(Hello Greenbelt! And Coyote sounds!)

It was time for a new exploration in Austin which meant, time to explore another Greenbelt trail. It was also an exciting opportunity to do an evening run! Janel was attending comedy with some friends so that meant I would push my morning run to a later point (mostly due to laziness).

This was my first evening into night run in quite a bit of time. Normally I only did these when Janel has a late night event or is out of town. Although it was still a humid day, it felt great to not have the sun beating me down with its typical strength.

The Hill of Life is a small waterfall outing over some rocks along the creek of the Greenbelt. It is a 5-6 mile route from the parking lot with a pretty shaded trail. I had at least an hour to cover the distance and thought it sounded like a good adventure!

Like every good run, this began with a downhill from the parking lot to drop about 40 feet down to the creek bed. I began my first mile with a creak of the knees and a soft ‘Oof-da’. This is now my signature routine to beginning any run of any distance.

I cruised down the hill and found the trail to not be too rocky. There were quite a few couples out walking and a crew of teenagers beginning a mountain biking journey. They flew by me like arrows and I smiled thinking how it has been a number of years since I was that fearless. Multiple concussions later made me happy to be journeying on my own two feet.

As I passed into mile 2, I started to see some water in the creek bed which was exciting! When we had first moved to Austin about 5 years ago, water was flowing pretty consistently and many people enjoyed the local watering holes. Unfortunately these were becoming fewer and farther between. I still managed to soak my hat with a good amount of standing bacteria water to cool off when entering the halfway point. Hopefully, I wouldn’t grow a green tail or something exotic the next few days. (A tail would be kinda cool though).

Closing in on 3 miles, I hit the halfway point and was awarded the local smell of Austin, some nature lovers enjoying what certain plants could offer. With a cheerful wave to the mellowed out couple, I turned back and began to pick up the pace. At least, that’s what I told myself.

Miles 4 and 5 were an exact replica of the beginning due to it being an out and back course. As the sun was starting to set, I heard the first howl of a Coyote and figured it would be a real smart idea to get out of the woods. My pace had slowed down to wounded gazelle stage and with the amount of pizza I ate last week, I may look appetizing. I thought I could continue picking up the pace following the howl but my feet accepted whichever fate lie before me.

Luckily, I found the initial hill and made my way back towards freedom! I clocked about 5.8 miles in around 55 minutes with a walk break here or there. The last hill may have been a glorified walk more than a jog. I thought about going the last five minutes but convinced myself I needed to get back to work emails. Looking back, I should have hit the hour and I will shoot for it in the next couple days.

Good to start July off with a fun a trail run and I definitely recommend this route if you find yourself in the Austin area! While swimming may be an *interesting* experience, I did not yet grow any mysterious features since the outing and deem it *safe*! (*this is not medically supported or recommended).

I hope you got the chance to see a fun new trail in your area recently and I would love to hear about it if so!

Average Runner Paul