Hitting my stride

It's been 3 months since I moved to Dallas to start working, and I can confidently say that I am starting to hit my stride again. That isn't to say I have it all figured out yet, a fact that should be obvious based on how long it's been since my last post, but I feel like I've mastered the inner circle and am ready to move on to larger circles (reference to the training in The Mask of Zorro - Alejandro was confined to the inner circle until he mastered a core set of skills). As such, I'm slowly starting to expand the set of things I'm involved in.

The main things on my plate these days are:

• Work - the more I work with others in the office, the more I realize how far I have to go until I'm at their level. There are a lot of resources in the company for self-paced learning, so I'm trying to remain focused on a set of topics that I'm most interested in. I'm also trying to get as comfortable as possible using the resources that are available to us so that I can improve my day-to-day efficiency; I think it will make a big difference on future projects.
• Running - I signed up with ~40 coworkers to run a half-marathon in March, so I've been training for that the last few weeks. Most of the time I'm training on my own, but on weekends we meet up for a group run. I actually started running more back in November, and since then, I've racked up 150 miles or so, mainly on the Katy Trail, which is right next to the office. Although I still haven't been able to hit 13.1 miles, I've come really close at 11 miles, so I think I should be good to go for the race, assuming no injuries or training problems.
• Toastmasters - I managed to find a Toastmasters chapter within walking distance of my apartment with meetings that I can attend every week, even when I'm traveling for work. I've been going for about 2 months and have given 2 speeches so far. I'm starting to feel pretty good about prepared speeches, but I still have a ways to go with impromptu speeches. I'm going to focus on that this year.

Outside of that, I mainly fill my time traveling to Austin, reading, and doing a lot of chores.