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.

30 (again)

Streaking!  Two days in a row of half hour runs.  8F this morning.  This has been a really, really cold winter so far.

Last ride to work of '15.  139 on the year.  Started snowing just as I rolled out of the garage, just one last kick in the balls to end the year.

Watched Umphrey's at the Fillmore last night.  Tonight we're streaming Phish from MSG.  Couch touring is my new hobby.

Required reading for the end/beginning of the year.  Probably my favorite semi-rad post ever.  Get after it in '16!

Pitt broke my heart earlier this week when they were crushed by Navy.  But I'm back on board after the hoops team took down the 'Cuse last night!  HAIL TO PITT!

30

It was a balmy 8F this morning, but at some point I need to get off my fat ass and start running again.  Easy 30 minutes around Old Colorado City.  Also rode the bike into work, hot damn that was chilly.  Even with all these clothes on:

A few additions to the '16 resolutions:

 -camp for 30 mights

 -see more live music than Brandon.  We're too old to have a running rivalry nowadays, as he usually DNFs and I usually miss the cutoffs, but I get jealous when he posts about all the shows he sees (except when he took his kid to see Taylor Swift)

 -100 carless commutes to work, which will include biking and running

Fat Ass

Team CRUD will be running the Ponderous Posterior on January 16, starting and ending at my house.  Details TBA shortly.  Will include the Garden, Manitou, the Incline, Rocky Mountain, Barr Trail, Intemann, and Red Rock Canyon. 

Rick says it's about 18 miles, I say it's closer to 24.

2016

2016 is falling into place nicely.  I haven't had much physical activity since the NYC marathon on November 1, and I'm looking forward to getting my ass back in shape.  Here are the big ones I have planned for the next year:

March 12 - Salida Marathon
April 16 - Rattler 50K
May 7 - Collegiate Peaks
June 4 - Dirty Kanza
June 25 - Lake City 50
Aug 20/21 - Pikes Double (sub three hour Ascent!)
Sept 3/4 - Grand Traverse
Oct 16 - Mount Desert Island Marathon

I will be racing a lot due to the Brewers' Cup.  Tons of low key, local, shorter races.  Nielsen Challenge, Winter/Fall Series, Full Moon Runs.  And I'll be running the Triple Crown (GOG 10 miler, Summer Roundup, Pikes Peak) again.  Lots of 5Ks as well, as I want to get back down below 18 minutes.

Total numbers goals will be 3650 miles biking and 2263 miles running (10K a day).  And, of course, 50 Inclines.  I know I have that goal every year but 2016 will be the year I finally make it!

I'll also be looking to try 50 different types/brands of whiskey and documenting that on the blog.  This will start over x-mas on the trip to Florida, as we are opening a bottle of the Stranahan's Snowflake!

There's also this:

Sept 10 - Pitt/PSU

Making a trip back to the 'burgh to watch my beloved Pitt Panthers crush PSUcks.  Will be the first time I've ever seen these two play.  Can't friggin' wait!  My early prediction: Pitt - 432, PSU - 16.

Will also be making a trip back to Wisconsin.  Might be the last time there for me, as the in-laws are in the process of retiring to Florida.  Driving back, so I'll be bringing home a lifetime supply of New Glarus and Surly beer.

Kung Fury

Someone e-mailed me this morning and asked for my top five IPAs.  Very difficult question.  Here was my reply:

Mammoth IPA, Fossil Brewery. 
Heady Topper, The Alchemist Brewery, Waterbury, VT. 
Bridal Vail Rye Pale Ale, Telluride Brewing. 
First Cast IPA, Elevation Brewing. 
Crank Yanker, Eddyline Brewing, Buena Vista, CO. 
Johnny's IPA, Moab Brewing. 
Perpetual IPA, Troeges Brewing, Harrisburg. 

Off to Orlando to visit the in-laws Thursday through Sunday.  Mid to high 80s every day.  Enjoy the Colorado winter weather, suckas!

This is the best movie of all time.  Half hour long, drink two or three beers before pressing play, then have a few more while watching the masterpiece.

4

Four miles in the Garden this morning, 38 minutes.  I weighed in at 179.4 pounds this morning, and getting all that weight up Ridge Road was tough.

Some non-dog pics for once.  From the Sunday night debacle that included the Triple Nickel and the Reverand Horton Heat.  And the Steelers crushing the donkeys!

Palmer Park

Took the dog over to Palmer Park today to enjoy the awesome weather.  Dog had a blast.  It's no Red Rock Canyon, but I need to start spending more time over there.

bike

Too cold to run this morning so I went back to sleep.  Then I felt guilty, so I rode the bike to work.  Damn, that was chilly. Supposed to warm up, so maybe I'll get a decent ride home.

Had a Brewers' Cup happy hour last night at Red Leg.  This is our opinion of Team Fossil:

activity

Slowly getting my fat ass back off the couch.  Mostly staying indoors, as it's been cold in the Springs this week.  The last two days I got up early to run it was below 10F, and I'm just not into that stuff right now.  $100 and I are going to Orlando for x-mas and I saw it was going to be 80F every day there, and I can't friggin' wait!

Been hitting CityRock a lot lately.  Haven't been working any problems, but I love the wall traverse.  I can get in a killer workout in half an hour, and I'm never more than a few inches off the floor. 

Working on the final 2016 schedule and should have it up soon.  I had a run/bike mileage goal of 2K/3K in '15 - I hit 2000 miles running last week, and I hope to hit 3000 miles biking this weekend.  Will probably need to up both of those numbers a bit to hit some goals for '16.

The Garden was looking beautiful as always with the recent snow:

Someone asked if this blog was just going to turn into pictures of my dog.  I'd be OK with that.

booze

Another good snowstorm last night here in the Springs.  Very slippery roads and sidewalks but I got out for a solid 40 minute run this morning.

Some pics from the various parties and happy hours going on around here.  Pretty obvious as to why I'm now running 21 minutes for a 5K.

20+

$100 and I ran the Chasing Santa 5K way down south in Fountain on Saturday.  Was hoping to break 20, but a late Friday night at Fossil made that a bit difficult.  Ran the first mile in 6:10 and then completely came unglued, crossing the finish line in 20:38.  Horrible, but it's what I expect from myself this time of year.  A shot of me approaching the finish line, courtesy of Pikes Peak Sports:

One of my goals for 2016 will be to drop below 18 minutes for the 5K.  Lots of work to do there.

On Sunday the dog and I went over to meet the Incline Club, then made the trip up and down Red Mountain.  Great time out in the snow, and the dog seems like she's going to sleep the rest of the day.

30

Got out for 30 minutes in Red Rock Canyon this morning.  Beautiful outside, as it was over 40F when I started.  Saw a guy biking, and I think that in all the years I've been running in RRC I've never seen a biker this early on a weekday.

Later, while walking the dog, we caught a glimpse of Pearl, a rescue dog that got away from her owner.  She seems to be doing well.  She has taken on a bigfoot type quality as we've been trying to catch her for several months now.  Pearl lives!

Signed up for the Salida marathon.  Also jumping into a 5K on Saturday to see where the fitness stands.  Won't be pretty.

not quite as fat as I was last week...

Getting back towards being a bit more active.  It's tough this time of year, as every local group I have anything to do with has a holiday happy hour at a local brewery.

Running on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, plus the Incline Club on Sunday.  I'll keep this up until January when I start working towards some of my goal races for 2016.  Ran up to Carson Pass in less than 25 minutes this morning, so despite my recent weight gain I'm not completely out of shape.  Yet.

Still biking to work nearly every day.  Today was commute 135 on the year.   Also hitting the gym a little more regularly, whether that be lifting weights or climbing fake rocks.

Headed up towards Buff Creek on Sunday afternoon to meet Shad and ride some snowy trails on the fat bike.  Unfortunately, Shad has a specialized so most of our time was spent on waiting for him to fix his bike.  But eventually we got in a good hour on an out-and-back canyon near Camp Shady Brook and then drank some beers afterwards.  Good stuff!

Was a bit bummed I couldn't make it to CityRock to see Will Gadd (his blog, when not focused on ice climbing and more on generally being an badass, is awesome - including his latest post) on Friday.  But no shit, I went for bagels on Saturday morning and who is at the bagel shop but the man himself.  I introduced myself and we had a nice, quick chat.  He was in town for an ice climbing shindig but we mostly talked about this video:

chilly water

With the opening of Red Leg, I don't go to Trinity as much as I used to.  But there are a few days of the year I look forward to going there for specific beer releases.  One of those is Black Friday, when the Chilly Water is released.

As you may have heard, there was a shooting in our village a few days ago.  The shooting was about two miles from my house.  Less than 200 meters from where BLOS lives (I got in touch with him to make sure he was OK, and no surprise that he was in the Royal Tavern while all this was going on).  Involved the King Soopers which is one of three supermarkets $100 and I use (I was on orders to go there for meatballs once I was done drinking at Trinity).  And about a mile from Trinity and Red Leg.

Marc and I had plans to visit Trinity that day, and after talking we decided that not going to drink some beer  would mean the terrorists had won.  And this is 'Merica, god damnit, and the terrorists will never win!  Except on last Friday, when we got to Trinity and the place was closed.  This sign was on the door:

Ha, just kidding.  Evil will never win over goodness.  I still got my chilly water, as someone brought some bottles to my house later that evening:

The stuff is so good!

After being denied at Trinity we went down to Red Leg.  Quite surreal watching the news there report on something happening pretty much right across the street.

30

30 minute run around the neighborhood this morning, 3.3 miles.  Cold, outrageously windy, icy, I'm so ready for summer to get here.  As I was turning on to the Midland Trail some homeless chick, high on whatever, unleashed quite the stream of profanities towards me.  At 5:30AM.