3650.9

Easy 4.5 with the dog last night, followed by a ton of Spotted Cow. And Wisconsin Bock. And a Fat Squirrel or two. Rewarded myself by taking today off.

Widespread Panic tonight. First time seeing them in a non-festival setting. Hoping to hit Elk Mountain and Wynkoop on the way there, but mother nature might make that tough. Someone let me know how the weather in Denver is...

Good heads up from Footfeathers on some of the cool beer happenings over the past year. Definitely gotta get me some of this in January:

San Juan

Just a reminder for anyone who wants to run the San Juan Solstice and the upcoming Pikes Peak Fat Ass. Rego for Lake City is on the same day as the fat ass, opening at 7AM. I'll have the computer on at the house, but the line forms after me...

Wed

Nice 6.4 around the Garden this morning. 1:16. An easy four tonight at the CRC happy hour gets me over 3650 on the year. 10+ miles a day. If any of you northerners would like to buy me a brew for this accomplishment, I'll be hanging out at Wynkoop Brewing tomorrow afternoon.

Thinking of signing up for the Yeti Chase 10K. Price doesn't go up until January 9th, so I have until then to decide, but I'll more than likely be there.

AJW is asking for ultrarunning nominations over here. Maybe Karl will nominate Brooks for female ultrarunner of the year.

preparing for the 2011 monster-off

Banff

Saw an ad for it this morning, can spring be far away!!! I think this will be my 5th time seeing the film festival. The first year was awesome, but each year since has been lamer and lamer, with the absolute worst moment being last years hour long film about a family canoe trip down some lame river. Felt like I was watching some else's grandfather put on a slide show of people I didn't know. Hopefully that's the low point and things will get better. Hell, if it's anything like last year, the only reason to go is to see a lot of good people and to kick off the unofficial start of spring.

Thinking about heading up to Denver to check out the radical reels tour which doesn't come to the Springs.

Anywho, this year's CS show is on March 5th. The other CO dates are here.

track

Not sure what happened today. In my defense, I couldn't find my trusty timex so I had to go with the garmin 305. That watch is so sensitive to the touch that it's pretty lousy for track workout. 2 mile warm up, 4 x 1 mile, 800m RBI, 1.5 mile cool down. 9 miles total, 3540 on the year.

6:06
6:05
5:59
5:55

Ugh. Thank god they were slow because of the watch and not all the beer I drank last night while watching Pitt kick the crap out of UConn.

3631

Easy 6.4 miles in the Garden this morning, just over an hour.

Hope to go over 3650 at the CRC happy hour run on Wednesday.

124 guys broke 2:10 in the marathon over the past year. I wasn't one of 'em. Neither was Mr. Top American. Hell, I was pissed when TA said he couldn't get me a discount on my Denver Post subscription, but I guess he's upset about his employer's new favorite marathoner.

Pitt/UConn

Get to catch some great hoops tonight, as the Pitt/UConn game is televised. Not surprisingly, GZ has not been returning my messages about a possible beer bet on the game.

In fact, he really hasn't talked college hoops with me since this happened a few years ago:

PPFA

Google earth view of the final 9ish miles of the upcoming Pikes Peak Fat Ass, courtesy of Wes. The loop shown over by the track was us trying to find a different route and won't be run during the fat ass. And the first mile or so of this was us running down Manitou/Ruxton to connect to the Intemann.

kill the keg!

Trinity Brewing on Christmas Eve. They brew two kegs of Cherry Awaken Stout and see how fast they can kick 'em. New record this year, 35 minutes.

3624

Two good runs over the holiday weekend. Saturday evening I headed out for a nice stroll through the Garden and the Santa Fe trail, 20 miles in just over three hours. This morning, Rick, Steve, Wes, and I did the final ten or so miles of the Pikes Peak Fat Ass along the Intemann Trail. Rick and I ran from my house, so we got 14 in on the day.

Up to 3624 miles on the year, should hit my goal on Thursday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute...

change of plans?

It's always tentative when you post your 2011 race calendar, and already I have a possible change.

Received an e-mail yesterday from the Mt. Lemmon Marathon. Turns out the Blue Ridge Marathon in Virginia also bills itself as the world's toughest road marathon. And to settle the debate, the BRM is offering free rego to anyone who finished Lemmon.

Unfortunately, the race is the same weekend I was hoping to go back to the Grand Canyon.

Looks like it would run about 800 bones once airfare/hotel/rental car/booze is factored in to run Blue Ridge. Less than half of that for the Grand Canyon trip.

Might come down to the Hardrock lottery. If I'm headed to Silverton in July, I'll need the longer run. If not, maybe I'll go cross Virginia off my 50 states list...

Sunrise Striders

Group pic at the CC track after our annual 12 laps of Christmas workout.

Green Monster-Off

Resolution #1 is now on paper, to kick off on January 1. I thought $100 invented the green monster to get me to consume more veggies, but there's a whole website devoted to the drink over here. The gal ain't too shabby lookin', but she lives in Canada, and I'm not one to mess around with Digger's women. Of course, if she ever wants to try my super special green monster, complete with vodka and roofies, she is welcome to visit CO.

More info on the challenge is over on Wiley's blog. We both google image searched green monster, and while he went with something lame, I'll go with this:

My goal for 2011 is 100 pints. It will be, by far, the most vegetables I've consumed in a year.

the 12 laps of Christmas

Nice workout this morning with the Sunrise Striders. 1.5 mile warm up, 12 x 400m, 1.5 mile cool down. Was supposed to take 90 seconds RBI, but I wasn't running very fast so I cut that down to 60 seconds after four laps. Averaged between 82 and 88 per lap, most at 85.

3579 miles on the year, with a few more up and down the Incline tonight. Slowly reeling in 3650.

This Sunday some of us are gonna run the final portion of the Pikes Peak Fat Ass. Meet at Memorial Park at 8AM if you're interested. Intemann Trail to Red Rock Canyon to my house.

joke of the day

Courtesy of my personal physician.

The first thing that is required for this joke to work is that you realise I have a massive cock…

Okay? Then we are ready to begin:

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Who cares? I’ve got a huge cock.

track Tuesday

Nice workout at CC this morning. 2.5 mile warm up, 4 x 1600m with 800m RBI (only 600m before the last mile), followed by a 2 mile cool down. 5:57, 5:50, 5:47, 5:46, all from lane four since the blockers were out.

Ten miles total, bringing 2010 to 3557 miles. 93 to go...

Thanks to Nick and the FoCo peeps for the awesome fat ass on Saturday. I wussed out and did the marathon route. My longest run since the Bear had been 90 minutes, and after taking 3.5 hours to climb up to Arthur Rock, I just didn't feel like I wanted to run for another four hours. Awesome trails out there though, had a great time exploring some new singletrack and seeing old and new friends out there.

Salida update

Moonlight Pizza, the most awesome pizza joint on the planet, now has a website.

And since the town went out and got itself a new marathon, the Arkansas River Bluegrass Marathon, they had to add a new bar to accommodate all those extra miles. But for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. It's dog themed, pretty cool place, and I think it starts with an "L." It's right next to the Victoria, even closer to the hostel. Free beer to the person who is able to figure out what the name is...

Friday

Another run to work this morning. 8.4 miles total.

Didn't get as much running in down in Durango due to work and drinking. Still had fun exploring a new section of town, up above it all at Wasted State.

Sitting at 3503 for the year after a rest day yesterday.

post-chub refreshment

From left to right:

-Steamworks Steam Engine Lager

-Durango Brewing Purgatory Ale

-Carver Brewing CO Trail Nut Brown Ale

I'm set, I just wonder what everyone else is gonna drink...

HAIL TO PITT

Looks like my alma mater has a new coach. Read about it here.

Unknown black dude. Kinda scary. But my other favorite hometown football team did the same once, and it worked out fairly well.

And where the hell is Miami of Ohio? No idea, but that same other favorite hometown football team recently got a QB from there, and he has done pretty well in my two favorite categories - super bowl championships and number of hot sorority girls boned in dive bar shitters...

Carver Brewing Co.

Colorado Trail Nut Brown Ale. Drinking this in honor of my friend Fast Eddy.

Who ran the entire Colorado trail this summer.

And who likes nuts.

And who is brown.

Salida Marathon!

2011

Here's what I got lined up so far for '11.

Jan 1 - Rescue Run 10K

Jan 15 - Pikes Peak Fat Ass 50K

Feb 13 - New Orleans Marathon

Mar 12 - Salida Marathon

Mar 26 - 24 Hours of Moab

April 2 - Brew to Brew 44 miler

April 15 - Grand Canyon

May 7 - Collegiate Peaks

May 14 - Mike the Headless Chicken 5K/Lawnmower Race/Chicken Dance Contest

May 21 - Jemez Mountain

May 29 - Arkansas River Bluegrass Marathon

May 30 - Bolder Boulder

June 4 - Golden Gate 50K

June 12 - Garden 10 miler

June 18 - San Juan Solstice

June 25 - Western States (pace/crew/drink)

July 9 - Hardrock

July 31 - San Fran Marathon/Mt. Whitney

Aug 20 - Pikes Peak Ascent

Aug/Sept - Zion Traverse
Sep 16-18 - Telluride Blues & Brews

Oct 16 - Denver Marathon
Oct TBA - Burnet Road Challenge

Quite a bit on the plate, should be another great year. Really looking forward to crewing and pacing, I've relied heavily on friends for those duties in the past but have never returned the favor.

After shooting for a PR in NOLA, everything will be geared towards Hardrock. I want to run 32:55 this year, a ten hour improvement from my first finish there. I refuse to acknowledge the possibility that I might not get selected in the lottery. Hopefully the Silverton Brewery and the great folks at the Montanya Distillery are lobbying Dale once again, reminding him of the economic impact my crew has at those businesses.

I'll also be shooting for a PR in the Ascent. My best is 3:07 and I think I can crush that. If things are going well I'll be gunning for a 2:49. No time to celebrate though, as I'll get off the mountain ASAP and head out to Leadville to crew/pace.

Less long road trips this year, and will be looking to run fewer miles (3000 will be the goal, with at least one rest day per week), so that'll give me more free time to work on some other stuff. Drinking beer, bagging more of the 14ers (I've done 28 of 'em), hopping on the mountain bike, working on my pathetic bouldering skills, visiting all the Colorado breweries, hashing more often.

Here's a shot of my perfect running form, kicking down the final meters of the Stocking Shuffle. Or maybe it's me practicing for the Mike the Headless Chicken Dance Contest, it's hard to tell the difference:

18:30

Stocking Shuffle 5K this morning. 1st mile in 6:05, 12 flat at two miles. 5th overall. Still don't have my body ready for such a short race yet, but I'm getting there. Loved the course, two laps twisting and turning through the CC campus. Felt more like a hash than a race, cutting through parking lots and behind buildings and dodging traffic. The fast guys bitched about it being a slow course with all the turns, but it was fun.

Completely different course than last year's Stocking Shuffle, which ended with this:

Took the dog to the vet after the race to get the secret microchip injected into her in case she gets lost. Here with today's PSA for taking care of your dog is that chick from RW:

Rock Canyon

Just found this over at pikespeaksports.us. Hurtin' pretty bad here, think it was shortly before the 12 mile mark where I tossed the hat and gloves to the ground.

Friday

AM - easy 5.1 miles to work. Need to go back and check on how many times I've commuted to work, but it's gotta be approaching 50.

Planning on doing eight on the way home, which will take me past the 10-per-day average I'm chasing. Next week takes me to Durango, where I'll run a ton of miles between my hotel and the Ska Brewery, as well as the big FoCo Fat Ass 30ish miler on Saturday. So 3650 miles is looking like it'll happen.

Thursday

Awful session at the track this morning. Got there early, so I ran a two mile time trial. Awful eight laps, finishing in 12:48, not too much faster than what I averaged in Pueblo on Saturday. Jogged 800m then joined the Sunrise Striders for their workout, 5 x 1000m, 400m RBI. Last night I thought I'd go sub 3:40 on all of 'em, but I was between 3:41 and 3:44 on each. Not my best day. But you gotta struggle through the bad days if you wanna enjoy the good days.

With warm up and cool down I got to eleven miles total.

No run tonight, I'll be busy drinking beer and talking smack at the CRC holiday party!

Wednesday

AM - Easy 5.4 miles with the dog on the Garden trails, 56 minutes

PM - 9.2 miles on the roads in the Garden. 1:31:15.

342nd day of the year, 3416 miles so far. Averaging 9.988 miles a day.

New runner babe for this blog, that Brie chick from the cover of Runner's World this month.

As you can see, we have similar philosophies on cross-training techniques to improve your running...

RMS Trophy

Hard to tell from this pic, but the stick figure on the trophy is holding a cigar and a beer, and underneath it says, "fueled by bacon cheeseburgers."

exit the 'stache...

Goodbye, Dave. We hardly knew ya. At least they waited 'till Movember was over to can him.

Let me start the rumor mill: the top two on the list to replace him are Troy Calhoun and Josh McDaniels...

Tues

Awesome run this morning. 25 minute warm up down to the CC track, then did 4 x 1 mile with 800m RBI. Hit 5:58, 5:55, and 5:49. Then pulled out my newest training tool, a stick with a picture of Nick drinking the beer he won from me in Salida last year. Chased that to a 5:41. 25 minute cool down. Think this is gonna be a staple workout for me on Tuesday mornings for the time being, maybe cut down on the RBI a bit as the season moves forward.

more on bandits

There were LOTS of bandits down in Pueblo. Including the first female. Also had volunteers apologizing to wannabe race day signups and telling them to run the course but not to cross the finish line. Somehow, the distance running scene here on the front range has survived...

Monday

PM - 11 miles in the Garden, 1:47.

Good article over here on how America is getting too fat to fight. One in four young Americans can't even sign up for the military due to weight issues, and the military does not have tough weight requirements. I always get a kick out of the fitness products that brag about the military using their system, that sort of endorsement should really scare anyone who wants to get in shape away.

But I can't really make fun of fat, lazy people today. Instead of my normal Monday morning run I slept in. Stuck at 3380 miles on the year. Need to run 10.8 a day for the rest of the month to hit 3650. Will be tough this week with the PPRR meeting and the CRC holiday party.

Ricks ran 2:22:43 at CIM over the weekend. BLOS ran 3:30:53 in Vegas, but was obviously slacking so he'd have something in the tank for the Brett Michaels concert at the finish line.

The RW calculator says I'm in shape to run 2:57:09 in NOLA based off Rock Canyon. Still have some work to do, but it's a good start...

quote of the day

"I've spent the past year messin' with my groin."

-Matt C

Perfectly normal thing to say while standing around a bunch of runners...

Rock Canyon

Results are over here. I ended up 15th. I think I was 19th at the 7.5 mile aid station. Lots of good competition down there. Ended up with 3rd in my age group.

The splits I remember:

Mile 1 - 6:42

Mile 2 - 13:00

Mile 3 - 19:25

Mile 5 - 31:50

Mile 10 - 64:xx

Pretty much the same race as last year up to the 10 mile mark. I can't say I rallied over the final 5K, but my race was going south quickly and I was able to hold things together this year. Almost lost everything between miles 8 to 10. All in all it wasn't a great race for me, I was overdressed and wasn't feeling 100% at anytime during the run. But I guess I can't complain about a PR. Hopefully that time goes down again at Platte River.

If I were a big A-hole I'd point out that I crushed Harsha and Dillon. But I'm not one to smack talk.

PR - the cure for vaginitis

lunch is the most important meal of the day!

Friday

AM - 9.3 miles to work, 1:28. First half was a loop through the Garden with the dog.

3351 miles on the year. Hope to be caught up to the 10 a day average on Sunday. Not feeling physically or mentally 100% right now, so I'm doubting I'll get the PR on Saturday that I think I'm in shape for. Especially now that Jesse has fallen to his vicious bout of vaginitis and will not be showing up.

Yeowza, just read that 700 are signed up for the the half marathon, and registration has closed!

The deal-of-the-day over at the Gazette is a $30 certificate from the Colorado Mountain Brewery for $15. Grab it here. For those of you coming down in January for the PP Fat Ass, it could be a good catch since CMB is on your way home. Might help ease the sting of the ass kickin' that South CRUD will be dishing out that day. As far as Springs breweries go, CMB isn't nearly on par with Bristol, Trinity, or Black Fox. But by Boulder/Denver/FoCo micro standards it's pretty good...

more turkey pics

Cool shot of us at the Royal. Looks like some of us were on at least our second drink...

Wed

AM - You know it's early when you've been running for an hour and there's no sign yet of the sun coming up. 10.2 miles in a very sluggish 1:47.

Tony is out for the NF50 this weekend. I think he's just scared that some of us are coming up to run Green Mountain tonight and had to develop some lame injury to avoid getting his ass kicked on his home turf. Chautauqua at 6PM if anyone wants to join us...

I bet Fast Eddy comes up with an even lamer excuse for bailing...

mmmm....bacon cheeseburgers!!!!

Tues

AM: 14F with a windchill of -7F this morning. And still lots of ice in the Garden, which killed the pace but I'll take the effort. 10.2 miles total, 1:37, including 5 x 8 minutes hard with 4 minutes RBI. Already looking forward to spring...

PM - Easy 5.1 home from work, 48 minutes.

Got airline tix for NOLA. Heading down Saturday and returning on Wednesday. Tuesday will be a trip to bag the state high point, Driskill Mountain, a whopping 535 feet above sea level. Only Florida and Delaware have lower high points.

Monday

PM - 6.5 miles, 64 minutes. Yesterday I ran in shorts and a short sleeve shirt, tonight it was super cold and very icy in the Garden.

Just over 3300 miles for the year. Already a PR for me. My body is screaming for rest, but there's that magical 3650 that won't leave my head...

HAIL TO PITT

Just read that Pitt hoops coach Jamie Dixon was the guy who initiated talks between TCU and the Big East. A top three program, saving people from car accidents, and now he has done what Wannstedt couldn't do - bring a good football team to the Big East.

He also did this back when he played for TCU. Gotta love the Pitt guys crushing the spirits of the Longhorns!

Sancho's

Me and $100 and JP at Sancho's Broken Arrow, a Dead bar on Colfax. I owed JP a lot of beers from Leadville, where he made sure Brandon didn't rally to catch me...

still alive...

Liver has really taken quite the beating the past few days. Good times! Lots of pics to follow.

Great show last night, Franti & Spearhead rocked it. Pretty cool venue they have up there in Broomfield.

Lukas Nelson at the Nickel tonight. Then I'll need a few weeks to detox my body.

Tony has posted the info on the Springs Fat Ass over here.

Phantom Canyon

The crew at Phantom Canyon Brewery before heading over to see 127 Hours.

to bandit or not to bandit?

Yeowza, check out the comments Jeff B got after banditing a race. Whatever your thoughts on banditing (I say go for it, though I've never done it myself), I think it's a bit harsh to call into question integrity and parenting skills over saving a few bucks on a race rego...

Your thoughts on banditing???

bender

AM - 10.5 miles in the Garden.

Turkey weekend will start in a few hours. The schedule, if anyone wants to join us:

Wed
6PM - Judge Baldwin's
8PM - 127 Hours at Kimball's
10PM - Murphy's

Thurs
7AM - Incline with the Sunrise Striders
6PM - Incline Happy Hour
7PM - turkey & gin festival at The Royal Tavern

Fri
10AM - Backyard Brawl at the Red Rock Lounte
Noon - black Friday at Trinity
7:30PM - Wine & Cheese Party

Sat
1PM - Oscar's
4:20PM - Sancho's Broken Arrow (the place and time were JP's idea, that stinkin' hippie!)
8PM - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Sun
8AM - Incline Club first run of the season
8PM - Lukas Nelson at the Triple Nickel

Tuesday

AM - Awesome workout with the Sunrise Striders. 2 mile warm up, then 6 x 800m with 400m RBI. Hit the first one in 2:58 (cut me some slack, it was 15F when I got to the track), then nailed 2:54, 53, 51, 53, and 47. 2 mile cool down.

PM - 5.2 easy with the dog on the Garden trails. Holly was leashless for over half that once we got off the roads.

Now at 3263 miles on the year. Seven miles short of the magical 10 per day average. Hope to catch up over the holiday weekend, if I don't end up drinking myself to death first.

Monday

AM - Had some stuff to mail, so I woke up early to drop 'em in the early bird slot at the downtown post office. Easy 7 miles roundtrip, 69:13.

PM - 4 miles, 43 minutes. With the dog. Wanted to go further here, but a horrible lunch I had was still hanging out in my stomach.

Yes!

Sunday

Other than the wind, beautiful day outside. Midland trail, Santa Fe trail, Sinton Trail, Garden of the Gods. 18.7 miles, 2:40.

Feast!

Thanks to the PPRR and $100's mad pacing skills, the folks at the Incline Happy Hour are gonna eat like kings this Thanksgiving!

I am not alone!

Hell yeah, check out this guy!

19:00

Turkey Trot Predict this morning. I guessed I'd run 19:29, but went a little faster. Very poor race. Didn't get to warm up properly due to manning the registration table, went out way too hard, really suffered during the second loop of the lake. Did get a rare win against Amanda E. though. She started 30 seconds in front of me but I caught her about two miles into the race and held her off. Would have easily gone sub 19 if not for the mass of people at the finish line. Brooks was there, but the race was part of his long run so I'll cut him some slack.

Think I had the third fastest time of the day, but due to the handicap I ended up in 35th place. $100 took third and won a turkey, so we get to feast this Thursday at the Royal Tavern!

Fuck yeah!

smoking kills...

...but it sure as hell makes you look cool!

quote/pic of the day

"If you want to improve your performance in the marathon, stop worrying about minimalist shoes, caveman diets, and new-age running form, and start worrying about getting out the door and running a little more than you did last week. High mileage works! It is the single best method for the greatest percentage of runners to improve in the marathon."

-Peter Gilmore, in an awesome article over here.

Yes, I stole it from Pre's Mustache, who is finally off his duff and updating his blog again.


And here's a nice blast from the past, believe it was the Warda (TX) Cardiac 44 miler many, many moons ago. The $10 I spent on that cotton Lovejoy's shirt has to be the best purchase of my life, although the hat has lasted longer so far. Please feel free to make rude comments about Meredith's weight...

Thurs

Decent workout this morning. 1.5 mile warm up, then 20 x 200 meters, with 40 seconds of rest in between. Ran the first ten 200s in 38-39 seconds, then hit 37-38 seconds on the last ten. 5.5 miles, 45 minutes.

3205.7 miles on the year, more than I had in 2009.

facebook

It's been off my phone for two weeks now, and I have de-activated my account. Now on a bet with Wiley to see who can go the longest without relapsing. So if anyone has gone off and committed suicide over the thought that I de-friended them, I apologize.

Oddly enough, my heel has been getting much better since I gave up FB...

Wed

AM - Nice run in the Garden with the dog. Between sniffing and crapping, the first mile was almost 15 minutes, but things smoothed out after that. 6.5 miles, 62:18.

PM - Easy 5.3 miles in the Garden, 47 minutes.

Already more miles in November than I had in October.

Now over 3200 miles on the year.

bikers are always wrong!

And this proves it! Idiot parents, how dare they let their kid ride in front of a guy who was obviously in a hurry! "Contributory negligence" is the phrase of the day.

No update on the Springs guy suing the city for riding into the back of a vehicle...

booze in the news

I'm not a big fan of Jack Quinn's so I could care less if they lose their license, but buried deep in this article is notice that the Knob Hill Lounge is in trouble. I may have to go protest outside of city hall!

There's also this nugget about Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom joining forces. The new venture will be called CraftWorks. I suppose I'll check it out if they change the name of the local Rock Bottom, but I was never impressed enough with the old place to drive all the way to the east side.

Head over to Southside Johnny's tonight to support a good cause, and it's also the best place in town if you're looking for a mid-50s, thrice divorced lady to take home.

Since I'm ripping off the Gazette, our village has been named the most religious city in America. Maybe Ryan Hall will move here to train. Other than Portland, that list could pretty much serve as the "top 20 cities nobody wants to party in" list as well.

Tuesday

I have decided that the only way to cure my heel pain is the same way to cure all problems in life: run more. Went downtown early for a quick 2.5 miles before joining up with the Sunrise Striders. 6 x 5 minutes hard, 2:30 rest in between. My best Strider workout in a while, maybe my body is finally starting to adjust to the faster stuff. 10.2 miles, 1:25:49.

Found out that the pace required to finish the San Antonio half marathon before the 7 hour cutoff is 32:03 per mile. To finish Leadville at the cutoff you have to average 18 minutes per mile. Hardrock requires 28:48.

Monday

AM - 4.5 miles, 43:13. Awful run. Everything hurt, it was cold, I wanted to stay in bed. Blah, blah, blah. Obviously my heel pain was radiating into my vagina here.

PM - 10 miles, 1:36. Completely opposite of the morning. Awesome night to be roaming the Garden.

Last three days were 16.1, 14.5, and 14.5 miles. Now at 3178.1 miles on the year, or 9.96 miles per day.

Got my roku in the mail today. Maybe I'll challenge JMock for the crappiest and most obscure movies on netflix...

heel

Been having an issue with my heel since the Bear. It came on so suddenly I figured I hit a rock wrong at that race. But it's been lingering around ever since. Lately, when I get up in the morning, the pain is EXCRUCIATING but as I start moving around it goes away after I walk around a bit. I'm aware of it for the first mile or two on a run, then it goes away and I'm able to run normal.

Any ideas of what this is and how to make it go away? Resting is not an option...

78.4

Another solid week. 78.4 miles on six days of running. Now at 3168 miles on the year, still chasing 3650. My PR was set last year, with just over 3200 miles. Should break that on Wednesday.

1:36:58

That's me just after finishing today, on my way to the beer tent. That time is very misleading, the Backcountry half marathon is a super tough and slow course. Fast Eddy only ran 1:27 last year and he went on to run 2:36 in Phoenix (of course, he was afraid to race me today, even though the trails were literally in his backyard). If I can get that same effort at Pueblo I could be 10-12 minutes faster. Race report will follow, right now I gotta go get drunk.

Raced in Longmont last week, no locals showed up. Highlands Ranch today, no locals showed up. Should I even bother going to the FoCo fat ass, or will everyone be scared away?

post-Canya Canon

Taking advantage of the free Laughing Lab after the Cheyenne Canon Hill Climb.

Cheyenne Canon

Thanks to Shad for this nugget:

Cheyenne Canon road run this morning. Up to the top in 47:07. 8.5 miles total. Beautiful morning. Gonna miss doing this run every Thursday morning. Think after NOLA I'll just go there weekly by myself.

Might hafta take a sabbatical from the Thursday Incline happy hour. Tonight I hafta bail to watch my Pitt Panthers crush UConn. Then the next eight weeks have me at some special dog training class. Think I might switch to Friday nights for the time being...

fat ass

Nick has posted the beta for the Chubby Cheeks 50K fat ass run over here. December 18th. Probably put together a car pool, gotta head up to show those boys how we roll down here in South CRUD!

If you ask me any questions as to how hard a course this is going to be, you are disqualified from attending. If you have to ask, you can't do it.

Wed AM

Nice big loop around the Garden this morning with the dog. 6.5 miles, 62 minutes. Was expecting to see snow on the ground this morning, but it was just a little frost. I bet Pikes took a beating though, pretty sure she'll be white for the next few months.

Tues PM

Easy 9.4 miles around the Garden, 1:28:32. Snow/rain and lots of wind. Blech.

Currently sitting at 3111.5 miles on the year, 18.5 miles short of averaging 10 a day. Should be able to make that up over the next week or two.

quarters

Awesome workout this morning. 1.25 mile warm up on the CC track. Then 12 x 400m, 90 seconds of rest in between. First four quarters averaged 84 seconds. 80 seconds for the next four. Then knocked out 78, 78, 73, and 74! I need LOTS more of this kind of shit!

52 degrees at the track at 6AM on November 9th. Hooray for global warming!

Longmont/Canya Canon

Saturday - Went deep into the heart of enemy territory, Longmont. Brandon heard I was coming and high tailed it to the mountains. Knew I needed to start doing the short stuff more often, and when I heard a hasher buddy of mine was the RD for a low key cross-country race, I signed up. Three loops of a 1.2 mile course, which included some singletrack, some obstacles, and lots of grass. My plan was to go out way too hard and hang on. Executed that to perfection. Hit lap #1 in 7:20, already in oxygen debt. The next two laps hurt REAL bad but I hung on and managed not to get passed, though lots of guys were trying. Was expecting to run 24:30, ended up finishing in 22:52. Got another 5.5 miles of warm up/cool down in. As an extra bonus, I won a gift card to the Pumphouse Brewery in the post-race raffle. Not sure how much it was for, but JMock and I split four pints and I ended up paying $1 for them.

Sunday - Nice 10-ish miler (I ran some bonus miles after the race to make sure of this) with Rick H and Jesse from my place through Red Rock Canyon, Section 16, Bear Creek Park, and Stratton Open Space. Then it was time for the Cheyenne Canon Hill Climb, a 6K up a monster hill from the Starsmore Discovery Center to Helen Hunt Falls. Not a very motivating race for me, I was expecting a lot more but just couldn't get the legs going. Solid, but slow. Tried to rally at every kilometer sign, but today just wasn't my day. Finished in 41:50. Last year I had taken September off and then cranked it up during October and ran 36 minutes. Took October off this year, and I could feel a big difference. But I'll get there...

Celebrated afterwards with all the Laughing Lab you could drink! Holly finished with $100, her first race.

Hardrock

Application for Hardrock is over here. Wish me luck as I go after finish #4!

Of course, you can always go here for a blast from the past, my rookie year at Hardrock. Still can't believe there weren't any pullitzers were awarded over that story!

quote of the day

"The river is dangerous. The mountains are dangerous. The backcountry is dangerous. People come up here, they get badly injured. They get killed. That's a part of it. It just goes with it."

-Terry Peavler, pres of the Chaffee County Search & Rescue

Article on Frog Rock in today's Gazette can be seen here. My motivation to raft the numbers has gone way down since learning about this section of the river. I'll stick to the Gorge, or even better yet, Brown's canyon. Or Cherry Creek in Denver.

one more growler!

Picking up the spoils from Jeremy after yesterday's Canya Canon 6K. Didn't even have to open it, as the Bristol peeps had plenty of Laughing Lab for the thirsty crowd. Good bet all around though - between us we probably ran/biked/bussed over 30 times in October.

I was talking to someone after the race about beer. I told him of my quest to get a growler from every Colorado brewery (hard to do, since more and more keep popping up). He heard I had about 40 growlers so far.

He said, "where do you keep them all."

"In the kitchen."

"You're not married I see..."

more proof that bikers are idiots...

Putting a damper on the cool news about the Quizno's bike race coming to Colorado Springs is this douchebag, who obviously shouldn't be out riding a bike. Never, ever thought I'd see the Gazette message boards united, but this guy has done the impossible. They're probably going to have to turn off a few more streetlights to defend against this retarded court case. If he's successful, I'm going to prepare a case against the Boston Marathon to collect on all the psychological anguish I went through after losing to Brandon...

Fri

Racing twice this weekend (here on Saturday and here on Sunday) so I figured I'd take it easy today. Easy 5 miles with the dog through the Garden, 49:53.

Fri PM - 6.1 miles with the dog on the Red Rock Canyon trails. The dog has some speed, but give me a few months and I'll break her of that habit...

Leadville rego is open. Looks like the guy I was gonna pace and crew is out. The bidding for my services at that race will start at one six pack of PBR and a growler refill from Eddyline...

Thurs

Just what the doctor ordered. Had been suffering from a serious lack of power going up short hills. And today's Sunrise Strider workout was 12 x 60 seconds up BFNH in Bear Creek Park. Still getting crushed by all the roadies in the group, but I'll be up to par before too long. 90 minutes, 10.1 miles. Wanna give a special thanks to the dickhead equestrian peeps for allowing the trails to become covered in horse shit.

Went to a talk on barefoot running last night, sponsored by the CRC. I consider myself fairly active in the running community down here, but holy crap I think I only saw one or two folks who I knew last night. They had a few docs, PT folks, and a guy from New Balance there. Of course, those people couldn't match the knowledge of a few in the crowd who had read "Born to Run" and been inspired to go out and run a six or seven hour marathon. There was one lady there who kept going on and on about her eight year old son, I swear she thinks the biggest problem facing today's youth is the lack of a good barefoot running shoe for young people.

11/3

Hurtin' from some high mileage the past two days, so I thought I'd take a rest day today. Nice to sleep in, then had to bolt to Pueblo for work. Definitely try Bingo Burger if you're down there (will hit the place after the Rock Canyon half, as a huge bonus they sell Bristol brews), tied with Cherry Cricket for my second favorite burger in CO.

Anywho, was supposed to meet Andy and Yeti at the climbing gym around 5PM, then head over to the Chalet to hear a free talk on rock climbing. I was kinda looking for an excuse to get out of being indoors during this great Indian summer, so when I found out $100's ankle was still jacked up from a work incident yesterday, I jumped at the chance to head straight home to take the dog out. Ended up being our best run yet, 5.5 miles in 47 minutes, and the dog just straight out kicked my ass up the hills of Red Rock Canyon.

Speaking of Bristol, Rick and I are gonna run from my house over to the start of the Cheyenne Canon Hill Climb on Sunday. Red Rock Canyon, Section 16, High Drive, maybe the Chutes if we have time. Be at the casa at 8:30AM if you're interested...

Tuesday

Don't hafta be at work 'till 10AM since it's election day. Used that time wisely, out the door early for a two hour run, half of that with the Sunrise Striders. Included 4 x 7 minutes at tempo pace, with 3.5 minutes rest in between. Lots of roadies in the group, so it's tough for me to keep up right now. I'll get there though. 14 miles total.

Lunch: 45 minutes at the rock gym. Hit a V1 and a couple of V0's. Much better than yesterday. The usual push ups/sit ups/pull ups as well.

Probably won't run tonight due to the PPRR bored meeting. My second to last one!

Monday

AM - 4.5 miles, 45 minutes. The dog has some good speed, but unfortunately she wants to stop every 50 feet to smell something.

Lunch - 45 minutes at the rock gym. I've lost a lot during the month off...

PM - 11 miles, 95 minutes. Nice cruise around the Garden and Manitou.

55

That's the final bet between Nick and I. Combined times from NOLA and Salida. I think if I can keep within 20 minutes of him at NOLA I'll be sitting pretty...

The grand prize is a growler from Amica's in Salida and bragging rights for the year.

October

181.9 miles on the month. Other than Mt. Lemmon, it was a very easy month. Lots of rest days. Slow social runs, or the commute to/from work. It's the lowest monthly total of the year for me, and only the second month under 300 miles. Gonna have to work the rest of the year if I wanna average 10+ miles per day, I'm currently at 3010.9 miles (9.87 miles per day in 2010).

Nick and I are in negotiations for the first bet of next season. A combined NOLA/Salida bet. I want an hour, he's trying to lowball me. JMock is also in for the Big Easy. If many more COers sign up for NOLA, they might have to rename it the Front Range marathon...

Manitou Coffin Races

Good times over in Manitou!

3000

5.2 miles home from work, then took the dog up the Incline for the first time last night. Hit 3000 miles for the year somewhere along the way. Holly also had her first trip to the Royal Tavern, big night for her.

Rest day today. Carpooled with $100 to complete the month of October without driving to work. Wanted to take the bus, but $100 made me ride with her so she could park in the special carpool lot at the hospital. I can be bribed with bacon pretty easily.

Picked up a pair of NB 507 at the CRC for an upcoming cross country race I'm doing (I can wear them for short road races as well). Very light, could be the final step towards busting 13 in the 5K.

Found out the Lampanelli show is at the Comedy Works South venue tonight. Changes the brewery plan a bit. Now deciding on one of three close pubs:

Bull & Bush (the top choice, but it might be too far away with the traffic)
Rock Bottom Englewood
CB & Potts (probably where we'll end up, since it's the closest)

Not the biggest fan of the chain breweries, but since I'm trying to visit every brewery in Colorado, it's a necessary evil to visit them. I will say I was surprisingly impressed with the brews at the new BJ's in Colo Springs (even though the beer is made in Boulder and trucked down here).

Thurs

Wed PM - easy 4.2 miles, 40 minutes. Two of those miles were with the dog. Holly ran three times yesterday for a total of 7.5 miles. Then went to the Bear Creek Dog Park. Then helped stuff the PPRR newsletter at the CRC.

Thurs AM - easy run with the Sunrise Striders. 8.8 miles, 1:15. Costume run, I ran as Bob Marley.

One more day to commute and it's an easy one - taking the bus to work tomorrow, then having $100 pick me up as we head to Denver to catch Lisa Lampanelli. Maybe a new brewery on that trip as well...

for Brooks...

...since he's the only dude I know who tools around on a moped.

I was having a drink and I noticed a pretty woman looking at me across the bar. So I gather the nerve to get up and offer to buy her a drink. She accepted and we talked for a while. We really seemed to be hitting it off, joking, laughing and good flirting. After a few more drinks in me I asked if we could go to her place. She said "I can't right now I'm on my menstral cycle". I replied "Thats OK I got my moped right outside, I will follow you!"

tempo?

Easy 15 minutes with the dog to warm up. Was planning on a four mile tempo run through the Garden, but the wind and soreness from the track led to a horriffic first mile. Then the big hill in the second mile didn't help. Did the four mile loop in 31:16, which is almost 90 seconds over my five mile PR. Lots of work to do. This four miler is gonna be a staple from now on, we'll see how I progress from this morning 'till NOLA.

Now it's time to bust out the spandex and PEDs, I'm biking to work...

Tues PM

Commute #39 in the books. 5 easy miles home, 41:19. Tomorrow marks twice the goal I made at the new year for commuting to work. Which is good, since I've failed miserably at the push up goal and the yoga goal is in serious jeopardy...

track

Triumphant return to the CC track this morning. Shitty weather, temps in the low 30s and very windy. But that's only because my crappy-weather-meter isn't calibrated yet, I'm sure I'll be pining for nice days like this come December and January.

15 minute warm up. 2 x 1600m in 6:15 and 6:14, hitting 800m in 3:09 both times. Then 2 x 800m in 3:04. 30 minute cool down.

Not the best workout ever but I'll chalk it up to the wind and being at the track for the first time in a while. Look for those times to improve.

Nice quite from an ex-girlfriend in the recent Clarence Thomas controversy.

"Clarence became not the person I knew when I first met him," she said, adding that he "drank to excess" when they first met and might have been a "raving alcoholic" at that time. When he gave up alcohol, she said, he became "angry, short-tempered, asexual" and obsessive with ambition and what she called "weird things," such as long runs in the dark before dawn."

What's so weird about long runs in the dark before dawn?

CRUD party

Harsha's pics can be seen here.

His video of the pizza eatoff, which clearly shows Fast Eddy sneaking pizza to his kid, can be seen here.

The dog ended up doing pretty well with the crowd, so the 1st annual wine & cheese party is a go. If you're not on FB and didn't get the invite let me know.

38

Finished up commute #38, 5 easy miles straight home, 41:17. That cold front is moving in fast!

Think I already have the commuter challenge clinched, but since I'm this close I just wanna get through the month without using my truck. Had to start her up this afternoon to make sure she still worked...

back at it...

Three post-Bear weeks of 42, 33, and 52 (high due to Mt. Lemmon) miles. A whopping 12 miles last week. Lots and lots of rest days. Think it's time to pick the mileage back up.

Decided I'm gonna go 2:54 at NOLA. That number is screaming at me since it would be a new PR and an automatic qualifier for NYC. Not too much of a stretch, I thought that was what I was gonna run at Boston before I got hurt.

Will be finishing up this week running to work each day (going one month of not using my truck for work), probably hit around 70 miles. Then it's time to start hitting the track and doing some shorter races. I should probably find some 5K and lose to Brandon, that motivation served me well during training for Leadville.

Sitting at 2953 miles for the year. Averaging 9.9 miles a day for the year. Should be able to finish out 2010 averaging at least 10 a day...

Today's morning run was an easy 7.1 miles in an hour. Crazy wind storm last night, lots of tree branches all over the place.

HAIL TO PITT

I always knew Pitt hoops coach Jamie Dixon was awesome, but check this out! I think that automatically locks up coach of the year, but just in case he's gonna win his first national title as well.

CRUD pizza eating contest

Couple of shots from Saturday's CRUD pizza eating contest. I held with Fast Eddy for the first few minutes before falling behind, but I was happy with my performance. The final standings:

1. Fast Eddy, 8:40

2. Rick H, 9:55

3. jt, 12:40

4. Paul D, DNF

Good times at the party, great to see everyone again. Not sure what's up next on the eating front. Pancakes seem to be leading the rumor mill. But I'm going to start pushing for a milk challenge. And one of these days CRUD will finally get around to doing a beer mile...

I weighed my dump a few hours after the challenge, but it came in at a very disappointing .9 pounds.

In other news, I can't figure out how to turn off this underline thing on blogger...

dump

Mt. Lemmon pics are up. Go here, then click on Mt. Lemmon, then search for bib 455.

Big kudos to Footfeathers and Brooks for going 1-2 at Deadman Peaks.

And congrats to Fast Eddy for taking the win in the pizza eating contest. I finished third out of four, also losing to Rick H and beating Paul D. Pics to follow shortly.

Nice run in the Garden with CRUD yesterday. Easy 7.5 miles. Taking today off before slowly jumping back into things next week.

LAHF or die!

A few shots of the Larry & His Flask show from the Nickel on Monday night. Good times! Definitely check these guys out if they come through your town!