Arriba Roberto!

Just watched an ESPN special on one of Pittsburgh's most beloved athletes, Roberto Clemente. Today is the 35th anniversary of his 3000th, and last, hit.

texas run #14

Despite getting retardedly drunk at the Hideout and Chon Som last night, I was able to meet my old friend Tiffany down at Town Lake this morning for an easy six miles, followed by a dip in Barton Springs.

Time - 57:49
Distance - 6.0 miles
Challenge - 208 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 79.3 miles

texas run #13 - gov't canyon

Off to gov't canyon here in San Antonio for a good long run this morning. Unfortunately, the park doesn't open 'till 8AM, a very late start for a five hour jaunt. Went on some closed off trails early on, and I paid the price by breaking cobwebs every few minutes. Other than that, a real good run. Did falter a bit during the hot part of the day, don't think I'm ever gonna adjust to this Texas heat and humidity.

Time - 5:01:44
Distance - 25.0 miles
Challenge - 202 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 85.3 miles

nobody in the USA cares about soccer!

Seriously, will this bitch shut up and take her shirt off already!!!

new shoes

Went down to Roger Soler's here in San Antonio, and while the place would be a wonderland for road runners or triathletes, the trail shoe selection was less than stellar. However, I doubt I'll be in Austin during RunTex hours anytime soon, so I ended up going with the Asics Trail-Attack 3. I've had lots of good luck with Asics road shoes before, hopefully it's the same for their trail shoes. Still, I doubt I'll be switching for good no matter how much the shoes rock, as one of my first stops when I get back to Colorado will be to the CRC for a pair of La Sportiva Raja.

Leadville pics

Official pics from Leadville. These were taken heading up Sugarloaf pass, maybe 15 miles into the race. Felt fine here, but running back over this section at night would give me the biggest problems I'd encounter during the race.

SAH3 full moon hare snare

Went down to the San Antonio H3 full moon trail last night, and what a good time it was! Was able to snare the hares about 2.5 miles into the 3-ish mile trail. Figured it might happen tonight, since an old hasher buddy Head Butt was there, and the two of us can run fairly decent. Only my third snare ever (Net was one of 'em) as unlike some folks I follow the spirit of the hash and try my best to actually stay on trail, live lay or not. Circle was behind some big 'ol warehouse where I introduced the Brass Monkey to the SAH3.

handcuffs

Spent the last two days of cop school going over various handcuffing techniques. I think it's really gonna help me with two of my biggest problems during sex: fingernails to the eyes and mace.

Bailing on my workout today to go hang with the San Antonio full moon hashers. Woohoo!

she's back...

...and Firetunnel's blog still sucks!

monte montgomery

Monte is playing an afternoon show this Saturday in north San Antonio. Anyone interested in seeing him?

get in shape, turkeys!

Turkey Trot season will soon be here! I'll be returning to the Austin course that I set my PR (29:24) on. Unfortunately, I won't be anywhere near that time this year. There's also a turkey trot in Colorado Springs, beginning and ending at the Briargate YMCA, and even a bonus turkey trot prediction run on Nov 17th in Memorial Park, sponsored by the Pikes Peak Road Runners.

reason #1114 that road runners are dorks...

I think this is super retarded, but I'm sure it'll be a big hit among the road runners out there.

Texas run #12

So I've been helping a few newbies recently, some of whom are thinking of training for their first ultra. It's a very difficult switch to make from road running, as you hafta completely change your way of thinking. The pace is slow, you take walking breaks, you eat during the run, all of these are completely foreign concepts to road dorks. Anywho, I keep stressing to folks the importance of trying things during training to make sure they work on race day. Case in point: I often drink ensure during my long races. It tastes good, it has a lot of calories, and I can down a bottle and keep moving forward without having any stomach issues. I drank over 5000 calories of the stuff during Leadville. So for me it works well. But I'm also somewhat of a cheap bastard, and yesterday when I was at the store I figured I'd save a buck and get the HEB knockoff drink. And I had one before my run today. And, wow, let's just say I'm really glad there are a lot of port-o-shitters around Lackland.

Got back to the gym after the run, my shoulder is finally feeling decent again. Hope it's not too sore tomorrow. Gonna actually take a rest day tomorrow since I've been pushing pretty hard lately. And by rest day, I mean I'm gonna hit the gym again after school and then head over to the San Antonio H3 full moon hash.

Time - 63:53
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 172 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 97.3 miles

texmex???

Seriously, has anyone heard anything about this? You'd think they'd be asking for money by now...

happy birthday!

Katie turns 28 today!

for rent...

Good deal on a sweet Knob Hill pad. Click here for more info.

Texas run #11

Another hour around Lackland today. Was planning on finally getting to downtown San Antonio for a tour, but we got out of class late. Maybe tomorrow I'll finally check out the place. Been having blister issues with my nike pegasus since I got down here, not sure how I'm getting blisters now when I wasn't before, but it's getting annoying. But at least I'll have something to gross out Gagger on our next roadtrip. Don't look now, but I think Lulu may be finished...

Time - 60:04
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 165 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 98.0 miles

enchanted rock

Any Texans out there interested in a road trip to Enchanted Rock anytime soon? Always wanted to get out there, but never got the chance when I lived here. It's close enough that we could swing by Fredericksburg Brewery on the way home...

weekend

Had another pretty good weekend up in A-town. Friday night Alexis and I went to see "Shoot 'em Up" at the Alamo. Great movie, it's made up of entirely of senseless violence, great way to blow 90 minutes. Went to Lala's after that, but as I was getting up early to run the next morning I only got slightly drunk.

Out to Bastrop State Park Saturday morning, had a real good run. After a few post-run beers it was immediately off to Gagger's house so she could drive me up to Killeen for the Hill Country H3 200th run. Good to hash with those guys again, it had been way too long. They had a good trail and an awesome post-trail party back at PP's house. I drank damn near an entire bottle of Tuaca, so I was feeling pretty good.

Sunday morning Gagger and I got back to Austin to hare the 5th annual malt liquor hash with Grabber. Despite several near-disasters, it turned out pretty well.

Think I'll be hanging out in San Antonio this weekend. Trail run in Gov't Canyon on Saturday, maybe the riverwalk on Sat night, and the SAH3 on Sunday.

Texas run #10

Went out to Bastrop State Park on Saturday with the Rogues. Love those trails out there. Very soft, not too technical, very similar to the Sunmart course. Ran two laps for a total of about 15 miles. Wanted to do more but I had to get up to Killeen for the HCH3 200th hash. Including hashing, I picked up 27 miles this weekend.

Time - 2:36:34
Distance - 15.0 miles
Challenge - 158 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 105.0 miles

Texas run #9

Another good run through the heat and humidity of Lackland. Gonna start getting off base next week, either over to Government Canyon or downtown near the Alamo.

Time - 60:04
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 131 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 123.0 miles

Panthers overtaking Colorado Springs

I may be gone from Colorado Springs for a bit, but Panther fans are still up there! Read about it here. And for yunz Springsers, as Nips would say, let's be careful out there. Or, if you don't wanna be careful, at least hang out with someone slower than you...

Texas run #8

Got out of class a bit early yesterday, so I bolted up to Austin to join the Rogue group for their Wednesday run at the greenbelt. Glad I went, had an awesome run. Felt good and really pushed the pace. Did two panty loops, a bunch of other trails, and smoked the hill of life at the end of it all. Lulu was invited, but she was afraid to show.

Time - 1:57:33
Distance - 12.0 miles
Challenge - 124 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 119.0 miles

Texas run #7

Had a big honkin' Air Force run yesterday morning. The equivalent of a division run (in the AF that's called something like a squadron or a wing?). They had a full bird colonel address everyone and when he was finished with his super politically correct speech, he said, "come to the position of attention, please." It's like the friggin' twilight zone out here.

Time - approx 30:00
Distance - 3.0 miles
Challenge - 112 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 239.0 miles

AH3 malt liquor hash

This sunday Sunday SUNDAY is the 5th somewhat-annual Austin malt liquor hash! Details to be announced shortly, but as usual it will tour some of the finer points of the east side!

cable tv

I haven't had cable tv since I got out of the Army over 2.5 years ago. I have it now in my hotel room, and though I haven't really sat down to watch it, I've kept the tv on for background noise. I've realized I'm really not missing much.

Texas run #6

Shoulder still hurting like a bitch, but I went out for a good run this afternoon. Threw some Monte Montgomery on the iPod, and after what seemed like two minutes I looked down at my watch and I was already approaching an hour. Hardly noticing the heat and humidity anymore. Lulu is on the ropes, one bike wheel away from completely falling apart...

Time - 61:14
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 109 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 127.0 miles

texas injury #1

Somehow I managed to fuck up my right shoulder over the weekend. Would like to say I did it doing something cool, but the only thing I can think of is that I passed out on the cement walkway just outside my friends apartment after drinking my face off Saturday night. Must have slept on it wrong or something, now it hurts like hell. Can barely move my arm or else pain shoots through the shoulder.

the buckle chase continues...

good times!

Went to Crown & Anchor, Lala's (merry christmas!), Threadgill's (to see the Texas Bluegrass Massacre) and Don's Depot last night with Grabber, Fish, Closet Freak, Padre, and Rebekah last night. Awesome time!

Texas run #5

Good run today along the greenbelt. Got nearly four hours in, including a rescue mission to save Alexis, who was lost somewhere along Barton Creek. Ran a good chunk of the second loop with TJ, good to catch up with him again.

Time - 3:51:13
Distance - 18.0 miles
Challenge - 96 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 100.4 miles

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The mighty Air Force turns 60 years old today!

It's also my little sister's 34th b-day...

Texas run #4

Had a four mile race for Air Force PT this morning. Listening to all the pipeliners (those are recruits coming straight from basic training; as opposed to the TDY students, like me, who are coming from actual Air Force units) you'd think the AF only accepts former gatorade high school football all americans. So I figured I'd have a race on my hands. Not so, I embarassed everyone, winning by over half a mile over the next finisher. Not really a great accomplishment, as beating anyone in the military in a run is no big deal, but none of those 18 year olds will be calling me an old man anymore.

Time - unknown
Distance - 4.0 miles
Challenge - 78 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 118.4 miles

Texas run #3

Another hot and humid one today, but for the first time I actually had a little pep in my stride. Hope it's finally a sign of acclimation. Ran for sixty minutes, and once again slightly underestimated my 7.0 miles. Tomorrow will be a rest day (though my rest day includes Air Force PT and the San Antonio hash) so I can be ready for some serious mileage this weekend.

By the way, I know a lot of yunz are gearing up for upcoming marathons or trying to get back into shape. And a lot of runners nowadays use an iPod. I strongly suggest downloading the Gov't Mule cover of Sabbath's War Pigs that is available on their Live from Atlanta disc. Great song to run to.

Time - 60:33
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 74 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 111.9 miles

BRC flyer

The flyer for the Burnet Road Challenge can be seen here.

I've decided to reduce my drinking after the BRC. I'm currently averaging about a six pack a day here during elite AF cop school. I'll be surging that number to approximately 10 beers per day to get ready for the BRC. Once the BRC passes, I will cut my consumption down to just a six pack a day! Yes, by Texas logic, that's almost cutting my alcohol consumption in half. But I'm ready for that sacrifice.

Texas workout #2

OK, it's not my second workout. I've already had some epic runs along the greenbelt, a few loops around town lake, and a crapton of miles huffed out here on Lackland AFB. But I'll start logging from here on, so people can see how methodically I kick Lulu's ass.

Tried some speedwork today. Let's just say it didn't go too well. It had been a long time since I tried a workout like this. Add that to the fact that I'm still not acclimated to the Texas weather and I'm just getting back to things after Leadville, and this one wasn't one to write home about. My goal was to do three repeats of two miles, with half a mile of slow jogging in between.

But it wasn't happening today. Ended up doing two repeats. First one was 12:33, second one was 13:44. Ouch. But I'll stick at it. This will be my Wednesday workout from now on, and I'll push for the goal of hitting three repeats in all under twelve minutes. With a 20 minute warm up and a 20 minute cool down, I conservatively estimate my distance at eight miles. Was almost definitely more than that, but I'm trying my best to let Lulu hang around for a bit.

9/12/2007

Things still going well down here in San Antonio.

-The heat and humidity are still giving me issues, mostly laundry related as I sweat about twelve gallons every time I step out my door, but it's getting a little better. Slowly getting used to the weather, and I keep hearing rumors of an upcoming cold front, which will be a relief.

-Was gonna go hit the ACL festival on Saturday. The entire line up this year failed to excite me, but I've always wanted to see the White Stripes. Now, the Stripes have cancelled their show (actually, they've cancelled their entire tour) so I doubt I'll go. Still be in Austin Saturday morning to run with Rogue (starting at the Hill of Life at 7AM if anyone wants to join us) and will hang out there to do the Body's b-day hash on Sunday afternoon.

-Looking forward to my first San Antonio hash this Friday. Never hashed with them as much as I wanted to when I used to live in Austin, mostly because they often hashed on Sunday, the same day as the Austin hash. I was glad to hear they'll do a few more Friday trails before switching back to their Sunday time.

-AF Cop School is going well. Not really a challenge, which is what I expected. Took our first exam on Tuesday, and though the test was actually a lot harder than I thought, I got an 88, which was one of the higher grades in the class. So I'm well in the top 10%, which will get me on the distinguished graduates list. No big deal, but as a TDY student it's the only award I'm eligible for. Did our first PT run today, four miles. Not a bad pace. I think the Air Force recruits are smarter and more athletic than the new guys who were coming into the Army while I was in, but if you asked them to really suffer, be it a hard ruck march or actual combat partols in Iraq or Afghanistan, I'm not real confident they'd be alright.

-Off now for my first speed workout in a long time. There's a two mile running loop here, and I wanna do three repeats with a half mile jog in between. Wanna hit the three loops in about twelve minutes each. A very agressive goal considering the weather and the fact that I haven't run that fast in a long time, but I'm going for it anyways.

-There have been a lot of reports of stolen stuff from my hotel, and it's fairly obvious that the maids are in on it. So anything of value that I have down here, admittedly not much, is locked up. But yesterday when I went to mail out some postcards, I noticed the book of stamps I had was gone. I tore the room up looking for them, but I'm certain they were kifed. Can't believe someone would take postage stamps. A pain in the ass since I'm always in class when the post office is open.

good times!

That's Slut Slinger's jeep I'm pissing on after the Mad Cowboy's show last Friday.

2007 Burnet Road Challenge

It's set for October 12, 2007!

update

Another quick update:

-Having a blast up in Austin. Since last Saturday I've been to Barfly's, the Carousel, Lovejoy's, Crown & Anchor, Hut's, Counter Culture, Austin Java, Alamo Drafthouse, and Mickey's. Not to mention kegball, the greenbelt, Walnut Creek Park, town lake, RunTex, spectating at the Austin triathlon, and the hash.

-Two good long runs over the weekend. Ran about 15 along the greenbelt on Saturday. My first long run since Leadville, I felt good but the humidity has been beating me up pretty good. Ran a good twelve around Town Lake on Sunday, yeah it's not a real trail but it's always a good time running there. Did about 4.5 miles through Walnut Creek Park at the hash yesterday, bringing my total mileage to an even fifty. Lulu is already looking for an honorable way to bow out, FYI.

-Saw the new Halloween at the Alamo Drafthouse on Sat night. It's pretty good. Just a remake of the first one, with a few changes thrown in. Sure wish Kimball's Twin Peak in the Springs was even half as cool as the Alamo.

-Yunz guys see the Steelers kick the crap out of the browns yesterday! Hell yeah! And please note that Pitt is 2-0!

support the troops!

A lot of you hashers out there know Davey Crotchit, one of the best RA's in the land. He's back in Iraq now, so drop him a line.

MSG David Rogers
TF 62 Med Brigade
APO AE 09342

stuff

Still alive, made it through my first day of Air Force cop school. Pretty weird being next door to a basic training unit, get to see the kiddos getting yelled at all day long. Kinda sad though, the AF guys going through their grueling six week basic training have much better body armor than I had the year I was in Iraq with the Army.

Managed a two-plus hour run on the Greenbelt in Austin yesterday. The heat/humidity combo down here is killing me. Luckily my hard training doesn't start until Saturday when the Rogue-Sunmart group starts. For the record, I have about 16 miles in the Challenge. Very conservative estimate, but I'm not too worried because any day now Lulu will get burned out and return to the couch for oprah re-runs. Hit Lovejoy's after the run for some post-run refreshment. Sure missed that place.

Thanks to Meredith for my picture frame, given to me at the Hill Country Trail Runners meeting for completing my first hundred miler. One of the best gifts I've ever gotten!

Thursday I'll head downtown for my first run along the infamous Riverwalk.

Friday should be fun, off to the Carousel Lounge to see the Mad Cowboys. Finally get to see my good friend Twin Peaks, it's been several years since we last threw down some beers.

Saturday it's the Rogue run and some shenanigans at a dive of my choosing. Sunday morning I'll be down providing moral support at a triathlon at Decker Lake, then probably a lap around Town Lake. Of course, won't miss the Austin hash this week, if they ever get a hare.

Hope to procure a laptop for my room, which has an internet connection. Should be able to blog and e-mail a bit more regularly if that happens.

San Antonio

Arrived in San Antonio a day early. Apparently the Air Force gets a five day weekend for Labor Day. My orders say cop school starts today but the building is closed until tomorrow. Only in the Air Force...

Computer usage will be spotty for me. I know for a lot of you the highlight of your day is reading my blog, I'll try to update as much as possible but it probably won't be several times a day like I'm able to do at my civilian job.

Pretty good trip so far. Made a triumphant return to the Barfly, though I don't think I puked despite a lot of Lone Star and jager. Thanks to all who showed up.

Crown and Anchor double bacon cheeseburgers are still one of my favorite things in the entire world.

Got to meet a couple of bloggers at kegball, which was a blast. Nothing beats sitting in a big mud puddle in the pouring rain drinking beer. Lulu's tackle of the opposing hottie pitcher was one for the ages!

Went down yesterday morning to watch the Austin Triathlon, the most active thing I've done so far in Texas. My buddy Paul had an awesome run leg and ended up third overall.

Hung out in San Antonio with my old buddy Doggie Style yesterday, visited some quality pubs. Some of yunz should look into doing the Clark Bar tour, a nine pub bus ride. Think it's on October 22. I'll send out info soon.

Back up to Austin today for a long run (I'm already 60 miles behind Lulu but I'll catch up by week's end) and the Hill Country Trail Runners meeting. Big meeting tonight, as I'll finally get the infamous picture frame for completing my first hundred.

Again, I won't be able to answer e-mail in a timely fashion, so if anyone needs to get a hold of me you'll need to call.

on-on...

...to Austin!