Category Archives: Austin Bucket

Oct30

Taco Tunesday – JAB Fest

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jessica

Taco Run

I made a triumphant return to the 6AM taco run this morning (after two entire Tuesdays of sleeping in!) I had SIX friends/acquaintances there and for some reason we decided to run the seven mile option for the first time. We ended up logging 7.25 miles in about 1:03 and I enjoyed the company of new friends. I also decided the extra miles meant an extra taco…..logical right?

JAB Fest

I mentioned that my pre-racing activity wasn’t quite text book procedure for getting ready for a 10 miler. I was ok with that because I also decided it was about time to see some live music in the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Saturday I went to JAB Fest with two classmates – Tiffany and Lauren – and Tiffany’s husband. JAB stands for the Josh Abbott Band, a Texas country band that’s breaking onto the radio. The festival included other Texas (country of course) artists and bands like Curtis Grimes, Cory Morrow and Rich O’Toole.

The venue was the Nutty Brown Amphitheater and Cafe which took me much further south of the city than I’ve ventured yet. We arrived early in the afternoon and felt like we had stepped into “true Texas” (you see, Austin is sort of a Texas exception. They pride themselves on being everything “not Texas”, except football fans). There were cowboy hats. Plaid shirts. Tight jeans. Boots and more boots. All the things I love about country style. There were also dip can outlines in back pockets, bling on back pockets, Texas flag purses and gaudy jewelry. All the things I’m not so crazy about Texas style.

But oh the music. For most of the first several bands I had no idea what the words were. Doesn’t matter. The music gets inside your soul and your body just starts to respond. Some toe tappin’. Some hip swayin’. We stood around chatting and people watching, commenting on all the style mentioned above, as well as the various groups of people. Then Curtis Grimes came on stage and the three of us girls were totally entranced for the next 40 minutes.

Curtis Grimes.

He got us with his smile. He got us with his twangy, country voice. He got us with his songs about smiling girls (Title: Smile). He got us with his eye contact across the small crowd (“oh my god, I think he just looked at me….”). It was 40 minutes of the best parts of being a girl. It’s safe to say he has a few more fans.

Lauren, Me, Tiffany (showing off her boots!)

Tiffany and her husband left Lauren and I behind to wait for the namesake of the festival. I’m not sure where they went but I bet it was important grown up stuff like eating dinner and getting to bed at a reasonable hour.

Study buddies finally have some fun!

Lauren and I hung tight until Josh Abbott came on. Through the sunset. Through the temperature drop. Oh tonight, we’re gonna set the world on fire. I’m gonna set aside my pride. Through the influx of underage kids (beyond obnoxious). Brave and relentless, sweet and defenseless, I can never get enough – everytime we touch. And the band totally outdid themselves, playing every song they’ve ever written. Click here to see two of them I’ve written about before. If you ain’t seen an Abilene sunset, you ain’t met my Texas yet. My feet were achy and my back was tired from standing for 6+ hours but I didn’t care. I sang to the words I knew and swayed to the ones I didn’t. It was a perfect evening under the big Texas sky with the appropriate background music (banjo and fiddle).

And let me tell you, those Texas boys love to sing and write about their Texas girls – pleased to be one, even if only for a few years 🙂

Sep13

The Austin Distance Challenge

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Jessica

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No track workout today. Just don’t feel like I have the time and it wouldn’t be beneficial for me to be out there right now. Still planning on getting it in this week but Thursday just isn’t working this week. So nothing to report on there – but I did want to share a fun race series I’m thinking of participating in!

The Austin Distance Challenge

The Austin Distance Challenge

The Austin Distance Challenge is a series of longer distance races that runs from October to February. It’s a little bit like the Memphis Road Race Series I participated in last year except that the distances of the races are a little different, and instead of buying a whole package of races you have to register for each one individually and then separately register for the challenge. BUT like the RRS, there are perks –

All registered participants will receive:

•· A custom printed long sleeve tech running shirt.

•· One Year FREE membership in ARC (non ARC members only)

•· Use of the Austin Fit Magazine Distance Challenge VIP tent found at the finish

area of each race. There will be beverages, special premiums and other fun stuff.

•· Invitation to the Celebration Party in March.

All participants who complete the series will receive:

•· A custom printed runners jacket

•· A Completion Certificate

•· Additionally, trophies will be presented for Overall, Masters and Age Groups in 5-year increments, both M and F. Trophies will be presented for both the Full and Half Track Series options.

I like “free” stuff, parties and trophies so that’s a big draw for me. There are six races ranging from 10k to 30k (that’s 18 miles!).

The Races

IBM Uptown Classic 10k – October 7, 2012. $35 until race week, then $40.

10 K

Run for the Water 10 Miler – October 28, 2012. $39 until September 30, then $49.50

10 Miles

ARC Decker Challenge Half Marathon – December 9, 2012. $70 until December 1.

Half Marathon #1

3M Half Marathon – January 13, 2013. $90.

Half Marathon # 2

Rogue 30k/10k – January 27, 2013. $75 before October 7.

30k

Livestrong Half Marathon – February 17, 2013. $100 through November 27.

Half Marathon #3

Sounds fun huh? I’m gonna take a long hard look at my schedule and my bank account to see if both can handle it and will let you know!

I’ve done the Livestrong Half before – anyone completed any of the others? Or the full challenge? Let me know how it was!

Sep9

Austin Bucket: Go To a Longhorns Game

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Jessica

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I have experienced Texas Football first hand and I must say it puts even the pro leagues to shame. I’ve been a football girl for since Harbaugh was the quarterback for the Colts. Basketball takes all precedence but I do love watching football while I wait for basketball season to start. From Friday nights in the stands at Zionsville High School decked out in green and white to the sidelines of Rhodes College running around making sure all the boys had water and now to the big grandstands of Darrell K. Royal Stadium.

Skyline from the stadium

I purchased the Longhorn Sports Access Pass available to students which allows us to enter into a draw for tickets every week. All we have to do is take our student IDs to the ticket center the week of the game and the workers draw tickets out of boxes (supposedly randomly). If you go in a group, they’ll draw tickets next to one another.

LASP Student Draw Tickets

We hung out in a group of graduate students at my friends’ house close to the stadium before the game with typical tailgating food and a lot of new people to get to know. There was a mix of true Texas support (myself in a Texas shirt and sunglasses, some law students in burnt orange polos and hats) and those who just didn’t or hadn’t bought any burnt orange yet. We were able to walk to the stadium from the tailgate which was awesome.

Hook Em Horns

The quiet stadium where I normally go for classes was a sea of burnt orange. We walked up and up the ramps to get to our seats which happened to be the very top row of the visitor’s side. I mean very top row. The boys took control pretty early which was good because I was totally distracted by the view, the varying interpretations of Texas orange, the chanting and throwing of the horns. The night was beyond perfect – the winds from my long run that morning had certainly done their job bringing the “cold front”.