to the wind and just enjoy yourself?
Ever done a scavenger hunt like this? – I would even do it in my own city if they had one.
9 Responses
That scavenger hunt really sounds fun! Great way to explore a city (second only to running LOL). I let myself indulge but with caution when on vacation. I think it’s good to have some free reign on food & treats, but too much of a good thing will usually leave me feeling sluggish. Balance!:-) Enjoy your trip!
That’s funny Kim because just as I was reading your comment my husband complained that he felt sluggish and bloated! Maybe we do need a little more balance.
how much fun to a scavenger hunt! I have not been to Austin yet but I hear it is such a fun city. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Nice to see you running again!
Thank you Deborah! Austin is really fun. I would recommend going in the fall or winter… or even spring- but not the summer. We knew it was going to be hot and we’re used to it, but it would be amazing in cooler weather.
I forget about healthy eating on vacation. I don’t t go on that many vacations.
I would love that scavenger hunt. I’ve gone on running tours and tat is also a great way to learn about a new city.
Enjoy the rest of your trip. Keep us posted.
That’s a good point Darlene- I guess it depends on how often you go on vacation! We don’t go often so not too much harm done if we over-indulge.
The scevenger hunt sounds very fun. I have never done it!
During the vacation I want to be free to eat everything, especially local food. However I never skip my workouts!
Glad you can run again and you are so wise not to be in hurry with the recover.
Yes, that’s my philosophy- do your workouts and enjoy the local food! It’s what vacations are for.