bolder boulder

Pics from the Bolder Boulder can be seen here.

The BB had over 50,800 finishers. That's probably almost twice the size of the Cap 10K! Some runners took the race seriously, but the vast majority of them did the goofball thing, as evidenced by the pictures.

I actually had my picture taken with the last place finisher, hopefully Dani will post her pics soon so everyone can see it.

run #109 - CRC happy hour

Felt pretty good after the WY marathon, so was able to pick up the pace a bit at the Wednesday Colorado Running Company shindig. Went from the CRC out around Sinton Lake and back. Could easily have broken an hour for this loop, but wanted to save something for the tempo run up Barr trail tomorrow. Good group after the run, small but lively, especially after we killed two growlers of Bristol and a couple 'o bottles of wine!

Start time: 6PM
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 62:29
Pace: 7:48 minutes per mile
Weather: mid 40s

run #108 - Wyoming marathon

Kinda expected a DNF to happen sooner or later in my ultra career, as they happen to everyone. Actually kinda glad to get it out of the way before Lake City and Leadville.

Went up to Wyoming for the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon. Did not practice great pre-race behavior by getting shitty drunk in Fort Collins on Friday night, spending a good chunk of Saturday running around above 10,000 feet before getting drunk again, and then skipping my pre-race coffee to get to the start of the race on time Sunday morning.

Still, the race actually didn't go that bad. Physically, I felt fine. Mentally, I was just drained. At the halfway point, the RD came up to me and said, "if you drop now, you'll get an official finish in the Wyoming Marathon." Honestly, I felt fine, I just didn't feel like running another 26.2 miles. So after taking a few minutes to ponder his offer, I decided to bag it.

Special thanks to Meredith, who gave me some diet tips to help with my cramping during races. Not a single cramp despite the heat!

Results aren't posted yet, but I was just under 4:30, not counting the time I sat down before I decided to drop. Wish I woulda decided to run the marathon earlier, I think I coulda ran a lot faster. Still, it was a pretty good effort at a bit higher altitude, should prepare me for my two big races of the year.

For those keeping track at home, it was my 9th race of the marathon distance. And if I ever decide to run one in all 50 states, I only have 46 to go!

Not too disappointed, as you'll see from the pics to be posted later it was one hell of a road trip!

Congrats to Dani for her finish in the half marathon, and also to all the Bolder Boulder folks!

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 4:29:59
Pace: 10:18 minutes per mile
Weather: highs reached the 80s, even at the higher elevation

Leadville week #25

Not a good week, though I was busy getting ready for the Wyoming road trip. Gotta look at the bright side - the chances of me getting an overuse injury are pretty slim right now.

Week #25 distance: 24.0 miles
Week #25 time: 6:22:15
Average week #25 pace: 15:55 per mile

Total quest distance: 774.7 miles
Total quest time: 127:53:08
Average quest pace: 9:54 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 31.0 miles
Average daily run: 7.2 miles

quote of the day

If you've been following the saga of Ward Churchill (I have only because it's in the paper all the time here in Colorado) you know this guy ain't the most reputable source, but his rant against the University of Colorado was pretty funny. Please note that this applies to all UCCS students also!

"A random group of homeless people under a bridge would be far more intellectually sound and principled than anything I've encountered at the university so far."
-Ward Churchill

DNF

A longer race report will follow when I have more time, but I was unsuccessful in my bid at the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon. Just wasn't mentally willing to run another 26 miles, so I decided to drop out at the halfway point. Dropping at that point did give me an official finish at the Wyoming Marathon though.

rocky mountain double marathon

In a few hours I'll be off to Wyoming (stopping by New Belgium brewing on the way!) for the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon. If I finish it'll be the second farthest distance I've ever run (52.4 miles), as well as only my second belt buckle. Wish me luck!

Also gonna attempt to bag Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 feet) and possibly a few other 11ens and 12ers up there in Medicine Bow National Forest.

Sunday night it's back through Boulder so I can be up early Monday morning to start drinking and watch the Bolder Boulder 10K, the nations second largest 10K race.

my ears hurt...

but holy smokes, what a great show!!! Long live the Black Sheep!!!

climbing

Great day at the climbing gym today, finally roped up and went over the eight foot barrier. Was successful on my first two attempts, one on a 5.5 and one on a 5.8! Woohoo! Even managed to get a few moves in on the boulder!

kittie!

Still tix left if anyone wants to join me for the Kittie show tonight!

run #107 - Dorothy falls

Garden run #9 this morning, but we got to go on a special field trip today. Went back through the Glen Eire castle to Dorothy Falls. More of a hike/rest trip than an actual run, but it was great to see some good, technical trail with a beautiful waterfall at the end. It was every bit as scenic as Zapata falls, with a better hike to get to the falls.

Hoover and I carried booze back there, me with my PBR and her with some apple martini stuff, and we started drinking at 6:45AM!

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 1:21:05
Pace: 20:16 minutes per mile
Weather: high 30s; new snowfall on the mountains last night

PPRR newsletter

I wrote two articles last month for the Pikes Peak Road Runners newsletter, one on the hash and one on the Barkley marathon, and they can be seen here. I think I also have a quick blurb in the upcoming issue about the San Juan Solstice. Had to keep it to 100 words, which is fairly difficult to do when describing a mountainous fifty mile race. Anyways, that article:

The San Juan Solstice 50 miler is one of the more difficult Colorado ultramarathons. Beginning and ending in the quaint mountain town of Lake City, the course runs a counterclockwise loop, mostly on singletrack trails, through the rugged San Juan mountains. Elevations range from a start point of 8,600 feet and climbs to over 13,300 feet, much of it along the Continental Divide. If that's not enough of a challenge, there are several stream crossings and there is often significant snow at the higher elevations. Well stocked aid stations and terrific volunteer support, much of it provided by the Lake City EMS, make the journey just a little bit easier. This year's race falls on June 16. For more information, check out www.lakecity50.com.

cadidiots

Accidents happen, but people really need to stop being so stupid. And these are the folks who will be leading our armed forces someday, sheesh.

this just in...

..."Cannibal, The Musical" is one of the funniest movies ever!

run #106 - Garden shirt

Finally got run #8 at the Garden, and was rewarded with a long sleeve "GOTG 10 miler" shirt from 2002.

Thursday's Garden run should be pretty good, the trail group is gonna go out to the waterfall. Didn't even know there was a waterfall in the Garden, so I'm hoping it's pretty neat. I plan on carrying a can of PBR with me and downing it at the falls if anyone is interested in joining me. Austin readers can join me by downing a beer at 6:30AM Mountain Standard Time on Thurs.

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 48:06
Pace: 8:01 minutes per mile
Weather: mid 40s

support the troops!

One of the big phrases I hear all the time today is how people say they don't support the war but support the troops. Which is fine, I feel the same way, but the problem is that most people say that because it's politically correct, and in reality they don't really do anything at all for the military folks.

Well, here's your chance! Fellow Kimchi hasher Grannylingus left for NTC this past weekend. He'll be spending a month there while getting ready to head to Iraq sometime in the future. He'll only be there for a month, but if you've ever been to an NTC rotation you know how much it sucks.

So take a few minutes of your day to drop the guy a line. Most of yunz don't know him, but he's a hasher, and I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from other hashers. I've already sent him a post card, pretending to be his gay lover and saying how I can't wait 'till he returns for his homecoming party at the Underground. I'm sure his Infantry buddies will love that.

SSG Mark Peck
B Company, 1-68 AR
Rotation #07-08
Fort Irwin, CA 92310-5000

run #105 - Ute Pass/Longs Ranch/Barr Camp

Sheesh, what a slog today! Started at Memorial Park in Manitou. Over to Ute Pass, then up the long ass hill that is Longs Ranch Road. Tried to be a stud and run all the way up Longs, not only did I fail miserably but it really ruined my legs for the climb on Barr Trail up to see Neil and Teresa. Took advantage of the day to stop very often and enjoy the view of Pikes Peak.

Did make it to Barr Camp. No snow at all! Had a good talk with Neil about Leadville, he's hoping to return this year to do his 10th Leadville. You get a special 1000 mile buckle once you finish your 10th.

Start time: noon
Distance: 14 miles
Time: 4:13:04
Pace: 18:04 minutes per mile
Weather: high 50s, cloudy, sporadic drizzle

Leadville through week 24

OK, I may have been slacking on my virtual training log, hopefully that lack of excitement hasn't caused anyone's life to lack meaning. These numbers catch me up to yesterday and may or may not be accurate (don't think I have the 50K mileage in there).

Week #24 distance: 93.1 miles
Week #24 time: 15:01:06
Average week #24 pace: 9:40 per mile

Total quest distance: 750.7 miles
Total quest time: 121:25:53 (that's well over five continuous days of running, FYI)
Average quest pace: 9:42 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 31.3 miles
Average daily run: 7.2 miles

run #104 - Spiral Drive

Took a quick trip down to Salida for their Spiral Drive 4 miler. Any excuse for lunch at Amica's...
The race went pretty well. Not the most elite of fields, I figured I had a chance to place pretty high. Starting gun went off and two guys flew away from the rest of us, but I figured they'd both come back.

Being an out of towner definitely had it's drawbacks for this race. I thought the road up Tenderfoot Hill was a lot steeper, so instead of chasing the two leaders I kinda held back. Kept chugging up the hill, slowly moving into second place and holding off another guy who was trying to move up. The top of the hill came very quickly, I was tied for second with the next guy just two or three seconds behind.

The guy in first was pretty much gone, but had I known the hill wasn't that tough I coulda kept a lot closer. As we began the descent, the two guys near me took off, and I figured I'd just hold on to fourth place. I've gotten much better at downhill running since I moved to Colorado, but I'm still not a great bomber. But don't worry, I'll change that before the Barr Mountain Trail Race comes around!

About a mile down the hill, I notice that while second place has jumped way ahead of me, the guy in third hasn't put a whole lot of distance on me and is running horrible tangents. So I tear off after him. Lots of curves, and I use an old high school cross country trick where I wait 'till he can't see me and then I surge. So each time he looks back I've gained significant ground on him.

I'm not known for my ferocious kick, but with about 100 meters to go I let loose and pass the guy to move into third place. He tries to counter, but somehow I'm able to hold him off. I haven't seen his time, but he's probably one second behind me in the standings. Had he just run a smarter race and hugged the corners a little more, I'd have had no chance to catch him.

The big effort at the end really paid off, as the top three finishers each received a really sweet coffee mug. One of the best things about coffee mugs is that they also hold beer!

Congrats to Tits on the Ritz who made the trip and ran really well. She ran 42:58, and quite honestly I thought she woulda been slower. Good job for her first hill climb.

After a few post race beers at the awards ceremony it was of course off to Amicas for some pizza and some yummy Big S brown ale!

Start time: 10AM
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 26:40
Pace: 6:40 minutes per mile
Weather: high 50s, sunny

spiral drive

Despite a horrific hangover this morning, I managed a pretty quick trip up and down Tenderfoot Hill in Salida. My time for the four miler was 26:40, good for third place overall. Even managed a killer finishing kick to grab a podium finish, super cool since it netted me a pretty sweet coffee mug. Congrats to Tits on the Ritz, who had a pretty good race herself.

Besides the run, the highlights of the trip were finding the book "Colorado: A Liquid History & Tavern Guide to the Highest State" for half price, lunch at Amica's, and stopping by a booze shop called "Busch Liquors" on the trip home.

Pics can be seen here.

nappy birthday

Pics from Nappy's big 3-oh can be seen here.

almost that time of year again...

You know you're a 14er nut when...

You visit REI more often than your local grocery store.

Noticing the mountains can stop you mid-sentence in a conversation.

Your work schedual revolves around your climbing schedual.

You hear about a "summit on world poverty" and wonder how climbing could improve the world economy.

You walk into your room to go to bed, realize that you washed your sheets today but didn't put them back on the mattress, and just nab your sleeping bag and collapse anyway.

You rate a potentially compatible member of the opposite sex on a difficulty level of 1 to 5.

Your friends consider you a "mountain geek."

You look at a pebble and notice that it resembles a 14er on a very small scale.

You wear hiking boots or shoes on a regular basis (if you wear them to a formal event, extra points.)

You don't need to have any kind of entertainment when you're on a long car ride in Colorado... the view is sufficient.

You can recognize all of the 14ers by name just by seeing a picture of them.

Your ideal vacation is in the mountains climbing for days on end.

You know who Albert Ellingwood was.

You consider namming pets and children after 14ers.

You consider namming pets and children after people or screennames you discovered on 14ers.com.

You examine a stone building and wonder what it's difficulty rating is.

You hear someone in the middle of a conversation say "I like it on top" and don't take it in a derogatory way.

You know the name and screenname of a man who climbed Mt. Elbert in a purple pimp suit and demoted Sunshine Peak to a centennial 13er.

You log onto 14ers.com more than your e-mail account.

more Sand Dunes pics

QnA's Sand Dunes pics can be seen here.

run #103 - no name creek

Off to Barr Trail for my third workout of the day. Pushed pretty hard and was rewarded with some good times. 24:42 to the top of the W's and 40:33 to No Name Creek (which is my second best time ever, and the only time I've run faster was my 40:10 during the Barr Trail Mountain Race). Went an extra five minutes above No Name to get some altitude time in, then turned around. Both times are season PR's and as such had to be celebrated with beers at Kinfolk's!

Start time: 6PM
Distance: 6.2 miles
Time: 66:09
Pace: 10:40 minutes per mile
Weather: high 50s, sunny

it's gotta be the shoes!

Left the house at 5:30 this morning, carrying all the gear I'll need for the day. And that includes four pairs of shoes! Sheesh, I'm worse than most of the women I know. Brought my Nike Pegasus for my road run at the Garden, a pair of work shoes for the office, my climbing shoes for my lunchtime workout, and my Sportivas for the CRUD run up Barr trail tonight. Yet for all those workouts I only brought one pair of shorts and two shirts.

run #102 - Garden of the Gods

Another great morning spent at the Garden. Today was my seventh run over there, so next Tuesday I get my shirt!

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 5.0 miles
Time: 42:13
Pace: 8:26 minutes per mileWeather: high 40s, sunny

woohoo!

Great workout at the climbing gym over lunch today! And despite my arms being sore as hell, I still did better than last night. Only climbed about 25 minutes, but I feel like I got a much better workout than spending an hour at the Y.

new hobby

Last night I bought a new pair of climbing shoes and signed up for three months at the Sport Climbing Center. Turns out hitting the climbing wall is a killer workout, and it's super close to where I work so I can now squeeze in another sweat session during lunch! Woohoo!

Anyways, my first time at the new gym, my first time climbing ever, and I thouroughly kicked Tits's ass!

Oh yeah, I saw Tits at REI last night. We were in the tent section, and she said, "wow, look at these tiny tents, they must be for small dogs or cats..." What a retard! For those non-outdoorsey types, REI has miniture setups of all tents they sell so you can see what the tent looks like when it's set up before you buy it.

Anyways, climbing will strictly remain a lunchtime activity, I'm certainly not giving up any of my other hobbies. In fact, I got an awesome map of Medicine Bow National Forest last night, and it looks like Nappy, Mosey, and I will be able to bag a couple 'o 12ers during our road trip up there for the Rocky Mountain Marathon!

run #101 - tour de knob

Nice, easy run to start the day off right. Was going to run my normal Knob Hill route, but decided instead to just explore the neighborhood over by the Olympic Training Center.

Start time: 5AM
Distance: 5.3 miles
Time: 42:05
Pace: 7:56 minutes per mile
Weather: high 40s, sunny

the world is a better place

"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"

-Jerry Falwell, on why 9-11 happened


Though I'll miss his ridiculous quotes, I'm glad the guy is dead.

check is in the mail...

No turnin' back now, dropped $225 on my Leadville rego in the mail yesterday afternoon! Should be OK, I have two 50 milers scheduled between now and then. And some say the San Juan Solstice, a race I finished last year, is actually harder than Leadville. Regardless, I should be in fantastic shape for the Cactus Rose down in Bandera in November.

denver hash

Pic 1 is the pack at the Denver hash a few weeks ago. I took Lowlife's camera and took a skyline shot at the start for pic 2.

no-go on Colfax

Think I'm gonna hafta bail on this Sunday's Colfax marathon. Really wanted to do it, but they have the worst logistics of any marathon I've ever seen, especially for someone with a life. Not only do you hafta pick up your packet on Saturday (which would cause me to miss the P2H4 blue dress), but it's a 6AM start. And if that isn't bad enough, it's a point to point course, so you hafta park at the finish and get a bus ride to the start. All before that early start. Sheesh. So I'll probably just end up doing the Incline club or possibly take a trip out to Rampart Resorvoir.

Still on for the Spiral Drive hill climb in Salida on Saturday if anyone is interested in tagging along.

sand dunes

Great times out at the Sand Dunes campout! Thanks to Meat and Midnite for putting together another great hash weekend. Dani took a shitload of pics, they can be seen here. Some of my favorites:

another summit

More Sand Dunes stories and pics will emerge, but for now I'll just say I bagged another peak, High Dune. It was the 25th named peak I've climbed since I moved to Colorado. Tough hike as it was a long slog through sand. All those trips up the Incline really helped make it a bit easier. Summitted with Nappy, Mosey, Boobs, and Kitty Fucker. Outdoor highlight of the weekend was the hike to Zapata Falls, though. Beautiful waterfall.

running and drinking

New articles in Runner's World about the effects of two of my favorite things, booze and coffee, on athletic performance.

Booze


Coffee

FYI, if any of yunz are interested in doing the Spiral Drive 4 miler this Saturday, it goes to the top of the hill behind me in the pic. As an added bonus, Tits on the Ritz said she'll spring for lunch at Amica's for any finishers!

on-on to Sand Dunes!

Everyone have a good weekend. Thanks to Net for stepping up and haring the Kimchi. See everyone Sunday!

run #100 - Monument Creek

Great way to start off the long weekend - got in 20 miles this morning. From my mansion, went down to the criminal justice center at the south end of town, then up the path along Monument Creek.

Start time: 7AM
Distance: 20 miles
Time: 3:08:52
Pace: 9:26 minutes per mile
Weather: high 40s, sunny

workin' hard

The company I work for, Peer Assistance, had a big fundraiser up in Denver tonight. I normally don't go to stuff like that, but I kinda felt like I had to go so I could thank the big boss for the recent promotion and for paying me during my Air Force shindig.

They had a speaker, some former crack addict who recently wrote a book about his recovery issues. I figured the night would be super boring.

But I get there and lo and behold there's an open bar! Free Fat Tire all night! Woohoo!

On another note, the event was held at the Tattered Cover up in Denver. Support your local independent businesses! Fuck barnes & noble!

woooohooooooo!

Wideslack Panic!

Who's up for a roadtrip? June 23rd for the Slacker half marathon in the AM, followed by a ton of beer drinking, followed by Widespread Panic at Red Rocks that evening! If the snow is gone maybe we can take a hike up Mt. Silverheels or Quandry Peak before the show! Woohoo!

last call for mugs

OK, finally gonna get this over with. I believe some people paid me and aren't on the list, so let me know and in the future don't give me money when I'm drunk. I also believe some people on the list haven't paid me the full price, just wanna see who's honest.

Bone Sucker, I know you paid me for another mug, can't remember who it's for.

LNDT, did you pay me for a mug for Hoover?

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
Tits on the Ritz

I hate snow

So that pic was taken at 2:42PM, you can see all the snow on top of Pikes Peak. Look closely, and you can see that there's still a ton of snow on Cameron's Cone too. Yuk, that's gonna take FOREVER to melt enough for trail running.

At least I'm smart enough not to push things. El Paso Search and Rescue had to bail out some dude the other day (story here). The route he was taking is one I'll use to train for Leadville if the snow ever melts. Did that route a few times last year and it got me more than ready for the Pikes double.

There was also a freak death on Humbolt Peak, showing that even experienced outdoors folks need to be careful in this kind of weather.

Of course, there's being cautious, and then there's totally wussing out. Not that I know anyone who would do that!

run #99 - Garden of the Gods

Somehow drug myself out of bed to run this morning. While it's always tough getting up at 4:45AM, the run at the Garden is always worth it. Had a good hour out to Balanced Rock and back. Congrats to Susan, who was the first hasher to hit eight runs and now is a super-poser for picking a Pikes Ascent shirt even though she has not yet conquered Barr Trail to the Peak.

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 6.8 miles
Time: 58:43
Pace: 8:37 minutes per mile
Weather: high 40s, sunny

run #98 - fuck Colorado weather!

Wanted to make it up to Barr Camp last Sunday, but a freak snowstorm turned me around just below the W's. Didn't have the needed gear to go any higher. It's friggin mid-May already, time for this snow crap to stop! Now there's a good layer of snow from what appears to be the false summit of the incline up to the top of Pikes.

Start time: 2PM
Distance: 6.0 miles
Time: 1:02:13
Pace: 10:22 minutes per mile
Weather: high 30s, blinding snow

80909 hash flash

My pics from the 80909 cinco de mayo hash can be seen here.

Nappy's pics are here.

my thoughts exactly...

Thought this was a really cool picture so I figured I'd share with everyone.

more flood debacles

Went to the Y to pump some iron on Friday, the chick at the desk tells me the gym is closed. Seems a pipe broke and flooded the basement, where the weight room is. Bummer. So it seems as if my goal of becoming the first person to win Leadville and the Mr. Universe contest is currently on hold...

run #97 - out and about

Planned on a longer run today, but my legs were heavy and I want to have a good run with the Incline Club tomorrow so I took it easy. First half hour was spent running around the neighborhood and the final 15 or so minutes were spent laying trail for today's 80909 hash.

Start time: 8AM
Distance: 6.0 miles
Time: 46:05
Pace: 7:40 minutes per mile
Weather: high 40s, skies seem to be clearing (hopefully it doesn't rain so I won't hafta re-lay the trail!)

run #96 - Rocky Mountain

Nice workout up the Incline to Rocky Mountain today. Legs were a bit sore, so I took it kinda easy on the Incline, hitting the top in 35 minutes. Even when you're jakin' that climb, it's still a great workout. Kept going up and hit the peak of Rocky in 55 minutes.

Start time: 3PM
Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 1:35:25
Pace: 17:20 minutes per mile
Weather: high 40s, foggy, storm rolling in

run #95 - No Name Creek

Met a few guys from CRUD at Barr Trail today. Had a really good day. Huge psychological victory making it all the way to No Name Creek, I really, really wanted to turn around after half an hour. Time to NNC was 42:31 (it's 2.75 miles to get there).

Start time: 4:45PM
Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 1:13:00
Pace: 13:16 minutes per mile
Weather: beautiful spring day, temps in the 50s

run #94 - CRC happy hour

Nice, easy run up the Fountain Creek trail to Sinton lake.

Start time: 5:45PM
Distance: 7.0 miles
Time: 55:47
Pace: 7:58 minutes per mile
Weather: chilly, slight drizzle

aim high!

above and beyond

Almost finished with my two week AF shindig, not a bit too soon. Trying to stay awake is one of the most tiring things you can do. I learned more in one hour at Army PLCD than I will here, but at least it gets my annual tour out of the way.

Got two college credits for the course. One credit for "Introduction to Management Theory" and one for "Leadership Communication in Management." Yes, military training that strikes fear directly into the heart of all those anti-USA ragheads we're chasing around! The credits are from Central Texas College though, widely known to be the most prestigious school in the Killeen/Austin/College Station area.

Got to tour a C-130 today after our class pic (hope to post that soon). First time I'd been in one since Airborne school. Wanted to get a pic of me taking a dump on the special toilet, but there were chicks around and while that kinda stuff would be funny in the Army I'm sure I'd end up in jail for it in the Air Force.

Still getting a kick out of all the war stories being told. Most of the peeps in the class are from Air Force Space Command. You need a top secret clearance to work there, and I guess having one of those allows those people to think they're part of some special ops Chuck Norris type unit. Even though most of them haven't ever deployed, and the few that have gone to the "desert" have made it as far as Bahrain. One of the guys in the class hadn't fired a weapon in over 17 years! Sheesh, it's like bizarro world over here. I've told a few people I feel more like a mid-level bank executive than a member of the US military here.

still alive

Sorry for the general lack of posts lately, but the Air Force think has been keeping me pretty busy. Not really doing anything in the AF class, but it does keep me away for a computer for eight hours a day, and by the time I'm finally finished with the class each day I don't feel like being inside anymore.

I am going back to school next semester. Taking an Intro to Criminal Justice class at Pikes Peak Community College, to be paid for by the Air Force! Wanna take the classroom version, but it looks like my schedule will only permit the online class. I've never taken an online class, but I assume it's gotta be a crapton easier than actually having to go to lectures, so if I am forced to do the online thing I'll probably pick up one more class as well.