whiskey #3

Jack Daniels.  Sort of my house whiskey since it's what is in my flask every time I ride.

the week that was

Another decent week with 45 miles running and 90 miles on the bike.

Good run at Winter Series II.  Wanted to hold eight minute miles, and I covered the 7.8 mile course in 60:38.  Caught up to $100 during the final half mile and ran it in with her, otherwise I could have gone sub 60.  More importantly, solid turnout after the race at Smiling Toad Brewing.

Motivated by GZ recently crushing a half marathon, I was planning on throwing down at the upcoming Super Half.  But then I noticed it's the day after Manitou Mardi Gras, which should be even crazier this year given the Broncos playing the next day.  So I've tapered expectations for that race a bit.

Currently crushing my yearly Incline goal as I currently stand at eight trips.  Hope to get to ten before the month is out.

I think $100 found her new bike.  A co-worker of hers has a slightly used Turner Flux and is looking to get rid of it.  We took it over to Red Rock Canyon on Sunday and she put it through the wringer.

Thurs

I was woken up by the howling wind three times last night, maybe that explains my reluctance/difficulty to get out of bed this morning.  Sometimes getting in the miles is a pain in the ass and this morning was one of those days.  Got out for my 10K Garden road loop.  Tried to get something going during the middle miles but it just wasn't happening today.  Is it summer yet?  Came across this article and I think I'm going to do this to my bike, and then just work out on that until temps hit at least the 60s again.

Neighborhood map of the Springs, devised by Schwing the Traitor:

Had to visit our Denver office on Thursday, so I swung by Roxborough State Park on the way back.  Couldn't quite get all the way up Carpenter Peak as the park closes it's gates at 5PM, but I got in a good five miles.

Skipped my usual post-Carpenter Living The Dream brews to try the newest front range brewery, Castle Rock Beer Company.  Very unimpressed, thought their beer was watered down and flat.  I couldn't stop thinking about how I missed a chance for beers at LTD for this.  But they've only been open since Saturday and I'll try them again in a few months.  They need to step up their game quickly though, or 105W and Maddie's Biergarten will take all the beer drinkers in that town.

Wed

Weather was decent this morning so I took the fatbike out for my "thousand feet for breakfast" workout up Rampart Range Road.  Went pretty hard, took me just over 40 minutes to get to the top.  Look to bring that down significantly once the weather improves.

Had plans for a good ride after work, but the weather turned sour and I didn't have the clothes for the chilly temps.  So I rode straight home and went to CityRock instead.  Whenever I feel bad about my running or biking it's nice to head to the rock gym to remind me how it feels to be truly awful at something.

Tues

Took advantage of the Monday free from work.  First stop was the Garden with the dog.

Dog also helped clean up the mess CRUD made in Red Rock Canyon.

And speaking of dogs, we had a visit from Charlie Brown on Friday.

More dogs.  Took this pic of a homeless guy and the chariot he pulls his dog around in.  Dogs don't realize they're homeless and are too busy being happy to notice their situation.

Lots of biking over the long weekend.  2.5 hours on Sunday followed by a monster 4.5 hour, 27 mile slog through the snow on Monday. 

Got over the Steeler loss by catching some live music downtown.  Local hero Grant Sabin opened up for Second Best Sunset.

My sister joined us for a few drinks.

Tues AM - Track was a mess from all the melting snow, so I headed up to Carson Pass instead.

Tues PM - Hard hour on the bike ride home, followed by an easy four mile run on the Garden roads.

week in review

Another good week to keep me on the road to getting back in shape.

44 miles running, including a 4+ hour slog on Saturday at the Fat Ass.

60 miles on the bike.  Nice 2.5 hour ride on Sunday cleaning up the Fat Ass course and then heading over to Smiling Toad Brewing.  Weather looks to warm up this week so hopefully I can get some more time in the saddle.

Weight continues to drop as it looks like I'm back below 175.  Not too far from the 170 I like to keep.

And the Incline goal is on target, I've made six trips up the steps so far this year.

Fat Ass

Good times at the annual Fat Ass.  We didn't really plug it as we have in years past, but we still had a good turnout of about 50 people.  Weather cooperated and it was just a great day for a run.  I cheated, catching a ride over to the base of the Incline and running 14 miles back to the house via Barr Trail, Intemann, and Red Rock Canyon.  Full course was just over 26 miles.

Thanks to those who showed up.  Especially those who brought beer and/or whiskey!

Stole this from Katie Schwing, the shot is from the top of Rocky Mountain.

whiskey #2

The well whiskey at Murphy's.  Can't go wrong with Beam.

A buddy and I spent the Pitt/Navy debacle throwing back beers at Red Leg, then thought it would be a good idea to head to Murphy's.  We did a shot of jager and slammed a Wisconsin Luchbox, then I thought it would be a good idea to get in my second whiskey of the year.  I never make good decisions when I'm at Murphy's.

Mariachi

Dog was sick late last week.  Then my bout with food poisoning.  $100 was sick the past two days.  Not sure what the hell is going on.  We'll bathe the entire house in bleach just in time for a bunch of runners to come over and mess everything up again.

5.8 miles around Old Colorado City this morning.

Rode the Mariachi to work the past two days.  After riding the Beargrease alone for the previous two months, it sort of feels like I'm going to break the 29er in half.  Need to get used to her again as she'll be making the trip to DK200 with me.

Wednesday

Tues - wanted to make sure I was completely over the food poisoning thing so I slept in on Tuesday morning.  Got out for 6.4 miles around the Garden in the evening.
Wed AM - Same 6.4 mile loop, just took a lot longer to run.


Bummer about David Bowie.  I was never into him, but most, if not all, of the jambands I constantly listen to would cover him often.  He is/was one of two bands (the other being the Talking Heads) who I thought I should start checking out just because of how much he gets played by bands I dig.


Hell, Phish actually has a song called David Bowie.



Of course, don't ever forget Bowie's best work:



The Springs put on her big boy pants the other day announced daily non-stop flights to Vegas.  I bit on the excitement and picked up some cheap tix for $100 and I.  She has always wanted to see one of the big shows in the Sin City, so guess who I'll be seeing this year!




Also on the agenda: the Buffet of Buffets, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, Double Down Saloon, Dino's, Heart Attack Grill, and so much more... 

week in review

40 miles running, 60 miles biking.

Not too bad for the first week back.  Definitely need more miles on the bike, hopefully those come once the weather starts to improve.  Would like to hit a point where I'm running 50 mpw and riding 100 mpw, a sweet spot where I can get myself into good enough shape to finish the races I have planned, but also have a life outside working out.

This has switched from a blog composed mostly of pics of my dog to a blog mostly complaining about how out of shape I am.

fat ass

Map for the upcoming Fat Ass.

I'm going to do a shorter, friendlier version by mooching a ride over to the Incline around 8AM.  Up the Incline, down Barr, then Intemann/Red Rock Canyon back to the house.  No Rocky Mountain or Mt. Manitou, but I'll probably do Red Mountain.  This JV run will be around 16 miles.

Winter Series I/Incline #4

At my age, it takes a while to get back into shape after a two month hiatus.  But I'm trying.

Got over to Cheyenne Mountain State Park on Saturday for the first race of the Winter Series.  All I can say about this one was I was out there, a winner just for trying.  Ran good for two miles, then the lack of fitness reared it's head.  70 minutes for the 6.8-ish mile course.

Did crush the post-race happy hour though.

On Sunday I joined up with the Incline Club and headed up the Incline.  Not saying anyone is in comeback mode, but halfway up I was passed by Matt C who was running (yes, running) up.

On Sunday night I ate something bad and I'm paying dearly for that.  Can't remember ever being so violently ill.  Hopefully I'm back to normal by Tuesday.

Incline #3

Friday night Incline through the snow and chilly weather.  Was awesome up there, as usual.  Only saw one other person and his dog on the entire four mile loop.  A good six or seven inches of new snow at the top.

Officially rego'd for Dirty Kanza.  Hope it warms up soon so I can start getting in some decent rides on the Mariachi.

Took the dog to the vet yesterday, everything is good.  She's doing much better and seems like she'll return to 100% sometime this weekend.

winter continues...

I start to begin dreaming about longer days and warmer temperatures as soon as I buy my first Red Rock tickets of the year.  Sort of the very unofficial beginning of spring for me.  Thought that was going to be today, as I tried to get $100 and I some two day passes to the Umphrey's show.

So right at 10AM - and I mean RIGHT AT 10AM as I've done this ticket thing before - I tried to get the hook up, but they were already sold out.  Boo.

So winter continues for at least another week, until these tix go on sale to the general public.



To get over my disappointment, I picked up tickets to see these guys, who are coming to the live music mecca of the Springs in February:

Thursday

Just as I had started to get into a routine, a wrench is thrown.  Dog has been sick, and someone has to be around to let her outside.  Was hoping for a big bike day on Wednesday, but could only squeeze in 20 miles on the way to and from work.  Slipped out for a five mile run this morning (45 minutes), but I'll be in the house the rest of the day while $100 is at work.  Don't know how you people with kids do it.

whiskey #1

I was never a big whiskey guy, but Stranahan's was the bottle that made me think I should explore that world a little more.  So it's only fitting to start off the 50 whiskey challenge with a bottle of it.  Here's the story of how I obtained this bottle of whiskey, and the bottle met her match down in The Villages in Florida over the holidays.  This was the Longs Peak edition of the snowflake, and it was delicious.

track

AM - 1.75 mile warm up, 2 x 1 mile with 400m RBI, two mile cool down.  6:27, 6:29.  I can blame a little of the slowness on the track - it's a mess right now from melted snow, and there's still some snow on one of the turns.  But obviously I haven't been doing this kind of work for months now.  The effort was there though, I thought I was going to barf up a lung on both of these miles.  Going to try to commit to the track once a week during the winter, depending on snowfall.  Will definitely be a struggle the next few months, as Holmes Middle School is cold, dark, and lonely at 5AM, but hopefully the work will put me in a good place once the weather improves.

JV mentioned something about the early start.  I listened to a podcast with Rebecca Rusch (who has a slightly faster time than I do at the Pb100 bike).  Apparently she isn't a morning person, but sometimes has to force herself out of bed earlier than she wants.  She talked about just focusing on putting her feet on the ground.  After that, everything becomes easier.  I've used that strategy to get out of bed at 4:20AM the last two days, we'll see if it can work long term.  The super early start gives me extra time for an activity I love much more than running - walking the dog.

PM - Joined $100 and the dog for my second trip up the Incline this year.

Carson Pass

AM - up early and headed through Red Rock Canyon up to Carson Pass and back.  Five miles, 53 minutes. 

First bike commute of the year.  Five miles to the office, 15 miles home.

Definitely out of shape, but I think I'm finally  headed in the right direction.

Nielsen Challenge/Incline #1

12:48 at the Nielsen Challenge two miler on Saturday.  Chilly, and a slow day for just about everyone who ran.  My first win (of many) over Amanda for the year.

On Sunday, after a good walk with the dog in the Garden, I hit the Incline.  Gorgeous day for it.

$100 and I biked over to Gold Camp Brewing Company last night for their one year anniversary.  Their beer has come a long way in twelve months.

Rescue Run

Went 22:49 at the Rescue Run 5K this morning.  Good indication of my current fitness on a slow course, although I can definitely blame the hangover for some of that extra time.

Kircher and I headed over to the Incline after the run, but it was closed due to a body that was found.  So we headed up Iron Mountain instead.  Had my first beer of the year on top, a Doolittle IPA from Red Leg.