PARAB

Not too much interesting at tonight's meeting. Big thing worth mentioning is the thumbs up to a community garden at Higginbotham Flats. Read about the issue here. The board (all two of us) gave our approval for PARAB to back the rezoning of the flats to parks and rec, instead of the current commercial zone the flats have. I'm not a big fan of vegetables, but I thought a garden would be a lot nicer for Manitou than more storage units or another gas station. Plus, there would be some new trails built up there...

Route 66 tracking

Since the marathon will cause me to be away from my beloved new G1 phone for a few hours, peeps wondering how I'm running can sign up to track me here. I'll post my race number when I pick it up on Saturday.

vote for me!

Forgot to mention here that I'm running for a board member at large position with the Pikes Peak Road Runners. I'd beg for votes, but I think there only six people running for six positions, and I'm sure I'll get at least one vote. I can't be there to vote, as I'll be running Route 66. Should be a great year for the club, gonna be some super cool peeps on the board. And look for the newsletter to improve drastically.

G1

Recently entered the smartphone world with the purchase of a G1. Pretty friggin' awesome. Katie is super jealous, so much so that she immediately went out and bought a cliq phone in a lame attempt to one up me.

drinking with the buffaloes

Went to the local American Legion meeting last night. What a blast! Lots of beer, lots of shots, lots of BS-ing.

The guy chain smoking and drinking hard sitting next to me noticed I had a running shirt on. So he started telling me old stories of his running days. Turns out he was the former school record holder for the mile at the University of Colorado. He ran 4:00.04 way back in 1959, only five years after Roger Bannister first broke the four minute barrier. He said that during that race he had outkicked Wes Santee. He joined the Marines once he graduated and headed up the physical fitness department at Quantico. But once Vietnam kicked off, he gave up running and went over to do what jarheads do. And the guy never gives up, as someone at the meeting told me he had punched someone in the mouth at the last meeting who called him a "chickenshit Marine." The punchee required stitches.

fear the 'stache!

Tues/Wed

Hit Red Rock Canyon for a few miles last night. Just the rabbits, the deer, and me. Lots of snow and ice on the trails. Contemplative trail, Round Up trail, and the Quarry. 5 miles, 65 minutes.

Hit the Red Rock Lounge afterwards. Lots of entertainment. Thought I was gonna get to see a bar fight until the bartender threw a few people out.

This morning was a brisk 22F at 5:30AM for my easy run through the Garden. 5 miles, just under 49 minutes. Woulda been a little faster but I had to stop to drop a deuce. No sharting for this runner.

RIP

A very good friend of mine was killed in a car crash last night. Kinda stunned right now.

Mon/Tues

Taking it somewhat easy this week so I'll feel good for Route 66. Very easy 4.6 miles with the Soul Runners last night, 41 minutes. Then another five this morning in 45 flat. Out the door before 5AM this morning to catch the leonoid meteor shower, but despite the darkness of the Garden and the clear skies, I only saw two shooting stars.

After basically taking October off (I took 15 rest days that month), I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I've run 15 of the 17 days of November.

fall series 4

I think that's Dathan Ritzenhein behind me...

Hooker

Gonna drive through Hooker on the upcoming road trip. Here's the write up. I'll definitely be stopping at the Legion for a brew!

Hooker is tiny, but their civic good sense is big. Signs welcoming you at the town borders feature paintings of 19th century prostitutes. The town's American Legion baseball team is named the Horny Toads. Bumper stickers and T-shirts for sale boast slogans such as "Not your typical Hooker" and "I could've been a prince, but it's more fun being a Horny Toad." And as you leave, a sign encourages "Why don't you come back and see us sometime?" Well done Hooker! Our only suggestion: add the word "Kwikee" to the sign in front of the "Klean Kar Wash."

Oklahoma

Looking at the info for Saturday's hike to Black Mesa, the state highpoint of Oklahoma. Turns out the Mesa is located in Cimarron County, which, as everyone knows, is the only county in the USA to touch four different states (Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas). Can't wait to drink some PBR there!

fall series #4

Despite the crappy weather I had a real good race in Palmer Park. Lots of snow, lots of mud, lots of fun. Made a tactical error in the final half mile that allowed a few guys to pass me (I thought we had another 1.5 miles left), but other than that not a bad effort following Saturday's hard 20 miler. 5 miles, 39:43. 28th overall. My team, the Big Hairy Mammals, ended up in second place.

Pretty decent week, got in 73.1 miles. Sitting at 2749 miles for the year, probably hit 2800 at some point during the Route 66 marathon.

HAIL TO PITT!

How 'bout them 9-1 Pitt Panthers!

a witness to running history?

Looks like those of us running the Route 66 marathon next weekend might get to see a world record. Read about it here.

Boston is closed!

Holy crap, no more worrying about nabbing a BQ this year, as rego for the 2010 Boston marathon has filled! I believe it's the earliest ever. Sure glad I didn't wait 'till after Tulsa to sign up.

20

Awesome run in crappy weather. 20 miles in 2:39:40. Hit the half marathon mark in 1:39 flat then slowed down to save something for Route 66. Good company with Charlie and BLOS actually getting up before noon on a weekend for once.

rocky

Cool pic I stole off facebook. Tony is on the right, shortly after running 13:32 for 100 miles at Rocky Raccoon! Joe P, the Austin trail runner who played a huge part in my switch from roads to trails, is in the middle. On the left is the second hottest chick in running. Notice the blood, she actually had to wrestle an alligator during the run, and she still won in 14:57.

Incline happy hour

One of our biggest groups ever! Good times! 5.5 miles in 1:29:14, though that doesn't count the time chillin' on the top with a PBR.

name that beer

Trinity employees are being asked to help name Jason's newest brew, thought I'd throw it out here for some help. Reminds me of some of my ex-girlfriends, since the description includes the words "huge," "gigantic," and "enormous."

Here's a description of the beer:

XXXXX. Imperial Stout. Just in time to keep you warm during the colder
months of winter! It’s body is huge, it’s dark malt character is huge, it’s hop
profile is gigantic, and it’s ABV is enormous. It’s basically everything that you
would expect from a noteworthy Imperial Stout, and more! We age this beer
on fresh Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Dagoba Cacao Nibbs, and French Oak. 10.5% ABV

Any suggestions I get from the peanut gallery may receive a sweet Soul Runners t-shirt.

Hardrock!

Hardrock applications are now available here. Mine is already filled out...

CRUD hill climb

Had visions of not only a sub 40 but also an all time PR on the climb today, but I guess staying out at the Legion way past my bedtime put an end to those pipe dreams. Up in 42:57, barely holding off a hard charging Rich M for the win.

canya canon results

Results from the 6K can be seen here. I finished 9th overall. Please note that Rick H was not only crushed by myself, but by a chick as well. Already shaping up to be a great year for Tier II, you Tier I guys better watch your back...

Wednesday AM

Nice, easy run through the Garden this morning. 60 minutes, 6.4 miles. Bit sore from those 200's last night, but nothing too serious.

Over 2700 miles for the year. 50 days to do 300 miles, no problem there. Starting to wonder what number I should go for next year?

sprinting

Got to the CC track tonight only to find the soccer team using the back stretch. So, inspired by this article showing me that Usain Bolt is getting lazy, I decided to blast through some 200 meter repeats. Mile warm up, 8 x 200m with 200m recovery, mile cool down. Didn't bother timing the intervals, but I'm guessing I was probably around 36 to 37 seconds each. 4.3 miles total, 38:57. I'll pass 2700 miles tomorrow morning.

A warning to Mr. Bolt. I'm less than 17 seconds away from your 200 meter world record. I don't know much about sprinting, but seeing as as I took over seven hours off my Hardrock time in one year I don't see why taking a measley 17 seconds off a time would be that hard. You better get your ass back on the track!

I have the same problem!

hiking

Been following the adventures of Andy Skurka ever since he gave a talk at the Desert RATS 50 miler. Check out his latest hike! Holy shit!

I love "The Purpose" section of the description, and will be amending it into something I can send to all the team-in-training types who hit me up for money so they can go run the Sydney marathon or whatever vacation they want me to fund under the disguise of curing some disease.

However, it should be pointed out that Katie and I once discovered PBR Light in the back of Mr. Skurka's truck while parked in Leadville (I swear we weren't stalking him). What the hell is up with that? The guy hikes thousands of miles all over the globe and still prefers light beer?

GO STEELERS!

Wow, what an ass thumpin'! Can't believe bronco fans were excited about Kyle Orton.

Tues AM

Nice fartlek workout with the PPRR Sunrise Striders. Warm up to Bear Creek Park, then a good paced run, hammering all the hills. 58:18, 7.4 miles.

mark your calendars

Was having a few pints with Gordo the other day, and he suggested running the New Orleans Mardi Gras marathon in 2011. I couldn't think of any reason not to, so I threw my hat in. Does anyone know the world record for highest BAC to complete a marathon?

and then there were three...

Made the cut to the final three people for the free rego into TransRockies! I'd be running with an active duty green beret, which would be super cool. Haven't been told much about it, but I believe it's to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. In fact, after some super sleuthy internet research, I believe my partner would be this guy.

I volunteered only using my Army background, but a few days ago I finally received my honorable discharge from the Air Force. Few years late, but better late than never I guess.

anthrax!

Careful, that homeless looking guy slugging PBR and throwing white powder all over the place could be a terrorist!

See the story here.

HAIL TO PITT!

Pitt has moved up to #9 in the coaches poll and #8 in the AP poll! Woohooo!

Please note that we are currently ahead of the following teams:

Ohio State
USC
Penn State
Wisconsin
West Virginia

Canya Canon 6K

Had one of my better races in a while at the Canon hill climb on Sunday. People said your finish time is typically whatever your current 10K race fitness is, so I was expecting around 42 minutes. Nailed it in 37:44. Beat fellow CRUD runner Rick H for the first time ever. Think I might have finished in the top ten, but I haven't seen results posted. I managed to run the whole thing (no small feat considering how drunk I got at the Kimchi hash on Saturday) despite some comically steep sections. What a beautiful trail!

Great time afterwards, we killed two kegs of Bristol and then headed to the brewery until they kicked us out at 6PM. Awesome way to spend a Sunday!