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...