new runner blog

Used to run with this chick back when I lived in A-town. Logged a lot of miles in the greenbelt with her, that's for sure. Think she's still the president of the Hill Country Trail Runners too.

Meredith

Rage!

Woohoo! Just heard on the radio that Rage Against the Machine, one of the best bands ever, is getting back together for a tour! Hope it leads to some more albums. Audioslave was pretty cool, but they just couldn't do it for me like Rage does.

run #57 - Quinn's

Good run down to Quinn's. Went from my house, over to the Sante Fe trail, along Fountain Creek, and cut through downtown to the pub. Little chilly, but other than that a great night for a run. Run doesn't include the 2.5 mile stumble back to my house from Quinn's.

Start time: 5:50PM
Distance: 6.9 miles
Time: 53:31
Pace: 7:45 per mile
Weather: 40F; clear skies but you could watch a nasty front moving in over Pikes Peak
Pints of Laughing Lab: 5! Thanks to Lauren for pushing me past my usual limit of 4.

thank gawd for WVU!

'Cuz when you're slumpin', nothing cures that drought like beating the crap out of a shitty team!

HAIL TO PITT!

another liquor store gig

Another liquor store just called and offered me a part time job. This one is a lot closer to my house and is in a real seedy part of town. I'd be working alone, and I'm fairly sure I'd be robbed before too long. Not sure I can fit it into my schedule though, especially with the DIM starting up soon.

Kimchi no-show

I'll be unable to make it to the Kimchi hash this week, as I'm required to take my first Air Force PT test and I'm sure I'll be too tired to do anything later that night. Sorry to disappoint everyone.

run #56

Beautiful morning run along Fountain Creek via the Sante Fe trail. Quads still a bit tight from the stair climb.

Start time: 5:30AM
Distance: 6.5 miles
Time: 1:0020
Pace: 9:16 per mile
Weather: 21F, "feels like" 15F, clear skies and no wind

register results

Results are now in. My official time was 7:27. Finished 38th overall out of 1445 finishers. 12th out of 182 in my age group. The average time for all finishers was 15:04. Most importantly, I wasn't chicked, as the first female finished a few flights behind me in 7:39!

kimchi mug update

Here's the current list of folks who have paid me.

brownie
Grannylingus
WOP
Fairy Fluffer
Late Nite Drive Trough
Lick My Lincoln
Lady Does Suck
Wet Spot
Bone Sucker
Ass Gagger
Dust Balls
Donnie the Retard
ESPN
Anal Bead Chainsaw
Nuthin' But Net
MILF

If I'm missing anyone, let me know. If you want your name listed on your mug differently than I have it here, let me know. Also, if I hafta put the order in for less than 22 mugs, the price goes up, and then I'll hafta get everyone to mail me more money, which will take a while. So if you told me you want a mug, get me the loot wankers!

Pikes Peak

Trust no one under 14,000 feet!


If any of yunz are planning on doing the Pikes Peak Ascent or Marathon (or Double, for the super-duper cool folks out there) don't forget that rego is this Thursday! Yup yup, get up early, start the coffee pot, and park your lame ass in front of the computer. Rego opens up at 8AM Colorado time and is expected to fill up within a few hours.

Also, talks are underway with WFC to do a hash starting and finishing on top of Pikes. This'll hafta be a Kimchi hash, since all P2H4 dates for the summer months are already taken. The biggest problem, aside from the extra $10 hounds would hafta shell out to get to the top, is that I'd hafta keep trail to two miles or so, or else we'd have fat hashers collapsing all over.

serious like a vato!

Finally got around to uploading the Kimchi strip club pics. They can be seen here.

remember the alamo

Yeah, I was in pretty rare form at the Pikes hash yesterday. Pics can be seen here. Great Texas theme with cheap whiskey during Willie Nelson songs and Full Service dressing up as Anna Nicole Smith!

run the register

Had a decent time at the Run the Register this morning. Wasn't really sure how to tackle this race, as I'm not really a stair climber, so I just stuck to my goal of taking two steps at a time for the entire distance. Worked out pretty good, as I finished in 7:29. You get to enter the "elite" category if you break eight minutes, so I guess I did alright. Yeah, so I can add the title of "elite stairclimber" to my resume now!

Quads were on fire towards the top, and I was breathing heavy, and my heart rate was through the roof, but because it was such a short event it really wasn't that challenging. Wasn't sure how to pace myself, and I probably could have gone a lot faster. Definitely a lot easier than the Incline.

Meat did pretty well, finishing in just under 22 minutes. She didn't hammer it like I did though, and she wasted a ton of time by stopping to take pics for other climbers. What a wanker!

Leadville week #13

Pretty decent week, though I'm somewhat disappointed that yesterday's race was cancelled. Three weeks away from the season's first marathon, need to get in a few good 20 milers before then.

Week #13 distance: 40.1 miles
Week #13 time: 6:04:43
Average week #13 pace: 9:05 per mile

Total quest distance: 381.5 miles
Total quest time: 60:37:30
Average quest pace: 9:32 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 29.3 miles

run #55 - days off are for pussies

Did the bare minimum today, just wanted to get in 40 miles for the week. Weatherman said gusts of 45 miles per hour, but it felt more like one long sustained blast that made this run fairly miserable. Now I'm about to call Net to see if he's gonna stop by before the hash for a brass monkey or six. Any bets on whether C-4 will let him out to play?

Start time: 11AM
Distance: 7.6 miles
Time: 1:06:41
Pace: 8:46 per mile
Weather: 36F, "feels like" 23F, retardedly windy

new PR!

Averaged 5:44 per mile at the Black Forest 20K this morning...

OK, maybe not. The race was cancelled due to crappy weather. Kinda good, 'cuz I felt like crap after getting all boozed up last night, but kinda bad, as I'll probably blow off my run and start drinking for the hash today.

the weekend

Have a pretty active weekend coming up.

After work today it's straight up to Denver. Social Retard is in town to interview for physical therapy school, and I'm gonna show her Sancho's Broken Arrow, a Greatful Dead themed bar on Colfax Ave. Greatest jukebox I've ever seen with bands such as Panic, Keller, Cheese, Galactic, Mule, MM&W, Umphrey's, Hendrix, and, of course, tons of live Dead shows. After that we'll probably tour some of the fine establishments that grace the pages of Modern Drunkard Magazine.

Saturday morning it's off to do the Black Forest 20K, part of the Pikes Peak Road Runners winter series. I had to miss the last race of the series due to Air Force crap, otherwise I'd be in the running to win my age group. Bummer. Big surprise is that Social is gonna come down and do this race. She used to be one of those typical Austin hashers who always had a million excuses to avoid any physical activity so I didn't even ask her if she wanted to do it. But she asked about it and is now squeezing in the 10K before bolting back to Denver to catch her flight home for Easy Access's 30th b-day.

After the 20K I gotta bolt down for the Pikes Peak hash. Texas theme, I'm gonna wear some tie-dyed stuff to represent Austin. I can walk to the start point from my house, so I plan on drinking quite a bit and offending all the tee-totalers at the P2H4 once again!

Sunday morning it's back up to D-town with MeatGazer and Bella Cuci to run the register.

47 floors, 1,014 steps. Should be an interesting challenge, as I'm not a stair climber. But I've been doing the Incline quite a bit lately, so we'll see. No idea on how long this will take, I figure anywhere between ten and twelve minutes. I'm gonna try to do the whole thing taking two steps at a time though.

ha!

drinking and running

Most people don't bother to read the free newspapers of their hometowns (i.e. the Austin Chronicle) save to find out about what band is playing where or where the drink specials are. I read 'em all the time, the articles in those freebees are usually a lot better than the crap in the major newspapers.

Almost crapped my pants last week when I saw a guy I knew on the cover of the Colorado Springs Independent. I work with this guy a few times a week, one of the very few parolees who seems to have turned the corner. Funny how the state has spent tens and tens of thousands of dollars on rehab programs for this guy, and all that took to change him was a dream. Thank you for paying your taxes, Colorado residents! The story is here.

This week in the CS Indy, there's an article about drinking and physical effort. Mentions the hash, Jack Quinn's, and even a bike pub crawl which I've heard rumors of but have never been able to pin down. The link is here. It keeps amazing me how people talk of the JQ Running Club like it's some sort of religious experience. I was at the very first one, and still go quite often, and I'd say at best it's about 20% as fun as the Austin Duathlete pub runs. Folks there think they're some kind of college student because they ran three miles and drank a pint of beer. It's extremely rare to even see someone minorly drunk there, not quite the case at the pub run or a Kimchi hash.

Anyways, I hold out hope that the bike pub crawl will be awesome!

chlamydia

Found out from my doctor last night that I have chlamydia...

OK, maybe not, but he has a pretty good (though obvously false) top ten list on his blog today. Hey, at least when I had to move, I was able to hit somewhere near civilization.

Chlamydia

run #54 - track

Hit the CC track again. Track is finally clear of ice and snow, no hills or slipping to worry about. Was still sore, so I wanted to take it relatively easy because of two races I have coming up this weekend. Started a bit slow at 3:05, but then hit 2:58, 2:59, 2:55, and raced the last one home to impress the woman's rugby team in 2:47.

Start time: 6PM
Distance: 5.0 miles - Colorado College track
Time: 45:00
Pace: 5 x 800m averaging 2:54
Weather: 40F

Bar 69

Took me a bit longer than I anticipated, mostly due to spending too much time at the same Knob Hill bars, but I finally hit my 69th different bar in the Colorado Springs area. Lunch took me to Oscar's pub at the main gate of Peterson AFB (not to be confused with the Oscar's near the Purple Castle). Went high class too, had a bottle of Pabst instead of the usual can.

Next up on the agenda is a combination of hitting triple digits on the bar list and completing the around the world thing at Old Chicago's.

run #53 - CRC happy hour

Another easy run at the Colorado Running Company happy hour. Could only get five miles in, as I had to finish in time to help the Pikes Peak Road Runners mail out their monthly newsletter, but the first 2.5 miles were run with Tony Krupicka, winner of the Leadville 100 miler and most recent Rocky Raccoon 100 miler. Believe it or not, most of the talking was about Texas trails and the Austin trail running scene. Free Bristol and pizza at the end of the run made for a great night.

Start time: 6PM
Distance: 5.0 miles - Fountain Creek north
Time: 42:16
Pace: 8:27 mile
Weather: 35F

new hash websites

Two new hash websites that will revolutionize the way things are done on the internet:

CoTex

CKH3

Neither of these pages are done, and both of the webmeisters (Dairy Godmother and Lick My Lincoln) are wankers, but I wanted to get the info out to my loyal readers. I have a feeling Meat is gonna yell at me for putting out the CoTex address already, but oh well.

I love how we have our founder's name incorporated into the Kimchi web site!

run #52

Another early morning run with decent weather. Slow first mile but picked it up after that.

Start time: 5:30 AM
Distance: 5.5 miles - Knob Hill west
Time: 42:49
Pace: 7:47 mile
Weather: 40F

Run #51

Actually got out of bed early today, despite still feeling sore from the weekend's activities. Took me a bit to warm up and shake out the legs, but towards the end I felt pretty good and actually stepped up to a decent pace.

Start time: 6:00 AM
Distance: 5.0 miles - Knob Hill north + Swope loop
Time: 40:36
Pace: 8:07 mile
Weather: 25F, "feels like" 18F; nice to see the sun starting to come up this early

putting a stop to future rumors...

Just thought of this today, and it's really scary, but I want to point out that there's a big difference between Dan Davis:



and Dani Davis:

more Mt. Hood follies

Currently another rescue operation underway at Oregon's Mount Hood. Looks like this one is gonna end up a bit better than the last one. Can't understand why this mountain is causing so much trouble, it's not that difficult to climb, though winter ascents are always dangerous.

Of course, with all the media attention, a bunch of fat folks who can't walk up stairs without panting are now trying to pass laws about mountaineering. Sure hope this never happens in Colorado. For the record, when I go out hiking, I carry neither a beacon nor a cell phone. It's a big part of the beauty of it all for me.

Kimchi forever!

San Austonio tribute

The next Pikes Peak hash has a Texas theme, "Remember the Alamo." Since Austin is basically a suburb of San Antonio, I think the Kimchi hashers should show up in force and honor our sister hash by dressing up as a bunch of hippies. I have extra tie-dyed shirts if anyone wants to borrow one.

There will be no patches, shirts, mugs, tags, or other special habadashery awards for doing this. Your reward will be a good trail, good beer, and good camraderie. Oh, and $5.55 pitchers of Pabst at the Triple Nickle. No Girth, who has been known to slum it with the Kimchi hash, is the hare. Probably won't be a ton of shiggy, but NG knows what he's doing and has laid quite a few killer urban trails since I've been here.

This Saturday, 1PM, at the Triple Nickle. Be there or be square.

for the Kimchi

Everyone knows I live less than half a mile from Arctic. My door is almost always open, and if for some odd reason it's locked, everyone knows where I keep a key. I have no problem with hashers crashing here anytime. I can't friggin' believe people tried to drive home on Saturday. I had trouble walking home from Baby Doll's, I don't even think I could have gotten a key in the jeep door to unlock it. We're lucky nobody got killed, I'm pretty sure we were all three or four (or more) times over the legal limit.

So, to drive the point home, anytime anybody is in the Knob Hill area drinking, they are welcome to stay the night at my place, whether or not I've been out drinking with them. I could care less if I came home to find a bunch of hashers in my house.

Denver hash

Despite barely being able to walk after the weekend's activities, I somehow found the inspiration to head up to D-town for their hash yesterday. Sinbad, a former Texas hasher, and Offensive Discharge laid out a pretty decent (and, thankfully, a pretty short) trail. Good urban shiggy, lots of construction areas, even a roller coaster park. There was even a super cool mud slide, though only two of us were brave enough to do it, the rest of the wussies bypassing the mud for the sidewalk.

Colorado Springs was well represented with Bloody Z, Just Dani, Damn Little, Weasel in the Hole, Keeps It Up, and some virgin KIU brought. Damn near outnumbered the Denver hashers.

run #50 - Rampart Range

Was feeling like hell - two long runs on back to back days plus the pollution from the Kimchi hash - but that didn't stop me from hitting up the Incline Club today! Got a good twelve miles in, up Rampart Range road to the antennae and back. Legs feel completely shredded right now, but that ain't gonna stop me from hitting up the Denver hash!

Start time: 8:00 AM
Distance: 12.0 miles
Time: 2:07:21
Pace: 10:36 per mile
Weather: 40F, clear and sunny

A-town marathon

Sittin' here drinking a cup of joe, listening to Sisson blabbing about the lead pack of the marathoners. Nicole went through two miles in 19:04, a little bit shy of her goal pace but it's early enough to recover. Joe P went through two miles in 15:21! Meredith hit the mark in 18:38. Paul T crossed in 13:45, he's on pace to match my PR. Pretty funny, they were talking about the big hill on the course, going up Congress Avenue! HA! Of course, I'm not a poser, I'm gonna leave soon to hit the Incline Club run and I just dropped my rego for the Zeb Pike marathon in the mail.

I know a ton of people running the race, problem is I don't know a lot of their last names. So I can't search for 'em.

HA!

A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!"

The doctor replied, "I know you can't - I've cut off your arms!"

Leadville week #12

Pretty good week. Woulda hit 50 miles if I didn't have to move back down to the basement. Hit two decent milestones by passing 300 total miles and 50 total hours. Good hill run on Saturday, but I have a lot of work to do to get my climbing legs from the Pikes marathon back.

Week #12 distance: 43.9 miles
Week #12 time: 6:16:46
Average week #12 pace: 8:34 per mile

Total quest distance: 341.4 miles
Total quest time: 54:32:47
Average quest pace: 9:35 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 28.5 miles

run #49 - Crystal Park Road

Met up in Manitou with the CRUD guys. Headed up Crystal Park Road, yet another leg burning climb, almost as bad as Rampart Range Road. Ran up for an hour, turned around, then did a loop around Garden of the Gods. Lots of switchbacks, so I think the run was significantly longer than the 13.6 miles my Garmin picked up.

Start time: 7:00 AM

Distance: 13.6 miles

Time: 2:11:41

Pace: 9:40 per mile

Weather: 40F, clear and sunny

VFW

Went down to the local VFW last night for a few brews. I was the youngest person in there by about 30 years, but it was a great time. Laughing Lab pints for $2. At any other bar, they'd take out a newspaper ad to announce that special, but that's the regular price at the VFW. They also sold boxed wine. I ended up switching my membership from the Austin VFW to the Pikes Peak VFW, now I get a special membership card that allows me to act like a big shot and open the front door without having to call the bartender to let me in.

For those keeping track at home, it was bar #65.

Oh, and afterwards I went to Arctic and had a pint of on-on ale!

run #48

Great run tonight, one of those runs where you feel like you can go forever. Warm temps, but towards the end the relentless wind was getting on my nerves. Ran down the Sante Fe trail to Fountain creek, down to Tejon street, and back to Knob Hill. Wore an old Rogue shirt, hope my good run was a sign of good things to come for the A-town marathoners.

Start time: 4:00 PM
Distance: 13.6 miles
Time: 1:47:52
Pace: 7:55 per mile
Weather: 40F, howling winds

Cracker

Cracker will be rockin' out at the Black Sheep on March 27!

kimchi mugs

The following peeps have paid:

brownie
Grannylingus
WOP
Fairy Fluffer
Late Nite Drive Trough
Lick My Lincoln
Lady Does Suck
WetSpot
Bone Sucker

If you see your name and it's not how you want it on your mug, contact me.

I think we should have a special Kimchi patch made for all people who do mug orders. Can someone work on this for me?

git 'er done!

Good luck to Nicole (running her virgin marathon) and all the rest of the Rogues/HCTRers running the Austin marathon this weekend! Be sure to take advantage of the hash beer check just before mile 25.

woohoo!

Kimchi hare list

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

ultimate warrior

Had to do some Air Force ancillary training via the internet over lunch. Completed level one anti-terrorism training and the DOD homosexuality training course.

Look out Osama, I'm coming for you!!!

sad day for the Air Force

SSgt Michelle Manhart was basically kicked out of the Air Force today for a recent spread in Playboy magazine. About 99% of the female military population are such nasty skanks that not even I would touch 'em, so it hurts when a decent looking chick bites the dust. She was at Lackland AFB (San Antonio) too, where I'm being sent this September.

new second favorite team

Unlike most people, I'm not one for having a "second favorite team," for me it's generally Pittsburgh or nobody. I really love how someone's second favorite team is usually the team who happens to be winning, like "Well, I'm a Raiders fan, but I've always liked the Colts because I flew through the Indy airport once as a kid and blah, blah, blah..."

But I might change that after reading about this incident. Go Zags! Bill Walton would be so proud! Hell, they even had "foil wrapped brownie muffins." Hope those hippies make it to the NCAA championship before losing to Pitt by 30!

AH3 malt liquor hash???

Is there one anymore? Has anyone picked this annual trail up? Now that I've moved away and Grabber has grown up, is there anyone in Austin who could lead such an epic trail?

climb to safety

I've just ordered a new computer. Should have it in a week or so.

After one year, I certainly don't regret my overnight move to Colorado. However, one thing I certainly miss about Austin is the music. I'll keep it nice by saying that, despite the best efforts of the Black Sheep, the live music scene in the Springs just doesn't quite match up. It's been a very big void for me, compounded by the fact that my failing computer didn't allow me to add much new music to my life.

But, with my soon-to-be CD/DVD burning capabilities, I'll be once again starting up weekly post office trips to mail out music. Used to do this all the time, but it's kinda hard to do when you don't have a CD burner.

And before you laugh, some of the bands which I have mailed out before they ever had a radio hit include Live, Rusted Root, Dave Matthews Band, the Clarks, Skunkweed (OK, they'll never have a radio hit, but they're still cool), John Butler Trio, MOFRO, and the Black Keys.

So, to get things started, there's a real cool band from Denver called Something Underground. I'll send a copy to the first person who can tell me which band sings the song listed in the title of the post.

Second copy of SU will go to the first person to send me a copy of the Widespread Panic set from ACL. I bought that boot, passed it out to a million or so friends, and now I can't find it.

coffee

Perhaps the only liquid that rivals my alcohol intake is coffee. I drink tons of joe, at least two pots a day and usually more. I'm also one of the few people in the world that actually like the taste of coffee, not having to ruin it by dousing it with milk and sugar. I even come in to work about half an hour early, every day, so I can make the pot of coffee and make it strong. If any of the other wussies around here make the pot, they make it too weak.

Whenever people ask me for a cup of coffee, they always ask how I like it. And I always reply, "I like my coffee like I like my women - black and strong!" I certainly didn't make that line up, but I think it's hilarious and try to use it whenever I can.

But I heard another great coffee line today on the radio. Some comedian was on the Bob and Tom show and he said, "My favorite kind of coffee is Irish coffee - because I like my coffee like I like my women - filled with booze!"

run #47

Pretty good run on a great night. Might be the last for a while, cold weather supposed to return tomorrow.

Start time: 6:00 PM
Distance: 6.7 miles
Time: 54:31
Pace: 8:08 per mile
Weather: 40F

run #46

Got off early enough that I could get a decent run in. Great day for it too, temps in the low 50s! It's so nice not freezing your ass off during a run!

Start time: 5:00 PM
Distance: 10.0 miles - Sante Fe and Fountain Creek trails
Time: 1:22:42
Pace: 8:16 per mile
Weather: 50F, clear skies, great view of the front range

Leadville week #11

Low mileage week due to a cold and a three day Air Force weekend.

Week #11 distance: 21.8 miles
Week #11 time: 2:55:17
Average week #11 pace: 8:02 per mile

Total quest distance: 297.5 miles
Total quest time: 48:16:01
Average quest pace: 9:44 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 27.05 miles

run #45 - Aim High!

Two things I never count in my real training are hashing and military PT, because both are insanely easy. Decided to count this one as it was my first workout with the Air Force. It was ridiculuous, I had to jog in place every few steps to keep from running into the guy in front of me, we were going so slow. And people still fell out! Sheesh.

Start time: 3:45 PM
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:00 (didn't have my watch, and that is a VERY conservative estimate; in reality there's no way we ran four miles or averaged anywhere near a ten minute mile - and the security forces guys are among the better PTers in the Air Force)
Pace: 8:30 per mile
Weather: 45F, beautiful Colorado winter day

your taxes = my ACL ticket?

Put in my top three requests for AF cop school today. Picked three dates starting in September and running through December. Would suck since I'd miss Sept and Oct, great 14er months. But I'd still get to take a good crack at Leadville, plus I'd be in central Texas for such events as the Austin City Limits music festival, TP's wine and cheese party (someone has to bring the Mad Dog!), and the Cactus Rose Fat Ass down in Bandera.

fatty 500

Maybe this should be a monthly event for the single Kimchi hashers?

I was talking to an ex-jarhead at the AF weekend today. He told me about a monthly contest they used to have in the Marine barracks he was at. Starting on the first of each month, the first grunt to bang 500 pounds of woman would get a free night of the bar compliments of all the other guys in the pool. Sounds gross, but being a long time resident of infantry barracks I have no doubt it happened.

what if???

For a good laugh, go here and click on the SNL skit.

kimchi mugs

Gonna put in the order on March 2 so we can get 'em in time for the Platte Road Challenge. If you haven't paid me by then you won't get one. The following have paid:

brownie
Granny
WOP
Fairy Fluffer
Late Nite Drive Trough

Who is doing the order for the Kimchi snifters???

run #44 - track

Back to the track for some 800m repeats again. Had planned on doing six of these, but some meth junkie with a shot immune system has given me the bird flu, and just getting out of bed has been a struggle, let alone speedwork, so I settled for four repeats. Made 'em count though, as I ran 2:59, 2:55, 2:52, and 2:51, in that order. Most of the improvement comes from the track being snow free and the warm weather (and the CC women's lax team practicing on the field - had to show off for the ladies), I don't think I ran much better this week than I did last week even though my average was a lot lower.

Start time: 5:45 PM
Distance: 4 x 800, one lap recovery in between, one mile warm up and one mile cool down
Time: 2:59, 2:55, 2:52, 2:51
Pace: averaged 2:54
Weather: 45F, temps dropped quicly at 6PM when the sun set

Pastor Ted quote 'o the day

So Haggard breaks the news yesterday that he's 100% hetero after some goofy spiritual retreat. Mike Jones, the male prostitute who broke the whole scandal, had the following to say:

"Give me a break. He's been performing oral sex on me for three years. You don't change that in three weeks."

Not sure why you would get a prostitute to perform oral sex, but if any of the ladies out there wanna shoot me a couple 'o bucks for the priviledge of giving me a hummer, just give me a call!

brownie to begin immediate withdrawl...

Gonna start moving back downstairs tonight, should be all moved in by Sunday evening. Should be a busy weekend, trying to squeeze in the Air Force (it's a three day weekend this time), two long runs, and the move. Guess I'll hafta stock up on PBR and boxed wine for a housewarming party soon!

Thursday track workout

If anyone wants to join me, I'll be at the Colorado College track around 6PM or so. Track should be in a lot better shape and have a lot less hills than last week. Plan on running 6 x 800m repeats averaging around 3:10.

HAIL TO PITT!

Pitt whooped the crap out of West Virginia tonight, 60-47! At 9-1 in conference play, it's our best start in 25 years of Big East play!

In other sports, the Pitt men's track and field team cracked the top 25, tying for 24th with UCLA.

poop

One of the parole officers I work with is a gym rat, so we often talk about workout stuff. He comes up to me today and we have the following conversation:

PO: “jt, I stepped on my digital scale last night and weighed in at 203.8 pounds.”

jt: “Oh yeah?”

PO: “Yeah. Then I went and took a huge shit. When I got back on the scale, it read 202.0! Can you believe that? My dump weighed 1.8 pounds!”

You could tell he was really excited about it.

jt: “Wow, isn’t that what newborn kids weigh? Wonder if that’s a normal weight.”

So there’s an old Army lab tech guy who works here, and we went and asked him. He said the average weight of poop per toilet trip is about half a pound. So this was over three times the normal crap. Pretty impressive. Great conversation at work for once.

Anyways, I can’t wait to get me a digital scale for this purpose!

huh?

So one of Ted Haggard's buddies said in the CS Gazette today that "Ted is 100% heterosexual." I guess that would make me like 1000% heterosexual, since I haven't been bangin' a male prostitute for the past several years...

20 things mountain biking teaches you about life

Took this from my favorite magazine, Dirtrag, which I have a lifetime subscription to. Can't wait for the summer months to get here so I can bust my bike out again!

1. Boldness pays.
2. Desperation breeds mistakes.
3. The hardest parts are also the loneliest.
4. There's fresh horse flop in the trail ahead.
5. Balance is first among the virtues; momentum is second.
6. Success requires confidence, but cockiness invites failure.
7. Sometimes the best way through an obstacle is straight through it.
8. Some people get lucky at parts; nobody gets lucky at everything.
9. It's all about the being and the going, not the having and the arriving.
10. At each intersection, there's the easy way and the hard, rewarding way.
11. It's tempting to focus on the immediate problem to the exclusion of the big picture.
12. The thing that nails you is the one you don't see coming.
13. It's worth stopping for a breather to see where you are.
14. Thousands of tiny decisions shape the trip.
15. The fun starts when you push the limits.
16. You can get hurt, heal and go again.
17. Ups are followed by downs.
18. Practice makes you better.
19. No quitting allowed.
20. Love hurts.

run #43 - Quinn's

Beautiful night for a run! Went from my house down to Quinn's, timed it perfectly so I didn't hafta stop, and ran an extra long Quinn's loop. And for those keeping track at home, I didn't get my ass kicked! Stats below don't count the extra 2.5 miles home after a few beers.

Start time: 5:50 PM
Distance: 7.3 miles
Time: 56:41
Pace: 7:45 per mile
Weather: clear skies, 55F!

woohoo!

Looks like I'll finally be able to move back into the basement this week! Was starting to get really, really sick of living above ground.

new blog

The Colorado Springs chapter of the Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian alliance (BiGaLa) has a new blog!

Granny

run #42

Got my lazy ass out of bed this morning and sheesh was it worth it! 49F at 5:15AM! That's probably chilly for all the Austin runners who read this, but it feels like a major heatwave up here, with all the cold and snowy weather we've been having lately.

Start time: 5:15 AM
Distance: 5.5 miles - Knob Hill long
Time: 42:36
Pace: 7:44 per mile
Weather: clear skies, 49F!

Leadville week #10

Mileage will be a bit skewed from the track workout and the Incline climb. Overall, not happy with my endurance but I'm starting to get a bit of my speed back so I'm not too worried. I'll worry about the mega-mileage once the weather improves.

Week #10 distance: 29.6 miles
Week #10 time: 4:57:30
Average week #10 pace: 10:03 per mile

Total quest distance: 275.7 miles
Total quest time: 45:20:44
Average quest pace: 9:52 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 27.6 miles

run #41

Was great to finally get some good Colorado weather! Temps in the 50s made me wish I wasn't so hungover so I coulda gone farther.

Start time: 1:45 PM
Distance: approx. 10.0 miles
Time: 1:21:20
Pace: 8:08 per mile
Weather: sunny skies, warm temps

new Arctic tap

Arctic beer is now available at Robin Hood, near the corner of Nevada and Fillmore. Net knows right where that is since it's next door to the day labor place. Anyways, go there and support your favorite Platte Place microbrewery!

Happy b-day Meatgazer!

Meatgazer turns a year older today!

kimchi mugs

OK wankers, I'll start taking the loot ($25) for mugs at this week's Kimchi hash. I plan to have the whole order completed by March 1 so if you don't pay me by then you'll hafta hang your head in shame as you watch all the cool people drink out of their Kimchi mugs.

Pikes Peak via the Cog?

Any of yunz locals be interested in a jaunt to the top of Pikes Peak via the Cog Railway? I long ago lost my streak of consecutive months reaching the top, but I'd at least like to get in a winter ascent this season. Walking up the cog is probably illegal and definitely very dangerous, which would make it all the more fun! 8.9 miles each way.

So who is with me?

Leadville weeks 8 and 9

Kinda slackin' on keeping track of my weekly mileage, so I'll combine these two weeks to catch up. Running has been a bit more sporadic than I'd like, but I'm still feeling pretty good. Got a good wake up call today as I realized I have less than a month and a half until my first major race of the season, the Zeb Pike trail marathon down in Salida.

Week #8/9 distance: 70.3 miles
Week #8/9 time: 12:16:11
Average week #8/9 pace: 10:28 per mile

Total quest distance: 246.1 miles
Total quest time: 40:23:14
Average quest pace: 9:50 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 30.8 miles

run #40 - incline

OK, I'm really starting to get fed up with this crappy weather. The incline was damn near impossible today, with the slick footing, freezing temps, and driving wind. My camelbak froze up within ten minutes of getting out of my jeep. Still, I made it to the top (having to lean at the tape to break the 50 minute mark - a full 20 minutes slower than what I usually do it in), and I even decided to head higher on Barr Trail to see the rock that had fallen onto the trail. Barr Trail sucks right now, and I wouldn't suggest going there unless you're retarded like me.

Start time: 1:45 PM
Distance: approx. 5.5 miles
Time: 1:46:05
Pace: 19:17 per mile! Hey, that 50 minute first mile really skews the average...
Weather: very cold, see above about my camelbak freezing

Pikes Peak Library District

So I had to go to the downtown library this afternoon to pick up a 1040. On the way out I took a quick look at the music section. And hell if they didn't have Umphrey's McGee and the String Cheese Incident among their collection! Hooray for libraries!

Happy b-day!

Cherry Picker, one of the few chicks around here with decent taste in music, began celebrating her 33rd birthday last night at Bristol. Have fun at The Wailers this weekend!

thank friggin' gawd!

Happy Groundhog Day!


A fellow Pennsylvanian came through in a big way this morning (not that Pennsylvanians would ever disappoint, of course) as Punxsutawney Phil couldn't find his shadow, meaning an early spring is on it's way. With a high of 7F today in Colorado Springs, that news is most welcome!

run #39 - back to the track

Met Josh down at the Colorado College for my first track workout in years. Not the greatest workout - the temp was well below zero and the track was covered in snow and ice, including a super treacherous first curve that was quite hilly. Oh, and they had the "save wear and tear on the inside lanes" gates there, so we had to go around those too. So despite all that, we still managed a decent workout. One mile warm up, then 4 x 800 meters. Ran 3:14, 3:04, 3:14, 3:14, with one lap of rest in between. I didn't think I'd be able to run that on a good track in good conditions, so I was pretty happy. Of course the best part was ending the workout and warming up at Bristol Brewing Company! Mmmm...Laughing Lab rocks!

Start time: 5:45 PM
Distance: 4 x 800
Time: 3:14, 3:04, 3:14, 3:14
Pace: averaged 3:11
Weather: I'll say -5F but I'm pretty sure it was a lot colder

HAIL TO PITT

Pitt announced the schedule for their 2007 national championship college football season!

Sept. 1 Eastern Michigan
Sept. 8 Grambling
Sept. 15 at Michigan State
Sept. 22 Connecticut
Sept. 29 at Virginia
Oct. 6 OPEN
Oct. 13 Navy
Oct. 20 Cincinnati
Oct. 27 at Louisville
Nov. 3 Syracuse
Nov. 10 OPEN
Nov. 17 at Rutgers
Nov. 24 South Florida
Dec. 1 at West Virginia
Jan 4, 2008 - BCS National Championship TBA