beer 330 and 331

Good turkey break so far.  Wine & Cheese was awesome.  Lots of running with the dog and friends over in Red Rock Canyon.  And Pitt downed Miami to become bowl eligible!

Turkey Trot

Good day at our local Turkey Trot 5K.  Waiting for official results to get posted, but I'll probably be right at 18:45 (Update: official time was 18:42).  Pleased with the hard effort, and I think on a flatter course that time would have been much faster.  This race climbs for the first two miles and then bombs the final mile.  Garmin data over here.  My mile splits:

1 - 6:17
2 - 6:10
3 - 5:33

I made up big time on Gerald and I was giving it everything I had to catch him, but I ran out of space.

Next step is to go sub 18:30, eventually (hopefully, maybe) on my way back to a sub-18.  Lots of work to do there.

At least I beat this guy at the race:

beer 329

Another day, another new brewery in the Springs!  Welcome Storybook Brewing to the local beer scene.  For my beer of the day I went with the Gnomish Beer Goggles American Pale Ale.  Not too bad.  Not a whole lot going on in the part of town where Storybook opened, hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

Still getting out there almost every day for my daily five to seven miler.  Distance right now has everything to do with how cold it is outside.  Looking to go sub 19 at the Turkey Trot tomorrow before starting the annual turkey booze binge.

Tony, who used to run around these parts stealing day old bagels to fuel his super long runs, has gone big time.



In other Tony news, he was on the cover of the CS Independent today:

beer 328

Fortunate Islands Modern Times Beer, San Diego, CA.  Another solid brew out of the San Diego area.  May have to take a beercation there some day.

beer 327

Swami's IPA from Pizza Port Brewing Company in Carlsbad, CA.  Loved it.

Nice two hour run in the snow this morning, up Barr Trail.  Here's a shot of the "new and improved" incline from the bail trail that a friend sent me.  Hopefully the incline friends put in a sink at the bottom to wash your hands since the whole thing seems so sterile now.

The incline friends continue to beg for money, and they need it as it's not cheap to continually threaten a huge law enforcement response for the heinous crime of physical activity.

I took this picture from one of the only spots on America's Mountain that the incline friends will let you stand on.

beer 324

Forgot to post this one.  On Thursday a bunch of us went down to Bristol for the Black Lager release.  You buy a beer and you get to vote for a charity to receive $2.

Please note that I did not vote for the incline friends.

beer 325 & 326

Local favorite Red Leg Brewing and River North Brewery out of Denver got together and made some beer.  The result was the West of Ardennes Imperial Brown Ale and it was a damn fine brew.  They had the release on Friday at Wild Goose and now you can get it on tap at the two breweries.

Hockey weekend around the house.  After a few beers at Wild Goose, $100 and I headed down to the World Arena to watch Colorado College beat the tar out of Wisconsin.  Lots of loud and rowdy Wisky fans at the beginning, but they got shut up quick.

Saturday morning was the annual Pikes Peak Road Runners Turkey Trot Predict.  You predict your time and then have to try to run that time without a watch. I guessed 19:30 for me, knowing that would make me work hard.  Pretty sure my first mile was under six, so I had to slow down to get closer to my time.  Ended up running 19:44, which didn't get me anywhere close to the top seven.

But fear not, I will get to eat on Thanksgiving!  $100 was only 1.6 seconds off her predicted time of thirty minutes, which got her third place and a large turkey!  So if anyone is hungry this Thursday, head on down to the Royal Tavern in Manitou to celebrate with us.

Photos stolen from Pikes Peak Sports.

Awesome post race happy hour at 503 West.  Then desert at 517 West (Benny's).  Then it was time to head up north to Clune Arena to catch the Air Force/Colorado College hockey game.

Had some awesome seats, right behind the Air Force bench.  I was rooting for Air Force and I was not disappointed as they beat up on CC most of the night.  The game is for the Pikes Peak Trophy, given to the team who wins the championship for Colorado Springs.

Had a mascot sighting.

Like I said, we were right behind the AF bench, so close we could hear the guys talking to each other about game strategy.  This would have been a lot more awesome if I actually knew anything about hockey.

Hockey trivia: the zamboni for Air Force games is called Ice Force One.

After the game we hit up Red Leg for a pint of the limited 1812 Smoked Maple Porter.  Good stuff.

beer 323

Met Jeff M and Peter down at Fieldhouse Brewing after work to try the Bourbon Bacon Brown.  Not too shabby.

Seven mile run in the AM, plus the bike to and from work.  And a lunch weight session at the Y.  Not a bad day.

beer 321 & 322

Monday was the Dorado Double IPA from Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego.  Tuesday was the Chaotic Double IPA from Twisted Manzanita Ales in Santee, CA.  Both excellent brews, seems like they have quite the brew scene in the San Diego area.

Thanks to Matt (I'd highlight his blog but he doesn't update it anymore) for these CA beers.  He's paying up early for Pitt and Air Force dominating San Diego State in hoops and football, respectively.

Finally got outside for a run this morning.  Five miles, but a victory just to get out of bed with temps below 20F.  Even rode the bike to work this morning.  Baby steps.  Going to be a long winter and I'm going to try not to get too fat between now and March.

Put in one last order with GoLite over the weekend.  Sad to see them go.  Not sure where I'll get my baggy shorts from once my current pairs wear out.  They also make up about 50% of my work clothes.

beer 320

In my defense, I spent a lot longer than planned at Red Leg, and when I finally got home this was the only cold beer I was sure I hadn't consumed yet.

beer 318 & 319

Friday was our now-regular liquid lunch, this week at Bingo Burger!  Grabbed a can of the Boohai Red Ale from Crazy Mountain up in the Vail Valley.  Great lunch!  Next Friday we will begin preparation for the CC/Wisconsin hockey game by grabbing lunch at Tony's.

Friday AM was a quick five miler in the Garden.  Already sick of this cold.  Friday PM was spend drinking at Front Range BBQ and the Red Rock Lounge.  Good times.

Hangover recovery day on Saturday.  Did get out for an hour hike with the dog and then an hour run on the Garden roads.  Then went over to party in Manitou at Peter and Nora's place.  Finally got a chance to try the Imperial Pumpkin from Long Trail Brewing Company out of Vermont.  Pretty good, which comes as no surprise as I've never had anything I didn't like from Long Trail.  They seem to be making a big push into the western PA market, as their brews were all over the place when I visited.

Had to share this with my favorite Vermontard*.

* not counting the guys in Phish, of course.

beer 317

One of my favorites of the entire year.  Sure wish you could get this stuff out west.  Bob, you need to start lobbying these guys to enter the Colorado market!  Perpetual IPA from Troegs Brewing Company in Hershey, PA.

No running yesterday, as I couldn't stand the thought of a third straight day on the treadmill.  Good hour throwing the weights around though.  Things are supposed to start warming up over the next few days (though it's 4F as I'm writing this at 6AM on Friday) so maybe I'll get outside today.

Finished this book last night.  Very good read if you're into bike touring.

And then I started the new semi-rad book.  Haven't finished it yet but it won't take long.  It's just a bunch of posts from his blog, and I've probably wasted hours and hours at work reading each entry, but it's still a fantastic read.

Hopefully the weather improves soon, so this can go back to being a beer and running blog instead of a beer and reading blog.

Oh, rego for the best race in Colorado, the Salida Marathon, is open.

beer 315 & 316

Still hitting the PA stash.  315 was the Hop Hog IPA from Lancaster Brewing Company.  Yet another solid IPA from the Keystone State.

316 was the Firestone Walker Anniversary Brew they tapped at Front Range last night.  Stole that pic from Peter, as the shot he got was much better than mine.

In other beer news, Red Leg Brewing now has cans!

The view from our living room window this morning.  Think it was -6F when I took this.  I hate winter.

beer 313 & 314

Kircher had to be back in Denver super early on Sunday since he is not allowed to go 18 hours with no visual with his girlfriend.  So I decided to hang out in the Mile High City for a bit.

First stop was for some coffee.  Hooked on Colfax has all the food groups:

And then of course it was on to the best bar in the world, Sancho's.  Can't believe I made it all the way to November without using PBR for the challenge, but it's now off the board at number 313.

314 was a quality brew I bought back from Pittsburgh.  Chinookie IPA from Full Pint Brewing Company.  Awesome stuff!

That's a live Umphrey's webcast in the background.  Been listening to a lot of them lately.  Really loved this nugget they recently threw onto youtube:



Not running a whole bunch.  Two days off (Saturday and Sunday) due to the IPA fest, then Monday off since we entered the ice age here in Colorado Springs.  Tuesday and Wednesday were 30 minute easy efforts on the treadmill at the Y.  Hitting the weights pretty hard though, so at least I'm not becoming a total slug.

My favorite pic from the weekend throwdown.  Stolen from Timko without asking permission since he's such a little bitch.

beer 311 & 312

Two Headed Dog Imperial IPA.  Celebrating Hick's win at his old brewery, Phantom Canyon.

On Saturday I met the IPA Fest crew at Fate Brewing for lunch.  Had the Coffee IPA, a combination of my two favorite things in the world.

Shortly after Fate, Kircher and I dropped by Upslope Brewing Company.  My 107th Colorado brewery.

beer 309 & 310

Snapperhead IPA from Butternuts Beer & Ale in Garrattsville, NY, came in at 309.  Love the can, with the beer inside could match it.

Had free reign of Marc's beer fridge as I had to watch their dog for a bit.  Went with the Back in Black IPA from 21st Amendment in San Fran for 310.  Good stuff.  For the record, my dog is much faster than Marc's dog.

CRUD started their weekly Thursday morning Cheyenne Canon runs and I headed over there super early.  Trying to only run for an hour a day during the off-season, so I only went up to the parking lot and not to the top of High Drive.  Still a solid run though.  6.4 miles, one hour. 

Friday I slept in and went to the YMCA instead of running.

beer 308

Point The Way IPA from Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles.  Meh.

Been catching up on some reading during the offseason.  Finally finished this nugget:

Great book, and you don't have to be a river rat to enjoy it.  If you like the Grand Canyon, or even just outdoor adventure, you should definitely check it out.  This will be made into a movie someday, and you'll then be able to be one of those folks who says, "oh, the book was so much better...."

Also finished this one, which I picked up at the LT100 bike:

Decent read, and Ms. Rusch seems pretty cool, but these kind of books are hard for me to plow through in this day and age of blogs.  Basically, "I did a race.  It was sooooo hard but I pushed through it and learned all about myself and my friends in the process."  Maybe someday I'll write a book about how to take really hard races and make them easy by going very, very slow. 

Wednesday AM, 6.4 mile loop on the Garden roads.  Sure do love starting my days off in the Garden.

beer 306 & 307

306 was the No Coast IPA from Bull & Bush up in Denver.  I like this brewery more and more every time I drink one of their beers.

307 was the 11th Hour IPA from Crow Peak Brewing Company.  I've gotten a lot of feedback about how awful Crow Peak brews are, but I have no complaints.

Monday night the dog and I headed up Red Mountain in a wet snow and chilly temps.  Good times!  Met Red Leg 6 at the top and came down with him.  3.7 miles.

Had the option to bail on Tuesday mornings run as it was below 30F, but I got out there.  5.5 miles on the Garden roads.  Pikes got a ton of snow last night:

Looks like the Boulder IPA Fest party will kick off this Saturday at Fate Brewing at 10AM.  Whether or not you're going to the festival (and you really should be), feel free to join us at Fate for some brews.  I'm sure we'll hit J Wells after the party, but if you're sober I wouldn't suggest coming to hang out with us then as I'm sure we'll be quite the mess.