My morning run...

...was f'ing horrible!

Seriously, this shit isn't funny anymore.

Very chilly 5K on the streets of Old Colorado City.  Will warm all the way up to 28F today, time to break out the Bermuda shorts and flip flops.

beer 364

Another Karbach Brewing concoction, the Weekend Warrior Pale Ale.  Love the checklist on the side of the can:

One more day on the beer challenge.  Not sure what brew I'll go with yet.

Working on some workout goals for 2015.  Really liked the addition of biking in '14, so I think I'm going to shoot for 3000 miles on the bike and 2000 miles running for the year.  For 2014, it looks like I'll hit 1985 miles running and 2630 miles on the bike.  Lowest mileage in years, probably decades, on the run for me, but I feel fit and had a lot of fun not having running as the only focus of my athletic life.  Of course, going sub three at Pikes and NYC will be the main focus for me, so while the mileage won't be there the hard work (hopefully) will.

beer 363

Got some Texas beers from friends down in Austin.  Was in an IPA mood, as I usually am, so I went with the Hopadillo IPA from Karbach Brewing Company in Houston.  Texas sure has come a long way in the craft beer world since I lived there a decade ago.

Horrifically cold today.  Got out for five in the AM, four in the PM.  And hit number nine on the Icy Bike Challenge.  Not sure what I'll get done on Tuesday as the high for the day is 4F here.

beer 360, 361, & 362

On Friday, the day after x-mas, Moab Brewery finally opened, and we spent quite some time there after a long hike with the dog and a solid ride out near Hurrah Pass.  Stuck mostly with Johnny's IPA, which I'm a big fan of, but also had the Scotch Ale.

We hit Slickrock one last time on Saturday, and I had a bottle of the Off Duty IPA from Squatters in Salt Lake.  Pretty good.  Not sure how many laws I broke by drinking alcohol outside in Utah.

But hey, you know who makes better beer than anyone in Utah?  Anyone in Colorado!  On the way back $100 and I hit our usual double of Elevation Brewing and Moonlight Pizza.  Moonlight has a few new beers on tap since I last visited, and I went with the Black IPA.  The beer still isn't as good as the pizza, but it's getting better.

A few more pics from the Moab trip.  So much fun.

beer 358 & 359

As much as I love the Hot Tomato, I'm about to give up on them.  They're ALWAYS closed when I try to go there.  Probably been four or five years since I've been there due to this.  And yes, I tried to go on Wednesday (x-mas eve) and of course they were closed.  So we ducked in around the corner to Suds Brothers, where I had the Zeppelin IPA.  Meh.

Bikes and beers, that's what $100 got me for Christmas.  Best present ever.  Had the E3 triple IPA from Renegade Brewing.  Hot damn, that was a lot of hops.

Moab

$100 and I decided to skip town over the holidays and head to Moab.

And we rented fat bikes!  This beauty has been my ride over the last few days.

Been spending mornings hiking the dog and afternoons tooling around on big tires.  Got up to Slickrock yesterday and about had the times of our lives.

This sign is at the Slickrock trailhead.  Just in case.

Been having some shitty weather, cold and snowy, but the bikes have been tons of fun.  So has the hiking with the dog.

Happy Holidays!

‎Greta defeated the Grinch!

beer 356 & 357

Bonanza Dry Hopped Golden Ale from Payette Brewing Company in Garden City, Idaho.  And the Betty IPA from Hangar 24 Craft Brewery in Redlands, CA.  Both are solid brews and should be picked up whenever one has the chance.

Me and the dog ran for 30 minutes in the snow and cold and ice this morning through Old Colorado City.  Then after work we did a five mile loop over in Red Rock Canyon.  Also hit the Y over lunch today.

Off to Moab for the holidays.  $100 and I are renting fat bikes.  Expensive ones.  In fact, both of the bikes we're renting (I'm getting a Salsa Beargrease and $100 is getting a Borealis Echo) would cost more than I paid for my Jeep Cherokee if we decided to buy them new.

beer 355

Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut Down Ale.  Good stuff as usual from this brewery.

Five miles on Sunday morning in Red Rock Canyon with the dog and a bunch of local characters.  New Strava challenge we're doing.  

Saw Wild on Sunday night.  I wasn't impressed with the book and wasn't impressed with the movie either.  At least I got credit for going to a chick flick with the wife.

Duke

Meet Duke.

Duke is an eight year old weim from Kansas.  He was scheduled to be put down yesterday.  But the good folks at the Mile High Weim Rescue weren't about to let that happen.  They reached out to their network of volunteers and a plan was hatched.  All that was missing was getting Duke from Kansas to Denver.

That's where I came in.  I wanted to get in my one good deed for the year, so after checking with the boss ($100) I got the go ahead to make the first road trip in my jeep.  Saturday morning I made the five hour drive to Hays, Kansas, and met Duke.

Duke and I had a great trip back to Denver, stopping twice for long walks around various rest stops.  Such a great dog and I was about two seconds from skipping Denver and bringing him back to Colorado Springs.  Whoever ends up adopting him is going to get one great dog.

I have no idea how rescue dog organization volunteers do such a fantastic job.  I'd have dozens of dogs.

beer 353 & 354

Glad I got to enjoy this beer.  Brought back a lot of good memories of when $100 and I visited Lumberyard Brewing, right before we got married.  Will probably drop by once again in February when we make the Old Pueblo road trip.

Dropped by Red Leg last night and they still had some of the special edition Grand Cru on tap.

Overall great night as it also included a rowdy trip to Murphy's and the Brooks & Holly housewarming party.

beer 352

On Thursday, $100 and I hit up Pure Bouldering, the new rock gym in town, to hang out with the Team RWB guys.  Afterwards we hit up Fossil Brewing on the way home, and I had the new Big Kabum Theory.  Made with some coffee from a local roaster.  Good stuff.  Think this is the new Thursday gig for a while.

beer 350 & 351

Peter bought back a bunch of beers from a recent road trip, so I went and stole some off him.  Top is the Goldroad Kolsch Style Ale from Flagstaff Brewing, bottom is the Rodeo Rye Pale Ale from Payette Brewing in Garden City, ID.

Training is a wash this week.  Definitely coming back from the plague I had but I'll be taking it easy until Monday to make sure I'm healthy again.  Definitely a setback on my quest to go sub 28 at the Rescue Run 10K this year.

Pitt is looking for another head football coach.  For the 5th year seniors on the team, this is the seventh head coach of their college career.  I'm holding out for the Athletic Director position.

beer 348 & 349

Yeah, yeah, way behind.  Besides being sick, I'm now part of yet another beer drinking project, the 12 Beers Of Christmas.  Luckily, numberos one and two could fill in for both.

Never Summer

Been sick as a dog since Thursday.  Throat is killing me.  Think I'm finally coming out of that funk though. 

Signed up for the Never Summer 100K.  Not an A race for me, but I love that distance and I've wanted to explore that area for years now.  No goals for the race other than to use every bit of available daylight to have a good time.

5K

Another shot of me handling Gerald, 2.5 miles into the race.  These never get old.

Shakey Graves!

beer 347

Completed the Grand Slam of 5Ks here in Colorado Springs, the YMCA race series.  Wasn't feeling very well going into the race, but it turned out pretty well.  Course was not a fast one, as at least 1.5 miles of this was on a dirt path, but I was able to crank out an 18:16.  I was in some pain that last mile, but it was worth it.  See the guy behind me here as I cross the finish line?

Yeah, that's none other than local superstar Gerald.  We were neck and neck at mile two, but I was able to get away from him.  It is his offseason and he does a great job at getting fat and lazy, but it was nice to get the rare W against the most electrifying man in running.  Thanks to Pikes Peak Sports for that pic.

After the race another local superstar, Peter M, and I met up to drink a growler from Living The Dream.  This was the Arrogant Hipster Lager.  According to their website, it drinks like a PBR, but with tighter jeans.

beer 346

Was up in Denver for a bit on Friday, so I met up with potential Hardrocker Kircher for a run up Carpenter Peak.  Had never been to Roxborough State Park before, pretty cool place.  Took this pic from the visitor center.

Chris B is obviously not in any danger of losing his job as the unofficial photographer of the park.

Good run up and down the mountain, took just over an hour which included a few minutes of goofing around on top.  Then it was time for post-run refreshments!

There's a brewery not too far from the entrance to Rox, Living The Dream Brewing Company.  We headed there and I had the C470 Bock.

It's a collaboration of a bunch of breweries around the C470 corridor.  If you hit all eight breweries you get a special pint glass.  Which I won't be getting, as CB & Pott's and Rock Bottom are on the list, and hell if I'm going to waste any of my Denver time at a generic chain brewery.

beer 345

Mammoth IPA from Fossil Brewing Company, located just .6 miles from my front door.  This has quickly become one of my favorite local IPAs.

Enjoying the warm weather.  Thursday brought a long hike with the dog in Stratton Open Space and a solid ride combining the trails of the Garden and Red Rock Canyon.

In other great news, one of my favorite coffee shops, Sacred Grounds, where I always grab a cup before the dog and I hit Stratton or the Canon, got it's liquor license.

beer 344

Green Trail IPA from Ithaca Beer Company.  Yummy!

Nice seven miler in the Garden this morning, and later a good hour at the Y.

One of my favorite bands, Gov't Mule, celebrates 20 years as a band soon.  So they're releasing a bunch of old stuff, including an old performance where they did a bunch of Pink Floyd covers.  How awesome is this: