Almost on cue, the start of Fall coincided with cooler temperatures. Since the weather had taken a turn for the nice, I decided to go for a nice run the other day.

The thing about running is that no matter how far out you go, you have to come back. That should be a runner's mantra.

On the heels of my last run, I decided to try a different path this time. So instead of running around campus, I decided to run through downtown. Austin's a weird place. One minute you're running on a path through the woods, the next you're running amongst houses. One minute you're running through downtown and around the capitol building, the next you're running around the largest University in the country.

Austin's a great place. I love that no matter where you turn, you're going up one hill or down another. I think that's one of the truly great characteristics of this town. Hills can really make a town seem alive.

I used to hate running hills in the Marines, but now I think I'm beginning to like it. I think it has something to do with the knowledge that I'm doing this by choice, instead of because it's one of my job duties.

The run was about 6.2 miles and was just flat out brutal. Trust me, I'm not going to run 6+ miles very often. My legs and knees were especially sore the entire day after the run, so I'll probably just go back to smaller runs in the near future. But the way I see it, what better way to explore a town than to run through it? And I've yet to run around Town Lake, which from what I hear, is quite a beautiful run.

matt out