for the triathlete weirdo folks...

17:44

My fastest time in Colorado, despite what I thought was a lousy race for me. Time to go punish the liver!

Wed

Post work 10.5 miler, 90 minutes. Garden roads.

Watched Pearl Jam Twenty yesterday (it's on netflix streaming). Great stuff!

Salida Marathon is March 10th this year. Poster says #6 but according to my training log it's actually #7.

Sat night

As you can see, we're training hard already. South CRUD is gonna be unstoppable this season!

3 x 1600

1.5 mile warm up, 3 x 1600m with 400m RBI, 1.5 mile cool down. 5:56, :54, :53. Nice weather, very easy effort.

The Occupy Colorado Springs folks are gone. Only thing going on at the corner of Bijou and Tejon this morning was the anti-graffiti guys, cleaning all the chalk off the sidewalk. Reports had the cops very efficient in clearing everything out. Wish they could be 1% as efficient at keeping crime out of Acacia Park.

Waldo

Mon AM - Waldo Canyon with the dog and Yeti. 7.5 miles easy, untimed. Waldo is currently 100% snow free. Hopefully that lasts through to the Fat Ass.

Sunday

Two hours, 14 miles. Ended with 69 miles on the week.

Time to taper!

No rest for the liver though. Thursday is the big Incline turkey day. Nobody won a bird at the PPRR Turkey Trot Predict, so it looks like we'll either go hungry or throw a few bucks in the hat for some grub. Will probably just stay drunk through the Wine & Cheese party on Friday. All are welcome for these events, crash space available.

Sunday is also the first run of the year for the Incline Club. Any out of towners wanna come down, then hit King's Chef post-run? Think the first run is usually Ute Pass/Waldo.

Saturday

Easy 7.5 miles on the Garden trails this morning. Very dark the first half and I didn't have a flashlight, so it wasn't much more than a fast hike. Wanted to go further but I gots to work today. Sucks, but makes for a sweet two day week coming up.

168.5 pounds this morning. Either gonna have to step up the weight loss, or go back and edit all my blog posts to reflect my goal of getting below 170 for Vegas.

fridge

Just restocked the fridge, Wisconsin style. Now serving your choice of:

PBR

Boxer Lager

New Glarus Wisconsin Bock

New Glarus Two Women Lager

New Glarus Totally Naked

New Glarus Spotted Cow

Capital Brewing Supper Club

And I'm sure I'll pick up some Hamm's tomorrow.

Friday

AM - Run to work. 5.5 miles (much longer than JP), 53 minutes.

PM - Run home. 5.5 miles, 54 minutes.

Just to show that not everyone from Pennsylvania lacks morals: yesterday I picked up two tix to the Western States 100 movie at Mountain Chalet. As I was walking out the door, I noticed the guy at the counter actually gave me three tickets, even though I had only paid for two. Could have walked with a free ticket. But I took the extra ticket back and returned it. The clerk thanked me, and I told him that had it been store merchandise I definitely would have bolted, but I would have felt bad for taking money from a local trail group.

Looking forward to the movie. Need to come up with some really off the wall, non-running related questions to ask Tony at the Q and A thing they're doing.

Will hit 2800 miles on the way home today. By this time last year I was at 3300 miles and had recently finished my fourth hundred miler of the summer. Despite the fame and glory and wealth I got from finishing the Rocky Mountain Slam, I'll take the lower mileage and lack of PF issues anyday.

more PSU jokes

South Park Cracks on Penn State - Funny bloopers R us

Best rumor of the day? That missing DA isn't dead - he's been in the witness protection program and will be at the Sandusky trial...

more miles

Wed PM - From work to CRC, with 6 x 400m, 200m RBI thrown in. Quarters were untimed, but easy and I'm guessing I averaged 89 or so.

Thurs AM - Dog duty. A balmy 10F to start. The dog was tough to control today, she wasn't really thrilled about being outside for the first 10 or so minutes. 30 minutes, 2.7 miles around the local park.

Brooke Burke

This chick is gonna be hanging out at the Vegas marathon. Seems cool, but I seem to remember her being in Playboy (I read it for the articles) back when I was in high school. And that was, uh, like a good two or three years ago. Hope she's aged gracefully.

No 2:50 pace group in Vegas. Quickest group is 3:00.

Jemez

Looks like the Jemez races are a go. May 19th. Anyone up for a Fort Collins/Jemez double?

Best part of Jemez is the Taos/Arroyo Seco pub crawl immediately following the run. I'll call and reserve a teepee soon...

Wed

Easy run to work. 5.5 miles, 48 minutes. Gonna hit the CRC run tonight, probably run some quarters down at CC.

The village just shelled out $110,000 to come up with this logo/slogan:

For some reason it makes me think I forgot to pay the utility bill.

Was wondering this morning why anyone who doesn't spend 90% of their free time on the trails would want to live here. Colorado Springs, population-wise, is much bigger than Pittsburgh. But I remember all the stuff there was to do in Pittsburgh, and it makes the Springs look like a backwater town.

Oh yeah, just when it looks like something cool for the few non-family, non-church-going folks might happen here, the mayor steps in. Can't think of a company who has done more for the community than Bristol, hopefully the mayor realizes this and shuts his yapper.

track

One mile warm up, 4 x 1600m with 400m RBI, one mile cool down. 5:54, 5:44, 5:44, 5:43. Pretty solid effort. Probably the last full effort on the track before Vegas.

Still at 170 pounds. Since I've started the diet, I've gained five pounds.

Currently enjoying Green Monster number 96 on the year.

Check out this photograph:

I didn't take it, some dude named Andreas Gursky did. It's called Rhein II. And it sold last week for a cool 4.3 million, making it the most expensive photo ever sold. Looks like a pretty lame pic to me, but I guess I don't have an eye for art.

22+

Nice, last long run before Vegas. 15 miles, mostly on the Santa Fe trail, then ended with the final race of the Fall Series in Palmer Park. 3:15.

Another 80 mile week in the books.

Backcountry half marathon

Blech. Can't run hungover for a shit these days. Horriffic performance at the Backcountry half marathon, 1:56:34. Thought I was gonna run a good 20 minutes faster than that, but last night's gin said otherwise.

Definitely feeling a bit burned out right now. Got to tough it out for one more week before I can start the taper/end-of-year slack off.

good times to NOT be a PSU guy...

Tuesday

Easy two hours, 12.7 miles. 15th consecutive day of running, longest streak of the year. Went over 2700 miles for 2011.

Watching the Penn State scandal unfold. Seems to make all the other college scandals, even Pitt's hiring/firing of Mike Haywood (turns out it wasn't as bad as reported, and now Haywood is a candidate for the Tulane head coaching job), pale by comparison.

Monday

Easy two hours on the Garden roads, 13.3 miles.

168.0 pounds this morning. My lowest weight over the weekend was 165.3 after a night of drinking.

Nice shot of me crushing Marc P at the last Fall Series race:

group shot

Group shot near the finish line. Notice the sweet race bibs - PG was 1A and I was 3B. I also registered for the race under the name Geoffrey Mutai.

weekend at the races

Two races this weekend. 22:46 at the Longmont XC race on Saturday, and 35:50 at the Cheyenne Canyon 6K on Sunday. Both times are PR's for me on those courses, though I really felt stale on both days and don't think I raced very well at either.

Won a $15 gift card to Fleet Feet in Longmont (which I traded for a $10 gift card to the Pumphouse Brewery) yesterday and a $30 gift card to the Stadium Bar & Grille today. PG (who didn't push a baby stroller) really cleaned up today, taking home a $100 gift card to the Fox & Hound.

85 miles on the week. 28 days 'till Vegas.

Pic from the Canyon courtesy of Upadowna.

Zephyr Lounge

Salida marathon

Looks like the Salida Run Through Time will be a week earlier this year. The website is listing the race for March 10th, 2012.

By that time, Moonlight Pizza will be serving their own microbrews!

run to work

AM -Easy 5.3 miles to work. 57 minutes. The Incline really kicked my ass last night.

PM - 5.3 miles home, 52:11. Hike and bike trail is now complete from America The Beautiful Park all the way to 31st Street!

Looks like my Pleasant Valley Pb record will be safe, as while I was out training, I saw the competition scarfing down donuts at the local DD. I'm no expert, but "America Runs On Dunkin" probably isn't a good Leadville mantra.

quote of the day

Picked this up off letsrun:

"I'm confident I can handle pain. I'm confident I can handle the length of time, but my biggest fears come from things like, what happens if I have to, like, go poop? I mean, what do you do? Really. Do you stop or do you just do it?"

-Lauren Fleshman, who will be making her marathon debut in NYC

Uh, Lauren, you friggin' stop and find a shitter. What are you, four months old? Did they not teach you at Stanford that crapping your pants in front of millions of people is a bit embarrassing?

more miles

1.5 mile warm up, 4 x 1600m with 400m RBI, 1.5 mile cool down. 6:34, 6:28, 6:28, 6:15. Obviously I didn't have it today. The only redeeming value was that I actually got up for this workout. Really wanted to go back to bed when I saw the temp of 15F this morning.

Not worried about the poor workout, I have my share of bad days. Two races this weekend will give me the opportunity to bump up my fitness.

10 again

Liking my new Garden 10 mile course (it's actually 10.2 miles from my porch). Gets me all the major hills of the actual Garden 10 miler course. So even when I'm super slow, like the blazing 1:44 I ran tonight, it's still a decent workout.

Good luck to all the peeps running NYC this weekend. I hope to be there next year.

motivation...

This pic is going on my fridge as soon as I get home. Christ, if Keith can run 2:50, I should be able to go 1:45 in Vegas.

10 more

Easy 10.2 miles tonight, 1:41. Nice night, but you can tell something fierce is on it's way.

JMock and I are both running a marathon on December 4th. We've bet a growler from the brand spankin' new Arvada Beer Company on who will lower their PR more. He wants to run 2:27 (roughly 2:30 lower than his current PR) and I want to run 2:49:59 (3:21 lower than my PR). We're both running pretty well right now, could be interesting...

track

Two mile warm up, 4 x 1600m with 400m RBI, two mile cool down. 5:55, :46, :42, :44. Painful, in a good way. Really wanted to go 5:39 on that last one but really struggled over the final two laps.

Only have about three more weeks of hard training before Vegas. If I can push all my races (I have a lot of 'em before then) and get a few more of these mile workouts in, I'll have a decent shot at the marathon.

Still at 168.4 pounds this morning.

October

Easy 10.2 miles after work to get away from all the kids, 1:39. Brings my October total to 314 miles. Second highest monthly total of 2011. Some pretty epic miles in there, including the Zion Traverse, the sub three at Wisconsin Dells, and the Boulder Basic.

Sitting at 2600 miles on the year. Would like to get damn close to 3000 before Vegas, so I can take the rest of December off.

Tore it up on the Green Monster front as well, now sitting at 90 on the year.

quote of the day

From the Gazette today:

"The Broncos lack quality quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive linemen and defensive backs. Other than those holes, this is a marvelous football team."

The Tebow lovers aren't quite as loud today as they were on Saturday...

monday

AM - Easy three mile dog jog, 30 minutes.

Weighed in at 168.4 pounds this morning. I'll post my morning weigh in from now until Vegas. Gonna try to get down to 159 for that race. Think the 168 today was a little high due to some not-so-healthy activities this weekend.

week

Solid recovery week, 56 miles, including my first Boulder Basic. Legs feel pretty good so I'll jump back into some harder workouts this week.

Easy run in Ute Valley today with the Pikes Peak Road Runners. Here's a pic, courtesy of Pikes Peak Sports.

Harney Peak

fri

Felt pretty good on the Incline last night. Was worried how the quads would hold up on the way down, but they're fine. Looks like I'll need to come up with a new excuse for a shitty run in Boulder on Saturday.

Signed up for the Backcountry half marathon again. Fast Eddy's home course, we'll see if he has the cojones to show up. Gave it about the hardest effort I've ever given for that distance last year, and still ran something like 1:45. Hard course, but lots of fun. Should be a good tune up for Vegas.

I'm running the Fall Series Ute Valley race on Sunday dressed as a beer bottle...

track

Quads are still sore but I wanted to get the legs spinning today. 1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 800m with 400m RBI, 1.5 mile cool down. CC track. Started at 3:15 and worked down to 3:09. Very easy effort, and the legs were starting to feel good by the end.

On the way to the track I saw a homeless dude sleeping on the sidewalk. I wondered if he was dead, as it was 21F at 5:30AM and who knows how cold it got overnight. But on the way back I saw the dude standing up and taking a leak on that new Mansion bar downtown, right on Tejon in plain view of everyone. Classic!

Blue Earth, MN

We pulled over just because we saw a sign advertising a 60 foot Jolly Green Giant statue. The big guy didn't disappoint...

time to get serious...

Somebody brought donuts to work today. I usually eat at least a half dozen. Today I had none. That's how serious I am about breaking 2:50 in Vegas...

Might have to delete this post later on since there are still a bunch of donuts left. But for right now, I'm damn serious about getting in shape!

Wisconsin Dells Marathon

While I'm now the definite frontrunner for the Rick H "cherrypicker of the year" award at the next CRUD party, that's not how the event was supposed to go down. Last year had a winning time of 2:43, and I knew I wouldn't be close to that. I had a feeling I might be able to sneak under three hours, but also knew that going for that time could result in walking the last few miles and barely hitting sub four.

The Dells is a pretty hard marathon course with lots and lots of rolling hills. Definitely not a PR type course. So I'm pretty psyched that I went in there and grabbed my third best time ever. The icing on the cake was claiming another victory over a hated rival, Josh J., who would PR and go sub three for his first time ever, and will hear about finishing second place for the rest of his life.

Easy start, hit the first mile in eight flat after stopping to take a leak. Josh was about 30 seconds ahead at this early point, and I spent the next few miles slowly catching back up. Josh and I would stay close for the first half, never running more than a few seconds ahead or behind one another. Really gambling for me to stay with him, as he just threw down a PR of 1:23 at the Denver half, a good four minutes faster than I thought I could run given my current fitness. Had some tightness in my right hamstring early on, something I hoped wouldn't ruin my day later.

About nine miles into the race Josh and I moved into second and third place. Talked with the guy we passed, he was pretty gassed and said he was already five minutes ahead of his planned pace. So I knew he was done. It was now a battle for second, and bragging rights for a LONG time, between Josh and I.

Saw the lead runner pass us at mile 12.7ish. Timed him to the turnaround, he had about a five minute lead. And he looked strong, I thought he might beat us by a full ten minutes at the end of the day.

But I still had a race with Josh, as he was only four seconds back at the turnaround, which I hit in 1:28. Not blazing for me, but I was definitely working hard. I immediately picked up the pace, hoping Josh would fall back. Nope. He stayed on my ass for the next five or so miles.

By mile 19 I had finally opened a gap of 30 seconds or so on Josh, but I really worked to get it. Was already pretty spent and wondering if I could hold this pace. But then about two miles later I got a nice jolt of energy when I spotted the leader about 300 meters ahead, just before he disappeared around a turn. Thought that maybe if I pushed I could catch him by mile 25 and we could have a helluva race. But when I got up to that turn, I had already cut his lead in half, and it was obvious he was cooked.

I took the lead just before 22 miles. I wanted to run with the guy for a mile or two before taking the lead, but he was probably running 8:30 miles and I knew if I stayed that Josh would catch up. Really pushed hard from mile 22 to 24, 6:30 miles there, and that ended the race. Which was good, because at mile 24 the quad cramps started coming and I was done. Must have finished up with two miles well over 7:30. Wanted to run faster but I had the win and a sub three in the bag and I was afraid if I pushed any harder I would end up having to walk.

The finish was pretty funny. Had visions of the crowd going wild while I broke the tape, given my huge trophy by some supermodels. Nope. Crossed the finish line and nobody said anything. Finally, someone got up off a chair and handed me a half-marathon finisher medal. It was a good 45 seconds before anybody realized a marathon runner had finished.

Great seeing Josh cross the tape in 2:59:40. Big monkey off his back with finally getting that sub three.

Another awesome trip to Wisconsin. Lots and lots of beer drinking all week, highlighted with a solid marathon time. Gives me hope that if I can work my ass off for the next six weeks I'll at least have a chance at a 2:49 in Vegas...

my first movie

Trying to finally get the youtube thing down. Here's my first attempt, an in depth documentary on the recent Hawkeye Point hike.

Harney Peak

Hawkeye Point

The dog's first state highpoint!

2:58:02!

Me & Snoop

quote of the day

"I knew a few guys who couldn't break 3:00 in the marathon and I just couldn't even imagine how anyone could possibly be that slow."

-Amby Burfoot

Tough competition today, as there is a great Kenyan letsrun thread which includes gems like this:

"I am 5-7, weigh 97 pounds and only run 2:09 for a marathon. Am I fat? Should I drop five more pounds, or throw in the towel, bulk up and try for the completion of five unassisted push-ups?"

Mon

AM - easy dog jog. 4.5 miles, 45 minutes.

PM - nine miles on the Garden roads, 1:20. Pitch dark by 7PM nowadays.

bling

That's me with my fancy 3rd place overall medal. Nick and PG had made the third place finish quite popular, but with GZ's second place performance I may have to step up my game.

Think that's the 1000th pic I ripped from Pikes Peak Sports this year.

recycling

Put out the recycling bins this morning. One was overflowing with beer bottles and cans (not ususual). The other was packed solid with Krispy Kreme donut boxes. Not sure what the garbage guys think of us.

Twisted Pine - Boulder

17:20!

Just dropped a 17:20 at the Peace Officer Memorial 5K!

Think the course was about 150 meters short. Still, I think it's a legit 17:45.

More pleased with the actual race I ran. The guys who finished 4th and 5th regularly kick my ass at the local short stuff. But at the 1.5 mile turnaround I was close to them, and I threw in a surge that broke them both. Almost cost me my race by going so early, as I really struggled to hold it together between mile 2 and 2.75ish. But somehow I held on.

Capitol Reef

Bryce

Flying Monkey

Wiley and I, the night before the Zion Traverse. I highly suggest that any Zion trip have the base camp at Springdale, so you can go to the Flying Monkey. Much better than going to Cedar City and having to decide between Chili's and Applebee's as your social outlet.

Here's a shot of the Monkey parking lot. Not sure why all this is underlined.

Das Boot!

Before:

After:

Canya Canon

Rego for the Canya Canon 6K is over here. For $25 you get a great run, t-shirt, and all the Bristol beer you can drink.

2012

Here's what I'm looking at in 2012:

March 17 - Salida Marathon

April 21 - Free State 100K

May 5 - Collegiate Peaks

May 19 - Jemez Mountain

June 23 - San Juan Solstice

July 14 - Hardrock (fingers crossed!)

Aug 18 - Pikes Peak Ascent

Sept - Run Rabbit Run

Oct - Moab 100

Subject to change, as I still need to wedge another trip to the Grand Canyon in there. Thinking of hitting Havasupai Falls and the Under The Rim Trail at Bryce in the same trip...

Little less travel, and only one state (Kansas) off the list. Will use the time to (hopefully, and yes I know I said the same thing for this year) finally finish off all the Colorado 14ers.

Not even close to being finished with 2011 though. Wisconsin Dells coming up in two weeks, and then Vegas, baby!

Thurs

5:15AM start for the Cheyenne Canyon run. Legs are still heavy from Zion, so I was a bit surprised that I went sub 48 for the climb, despite the easy effort. I really think I'll be able to take down Mr. Elite at the upcoming hill climb*.

Think we have eight brave souls in for the Krispy Kreme Challenge this Saturday.

Congrats to King's Chef for kicking ass in the "Best Of" edition of the CS Indy. Four gold medals! Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Restaurant, Best Diner, Best Green Chili, and Best Late-Nite Dining. I think they should have been Best Burger as well, though not too many folks go there for the burger.

Hope to get a Zion report posted on Friday...

*PG has said he will be pushing a baby stroller during the race.

Colorado College/Wisconsin

Since it's been a big Wisconsin year for me, we're thinking of getting a group together for the Colorado College/Wisconsin hockey game down here. Games are November 18th and 19th. I don't know much about hockey, but this sounds like a great excuse to drink some brews. I know there are a few Wisco fans who read this, if you're interested in joining us at the game let me know.

Wed PM

Seven miles from work to Manitou, then an extra 3.5 miles in the Garden with $100 and the dog at the PPRR Full Moon Run. Beautiful night.

happy birthday!

We got the dog one year ago today!

2010 Rocky Mountain Slam

Finally posted a finisher pic on the website.

Only one guy finished the Rocky Mountain Slam in 2011.

run to work

Easy 5.1 miles to work, 47:44. Included a few minutes talking with the folks at the Occupy Colorado Springs protest down at Acacia Park. They were supposed to be arrested last night for violating the city camping ordinance, but the fuzz never showed. I don't know what the hell is up with the whole Occupy Wall Street thing, and most of the Springs protesters don't either, but they're friendly enough. Tough situation for the Springs cops, so I fully expect them to fuck it up in as bad a way as possible.

Can someone explain Occupy Wall Street in 100 words or less? I haven't been watching much news lately.

Zion Traverse

Knocked off the Zion Traverse in 13:17. I'll work on posting some more stuff over the next few days, until then you can check out Wiley's blog.

Awesome road trip:

1800+ miles

3 National Parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches)

2 breweries (Palisade Brewing, Glenwood Canyon Brewing)

1 distillery (Peach Street)

Zion!

Cheyenne Canon

Rick H and I were at the parking lot at 5:15AM. No snow yet, so we continue to do the Canya Canon 6K hill climb. Soon enough we'll be sticking to the paved road up to the top of High Drive.

I forgot my watch and Rick was still being lazy after his 50 miler, so I'm sure no records were set. Parts of this are so steep that I was running and Rick was catching me while walking.

Last run before Zion!

run to work

AM - Left the house late, so had to go straight to the office. 4.7 miles, 39:51.

PM - Long way home. Damn, it sure is getting dark early. 12.2 miles, 2:09. Listened to Living Colour Live at CBGB's. Almost forgot how awesome that band was.

Goucher coming to Colorado!

Kara Goucher is moving to Colorado Springs! Woot woot! Kara, if you're reading this, there's an extra room in the house. Only sleeps one though, Adam and Colt will have to live with someone else.

Gonna be a great weekend!

track

AM - The morning mile workout has been more trouble than it's worth since I moved to a 7:30AM start at work. Decided to try running some quarters before heading to the office. 10 x 400m, 200m RBI. Pretty solid day:

84, 82, 81, 82, 81, 80, 79, 79, 79, 76.

The first couple were spent weaving in and out of all the crossfit folks on the track, so these times could have been even faster.

PM - was hoping to find a nice, fast track at Coronado High. But it's just as crappy as the middle school across the street. Two mile warm up, 2 x 1600m (5:47, 5:45), 1.6 mile cool down. Decent workout after a long day at work.

Devil Mountain 50

Everyone continues to whine about top Europeans, but I don't think they could hang with South CRUD. Exhibit A.

This guy says they're currently accepting applications for the South CRUD AAA squad, also known as the Pearl Izumi ultrarunning team.

Tim lied, he didn't delete the pic...

PPRR Fall Series I

Ran great for the first 1.5 miles. Solid start over the first half mile, then I ever-so-slowly started creeping up on Gerald. Hit the water probably in 10th place, only a few seconds behind Gerald. Was another upset on the way?

Nope. Walked most of the creek, which was about 3/4 of a mile. Thought my old Saucony Kilkenny would do the trick, but they got no traction at all. I bet 20 people passed me in the creek. To make things worse, I had to stop at the end of the creek to empty the rocks from my shoes. Ugh. Thanks to Pikes Peak Sports (who took the pic below) for deleting the pic they had of me falling completely underwater. Stupid creeks.

Passed a few guys over the final mile to finish in 28:39 (3.6ish miles?), 24th overall. I also crushed this ten year old chick:

Still in decent shape after the low month. Running a local 5K on October 15th, and I'll be looking to get that Boulder Bolder A wave qual out of the way early.

Justin R, the Pride of Pueblo, ran away with the win despite being almost as clueless in the river as I was. Good luck to him as he tries to go sub 2:19 in Chicago.

75

Ended September with 75 Green Monsters. Looks like I'm back on track to get my goal of 100 in 2011.

mmmm...

Barr Camp

Took advantage of the awesome weather to head up to Barr Camp. Pike National Forest is starting to change color, so if you live in this area you might wanna head up Barr to check it out. 14.3 miles in three hours. Barr Camp in 1:45, not much slower than when I ran the Ascent.

Neil doesn't know where his 1000 mile Leadville buckle is. He thinks it's either hidden away in all the crap up at Barr Camp or somewhere down in his storage shed. He didn't seem to care too much. Pretty funny considering all the buckle mania this summer down here in civilization.

September

Pretty much an off month. 185.4 miles, most of those in the first two weeks of the month. Only ran six days between the 15th and the 30th. The down time is nice, but I think it's time to get back at it.

cross-country!

I'll be headed back to the Twin Peaks Rotary XC Challenge again this year. Had a blast there last time. Cheap ($18), lots of fun, and a great workout. Hopefully some of my rivals man up and toe the line this year...

Only 109 entrants on the Hardrock list so far. Everybody gets in!!!

Big East Showdown

Be sure to watch ESPN tonight to check out the heavyweight Big East match, Pitt vs South Florida.

My prediction:

Pitt - 67

USF - 3

High octane football, damnit!

run to work

Starting the detox from all the beer and cheese.

AM - Easy 6.6 to the office, 56:36.

PM - Back home the long way, 12.2 miles, 2:01.

Thinking of running Pikes on Saturday if anyone wants to join me. Will be slow.

Pirates win!

just another Sunday night in Madison...

CPT Frederick Pabst

public transportation

Paradise Lounge

Old Fashioned

quote of the day

From the wall at Ale Asylum:

"Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer"

Ale Asylum

Thurs

Easy PM run on the Garden roads. 4.1 miles, 36 minutes. Not sure where that blazing speed came from, I was running at my usual 10 mpm effort.

Time to pack for Wisconsin. My next PBR (not counting the few I drink tonight) will be chugged in the badger state...

Zion

Starting to get excited about the Zion run. Haven't done much in a long time, save for the 4 pass/4 beers FKT run (can't believe Tony didn't mention that in his post), so it could be interesting.

Wiley did a nice piece on the run over here.

mmmm...donuts...

Looks like this year's CRUD eating contest will be the Krispy Kreme Challenge. 2 mile run, one dozen donuts, 2 mile run. Details TBA shortly...

Garden/track

AM - Back at it. Garden roads. 8.5 miles, 1:18.

PM - Holmes middle school track. 1.5 mile warm up, 8 x 400m with 200m RBI. 1.5 mile cool down. Short break halfway to chat with Andy. First lap in 84, then hit the next six in 79/80, then busted out a 77 on the bell lap. Body probably took that week off as a taper, and this will be the final decent athletic performance for the year.

Telluride weekend

Another T-Ride weekend in the books. Incredible time. Even with the shitty weather.

No running, or even anything resembling healthy behavior, since Wednesday morning. Still going to head out to Wisconsin Dells, but any thoughts of a PR or even a sub three are gone. Maybe I can get there before Vegas. But it's starting to look like I won't get any motivation back until the Hardrock lottery.

Lots of blogs to catch up on. Looks like I missed quite the weekend on the ultrarunning blogosphere. But I am beating GZ in AJW's poll. I'm also beating AJW, Karl Meltzer, Fast Eddy, and Geoff Roes. Gotta love the interweb.

Other sports news I missed this weekend: Pitt is headed to the ACC. I'm more of a college hoops fan than a football guy, so the thought of playing Duke and Carolina every year kicks ass!

No rest for the weary. Friday I'm off to Madison, Wisconsin. Gonna try to get some good running in out there, as they do have a pretty sweet running community. But I'm guessing that my first trip to Wisconsin will be spent drinking a crapton of cheap, yellow beer. Monday we're going to Milwaukee to tour the Pabst facilities and catch the Brewers/Pirates game!

Flaming Lips

Fitz!

why I need to get in better shape...

Quote from an article in the latest Outside magazine:

"On dry land, it moves inland at a speed of 11 miles an hour. To outpace the tsunami, you'd have to run at least a 5:30 mile."

My current Colorado PR? 5:31.

Not that I'm worried about a tsunami hitting the Pikes Peak region. And not that I don't think I could rise to the occassion in that circumstance. But I'd rather not chance it.

Tuesday

Still sore from Aspen, so I skipped the track for an easy 45 minutes with the dog. 4.7 miles.