Well yet again it's been a long month since my last post. Since then I've done a marathon, sat around during my off time, and did one heck of a muddy run. Oh, and to top it all off I had a birthday, found myself a little sweet little lady, and finished my senior paper.
First, everyone's probably wondering how the Des Moines Marathon went. Well to be brutally honest it was horrible. Much, no all of the problems I had in the race were due to the fact that there was no food, no gels, on the course as the race directors had promised. For someone like me who plans their long runs around food, to be without food totally depleted all chances I had to run a good race. I ran fine until around mile 15 when my body just started to fail because of a lack of fuel. Luckily around mile 19, my sister handed me a few Clif bars. (I had seen her at mile 11 and complained that there wasn't any food.) After getting some food in me, I was able to walk slightly less than I had already been doing. However the last 10 miles were mostly walking. A few times I would start running and get dizzy because of the lack of food. My finish time was 4:15:17. My half marathon splits dramatically show how my body was breaking down. The first half was 1:45:50; the second half was 2:29:27. A second half that was 45 minutes slower than the first. Safe to say it might be awhile before I do the Des Moines Marathon again.
Since the marathon I really haven't done much running, biking, or anything. I rode the bike once on the rollers and I also went out for an eventful ride the night before my birthday. Hoping to get in a 3 hour ride I went an hour earlier than I did for a 2 hour ride. However I forgot to factor in the time change and got stuck out in the dark. Accepting my defeat I sat at the Kwik Trip in Cresco, 20 miles from Decorah, called around and finally got picked up.
I also haven't been doing much running as of late. The two ones I got in were pretty good ones though. The first was a 'Turkey Trot' 5K that we did for my Wellness class last Wednesday. For not running a whole month before then, I did fairly well coming in 5th behind some cross country guys. This past weekend I ran the Living History Farms XC Race out in Des Moines. It's definitely not a race to go fast. It's all about getting cold, wet, muddy, and having one hell of a time doing it. Now four days later, my shoes are still attempting to dry. I guess that makes sense considering one fell off in some creek mud. If I remain in the Midwest the Living History Farm XC will be an end of the season tradition.
Well I'm gonna get to bed early for once, something that my senior paper hadn't let me do. Tomorrow I'm planning to start training for next season with a morning bike ride. Then I'm heading home for Thanksgiving, some R&R, and, alas, to do some homework. Happy Turkey Day everyone!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
It's About TIme
Just a quick post before I jump in the old Malibu and head off to Des Moines.
Training these last couple of weeks to be an honest have been pretty blah. No long runs just keeping it easy. I tried to mix it up a bit with some new routes, like a 5 miler through Phelps Park, but still just wasn't making the blahs go away. This week didn't really help either in that it was freezing cold which makes me not want to go outside, let alone run. That being said I'm really ready to get this marathon done with.
That might be good though. I'm not nervous at all about the marathon, it's just like I'm treating it like any other race. So hopefully that means I'll have an outstanding finishing time. I'm optimistically shooting for 3:30:59 but I'll be very satisfied with any time under 3:45, which is 20 mins off my marathon time at the Marine Corps last year. Hopefully I'll be able to post a race report by Monday night.
I am very excited for this weekend though and just to get off campus. This past week was midterms and well I'm just getting sick of school. I'm planning on hanging out with my sister and just doing fun stuff this weekend - German pub, Farmers Market, runners expo, etc. However once I get home though I have to rip on my senior writing project.
Oddly enough I don't plan to rest too much after this Sunday, I'll just take off a few days while I'm at home for fall break. Next Thursday though I'm starting a new training schedule of both running and biking. I'll be cycling three days a week, running two, doing a day of speedwork/drills in both, and then of course a rest day. Hopefully the weather warms up so it's pleasant biking out. I'm excited to be riding rollers indoors this year, but I really don't want to start riding them yet.
Training these last couple of weeks to be an honest have been pretty blah. No long runs just keeping it easy. I tried to mix it up a bit with some new routes, like a 5 miler through Phelps Park, but still just wasn't making the blahs go away. This week didn't really help either in that it was freezing cold which makes me not want to go outside, let alone run. That being said I'm really ready to get this marathon done with.
That might be good though. I'm not nervous at all about the marathon, it's just like I'm treating it like any other race. So hopefully that means I'll have an outstanding finishing time. I'm optimistically shooting for 3:30:59 but I'll be very satisfied with any time under 3:45, which is 20 mins off my marathon time at the Marine Corps last year. Hopefully I'll be able to post a race report by Monday night.
I am very excited for this weekend though and just to get off campus. This past week was midterms and well I'm just getting sick of school. I'm planning on hanging out with my sister and just doing fun stuff this weekend - German pub, Farmers Market, runners expo, etc. However once I get home though I have to rip on my senior writing project.
Oddly enough I don't plan to rest too much after this Sunday, I'll just take off a few days while I'm at home for fall break. Next Thursday though I'm starting a new training schedule of both running and biking. I'll be cycling three days a week, running two, doing a day of speedwork/drills in both, and then of course a rest day. Hopefully the weather warms up so it's pleasant biking out. I'm excited to be riding rollers indoors this year, but I really don't want to start riding them yet.
"We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." - Emil Zatopek
Monday, September 25, 2006
Toenail Update
Just to keep everyone posted...
My "ring-finger" toe toenail fell off tonight while I was reading in the library. Well, ok, it didn't just "fall" off. I was tweeking it a little bit - which I've been doing from time to time to promote its detachment - and it came off in my hand. Kinda gross, I know. It's a lot better though now that it's off. The loose nail doesn't catch on my sock or on the toe next to it. It also won't catch when I squinch up my toes to loosen them up during my runs. So anyway, if everyones counting, that's two toenails thus far...and no more look like they plan to - sorry to disappoint anyone.
My 24 miler yesterday was to say the least, horrible. So bad in fact, that I had to settle for a 20 miler. Most of the problem was that I didn't incorporate enough water stops into the run. My last two 20+ milers I ran in the rain so it wasn't a problem. But because of the nice and sunny weather, I was hurting. At the end of the run, my black shirt and my face was covered with salt - I joked that it was enough to season an entire Las Vegas buffet. My mouth also had the "I just squirted a whole bottle of Elmer's glue in my mouth" thing going on as well. I felt pretty tired and light headed for the rest of the day and into today as well. I had to skip Italian this morning because I still felt sick. All in all, not a good experience to have for my last long run before race day.
My "ring-finger" toe toenail fell off tonight while I was reading in the library. Well, ok, it didn't just "fall" off. I was tweeking it a little bit - which I've been doing from time to time to promote its detachment - and it came off in my hand. Kinda gross, I know. It's a lot better though now that it's off. The loose nail doesn't catch on my sock or on the toe next to it. It also won't catch when I squinch up my toes to loosen them up during my runs. So anyway, if everyones counting, that's two toenails thus far...and no more look like they plan to - sorry to disappoint anyone.
My 24 miler yesterday was to say the least, horrible. So bad in fact, that I had to settle for a 20 miler. Most of the problem was that I didn't incorporate enough water stops into the run. My last two 20+ milers I ran in the rain so it wasn't a problem. But because of the nice and sunny weather, I was hurting. At the end of the run, my black shirt and my face was covered with salt - I joked that it was enough to season an entire Las Vegas buffet. My mouth also had the "I just squirted a whole bottle of Elmer's glue in my mouth" thing going on as well. I felt pretty tired and light headed for the rest of the day and into today as well. I had to skip Italian this morning because I still felt sick. All in all, not a good experience to have for my last long run before race day.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Just Push
Sorry it’s been a little while…
Shortly after my last update, my toenail of my middle toe on my left foot did fall off. So I guess I have fully turned myself into a marathoner. It actually looks a whole lot less gross with it off then it did with a black dead toenail hanging on. However, now my ‘ring-finger toe’ toenail is now black and loose. So if it doesn’t come off before the marathon, it will definitely be off a few days after it.
Speaking of the marathon, it’s only three weeks away. That means after today’s 24 miler I’m officially in taper mode. As bad as it is to say, I’m glad too because I’m just ready for the marathon to be over. I’m just getting a little sick of only running. I went for a bike ride this past Tuesday (which I maybe shouldn’t have done) and it was great to do something different for once. If I had my bike this past summer, it would probably be a different story right now. My anticipation for next year’s cycling season is also getting to me, especially because of a lack of a racing season this past year. I’m looking forward to going to
Speaking of insanity, my last two 20+ mile runs have been pretty interesting to say the least. I did a 20 miler on the 9-3 and a 23.5 miler on 9-10. For the 20 miler, I waited to go out because it was raining like all day, and I saw a break in the storm on the radar. Of course however, at about mile 3, I just got dumped on with rain, and then continued to get dumped on until I finished the 20 miles. For running in a downpour, I had a very good pace,
There’s a little bit of me that is a little mixed up right now. All of the doping controversies in cycling have me kind of lost. It started with Tyler Hamilton, then it was ‘Operation Puerto’ with it taking Ullrich and Basso out of the Tour, now it’s the Landis case, and just a little more than a week ago Frankie Andreu admitted to doping when he was still racing. A part of me has that sinking feeling; that my favorite sport has been lying to me. But then there’s that other part of me that makes me realize that it’s not the pro riders that I love the most about the sport. It’s my bicycle, myself, and the joining of the two that keeps me going. Luckily that part of me that makes me realize this is the part that I listen to. It makes me not care what any other rider is doing or taking, it makes me care about me, only me. It’s the part of me that keeps me going, keeps me pushing, keeps me me. That part of me yells, and my body yells back.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
When you've got big feet...
...you have some big ass shoes! I stopped by the Shoe Shack when I was home last weekend and bought myself a new pair of running shoes. You know, a pair that, oh I dunno, won't give my toes blisters, give me black toenails, and make my toenails start to fall off! The shoes that I were running with were already size 13, so with my insoles, the folks at the Shoe Shack (thanks Alan - I think it was) fitted me with size 14. I had my doubts at first, but it definitely felt good to have room in my shoes for my feet to breath. They also are definitely lighter and faster feeling than my Asics Gel Kayanos, and anything helps when you're always one of the biggest guys in a race.
I also have to include a blatant advertisement for my SOLE custom insoles. I use them in my running and cycling shoes. However until this weekend I had never actually customized them to my feet. I had just been wearing them as is straight out of the box. But damn, I didn't know what I was missing! I stuck my new size 14 insoles in the oven for a bit (according to the directions), put them in my shoes, stood in them, walked around a bit, and my feet were like, "Where have you been all my life?!" Not only do my feet now feel better in my running shoes, but they also run better. I can noticably tell that my feet also are straighter and strike better with every step. So with all that, what are you waiting for? Go get some SOLEs!
As I touched on at the start of this entry, my feet, specifically my left foot, are not looking the best. The toes on my right foot are a little roughed up but my left food is well, freakin disgusting. It's middle toe and, for lack of a better description, ring-finger toe are blistered at the tip and their toenails are dead. Not only are they dead, but the nails are hanging on for dear life. The ring-finger toe toenail is black and has a good 'foot hold' on its toe, but the middle toe toenail is clinging on to its perch by a finger nail. You know the TV commercial where the little foot fungus guy flips open the big toenail like the trunk of a car? Yeah, my toenail can do that. I'm just waiting for it to come loose in my shoe or to get caught while I'm putting on jeans and get yanked off.
As I'm running at least 20 miles tomorrow, it's time for bed.
I also have to include a blatant advertisement for my SOLE custom insoles. I use them in my running and cycling shoes. However until this weekend I had never actually customized them to my feet. I had just been wearing them as is straight out of the box. But damn, I didn't know what I was missing! I stuck my new size 14 insoles in the oven for a bit (according to the directions), put them in my shoes, stood in them, walked around a bit, and my feet were like, "Where have you been all my life?!" Not only do my feet now feel better in my running shoes, but they also run better. I can noticably tell that my feet also are straighter and strike better with every step. So with all that, what are you waiting for? Go get some SOLEs!
As I touched on at the start of this entry, my feet, specifically my left foot, are not looking the best. The toes on my right foot are a little roughed up but my left food is well, freakin disgusting. It's middle toe and, for lack of a better description, ring-finger toe are blistered at the tip and their toenails are dead. Not only are they dead, but the nails are hanging on for dear life. The ring-finger toe toenail is black and has a good 'foot hold' on its toe, but the middle toe toenail is clinging on to its perch by a finger nail. You know the TV commercial where the little foot fungus guy flips open the big toenail like the trunk of a car? Yeah, my toenail can do that. I'm just waiting for it to come loose in my shoe or to get caught while I'm putting on jeans and get yanked off.
As I'm running at least 20 miles tomorrow, it's time for bed.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
So Far, So Good - Until this week...
So marathon training, and training for whatever else, has gone pretty good up to this point. I've been running basically everyday, have been feeling fine, so on and so forth. What could go wrong? Well Monday night I went off to do a 20 mi run, and 1.5 miles into it - BAM! - shin splints in my left leg. It twinged a bit on me before the run, when I was moving a mini-fridge for a friend, but I thought it would clear up as I ran. Oops, guess not. In retrospect, my current running shoes and the insoles probably have enough miles on them to replaced. And walking around barefoot all day at Noah's Ark, America's largest waterpark, on Sunday probably didn't help any either. While I can't change the past, I can get new shoes. Shoe Shack here I come!
As I mentioned though, everything up to this point has been going pretty well. First I guess I should mention that I finally got my bike back. Brand new frame and it's white like the old one, and this years model, and better, and more carbon! Safe to say, I've been tooling around on that during my running rest days. It seems slightly lighter than the old frame, which makes sense. It's very nice to have a bike back again.
Secondly I ran the Elvelopet 15k for Nordic Fest on July 29th. I didn't do as good as I wanted to or as good as I thought I would. My finish time was 1 hr 13 min 48 sec, but I think I could have done a good deal better, maybe 5 mins better...if I didn't wake up and run most of the way with a slight hangover. I didn't think I had that much to drink the night before, but I guess I am in college, and I had to introduce some friends to house partying. So maybe its not ALL my fault?
I got my bike back the weekend before the Elvelopet, so I looked at my calendar and saw, "what do we have here?" - the State RR in two weeks. So the week leading up to the Elvelopet I did three double days in a row, running in the early afternoon and biking in the late afternoon. Hmm...maybe that could have fatigued me a bit for the race. Anyway, the week after the Elvelopet, the week leading up to the RR, all I did was biking. Many of my bike rides in the two weeks was in the rain, which was great! I don't know what it is but I can haul ass in the rain. Anyway, moving on to the race, I didn't do that bad considering I had only ridden my bike for two weeks prior to the race. I was up in the main pack up until the second lap when a rider went down in front of me which caused the pack to split up. I had basically caught up to the lead pack on the second biggest hill of the course but then I dropped my chain. I got a push start from the race official who was luckily in the truck following right behind me. However by the time I got back going again, the lead pack was gone and there was no way off catching back up by myself, as all the riders I passed were fading. So I just picked off the stragglers and rode it like a fast tempo training ride. I placed mid-pack, but like I said, not bad for only riding 2 weeks. Also almost 1/3 of the riders dropped out, so that was an added boost of confidence.
Since the race weeks I've just been trying to fit back into my marathon training schedule, move to my dorm for the year, and enjoy my summer. Hopefully I'll be better in updating this, and won't have a gap of almost 2 months again. Thats all for now, I need to ice my shin...
As I mentioned though, everything up to this point has been going pretty well. First I guess I should mention that I finally got my bike back. Brand new frame and it's white like the old one, and this years model, and better, and more carbon! Safe to say, I've been tooling around on that during my running rest days. It seems slightly lighter than the old frame, which makes sense. It's very nice to have a bike back again.
Secondly I ran the Elvelopet 15k for Nordic Fest on July 29th. I didn't do as good as I wanted to or as good as I thought I would. My finish time was 1 hr 13 min 48 sec, but I think I could have done a good deal better, maybe 5 mins better...if I didn't wake up and run most of the way with a slight hangover. I didn't think I had that much to drink the night before, but I guess I am in college, and I had to introduce some friends to house partying. So maybe its not ALL my fault?
I got my bike back the weekend before the Elvelopet, so I looked at my calendar and saw, "what do we have here?" - the State RR in two weeks. So the week leading up to the Elvelopet I did three double days in a row, running in the early afternoon and biking in the late afternoon. Hmm...maybe that could have fatigued me a bit for the race. Anyway, the week after the Elvelopet, the week leading up to the RR, all I did was biking. Many of my bike rides in the two weeks was in the rain, which was great! I don't know what it is but I can haul ass in the rain. Anyway, moving on to the race, I didn't do that bad considering I had only ridden my bike for two weeks prior to the race. I was up in the main pack up until the second lap when a rider went down in front of me which caused the pack to split up. I had basically caught up to the lead pack on the second biggest hill of the course but then I dropped my chain. I got a push start from the race official who was luckily in the truck following right behind me. However by the time I got back going again, the lead pack was gone and there was no way off catching back up by myself, as all the riders I passed were fading. So I just picked off the stragglers and rode it like a fast tempo training ride. I placed mid-pack, but like I said, not bad for only riding 2 weeks. Also almost 1/3 of the riders dropped out, so that was an added boost of confidence.
Since the race weeks I've just been trying to fit back into my marathon training schedule, move to my dorm for the year, and enjoy my summer. Hopefully I'll be better in updating this, and won't have a gap of almost 2 months again. Thats all for now, I need to ice my shin...
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
My Body Aches - It's Been A Good Week
It's been about a week since I posted and today was a rest day so I have no excuse not to enter a new post.
Yesterday's run was a killer. Well, just the first half. It was all hills, well really just too big ones. I didn't know that when I mapped out the course online, I was including the two biggest hills in Decorah. The run began with a nice steep "warm up" up President's hill. It did occur to me the instant after I completed mapping the course that I'd be running up the hill. However, I kept it in because I remembered it was hard, but that I could do it. Yeah, I forgot just how long and steep it was. I definitely was waaay more than "warmed up" barely just one mile into a 7 mile run. About a mile or so later I got to the other big hill of the day - the Quarry hill. This time however I was at the top and not at the bottom. A downhill is usually easier than an uphill but not when its a loose gravel road - because of the dump truck from the quarry - super twisty, and easily over a mile long. It was a bit nuts. Eventually I did get back down to the flatland and back into Decorah where I finished off the run on the river trail and around by the campgrounds. All in all, it wasn't a bad run - especially when the hills were over. I felt great with 3 miles to go and under, and finished with a final time 61.19 - 8.46 min per mile.
I did finally get a training plan together for the Nordic Fest run. I basically just entered my stats into a program on runnersworld.com and boom - a training plan. It only has me running 4 days a week and the 'easy run' pace is waay slow so I'm changing things a bit, making things harder, so that can only be a good thing right? If I don't get a good race time I'll at least have a good base to start my marathon training. Which reminds me I really need to register for that...
Besides just a training plan, I've also enforced a stricter diet upon myself. I've cut out desserts of all kinds. My sweets now consist of fruit and yogurt. I've also cut out fried foods, breaded foods, and oily/fatty meats. Don't worry however, I'm not cutting out beer - although I haven't been drinking as much lately. I'll still have plenty of reviews though!
This last week I decided that after I get done with this next marathon, I'm going to train for triathlons. However, I can't swim worth a damn, but I decided I'd take a step to change that. I got myself a pair of goggles (after a couple tries) and then went to the public pool during lap swim. To make a the story short I learned that just because you can run a marathon and bike a century, that doesn't automatically make you a decent swimmer. Hell, it doesn't even mean that you can swim across a 25 yard pool. I'm sure I made a made one hell of a sight only swimming halfway acroos the pool and standing up gasping for air because I can't get my breathing right. Since I should be getting a bike back soon, I think I'm just going to wait until the school's pool reopens when school starts to start swim training again, basically so I don't have to pay $3 everytime I swim - or do whatever you call the the thing that I did in the water.
Speaking about the bike - I hoped to get it back this last weekend, but when I stopped in the shop it wasn't quite done. The new frame has a wider seat tube so the front derailleur clamp that I had was too small, so the shop called Masi to send the right size. So more waiting... However there is some really great news. The new frame is not only a frame model from this current year but its also the next model up. This frame - a Gran Criterium instead of my old Gran Corsa - has carbon seatstays like the other frame but it also has carbon chainstays too, not to mention a larger, and thus stiffer, bottom bracket area. Oh, and the best thing - its white! And its somehow even a better looking white too! So there's some good news mixed with some bad, but I should get a bike back soon.
One last thing. In many conversations I've had over the last week, I've been asked what my motivation or reason for cycling, running, swimming, etc.; or why it is I'm such a crazy endurance freak. Basically I've come up with this: You're not really living unless you find what limits you can take your body and then how far you can stretch them. In a nutshell, the day is not complete unless I test my body - unless I run, bike, whatever.
Well thats all for now. It's time for bed, plus I've just finished the beer I was drinking while writing this. Until next time...
Yesterday's run was a killer. Well, just the first half. It was all hills, well really just too big ones. I didn't know that when I mapped out the course online, I was including the two biggest hills in Decorah. The run began with a nice steep "warm up" up President's hill. It did occur to me the instant after I completed mapping the course that I'd be running up the hill. However, I kept it in because I remembered it was hard, but that I could do it. Yeah, I forgot just how long and steep it was. I definitely was waaay more than "warmed up" barely just one mile into a 7 mile run. About a mile or so later I got to the other big hill of the day - the Quarry hill. This time however I was at the top and not at the bottom. A downhill is usually easier than an uphill but not when its a loose gravel road - because of the dump truck from the quarry - super twisty, and easily over a mile long. It was a bit nuts. Eventually I did get back down to the flatland and back into Decorah where I finished off the run on the river trail and around by the campgrounds. All in all, it wasn't a bad run - especially when the hills were over. I felt great with 3 miles to go and under, and finished with a final time 61.19 - 8.46 min per mile.
I did finally get a training plan together for the Nordic Fest run. I basically just entered my stats into a program on runnersworld.com and boom - a training plan. It only has me running 4 days a week and the 'easy run' pace is waay slow so I'm changing things a bit, making things harder, so that can only be a good thing right? If I don't get a good race time I'll at least have a good base to start my marathon training. Which reminds me I really need to register for that...
Besides just a training plan, I've also enforced a stricter diet upon myself. I've cut out desserts of all kinds. My sweets now consist of fruit and yogurt. I've also cut out fried foods, breaded foods, and oily/fatty meats. Don't worry however, I'm not cutting out beer - although I haven't been drinking as much lately. I'll still have plenty of reviews though!
This last week I decided that after I get done with this next marathon, I'm going to train for triathlons. However, I can't swim worth a damn, but I decided I'd take a step to change that. I got myself a pair of goggles (after a couple tries) and then went to the public pool during lap swim. To make a the story short I learned that just because you can run a marathon and bike a century, that doesn't automatically make you a decent swimmer. Hell, it doesn't even mean that you can swim across a 25 yard pool. I'm sure I made a made one hell of a sight only swimming halfway acroos the pool and standing up gasping for air because I can't get my breathing right. Since I should be getting a bike back soon, I think I'm just going to wait until the school's pool reopens when school starts to start swim training again, basically so I don't have to pay $3 everytime I swim - or do whatever you call the the thing that I did in the water.
Speaking about the bike - I hoped to get it back this last weekend, but when I stopped in the shop it wasn't quite done. The new frame has a wider seat tube so the front derailleur clamp that I had was too small, so the shop called Masi to send the right size. So more waiting... However there is some really great news. The new frame is not only a frame model from this current year but its also the next model up. This frame - a Gran Criterium instead of my old Gran Corsa - has carbon seatstays like the other frame but it also has carbon chainstays too, not to mention a larger, and thus stiffer, bottom bracket area. Oh, and the best thing - its white! And its somehow even a better looking white too! So there's some good news mixed with some bad, but I should get a bike back soon.
One last thing. In many conversations I've had over the last week, I've been asked what my motivation or reason for cycling, running, swimming, etc.; or why it is I'm such a crazy endurance freak. Basically I've come up with this: You're not really living unless you find what limits you can take your body and then how far you can stretch them. In a nutshell, the day is not complete unless I test my body - unless I run, bike, whatever.
Well thats all for now. It's time for bed, plus I've just finished the beer I was drinking while writing this. Until next time...
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Inside The Bottle - my beer reviews explained
Before I actually do any of my beer reviews, I better do some explaining of how I'm going about it.
First of all, to be consistent, all of the beers that are being reviewed - and being drunk - are from the bottle. True, beers out of the bottle have a much different taste than ones on tap, however I want to be consistent in all the beers I review - and again drink. As a college student as well, I drink waaay more beer out of the bottle anyway. Plus it's fun to make magnets out of all the different beer bottle caps (We'll see some of those in later blogs I'm sure). I'm also not reviewing tap beers because I would look pretty rediculous sitting at a bar writing down notes about the beer I'm drinking.
I should also mention that I'm being lazy and just drinking the beer straight from the bottle and not pouring into a proper ale, lager, stout, whatever glass. So because of that I'm focusing just on the mouth feel, taste, and complexity of beers - and leaving out the color. Who really cares about the color anyway?
Oh, and one last final point. No American crap beers!!! So don't expect any Miller, Budweiser, Coors, etc. to make their way into this blog. The most mainstream American beers I'll be covering is some Sam Adams brews - and I have mixed feelings on covering some of those already. You can expect many micro-brews as well as many foreign beers.
Hopefully, I've sparked some curiosity and interest in a few of you, so I should have a review or two posted soon.
- happy biking, happy running, happy drinking, happy life.
UPDATE 10-02-06 ~ An executive decision has been made by the higher-ups (me) that the beer reviewing will no longer be a part of this blog. As readers may have noticed, this blog has been going for almost 4 months and still no reviews. I've been drinking less of the foamy beverage since I've been running and biking more. Plus, the higher ups (again, me) felt that it detracted from the most important subject of the blog, the biking and running. There may be a future blog however for just beer reviews. We'll see...
First of all, to be consistent, all of the beers that are being reviewed - and being drunk - are from the bottle. True, beers out of the bottle have a much different taste than ones on tap, however I want to be consistent in all the beers I review - and again drink. As a college student as well, I drink waaay more beer out of the bottle anyway. Plus it's fun to make magnets out of all the different beer bottle caps (We'll see some of those in later blogs I'm sure). I'm also not reviewing tap beers because I would look pretty rediculous sitting at a bar writing down notes about the beer I'm drinking.
I should also mention that I'm being lazy and just drinking the beer straight from the bottle and not pouring into a proper ale, lager, stout, whatever glass. So because of that I'm focusing just on the mouth feel, taste, and complexity of beers - and leaving out the color. Who really cares about the color anyway?
Oh, and one last final point. No American crap beers!!! So don't expect any Miller, Budweiser, Coors, etc. to make their way into this blog. The most mainstream American beers I'll be covering is some Sam Adams brews - and I have mixed feelings on covering some of those already. You can expect many micro-brews as well as many foreign beers.
Hopefully, I've sparked some curiosity and interest in a few of you, so I should have a review or two posted soon.
- happy biking, happy running, happy drinking, happy life.
UPDATE 10-02-06 ~ An executive decision has been made by the higher-ups (me) that the beer reviewing will no longer be a part of this blog. As readers may have noticed, this blog has been going for almost 4 months and still no reviews. I've been drinking less of the foamy beverage since I've been running and biking more. Plus, the higher ups (again, me) felt that it detracted from the most important subject of the blog, the biking and running. There may be a future blog however for just beer reviews. We'll see...
Friday, June 16, 2006
Finally...
After much deliberation I got a name for my blog and here I am! Look for lots of updates this summer because life is pretty dull working 40 hours a week and living the summer on campus.
I just got back from an easy run tonight, I've been pretty zapped from my recent 14-day long work streak. Finally that ends tomorrow and I'll have Sunday off, so a long run is in store for then. Anyway, tonight I just kept it easy and did a 1/2 mile warm-up, a timed mile on the track, and then a 1/2 mile cool-down. I normally would have done more, but I wanted to time a 'race pace' mile on the track so I could figure out a good training schedule for the Nordic Fest 15K at the end of July. My mile wasn't horrible, 6.37, but I think I could've gone way faster if I was actually running against someone. To set up my schedule I think I'm going to use a 6.30 pace, maybe being more accurate to 'race pace.'
For those of you who don't know, I'm currently without my bike and have been for a little over a month now. I got a crack in the frame on one of the chainstays. So the frame got sent back to the company for replacement. I did get a confirmation this week from my bike shop that the frame is in fact going to be replaced, and the 'limited' in 'lifetime limited warranty' isn't going to bite me in the ass. However, its going to be replaced with the a model from the current year, which is blue and not my beloved white. I guess I should just be thankful that I'm getting it replaced.
I just got back from an easy run tonight, I've been pretty zapped from my recent 14-day long work streak. Finally that ends tomorrow and I'll have Sunday off, so a long run is in store for then. Anyway, tonight I just kept it easy and did a 1/2 mile warm-up, a timed mile on the track, and then a 1/2 mile cool-down. I normally would have done more, but I wanted to time a 'race pace' mile on the track so I could figure out a good training schedule for the Nordic Fest 15K at the end of July. My mile wasn't horrible, 6.37, but I think I could've gone way faster if I was actually running against someone. To set up my schedule I think I'm going to use a 6.30 pace, maybe being more accurate to 'race pace.'
For those of you who don't know, I'm currently without my bike and have been for a little over a month now. I got a crack in the frame on one of the chainstays. So the frame got sent back to the company for replacement. I did get a confirmation this week from my bike shop that the frame is in fact going to be replaced, and the 'limited' in 'lifetime limited warranty' isn't going to bite me in the ass. However, its going to be replaced with the a model from the current year, which is blue and not my beloved white. I guess I should just be thankful that I'm getting it replaced.
Sniff...sniff...I'll miss you white frame! :(
More later!
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