happy b-day!

If any of yunz run into the lovely and talented Social Retard today, be sure to buy her a beer and wish her a happy 31st birthday!

seven years of college down the drain...

So I've been chasin' this chick around recently, and she wasn't giving me the time of day. Then she finds out that not only am I Colorado's biggest Pitt fan, but I actually graduated from that fine university. Now all the sudden I'm OK in her book. Which is quite funny, because I was a lot wilder back in my colledge days (DNA can attest to that) and I probably lost more brain power due to drinking than any educational benefits I got from my five years in school (four at Pitt and one at Temple).

Anyways, my uncle sent me a bunch of those motivational pics you've been seeing on my blog, and this one reminded me of my days at Pitt.

mug update

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run #38 - return to Quinn's

Was able to welch out of work a bit early and got to Quinn's in pleanty of time. Decided to leave early to get a few extra miles in. Great run under the full moon. Even behaved myself after the run, having only two beers. A fact I celebrated by heading over to the Finish Line for two more beers, which happened to be pitcher sized!

Start time: 5:45 PM
Distance: 5.75 miles - Fountain Creek out and back
Time: 45:19
Pace: 7:52 per mile
Weather: 20F, chilly but clear

for all the Lakers fans...

bad back

So all brokeback jokes aside, I somehow managed to screw up my lower back. I feel really old, like Lulu. I think I either A) messed it up in my fall on Sat, and didn't notice it due to the pain in my knee; B) twisted it at the gym last night; or C) slept on it wrong last night. I didn't notice it on my run this morning but sheesh, it's killing me at work.

So any of you athletes out there ever have lower back trouble? What did you do for it?

Aim High!

run #37

Really didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but I had to get in an extra workout to justify Quinn's tonight. Kept up a decent pace and no problems from the knee.

Start time: 5:15AM
Distance: 4.3 miles - Knob Hill short
Time: 32:46
Pace: 7:37 per mile
Weather: 13F, "feels like" 2F; partly cloudy; I really wish winter would end

Thurs night track workout

For the folks involved in Jack Quinn's, rumors are now flying that there will be a breakoff group to train for the Chicago marathon in October. The group will still do the Tues night thing, but there will be more workouts during the week as well. I plan on training with the group for quality workouts, even though I won't be running Chi-town.

So I took the opportunity to start a Thurs evening track workout group. First meeting will be this Thursday, 6PM, at the Colorado College track. All are welcome. No set workout, though Josh and I are gonna churn out 6 x 800 meters with one lap rest in between. I'm gonna try to average sub 3:10 for all of 'em, but it's been a LONG time since I've been on a track so it might take a bit for me to figure out pacing again.

Of course, just as important as the killer workout is carbohydrate replinishment, and as all of yunz should know Tony's is just down the street from the CC track...

Rumson rocks!

The following quote is from this month's TrailRunner magazine. It is taken from the disclaimer for the Rumson H3's Freezing Cold Hash Run on January 6, 2007, in Edison, New Jersey:

"Be cautious - this is woods running - not a nice road with course marshalls. Potential exciting dangers if you go off trail are: getting bitten by starving animals, exploding gas pipelines, 29,000 volts of electricity, wind burn, running into tree branches and poking eyes out, sticker bushes, crawling under barbed wire, sliding down mud cliffs, slipping on ice or snow and breaking bones, encountering swamp gas or frozen rats."

run #36

Ended up 11th out of 83 finishers at the winter series eight miler. Had a bunch of Air Force Academy guys there, and I whooped 'em all, as well as a ton of high school cross country runners. Pretty happy with my race, especially the huge negative split I pulled off. Knee is still a bit sore from the fall but I don't think it's anything serious.

Start time: 10:15AM

Distance: 8.0 miles - south Fountain Creek

Time: 54:44

Pace: 6:50 per mile

Weather: Cloudy, temps in the mid 20s with light snow showers, and light wind; icy trail

wounded knee

Here's a pic of my mangled knee from yesterday's race. Sure doesn't look as bad as it feels. Austinites wouldn't know, but it really, really hurts when you fall down on frozen dirt.

PPRR winter series

Just a quick note as I'm about off to the hash, but I had a pretty good run this morning. Eight miles along the Fountain Creek Trail. And despite the frigid temps, light snowfall, an epic wipeout during the first mile, and a halfway time of 28:45, I still managed to beat my goal of holding a sub-seven minute mile, finishing at 54:45.

I'll post a report, and even pics of my now-torn up and extremely painful left knee, later on. Good race though, hopefully it's foreshadowing the great effort all the Austin 3Mers are gonna have tomorrow!

CoTex

Major announcement over on the CoTex blog.

kimchi mugs

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future hash article

So I've been asked by el presidente of the Pikes Peak Road Runners to write an article about hashing for the upcoming PPRR newsletter. Gotta be a somewhat decent piece, as it'll be read by over 1000 runners. I got all shitty drunk last night, first at the P2H4 happy hour at the OT sports bar, and then at my new local hangout, the Finish Line Lounge, where I wrote out a basic outline for the story. Looking at the outline now, while sober, it's quite funny and almost on par with the "Kimchi manifesto" I once wrote while at $3 pitcher night at the Knob Hill Lounge.

Anywho, what are some of the aspects of hashing I should include in the article?

run #35

I actually got into trouble at work for working too many hours, so sadly I agreed that I would start going into the office later in the morning. Good stuff, now I can get my runs in during the morning, which opens my evenings up for more drinking! On a bad note, my garmin stopped working halfway through this run, sure hope there's a warranty on it.

Start time: 6:30AM
Distance: 5.5 miles - Rebekah's loop
Time: 44:00 (guessing, as my watch froze up at 5:29)
Pace: 8:00 per mile
Weather: 28F, still a bit icy in spots but a good morning for a run

62 and counting...

Fell a bit short of my goal, but all in all 62 new pubs in my first year in COS ain't too shabby. Figure I've been to about 20% of the bars in the city now. If you count the mountain towns of Leadville, Alma, Fairplay, and Durango, the count is well over 70 bars. Here's the list of COS drinking joints I've been to in the last year, most more than once:

Ancient Mariner
Arctic Brewery
Back East Bar & Grill
Bambino's
Baracuda Bob's
Benny's
Bernie's Lounge
Bijou Bar and Grill
Bristol Brewing Company
Bull McCabe's
Caddyshack Lounge
Calamity Jan's
El Dorado Lounge
Erin Inn
Finish Line Lounge
Il Vicino
Irish House IV
Jack Quinn's
Jim's Neighborhood Lounge
Jose Muldoon's
Judge Baldwin's
Keg
Kelly O'Briens
Kinfolk's
Knob Hill Lounge
Meadow Muffin's
Mission Inn
Murphy's
Murray St. Darts
Navajo Hogan
Old Chicago's
Old Mill Tavern
Old School Tavern
Oscar's
Overtime
Penalty Box Lounge
Phantom Canyon Brewery
Pine Top Lounge
Putting Green Lounge
Red Rock Lounge
Robin Hood
Rondeveux
Rumbay
Sam's - The World's Smallest Bar
Sharky's
Shot's
Skybox Lounge
Southside Johnny's
Squatting Chicken
Thirsty Parrot
Thunder & Buttons
Time Out Lounge
Tony's
Townhouse Lounge
Triple Nickel
Union Station
V-Bar
Vue
Wagon Wheel
Walkabout
Wayfarer
Yukon Tavern

run #34 - CRC happy hour

Beautiful evening for a run, even had a hint of sunlight for the first mile or so, a first for a post-work run this winter. Days are finally getting longer! Warm temps today (got all the way up to the mid-40's!) made for a muddy trail but it was a good time. Finished the run with some volunteering for the Pikes Peak Road Runners, putting together the monthly newsletter.

Start time: 5:20PM
Distance: 7.4 miles - CRC along Fountain Creek to the Zeb Pike skate park and back
Time: 61:14
Pace: 8:16 per mile
Weather: 28F, "feels like" 21F; one of the better CO nights in a while

mug update

Heard from the mug company today, and they'll gladly do the mugs. If ten or more are ordered, the cost will be $24 per mug, plus probably $3-ish per mug for shipping and handling. Twenty or more mugs and the price would drop down to $22 per mug. I'll post to the hash lists tomorrow and set a deadline for cash, at least a month away.