post-injury run

Went out with two of my AF buddies for an easy run. Knew it would be a super slow jog, but I was more worried about how my ankle would hold up. Still a little painful, but I think it's getting a lot better. Swelling has gone down a lot, and it finally looks more like an ankle than a kankle. Gonna give it a real test on Saturday morning with a multi-hour run on the Greenbelt, we'll see how that goes...

manitou apartment!

Thanks to my advance scout Dani, I secured an apartment in Manitou Springs today! Woohoo! You can see the craigslist ad here. A map can be seen here. Very excited, I've wanted to live in Manitou for a long time! The apartment is less than a two minute walk from Memorial Park, which is where the Incline Club begins it's runs and where the Pikes Peak races start. It also gives me easy access to the Incline, Barr Trail, Ute Pass/Waldo Canyon, Garden of the Gods, and Red Rocks, not to mention all the bars on Manitou Ave! Woohoo!

Lulu-esque workout

Ankle still swollen and black & blue, but feeling a lot better today. So I went over to the Lackland gym to test it out. Not my greatest workout ever. Ten minutes on the regular bike, ten minutes on the recumbent bike. Then the big test - ten minutes on the treadmill. First five were at a 15 minute mile, last five were at a ten minute mile. Good news - the ankle held up! Gonna try to do an easy five miles tomorrow...

ankle update

Ankle was feeling a bit better today, and I spent most of the day standing and running around doing Air Force crap. The ankle still looks horrible - still black and blue and very swollen - but it's feeling a lot better so I have some hope. The problem now becomes that due to resting last week for Cactus Rose, and having to rest the ankle this week, I'll begin to lose fitness. Which sucks, since I was hoping to run fast at Warda.

Bandera pic

Taken at one of the aid stations at Cactus Rose.

broken my ass!

X-ray was inconclusive, so I was able to scam a "self-pace" profile for a week, as well as a ton of more motrin. My ankle improved greatly from last night, where even sitting at a concert was uncomfortable. But I've regained a lot of strength, and even though the ankle still looks horrible it is feeling a lot better. I'm gonna try to run on it this Wed. That Warda DNF ain't a foregone conclusion!!!

ankle update

X-ray is finished, I'll get the news around 3:30PM today. The ankle is still swollen and a disgusting shade of purple, but it is feeling significantly better than on Friday and especially than it did on Saturday. Hopefully I get good news today and I'll recover in time for Warda.

cactus rose DNF

I am a fucking pussy.

Melissa is not, however, as she finished her first hundred.

not a great way to taper...

During some basic infantry movement stuff for the Air Force today, I turned my ankle pretty good. The medic wanted to send me back to Lackland for an x-ray, but I got out of it. So I'm on orders for bed rest this weekend. It's swollen pretty bad, but I'm gonna head out to Bandera anyways and see how it feels tomorrow.

For updates, check out Gagger's blog.

cactus rose updates

Cactus Rose ain't the technological wonder that some races have become nowadays, but @ss Gagger, a member of my elite ultra crew, is gonna try to update her blog via iPhone while she's in Bandera. Her blog can be seen here. No promises, as I'm not sure there's any wireless internet in that part of Tejas, but we'll do what we can...

i love dumpsters!

Some of my finer dumpster moments of the past few years...

midnite stroker

Somehow, Midnite Stroker (that's MeatGazer's mom, FYI) and I ended up in the shitter on the San Antonio H3 halloween pub crawl...

25 hours

I'm going to go out on a 25 hour pace at Bandera and see how long I can keep it. Gives me an hour to get to each aid station. Probably a little too high a goal for me to set, but I want to get as many miles in during the day out there. Figure if I can keep that pace up for the entire daylight portion, when the night comes and I hafta slow down I should be in a good position.

a classic...

What do you call the worthless piece of skin that surrounds a pussy?

A woman!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

bandera weather

Weather report is lookin' pretty sweet for Cactus Rose. High of 78, low of 47, 10% chance of rain.

austin beer mile

Woohoo! Looks like I'll get another crack at the beer mile while I'm down here! Read all about it here.

good times!

What a weekend! Included a hash pub crawl on Friday (Gagger was in rare form!), finally seeing Into the Wild, two halloween parties that were busted by the fuzz, a nice greenbelt run, and the San Antonio hash to end the weekend on a high note. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to study for test #3 that I hafta go take in a few minutes. Oops. More details to follow...

holy shit!

It just hit me that I have another hundred miler next weekend! Sheesh, that's gonna be a rough one.

hey jes - kit kat says hello!

woohoo!

Guess who I get to drink with on Thursday!

Texas run #29

Despite a retarded day with the Air Force I got out for a decent run. Nothing like some Panic and a 90 minute run to improve your mood. First run since I got to Texas almost two months ago where I didn't carry any water.

Time - 88:42
Distance - 10.8 miles
TX Mileage - 351.0 miles

Manitou Springs

Started apartment hunting today for my return to Colorado sometime in mid-December. Going to move to Manitou Springs, one of my favorite places in Colorado. Will give me immediate access to the Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks Open Space, Ute Pass/Waldo Canyon, the Incline, and, of course, Barr Trail. Plus, the live music scene of that tiny town is about a hundred times greater than the scene in Colorado Springs. Will be nice to be able to stumble home from the pubs on Manitou Ave.

Manitou even made the NY Times the other day. Read about it here.

Texas run #28 - quarters

Holy friggin' shit - I actually ran today without losing 20 pounds of sweat! Used the current Texas ice age weather (it was about 60 degrees) to continue my recent string of speedwork. Two mile warm up, 6 x 400 meters in: 83, 79, 78, 77, 78, and 75, followed by a two mile cooldown. Not too shabby, besides the chilly weather there was a fierce wind blowing across the track which slowed me down a bit. Good workout though.

Time - 60:00
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 340.2 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 98.6 miles

world peace through beer

Finally made it to a world peace through beer hash with San Antonio. Instead of the usual $5 hash cash, you bring a six pack of a beer, the thought being that hashers will bring beer from all over the world. So, needless to say, it was a little more than the usual SAH3 fare of Lone Star Light. Good trail and a great pack, stayed out way too late with those wankers on a school night. Good times! Think I may hafta bring the Kimchi hash into the WPTB world next October.

the Scabs!

Yup yup, the Scabs are playing at Antone's on Thanksgiving night! Woohoo!

new CRUD website

Keith finally got off his lazy ass and updated the Team CRUD website. See it here.

Texas run #27 - Combat Medic 10K

Switched gears last Saturday for the Combat Medic 10K. Wasn't expecting much as I figured I had long ago lost any leg speed I ever had once I swithed over to trail running. Ran strong throughout the race, pushing hard but keeping an even pace. Still, I was heartbroken when I turned the corner and unleashed a furious sprint, holding off the first female finisher (who would lose the sprint but jump ahead of me in the standings due to her chip time) but seeing the clock ticking towards 45 minutes. Was bummed that despite the great effort on my part I thought I was unable to keep anywhere near a seven minute mile anymore. To my relief, later on at the awards ceremony I fould out the clock was off, and my chip time was 37:57! A much more respectable 6:07 per mile! Ended up in 6th place overall, 5th male finisher, and first in my age group. 150 finishers. Not too shabby. The course isn't the most difficult thing I've ever done, but it's certainly not considered a fast course. Results are here.

Got some good results when I plugged the time into the runner's world predictor. Gives my five mile guess at 30:10. Would sure be nice to sneak under half an hour at the turkey trot, though I'm sure my pre-holiday drinking binge won't allow for that. Also predicts a 2:54:33 marathon, which would be a PR for me, as well as a Boston qualifier...

Time - 37:57.9
Distance - 6.2 miles
Challenge - 333.2 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 95.6 miles

combat medic 10K

37:57!!!

ben harper

I have countered Nappy's JBT tix with scoring tickets to see Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals here in San Antonio. So on Sunday, November 4th, I plan on finishing my second 100 miler in the morning, chilling in Bandera for the afternoon, and seeing Ben Harper in the evening. Not a bad day...

Texas run #26

Another good one today. Ran a decent pace for over 80 minutes, with four hard repeats of five minutes each, with five minutes rest in between, thrown in for good measure. Will rest tomorrow in anticipation of the ass kicking I'm gonna deliver to the Army guys in Saturday's Combat Medic 10K and also to Lulu on our long run on Sunday.

Time - 82:21
Distance - 10.0 miles
Challenge - 327.0 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 79.8 miles

one song...

Got this question in an e-mail from Dani, and I wondered what my faithful readers would answer with. It's a really tough question for me, a very big music fan, and it greatly depends on what mood I would be in when asked the question.

If you would say that one song represents you what is it and who is it by?

I narrowed it down to three. "Climb to Safety" and "Chilly Water" by Widespread Panic, and "Alive" by Pearl Jam. But that could change at any moment...

Texas run #25

Got a nice treat at Air Force PT this afternoon when the instructor just set us free on the track for 30 minutes. Running in lane two, I did twelve laps in just under 20 minutes and finished with 4.5 miles in the alloted 30 mikes. Not too shabby. Workout gives me hope I can stay under seven minute miles at this Saturday's Combat Medic 1oK.


Time - 30:27
Distance - 4.5 miles
Challenge - 317.0 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 84.8 miles

long road home

Less than two months 'till I'll be returning to Colorado, taking up residence in Manitou Springs. But I'll have a few days to kill along the way, so I'm thinking of heading out to West Texas to visit Hueco Tanks and Guadalupe Peak. Hell, might be able to hash with El Paso along the way, maybe warn them of the impending Kimchi invasion.

Texas run #24

Back to the track today! Been wanting to start hitting the track again, it's such a great workout. Went to the local basic training loop for some quarters, one of the staples of my running diet back when I was fast at the short distances. Did six decent quarters - in order, ran 84, 83, 80, 80, 79, and 76. Would liked to have been a bit more consistent, but it's been a while since I've run on the track. And considering my goal was to average somewhere around 90 seconds, I'm not too disappointed. Felt I could've done a few more laps, but didn't want to risk anything. Also did a 1.5 mile warm up and 1.5 mile cool down.

Time - 60:00
Distance - 6.0 miles
Challenge - 312.5 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 84.3 miles

Texas run #23

Just a nice, easy workout to begin breaking in the new shoes. Once again, plugged in the iPod (it was all String Cheese Incident today) and ran around Lackland, watching the new airman get yelled at by their drill sergeants. Making a conscious effort to pick up the pace on my slow runs, think my trailrunning has caused my roadrunning to suffer way too much.

Time - 55:09
Distance - 6.5 miles
Challenge - 306.5 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 90.3 miles

new shoes

Didn't take long to realize that my Asics trailrunners weren't going to be able to handle the rigors of Bandera, so I decided to go back to a brand that has done me very well in the past. After being horribly disappointed with the staff at RunTex, I hit up the downtown REI for a pair of Vasque Blur, which luckily were on sale. The shoes seem to be a lot like the Velocity, so I'm sure I'll have no problem putting the miles onto these.

the next Kimchi challenge?

Never too early to start planning. I thought the Platte Road Challenge was a great time, but there has been talk of having the next Challenge down Fillmore Road, which in true Kimchi fashion wouldn't end on Fillmore Road, but Nevada Ave. What are the thoughts of the pack?

Also gonna continue on the Manitou Challenge, which will be held on July 13th, and consist of the Barr Trail Mountain Race followed by the pub crawl down Manitou Avenue. Finisher awards will again be given out, and there even might be a few more surprises thrown in...

what a weekend...

Jeez-louise, I sure put a pounding on my liver this weekend. From the BRC on Friday, a tour de Austin and the Gourds on Saturday, I may need to take some time off, like at least 'till Monday.

Gagger's BRC pics can be seen here. Her Gourds pics can be seen here.

Good times!

triple century mark...

FYI, the BRC stop at Ginny's Little Longhorn will mark the 300th mile I've run since coming to Texas. So everyone buy me a can of Schlitz to celebrate!

texas run #22

Almost bailed on this run today as it was a LONG day at the firing range, but wanted to get one last run in to loosen up for the BRC. Real easy run, with a couple of sprints up some short hills thrown in for good measure.

Time - 60:24
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 295 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 87.3 miles

texas run #21

Real good run today. Went pretty hard for the first half hour, much faster than usual. For the second half, I did repeats of three minutes hard, three minutes easy. Ended up doing four repeats, and I gander I was pretty close to half a mile for all of 'em. Need to add one or two quality workouts to my weekday schedule, this was a good start to that. Should also give me some confidence should the BRC come down to a spring finish, I don't see anyone in the field who could hang with me if that circumstance arises. Though, as per my usual drinking strategy, I plan to lead from the front and not let anyone get close to me...

Time - 62:47
Distance - 8.0 miles
Challenge - 288 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 94.3 miles

how's it goin', eisenhower?

Shot 38 out of 40 at the M-4 range today, earning the title of "expert" and, believe it or not, getting my very first ribbon for my Air Force dress blues uniform. It's only the second time I've ever shot expert in 7+ years in the military. I guess I thrive when awards are on the line, as the last time I shot that well was during EIB testing.

new ultra blogs

Two new CRUD blogs to report. While I can honestly say I've ran with both these guys before, it was never for very long. Though I did whoop Paul's ass at Leadville this past year.

Paul D

Tony

smut, are you missing something?

tour de fat

Woohoo! Not only will I get to do a short run at the Combat Medic 10K on October 20, but I'll have pleanty of time to get up to Austin to do the Tour de Fat! And the Asylum Street Spankers are playing there too!

"Yellow Ribbon"

Pitt/Navy on ESPN!

Hell yeah! Sure wish I were back in Colorado to talk some smack, since most of the Kimchi hash is either navy or semen lovers (actually, most are both). Anywho, the game is on ESPN this Wed night. My prediction: Pitt - 69, Navy - 2.

what a weekend!

Sure made the most of my three day Columbus weekend! Friday after work it was off to join the Rogues for their Bandera weekend. Joe obtained the use of a cabin, which I assumed was some tiny shack in the middle of the woods. Turns out the cabin was some multi-million dollar hunting lodge, a great place to crash. Did 30 miles at Bandera on Saturday, then went to the Bandera Saloon to watch UT get beat. While sitting in the bar, some guy came in with a baby buffalo on a leash. Typical Bandera Saturday afternoon, I guess. Ran another ten miles on Sunday morning at Lost Maples, what an awesome trail that was! Wasn't able to get back to Austin in time to hash, but I joined them at the circle and proceeded to get super drunk with them at the Hideout. Even puked in Gagger's underwear drawer, can't wait 'till she finds that mess. Monday it was a nice, easy, super slow trail run with Lulu at Walnut Creek park followed by lunch at the Crown. Good times!

let's go pens!

Woohoo! USA Today picked the Pittsburgh Penguins to win the Stanley Cup this season!

tejas run #17

Been having some ankle problems lately, so I decided to take it easy today and rest tomorrow before the big distance weekend coming up. Believe it or not, I think the problem stems from some kind of insect bite and not from a running injury. But if I am reduced to one leg, the challenge might actually get somewhat exciting, though I'd still win.

Time - 41:37
Distance - 5.0 miles
Challenge - 231 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 106.8 miles

columbus day

We have a three day weekend coming up, so after my trail runs at Bandera (40 miles) and Lost Maples (10 or 20 miles) I plan to have an epic drunkard hash Sunday in Austin. Thanks to Gagger for offering to drive!

Texas run #16

Felt good today, so went a bit longer. Using the iPod definitely takes some of the sting out of running around Lackland all the time. But truth be told, I have a good route that passes all the old bombers and fighters they have on base, and then cuts through AF basic training country, it's actually a pretty decent course.

Time - 90:33
Distance - 11.0 miles
Challenge - 226 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 97.8 miles

quote of the day

"I drink a fair amount of beer and I think it helps with recovery. The night before Western States I had four beers, and then at [the finish line] I pretty much emptied Graham Cooper's cooler of Foster's because he beat me."

-Andy Jones-Wilkins, 39, of Ketchum, Idaho, on his fourth-place finish at the 2007 Western States 100

Texas run #15

Just another jaunt around Lackland, exploring some new sections of the base. Good hour run, followed by another hour at the gym. Had a bit of a stiff achillies at the start, which scared me, but it went away once I got warmed up.

Time - 60:01
Distance - 7.0 miles
Challenge - 215 miles
Distance behind Lulu - 78.8 miles

new marathon world record

Haile Gebrselassie won the Berlin Marathon over the weekend, running a world record 2:04:26. That's averaging 4:44 per mile.

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!