The third annual Quality of Life Indicators Report (for the Pikes Peak region) was released yesterday. Among the nuggets: El Paso county ranks 19% higher than the national average in per capita consumption of alcohol. Not to brag, but that number has gone way up since I moved here.
See the Gazette story here. Best quote so far from the comment section: "Ted Haggard was such a fitting role model for a community of non-introspective homophobes."
The article makes it sound like this is such a horrible place to live. To paraphrase Bill Hicks, "I watch CNN and hear about war and death and AIDS and famine...then I look out my window and I don't see anything. Where the hell is all this stuff going on?" Guess when your quality of life is based on only two things, booze and trails, this is a great place to be!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
regis 5K
The guys over at runcolo.com hooked me up with a free rego, so I'm gonna take my first attempt at a Bolder Boulder A wave qualifier next weekend at the Regis 5K. Not sure if I can bust out an 18:20 right now, but when I was hoping to break 20 at the Alex Hoag 5K a few months ago I ran 18:40, so we'll see.
Quick trip up to Denver for the race, beer or three on Colfax afterwards, and back to the Springs in time to make the Kimchi hash!
one less bike!
Ran to work this morning, think it's the first time I've ever done that. Beautiful sunrise in the Garden, no better way to start the day. 7.5 miles, 70 minutes. Think I'm gonna take the long way home and get in another 12.
ixne on the rackte
Was all excited to get back to the track last night. After 1.5 hours at corepower on Nevada I threw on some shoes and jogged over to the Colorado College track. But when I got there, the track was closed due to a soccer game! What the hell, did I run through some wormhole that took me to Brazil or something? I didn't even know they played that sport in this country. Probably for the better, as my legs were pretty trashed and it would have been embarrassing to have to post "did 4 x 800 meters averaging 3:45." Did a very easy 20 minutes and called it a night instead.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
DD Chronicles - Issue I
Had my first go-around as a driver for No DUI Colorado Springs this past Friday.
Left my job as the area's highest paid dishwasher at Trinity to head to the Dunkin' Donuts over near the old Arctic Brewery. As soon as I arrived it was obvious I was there for different reasons than everyone else. There were 20 of us, and all but me were severely overweight and smoking. They were also bitching and moaning about the lack of tips the previous night.
Even though it's billed as a free service, when you call the number you're highly encouraged to tip the drivers "at least $20" who take you and your car home. Fair enough, but I was turned off by the fact that everyone there was only trying to make a buck.
The way this works is that you're placed in a team with another driver. When a call comes in, your team is assigned to go pick up the drunk. When you reach the bar, one person takes the keys from the drunk and drives the drunk and his car home, while the other person of the team follows. It's not a bad deal for 20 bones, since you get yourself and your car home.
There are a bunch of bars who sponsor this program, and we only go to those bars unless it's a soldier calling, in which case we'll go anywhere to pick him/her up. It was payday weekend for the military, so my entire night would be spent hauling drunk Army guys over to Carson.
My team's first call came in around 10PM. Yup, 10PM and too drunk to drive, good stuff! It was off to Antique Billards over by the Citadel mall. I had volunteered to be the one to drive the drunk's car, which for some reason was a gig nobody wanted. I thought it would be fun to talk with my fellow drinkers.
First up I got to drive some private's souped up Mazda RX7. Not used to driving a fast car, and within the first few seconds I was doing 65 in a 30. Oops. The joe wasn't too drunk, but told me he had recently gotten a DUI and didn't want to chance getting another. Smart guy.
From there we went to Oscar's to hang out and wait for the next call. I don't think I've ever been to Oscar's sober, especially not at 11PM. The place was fairly busy, but not packed yet. Oscar's is the kind of place you go early for cheap beer (they have 2-for-1 cans of Schlitz and PBR), then go somewhere else, then go back at the end of the night when you haven't talked a chick into going home with you. Knowing this, there were two disturbingly underdressed fat chicks at the bar, just waiting. Nobody was talking to them that early.
Next call came, and it was a quick run down to Jose Muldoon's to pick up another Army guy. Young guy, and he was with his even younger wife. On the drive to Fort Carson she told me they met in the mosh pit of a show at Fiddler's Green in Denver and had married a few days later. Typical Army marriage, but these two seemed like they might beat the odds and actually make it six months or so before filing for divorce. Turns out he was a fellow 11B so we talked about Infantry shit for most of the ride. The guys at the gate know about the no DUI program and let us through pretty quick. And an MP even let my teammate off without a ticket after he flipped a bitch to pick me up.
Back to Oscar's around 12:30AM. The two lonely fat chicks weren't so lonely anymore, having attracted quite a crowd of drunk guys willing to buy them any drink on the menu. I felt like I should have said something, but it was just too funny and I kept watching. Seeing beer goggles at work from this angle was great entertainment.
Eventually we got what would be our last call of the night. Off to Cowboy's to take two more soldiers back to Fort Carson. One passed out in the back seat and the other was slurring so bad I couldn't understand him.
Around 3:15AM we were finally cut loose to go home.
There were 10 teams, and considering I went on four calls, I guess about 40 drunkards were kept off the streets. I ended up making $40, ten of which I gave to the guy who drove the chase car around all night.
Overall it was a great experience. Without us, I'm sure some of those soldiers would have tried to drive home, which could have been disastrous. Nobody was rude and everybody really appreciated what we were doing. It's definitely something I'll be doing again in the near future.
Of course, since I didn't drink last Friday, I have to make up for it this Friday at Telluride!
Left my job as the area's highest paid dishwasher at Trinity to head to the Dunkin' Donuts over near the old Arctic Brewery. As soon as I arrived it was obvious I was there for different reasons than everyone else. There were 20 of us, and all but me were severely overweight and smoking. They were also bitching and moaning about the lack of tips the previous night.
Even though it's billed as a free service, when you call the number you're highly encouraged to tip the drivers "at least $20" who take you and your car home. Fair enough, but I was turned off by the fact that everyone there was only trying to make a buck.
The way this works is that you're placed in a team with another driver. When a call comes in, your team is assigned to go pick up the drunk. When you reach the bar, one person takes the keys from the drunk and drives the drunk and his car home, while the other person of the team follows. It's not a bad deal for 20 bones, since you get yourself and your car home.
There are a bunch of bars who sponsor this program, and we only go to those bars unless it's a soldier calling, in which case we'll go anywhere to pick him/her up. It was payday weekend for the military, so my entire night would be spent hauling drunk Army guys over to Carson.
My team's first call came in around 10PM. Yup, 10PM and too drunk to drive, good stuff! It was off to Antique Billards over by the Citadel mall. I had volunteered to be the one to drive the drunk's car, which for some reason was a gig nobody wanted. I thought it would be fun to talk with my fellow drinkers.
First up I got to drive some private's souped up Mazda RX7. Not used to driving a fast car, and within the first few seconds I was doing 65 in a 30. Oops. The joe wasn't too drunk, but told me he had recently gotten a DUI and didn't want to chance getting another. Smart guy.
From there we went to Oscar's to hang out and wait for the next call. I don't think I've ever been to Oscar's sober, especially not at 11PM. The place was fairly busy, but not packed yet. Oscar's is the kind of place you go early for cheap beer (they have 2-for-1 cans of Schlitz and PBR), then go somewhere else, then go back at the end of the night when you haven't talked a chick into going home with you. Knowing this, there were two disturbingly underdressed fat chicks at the bar, just waiting. Nobody was talking to them that early.
Next call came, and it was a quick run down to Jose Muldoon's to pick up another Army guy. Young guy, and he was with his even younger wife. On the drive to Fort Carson she told me they met in the mosh pit of a show at Fiddler's Green in Denver and had married a few days later. Typical Army marriage, but these two seemed like they might beat the odds and actually make it six months or so before filing for divorce. Turns out he was a fellow 11B so we talked about Infantry shit for most of the ride. The guys at the gate know about the no DUI program and let us through pretty quick. And an MP even let my teammate off without a ticket after he flipped a bitch to pick me up.
Back to Oscar's around 12:30AM. The two lonely fat chicks weren't so lonely anymore, having attracted quite a crowd of drunk guys willing to buy them any drink on the menu. I felt like I should have said something, but it was just too funny and I kept watching. Seeing beer goggles at work from this angle was great entertainment.
Eventually we got what would be our last call of the night. Off to Cowboy's to take two more soldiers back to Fort Carson. One passed out in the back seat and the other was slurring so bad I couldn't understand him.
Around 3:15AM we were finally cut loose to go home.
There were 10 teams, and considering I went on four calls, I guess about 40 drunkards were kept off the streets. I ended up making $40, ten of which I gave to the guy who drove the chase car around all night.
Overall it was a great experience. Without us, I'm sure some of those soldiers would have tried to drive home, which could have been disastrous. Nobody was rude and everybody really appreciated what we were doing. It's definitely something I'll be doing again in the near future.
Of course, since I didn't drink last Friday, I have to make up for it this Friday at Telluride!
Trinity Soul Runners
Good times at the first running of the Trinity Soul Runners! Had about 100 people show up, and we basically took over the brewery after the run. Lots more people than we were expecting, but it turned out well. Had to direct traffic for a bit, but ended up running about 8.1 miles in 58:58, which is very fast for me when I run in the Garden. Todd thought he had dropped me for good on the final hill, but I wasn't dead yet and blasted past him (and Amanda - who I rarely ever beat) over the final mile. People were wondering if Roger Bannister was making a comeback!
Easy five this morning, legs were dead. 51:50. After work it's 1.5 hours of yoga and some Yasso 800's at the CC track.
Easy five this morning, legs were dead. 51:50. After work it's 1.5 hours of yoga and some Yasso 800's at the CC track.
Monday, September 14, 2009
still here
Thanks to GZ for this article, reminding everyone that it's not the health care system that's the problem, it's the fact that we're a country of fat people who are too lazy to do anything about it. Guess it's much easier to scream and yell at everybody than it is to drop ten pounds.
On that note, my blood pressure this morning was 122/82. Several months ago I finally admitted to the fact that I had very high bp. Decided I better do something about it. Working out more obviously wasn't the cure, since I've been very active ever since I can remember. So with a little help from my personal dietician Meredith, and my personal chef Katie, I made a few simple changes to my diet to get the numbers down. Now, I'm going to go eat a pound of salt...
Still running. 26.2 miles around the Academy yesterday, twelve miles this morning.
I swear I'll get this blog up to date one of these days.
On that note, my blood pressure this morning was 122/82. Several months ago I finally admitted to the fact that I had very high bp. Decided I better do something about it. Working out more obviously wasn't the cure, since I've been very active ever since I can remember. So with a little help from my personal dietician Meredith, and my personal chef Katie, I made a few simple changes to my diet to get the numbers down. Now, I'm going to go eat a pound of salt...
Still running. 26.2 miles around the Academy yesterday, twelve miles this morning.
I swear I'll get this blog up to date one of these days.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
designated driver
Way back in my Army days I used to drive drunk. Almost daily. Often I'd remember partying hard in Austin, and then next thing I knew I'd be waking up in my room at Fort Hood, my car in the parking lot, not remembering a thing about how I got home. Hood is over an hour away from Austin, FYI.
I was somehow never busted for DUI. Looking back at that period of my life now, I can't believe I didn't kill myself or someone else. So I've always felt like I owed the karma gods for taking care of me.
At the Manitou Lager Festival a few weeks ago I found out about Designated Driver of Colorado Springs. And I decided to volunteer. So from 10PM until 3AM tonight, I'll be carting drunks home. Probably do this once a week for a while.
I was somehow never busted for DUI. Looking back at that period of my life now, I can't believe I didn't kill myself or someone else. So I've always felt like I owed the karma gods for taking care of me.
At the Manitou Lager Festival a few weeks ago I found out about Designated Driver of Colorado Springs. And I decided to volunteer. So from 10PM until 3AM tonight, I'll be carting drunks home. Probably do this once a week for a while.
update
Been out of the office so I haven't been able to get my usual 40 hours a week of internet time.
-IAH was fantastic. Had a great drive up, hitting the Thunderbird Inn, South Park Saloon, and Backcountry Brewery. Then I proceeded to drink obscene amounts of booze and run awesome mountain trails (including one that was on the continental divide, between 10 and 12 thousand feet, for 10+ miles). Also did a barefoot beermile, luckily I never got my time for that. On the drive home $100 and I stopped at the Original Hard Rock Cafe in Empire!
-Running has been sporadic at best. Didn't log any workouts over IAH (though hopefully the 17 or so miles of trails I did will maintain some fitness). I'm a "what have you done for me lately" kind of guy and when I look at the last month of my training on a bar graph I think, "Jesus, how am I not getting fat. I'm not running at all!" Of course, when the distance axis is forced to fit around Leadville, it makes my ten milers look puny by comparison. I've had eight rest days since Pb, so I should be ready to get serious again.
-Off in Durango the past three days. Great town, but hanging out with lazy co-workers made the trip somewhat hellish. They actually wanted to go to Chili's the first night down there. Ugh. I did what I could though, talking them into Steamworks, then faking illness after two beers so I could ditch the crew. Got a nice hour run along the Animas River trail (very educational, as I learned what a beaver deceiver was), a 1.5 hour run through Dalla Mountain Park (next time I'm bringing my climbing shoes!) and Animas Mountain, and another 40 minute run through the town of Durango. Durango is a great place with tons to do, and I can't wait to visit again without dragging a bunch of boring people with me.
-If you're ever in Durango and need a huge, kick ass breakfast, you can't go wrong with the Durango Diner. I'd rank it almost right up there with King's Chef. Can't imagine how many one night stands I would have taken there had I gone to Ft. Lewis.
-Got my plane ticket to the 'burgh, looking forward to that trip. Gonna bag the state highpoint of PA and MD, visit the Flight 93 memorial, run with the Shik cross-country team and tell 'em "lads, I've been running since before you were born," take Katie to some classy South Oakland dives, and who knows what else. Oh yeah, there's also that little race I'm doing. Should be a great trip.
-Next big thing on the schedule is Telluride Blues and Brews! Though I'm a bit pissed that the Umphrey's McGee juke joint is up in Mountain Village, I think I'll be able to get over it by drinking huge amounts of beer, listening to great music, training on the Hardrock course, and eating three meals a day at Baked in Telluride.
-Long run this Sunday on the Air Force Academy if anyone wants to join me. 24 to 36 miles. Even a 12 mile option available for the little kids.
-IAH was fantastic. Had a great drive up, hitting the Thunderbird Inn, South Park Saloon, and Backcountry Brewery. Then I proceeded to drink obscene amounts of booze and run awesome mountain trails (including one that was on the continental divide, between 10 and 12 thousand feet, for 10+ miles). Also did a barefoot beermile, luckily I never got my time for that. On the drive home $100 and I stopped at the Original Hard Rock Cafe in Empire!
-Running has been sporadic at best. Didn't log any workouts over IAH (though hopefully the 17 or so miles of trails I did will maintain some fitness). I'm a "what have you done for me lately" kind of guy and when I look at the last month of my training on a bar graph I think, "Jesus, how am I not getting fat. I'm not running at all!" Of course, when the distance axis is forced to fit around Leadville, it makes my ten milers look puny by comparison. I've had eight rest days since Pb, so I should be ready to get serious again.
-Off in Durango the past three days. Great town, but hanging out with lazy co-workers made the trip somewhat hellish. They actually wanted to go to Chili's the first night down there. Ugh. I did what I could though, talking them into Steamworks, then faking illness after two beers so I could ditch the crew. Got a nice hour run along the Animas River trail (very educational, as I learned what a beaver deceiver was), a 1.5 hour run through Dalla Mountain Park (next time I'm bringing my climbing shoes!) and Animas Mountain, and another 40 minute run through the town of Durango. Durango is a great place with tons to do, and I can't wait to visit again without dragging a bunch of boring people with me.
-If you're ever in Durango and need a huge, kick ass breakfast, you can't go wrong with the Durango Diner. I'd rank it almost right up there with King's Chef. Can't imagine how many one night stands I would have taken there had I gone to Ft. Lewis.
-Got my plane ticket to the 'burgh, looking forward to that trip. Gonna bag the state highpoint of PA and MD, visit the Flight 93 memorial, run with the Shik cross-country team and tell 'em "lads, I've been running since before you were born," take Katie to some classy South Oakland dives, and who knows what else. Oh yeah, there's also that little race I'm doing. Should be a great trip.
-Next big thing on the schedule is Telluride Blues and Brews! Though I'm a bit pissed that the Umphrey's McGee juke joint is up in Mountain Village, I think I'll be able to get over it by drinking huge amounts of beer, listening to great music, training on the Hardrock course, and eating three meals a day at Baked in Telluride.
-Long run this Sunday on the Air Force Academy if anyone wants to join me. 24 to 36 miles. Even a 12 mile option available for the little kids.
quote of the day
Stolen from Henry off the HCTR list:
...I pass along a quite that I saw in Sports Illustrated this morning from Authur Webb who has run Badwater the past 12 years. He is 67 years old and had a tough time of it this year, but finished it. He plans on doing Badwater until he can't. His quote:
"People say, 'What if you die out there?" he says. "And I say, 'So what? I gotta go sometime, right? After all, I'd rather die living than live dying."
...I pass along a quite that I saw in Sports Illustrated this morning from Authur Webb who has run Badwater the past 12 years. He is 67 years old and had a tough time of it this year, but finished it. He plans on doing Badwater until he can't. His quote:
"People say, 'What if you die out there?" he says. "And I say, 'So what? I gotta go sometime, right? After all, I'd rather die living than live dying."
the booze assault continues...
The war on sobriety continues this May, where a new brewpub will be opening up at Interquest and I-25. Focus on the Family, New Life Church, and the most booze hating college campus in the country must be collectively shitting their pants. Hooray for beer!
Monday, September 07, 2009
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Pitt quote of the day..
From the guys over at Pittblather:
"Johnny Majors will be in town for the kickoff luncheon and will sign autographs on Saturday. Remember, Sharpies and markers don’t stay on non-porous surfaces like metal flasks and bottles of Jack Daniels."
I was at Pitt for the Johnny Majors II era. I expected to celebrate multiple national championships, but instead turned to drinking to dull the pain of 3-8, 2-9, 4-7, and 6-5 seasons, with most of those wins coming against either Temple or Division II teams. Rumor had it that besides the dozen or so Pitt faithful in the stadium on Saturdays, Johnny was turning to the bottle as well...
FYI, these guys pick us to go 11-1 this year. It's the closest prediction I've seen to the 12-0 we're going to finish.
"Johnny Majors will be in town for the kickoff luncheon and will sign autographs on Saturday. Remember, Sharpies and markers don’t stay on non-porous surfaces like metal flasks and bottles of Jack Daniels."
I was at Pitt for the Johnny Majors II era. I expected to celebrate multiple national championships, but instead turned to drinking to dull the pain of 3-8, 2-9, 4-7, and 6-5 seasons, with most of those wins coming against either Temple or Division II teams. Rumor had it that besides the dozen or so Pitt faithful in the stadium on Saturdays, Johnny was turning to the bottle as well...
FYI, these guys pick us to go 11-1 this year. It's the closest prediction I've seen to the 12-0 we're going to finish.
two more...
Two more good runs to report.
Last night I met up with BLOS and Todd at Trinity to run the long route. Started easy enough but we continued to pick up the pace throughout the run. 8.3 miles through the Garden. BLOS and Todd now have the current Trinity long course record at 63 flat. I followed shortly behind in 64:44, and had to remind those two that neither had been on Hope Pass within the past ten days. Lots of smog from the CA fires.
This morning I gained a moral victory by getting out of the house by 5AM. For my efforts I was rewarded by having to go SUPER slow in Red Rock Canyon because I couldn't see anything. Where the hell did the early sunrises of summer go? 90 minutes, 7.5 miles. Just the easy effort I needed after a fartlek and tempo run yesterday.
Hope to nail a long run tomorrow morning, and a planned ascent of Mary Jane in Winter Park should put me over 50 miles for the week, not too shabby considering I'll be attending a hash weekend.
Last night I met up with BLOS and Todd at Trinity to run the long route. Started easy enough but we continued to pick up the pace throughout the run. 8.3 miles through the Garden. BLOS and Todd now have the current Trinity long course record at 63 flat. I followed shortly behind in 64:44, and had to remind those two that neither had been on Hope Pass within the past ten days. Lots of smog from the CA fires.
This morning I gained a moral victory by getting out of the house by 5AM. For my efforts I was rewarded by having to go SUPER slow in Red Rock Canyon because I couldn't see anything. Where the hell did the early sunrises of summer go? 90 minutes, 7.5 miles. Just the easy effort I needed after a fartlek and tempo run yesterday.
Hope to nail a long run tomorrow morning, and a planned ascent of Mary Jane in Winter Park should put me over 50 miles for the week, not too shabby considering I'll be attending a hash weekend.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Soul Runners logo
Gordo did a hell of a job! I wanted just to get t-shirts with Kara Goucher naked on 'em but the guys in charge didn't go for that.
I don't blame him!
Good stuff out of Amish country back in PA. The headline: "Man robbed bank, sought prison, to get away from wife." Read about it here.
oops...
Guess I fucked up my Leadville reports. I wrote 'em on Microsoft Office Word, then cut and pasted here. Blogger doesn't like that. I'll see if I can fix it...
Trinity long course
Map to the Trinity Soul Runners long course is here. 8.3 miles, needed to make sure it was long enough to scare away the pussies from Quinn's.
solid
First quality workout since Leadville this morning. 15 minute warm up to the Garden, then 3 x 8 minutes hard, with 4 minutes rest in between. Felt pretty decent. Also weighed in at 166 this morning, my lowest in a while. Ritz may have the raw leg speed to crush me on the track right now, but I bet I'd have a chance on a hilly cross-country course...
Must be rabbit birth season, I bet I saw at least 100 of them today. Packs of rabbits everywhere. Good omen for the upcoming hash weekend, I guess.
Also saw a lot of overturned garbage cans. Looks like the bears are starting to get nice and fat for hibernation. Still have yet to see a bear since I moved to Colorado.
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