Some of us will be enjoying a pre-NYE feast at Plucker's (183 and Burnet) tonight for the Pitt/Wisconsin hoops game. Game is at 5PM, I will get there as soon as possible after the Hill Country hash. Wear your blue and gold!
HAIL TO PITT
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
quote of the year!
Wow, looks like GW actually did something worthwhile this year. I will never misunderestimate him again!
quote
quote
Hill Country
Anyone up for a caravan to the Hill Country hash tomorrow? Davey is haring! Social Ralphtard is in, we'll probably leave around 10AM. Will return in time for NYE festivities.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
paid unemployment
Well, just enjoyin' another late rise here on day #2 of joblessness.
The sadness of deciding to leave Austin is slowly starting to be overtaken by the joy of what lies ahead in Colorado Springs. I'm still nervous though, knowing that the main reason I'm making this move is for the adventures of the Rocky Mountains. I'm in a position where I'm able to pack everything I own into my jeep and skip town, so I figured, "why the hell not."
Got a call today from the Texas Attorney General's office, they want me to come in and interview for some kind of child support position. I got a new Jerry Garcia tie for x-mas that I haven't used, so I'll probably do the interview, at least for some practice. I think it's similiar to the stuff I was doing for the BNE, so I wouldn't take the job even if it were offered.
But now, I think I'm gonna have a cold beer and head out to the Greenbelt. Hope all you saps are having fun at work!
The sadness of deciding to leave Austin is slowly starting to be overtaken by the joy of what lies ahead in Colorado Springs. I'm still nervous though, knowing that the main reason I'm making this move is for the adventures of the Rocky Mountains. I'm in a position where I'm able to pack everything I own into my jeep and skip town, so I figured, "why the hell not."
Got a call today from the Texas Attorney General's office, they want me to come in and interview for some kind of child support position. I got a new Jerry Garcia tie for x-mas that I haven't used, so I'll probably do the interview, at least for some practice. I think it's similiar to the stuff I was doing for the BNE, so I wouldn't take the job even if it were offered.
But now, I think I'm gonna have a cold beer and head out to the Greenbelt. Hope all you saps are having fun at work!
support the troops
One of my better friends from my Army days is currently in Kuwait, waiting to cross the border into Iraq. Brown was in my squad almost the entire time I was over there. He's working on his second combat tour, so if anyone is bored drop the guy a post card.
SGT Benjamin Brown
HHD 1STB 1BCT 4 I.D.
UNIT# 50001
APO AE 09378-0001
SGT Benjamin Brown
HHD 1STB 1BCT 4 I.D.
UNIT# 50001
APO AE 09378-0001
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Happy Hour
I will be at the Draught Hourse around 5:30PM if anyone wants to join me. Yes, I know this is the second time in a row I'm stepping on the toes of the AH3FMRH3 happy hour, but I could give a shit less about Round Rock faux-bars right now.
I am officially unemployed. I turned in my letter of resignation this morning, saying I would work 'till January 11th. My boss returned shortly and said, "if you leave right now we'll pay you through the 11th." Ten minutes later I was at the bus stop, arms full of all the personal stuff from my office.
Was feeling pretty bummed about the whole deal, but as my bus was passing through campus I saw a big scene, and a bunch of cop cars were around, and I caught a glimpse of someone handcuffed and being put into the back of a pigmobile. And I thought to myself, "things could be a lot worse...."
Anyways, possible happy hour at the Draught Hourse tonight. Right now I'm off to enjoy the Greenbelt trails.
Was feeling pretty bummed about the whole deal, but as my bus was passing through campus I saw a big scene, and a bunch of cop cars were around, and I caught a glimpse of someone handcuffed and being put into the back of a pigmobile. And I thought to myself, "things could be a lot worse...."
Anyways, possible happy hour at the Draught Hourse tonight. Right now I'm off to enjoy the Greenbelt trails.
it's official...
I have informed my boss that she will be receiving a letter of resignation today, my last day with the BNE will be January 11th.
Monday, December 26, 2005
bye bye brownie...
Barring any last minute change of heart, I will be submitting my two week notice tomorrow. I've received a job offer from Colorado and will be moving shortly. I kinda always figured I'd end up in Colorado someday, I love the mountains. Didn't think it would be this soon, but the chance to have Pikes Peak in my backyard was too good to pass up.
More info later. I will certainly miss all the great people I've come to know in Austin. Some of you have helped me out, both recently and during my Army days, more than I can ever possibly hope to repay.
More info later. I will certainly miss all the great people I've come to know in Austin. Some of you have helped me out, both recently and during my Army days, more than I can ever possibly hope to repay.
El Paso Blog Party!
My sis, Beggin' For It, co-founder of the Lehigh Valley H3 and new hash blogger, is contemplating a trip to El Paso for the TexMex weekend. Everyone go to her blog and tell her to go. Click the "jes" link on the sidebar for the address.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Monte tonight!
Looks like we'll have a fun crowd for the Monte show tonight. AH3, SAH3, and Hill Country H3 all representing! Call if you want info on showtimes and prelubes (Barfly!).
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
At least someone is doing it...
Usually not much need to read the metro & state section of the Austin American-Statesman, as we've had several hash scribes in the past few years who are better writers than John Kelso, but there was a great quote on the front page of that section today:
"Leave it to a guy from Pennsylvania to make Austin a little weirder."
"Leave it to a guy from Pennsylvania to make Austin a little weirder."
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Finally, a reason to go to H-town...
Got this message thru the Houston Pitt Club. Hopefully it will expand and come to Austin soon.
I am writing you to let you know that a few of my good friends just received their loan to start "Steel City Pizzeria." It is going to be a Pittsburgh Sports bar with Iron city on tap at all times and specializing in brick oven pizza. They will have a full pittsburgh themed menu and the place is going to be loaded with big screen tv's and Pittsburgh sports memorabilia. We hope that it will become the mecca for Steeler/Pitt/Pens/Pirates fans to gather for all games. It will truly feel like home. It is going to be located off of the Rayford/Sawdust exit near the Woodlands on Pruitt Road (off of the feeder road close to Papa's Ice House). I will keep you updated with an approximate grand opening date but look for it to open by spring. I was hoping you could pass this on to all of our members. We are very excited about seeing everyone there. Thank you so much.
Of course, I will keep everyone posted on this grand place!
I am writing you to let you know that a few of my good friends just received their loan to start "Steel City Pizzeria." It is going to be a Pittsburgh Sports bar with Iron city on tap at all times and specializing in brick oven pizza. They will have a full pittsburgh themed menu and the place is going to be loaded with big screen tv's and Pittsburgh sports memorabilia. We hope that it will become the mecca for Steeler/Pitt/Pens/Pirates fans to gather for all games. It will truly feel like home. It is going to be located off of the Rayford/Sawdust exit near the Woodlands on Pruitt Road (off of the feeder road close to Papa's Ice House). I will keep you updated with an approximate grand opening date but look for it to open by spring. I was hoping you could pass this on to all of our members. We are very excited about seeing everyone there. Thank you so much.
Of course, I will keep everyone posted on this grand place!
El Paso or bust!
OK yunz wankers, figured we'd done enough talking about TexMex flights, it was time to order 'em. Here are my flights:
Depart Austin on Jan 12 (Thurs), 11:45AM, flight 304. Arrive El Paso at 12:20PM.
Depart El Paso on Jan 16 (Mon), 2:15PM, flight 1881. Arrive Austin at 5:55PM.
I plan on having no recollection of anything between Thurs at 11:45AM and Monday at 5:55PM!
Anyone else from Austin gonna do the Asshole trail? Haha, I ask that even though I know the answer. Can't wait to hear the excuses for pussing out!
on-on to TexMex!
Depart Austin on Jan 12 (Thurs), 11:45AM, flight 304. Arrive El Paso at 12:20PM.
Depart El Paso on Jan 16 (Mon), 2:15PM, flight 1881. Arrive Austin at 5:55PM.
I plan on having no recollection of anything between Thurs at 11:45AM and Monday at 5:55PM!
Anyone else from Austin gonna do the Asshole trail? Haha, I ask that even though I know the answer. Can't wait to hear the excuses for pussing out!
on-on to TexMex!
Zane supper
Went to our little Zane Grey dinner party last night. Shan, Meredith, Paul, Pete, Melissa and myself in attendance. Shan, Meredith, and Paul have all bailed on Zane. We've also got Joe and TJ going though, so we still have a good group. And the quitters actually had good reason not to go, all dealing with other tough races in their schedule. I'm sure I'll still put in a ton of miles with all these folks in preparation for our various endeavors.
Finalized my race schedule, gonna be fun having more than just me heading to all these races. I'm pretty much done with all my long runs until Bandera. I was motivated enough to get up at 4AM this morning to hit the gym. Gonna re-dedicate myself to Gold's, kinda been slacking there lately. Want to hit the free weights two or three times a week in the morning, and head there on some of the evenings to hit the rowing machine, get ready for that adventure race. Plus, by going after work, I can call out Alexis and DBD for being posers.
Thanks to Melissa for cooking last night, my first real meal in some time.
Off to Walnut Creek for the weekly night ride/Mickey's happy hour. Hopefully the news ain't there tonight and the Thirsty Eye atmosphere is a little more laid back.
Finalized my race schedule, gonna be fun having more than just me heading to all these races. I'm pretty much done with all my long runs until Bandera. I was motivated enough to get up at 4AM this morning to hit the gym. Gonna re-dedicate myself to Gold's, kinda been slacking there lately. Want to hit the free weights two or three times a week in the morning, and head there on some of the evenings to hit the rowing machine, get ready for that adventure race. Plus, by going after work, I can call out Alexis and DBD for being posers.
Thanks to Melissa for cooking last night, my first real meal in some time.
Off to Walnut Creek for the weekly night ride/Mickey's happy hour. Hopefully the news ain't there tonight and the Thirsty Eye atmosphere is a little more laid back.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Adventure Race
Think Stayfree and I are gonna team up for another go at an adventure race. We did one before, out at Reimer's Ranch. We're a good team in that we're able to counter each other's weaknesses. He's a great rower and mountain biker, areas where I could improve, but I was able to run forever and get his directionally challenged ass through the navigation part. We ended up capitalizing on the mistakes of other teams and won the Reimer's race outright. Our next challenge:
Too Cool
January is shaping up to be a great month. My first attempt at 100K at Bandera and now the adventure race. Not to mention the TexMex weekend!
Too Cool
January is shaping up to be a great month. My first attempt at 100K at Bandera and now the adventure race. Not to mention the TexMex weekend!
Jingle Bell Ride
Didn't wake up 'till 1:30PM on Saturday, due to the effects of the previous night's hashmas party. Felt like hell too, but I was still able to drag my ass down to the annual Jingle Bell Ride.
Met Nicole, Becky, and Tiffany down at the start. The JBR was fun. It's more of a parade than a ride. I like seeing all the different kinds of bikes. High end mountain and road bikes, cruisers, dirt, tandem, frankenbikes, folding, unicycles, roller blades, all kindsa goofy stuff. I was on my mountain bike, but I kinda wish I had rode my BMX. The start was super congested, and I did more walking than riding, but once we got onto Barton Springs things were fine.
Doing the trail of lights on two wheeles was fun. It's the most Christmas-ish thing I'll do all year.
From the trial of lights we went down to Austin High, took Cesar Chaves down to Congress Ave, and then went up for a loop around the capitol. It was a cool sight, all those bikes on Congress Ave.
After the ride it was off to bed. Very lame Sunday for me, at least I got out to do one worthwile thing.
Met Nicole, Becky, and Tiffany down at the start. The JBR was fun. It's more of a parade than a ride. I like seeing all the different kinds of bikes. High end mountain and road bikes, cruisers, dirt, tandem, frankenbikes, folding, unicycles, roller blades, all kindsa goofy stuff. I was on my mountain bike, but I kinda wish I had rode my BMX. The start was super congested, and I did more walking than riding, but once we got onto Barton Springs things were fine.
Doing the trail of lights on two wheeles was fun. It's the most Christmas-ish thing I'll do all year.
From the trial of lights we went down to Austin High, took Cesar Chaves down to Congress Ave, and then went up for a loop around the capitol. It was a cool sight, all those bikes on Congress Ave.
After the ride it was off to bed. Very lame Sunday for me, at least I got out to do one worthwile thing.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Camping
From Gov't Canyon it was off to Bandera to set up camp. I love when camping is part of a trail running weekend, it just seems to add more to the experience. A lot of my buddies get hotel rooms during these weekends, but I would never consider that.
Of course, you should have asked me my opinion about hotels around 2AM, when I was freezing my ass off in my tent! But anyways...
I arrived and set up camp just in time, as the campfire was just getting hot. Steve, Carrie, Corey, Dano, and I just chilled around the fire, shooting the shit. Steve whipped up some spaghetti, and of course I had brought some yummy PBR. We sat around the fire for several hours, talking about anything and everything. Alternative training methods, pot brownies, the Runtex forum, the Dirty Sanchez, garage sales, I think we covered just about everything in our bullshit session. It was warm around the fire, but we were all afraid to leave since we knew how cold it was over at the tents.
The coldest (non-military, anyways) I've ever been was out at Bandera, the night before the 25K last January. I had someone with me that night, and I wasn't sure I was gonna make it. This weekend was a close second. Damn, it was cold. My sleeping bag is rated down to -4F, which must mean it will keep you alive but certainly not comfortable. I was so cold I couldn't fall asleep. Decided that I'm definitely borrowing Ann's van for the 100K!
Eventually, the night passed and it was soon time to get up. Packed up camp and drove over the the equestrian area to begin the run.
Of course, you should have asked me my opinion about hotels around 2AM, when I was freezing my ass off in my tent! But anyways...
I arrived and set up camp just in time, as the campfire was just getting hot. Steve, Carrie, Corey, Dano, and I just chilled around the fire, shooting the shit. Steve whipped up some spaghetti, and of course I had brought some yummy PBR. We sat around the fire for several hours, talking about anything and everything. Alternative training methods, pot brownies, the Runtex forum, the Dirty Sanchez, garage sales, I think we covered just about everything in our bullshit session. It was warm around the fire, but we were all afraid to leave since we knew how cold it was over at the tents.
The coldest (non-military, anyways) I've ever been was out at Bandera, the night before the 25K last January. I had someone with me that night, and I wasn't sure I was gonna make it. This weekend was a close second. Damn, it was cold. My sleeping bag is rated down to -4F, which must mean it will keep you alive but certainly not comfortable. I was so cold I couldn't fall asleep. Decided that I'm definitely borrowing Ann's van for the 100K!
Eventually, the night passed and it was soon time to get up. Packed up camp and drove over the the equestrian area to begin the run.
Government Canyon
Cough, cough. It's Friday, better call in sick! Too sick for work, but certainly not too sick for the Rogue Holiday Hill Country Trail Tour!
Off to Gov't Canyon (not to be confused with Gov't Mule, one of the best rock and roll bands in the world!), the brand spankin' new state park down in San Antonio. My plan was to get in one good last back-to-back workout before Bandera.
Had a small but fun crew joining me. Steve, Carrie, and Corey were at Runtex for the caravan, and Dano was gonna meet us down there. Weather was gonna be perfect for running. Chilly and cloudy, but luckily the rain held off!
Gov't Canyon is slightly less than a two hour drive from downtown Austin. Well worth it. I was able to get a good 3.5 hour run in, and I saw less than half the park. It reminded me a lot of Austin's Brightleaf State Natural Area, but much bigger. And without the rush of jumping fences and trespassing.
From the trailhead, my first loop went out the Far Reaches trail. Beautiful trail, and at two points (Chula Vista and Sotol Overlook) the shiggy opens up and you get a great glimpse of the San Antonio skyline way off in the distance.
Decided to complete my first loop by coming down the Sendero Balcones trail. This was pretty cool. Very technical downhill. I hate running downhill, but once my Pikes training ramps up I'm sure I'll be back down to do this trail the opposite way, over and over and over again.
That first loop took me just over an hour. Grab a Clif bar, refill the water bottles, and I'm off again.
Jumped on the Joe Johnson Route, a jeep road. Took that up to Wildcat Canyon. WC was a lot of fun too. Nothing like running new trails, but I must say I will be returning to this park very soon.
From WC I went up and returned via the Twin Oaks trail. Another beautiful, somewhat technical trail. Next time, I'm gonna carry a beer back there to drink at the Twin Oaks tree.
Hadn't been drinking much water due to the cool temps, so without the need to refill I was able to take in a bit more of the park than I had planned. Decided to head north and check out the Overlook trail. Another awesome trail, and this also had a beautiful view of the park. After chillin' here for a bit, it was back to Joe Johnson to get my thirsty ass back to the trailhead.
Had planned to go back out and see more of Gov't Canyon, but the park has a 4PM cutoff time and the park ranger there was watching me. He allowed me to go check out some of the Frontcountry, but that's the part of the park set up for fat people and it was more like town lake (minus the UT babes) than a state park. Ended up getting 3.5 hours in and I called it a day.
Off to Gov't Canyon (not to be confused with Gov't Mule, one of the best rock and roll bands in the world!), the brand spankin' new state park down in San Antonio. My plan was to get in one good last back-to-back workout before Bandera.
Had a small but fun crew joining me. Steve, Carrie, and Corey were at Runtex for the caravan, and Dano was gonna meet us down there. Weather was gonna be perfect for running. Chilly and cloudy, but luckily the rain held off!
Gov't Canyon is slightly less than a two hour drive from downtown Austin. Well worth it. I was able to get a good 3.5 hour run in, and I saw less than half the park. It reminded me a lot of Austin's Brightleaf State Natural Area, but much bigger. And without the rush of jumping fences and trespassing.
From the trailhead, my first loop went out the Far Reaches trail. Beautiful trail, and at two points (Chula Vista and Sotol Overlook) the shiggy opens up and you get a great glimpse of the San Antonio skyline way off in the distance.
Decided to complete my first loop by coming down the Sendero Balcones trail. This was pretty cool. Very technical downhill. I hate running downhill, but once my Pikes training ramps up I'm sure I'll be back down to do this trail the opposite way, over and over and over again.
That first loop took me just over an hour. Grab a Clif bar, refill the water bottles, and I'm off again.
Jumped on the Joe Johnson Route, a jeep road. Took that up to Wildcat Canyon. WC was a lot of fun too. Nothing like running new trails, but I must say I will be returning to this park very soon.
From WC I went up and returned via the Twin Oaks trail. Another beautiful, somewhat technical trail. Next time, I'm gonna carry a beer back there to drink at the Twin Oaks tree.
Hadn't been drinking much water due to the cool temps, so without the need to refill I was able to take in a bit more of the park than I had planned. Decided to head north and check out the Overlook trail. Another awesome trail, and this also had a beautiful view of the park. After chillin' here for a bit, it was back to Joe Johnson to get my thirsty ass back to the trailhead.
Had planned to go back out and see more of Gov't Canyon, but the park has a 4PM cutoff time and the park ranger there was watching me. He allowed me to go check out some of the Frontcountry, but that's the part of the park set up for fat people and it was more like town lake (minus the UT babes) than a state park. Ended up getting 3.5 hours in and I called it a day.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Monte - Live at Workplay
FINALLY got the new Monte CD yesterday. Been listening to it at work today. It sounds pretty good. Doesn't seem to have quite the energy at his previous "Live at the Caravan of Dreams" CD, but that's probably because I'm listening to it on my rinky-dinky work computer. There are quite a few songs I love during his shows that I haven't been able to get on disc, like the alternate version of "1st and Repair," "Let's Go," and "Bringing Me Down." Good version of "Wishing Well" too. Has a few of his slow, boring, love songs on it, I could do without those. Monte should put out an album called "Depressing Love Songs that Losers Who Are Always Whining About Not Having A Girlfriend (Like DOF) Will Listen To," then put out more rockin' live albums for folks like me who are all about ROWYCO tunes. Also, the CD could have used a long version of "When Will I" to push it over the top. But all in all a pretty good effort, and I'm sure my opinion will improve when I listen to it with a bit more volume.
If anyone wants a copy, say something nice about me on my blog and buy me a beer and maybe I'll burn it for you.
Looking at seeing Monte on Dec 23rd at Antone's. This is his annual Christmas party, even though it's not actually on x-mas this year, which sucks.
Also gonna try to catch the Asylum Street Spankers at the Saxon on Dec 28th.
And, of course, the Scabs are at Antone's on the 30th! Ain't no party like a Scabs party!
If anyone wants a copy, say something nice about me on my blog and buy me a beer and maybe I'll burn it for you.
Looking at seeing Monte on Dec 23rd at Antone's. This is his annual Christmas party, even though it's not actually on x-mas this year, which sucks.
Also gonna try to catch the Asylum Street Spankers at the Saxon on Dec 28th.
And, of course, the Scabs are at Antone's on the 30th! Ain't no party like a Scabs party!
FYI
Got the following e-mail from my boss, who is a buddy to quite a few law enforcement folks. Just throwing it out there as a warning.
FYI:We got briefed last night that the TCSO Sheriff and all the local municipalities are changing their policies for the holiday season - especially APD. APD will now run a '4 miles over' speed limit policy - which means if you are more than 4 over, they WILL stop you! The entire area is also participating in a'0 tolerance' policy for DWI's - if you are over .08 or visually impaired, you will be hooked and booked. This policy starts this weekend and will extend through the beginning of the new year.Be careful this holiday season! They will be out hunting. If you're drinking, be smart and figure out an alternate way of getting around town, or have a designated driver!
FYI:We got briefed last night that the TCSO Sheriff and all the local municipalities are changing their policies for the holiday season - especially APD. APD will now run a '4 miles over' speed limit policy - which means if you are more than 4 over, they WILL stop you! The entire area is also participating in a'0 tolerance' policy for DWI's - if you are over .08 or visually impaired, you will be hooked and booked. This policy starts this weekend and will extend through the beginning of the new year.Be careful this holiday season! They will be out hunting. If you're drinking, be smart and figure out an alternate way of getting around town, or have a designated driver!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Ivy Division
Special anniversary today, it was exactly two years ago that folks from the 4th Infantry Division caputred Saddam Hussein. I was involved in a pretty heavy firefight that night, though it was in Bayji, well away from the real action south of Tikrit where the ace of spades was finally caught.
Kind of bittersweet, since my old division is currently deploying back to Iraq. Had I stayed in or been hit with stop-loss I'd be in Baghdad right now. I still have several buddies in the 4ID, and I wish them the best of luck in their shitty situation.
Kind of bittersweet, since my old division is currently deploying back to Iraq. Had I stayed in or been hit with stop-loss I'd be in Baghdad right now. I still have several buddies in the 4ID, and I wish them the best of luck in their shitty situation.
Night workout/H.A.W.K. Happy Hour
Tuesday! Tuesday! Tuesday!
Anyone up for a night frolic through Walnut Creek Park? You know that place. We hash through there every four or five months, and every hasher always bitches, "we always hash through Walnut Creek, it's boring." Most hashers who say this never leave their couch save for Sunday, but I digress...
Anyways, bring a flashlight. Troy and I are gonna start our ride around 6:30. Ride for an hour, then do a 20 minute run. All are welcome to join me on the bike and/or run.
And bring some clothes to change in to. Post workout refreshment will be at Mickey's Thirsty Eye! Mickey's is currently involved in a lawsuit dealing with the smoking ban, so come out and help them pay their legal bills! As of last week they were still allowing smoking here, so if you're some nancy who is gonna bitch and whine and cry about it and threaten to call 911 and moan about your right to breath clean air, then you are not a member of H.A.W.K. and you are not invited. Stay home and wipe the sand out of your pussy.
So who is in?
Anyone up for a night frolic through Walnut Creek Park? You know that place. We hash through there every four or five months, and every hasher always bitches, "we always hash through Walnut Creek, it's boring." Most hashers who say this never leave their couch save for Sunday, but I digress...
Anyways, bring a flashlight. Troy and I are gonna start our ride around 6:30. Ride for an hour, then do a 20 minute run. All are welcome to join me on the bike and/or run.
And bring some clothes to change in to. Post workout refreshment will be at Mickey's Thirsty Eye! Mickey's is currently involved in a lawsuit dealing with the smoking ban, so come out and help them pay their legal bills! As of last week they were still allowing smoking here, so if you're some nancy who is gonna bitch and whine and cry about it and threaten to call 911 and moan about your right to breath clean air, then you are not a member of H.A.W.K. and you are not invited. Stay home and wipe the sand out of your pussy.
So who is in?
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Sunmart!
Once again, off to Huntsville State Park for another ultra run. Had done two races here already, my first 50K (Hog's Hunt) and my PR 50K (Rocky Raccoon), but Sunmart was going to be a test on another level.
Rented a shelter from the park, and good luck gave Dan and I a campsite less than 100 meters from the start of the race. We actually set up tents inside of the shelter, so despite the low temps we were able to keep somewhat warm and grab a decent nights sleep on Friday.
Up at 5AM Sat morning, well before my alarm was set to go off due to nervous energy. Race didn't start 'till 7AM. Oh well, gave me plenty of time go grab a good caffeine buzz. Went over to help the Hill Country Trail Runners set up their site. Set up four large carport-tents, the club was gonna have a ton of people there.
Stood around for another hour drinking coffee, shooting the shit with all the other runners. Was trying to eat, but my appetite just wasn't there. I knew this was gonna cause problems later on, gotta get those calories in for these long runs.
7AM, immediately after the Star Spangled Banner, the race began. I tried not to think of how far I had to go, just wanted to take it one lap at a time. Race was four 12.5 mile laps.
First lap was fine. Huntsville State Park is beautiful and I love the trails, but they're not overly challenging. No hills, nothing too technical. As long as you don't trip over a root or get eaten by an alligator you're fine. I setteled into a comfortable pace with my friend Meredith, and we talked about just about everything. She recently got into Western States and is also part of the upcoming Austin Zane Grey adventure, so good on her. The pace was comfortable, and we hit the halfway aid station in just under an hour. Actually had a lot of fun that first lap, and we finished up in around 1:58. Perfect.
Made a quick pit stop at the HCTR tent. Refilled water bottles, pounded a Red Bull. Again, I tried to eat, but I was feeling a bit nauseous and was afraid I'd puke. I knew this was bad, but I was afraid of dehydration if I threw up so I continued on without food.
Meredith had gone out of the tent ahead of me, so I began the second lap alone. Didn't last long, as Sunmart is one of the biggest ultra events in the world (actually, "one of the biggest ultra events in the entire universe as far as we know," as my drunken Rogue pal Dan had told me a few nights earlier). Well over 200 people had signed up for the 50 miler. To put that in perspective, less than 10 people had signed up for the 44 miler at Warda a few weeks ago.
Anyways, I soon ran into old friends and made new ones. Everyone is super friendly out on the trails, at least for the first half of the race. Some of us get kinda grumpy after that.
I continue on. There's a shitty out and back jeep road portion of the course, which I hate but it is nice to see everyone. Meredith is running strong and is well ahead of me. On the return I see Kelly, Mark, Shan, Joe, TJ, Mike, all folks I've done significant miles with getting ready for this. Good to see them all running strong.
My future doom is increased as I blow through three straight aid stations without eating. I'm not feeling horrible but not feeling as good as I could either. I pass 1.5 loops in three hours, on a good pace but I can tell things are going to get tough.
About 1.75 loops in, we meet up with the 50Kers. Almost 500 are rego'd for this race, so things get a bit tight on the singletrack for a little. We go over my favorite part of the course, a long wooden plank-like bridge that hovers you just inches over a swamp. I know Choo Choo, from the Houston hash, is in the 50K, and I look for him to push him into the swamp. I also watch my back, 'cuz I know he'd do the same to me.
Blow through another aid station and hit the halfway point in 3:58. At the HCTR tent, I finally force some food down. A pickle, half a clif bar, and another can of Red Bull. I realize a crash is coming soon, and I decide to push the third lap to get as far along in the race as I can before I hit the wall.
I tear out of the tent. Still running strong, I do try to grab food at the aid stations to delay the inevitable. Fig newtons, gummy bears, bananas, pb&j, even cheetos. Taking salt tabs and migrane strength excedrin every hour. But I could feel my energy starting to sap away.
About 50K into the race I crashed. I kept running, though my pace was probably more like a fast walk. I just had nothing left. Started to get cramps in my legs, which I've had issues with before. Started tripping on roots due to not lifting my feet as much. It was a damp, chilly day, and I started to shiver. Still had six miles to go to be able to change, and almost 20 to go in the race, and I began to wonder if I could make it. It was weird, how quickly I went from good to bad.
Struggled it out to the tent. Got a minor boost from passing Pam Reed during my slog, a very accomplished ultrarunner who was obviously not having a good day (she would soon drop out). I also got to run a bit with Choo Choo, it was good to catch up with the H4. He was running strong in the 50K, and soon left me behind.
I hit the end of three laps in 6:10. I probably did the first half of the third lap 20 minutes faster than the second half. 37.5 miles down, 12.5 to go. I look like death in the tent. Several people would tell me later on that they thought I was going to drop out. Even Janice, who I have never heard say anything negative let alone swear, said, "jt, you really looked like shit out there." Thanks for all the support, guys!
I crashed into a chair by my cooler. Another Red Bull. Another half of a clif bar. I knew if I ate much more I'd puke on myself right there. This was about the worst I've ever felt physically. Upset stomach, shivering cold, cramping legs. I really thought about dropping out. Which meant, of course, it was time to break out the liquid courage.
I did a shot of jager at Warda more as a joke. Nobody thought I'd really do it. I would have finished regardless, I had a much better day out there. Here it was really up in the air. I took a huge swig from the bottle, probably two or three shots. And after giving the booze a few seconds to seep into my bloodstream, I immediately thought, "if I can just tough out this final lap in less than five hours, I can qualify for the Western States lottery."
I arise from my chair and head out. In my jager induced charge I decide to leave behind my water belt and just hand carry a bottle. Which is fine, except I now have no salt or excedrin.
I run just 'till the folks at the tent can't see me, and start walking. I start doing what was probably four minutes running/two minutes walking. I notice that what was a pancake flat course earlier this morning now has great Bandera-like hills. I'm on my run/walk struggle and I hit my least favorite part of the course, the out and back jeep road. Last time of the day. But this section just beats me down. I end up walking damn near the entire thing. I fake jog when I see Meredith and Shan coming by, don't want to look like a huge wus, but I bet I walked 90% of that two mile stretch.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the jeep road turns back into singletrack. I'm now stopping at every aid station, thanking the volunteers, telling them I'm having a really weird craving for doritos. Believe it or not, all the stations had some! Mmmmm...doritos!!!!!
I continue my death march. I'm almost to the halfway point of the final lap. People I passed over seven hours ago are now passing me, giving me encourgaing words but probably thinking, "damn rookies."
Coming into the halfway point aid station, I tell the volunteers, "I'm very grateful for what you've all done today, but I'm really, really, really glad I won't see you anymore." That's probably what everyone says to them, but they're still cheerful and offer me fresh doritos, gawd I love aid station volunteers!
I hang out for a while, and one of the volunteers says to me, "you're basically finished, it's more of a pain in the ass to drop out now than it is to just finish." I don't take her hint, so in a few more minutes another worker says, "Lovejoy's, you've been here long enough, move along."
I have to walk down the steep hill leaving the aid station, but the thought that I'm almost finished must release some adrenaline. After feeling like death for the better part of three hours, things start to improve. I start to skip my walking breaks. I actually pass a few people. I grow stronger with every step, knowing I'm getting a little closer to the finish and my cooler full of St. Arnold's. I'm actually sad going over the plank bridge for the final time, knowing it's gonna be a while 'till I cross it again. I probably would have cried had I not been so severely dehydrated.
Soon after the bridge I hit the eight hour mark. I think to myself, "self, that's an entire days work you just ran, and you're not finished yet."
Hit the final aid station of the day. Slam a few gatorades, thank the volunteers, and I'm off. Three miles to go. I'm actually doing quite well now, considering I've covered 47 miles of trail.
I'm able to run almost the entire final three miles, even pass a few more runners.
The final 200 meters of the course is a straight away lined with people. It's great, after having put forth such a monumental physical effort, to hear the roar of the crowd. Of course, as I'm stumbling in, I hear "Brownie is a wanker!" Roller Balls was the culprit this time, he was there cheering on Choo Choo but couldn't waste such a golden opportunity to rag me so he waited around.
The finish was somewhat anti-climactic, I was just so friggin' happy to finally be done that I didn't care about joining the 50 miler club. Finished in 8:47:22. My second half was almost an hour slower than my first half.
Things started looking up soon after I finished. Got to get my Sunmart blanket, now I don't have to be so jealous of my roommate who has one (I think he has two, I'll hafta go back next year). Even got a very pleasant surprise, as despite my horrible second half I still managed to grab third place in my age group and received a kick ass horse trophy for my efforts!
But the best part was in the HCTR tent afterwards, telling war stories with those who had already finished, and cheering on those who were just finishing their race. Drinking lots of beer the entire time! Both the club and the Rogue group had fantastic days!
Congrats to all who finished! TJ, Dan, Joe, Joyce, Gabe, Kelly, Meredith, Shan, I could go on and on and on. Thanks to Melissa for helping out with everything too, really appreciate that; she even managed to take a few pics. Here they are:
Sunmart
Next up for me is this weekend's Rogue Holiday Trail Tour to Government Canyon and Bandera, followed in early January by the Bandera 100K. Fun, fun, fun!
Rented a shelter from the park, and good luck gave Dan and I a campsite less than 100 meters from the start of the race. We actually set up tents inside of the shelter, so despite the low temps we were able to keep somewhat warm and grab a decent nights sleep on Friday.
Up at 5AM Sat morning, well before my alarm was set to go off due to nervous energy. Race didn't start 'till 7AM. Oh well, gave me plenty of time go grab a good caffeine buzz. Went over to help the Hill Country Trail Runners set up their site. Set up four large carport-tents, the club was gonna have a ton of people there.
Stood around for another hour drinking coffee, shooting the shit with all the other runners. Was trying to eat, but my appetite just wasn't there. I knew this was gonna cause problems later on, gotta get those calories in for these long runs.
7AM, immediately after the Star Spangled Banner, the race began. I tried not to think of how far I had to go, just wanted to take it one lap at a time. Race was four 12.5 mile laps.
First lap was fine. Huntsville State Park is beautiful and I love the trails, but they're not overly challenging. No hills, nothing too technical. As long as you don't trip over a root or get eaten by an alligator you're fine. I setteled into a comfortable pace with my friend Meredith, and we talked about just about everything. She recently got into Western States and is also part of the upcoming Austin Zane Grey adventure, so good on her. The pace was comfortable, and we hit the halfway aid station in just under an hour. Actually had a lot of fun that first lap, and we finished up in around 1:58. Perfect.
Made a quick pit stop at the HCTR tent. Refilled water bottles, pounded a Red Bull. Again, I tried to eat, but I was feeling a bit nauseous and was afraid I'd puke. I knew this was bad, but I was afraid of dehydration if I threw up so I continued on without food.
Meredith had gone out of the tent ahead of me, so I began the second lap alone. Didn't last long, as Sunmart is one of the biggest ultra events in the world (actually, "one of the biggest ultra events in the entire universe as far as we know," as my drunken Rogue pal Dan had told me a few nights earlier). Well over 200 people had signed up for the 50 miler. To put that in perspective, less than 10 people had signed up for the 44 miler at Warda a few weeks ago.
Anyways, I soon ran into old friends and made new ones. Everyone is super friendly out on the trails, at least for the first half of the race. Some of us get kinda grumpy after that.
I continue on. There's a shitty out and back jeep road portion of the course, which I hate but it is nice to see everyone. Meredith is running strong and is well ahead of me. On the return I see Kelly, Mark, Shan, Joe, TJ, Mike, all folks I've done significant miles with getting ready for this. Good to see them all running strong.
My future doom is increased as I blow through three straight aid stations without eating. I'm not feeling horrible but not feeling as good as I could either. I pass 1.5 loops in three hours, on a good pace but I can tell things are going to get tough.
About 1.75 loops in, we meet up with the 50Kers. Almost 500 are rego'd for this race, so things get a bit tight on the singletrack for a little. We go over my favorite part of the course, a long wooden plank-like bridge that hovers you just inches over a swamp. I know Choo Choo, from the Houston hash, is in the 50K, and I look for him to push him into the swamp. I also watch my back, 'cuz I know he'd do the same to me.
Blow through another aid station and hit the halfway point in 3:58. At the HCTR tent, I finally force some food down. A pickle, half a clif bar, and another can of Red Bull. I realize a crash is coming soon, and I decide to push the third lap to get as far along in the race as I can before I hit the wall.
I tear out of the tent. Still running strong, I do try to grab food at the aid stations to delay the inevitable. Fig newtons, gummy bears, bananas, pb&j, even cheetos. Taking salt tabs and migrane strength excedrin every hour. But I could feel my energy starting to sap away.
About 50K into the race I crashed. I kept running, though my pace was probably more like a fast walk. I just had nothing left. Started to get cramps in my legs, which I've had issues with before. Started tripping on roots due to not lifting my feet as much. It was a damp, chilly day, and I started to shiver. Still had six miles to go to be able to change, and almost 20 to go in the race, and I began to wonder if I could make it. It was weird, how quickly I went from good to bad.
Struggled it out to the tent. Got a minor boost from passing Pam Reed during my slog, a very accomplished ultrarunner who was obviously not having a good day (she would soon drop out). I also got to run a bit with Choo Choo, it was good to catch up with the H4. He was running strong in the 50K, and soon left me behind.
I hit the end of three laps in 6:10. I probably did the first half of the third lap 20 minutes faster than the second half. 37.5 miles down, 12.5 to go. I look like death in the tent. Several people would tell me later on that they thought I was going to drop out. Even Janice, who I have never heard say anything negative let alone swear, said, "jt, you really looked like shit out there." Thanks for all the support, guys!
I crashed into a chair by my cooler. Another Red Bull. Another half of a clif bar. I knew if I ate much more I'd puke on myself right there. This was about the worst I've ever felt physically. Upset stomach, shivering cold, cramping legs. I really thought about dropping out. Which meant, of course, it was time to break out the liquid courage.
I did a shot of jager at Warda more as a joke. Nobody thought I'd really do it. I would have finished regardless, I had a much better day out there. Here it was really up in the air. I took a huge swig from the bottle, probably two or three shots. And after giving the booze a few seconds to seep into my bloodstream, I immediately thought, "if I can just tough out this final lap in less than five hours, I can qualify for the Western States lottery."
I arise from my chair and head out. In my jager induced charge I decide to leave behind my water belt and just hand carry a bottle. Which is fine, except I now have no salt or excedrin.
I run just 'till the folks at the tent can't see me, and start walking. I start doing what was probably four minutes running/two minutes walking. I notice that what was a pancake flat course earlier this morning now has great Bandera-like hills. I'm on my run/walk struggle and I hit my least favorite part of the course, the out and back jeep road. Last time of the day. But this section just beats me down. I end up walking damn near the entire thing. I fake jog when I see Meredith and Shan coming by, don't want to look like a huge wus, but I bet I walked 90% of that two mile stretch.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the jeep road turns back into singletrack. I'm now stopping at every aid station, thanking the volunteers, telling them I'm having a really weird craving for doritos. Believe it or not, all the stations had some! Mmmmm...doritos!!!!!
I continue my death march. I'm almost to the halfway point of the final lap. People I passed over seven hours ago are now passing me, giving me encourgaing words but probably thinking, "damn rookies."
Coming into the halfway point aid station, I tell the volunteers, "I'm very grateful for what you've all done today, but I'm really, really, really glad I won't see you anymore." That's probably what everyone says to them, but they're still cheerful and offer me fresh doritos, gawd I love aid station volunteers!
I hang out for a while, and one of the volunteers says to me, "you're basically finished, it's more of a pain in the ass to drop out now than it is to just finish." I don't take her hint, so in a few more minutes another worker says, "Lovejoy's, you've been here long enough, move along."
I have to walk down the steep hill leaving the aid station, but the thought that I'm almost finished must release some adrenaline. After feeling like death for the better part of three hours, things start to improve. I start to skip my walking breaks. I actually pass a few people. I grow stronger with every step, knowing I'm getting a little closer to the finish and my cooler full of St. Arnold's. I'm actually sad going over the plank bridge for the final time, knowing it's gonna be a while 'till I cross it again. I probably would have cried had I not been so severely dehydrated.
Soon after the bridge I hit the eight hour mark. I think to myself, "self, that's an entire days work you just ran, and you're not finished yet."
Hit the final aid station of the day. Slam a few gatorades, thank the volunteers, and I'm off. Three miles to go. I'm actually doing quite well now, considering I've covered 47 miles of trail.
I'm able to run almost the entire final three miles, even pass a few more runners.
The final 200 meters of the course is a straight away lined with people. It's great, after having put forth such a monumental physical effort, to hear the roar of the crowd. Of course, as I'm stumbling in, I hear "Brownie is a wanker!" Roller Balls was the culprit this time, he was there cheering on Choo Choo but couldn't waste such a golden opportunity to rag me so he waited around.
The finish was somewhat anti-climactic, I was just so friggin' happy to finally be done that I didn't care about joining the 50 miler club. Finished in 8:47:22. My second half was almost an hour slower than my first half.
Things started looking up soon after I finished. Got to get my Sunmart blanket, now I don't have to be so jealous of my roommate who has one (I think he has two, I'll hafta go back next year). Even got a very pleasant surprise, as despite my horrible second half I still managed to grab third place in my age group and received a kick ass horse trophy for my efforts!
But the best part was in the HCTR tent afterwards, telling war stories with those who had already finished, and cheering on those who were just finishing their race. Drinking lots of beer the entire time! Both the club and the Rogue group had fantastic days!
Congrats to all who finished! TJ, Dan, Joe, Joyce, Gabe, Kelly, Meredith, Shan, I could go on and on and on. Thanks to Melissa for helping out with everything too, really appreciate that; she even managed to take a few pics. Here they are:
Sunmart
Next up for me is this weekend's Rogue Holiday Trail Tour to Government Canyon and Bandera, followed in early January by the Bandera 100K. Fun, fun, fun!
Friday, December 09, 2005
dirty du pics
A couple pics from the Dirty Du last weekend. Stupid Kreutz photography! I had a great ride, and the one pic they get of me on the bike is when I'm walking.
DDRHR
DDRHR
Thursday, December 08, 2005
sunmart strategy
Had the Sunmart strategy meeting/pizza party at Mangia's tonight. Had the stuffed pepperroni pizza, yum yum!
Anyways, I've decided to attempt to break eight hours on Saturday. It's a fairly lofty goal and I'll have to have a great race to do it, but I've been training hard and I do have a legitimate shot. And I figure if I can hold that pace for a few laps, even if I completely fall apart and have to walk the entire final lap I'll still be able to finish sub-eleven and qualify for the Western States lottery.
Also looking like Zane Grey is a definite go. Was checking the race calendar and I'll be able to squeeze in some awesome trail races to get ready. Bandera 100K, East Texas 50K, Cross Timbers 50 miler, Waco 50K, and the Grasslands 50 miler. Other than Bandera, none of those are really "tough" races so it looks like I'll be hitting the Hill of Life many, many times between now and then.
Working half a day tomorrow, then leaving for Huntsville around 1PM. Camping at the park. Thought about getting a hotel but I feel like camping ads to the experience. Gonna be friggin' cold out though.
Anyways, I've decided to attempt to break eight hours on Saturday. It's a fairly lofty goal and I'll have to have a great race to do it, but I've been training hard and I do have a legitimate shot. And I figure if I can hold that pace for a few laps, even if I completely fall apart and have to walk the entire final lap I'll still be able to finish sub-eleven and qualify for the Western States lottery.
Also looking like Zane Grey is a definite go. Was checking the race calendar and I'll be able to squeeze in some awesome trail races to get ready. Bandera 100K, East Texas 50K, Cross Timbers 50 miler, Waco 50K, and the Grasslands 50 miler. Other than Bandera, none of those are really "tough" races so it looks like I'll be hitting the Hill of Life many, many times between now and then.
Working half a day tomorrow, then leaving for Huntsville around 1PM. Camping at the park. Thought about getting a hotel but I feel like camping ads to the experience. Gonna be friggin' cold out though.
El Paso
Anyone book flights yet? We should get a group of Austinites on the same plane, could make for an interesting flight.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
WAR!
I have kicked Ass Gagger's ass twice already in war tonight. She'll be drunk soon. Lightweight!
Cheaper To Keep Her
Another name for your Christmas card list. I don't have nearly the respect for civilian contractors as I do for the soldiers over there, but Cheaper is a good guy nonetheless. A usual staple at the TexMex weekend, he will be missed this year.
Brandon Burke
KBR-F2
APO AE 09342
Brandon Burke
KBR-F2
APO AE 09342
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
in the news today...
Anyone notice that Mickey's Thirsty Eye was on the front page of the Statesman today? Seems they're going to court over the recent ban on smoking. According to Mickey Leathers, the bar's owner, "99.9 percent of the customers are smokers." And that's only because they count Troy and I, who stop there after our Walnut Creek rides for a few bottles of Miller High Life. Oh well, just another local, character rich pub that's gonna close it's doors. Pretty soon we're gonna be a town of Little Woodrows' and Fox and Hounds' and Hooters'. I'm gonna go throw up now.
Keep Austin Weird
Keep Austin Weird
Monday, December 05, 2005
Saturday, December 03, 2005
He's back!
I had offered to drink all of Davey Crotchett's down-downs for him if he showed up to the Founders hash, and received the following reply:
No one drinks Davey's down-downs except Davey!!! See you tomorrow.
Woohoo! Davey is back! A lot of you don't even know who he is, so get ready for a trip. A human hash hymnal if there ever was one.
No one drinks Davey's down-downs except Davey!!! See you tomorrow.
Woohoo! Davey is back! A lot of you don't even know who he is, so get ready for a trip. A human hash hymnal if there ever was one.
Dirty Du - Rocky Hill Ranch
Once again, it was time for one of my least favorite races of the year - the Dirty Du at Rocky Hill Ranch. Last year this race kicked my ass all over the place, left me sore for days. So of course I had signed up to come back as early as possible.
Arrived early, about 90 minutes before the start. Already had quite the fan club out there, as Melissa and Meredith (congrats on the WS entry, M!) were out there for an early run. Nicole arrived soon after, there to cheer on her buddy Evan.
I hung out for a while, drinking some coffee, tinkering with my bike, shooting the shit with some buddies I hadn't seen since the last Du. I was feeling pretty nervous, I knew I wasn't going to be strong on the bike. I also realized that I hadn't done a brick (that's a bike/run combined workout) in over half a year. And today I faced having to run Fat Chuck's, then having to bike a tough-ass 12 miles, then having to run Fat Chuck's again! It was not going to be pleasant.
But, the reason most of you are reading this, I was worried about the competition, or specifically, the competition provided by a certain 16 year old girl, who had kicked my ass last year at this same race. The couch potatoes out there who continually rag me about this are unaware that she'll soon probably have a major bike sponsorship, and don't listen to the fact that I did beat her at the two final Dirty Du's, but whatever. I was going to quiet the critics today.
It almost wasn't meant to be. Fifteen minutes 'till the start, and she's nowhere to be found. Afraid? Probably not. Maybe she was grounded or something.
Race starts, a pack of about 200 athletes starts off. Even the start of this race sucks, it's on a jeep road but there are big, loose rocks everywhere. And then it starts to climb. Up a grassy hill to the campsite, through a cow gate, and then on to Fat Chuck's. It is on the grassy climb that I meet my nemesis, the 16 year old. I think she had been hiding. She's already breathing heavily, not even a half mile into the race. Is she sick? Injured? Out of shape? I don't care, I quickly blow by her.
Had a pretty good first run, 3 miles. Fat Chuck's was rough, but I held my own with the competition. Finished in 23:40, a pretty good time for that stretch.
Into the transition area, feeling pretty good. I'm well ahead of the young'in, and I have a little confidence in the fact that I've done a few night rides recently. Maybe I'll make some noise on the bike. But hey, it's the transition area, why be in any hurry? Results show my T-time at over three minutes, and ranks this as the 129th quickest time out of 131 Du finishers! In fact, during this nap, Evan passes me and I never find him again.
Onto the bike. Riding at Rocky Hill, for a novice such as myself, is horrible. Rocks and roots bounce you everywhere, and it's very difficult to keep control of your bike. Throw in a lot of sand, tons of tight turns, and the fact that a lot of fast mountain bikers are gonna be blowing by me and it makes for a difficult day.
Nonetheless, I tear out of there. I actually pass a few people right away, as there is a long, non-technical climb to get to the real trails.
Onto the fun part. Right away there's a wreck, and without time to react I swerve around the fallen biker and hop over a huge root, peddling like a maniac. Less than a mile into the ride, and I've conquered an obstacle I would never attempt on a training ride. Very big confidence booster.
Trail continues through some of the classic Rocky Hill sections. Easy Up, Gray's Highway, Off the Lip, Frontal Lobotomy. Up across the power line to the Longhorn Loop and Tris Cross. Once again I was robbed, course did not go on Omar's Howl or the Tunnel 'o Pines, my second straight trip to RHR without my two favorite sections!
I was riding well. Yeah, a lot of folks were passing me, but I knew that was gonna happen. I was riding over a lot of obstacles I usually have to dismount for, so I was happy there. I had even managed to pass quite a few people myself.
Then, about eight miles into the twelve mile ride, I hear "passing on the left." I oblige, and the bike that goes by has the 16 year old on the saddle. Damn! I'm worried. With so long left on the ride, she has a chance to put a lot of ground on me, more than I can make up on the final run. I stay on her back wheel, and we talk for a bit. I mention to her that a lot of my buddies gave me a lot of shit for losing to a 15 year old girl last year. She doesn't miss a beat and says, "Are they gonna give you shit for losing to a 16 year old girl this year?" Wow, a worthy foe not only athletically, but also on the smack talking scene. But hey babe, the race ain't over yet!
Another long, non-technical hill, and I'm able to pass her. She sticks on my rear wheel for a while, but I can hear her breathing heavy and I think I may get her. She also knows I'll whoop her on the run, so every minute I'm ahead of her on the bike is a huge psychological blow.
We pass quite a few people during our duel. Then, just before Blac Trac, about 1.5 miles out, I turn to see how close she is and she's nowhere to be found. I've dropped her. But I continue to hammer, doing a lot of the super technical stuff I'm usually scared shitless about. I even attempted to ride The Wall, an obstacle I usually have trouble walking up. Almost made it too, didn't dismount 'till about 80% of the way up. Of course the dickhead kreutz photo guy waited 'till I got off the bike to take his pics! A-hole.
Anyways, after The Wall, it's less than a mile to go on a normal jeep road, and I hammer it. I have a much quicker transition this time, still going scared that the young'in will show up. But she doesn't, and I'm off on the final three mile run, one last duel with Fat Chuck.
This run is one of my least favorite things to do, even when I'm fresh. When I'm dead tired, it's near impossible. But I shuffle on. A lot of people are walking at this point, and they'll walk the entire time. I manage to run the first long, non-technical hill and make it down the first part of Fat Chuck's before I walk. But I keep moving forward, very important. Walk up the hill, run down the hill, walk up the hill. As an added bonus, the race director had some fallen trees put over the trail, and these were damn near impossible to get over in my weakened state.
Before I knew it, I was at the top of Fat Chuck's. Hit the water station and out to the turn around. I'm running alright and realize that if I push it I can break 2:30. Plus, I gotta keep on keepin' on, victory over the chick is almost at hand!
I give it everything I have over the last 1.5 miles. Still had to walk the up hills, worried about cramping up, but was able to run the flats and downhills. Hammer the final downhill, then jump the hay bales, then sprint the last 100 meters to the finish line.
Finishing time was 2:24:48, good for 69th place out of 139 finishers. My time last year for this race was 2:41:12, so I'm quite pleased as I pop open a cold bottle of St. Arnold's. The improvement was almost all on the bike. Last year's bike time was 1:39:38, compared to 1:25:23 this year. I lay the challenge down now: Lance Armstrong, I am coming for your course record!
I'm physically wasted as I retire to the RHR saloon for burgers and beer. The Dirty Du crowd is a fun one, and lots of BS stories are told. I didn't see the 16 year old, but someone tells me that she broke her rear derailler and had to walk her bike in over the last few miles. I immediately deny that I had anything to do with her equipment failure. I will confirm this rumor next Du, but either way I kicked her ass.
Congrats go to No Hands, who grabbed third place overall (he kicks ass on the bike!). Thanks to all those who came out to cheer me on, thanks to Boomer and Skid for continuing to be super cool to hashers, and thanks to Team Rasta for providing comic relief when he said, "Alexis needs to get her fat, lazy ass out to the next Du so I can whoop her."
Next up on the Du schedule is Flat Rock Ranch in Comfort, Texas, on February 25, 2006. Another gnarly mountain bike trail.
Arrived early, about 90 minutes before the start. Already had quite the fan club out there, as Melissa and Meredith (congrats on the WS entry, M!) were out there for an early run. Nicole arrived soon after, there to cheer on her buddy Evan.
I hung out for a while, drinking some coffee, tinkering with my bike, shooting the shit with some buddies I hadn't seen since the last Du. I was feeling pretty nervous, I knew I wasn't going to be strong on the bike. I also realized that I hadn't done a brick (that's a bike/run combined workout) in over half a year. And today I faced having to run Fat Chuck's, then having to bike a tough-ass 12 miles, then having to run Fat Chuck's again! It was not going to be pleasant.
But, the reason most of you are reading this, I was worried about the competition, or specifically, the competition provided by a certain 16 year old girl, who had kicked my ass last year at this same race. The couch potatoes out there who continually rag me about this are unaware that she'll soon probably have a major bike sponsorship, and don't listen to the fact that I did beat her at the two final Dirty Du's, but whatever. I was going to quiet the critics today.
It almost wasn't meant to be. Fifteen minutes 'till the start, and she's nowhere to be found. Afraid? Probably not. Maybe she was grounded or something.
Race starts, a pack of about 200 athletes starts off. Even the start of this race sucks, it's on a jeep road but there are big, loose rocks everywhere. And then it starts to climb. Up a grassy hill to the campsite, through a cow gate, and then on to Fat Chuck's. It is on the grassy climb that I meet my nemesis, the 16 year old. I think she had been hiding. She's already breathing heavily, not even a half mile into the race. Is she sick? Injured? Out of shape? I don't care, I quickly blow by her.
Had a pretty good first run, 3 miles. Fat Chuck's was rough, but I held my own with the competition. Finished in 23:40, a pretty good time for that stretch.
Into the transition area, feeling pretty good. I'm well ahead of the young'in, and I have a little confidence in the fact that I've done a few night rides recently. Maybe I'll make some noise on the bike. But hey, it's the transition area, why be in any hurry? Results show my T-time at over three minutes, and ranks this as the 129th quickest time out of 131 Du finishers! In fact, during this nap, Evan passes me and I never find him again.
Onto the bike. Riding at Rocky Hill, for a novice such as myself, is horrible. Rocks and roots bounce you everywhere, and it's very difficult to keep control of your bike. Throw in a lot of sand, tons of tight turns, and the fact that a lot of fast mountain bikers are gonna be blowing by me and it makes for a difficult day.
Nonetheless, I tear out of there. I actually pass a few people right away, as there is a long, non-technical climb to get to the real trails.
Onto the fun part. Right away there's a wreck, and without time to react I swerve around the fallen biker and hop over a huge root, peddling like a maniac. Less than a mile into the ride, and I've conquered an obstacle I would never attempt on a training ride. Very big confidence booster.
Trail continues through some of the classic Rocky Hill sections. Easy Up, Gray's Highway, Off the Lip, Frontal Lobotomy. Up across the power line to the Longhorn Loop and Tris Cross. Once again I was robbed, course did not go on Omar's Howl or the Tunnel 'o Pines, my second straight trip to RHR without my two favorite sections!
I was riding well. Yeah, a lot of folks were passing me, but I knew that was gonna happen. I was riding over a lot of obstacles I usually have to dismount for, so I was happy there. I had even managed to pass quite a few people myself.
Then, about eight miles into the twelve mile ride, I hear "passing on the left." I oblige, and the bike that goes by has the 16 year old on the saddle. Damn! I'm worried. With so long left on the ride, she has a chance to put a lot of ground on me, more than I can make up on the final run. I stay on her back wheel, and we talk for a bit. I mention to her that a lot of my buddies gave me a lot of shit for losing to a 15 year old girl last year. She doesn't miss a beat and says, "Are they gonna give you shit for losing to a 16 year old girl this year?" Wow, a worthy foe not only athletically, but also on the smack talking scene. But hey babe, the race ain't over yet!
Another long, non-technical hill, and I'm able to pass her. She sticks on my rear wheel for a while, but I can hear her breathing heavy and I think I may get her. She also knows I'll whoop her on the run, so every minute I'm ahead of her on the bike is a huge psychological blow.
We pass quite a few people during our duel. Then, just before Blac Trac, about 1.5 miles out, I turn to see how close she is and she's nowhere to be found. I've dropped her. But I continue to hammer, doing a lot of the super technical stuff I'm usually scared shitless about. I even attempted to ride The Wall, an obstacle I usually have trouble walking up. Almost made it too, didn't dismount 'till about 80% of the way up. Of course the dickhead kreutz photo guy waited 'till I got off the bike to take his pics! A-hole.
Anyways, after The Wall, it's less than a mile to go on a normal jeep road, and I hammer it. I have a much quicker transition this time, still going scared that the young'in will show up. But she doesn't, and I'm off on the final three mile run, one last duel with Fat Chuck.
This run is one of my least favorite things to do, even when I'm fresh. When I'm dead tired, it's near impossible. But I shuffle on. A lot of people are walking at this point, and they'll walk the entire time. I manage to run the first long, non-technical hill and make it down the first part of Fat Chuck's before I walk. But I keep moving forward, very important. Walk up the hill, run down the hill, walk up the hill. As an added bonus, the race director had some fallen trees put over the trail, and these were damn near impossible to get over in my weakened state.
Before I knew it, I was at the top of Fat Chuck's. Hit the water station and out to the turn around. I'm running alright and realize that if I push it I can break 2:30. Plus, I gotta keep on keepin' on, victory over the chick is almost at hand!
I give it everything I have over the last 1.5 miles. Still had to walk the up hills, worried about cramping up, but was able to run the flats and downhills. Hammer the final downhill, then jump the hay bales, then sprint the last 100 meters to the finish line.
Finishing time was 2:24:48, good for 69th place out of 139 finishers. My time last year for this race was 2:41:12, so I'm quite pleased as I pop open a cold bottle of St. Arnold's. The improvement was almost all on the bike. Last year's bike time was 1:39:38, compared to 1:25:23 this year. I lay the challenge down now: Lance Armstrong, I am coming for your course record!
I'm physically wasted as I retire to the RHR saloon for burgers and beer. The Dirty Du crowd is a fun one, and lots of BS stories are told. I didn't see the 16 year old, but someone tells me that she broke her rear derailler and had to walk her bike in over the last few miles. I immediately deny that I had anything to do with her equipment failure. I will confirm this rumor next Du, but either way I kicked her ass.
Congrats go to No Hands, who grabbed third place overall (he kicks ass on the bike!). Thanks to all those who came out to cheer me on, thanks to Boomer and Skid for continuing to be super cool to hashers, and thanks to Team Rasta for providing comic relief when he said, "Alexis needs to get her fat, lazy ass out to the next Du so I can whoop her."
Next up on the Du schedule is Flat Rock Ranch in Comfort, Texas, on February 25, 2006. Another gnarly mountain bike trail.
Friday, December 02, 2005
route finder
Pretty cool link for the runners out there. You can map out a course and then save it to the national database or find a new course to run. Should be great for when one has to travel.
USATF
Just came online a little bit ago, already tons of courses in Austin listed.
USATF
Just came online a little bit ago, already tons of courses in Austin listed.
calling Johnny Cochran...
Wow, threatened with legal action over my blog! How cool is that? This is an e-mail I received earlier today:
JT~Please do not post references in your blog that are slanderous or libel about me or my roommate Squeezebox. (we can take legal action about those as they can be printed from archives) No-one appreciates your prigish, infantile and immature outlook of others and feelings of inadequacy about yourself.
I've certainly been called immature before, but never prigish or infantile. In fact, I had to look "prigish" up, I had never heard the word before. Neither had dictionary.com, but I'll assume the author meant "priggish":
1. A person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner.
2. Chiefly British. A petty thief or pickpocket.
3. Archaic. A conceited dandy; a fop.
Well, I guess it fits. Cool! But to state the obvious, if you don't like reading my ramblings or you're offended by what I put on here, then don't fucking read my blog, idiot!
JT~Please do not post references in your blog that are slanderous or libel about me or my roommate Squeezebox. (we can take legal action about those as they can be printed from archives) No-one appreciates your prigish, infantile and immature outlook of others and feelings of inadequacy about yourself.
I've certainly been called immature before, but never prigish or infantile. In fact, I had to look "prigish" up, I had never heard the word before. Neither had dictionary.com, but I'll assume the author meant "priggish":
1. A person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner.
2. Chiefly British. A petty thief or pickpocket.
3. Archaic. A conceited dandy; a fop.
Well, I guess it fits. Cool! But to state the obvious, if you don't like reading my ramblings or you're offended by what I put on here, then don't fucking read my blog, idiot!
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Go away!
Some people can't take a hint. If I delete all your posts, it's because you annoy the fuck out of me beyond belief! Go away!
great quote
I'm on a big ultrarunning e-mail list, and everyone is talking about their personal top ten ultra events of the past year. This one is my favorite so far, I thought I'd share:
1 - Narrowly escaping certain death, when a gigantic rattlesnake, with enormous fangs, tried to eat me on the 3rd loop at Javelina. Actually, the snake wasn't that big, and I thinkit was only moderately annoyed that I almost stepped on it, but I still crapped my pants (metaphorically) nonetheless. [a sidenote: i love being involved with a sport where, when you use the term "crapped my pants," you have to specify whether or not you are being literal.]
1 - Narrowly escaping certain death, when a gigantic rattlesnake, with enormous fangs, tried to eat me on the 3rd loop at Javelina. Actually, the snake wasn't that big, and I thinkit was only moderately annoyed that I almost stepped on it, but I still crapped my pants (metaphorically) nonetheless. [a sidenote: i love being involved with a sport where, when you use the term "crapped my pants," you have to specify whether or not you are being literal.]
first thursday w/Grupo
Anyone wanna hang out in South Austin tonight? Grupo Fantasma is playing Ruta Maya. Tix for Grupo are $7, show is at 10:30. Folks, see these guys before they get too big to play small venues!
I'm gonna head downtown around 7 or so, hang out with all the first Thursday weirdos, then head over to Ruta Maya. Doors open at 8PM, I believe there is an opening band at 9PM, Grupo is at 10:30PM.
I'm gonna head downtown around 7 or so, hang out with all the first Thursday weirdos, then head over to Ruta Maya. Doors open at 8PM, I believe there is an opening band at 9PM, Grupo is at 10:30PM.
I AM A COMPUTER GENIUS!
Yunz guys see the new look for my blog? Yup, figured out how to do that all by myself. No fancy computer degree or anything. Pics are coming, then a webpage, and then who knows. Fish and Raf, don't worry, once I own Apple I might still keep yunz guys on the payroll.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
BCG night run
As much as I'm over there, one would think the Barton Creek Greenbelt trails would get boring. Nope. But I really get excited when it's time for a night run over there!
And really, super excited when it's a speedwork night!
The schedule called for a fartlek workout along the Shady loop. Ten minute warm up, then three minutes hammering followed by two minutes easy followed by three minutes hammering and so on. Running fast on the BCG during the day is difficult, so doing it at night, with my tiny green flashlight, is downright treacherous. It's a very technical trail, tons of rocks and roots and steep inclines and uneven ground. But hey, gotta get the miles in.
As a bonus, Melissa and Stayfree showed up at the start for the Hill Country Trail Runners weekly trail jog, and I was able to convince them both to come along for a tougher run. And we had a blast! Warm-up down the Hill of Life and across Barton Creek, over to the Shady Loop. Night fartleks on these trails rocked! No moon tonight, so all you had was your flashlight. Jumping from rock to rock, root to root, ducking under trees, crawling up the steep hills, can't beat it! Tons of fun, but if you lose concentration for a split second it's gonna cost you, as Melissa's possibly broken finger can attest!
Hard down the line, slow down the Hill of Death, we were supposed to cross back over Barton Creek and head back to the Hill of Life. We unanimously decided that taking a shot at the hump in the dark was too good to pass up. The hump is just as technical as Shady loop, but the trail is a lot harder to see, especially at night. Had to take it a bit slower to make sure we didn't get too lost, but we had a ball. Eventually found our way up and over the hump, and caught a dry stream bed back down to Barton Creek. Across BC and back to the HOL for a grand total of one hour and forty five minutes of night trails.
And really, super excited when it's a speedwork night!
The schedule called for a fartlek workout along the Shady loop. Ten minute warm up, then three minutes hammering followed by two minutes easy followed by three minutes hammering and so on. Running fast on the BCG during the day is difficult, so doing it at night, with my tiny green flashlight, is downright treacherous. It's a very technical trail, tons of rocks and roots and steep inclines and uneven ground. But hey, gotta get the miles in.
As a bonus, Melissa and Stayfree showed up at the start for the Hill Country Trail Runners weekly trail jog, and I was able to convince them both to come along for a tougher run. And we had a blast! Warm-up down the Hill of Life and across Barton Creek, over to the Shady Loop. Night fartleks on these trails rocked! No moon tonight, so all you had was your flashlight. Jumping from rock to rock, root to root, ducking under trees, crawling up the steep hills, can't beat it! Tons of fun, but if you lose concentration for a split second it's gonna cost you, as Melissa's possibly broken finger can attest!
Hard down the line, slow down the Hill of Death, we were supposed to cross back over Barton Creek and head back to the Hill of Life. We unanimously decided that taking a shot at the hump in the dark was too good to pass up. The hump is just as technical as Shady loop, but the trail is a lot harder to see, especially at night. Had to take it a bit slower to make sure we didn't get too lost, but we had a ball. Eventually found our way up and over the hump, and caught a dry stream bed back down to Barton Creek. Across BC and back to the HOL for a grand total of one hour and forty five minutes of night trails.
jingle bell ride
The Austin Ridge Riders do this every year, though this year is gonna be a lot smaller and a bit less organized. It is a non-competitive ride, through downtown and the Trail of Lights. Never done it before, but it should be a good time.
directions
map
It's on Sunday, December 18th, 6PM.
directions
map
It's on Sunday, December 18th, 6PM.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Founders Hash!
Wankers,
As if we haven't done enough to help the hash world by spreading kennels all over the place, a bunch of local Founders are gonna lay a kick ass trail for yunz guys this Sunday!
Your hares:
She Mussel Bitch (Austin OTR H3)
Pumper Up The Butt (CoTex H3)
Smegma Balls (Iguana H3)
Batguano Man (San Antonio H3)
Butt Pirate (Hill Country H3)
Death By Dildo (Austin Full Moon H3)
Tuck It Up The Butt (Austin Full Moon H3)
Body (Palm Beach H3)
brownie (Guantanamo Bay H3)
If I've forgotten any local Founder (Deep Throat?), or you happen to start a new hash before Sunday, get ahold of me and you too can take part in this monumental effort.
Anyways, here's the details:
When: Sunday, December 4. 1:30PM. 1330hrs for yunz military types.
Where: Barton Creek Greenbelt Trailhead at the corner of Republic of Texas Blvd and Sendero Drive. To get there, take MOPAC South and exit Southwest Parkway. Heading west on Southwest Parkway, the first traffic light will be Republic of Texas Blvd. Take a right, and continue on down ROT Blvd a good ways 'till you hit Sendero (it's a T-intersection, you can't go any further on ROT Blvd). Make a left onto Sendero into the cul-de-sac and park. If you remember the Pikes Peak hash, we had a beer check here. Out of towners please feel free to e-mail me for better directions.
Why: 'cuz it's a killer greenbelt trail! And the hares all rock! Or at least brownie rocks enough to make up for the deficiencies of the other wankers. Live lay, as all real trails are.
Other: Your feet will get wet. You will probably twist an ankle or two. You will get poked by sticks. Your dogs will love it (assuming they don't run away and get lost). You will curse the hares. You will get run over by crazy mountain bikers. One or two of you will probably have a heart attack. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl. And if you have to ask me how hard it is going to be, it is obviously going to be too hard for you, so please stay home.
And, as an added bonus, because you can never get enough Pittsburgh flavor at your hash, the infamous Moon will be making an appearance!
As if we haven't done enough to help the hash world by spreading kennels all over the place, a bunch of local Founders are gonna lay a kick ass trail for yunz guys this Sunday!
Your hares:
She Mussel Bitch (Austin OTR H3)
Pumper Up The Butt (CoTex H3)
Smegma Balls (Iguana H3)
Batguano Man (San Antonio H3)
Butt Pirate (Hill Country H3)
Death By Dildo (Austin Full Moon H3)
Tuck It Up The Butt (Austin Full Moon H3)
Body (Palm Beach H3)
brownie (Guantanamo Bay H3)
If I've forgotten any local Founder (Deep Throat?), or you happen to start a new hash before Sunday, get ahold of me and you too can take part in this monumental effort.
Anyways, here's the details:
When: Sunday, December 4. 1:30PM. 1330hrs for yunz military types.
Where: Barton Creek Greenbelt Trailhead at the corner of Republic of Texas Blvd and Sendero Drive. To get there, take MOPAC South and exit Southwest Parkway. Heading west on Southwest Parkway, the first traffic light will be Republic of Texas Blvd. Take a right, and continue on down ROT Blvd a good ways 'till you hit Sendero (it's a T-intersection, you can't go any further on ROT Blvd). Make a left onto Sendero into the cul-de-sac and park. If you remember the Pikes Peak hash, we had a beer check here. Out of towners please feel free to e-mail me for better directions.
Why: 'cuz it's a killer greenbelt trail! And the hares all rock! Or at least brownie rocks enough to make up for the deficiencies of the other wankers. Live lay, as all real trails are.
Other: Your feet will get wet. You will probably twist an ankle or two. You will get poked by sticks. Your dogs will love it (assuming they don't run away and get lost). You will curse the hares. You will get run over by crazy mountain bikers. One or two of you will probably have a heart attack. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl. And if you have to ask me how hard it is going to be, it is obviously going to be too hard for you, so please stay home.
And, as an added bonus, because you can never get enough Pittsburgh flavor at your hash, the infamous Moon will be making an appearance!
Monday, November 28, 2005
CenTex H3
I always get a kick out of Austin hashers when they complain about the lack of hashing opportunities here. And it happens quite a lot. The battle cry always seems to be "in DC you can hash every night of the week...." Which is theoretically possible but probably a logistical impossibility. It's not like all of those hashes are actually in Washington DC, they include the surrounding areas like Baltimore and Annapolis and other nearby cities, which often take well over 60 minutes to get to due to capital city traffic.
Anyways, these same hashers are always crying about how they wish they could hash more often somehow fail to realize that within 90 miles of Austin you have five regular hashes (Austin, San Antonio, Kiss My Hash, Hill Country, Eat Me) and a bunch of smaller, less regular gatherings (Brenham, Heart of Texas, OTR, several bashes, any of the dozen or so "moon" themed Austin hashes). Not to mention that within roadtrip distance you have Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Space City, Galveston, Mosquito, and Corpus Christi.
In fact, I'd argue that we're one of the top five hashing meccas in the U.S. DC, Atlanta, NYC, Philadelphia, but that's about it. Probably one or two I'm forgetting because I've been drinking, but then again you could also lump the NYC/Philly/DC megapolis together, since they're so close. And of course, I don't count Caliafornia hashes, since CA hashers are a bunch of panzees.
So all this bitching and moaning from Austinites, I figured that once I announced the hash "triathlon" of doing Eat Me, San Antonio, and Austin in three days we'd have a huge convoy of vehicles making the trip. Nope. Only one brave hasher riding shotgun with me each day. Wussies. "Waahhh, it's too far. Waahhh, I'm too busy." Whatever. On top of the triathlon I managed to fit in the Scabs, the Wine & Cheese party, several hours of running at Walnut Creek, and coordinated the Turkey Trot pre and post race booze, not to mention the debacle that was Thanksgiving night. I'm not bragging, just pointing out that we have a lot of posers in the Austin hash.
Just some food for thought. Next time some Austinite wants to start the "Fat Chick Waning Moon H3" (it'll probably be sometime this week) they should instead put that effort into organizing a road trip somewhere. I'll be the first to sign up!
Anyways, these same hashers are always crying about how they wish they could hash more often somehow fail to realize that within 90 miles of Austin you have five regular hashes (Austin, San Antonio, Kiss My Hash, Hill Country, Eat Me) and a bunch of smaller, less regular gatherings (Brenham, Heart of Texas, OTR, several bashes, any of the dozen or so "moon" themed Austin hashes). Not to mention that within roadtrip distance you have Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Space City, Galveston, Mosquito, and Corpus Christi.
In fact, I'd argue that we're one of the top five hashing meccas in the U.S. DC, Atlanta, NYC, Philadelphia, but that's about it. Probably one or two I'm forgetting because I've been drinking, but then again you could also lump the NYC/Philly/DC megapolis together, since they're so close. And of course, I don't count Caliafornia hashes, since CA hashers are a bunch of panzees.
So all this bitching and moaning from Austinites, I figured that once I announced the hash "triathlon" of doing Eat Me, San Antonio, and Austin in three days we'd have a huge convoy of vehicles making the trip. Nope. Only one brave hasher riding shotgun with me each day. Wussies. "Waahhh, it's too far. Waahhh, I'm too busy." Whatever. On top of the triathlon I managed to fit in the Scabs, the Wine & Cheese party, several hours of running at Walnut Creek, and coordinated the Turkey Trot pre and post race booze, not to mention the debacle that was Thanksgiving night. I'm not bragging, just pointing out that we have a lot of posers in the Austin hash.
Just some food for thought. Next time some Austinite wants to start the "Fat Chick Waning Moon H3" (it'll probably be sometime this week) they should instead put that effort into organizing a road trip somewhere. I'll be the first to sign up!
Eat Me
Friday it was off to College Station for the Eat Me (a play on the Texas A&M university logo, for those not familiar with shitty Texas colleges) H3 "International" trail. International because, uh, Ass Gagger and I had come all the way from Austin to do trail.
But hey, gotta drive that far, might as well sample the local flavor! Being that Friday was game day for the annual Texas/Texas A&M grudge match, we stopped by Dudley's to watch the game. Lots and lots of orange there. And they weren't disappointed, as UT beat up on A&M. I had trouble rooting for someone. I'd love for UT to lose so I could call Swallow and Slut Slinger and give them hell. But if UT loses, Penn State will play in the Rose Bowl, and I certainly can't hope for that to happen. So I made the decision to just drink a lot of beer during the game. Good call on my part.
Anyways, then it was off to the hash. It was "international" because a halliburton dude who is going to Iraq soon was supposed to show. But he bailed, probably drunk and passed out back at Kyle Field. But there were about ten of us who showed, including those from "international" places like Houston and Bryan. And we were treated to a fine trail hared by Red Foreskin. A good urban trail with some cool shiggy thrown in. Got to see a bunch of wanks I hadn't seen in a while, Red and Yard Ralph, Rubbin' the Boy Wanker, and a few others who I can't remember, so that was cool. And believe it or not, after the FRBs fell for a killer false laid by the hare, Ass Gagger ended up FRB at the end of trail!
Circle, RA'd by Yard Ralph, was good. Few new songs, including "Anal Bleaching" by the Houston crew. I even sang a glorious rendition of the UT fight song to the Aggie crew. Actually, I only knew the first line of the song, so I belted out "The Ides of Texas Are Upon You" and immediately went into "Hot Vagina." But hey, it's the thought that counts.
After the hash I had to bolt since the Scabs show was that night. Would have liked to stuck around, visited some of the local watering holes. Guess a return trip will be in order soon.
But hey, gotta drive that far, might as well sample the local flavor! Being that Friday was game day for the annual Texas/Texas A&M grudge match, we stopped by Dudley's to watch the game. Lots and lots of orange there. And they weren't disappointed, as UT beat up on A&M. I had trouble rooting for someone. I'd love for UT to lose so I could call Swallow and Slut Slinger and give them hell. But if UT loses, Penn State will play in the Rose Bowl, and I certainly can't hope for that to happen. So I made the decision to just drink a lot of beer during the game. Good call on my part.
Anyways, then it was off to the hash. It was "international" because a halliburton dude who is going to Iraq soon was supposed to show. But he bailed, probably drunk and passed out back at Kyle Field. But there were about ten of us who showed, including those from "international" places like Houston and Bryan. And we were treated to a fine trail hared by Red Foreskin. A good urban trail with some cool shiggy thrown in. Got to see a bunch of wanks I hadn't seen in a while, Red and Yard Ralph, Rubbin' the Boy Wanker, and a few others who I can't remember, so that was cool. And believe it or not, after the FRBs fell for a killer false laid by the hare, Ass Gagger ended up FRB at the end of trail!
Circle, RA'd by Yard Ralph, was good. Few new songs, including "Anal Bleaching" by the Houston crew. I even sang a glorious rendition of the UT fight song to the Aggie crew. Actually, I only knew the first line of the song, so I belted out "The Ides of Texas Are Upon You" and immediately went into "Hot Vagina." But hey, it's the thought that counts.
After the hash I had to bolt since the Scabs show was that night. Would have liked to stuck around, visited some of the local watering holes. Guess a return trip will be in order soon.
Scabs
Ain't no party like a Scabs party!
Gawd I love seeing the Scabs! Always a good, drunken time. Nothing different last Friday night. Arrived pretty late, around 11PM, but pleanty of time go booze it up before Bob and his crew took the stage.
Lewis & Cock, Ass Gagger, and I (C'Em's pussy hurt and he had gone to bed at 9PM), after a few drinks at the house, were present. We met Tarantula and her sister at the show.
Typical Scabs show. Lots of lyrics about pussy and the many diffenent ways to eat it. Lots of guitar solos played on a hot chick's ass. Lots of songs about picking up crack whores at the local HEB. Lots of Schniz pounding away at the drums. They didn't play my favorite tune, "Pussy Fever", but that was about the only disappointment. They did play "Tarantula" though, and I actually got Tarantula to do a shot of jager with me during it.
Next up on the concert schedule would probably be Monte Montgomery. I'll definitely be at his Antone's gig on Christmas night, but I'd like to catch him at the Saxon before that. I think he's playing there every Tuesday in December.
Gawd I love seeing the Scabs! Always a good, drunken time. Nothing different last Friday night. Arrived pretty late, around 11PM, but pleanty of time go booze it up before Bob and his crew took the stage.
Lewis & Cock, Ass Gagger, and I (C'Em's pussy hurt and he had gone to bed at 9PM), after a few drinks at the house, were present. We met Tarantula and her sister at the show.
Typical Scabs show. Lots of lyrics about pussy and the many diffenent ways to eat it. Lots of guitar solos played on a hot chick's ass. Lots of songs about picking up crack whores at the local HEB. Lots of Schniz pounding away at the drums. They didn't play my favorite tune, "Pussy Fever", but that was about the only disappointment. They did play "Tarantula" though, and I actually got Tarantula to do a shot of jager with me during it.
Next up on the concert schedule would probably be Monte Montgomery. I'll definitely be at his Antone's gig on Christmas night, but I'd like to catch him at the Saxon before that. I think he's playing there every Tuesday in December.
I Like Your Boobs
"I Like Your Boobs" is a Colorado hasher buddy of mine. Knowing how much I've partied with him, I can't imagine he holds down an actual job. Laurent Fox is his real name. One of the original Brass Monkey Breakfast crew!
CNN
Put the guy on your x-mas card list, gotta support the poor hashers stuck overseas!
LtCol Laurent Fox
CFC - A PAO
APO AE 09356
CNN
Put the guy on your x-mas card list, gotta support the poor hashers stuck overseas!
LtCol Laurent Fox
CFC - A PAO
APO AE 09356
turkey weekend
My friend from Albany waited until the last possible second to cancel, sending my weekend plans down the toilet, but I still managed to have a great weekend nonetheless.
Wanna say thanks to everyone who invited me into their house for Thanksgiving. Michael and Rhonda, as well as DBD and her bitch Tuck It. Except for SWB and TAF's families hogging all my Iron City, it was a great turkey day.
I'll post more detailed trash later, but my long weekend included the Turkey Trot, the Scabs, the whine & cheese party, Barfly, and hash roadtrips to College Station and San Antonio (including Austin I traveled over 500 miles to hash this weekend).
Wanna say thanks to everyone who invited me into their house for Thanksgiving. Michael and Rhonda, as well as DBD and her bitch Tuck It. Except for SWB and TAF's families hogging all my Iron City, it was a great turkey day.
I'll post more detailed trash later, but my long weekend included the Turkey Trot, the Scabs, the whine & cheese party, Barfly, and hash roadtrips to College Station and San Antonio (including Austin I traveled over 500 miles to hash this weekend).
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Hashathon
News article on the Hashathon, a trail "race" put on by the Rumson H3. The Burnet Road Challenge was basically a knock-off of the RH3 "Ten Miles/Ten Bars" event, and I often pondered putting on an event such as the Hashathon. Think the Rogue trail runs have taken that place though.
Mark Griggs is Latecummer, who has hashed in Austin several times. Even hared the TXIH pre-lube pube crawl with me a few years ago.
Hashathon
Mark Griggs is Latecummer, who has hashed in Austin several times. Even hared the TXIH pre-lube pube crawl with me a few years ago.
Hashathon
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Eat Me
Anyone up for a road trip to College Station tomorrow? I've never hashed with the Eat Me wankers, I think Friday would be a good day to start.
Also looking at a trip to San Antonio on Sat for their hash.
Also looking at a trip to San Antonio on Sat for their hash.
Turkey Trot
Great day for a race! It had been a LONG time since I had raced such a short distance, but I can't go missing a Turkey Trot.
Woke early, after a good night of drinking, to call my dad in PA to wish him luck in his Turkey Trot, the Newport Moose 10K. He said he couldn't go, it had snowed and there was ice on the roads. Sucks to be him. Here in Austin it was sunny with highs in the 80s!
Due to my recent foray into ultra distances, I figured I had lost any speed I may have had at one point. My PR for 5 miles is on this course (29:45), but I figured I'd be far away from that. Was gunning for something between 33 and 34 minutes. The fact that, at 8:45AM, Rafael and I were already drinking jager figured to push that time upwards.
Got a nice surprise at the start. While waiting for the race to begin, I saw Grind Slut from the Houston H3. So while the serious runners were stretching and warming up, GS and I were discussing the proper foods to eat before the beer mile so you wouldn't throw up. He suggests something fatty, like fish, which he believes helps to neutralize the foam in your stomach when you chug an entire can of Miller High Life, the beer of choice for the H4 beer mile. Interesting theory, I pointed out, and I told him that I'd still kick his ass no matter what he ate for the next one.
Star Spangled Banner, some loser aggie speech by Gov. Perry, and the race begins. I settle into a nice rhythm. The jager had left a nice taste in my mouth and had taken some of the pressure off to run fast. Hit the first mile in 6:30, feeling pretty well. Second mile passes in 13 minutes. I'm on pace for a 32:30 and feeling pretty good.
Major part of the race occurs just after two miles. The Crown & Anchor is closed. Had it been open I would have gone in for a beer, ruining any chance of a fast time.
Just past the C&A is a long hill, which I push. Pass a lot of runners in fancy running clothes. I recover on the long downhill. Three miles passes in 19:30, I'm keeping a pretty steady pace. I know that if I can keep the same pace for the final two miles I will pass a ton of people, many of whom ran the first mile too fast and will have to pay the price.
Through campus, the four mile mark comes in 25:40. I am passing people constantly. One mile to go. I decide to turn it on.
Probably passed 50 people in the last mile. Including some of my runner friends like Marty, a Pikes Peak buddy, and Amy, a recent Ironman Hawaii finisher. Major bragging rights there. Even passed a bunch of the Round Rock XC team, no way those guys could hold a candle to the '93 Shikellamy team!
Pass Waterloo Park we raced, to that damn hill! Not very long but sheesh is it steep. I was starting to die here, but I chugged it out. At the top of the hill it's a quarter mile downhill finish, which I had to sprint because I knew Marty was gonna make a push at me.
Finished in 31:31, a time I had no business running. Finished 66th out of 1767 runners. And, I may add, I beat the top times in the Aggie and Longhorn alumni sections. So while yunz guys blab on about who is the best school in Texas, remember that a Pitt alumni, who stayed up late drinking, and got up early to start drinking, kicked all your asses! HAIL TO PITT!
After the race it was time for beers and Wild Turkey. Kudos to all the hashers who finished: She Wanker Bitch, Rafael, Ass Gagger, Heavin' Semen, Free Meat, Just Head, Snapping Twat, Lewis & Cock, Twin Peaks, La Fortuna. There may have been others, sorry if I forgot anyone.
Woke early, after a good night of drinking, to call my dad in PA to wish him luck in his Turkey Trot, the Newport Moose 10K. He said he couldn't go, it had snowed and there was ice on the roads. Sucks to be him. Here in Austin it was sunny with highs in the 80s!
Due to my recent foray into ultra distances, I figured I had lost any speed I may have had at one point. My PR for 5 miles is on this course (29:45), but I figured I'd be far away from that. Was gunning for something between 33 and 34 minutes. The fact that, at 8:45AM, Rafael and I were already drinking jager figured to push that time upwards.
Got a nice surprise at the start. While waiting for the race to begin, I saw Grind Slut from the Houston H3. So while the serious runners were stretching and warming up, GS and I were discussing the proper foods to eat before the beer mile so you wouldn't throw up. He suggests something fatty, like fish, which he believes helps to neutralize the foam in your stomach when you chug an entire can of Miller High Life, the beer of choice for the H4 beer mile. Interesting theory, I pointed out, and I told him that I'd still kick his ass no matter what he ate for the next one.
Star Spangled Banner, some loser aggie speech by Gov. Perry, and the race begins. I settle into a nice rhythm. The jager had left a nice taste in my mouth and had taken some of the pressure off to run fast. Hit the first mile in 6:30, feeling pretty well. Second mile passes in 13 minutes. I'm on pace for a 32:30 and feeling pretty good.
Major part of the race occurs just after two miles. The Crown & Anchor is closed. Had it been open I would have gone in for a beer, ruining any chance of a fast time.
Just past the C&A is a long hill, which I push. Pass a lot of runners in fancy running clothes. I recover on the long downhill. Three miles passes in 19:30, I'm keeping a pretty steady pace. I know that if I can keep the same pace for the final two miles I will pass a ton of people, many of whom ran the first mile too fast and will have to pay the price.
Through campus, the four mile mark comes in 25:40. I am passing people constantly. One mile to go. I decide to turn it on.
Probably passed 50 people in the last mile. Including some of my runner friends like Marty, a Pikes Peak buddy, and Amy, a recent Ironman Hawaii finisher. Major bragging rights there. Even passed a bunch of the Round Rock XC team, no way those guys could hold a candle to the '93 Shikellamy team!
Pass Waterloo Park we raced, to that damn hill! Not very long but sheesh is it steep. I was starting to die here, but I chugged it out. At the top of the hill it's a quarter mile downhill finish, which I had to sprint because I knew Marty was gonna make a push at me.
Finished in 31:31, a time I had no business running. Finished 66th out of 1767 runners. And, I may add, I beat the top times in the Aggie and Longhorn alumni sections. So while yunz guys blab on about who is the best school in Texas, remember that a Pitt alumni, who stayed up late drinking, and got up early to start drinking, kicked all your asses! HAIL TO PITT!
After the race it was time for beers and Wild Turkey. Kudos to all the hashers who finished: She Wanker Bitch, Rafael, Ass Gagger, Heavin' Semen, Free Meat, Just Head, Snapping Twat, Lewis & Cock, Twin Peaks, La Fortuna. There may have been others, sorry if I forgot anyone.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Zane Grey
Talked with my coach over lunch. Zane Grey has a reputation as one of the most difficult trail runs out there, and a friend has recently planted a bug in my ear about running it. My issue is rest, I was planning on taking a month off after Bandera, but I may now try to run through April, attempt Zane Grey, take a few weeks off, then begin preperation for my Longs/Pikes run.
Zane Grey
This plan would also allow me to do the Houston and Austin marathons.
Gonna wait and see how Sunmart and Bandera go before committing, but I'll probably have a possible training schedule together before the long weekend is over.
Zane Grey
This plan would also allow me to do the Houston and Austin marathons.
Gonna wait and see how Sunmart and Bandera go before committing, but I'll probably have a possible training schedule together before the long weekend is over.
San Antonio hash
Anyone up for a quick road trip on Saturday? SA is hashing at 3:30PM. Not sure I can make it on Sunday, so I gotta get my fix in early.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tex-Mex Interhash
Some of yunz newbys have been asking about the El Paso Tex-Mex Interhash weekend. One of the best hash weekends ever! Here's some reasons why:
EPH3
And, just because I'm bored, here are some other hash trips I'm planning on taking:
Texas Interhash March 24-26, 2006 South Austin, Texas
USA Nash Hash May 26-29, 2006 Sierra Vista, Arizona
Colorado Invihash Sept 1-4, 2006 Durango, Colorado
IAH 2007 August 31 to Sept 3, 2007 Pureto Vallarta, Mejico
World Interhash 2008 Perth, Australia (hopefully!)
IAH 2009 September 2009 Rumson, New Jersey
EPH3
And, just because I'm bored, here are some other hash trips I'm planning on taking:
Texas Interhash March 24-26, 2006 South Austin, Texas
USA Nash Hash May 26-29, 2006 Sierra Vista, Arizona
Colorado Invihash Sept 1-4, 2006 Durango, Colorado
IAH 2007 August 31 to Sept 3, 2007 Pureto Vallarta, Mejico
World Interhash 2008 Perth, Australia (hopefully!)
IAH 2009 September 2009 Rumson, New Jersey
H.A.W.K. happy hour
I propose we have the first ever H.A.W.K. (Hashers Against Whiney Kunts) happy hour Wednesday, 5:30PM, at Lovejoy's. I will walk over immediately after work and stay 'till it's time to hit the Alamo. Gotta support the hash bar while we still can.
The Alamo show is $8. Great price for a movie (it's actually a documentary on a Swiss record label, so it's edumacational 'n shit) and a one man band!
The Alamo show is $8. Great price for a movie (it's actually a documentary on a Swiss record label, so it's edumacational 'n shit) and a one man band!
state benefits
Squakin' just said to me, "Do you want me to go down for you?" And of course I replied, "Yeah, right after you get me a coffee, bitch!"
Voodoo Rhythm and John Schooley
After the H.A.W.K. happy hour tomorrow night, I'm gonna head (who said head?) over to the Alamo to check this out.
Alamo
Seems like a pretty cool movie, and John Schooley rocks!
Anyone wanna join me?
Alamo
Seems like a pretty cool movie, and John Schooley rocks!
Anyone wanna join me?
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Bluff Creek/Rocky Hill
Yet another fantastic weekend spend on the trails.
Early Saturday morning it was off to Warda for the Cardiac 44 mile run. I was kinda nervous, my previous long run was only about 35 miles, so this was gonna be pushing the envelope. For those that don't know, Warda is Bluff Creek Ranch, less than five miles away (and on the same road) from the place Slut had his campout at. It's mainly a mountain bike ranch, more for beginners than it's cousin down I-71, Rocky Hill Ranch. I have biked out here often and have my Dirty Du PR on the course, so I knew going in what to expect.
Start time was 9AM, weather was perfect. Overcast and mid-60s. We actually did the eleven mile bike course backwards, something I've never done before. Had some issues on the first lap, twisted my left ankle three different times, and twisted my right ankle pretty bad, was worried that was gonna be an issue later in the race. Warda is a fast mountain bike course so I was thinking I'd have a shot at a decent time, but all the twists and turns and rocks and roots kept me from getting into a decent rhythm. I limped through the first lap in 1:45.
Second lap was a lot of the same. I was nursing my right ankle, and this was causing me to trip even more than usual. I was towards the back of the pack here, and panic was slowly starting to set in. In my defense, most of the folks in front of me were either doing 22 miles or doing 11 miles as part of a relay, but I couldn't tell and had to assume they were all doing the long run. Returned to the barn, the start/stop of each lap, in just over three and a half hours. Was feeling better here than after my first lap, but overall I just wasn't feeling "it" and I knew the second half of the race was gonna be tough.
So I begin the slog out to the third lap. I actually get a second wind here and begin to push the pace a little more. Pass a few people here, pass a few people there. I start to think I still may have a chance at breaking seven hours, an unrealistic goal I had going into the race. Looking back at my splits now, even though I thought I was picking it up, I wasn't. That third lap I just managed to slow down less than everyone I passed. And with about four miles to go on that third lap, things started to fall apart. Cramps came, the legs got heavy, a 33 mile run started to sound like a great idea. I plodded into the barn in fifth place.
These drastic times called for drastic measures. And of course, when the going gets tough, the tough...do jager bombs! Yes, I had a secret weapon waiting for me in the barn, a hidden stash of red bull and jager. Took an empty paper cup from the aid station and made myself a strong drink. There were quite a few people in the barn at this time, and they couldn't believe their eyes when I pulled out a 2 liter bottle of jager. So after wasting a couple 'o minutes hitting on ugly, fat chicks, I stumbled out the barn and began my last lap.
Another secret weapon I had was Melissa. After winning the 22 mile portion of the race, she waited around and went out for that last lap with me. I cannot thank her enough, I still would have finished without her but my time would have been A LOT slower without her out there pushing me. FYI, she is neither ugly nor fat.
Last loop was uneventful save for the physical punishment my body was going through. Received a small mental boost at the first aid station, at 36 miles, knowing it was a new personal record for distance. Same thing at the next aid station, my first 40 miler. From there it was just putting one foot in front of the other without tripping on a root or rock (easier said than done after seven hours of running). And before I knew it, it was over. Final time was 7:39:46, good for third place overall. Yeah, only seven finished, but that's a testiment to the very few who had the balls to go the distance! Not sure how many started and dropped out, but quite a few took the 33 mile option.
Good day for some of my buddies though. The winner, Mark Henderson, threw up several times but still managed to kick ass, his usual SOP. Of course Melissa won again, congrats. The winner of the men's 22 mile run, Frank Ceresa, had dueled with me a few weeks ago at Rocky Raccoon, good to see him run well. And kudos to Geraldo Ramierez, who was kicking my ass for three laps, then blew out a knee. Despite the extreme pain, he struggled through the final lap to finish the race. Of course I've gotta say congrats to fellow Roguers TJ and Alan for tough finishes as well.
After the race it was off to enjoy the fine camping at Bluff Creek. And, of course, the fine cheeseburgers! Drank a bunch of beers around a fire with Melissa and team "two goose'n waters" who had won the relay 22 mile race earlier that day.
No rest for the weary. After a quick nap in Ruby, Melissa and I were off to Rocky Hill ranch, for the second of back-to-back long runs. Rocky Hill is a bit more difficult terrain than Warda, so I wasn't looking forward to this run. Especially the first two miles, as I was still sore as hell and would have to face my nemesis, Fat Chuck.
Well, Fat Chuck won once again, but shortly thereafter I got into a groove and started running somewhat well. Saw all the old trails. Karaway, easy pickens, off the lip, frontal lobotmy, bottle-in-front-o-me, longhorn loop, and tris cross. After planning for a two hour run, Melissa and I found ourselves over two hours into it at this point, and still had several miles to go to get back to the saloon. So regretfully I didn't get to do my favorite section of Rocky Hill, including Omar's Howl and the Tunnel o' Pines. Bummer. But I did get her to agree to cut across the powerline on the way back, so I could have one more crack at Fat Chuck. He won again. But that's OK, I'm gonna kick his ass at the next Dirty Du!
After the run, 2:39:15 total, it was, or course, immediately over to the Saloon. Rocky Hill burgers...mmmmm...and Shiner. Very yummy, and very much deserved.
Ended up covering 100 kilometers over two days. Needless to say, I'm sore and will have trouble walking for a few days. Hope to recover in time for the Turkey Trot!
Early Saturday morning it was off to Warda for the Cardiac 44 mile run. I was kinda nervous, my previous long run was only about 35 miles, so this was gonna be pushing the envelope. For those that don't know, Warda is Bluff Creek Ranch, less than five miles away (and on the same road) from the place Slut had his campout at. It's mainly a mountain bike ranch, more for beginners than it's cousin down I-71, Rocky Hill Ranch. I have biked out here often and have my Dirty Du PR on the course, so I knew going in what to expect.
Start time was 9AM, weather was perfect. Overcast and mid-60s. We actually did the eleven mile bike course backwards, something I've never done before. Had some issues on the first lap, twisted my left ankle three different times, and twisted my right ankle pretty bad, was worried that was gonna be an issue later in the race. Warda is a fast mountain bike course so I was thinking I'd have a shot at a decent time, but all the twists and turns and rocks and roots kept me from getting into a decent rhythm. I limped through the first lap in 1:45.
Second lap was a lot of the same. I was nursing my right ankle, and this was causing me to trip even more than usual. I was towards the back of the pack here, and panic was slowly starting to set in. In my defense, most of the folks in front of me were either doing 22 miles or doing 11 miles as part of a relay, but I couldn't tell and had to assume they were all doing the long run. Returned to the barn, the start/stop of each lap, in just over three and a half hours. Was feeling better here than after my first lap, but overall I just wasn't feeling "it" and I knew the second half of the race was gonna be tough.
So I begin the slog out to the third lap. I actually get a second wind here and begin to push the pace a little more. Pass a few people here, pass a few people there. I start to think I still may have a chance at breaking seven hours, an unrealistic goal I had going into the race. Looking back at my splits now, even though I thought I was picking it up, I wasn't. That third lap I just managed to slow down less than everyone I passed. And with about four miles to go on that third lap, things started to fall apart. Cramps came, the legs got heavy, a 33 mile run started to sound like a great idea. I plodded into the barn in fifth place.
These drastic times called for drastic measures. And of course, when the going gets tough, the tough...do jager bombs! Yes, I had a secret weapon waiting for me in the barn, a hidden stash of red bull and jager. Took an empty paper cup from the aid station and made myself a strong drink. There were quite a few people in the barn at this time, and they couldn't believe their eyes when I pulled out a 2 liter bottle of jager. So after wasting a couple 'o minutes hitting on ugly, fat chicks, I stumbled out the barn and began my last lap.
Another secret weapon I had was Melissa. After winning the 22 mile portion of the race, she waited around and went out for that last lap with me. I cannot thank her enough, I still would have finished without her but my time would have been A LOT slower without her out there pushing me. FYI, she is neither ugly nor fat.
Last loop was uneventful save for the physical punishment my body was going through. Received a small mental boost at the first aid station, at 36 miles, knowing it was a new personal record for distance. Same thing at the next aid station, my first 40 miler. From there it was just putting one foot in front of the other without tripping on a root or rock (easier said than done after seven hours of running). And before I knew it, it was over. Final time was 7:39:46, good for third place overall. Yeah, only seven finished, but that's a testiment to the very few who had the balls to go the distance! Not sure how many started and dropped out, but quite a few took the 33 mile option.
Good day for some of my buddies though. The winner, Mark Henderson, threw up several times but still managed to kick ass, his usual SOP. Of course Melissa won again, congrats. The winner of the men's 22 mile run, Frank Ceresa, had dueled with me a few weeks ago at Rocky Raccoon, good to see him run well. And kudos to Geraldo Ramierez, who was kicking my ass for three laps, then blew out a knee. Despite the extreme pain, he struggled through the final lap to finish the race. Of course I've gotta say congrats to fellow Roguers TJ and Alan for tough finishes as well.
After the race it was off to enjoy the fine camping at Bluff Creek. And, of course, the fine cheeseburgers! Drank a bunch of beers around a fire with Melissa and team "two goose'n waters" who had won the relay 22 mile race earlier that day.
No rest for the weary. After a quick nap in Ruby, Melissa and I were off to Rocky Hill ranch, for the second of back-to-back long runs. Rocky Hill is a bit more difficult terrain than Warda, so I wasn't looking forward to this run. Especially the first two miles, as I was still sore as hell and would have to face my nemesis, Fat Chuck.
Well, Fat Chuck won once again, but shortly thereafter I got into a groove and started running somewhat well. Saw all the old trails. Karaway, easy pickens, off the lip, frontal lobotmy, bottle-in-front-o-me, longhorn loop, and tris cross. After planning for a two hour run, Melissa and I found ourselves over two hours into it at this point, and still had several miles to go to get back to the saloon. So regretfully I didn't get to do my favorite section of Rocky Hill, including Omar's Howl and the Tunnel o' Pines. Bummer. But I did get her to agree to cut across the powerline on the way back, so I could have one more crack at Fat Chuck. He won again. But that's OK, I'm gonna kick his ass at the next Dirty Du!
After the run, 2:39:15 total, it was, or course, immediately over to the Saloon. Rocky Hill burgers...mmmmm...and Shiner. Very yummy, and very much deserved.
Ended up covering 100 kilometers over two days. Needless to say, I'm sore and will have trouble walking for a few days. Hope to recover in time for the Turkey Trot!
Friday, November 18, 2005
hell yeah!
Go get 'em, Murtha! He's a PA senator, by the way. About time someone on capitol hill grew some balls.
"I like guys who've never been there who criticize us who've been there," Murtha said. "I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and sent people to war and then don't like to hear suggestions that what may need to be done."
"I like guys who've never been there who criticize us who've been there," Murtha said. "I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and sent people to war and then don't like to hear suggestions that what may need to be done."
Lovejoy's
Been off the AH3 yahoo list for some time, though I have just recently logged back on to see what the fuss was about.
Rafael, I think it's soon time for a H.A.W.K. happy hour. Are you free on Wednesday? A good friend of mine is coming into town, and I'd like to show her Lovejoy's. Then maybe go toMugshot's and get her liquored up on jager. I will bring the cigarettes. Might even be a stogie night!
Rafael, I think it's soon time for a H.A.W.K. happy hour. Are you free on Wednesday? A good friend of mine is coming into town, and I'd like to show her Lovejoy's. Then maybe go toMugshot's and get her liquored up on jager. I will bring the cigarettes. Might even be a stogie night!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
night ride
Another Thursday, another Walnut Creek night ride!
Troy and I met once again at the main parking lot. Started with the usual loop. It was friggin' chilly at first, but once I got warmed up I felt pretty good. Certainly rode a lot better than the week before, hopefully my mountain biking skills will be in good form for the upcoming Dirty Du season (I have a great challenge this season - Johnboy from Houston will be doing them too; I'm gonna kick his ass!).
About 45 minutes into the ride Troy's light went out, so we had to cut the workout short. It was quite the mess, getting back to the cars with one rider not having any light. At one point we were arguing over which way to go, and it turns out the parking lot was only 50 meters away, in a direction neither of us were pointing. Troy and I have been to Walnut Creek Park several hundred times between us, and we still get lost all the time. Such is the beauty of those trails!
After the ride it was off to Mickey's for a few beers. Quality pub. Don't tell Squeeze Box this, but they don't enforce the smoking ban there. In fact, one of the guys even had one of those mechanical voice things like Ned from South Park, and he was chain smoking! It was awesome! Character, that place definitely has it. There were no supermodels in short skirts, no bud light specials, no 136 foot plasma television screen for bandwagon Astros fans, but I'd rather spend time in Mickey's than any of those yuppie bars any day!
Troy and I met once again at the main parking lot. Started with the usual loop. It was friggin' chilly at first, but once I got warmed up I felt pretty good. Certainly rode a lot better than the week before, hopefully my mountain biking skills will be in good form for the upcoming Dirty Du season (I have a great challenge this season - Johnboy from Houston will be doing them too; I'm gonna kick his ass!).
About 45 minutes into the ride Troy's light went out, so we had to cut the workout short. It was quite the mess, getting back to the cars with one rider not having any light. At one point we were arguing over which way to go, and it turns out the parking lot was only 50 meters away, in a direction neither of us were pointing. Troy and I have been to Walnut Creek Park several hundred times between us, and we still get lost all the time. Such is the beauty of those trails!
After the ride it was off to Mickey's for a few beers. Quality pub. Don't tell Squeeze Box this, but they don't enforce the smoking ban there. In fact, one of the guys even had one of those mechanical voice things like Ned from South Park, and he was chain smoking! It was awesome! Character, that place definitely has it. There were no supermodels in short skirts, no bud light specials, no 136 foot plasma television screen for bandwagon Astros fans, but I'd rather spend time in Mickey's than any of those yuppie bars any day!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Hill of Life
It had been almost 24 hours since I had last been to the Hill of Life, and I was jonesin' for another fix. So immediately after a hard day of bustin' nurses, it was off to fight traffic for the right to have my ass kicked. Pretty good workout, only did six repeats due to the Warda/Rocky Hill trip looming this weekend. Four of those repeats were in the dark, though, which made them even tougher. All in all it took me 80 minutes to log six round trips, a bit slow but I was taking those downhills very easy, didn't want to fall and break anything.
RIP
Lovejoy's, one of my favorite bars in the world and a sponsor of the Austin hash, will be closing it's doors in four months. Turns out the huge rush of non-smokers who were supposed to overrun the local pubs once the smoking ban went into effect never bothered to show up. LJ's becomes the first casulty of the ban, probably more to come. I swear, if they put a starbucks in there once it closes I'm gonna burn the building down.
It's a pretty big hit for beer fans in the city of Austin too. With the fire at the Bitter End and now LJ's, there are precious few brew pubs left. North by Northwest and Draft House, I think that's it.
Sad days.
It's a pretty big hit for beer fans in the city of Austin too. With the fire at the Bitter End and now LJ's, there are precious few brew pubs left. North by Northwest and Draft House, I think that's it.
Sad days.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Full Moon
Yes, I am overjoyed at the thought of having to hare tomorrow's full moon. Fitting though, as it is the Beaver moon and I'm the only harrier in the AH3 who ever gets any of that.
Anyways, hares away at 6:45PM, hounds leave at 7PM. This is a real trail, not a pub crawl, and I cannot start any later since I don't wanna be out there all night. Hounds will need a change of clothes and a flashlight. Once again, this is a very tough trail, especially since it's at night. There is shiggy. There is technical rock running. If you're a pussy please stay home. If you have to ask me any question concerning the trail, don't hash tomorrow. Show up on time, ready to hash, or don't show up at all. And don't plan on autowanking, there will be no map to the end.
On a better note, She Wanker Bitch is in charge of food (as well as embarassing you fools on a live lay), so there may actually be something to eat when trail is finished.
Anyways, hares away at 6:45PM, hounds leave at 7PM. This is a real trail, not a pub crawl, and I cannot start any later since I don't wanna be out there all night. Hounds will need a change of clothes and a flashlight. Once again, this is a very tough trail, especially since it's at night. There is shiggy. There is technical rock running. If you're a pussy please stay home. If you have to ask me any question concerning the trail, don't hash tomorrow. Show up on time, ready to hash, or don't show up at all. And don't plan on autowanking, there will be no map to the end.
On a better note, She Wanker Bitch is in charge of food (as well as embarassing you fools on a live lay), so there may actually be something to eat when trail is finished.
trails, brews, and burgers
Weekend shaping up to be pretty awesome.
Sat morning it's off to Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda for the Cardiac run. 44 miles, if I make it through it'll be the longest I've ever run by almost ten miles. Found out that there is a two person 22 mile relay, only 11 miles each (DOF and Rafael?).
Warda
Saturday night me and a few friends are gonna camp out at Warda. Of course supper that night will include a yummy Wardaburger, tater tots, and lots of beer. Camping at BCR is fun, the sites are all around a pond and you can have open fires.
Sun morning, after a quick dip in the pond, it's off to Rocky Hill for a nice, easy 20 miler. Running 20 at Rocky is probably equal to the effort of running 30 at Bluff Creek, it's a lot more technical and a lot more hilly. Fat Chuck is going to kick my ass once again, one day I will topple him though. Of course lunch on Sun will be at the Rocky Hill Saloon and will include one of their huge bacon cheeseburgers and plenty of beer.
Rocky Hill
All this on top of the Full Moon trail on Tues, Hill of Life repeats on Wed, and the Pub Run on Thurs. Woohoo!
Sat morning it's off to Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda for the Cardiac run. 44 miles, if I make it through it'll be the longest I've ever run by almost ten miles. Found out that there is a two person 22 mile relay, only 11 miles each (DOF and Rafael?).
Warda
Saturday night me and a few friends are gonna camp out at Warda. Of course supper that night will include a yummy Wardaburger, tater tots, and lots of beer. Camping at BCR is fun, the sites are all around a pond and you can have open fires.
Sun morning, after a quick dip in the pond, it's off to Rocky Hill for a nice, easy 20 miler. Running 20 at Rocky is probably equal to the effort of running 30 at Bluff Creek, it's a lot more technical and a lot more hilly. Fat Chuck is going to kick my ass once again, one day I will topple him though. Of course lunch on Sun will be at the Rocky Hill Saloon and will include one of their huge bacon cheeseburgers and plenty of beer.
Rocky Hill
All this on top of the Full Moon trail on Tues, Hill of Life repeats on Wed, and the Pub Run on Thurs. Woohoo!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
flashlight
I just shelled out $51 for a new flashlight. I'd like to thank the dickhead at Slut's campout who stole my last one.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Reimer's Ranch
Mountain biking out at Reimer's Ranch today. Beautiful trails! Did about 15 miles with the local mountain bike club. Reimer's would be considered intermediate, but due to my recent drought on the bike, there were a lot of obstacles that gave me troubles. I did make most of them though, including some steep drop offs and some gnarly downhill stuff. No major wrecks, no flats, nice weather, pretty great ride.
After the ride and a few post trail Fat Tires, I took a walk around. Down the creek to the rock climbers hangout, past Sex Cave, down to the rope swing at the Perdenales River. I'm so glad the recent vote went the right way, I couldn't bear the thought of a Starbucks or McDonald's opening up out here. Reimer's will officially become county property on Dec 15. $5 to get in, but well worth every penny. Hope to have a hash out there soon, and possibly another bash ride even sooner.
After the ride and a few post trail Fat Tires, I took a walk around. Down the creek to the rock climbers hangout, past Sex Cave, down to the rope swing at the Perdenales River. I'm so glad the recent vote went the right way, I couldn't bear the thought of a Starbucks or McDonald's opening up out here. Reimer's will officially become county property on Dec 15. $5 to get in, but well worth every penny. Hope to have a hash out there soon, and possibly another bash ride even sooner.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Penile Probe
Many of you out there know PP from the Hill Country hash. He's currently deployed to everyone's favorite beach, Iraq. Think he's somewhere in the Baghdad area. If anyone wants to drop him a line, here's his address. Tomorrow is Vet's day, so take a minute to write him and tell him what a wanker he is.
SSG Dennis Lockert
4th ID 'C' Co. 2/4 AVN REGT
APO AE 09378
4ID were the guys I spend a year in Tikrit with. Had I stayed in I'd be on my way back over there.
SSG Dennis Lockert
4th ID 'C' Co. 2/4 AVN REGT
APO AE 09378
4ID were the guys I spend a year in Tikrit with. Had I stayed in I'd be on my way back over there.
Junta
Congrats to the new junta (suckers)! First bitch: what's up with Texas Interhash running $100? It's the most expensive TXIH ever. San Antonio did it for half that. Hell, Hill Country did it for less than that and those guys can't plan for shit. Please correct this problem ASAP.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Scott Jurek
One of my heros, Scott Jurek (seven time WS100 winner and Badwater Ultra course record holder) has rego'd for the Freescale (Austin) Marathon. Will be interesting to see how Scotty does on a road marathon. A lot of my wanker road running friends always talk about how they could whoop him on the roads, here's their chance.
Laura Cantrell
Laura Cantrell is at Waterloo Records at 5PM today if anyone is interested. Free St. Arnold's beer. Good way to warm up for hash elections. Not even sure if I'm going to DD's though, there are a few hashers grating on my nerves right now and I'm not sure if I wanna deal with them tonight. We'll see.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Monday, November 07, 2005
Holiday Hill Country Trail Tour
Friday, December 16
Leave Austin, Texas at 10AM from RunTex Riverside
10AM-Noon: Travel to Government Canyon in NW San Antonio
Noon-1pm: Check in, get situated, water & fuel ready.
1pm-4pm: 3 hour Trail Run in Government Canyon
4pm-5pm: Drive to Hill Country SNA (35 min drive)
5pm-6pm: Check in, set up camp, dinner prep
6pm-7pm: Dinner
7pm- 10pm: Smack Talk
Saturday, December 17
6am-8am: Wake up & Breakfast
8am-11am: 3 hour Trail Run in Hill Country SNA
11am-5pm: Relax
5pm-6pm: Dinner
6pm-8pm: Smack Talk
8pm-10pm: Night Run
Sunday, December 18
6am-8am: Wake up & Breakfast
8am-9am: Drive to Lost Maples SNA
9am-10am: Check in, get situated, water & fuel ready.
10am-Noon: 2 hour Trail Run in Lost Maples SNA
Noon-2pm: Drive back to Austin
Yup, yup, the Bandera Rogues and a few other yahoos are working on a nice Christmas trip. Sure beats heading out to the mall for last minute shopping. Should be a good time, and it'd probably be my last difficult week of training before my first attempt at 100K.
So the remainder of my run schedule is basically set.
November 19th, Warda 44 miler
December 10th, Sunmart 50 miler
December 16th to 18th, Holiday Trail Tour
January 7, Bandera 100K
After Bandera I'll stay somewhat active in order to do the Freescale (Austin) marathon, and then I'll take some time off. Gonna put some work back into all the trails I've been tearing up. Volunteering for the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race in Feb, also gonna volunteer for some of the local trail groups around here, like Bull Creek, Walnut Creek, Brightleaf, and Reimers (hopefully; depending on how the vote tomorrow goes they may be building a Starbucks there come Feb).
Come April/May, I'll start ramping up for the Colorado trip.
A lot of runners see the above distances and think I'm some kind of idiot. And yes, on some weekends, I do go a bit above what needs to be done for basic fitness. But other than that my runs are normal. On a rare weekday, if I have time, I'll do the ten mile Town Lake loop. Usually though I'll run three days of the week, five or six miles. True, on trails, that distance takes a little longer to do, but it's not that bad. I'd much rather run an hour on trails than 45 minutes on road anyways.
Leave Austin, Texas at 10AM from RunTex Riverside
10AM-Noon: Travel to Government Canyon in NW San Antonio
Noon-1pm: Check in, get situated, water & fuel ready.
1pm-4pm: 3 hour Trail Run in Government Canyon
4pm-5pm: Drive to Hill Country SNA (35 min drive)
5pm-6pm: Check in, set up camp, dinner prep
6pm-7pm: Dinner
7pm- 10pm: Smack Talk
Saturday, December 17
6am-8am: Wake up & Breakfast
8am-11am: 3 hour Trail Run in Hill Country SNA
11am-5pm: Relax
5pm-6pm: Dinner
6pm-8pm: Smack Talk
8pm-10pm: Night Run
Sunday, December 18
6am-8am: Wake up & Breakfast
8am-9am: Drive to Lost Maples SNA
9am-10am: Check in, get situated, water & fuel ready.
10am-Noon: 2 hour Trail Run in Lost Maples SNA
Noon-2pm: Drive back to Austin
Yup, yup, the Bandera Rogues and a few other yahoos are working on a nice Christmas trip. Sure beats heading out to the mall for last minute shopping. Should be a good time, and it'd probably be my last difficult week of training before my first attempt at 100K.
So the remainder of my run schedule is basically set.
November 19th, Warda 44 miler
December 10th, Sunmart 50 miler
December 16th to 18th, Holiday Trail Tour
January 7, Bandera 100K
After Bandera I'll stay somewhat active in order to do the Freescale (Austin) marathon, and then I'll take some time off. Gonna put some work back into all the trails I've been tearing up. Volunteering for the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race in Feb, also gonna volunteer for some of the local trail groups around here, like Bull Creek, Walnut Creek, Brightleaf, and Reimers (hopefully; depending on how the vote tomorrow goes they may be building a Starbucks there come Feb).
Come April/May, I'll start ramping up for the Colorado trip.
A lot of runners see the above distances and think I'm some kind of idiot. And yes, on some weekends, I do go a bit above what needs to be done for basic fitness. But other than that my runs are normal. On a rare weekday, if I have time, I'll do the ten mile Town Lake loop. Usually though I'll run three days of the week, five or six miles. True, on trails, that distance takes a little longer to do, but it's not that bad. I'd much rather run an hour on trails than 45 minutes on road anyways.
Rocky Trails Marathon
The day didn't get off to a good start, my alarm going off at 3:30AM after getting to bed around 2AM. Not the way you want to begin a marathon day. But soon Melissa arrived and we were on our way to Inks Lake State Park for the Rocky Trails marathon.
They did have coffee at the start line, which was a good sign. Plus we got an awesome t-shirt, one without any ads on it, very rare these days. Even had homemade rice krispy treats, the day was definitely improving.
Race began with 43 runners. It was basically a three loop race around the park. Great trail! Kind of like a mix between Bull Creek park and Bandera. Hills certainly weren't as difficult as Bandera, but there was some super technical rock running. Another fun section was climbing up the rock, a huge dome you had to run up and over. From descriptions I think it's similiar to Enchanted Rock, though I've never been to ER. Lots of aid stations, including "Shan's Irish Pub," one of the cooler aid stations I've ever seen. And yes, on my last loop, I did stop to have a bottle of Guinness. Next year Shan promised she'd have an Irish Car Bomb waiting for me.
Started conservatively. Was in about 8th place after one lap. Even had two females in front of me, both friends of mine. I picked it up on the second lap and moved up steadily. Finally got Melissa and Meredith behind me, they woulda ragged me for a while had they beaten me. Came around the second time in 5th place.
By this time things were starting to heat up. It was 85 degrees in Burnet, and the sun sure was heating up those rocks. I was hurting pretty bad on that last lap, but I was able to hold things together enough to pass two more runners. The Guinness really helped things and I held a pretty good pace over the last three or so miles. Finished up in 3rd place, with a time of 4:04:07. I'm pretty happy with the effort, and it wins me a case of beer from Emily. Oh, ended up winning another six pack this weekend, off Slummy, sorry we had to beat up on your Pack like that, SB.
Kudos goes out to Melissa for her first marathon win. I was afraid I'd hafta give a ride home to a gal who got a bigger trophy than me, but they ended up being the same size.
Next up is the Warda Cardiac Run and Relay. I'm doing the 44 mile run, but they also have a 22 mile run and a two or four person relay. I'll be going out the night before to camp, Bluff Creek is a pretty cool place (it's less than four miles from where Slut's campout was). Some of you budding marathoners out there might wanna look into doing this, I saw the finishers awards and they're worth having.
They did have coffee at the start line, which was a good sign. Plus we got an awesome t-shirt, one without any ads on it, very rare these days. Even had homemade rice krispy treats, the day was definitely improving.
Race began with 43 runners. It was basically a three loop race around the park. Great trail! Kind of like a mix between Bull Creek park and Bandera. Hills certainly weren't as difficult as Bandera, but there was some super technical rock running. Another fun section was climbing up the rock, a huge dome you had to run up and over. From descriptions I think it's similiar to Enchanted Rock, though I've never been to ER. Lots of aid stations, including "Shan's Irish Pub," one of the cooler aid stations I've ever seen. And yes, on my last loop, I did stop to have a bottle of Guinness. Next year Shan promised she'd have an Irish Car Bomb waiting for me.
Started conservatively. Was in about 8th place after one lap. Even had two females in front of me, both friends of mine. I picked it up on the second lap and moved up steadily. Finally got Melissa and Meredith behind me, they woulda ragged me for a while had they beaten me. Came around the second time in 5th place.
By this time things were starting to heat up. It was 85 degrees in Burnet, and the sun sure was heating up those rocks. I was hurting pretty bad on that last lap, but I was able to hold things together enough to pass two more runners. The Guinness really helped things and I held a pretty good pace over the last three or so miles. Finished up in 3rd place, with a time of 4:04:07. I'm pretty happy with the effort, and it wins me a case of beer from Emily. Oh, ended up winning another six pack this weekend, off Slummy, sorry we had to beat up on your Pack like that, SB.
Kudos goes out to Melissa for her first marathon win. I was afraid I'd hafta give a ride home to a gal who got a bigger trophy than me, but they ended up being the same size.
Next up is the Warda Cardiac Run and Relay. I'm doing the 44 mile run, but they also have a 22 mile run and a two or four person relay. I'll be going out the night before to camp, Bluff Creek is a pretty cool place (it's less than four miles from where Slut's campout was). Some of you budding marathoners out there might wanna look into doing this, I saw the finishers awards and they're worth having.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Nickel Creek, Rocky Trails, and Slut's campout!
Big, big weekend coming up!
Was gonna head out to Burnet to camp tonight, but lucky for me Nicole won free Nickel Creek tickets! Great band, saw them once at Waterloo Records but they've gotten much bigger since then. So after work it's off to Lovejoy's for a few pints before heading over to Stubb's for the show!
Tomorrow at the ass crack of dawn (4:20AM, that early start will remind me of my Army days) Melissa and I are off to Inks Lake State Park (Burnet, TX) for the Rocky Trails marathon. My first trail marathon, I have to break 4:30 to win a case of Lone Star off Emily so I'll be bookin'. Hearing great things about the race, and have lots of friends going, so it should be a good time.
No rest for the weary, after the marathon it's off to La Grange for Slut Slingers 50th b-day/15th hashiversary/Full Moon 1 yr hashiversary/whatever else they could bunch into one weekend event! Woohoo! Good times, lots of outta town hashers I haven't seen in a while, looking forward to this one.
Once I recover Sun morning, Nicole and I are gonna bike Warda on the way home. Should be fun, good chance to scout the trail for the Cardiac 44 miler I have coming up there in two weeks.
Still having computer problems at home, I can get yahoo but not blogspot. Hence, the short, lousy posts lately. Bummer, 'cuz I'm starting to miss all the good pics on Late Night Drive Through's site, don't wanna get caught looking at them at work.
Time to go bust some more nurses.
Was gonna head out to Burnet to camp tonight, but lucky for me Nicole won free Nickel Creek tickets! Great band, saw them once at Waterloo Records but they've gotten much bigger since then. So after work it's off to Lovejoy's for a few pints before heading over to Stubb's for the show!
Tomorrow at the ass crack of dawn (4:20AM, that early start will remind me of my Army days) Melissa and I are off to Inks Lake State Park (Burnet, TX) for the Rocky Trails marathon. My first trail marathon, I have to break 4:30 to win a case of Lone Star off Emily so I'll be bookin'. Hearing great things about the race, and have lots of friends going, so it should be a good time.
No rest for the weary, after the marathon it's off to La Grange for Slut Slingers 50th b-day/15th hashiversary/Full Moon 1 yr hashiversary/whatever else they could bunch into one weekend event! Woohoo! Good times, lots of outta town hashers I haven't seen in a while, looking forward to this one.
Once I recover Sun morning, Nicole and I are gonna bike Warda on the way home. Should be fun, good chance to scout the trail for the Cardiac 44 miler I have coming up there in two weeks.
Still having computer problems at home, I can get yahoo but not blogspot. Hence, the short, lousy posts lately. Bummer, 'cuz I'm starting to miss all the good pics on Late Night Drive Through's site, don't wanna get caught looking at them at work.
Time to go bust some more nurses.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
St. Ed's and this weekend
Nice night run along Bull Creek at St. Ed's park last night. Perfect weather. Don't know the trails too well out there, especially when it's dark. Only ran about 45 minutes, but got in some good technical stuff using the green lantern to light the way. Hoping to not need a light at Sunmart, but will definitely need one for Bandera, so the practice was good. Still a bit sore in the left achilles from the Challenge, but that should be all better by Saturday.
Saturday it's off to Inks Lake State Park for the Rocky Trails marathon. My first trail marathon, looking forward to it. Was planning on going out on Friday to camp, but I'm in the running for Nickel Creek tix so I might just drive out Sat morning.
And what would a weekend be without getting a good drunk on? After the marathon on Sat it's off to La Grange for Slut Slinger's 15th hashaversary campout. Kick some ass in three man, drink some jager, the get up the next morning for a ride at Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda! Woohoo!
Saturday it's off to Inks Lake State Park for the Rocky Trails marathon. My first trail marathon, looking forward to it. Was planning on going out on Friday to camp, but I'm in the running for Nickel Creek tix so I might just drive out Sat morning.
And what would a weekend be without getting a good drunk on? After the marathon on Sat it's off to La Grange for Slut Slinger's 15th hashaversary campout. Kick some ass in three man, drink some jager, the get up the next morning for a ride at Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda! Woohoo!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
BRC pics
Pics from the Burnet Road Challenge are up on my ofoto site.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=s5uqe9e.6o68bcju&x=0&y=-rh0y9m
Yes, Grabber and I were asked to leave Lala's for drinking in the parking lot with a homeless bum. Yes, I threw up at Ginny's and was subsequently cut off. I guess those were the highlights, I can't remember much else.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=s5uqe9e.6o68bcju&x=0&y=-rh0y9m
Yes, Grabber and I were asked to leave Lala's for drinking in the parking lot with a homeless bum. Yes, I threw up at Ginny's and was subsequently cut off. I guess those were the highlights, I can't remember much else.
Mofro/Galactic/New Monsoon
Halloween night it was off to Stubb's for the big show. Was pretty psyched, I'm a huge fan of all three bands and had heard that Galactic Halloween shows were pretty rowdy. Arrived early to check out all the Halloween costumes (the nurses and French maids were my favorite - thanks to all the Austin chicks who wore those!) and then met Lewis and Ass Gagger down there. Even ran into old hash hippie Blowhole.
Mofro kicked things off. Have seen these guys the last two times at ACL. Afraid to buy a CD because I don't think their sound will carry over to the studio very well, but they put on a great live show. Sort of like a Cake meets the Black Crowes kind of sound. Played for about an hour before it was time for Galactic.
I'm a huge Galactic fan, so I was looking forward to this, my first time seeing them live. And they didn't disappoint. A lot of their fans say the band isn't the same since the lead singer left (they're now an instrumental band) but I thought they rocked. Tons of guests came up (Ivan Neville came up and sang a few tunes; the guys from Mofro came back on for an encore of the Stones' "Can't Always Get What You Want"), lots of great solos, all in all a great show.
After Galactic, it was time for the bonus show, New Monsoon playing inside. I had accidentally caught these guys at ACL a few years ago, and I've followed them ever since. The show was amazing. Jam after jam after jam. The highlight of my night was probably their cover of Pink Floyd's "Fearless." They also played a great Who cover, and as much stuff off their second album as they could. Can't say they stole the show from Galactic, but they sure tried.
Show ended about 1:15AM, and I was even sober enough to make it back home through the army of police hanging out downtown.
Couple 'o pics from the show are at:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatWTVs3bs1FOY
Not sure who's up next on the concert calendar. Boog is coming back into town for Turkey day, we might try to catch the Scabs once again, didn't quite make it last time. Still looking to see Cool Chilli Dog if anyone out there sees them playing.
Mofro kicked things off. Have seen these guys the last two times at ACL. Afraid to buy a CD because I don't think their sound will carry over to the studio very well, but they put on a great live show. Sort of like a Cake meets the Black Crowes kind of sound. Played for about an hour before it was time for Galactic.
I'm a huge Galactic fan, so I was looking forward to this, my first time seeing them live. And they didn't disappoint. A lot of their fans say the band isn't the same since the lead singer left (they're now an instrumental band) but I thought they rocked. Tons of guests came up (Ivan Neville came up and sang a few tunes; the guys from Mofro came back on for an encore of the Stones' "Can't Always Get What You Want"), lots of great solos, all in all a great show.
After Galactic, it was time for the bonus show, New Monsoon playing inside. I had accidentally caught these guys at ACL a few years ago, and I've followed them ever since. The show was amazing. Jam after jam after jam. The highlight of my night was probably their cover of Pink Floyd's "Fearless." They also played a great Who cover, and as much stuff off their second album as they could. Can't say they stole the show from Galactic, but they sure tried.
Show ended about 1:15AM, and I was even sober enough to make it back home through the army of police hanging out downtown.
Couple 'o pics from the show are at:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatWTVs3bs1FOY
Not sure who's up next on the concert calendar. Boog is coming back into town for Turkey day, we might try to catch the Scabs once again, didn't quite make it last time. Still looking to see Cool Chilli Dog if anyone out there sees them playing.
Monday, October 31, 2005
pics
Couple 'o pics from Rocky Raccoon. Don't laugh at how bad I look, I'm finishing up a 31 mile trail run in these photos.
http://www.karenthibodeaux.com/Image.asp?catalogID=654425
http://www.karenthibodeaux.com/Image.asp?catalogID=654425
Monday
My home computer is currently away and I don't have much time at work, so this'll be short. More regular postings once I get my internet access back.
The Burnet Road Challenge was a blast. Over 50 people showed up, many non-hashers who I have never seen before. Had fun, got thrown out of Lala's, cut off at Ginny's, and who knows what else. Probably do this again next year.
The Monte show was alright. He did the entire show on an electric guitar, I've never seen that. I don't think he sounds as good on an electric as opposed to his usual acoustic guitar. Hopefully the electric thing doesn't last. His second set was much, much better than the first though, wonder if that had anything to do with Monte drinking a lot of tequila? And if anyone ever sees Lewis & Cock's kids, ask them what a dildo is. Trojan was nice enough to pique their curiosity.
Ended up haring on Sunday. UZM called me on Friday and said he needed help laying the trail, so I volunteered. He said he had the whole thing scouted out, but when we got to the first beer check he said, "I know where we have to go, I'm just not sure how to get there." Turned out to be a pretty good trail. Lots of blood, fitting for a Halloween hash. Probably my last week as beermeister too, since I probably won't make it next week. Woohoo!
Off to see Galactic/Mofro/New Monsoon at Stubb's tonight! Should be a great show. Wish it weren't on a Monday, though, gotta stay somewhat sober on the school nights.
DOF, when I have more time I will certainly ridicule your latest post.
The Burnet Road Challenge was a blast. Over 50 people showed up, many non-hashers who I have never seen before. Had fun, got thrown out of Lala's, cut off at Ginny's, and who knows what else. Probably do this again next year.
The Monte show was alright. He did the entire show on an electric guitar, I've never seen that. I don't think he sounds as good on an electric as opposed to his usual acoustic guitar. Hopefully the electric thing doesn't last. His second set was much, much better than the first though, wonder if that had anything to do with Monte drinking a lot of tequila? And if anyone ever sees Lewis & Cock's kids, ask them what a dildo is. Trojan was nice enough to pique their curiosity.
Ended up haring on Sunday. UZM called me on Friday and said he needed help laying the trail, so I volunteered. He said he had the whole thing scouted out, but when we got to the first beer check he said, "I know where we have to go, I'm just not sure how to get there." Turned out to be a pretty good trail. Lots of blood, fitting for a Halloween hash. Probably my last week as beermeister too, since I probably won't make it next week. Woohoo!
Off to see Galactic/Mofro/New Monsoon at Stubb's tonight! Should be a great show. Wish it weren't on a Monday, though, gotta stay somewhat sober on the school nights.
DOF, when I have more time I will certainly ridicule your latest post.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Monte tonight
Damn, lots of hashers read this now. More on the Challenge when I get my computer back. We will probably do it again next year, so if anyone has any suggestions tell me or grabber. We will then make fun of you and your suggestions at the next Tues happy hour.
Couple 'o hashers (Trojan, Lewis, UnZip Me, Just Nicole) heading out to Nutty Brown tonight to see Monte Montgomery. Opening act at 8PM, Monte at 9:30PM, $8 cover. I'm taking a lot of heat after Keller Williams exploded on the acoustic guitar last week, Monte needs to be on his game tonight to quiet the critics!
I'm now co-haring tomorrow. UZM called today and said he had the general area for trail scouted out, but wanted me to go along to lay some really long falses. So use that extra hour tonight for sleep, you're gonna need to be rested up for tomorrow's trail!
Couple 'o hashers (Trojan, Lewis, UnZip Me, Just Nicole) heading out to Nutty Brown tonight to see Monte Montgomery. Opening act at 8PM, Monte at 9:30PM, $8 cover. I'm taking a lot of heat after Keller Williams exploded on the acoustic guitar last week, Monte needs to be on his game tonight to quiet the critics!
I'm now co-haring tomorrow. UZM called today and said he had the general area for trail scouted out, but wanted me to go along to lay some really long falses. So use that extra hour tonight for sleep, you're gonna need to be rested up for tomorrow's trail!
Friday, October 28, 2005
asshole or bitch?
I am 58% Asshole/Bitch.
I am abrasive, some people really hate me, but there may be a group of other tight knit assholes and bitches that I can hang out with and get me. Everybody else? Fuck ‘em.Thursday, October 27, 2005
colorado
Working on an August trip to Colorado. Will include climbing Long's Peak on a Tues or Wed, participating in the Pikes Peak climbs (I'll do the double, you can choose to do the Ascent or Marathon), and doing the incline on Monday. Of course, we'll visit the Denver, Fort Collins, and Pikes Peak hashes while we're there. Long's will be extremely difficult, both physically and logistically, but I have lots of friends who've done it so the planning will be a bit easier. Anyone interested in joining me for this trip get ahold of me.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
wednesday
Tried to go to a KKK rally at lunch today. No, not looking into membership, but there was supposed to be a group over at city hall pushing for passage of the upcoming marriage vote. Figured I might see a fight or something if I hung out over there. But there was nothing. No rally, no guys in white suits, nothing.
Running the Greenbelt after work today, then it's down to Town Lake for a memorial honoring the 2000 fallen Iraqi Freedon soldiers. Probably go for a beer afterwards so if anyone is interested give me a call around 9PM.
Picking up the Burnet Road Challenge shirts tomorrow, they look pretty good. Grabber and I hit four pubs last night (Poodle Dog, Lala's, Buddy's, and C. Hunt's) to tell 'em we're coming by. Poodle Dog is giving anyone with an official t-shirt on a .25 discount on Lone Star! Just drink 40 Lone Stars there and the shirt pays for itself! We're planning on having a toast to Crotch at Ginny's, with Jim Beam. Probably pass out cans of Lone Star for the Buddy's to Lala's leg, the longest section of the Challenge at 1.8 miles.
Running the Greenbelt after work today, then it's down to Town Lake for a memorial honoring the 2000 fallen Iraqi Freedon soldiers. Probably go for a beer afterwards so if anyone is interested give me a call around 9PM.
Picking up the Burnet Road Challenge shirts tomorrow, they look pretty good. Grabber and I hit four pubs last night (Poodle Dog, Lala's, Buddy's, and C. Hunt's) to tell 'em we're coming by. Poodle Dog is giving anyone with an official t-shirt on a .25 discount on Lone Star! Just drink 40 Lone Stars there and the shirt pays for itself! We're planning on having a toast to Crotch at Ginny's, with Jim Beam. Probably pass out cans of Lone Star for the Buddy's to Lala's leg, the longest section of the Challenge at 1.8 miles.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
BRC meeting tonight
Final BRC meeting tonight, announcements soon after. Please support dumb people doing dumb things by buying an official event t-shirt.
http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/7097/20138comp2om.jpg
http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/7097/20138comp2om.jpg
Sunday, October 23, 2005
short hash today
I'm hurting today. I can barely walk. I drove eight hours yesterday in a VW van to do a 30+ mile trail. I'm very happy to only have to drive to Georgetown today and trail will be less than ten miles.
Keller Williams
Went to the Keller Williams show last night. Amazing show! This guy's CDs just don't do him justice.
Keller Williams, not the house sales guy, is a great musician who plays all the instruments in the show. He'll lay down a bass riff, then record it onto a computer, then loop it. Same with the drums, keyboard, and whatever else he plays. Then he'll pick up an acoustic guitar and rock out. One of the best acoustic guitarists I've ever seen.
Played a lot of my favorite Keller stuff, including "gate crashers suck," and did some great covers of String Cheese, the Dead, and Bob Marley.
At one point I informed Social Retard (who is a HUGE Keller fan and had seen him in Dallas the night before), "Hey, this guy reminds me of Jack Black." She gave me a weird look and said, "No he doesent, you idiot, he's nothing like Jack Black." And wouldn't you know it, the very next song Keller played was a cover by Tenacious D! "I love you baby...But all I can think about is...Kielbassa sausage, your butt cheeks is warm!"
So, another great day in Austin. PR long run in the morning, great live show in the evening. Good times!
Keller Williams, not the house sales guy, is a great musician who plays all the instruments in the show. He'll lay down a bass riff, then record it onto a computer, then loop it. Same with the drums, keyboard, and whatever else he plays. Then he'll pick up an acoustic guitar and rock out. One of the best acoustic guitarists I've ever seen.
Played a lot of my favorite Keller stuff, including "gate crashers suck," and did some great covers of String Cheese, the Dead, and Bob Marley.
At one point I informed Social Retard (who is a HUGE Keller fan and had seen him in Dallas the night before), "Hey, this guy reminds me of Jack Black." She gave me a weird look and said, "No he doesent, you idiot, he's nothing like Jack Black." And wouldn't you know it, the very next song Keller played was a cover by Tenacious D! "I love you baby...But all I can think about is...Kielbassa sausage, your butt cheeks is warm!"
So, another great day in Austin. PR long run in the morning, great live show in the evening. Good times!
Rocky Raccoon
Great run yesterday up at Huntsville State Park, site of the Rocky Raccoon 50K. Ended up in 5th overall, four hours and 22 minutes, a PR for me by almost 25 minutes.
Started very conservatively. Wanted to pick it up a bit here as I was feeling pretty good, but the patience paid off. I was somewhere back towards the middle of the pack at the second aid station, then I decided it was time to start running. I might have run faster than anyone on the course for the next 15 miles. Hit the halfway point in 2:09, also a PR for me. Kept up the pace and moved into fourth place. Hit the second aid station on the last loop, and then reality hit me. Started cramping up pretty bad, one guy passed me, I was starting to think this day was going into the tank quickly. But I hung in there, and even though my pace slowed a bit I was still able to continue running. After about two miles of pain, and after taking some migrane strength excedrin, I got my second wind. Once again picked up the pace and was able to bring it home pretty strong.
Very happy with my time. This was my first time I was able to put together a complete 50K, in races past I had ended up walking a significant portion of the final few miles.
It was pretty funny, there I was about 100 yards from the finish line, slogging towards the end, looking like shit, and I hear someone say "Get your ass moving, wanker!" I look up and there is Choo Choo from the Houston hash, he had done the 25K. He was also one of the few who did the double ballbuster up in Toronto. Luckily I had brought along some St. Arnold's for post race recovery!
Up next: the Rocky Trails marathon on Nov 5, at Inks Lake State Park in Tyler. I'm up to the point now where I can say, "it's only 26 miles, I'll just do that and head out to the hash campout."
Started very conservatively. Wanted to pick it up a bit here as I was feeling pretty good, but the patience paid off. I was somewhere back towards the middle of the pack at the second aid station, then I decided it was time to start running. I might have run faster than anyone on the course for the next 15 miles. Hit the halfway point in 2:09, also a PR for me. Kept up the pace and moved into fourth place. Hit the second aid station on the last loop, and then reality hit me. Started cramping up pretty bad, one guy passed me, I was starting to think this day was going into the tank quickly. But I hung in there, and even though my pace slowed a bit I was still able to continue running. After about two miles of pain, and after taking some migrane strength excedrin, I got my second wind. Once again picked up the pace and was able to bring it home pretty strong.
Very happy with my time. This was my first time I was able to put together a complete 50K, in races past I had ended up walking a significant portion of the final few miles.
It was pretty funny, there I was about 100 yards from the finish line, slogging towards the end, looking like shit, and I hear someone say "Get your ass moving, wanker!" I look up and there is Choo Choo from the Houston hash, he had done the 25K. He was also one of the few who did the double ballbuster up in Toronto. Luckily I had brought along some St. Arnold's for post race recovery!
Up next: the Rocky Trails marathon on Nov 5, at Inks Lake State Park in Tyler. I'm up to the point now where I can say, "it's only 26 miles, I'll just do that and head out to the hash campout."
Friday, October 21, 2005
more pub run
So there I was, third thursday of the month, as usual in the parking lot of RunTex, drinking some St. Arnold's...
Another great pub run by the Austin Duathletes. Early on, in the parking lot, a newby to Austin was talking to Phil and I about duathlons. The guy asks Phil, who is the president of the AD, what workouts the club does. He replies, "Well, on the third thursday of the month we do the pub run, and on the first thursday of the month we do the booze cruise." What a great group!
Thanks to Melissa for all the presents in the parking lot! You're still a wanker for not doing the pub run, though. Good luck in your marathon this weekend.
Pretty good turnout. Several hashers. Lewis & Cock, High Beams, Tarantula, Squeeky Cheeks, Squeeze Box. Brrr wasn't here, so I was quite happy, but she ended up showing up later. Luckily I was able to avoid her most of the night.
From Runtex we were off to Darwin's pub on 6th street. A quick Fat Tire here and I try to round up the hashers for an extra stop to support the hash bar. Everyone but Lewis wanks out, you should all be disappointed in yourselves for skipping LJ's!
So to LJ's for an Iron City. From there it was off to Sholtz's beer garden in the shadow of UT stadium. Unfortunately, this joint was closed for a private party. Losers. Oh well, at least two of us had made up for the closed bar with an extra stop.
Next pub was Posse East, a beautiful dive on the corner of Duval and San Jacinto. Couple of Lone Stars here. I then saw Brrr doing sign language so I bolted to the next bar, all the way to...
...the Crown & Anchor! One of my favorite watering holes in Austin! Stayed a while here, had a few pints of Guinness. Tried to arm wrestle High Beams here but she pussed out.
Lewis and I decided it was time for another off-the-map bar, so it was off to Texas Showdown for more Lone Star. It was his first time in the joint, I think he likes it there.
Texas Showdown to Lavaca St. Pub for the final stop. Lots of drunks here. Regular runners don't drink very much, so they tend to get wasted on these pub runs. We were joined here by Nicole (who got a parking ticket!) and I even caught a glimpse of my favorite stalker, Jeannette. I had quite a few beers here, and my goal of staying relatively sober was destroyed.
All in all, another great Thursday night!
Well, gotta get back to busting nurses. I'll keep everyone posted on the next pub run.
Another great pub run by the Austin Duathletes. Early on, in the parking lot, a newby to Austin was talking to Phil and I about duathlons. The guy asks Phil, who is the president of the AD, what workouts the club does. He replies, "Well, on the third thursday of the month we do the pub run, and on the first thursday of the month we do the booze cruise." What a great group!
Thanks to Melissa for all the presents in the parking lot! You're still a wanker for not doing the pub run, though. Good luck in your marathon this weekend.
Pretty good turnout. Several hashers. Lewis & Cock, High Beams, Tarantula, Squeeky Cheeks, Squeeze Box. Brrr wasn't here, so I was quite happy, but she ended up showing up later. Luckily I was able to avoid her most of the night.
From Runtex we were off to Darwin's pub on 6th street. A quick Fat Tire here and I try to round up the hashers for an extra stop to support the hash bar. Everyone but Lewis wanks out, you should all be disappointed in yourselves for skipping LJ's!
So to LJ's for an Iron City. From there it was off to Sholtz's beer garden in the shadow of UT stadium. Unfortunately, this joint was closed for a private party. Losers. Oh well, at least two of us had made up for the closed bar with an extra stop.
Next pub was Posse East, a beautiful dive on the corner of Duval and San Jacinto. Couple of Lone Stars here. I then saw Brrr doing sign language so I bolted to the next bar, all the way to...
...the Crown & Anchor! One of my favorite watering holes in Austin! Stayed a while here, had a few pints of Guinness. Tried to arm wrestle High Beams here but she pussed out.
Lewis and I decided it was time for another off-the-map bar, so it was off to Texas Showdown for more Lone Star. It was his first time in the joint, I think he likes it there.
Texas Showdown to Lavaca St. Pub for the final stop. Lots of drunks here. Regular runners don't drink very much, so they tend to get wasted on these pub runs. We were joined here by Nicole (who got a parking ticket!) and I even caught a glimpse of my favorite stalker, Jeannette. I had quite a few beers here, and my goal of staying relatively sober was destroyed.
All in all, another great Thursday night!
Well, gotta get back to busting nurses. I'll keep everyone posted on the next pub run.
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