Rather than trouble myself with actually accomplishing a lot this weekend, I instead made doing nothing my top priority. Considering that most of my weekends in July and August are already booked, I'll take every chance I get to sit around and waste time while I can.
Anyway, Saturday I got up and went to REI and got a pair of hiking boots that were on clearance, further continuing my streak of not paying full price for any of my new camping gear. I came back and spent the afternoon sitting by the pool and catching up on some reading. Sunday morning I got up and was running by 7 AM, however it was already 75 with dewpoints in the high 60's, which made running laborious. I got 7.6 miles in, which wasn't too bad and I think I am getting steadily more acclimated to the weather, as I wasn't totally exhausted after this run, although it was tough to get enough oxygen to my muscles.
I'm taking today off, per usual, and will head out tomorrow morning. My hope is to run every morning this week since I won't be able to run this weekend due to being out of town for the holiday. So, I want to run the next four days in a row to make up for missing Saturday and Sunday. I'm not driving out to WV until later Friday morning, so I'll be able to get up and run per usual, with no traffic to worry about since it'll be the 4th.
On the racing front, I think I am going to make another change in my schedule. Rather than run the Pikesville 5K next Sunday (the 13th), I think I am going to sign up for a 5K in Cincinnati on August 30th, when we'll be out there doing wedding stuff. It's at the Cincinnati Zoo, so it would be a cool race to do. It's also $5 cheaper than Pikesville, and I still get a t-shirt, so it looks like a solid play.
Also, I think I am going to run the Full Moon Run on August 16th out on the NCR Trail. It's at 9 PM and the only light you get is a glo-stick, but the trail is actually flat and gravel (it's an old railway line) so you won't trip over a root or rocks or anything. Should be a pretty cool event and fits well with my vacation, as I will be back in Baltimore from camping on the 14th.
So, that gives me two races in August, one in September, one in October, and possibly one in November if I decide to run the Richmond half. That doesn't count the Zoo Zoom, a Turkey Trot and the Celctic Solstice in December. It's shaping up to be a very busy Fall!
I also should be getting a book I ordered from Amazon called Weight Training for Runners, or something similar. I've been wanting to boost my strength, but have no idea how to start or what to do in the gym, so this book should at least give me some good starting points to help me get stronger and thus, faster. It'll also feel better to actually use my gym membership again!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Pulling a Curt Schilling
This work week I got two runs in, which is less than I wanted, but there's always next week. I'm going to get up early tomorrow morning to get 5 miles in, so all is not lost for the week.
Sunday's run was hot, as I woke up early and saw that it was still in the mid 60's and cloudy and decided to get another hour of sleep since it looked like it was going to wait a little while before heating up. Then I woke up around 7:30 to find a sunny, humid day waiting for me. Nice. But I got my 10 miles in, which is relatively encouraging, and then made my way to Alexandria for the birthday brunch. The brunch was good, but the "buffet" was actually only a partial buffet. You could order an entree from the menu and then eat from a buffet of salad, fresh fruit, danishes, bagels and cheese. I think that's what they call the "overpriced yet under delivering you're paying for the supposed atmosphere" buffet. So I was not totally thrilled with parting with that $25.00. Given my druthers, I won't be requesting we eat at that place again. But it was nice to see my family and spend some QT with them.
Anyway, Monday I took off and Tuesday I think I just turned my alarm off. I got out the door on Wednesday morning out of pure shame for skipping Tuesday. A solid run in a humid but cool morning. After Sunday's run, I noticed that my shoe had rubbed a spot on my heel raw and it was sore, but not bleeding or blistering. So I let it go and forgot about it until I was out on the road on Wednesday morning and it really started to hurt. Well I got back home and my sock and shoe surrounding the raw place was blood stained. Awesome. And my heel was pretty painful. So I poured some detergent on the sock to keep it from setting between now and laundry day (this is also known as Male Stain Treatment because we just don't invest in Stainstick or similar things) and bandaged my heel after my shower. It's healed up nicely thus far. But this is the first injury I've had from running that has drawn blood so that's pretty awesome. I may keep the sock as a memorial to my toughness/dumbness.
Yesterday I got out the door as well, although it was hotter out and still as humid. I taped my heel in an effort to prevent further injury and for the most part it worked. But by 3 miles, it was starting to bother me and so rather than really screw up my foot for a week or more, I turned around and trotted back home a few miles short of my daily distance. Sure enough, the area was quite red, and my sock had more blood stains, but I actually think that was from the stain on the inside of my shoe, because the tape wasn't red. Anyway, today it feels fine and looks like it's healing and should be healed enough to run on tomorrow.
Tomorrow, as I said, I will be getting up early to get my run in before Baltimore turns into a sauna. Then I will probably come back, shower and lay around until about 10 before heading out to REI. The pool in my building opens at noon, so I'll head out and get some sun and catch up on some reading for work in the afternoon. Should be a relaxing day before the long run on Sunday morning, which I plan on NOT doing at 9 AM when it's hot as hell outside.
Sunday's run was hot, as I woke up early and saw that it was still in the mid 60's and cloudy and decided to get another hour of sleep since it looked like it was going to wait a little while before heating up. Then I woke up around 7:30 to find a sunny, humid day waiting for me. Nice. But I got my 10 miles in, which is relatively encouraging, and then made my way to Alexandria for the birthday brunch. The brunch was good, but the "buffet" was actually only a partial buffet. You could order an entree from the menu and then eat from a buffet of salad, fresh fruit, danishes, bagels and cheese. I think that's what they call the "overpriced yet under delivering you're paying for the supposed atmosphere" buffet. So I was not totally thrilled with parting with that $25.00. Given my druthers, I won't be requesting we eat at that place again. But it was nice to see my family and spend some QT with them.
Anyway, Monday I took off and Tuesday I think I just turned my alarm off. I got out the door on Wednesday morning out of pure shame for skipping Tuesday. A solid run in a humid but cool morning. After Sunday's run, I noticed that my shoe had rubbed a spot on my heel raw and it was sore, but not bleeding or blistering. So I let it go and forgot about it until I was out on the road on Wednesday morning and it really started to hurt. Well I got back home and my sock and shoe surrounding the raw place was blood stained. Awesome. And my heel was pretty painful. So I poured some detergent on the sock to keep it from setting between now and laundry day (this is also known as Male Stain Treatment because we just don't invest in Stainstick or similar things) and bandaged my heel after my shower. It's healed up nicely thus far. But this is the first injury I've had from running that has drawn blood so that's pretty awesome. I may keep the sock as a memorial to my toughness/dumbness.
Yesterday I got out the door as well, although it was hotter out and still as humid. I taped my heel in an effort to prevent further injury and for the most part it worked. But by 3 miles, it was starting to bother me and so rather than really screw up my foot for a week or more, I turned around and trotted back home a few miles short of my daily distance. Sure enough, the area was quite red, and my sock had more blood stains, but I actually think that was from the stain on the inside of my shoe, because the tape wasn't red. Anyway, today it feels fine and looks like it's healing and should be healed enough to run on tomorrow.
Tomorrow, as I said, I will be getting up early to get my run in before Baltimore turns into a sauna. Then I will probably come back, shower and lay around until about 10 before heading out to REI. The pool in my building opens at noon, so I'll head out and get some sun and catch up on some reading for work in the afternoon. Should be a relaxing day before the long run on Sunday morning, which I plan on NOT doing at 9 AM when it's hot as hell outside.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I Accept the Challenge
Several things to report in this post, not in any particular order:
1. I have made some slightly less tentative plans with regards to my racing schedule over the coming months. I will in fact be running the Pikesville 5K in roughly three weeks' time. I will be mailing my registration form on Monday (once I can print it out for free at work and mail it off because I refuse to pay the bullshit "processing" fee that Active.com levies). I will more than likely take August off from racing as I'm going on vacation for a week (hiking 20 miles in four days with a full pack in the mountains should compensate!) and then we're going to Cincinnati for Labor Day. I'll run the Run to Remember on September 11th here in Charm City and then focus on the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 11 and Richmond Half on November 15.
2. I did not run this morning, as I had originally planned, but I'm mostly OK with that. Instead I sat out at the pool for a few hours and tried mostly successfully to avoid getting a bad sunburn. I only burned on my legs a little but nothing embarassing that people will stare at come Monday. Tomorrow morning I'll get my butt out of bed early and get 8-10 (hopefully 10!) miles in before coming back and getting ready to head down to Alexandria for my grandmother's 85th birthday brunch. It's an all you can eat affair, so I want to get 10 miles in to really build my apetite. I view all you can eats as a challenge. Almost as if the restaurant owner is goading me into eating $25.00 worth of food, which is like 35 pounds or so. Well, Mr. Owner, I accept your challenge and hope you've made plenty of eggs, ham and hash browns.
3. Tasted a few more root beers lately and was mostly happy with them all. Here are my thoughts:
Dad's Root Beer: Heard a lot about Dad's, most of it good. Not bad overall. Made with cane sugar, which made it nice and smooth going down. There was, however, an initial taste of menthol right at the beginning before the actual root beer flavor hit. Took me a few sips to figure out that it tasted and smelled a little like Ben Gay. Not terrible, but not really a standout either. 6 out of 10.
Stewart's: I am a big fan of Stewart's Oranges and Cream soda, first of all. It's the only thing I'll drink on those rare occasions when I frequent a Cracker Barrel. I'd never tried the root beer before and I ahve to say, I'll stick with the O&C. The root beer just wasn't all that fantastic. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely not worth the trouble. A friend of mine warned me that Stewart's did not taste as good as they would like to think, and I believe he's right. 6 out of 10.
Barq's: I said I would try to reacquaint myself with this brew and I found my opportunity last night when I stopped at Burger King for dinner after work. I have to say, this definitely beats Mug and Sam's Club for best canned root beer thus far. Solid taste that isn't too sweet and thus allows one to enjoy more than one (or one large soda from a fast food joint). A little too carbonated for my liking, but I realize this might be from the syrup/soda water mixture. A solid staple for your fridge if you're not interested in spending $4-6 for a four pack of something better. 7 our of 10.
I was at the Wal-Mart today and picked up a 12 pack of A&W for $3, so I will try that out and compare to Mug, Barq's and Sam's Choice. While the specialty brews like IBC and Frostie are preferrable, it's tough to find them in large quantities at reasonable prices. So, finding a solid canned backup is key. I also still have yet to taste my bottles of Berghoff's and A.J. Stephans, both of which I have heard are excellent.
1. I have made some slightly less tentative plans with regards to my racing schedule over the coming months. I will in fact be running the Pikesville 5K in roughly three weeks' time. I will be mailing my registration form on Monday (once I can print it out for free at work and mail it off because I refuse to pay the bullshit "processing" fee that Active.com levies). I will more than likely take August off from racing as I'm going on vacation for a week (hiking 20 miles in four days with a full pack in the mountains should compensate!) and then we're going to Cincinnati for Labor Day. I'll run the Run to Remember on September 11th here in Charm City and then focus on the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 11 and Richmond Half on November 15.
2. I did not run this morning, as I had originally planned, but I'm mostly OK with that. Instead I sat out at the pool for a few hours and tried mostly successfully to avoid getting a bad sunburn. I only burned on my legs a little but nothing embarassing that people will stare at come Monday. Tomorrow morning I'll get my butt out of bed early and get 8-10 (hopefully 10!) miles in before coming back and getting ready to head down to Alexandria for my grandmother's 85th birthday brunch. It's an all you can eat affair, so I want to get 10 miles in to really build my apetite. I view all you can eats as a challenge. Almost as if the restaurant owner is goading me into eating $25.00 worth of food, which is like 35 pounds or so. Well, Mr. Owner, I accept your challenge and hope you've made plenty of eggs, ham and hash browns.
3. Tasted a few more root beers lately and was mostly happy with them all. Here are my thoughts:
Dad's Root Beer: Heard a lot about Dad's, most of it good. Not bad overall. Made with cane sugar, which made it nice and smooth going down. There was, however, an initial taste of menthol right at the beginning before the actual root beer flavor hit. Took me a few sips to figure out that it tasted and smelled a little like Ben Gay. Not terrible, but not really a standout either. 6 out of 10.
Stewart's: I am a big fan of Stewart's Oranges and Cream soda, first of all. It's the only thing I'll drink on those rare occasions when I frequent a Cracker Barrel. I'd never tried the root beer before and I ahve to say, I'll stick with the O&C. The root beer just wasn't all that fantastic. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely not worth the trouble. A friend of mine warned me that Stewart's did not taste as good as they would like to think, and I believe he's right. 6 out of 10.
Barq's: I said I would try to reacquaint myself with this brew and I found my opportunity last night when I stopped at Burger King for dinner after work. I have to say, this definitely beats Mug and Sam's Club for best canned root beer thus far. Solid taste that isn't too sweet and thus allows one to enjoy more than one (or one large soda from a fast food joint). A little too carbonated for my liking, but I realize this might be from the syrup/soda water mixture. A solid staple for your fridge if you're not interested in spending $4-6 for a four pack of something better. 7 our of 10.
I was at the Wal-Mart today and picked up a 12 pack of A&W for $3, so I will try that out and compare to Mug, Barq's and Sam's Choice. While the specialty brews like IBC and Frostie are preferrable, it's tough to find them in large quantities at reasonable prices. So, finding a solid canned backup is key. I also still have yet to taste my bottles of Berghoff's and A.J. Stephans, both of which I have heard are excellent.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Housekeeping
It occurred to me yesterday while I was sitting in an all-day meeting that I had never updated my blog following the Survivor Harbor 7 miler back in the early part of the month. So my widget had been reading countdown complete for about 10 days now. I took care of that and adjusted my other lists, etc. I haven't uploaded my latest runs to my log, which is why it says I have not run any miles this week. But rest assured, I got another run in this morning. I'm still coming up just shy of 5 miles, so will have to further tweak the route tomorrow morning.
Due to the cancellation of my trip to Denver, I won't be running the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon in August. That leaves a long gap between now and my next race, the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 11th. I haven't decided when my next race will be. I am strongly considering running the Pikesville 5K on July 13th as a barometer race to see where my fitness level is at that point. Then again, I may use all of July as a training month and find a race in August to do. Right now, I have several races I'm considering:
- Pikesville 5K (will probably do this race as I haven't run a 5K since March)
- Annapolis 10 Miler (supposed to be a terrific race, but it's $50 and may fill up before I come to a decision)
- Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon in September; very popular and crowded...this would be three half's in three months so I will probably not do this race)
- Some other race in Cincinnati at the end of August (we'll be out there then so it would make sense)
We'll see how things shape up. For now, I'm just trying to get into a habit again and establish some sort of rhythm. This weekend will be sort of busy with my grandmother's birthday brunch on Sunday afternoon. I've decided to just keep my long run on Sunday morning so I can relax on Saturday and sleep in a little later. I need one morning to relax!
Due to the cancellation of my trip to Denver, I won't be running the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon in August. That leaves a long gap between now and my next race, the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 11th. I haven't decided when my next race will be. I am strongly considering running the Pikesville 5K on July 13th as a barometer race to see where my fitness level is at that point. Then again, I may use all of July as a training month and find a race in August to do. Right now, I have several races I'm considering:
- Pikesville 5K (will probably do this race as I haven't run a 5K since March)
- Annapolis 10 Miler (supposed to be a terrific race, but it's $50 and may fill up before I come to a decision)
- Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon in September; very popular and crowded...this would be three half's in three months so I will probably not do this race)
- Some other race in Cincinnati at the end of August (we'll be out there then so it would make sense)
We'll see how things shape up. For now, I'm just trying to get into a habit again and establish some sort of rhythm. This weekend will be sort of busy with my grandmother's birthday brunch on Sunday afternoon. I've decided to just keep my long run on Sunday morning so I can relax on Saturday and sleep in a little later. I need one morning to relax!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Solid Effort
The weather has really turned plesant for mid-June in Baltimore. The end of last week was muggy and hot (not heat wave hot, but still near 90) so it was welcome relief when thunderstorms rolled through on Saturday night and dried out the air and lowered the temperature.
I met my parents in Frederick for a Keys game on Sunday evening for Father's Day and we had a great time thanks to the temperate weather. I had my fill of ballpark food (Italian sausage with peppers and onions, beer, chili cheese fries, soda and soft serve ice cream) and we enjoyed some good minor league baseball. I have to say that the Keys have pretty good food, too. I think it's better than what you can get at Camden Yards. Certainly it's better priced than here in Baltimore, but that's to be expected. I got a 24 oz Yeungling beer for $9.00, which is a great deal when you consider that a crappy 8 oz watered down beer at Camden Yards will set you back $6.50. And it's not that far away from Baltimore...it took me about 50 minutes to drive out there and back total and that's from downtown Baltimore to the stadium in Frederick. We sat 4 rows from the field (on the visitor's side since the Potomac Nationals were playing!) for $11.00 per ticket. Can't beat minor league baseball, in my opinion.
So, with the weather cooperating, I got out for a solid run this morning. I changed up my route to allow a stop at the top of Federal Hill park to use the water fountain up there (a clutch find!) and as a result, I keep coming up about .25-.40 miles short on my runs (my usual length is 5 miles). Tomorrow I intend to scrape another half mile out of my route to get to 5 miles. However the air was drier and it was about 60 degrees out, so it felt much less burdensome to run.
On another note, I have finalized my plans for vacation in August. I applied for my backcountry permit for Shenandoah National Park, so I will hopefully get the permit back in about two weeks. That saves me the time of having to get it when I actually go to the park in August. I've bought most of the gear I wanted and got some hot discounts on it as well. For example, I got a $120 tent and $150 pack for $99.95 and $119.00 respectively. Then I got free shipping AND found an online code to get an additional 10% off my order. So I ended up saving like 30% on my order total. Not bad. I also talked LL Bean into giving me free shipping on my sleeping bag and sleeping pad, saving me a cool $8.00. Most of my stuff should be arriving today, too, which is awesome. I'll be able to take my tent to my parents' house and practice putting it up and taking it down over July 4th. My next task is to find some comfortable hiking boots that won't cost me an arm and a leg. I may need to make a trip to REI to scout out a pair and then find them cheap online.
My goal is to run the rest of the week but take Friday off. The family is having brunch down in Alexandria on Sunday afternoon, so I may move my long run up to Saturday morning this week to uncrowd the schedule on Sunday. No need to cram a bunch of stuff into a weekend day, right? Right.
I met my parents in Frederick for a Keys game on Sunday evening for Father's Day and we had a great time thanks to the temperate weather. I had my fill of ballpark food (Italian sausage with peppers and onions, beer, chili cheese fries, soda and soft serve ice cream) and we enjoyed some good minor league baseball. I have to say that the Keys have pretty good food, too. I think it's better than what you can get at Camden Yards. Certainly it's better priced than here in Baltimore, but that's to be expected. I got a 24 oz Yeungling beer for $9.00, which is a great deal when you consider that a crappy 8 oz watered down beer at Camden Yards will set you back $6.50. And it's not that far away from Baltimore...it took me about 50 minutes to drive out there and back total and that's from downtown Baltimore to the stadium in Frederick. We sat 4 rows from the field (on the visitor's side since the Potomac Nationals were playing!) for $11.00 per ticket. Can't beat minor league baseball, in my opinion.
So, with the weather cooperating, I got out for a solid run this morning. I changed up my route to allow a stop at the top of Federal Hill park to use the water fountain up there (a clutch find!) and as a result, I keep coming up about .25-.40 miles short on my runs (my usual length is 5 miles). Tomorrow I intend to scrape another half mile out of my route to get to 5 miles. However the air was drier and it was about 60 degrees out, so it felt much less burdensome to run.
On another note, I have finalized my plans for vacation in August. I applied for my backcountry permit for Shenandoah National Park, so I will hopefully get the permit back in about two weeks. That saves me the time of having to get it when I actually go to the park in August. I've bought most of the gear I wanted and got some hot discounts on it as well. For example, I got a $120 tent and $150 pack for $99.95 and $119.00 respectively. Then I got free shipping AND found an online code to get an additional 10% off my order. So I ended up saving like 30% on my order total. Not bad. I also talked LL Bean into giving me free shipping on my sleeping bag and sleeping pad, saving me a cool $8.00. Most of my stuff should be arriving today, too, which is awesome. I'll be able to take my tent to my parents' house and practice putting it up and taking it down over July 4th. My next task is to find some comfortable hiking boots that won't cost me an arm and a leg. I may need to make a trip to REI to scout out a pair and then find them cheap online.
My goal is to run the rest of the week but take Friday off. The family is having brunch down in Alexandria on Sunday afternoon, so I may move my long run up to Saturday morning this week to uncrowd the schedule on Sunday. No need to cram a bunch of stuff into a weekend day, right? Right.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sleep over Fitness
The best laid plans of mice and men...
I had fully intended to get up early this morning and get a nice 10 miler in to start my day, but that was not meant to be. First, I was up late planning my camping trip in August out to Shenandoah National Park and thus, lost several precious hours of sleep on the front side. I woke up at 6 AM feeling awful, but that's nothing out of the ordinary as no matter how long I sleep or what time I wake up, I always seem to feel bad until I actually get up out of bed.
It was a cool 68 degrees out this morning and while it was humid, it would have been fine for running. But I was too tired and haven't slept in for a few weeks now, so I turned my alarm off and went back to bed for another 5 hours. I must have really needed it! So, now I feel much better, fully rested and all. There's always next Sunday for long runs.
Now, it's off to get a shower and then spend the afternoon studying CFA material before heading out to Frederick for a Keys' game with the parents for Father's Day.
I had fully intended to get up early this morning and get a nice 10 miler in to start my day, but that was not meant to be. First, I was up late planning my camping trip in August out to Shenandoah National Park and thus, lost several precious hours of sleep on the front side. I woke up at 6 AM feeling awful, but that's nothing out of the ordinary as no matter how long I sleep or what time I wake up, I always seem to feel bad until I actually get up out of bed.
It was a cool 68 degrees out this morning and while it was humid, it would have been fine for running. But I was too tired and haven't slept in for a few weeks now, so I turned my alarm off and went back to bed for another 5 hours. I must have really needed it! So, now I feel much better, fully rested and all. There's always next Sunday for long runs.
Now, it's off to get a shower and then spend the afternoon studying CFA material before heading out to Frederick for a Keys' game with the parents for Father's Day.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Brews and Miles
OK, so the title of this post sucks but I wasn't in the mood to sit around and think of a rhyming title that was catchy.
I once again was unable to meet my mileage goals for the week, but there's always next week! I'm going to get another 5 miles in tomorrow and then a long run of hopefully 10 miles on Sunday so it won't be too bad of a weekend. I'm going to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow too so I don't wilt from the humidity.
Sparky's
This is a beer brewed in California, and they've started shipping it to select markets. I found this one at a Fresh Market off of Greenspring Ave thanks to a co-worker's tip. Way too much birch spice here for my taste. It tastes like you're eating pure wintergreen flavoring. It has a nice wintergreen smell to it but that's because the flavor is overwhelming. There were hints of smoother accents in the background, but they were killed by the birch. Couldn't finish the entire bottle, sadly. 3 out of 10.
Sam's Choice Root Beer
Available at your local Wal-Mart, so basically every 3 miles or so. I bought a 12 pack on sale for $2.83 (that's about $0.24 per can!) on a lark. And you know, it wasn't half bad. Definitely better than Mug, which came as a surprise. Typical middle of the road root beer flavoring with just a tad too much carbonation. But didn't taste as much syrupy sweetness in this as I did with Mug. I could have easily had two of these in one sitting if I wanted to and not feel gross. This would be a nice third option root beer if you're at a Wal-Mart and don't want to spend $3.99 or more on Barq's, etc. Again, a very pleasant surprise here. 6 out of 10.
Frostie
Thus far, my favorite root beer. Very smooth, slightly vanilla flavor initially with no overwhelming wintergreen assault. Not a ton of carbonation, which helps the flavor linger for a while. The only downside to Frostie's is that the flavor does fade a little quicker than I'd like. But it keeps you coming back for more! Could definitely drink a few of these at a picnic, etc. Apparently you can buy this in cans from Costco, although I have yet to confirm that. If so, this would be a great staple for the fridge, as I've heard they price it at $4.00 per case! 8.5 out of 10
That's all I've hit up thus far. However, I bought bottles of Berghoff's, A.J. Stephans, Dad's Original, Stewart's and a can of Dr. Brown's at the Fresh Market to try in the coming days. I ahve to limit myself to one per day though! I'll also buy some Barq's soon to get an updated impression.
In the meantime, I will end this very long post and turning on the Nationals game, as I don't want to watch the Orioles play the crappy Pirates when I can watch my Nats try to beat lowly Seattle!
I once again was unable to meet my mileage goals for the week, but there's always next week! I'm going to get another 5 miles in tomorrow and then a long run of hopefully 10 miles on Sunday so it won't be too bad of a weekend. I'm going to drag myself out of bed early tomorrow too so I don't wilt from the humidity.
This week was busier than I anticipated mainly because I had to finally bite the bullet and book the expensive honeymoon. I have been putting this off for literally months because I didn't want to think about spending that kind of money on a single trip. However, it's one of those expenses that's really not optional and so it had to be done. Our past vacations have been self-planned expierences, and while I prefer that to pre-packaged tours, a honeymoon is different. We both had agreed that we didn't want to do much planning once we got to our final destination, and so the logical choices were a cruise or an all-inclusive resort. After doing some serious research the last week and a half and running many price comparisons, I came to the conclusion that we'd be spending the same amount for a cruise (the cruise and airfare) as we would to go to an all-inclusive. However, with tips, most alcoholic drinks, logistics and off-ship activities not included in the cruise price, the all-inclusive made the most sense. So, I booked use for a week at an all-inclusive in the Caribbean and we got a very nice deal on a Honeymoon suite with concierge service, so we aren't staying in a broom closet. It's pricey, but it'll be worth it.
And, if I pass the CFA Level I exam in December, my firm gives me $4,000 cash so that would pay for the trip by itself...no pressure!
With that done, we're one giant leap closer to finishing our wedding plans. Thank goodness! Maybe now I can concentrate more on running and training and enjoy the summer.
In other news, the last two weeks I've gotten on a root beer kick. I don't know what sparked it, honestly, but I used to hate root beer and then I LOVED it and then I got away from it (went to Sprite, then Coke, then Dr. Pepper, then Diet Coke and now favor Coke Zero) and am now back to it. I've started searching out new root beer brews wherever I can find them, although getting beyond Barq's, Mug and A&W can be tough here in Baltimore. We stock Mug at work in the kitchens, so all is not lost, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. To that end, as I try new brews, I'll post about them here, although in short order, as there's really only so much one can say about a particular root beer, no matter how good it may be. To date, here are my thoughts in brief:
Mug
Made by Pepsi Co and available everywhere. Not bad for a canned root beer that is produced by the ton. Pretty carbonated and you can really taste the corn syrup in each sip. Can be too sweet to drink more than one at a time, although I think this migh have more to do with my own tastes (I like Coke Zero because it lacks the sugary taste) than anything else. Classic root beer flavors here, but nothing remarkable and the taste quickly fades into carbonation. Overall, 5 out of 10.
IBC
Sparky's
This is a beer brewed in California, and they've started shipping it to select markets. I found this one at a Fresh Market off of Greenspring Ave thanks to a co-worker's tip. Way too much birch spice here for my taste. It tastes like you're eating pure wintergreen flavoring. It has a nice wintergreen smell to it but that's because the flavor is overwhelming. There were hints of smoother accents in the background, but they were killed by the birch. Couldn't finish the entire bottle, sadly. 3 out of 10.
Sam's Choice Root Beer
Available at your local Wal-Mart, so basically every 3 miles or so. I bought a 12 pack on sale for $2.83 (that's about $0.24 per can!) on a lark. And you know, it wasn't half bad. Definitely better than Mug, which came as a surprise. Typical middle of the road root beer flavoring with just a tad too much carbonation. But didn't taste as much syrupy sweetness in this as I did with Mug. I could have easily had two of these in one sitting if I wanted to and not feel gross. This would be a nice third option root beer if you're at a Wal-Mart and don't want to spend $3.99 or more on Barq's, etc. Again, a very pleasant surprise here. 6 out of 10.
Frostie
Thus far, my favorite root beer. Very smooth, slightly vanilla flavor initially with no overwhelming wintergreen assault. Not a ton of carbonation, which helps the flavor linger for a while. The only downside to Frostie's is that the flavor does fade a little quicker than I'd like. But it keeps you coming back for more! Could definitely drink a few of these at a picnic, etc. Apparently you can buy this in cans from Costco, although I have yet to confirm that. If so, this would be a great staple for the fridge, as I've heard they price it at $4.00 per case! 8.5 out of 10
That's all I've hit up thus far. However, I bought bottles of Berghoff's, A.J. Stephans, Dad's Original, Stewart's and a can of Dr. Brown's at the Fresh Market to try in the coming days. I ahve to limit myself to one per day though! I'll also buy some Barq's soon to get an updated impression.
In the meantime, I will end this very long post and turning on the Nationals game, as I don't want to watch the Orioles play the crappy Pirates when I can watch my Nats try to beat lowly Seattle!
Monday, June 9, 2008
He Chose...Poorly (Survivor Harbor 7 Race Report)
After a very busy week at work and then an equally busy weekend at home, I'm back at the office for another Monday posting. Hopefully this week I can post more than once! Annie got in on Thursday so it was nice to see her, if for only a few days. I dropped her off at BWI this morning before work and she's now safely back in the Ozarks, where it's oddly enough about 20 degrees (at least) cooler than it is here. The last few days have been brutal: high 90's with tons of humidity. This is July weather, not early June! I knew it would be bad for the race on Sunday and I was not disappointed. It was a crisp 80 degrees when I left the apartment at 7:00 AM and warmed up another 6-8 degrees by the end of the race. I knew it was going to be awful and I knew that I wasn't acclimatized to the heat yet, thanks to my laziness and the sudden heatwave.
I got to the starting line around 7:50, already soaked from my short warm up run to the site. I had just enough time to grab my chip, down two cups of water and stretch out the calves and Achilles before the race began. I stayed in the back where I knew I'd be somewhat safe from the humiliation of having 500 people pass me over the coming 7 miles. To be honest, the first 3.5 miles were fine and I felt OK, all things considered. Then the wheels came off. The heat and humidity were too much for my still adjusting body and generally lazy training routine. I ran much of the way but took frequent walk breaks, which inflated my pace and made me increasingly frustrated. By about mile 5, I was over the race and ready to just be done. I don't care what anyone says, running in those conditions is not fun. It sucks, actually. There's nothing refreshing about struggling through 7 miles in that weather. By the end of it, you're dehydrated, sore, pissed off, soaked with sweat and water, and generally feel awful.
The only consolation I drew from it was that I didn't totally quit and walk off the course, which is something I would only seriously consider if I were injured or really ill, etc. Nonetheless, doing a race this early in the summer, when the weather has the penchant for turning muggy and steamy, is probably something I won't do next year. In fact, as I shuffled along the Inner Harbor, I came to several realizations:
- Running in the cold January morning sucks but struggling through the swamp-like June/July morning sucks even more because you look and feel horrible. Fall and Spring runs are my favorites and those "shoulder seasons" are the best time for racing for me.
- Starting a race at 8 AM is probably too late in the summer. By the time we started, the sun had been up for about 2 hours and had already started to heat up Baltimore like an oven. Summer races should probably start at 7 AM or earlier. It sucks to be up that early, but hey, the alternative is crawling across the finish line.
- The majority of my races need to be in the Fall. Thus, Baltimore and Richmond are good choices for me and my environmental tastes. However running some shorter 5K's in the summer would be beneficial, I think.
- I need to get my mind right and start really training. That means running 4 times a week at least, the other two days at the gym cross training. Also, I want to figure out a way to boost my speed and increase my strength.
In other news, I don't think I will be going to Colorado for vacation this year, as airfares are horrendous. Car rental rates are nearly as bad and add gasoline to that mix and you've got an overpriced trip. It's just not worth the expense to go out there, when I'm sure I'll have another chance to see Denver and surrounding areas down the road.
However, I think I will instead just take a 3-4 day camping trip out to Shenandoah National Park in August while Annie is in Colorado and save about $1,000. I can live with a local vacation if it means we can afford a nicer honeymoon come October. We'll see. Annie is hesitant about me going out there by myself, but then again, I'm a Boy Scout and have been out before so I'm not all that worried.
I got to the starting line around 7:50, already soaked from my short warm up run to the site. I had just enough time to grab my chip, down two cups of water and stretch out the calves and Achilles before the race began. I stayed in the back where I knew I'd be somewhat safe from the humiliation of having 500 people pass me over the coming 7 miles. To be honest, the first 3.5 miles were fine and I felt OK, all things considered. Then the wheels came off. The heat and humidity were too much for my still adjusting body and generally lazy training routine. I ran much of the way but took frequent walk breaks, which inflated my pace and made me increasingly frustrated. By about mile 5, I was over the race and ready to just be done. I don't care what anyone says, running in those conditions is not fun. It sucks, actually. There's nothing refreshing about struggling through 7 miles in that weather. By the end of it, you're dehydrated, sore, pissed off, soaked with sweat and water, and generally feel awful.
The only consolation I drew from it was that I didn't totally quit and walk off the course, which is something I would only seriously consider if I were injured or really ill, etc. Nonetheless, doing a race this early in the summer, when the weather has the penchant for turning muggy and steamy, is probably something I won't do next year. In fact, as I shuffled along the Inner Harbor, I came to several realizations:
- Running in the cold January morning sucks but struggling through the swamp-like June/July morning sucks even more because you look and feel horrible. Fall and Spring runs are my favorites and those "shoulder seasons" are the best time for racing for me.
- Starting a race at 8 AM is probably too late in the summer. By the time we started, the sun had been up for about 2 hours and had already started to heat up Baltimore like an oven. Summer races should probably start at 7 AM or earlier. It sucks to be up that early, but hey, the alternative is crawling across the finish line.
- The majority of my races need to be in the Fall. Thus, Baltimore and Richmond are good choices for me and my environmental tastes. However running some shorter 5K's in the summer would be beneficial, I think.
- I need to get my mind right and start really training. That means running 4 times a week at least, the other two days at the gym cross training. Also, I want to figure out a way to boost my speed and increase my strength.
In other news, I don't think I will be going to Colorado for vacation this year, as airfares are horrendous. Car rental rates are nearly as bad and add gasoline to that mix and you've got an overpriced trip. It's just not worth the expense to go out there, when I'm sure I'll have another chance to see Denver and surrounding areas down the road.
However, I think I will instead just take a 3-4 day camping trip out to Shenandoah National Park in August while Annie is in Colorado and save about $1,000. I can live with a local vacation if it means we can afford a nicer honeymoon come October. We'll see. Annie is hesitant about me going out there by myself, but then again, I'm a Boy Scout and have been out before so I'm not all that worried.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sleeping In + Heat = Embarassment
That's the equation for this past weekend because on both Saturday and Sunday I got crushed by Mother Nature. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense to me, but it still sucks. If you run in 75 degrees with 50% humidity or greater, you will suffer. Saturday it was north of 75 and high 80's in humidity...nice. Sunday was mid 70's and 50% humidity.
Like I said, looking back, it follows that I should have a learning curve when it comes to running in the heat. I had to get used to running in the cold weather by waiting until later in the morning to run on the weekends and wearing the appropriate attire, etc. It's only logical that the same is true for running in the heat for the first time. While I got out the door at what I thought was an appropriately early 8:30 AM, this is in fact too late by about 90 minutes, if not more. Most sources on the web suggest running as early as possible, if not earlier. In fact, if you want to run on Saturday, go ahead and get out there on Friday just to be safe.
Seriously, the earlier you run, the better. Again, this makes perfect sense to me. I thought that's what I was doing and if it was February, 8:30 would be an ideal time to head out (sun's been out enough to warm things up a little, no traffic since it's early, etc). But in late May, not so much. This is undoubtedly why I had such a fantastic run during the workweek last week...it was about 57 degrees out! It was also 6:00 AM.
Both days I took plenty of water along and refilled at water fountains along the way, so my hydration is not a problem. The time of day is the culprit here. So, that means my weekends will not be for sleeping in, but instead will be peppered with afternoon naps, which I'm OK with, actually.
So, tomorrow I may get out to run. The reason I say may is that they're installing new windows in my apartment tomorrow and I need to have everything moved away from my windows before I leave for work. I could simply get up earlier and run then come back and shower and move my furniture so we'll see. I have a goal to run the rest of the week and then hit the gym on Saturday, but that may change depending on my schedule. Once these windows are installed, my life will be much less hectic as my apartment's feng shui will have returned.
Nonetheless, I need to get my ass to bed earlier at night so I can get up earlier the next day, bottom line.
Like I said, looking back, it follows that I should have a learning curve when it comes to running in the heat. I had to get used to running in the cold weather by waiting until later in the morning to run on the weekends and wearing the appropriate attire, etc. It's only logical that the same is true for running in the heat for the first time. While I got out the door at what I thought was an appropriately early 8:30 AM, this is in fact too late by about 90 minutes, if not more. Most sources on the web suggest running as early as possible, if not earlier. In fact, if you want to run on Saturday, go ahead and get out there on Friday just to be safe.
Seriously, the earlier you run, the better. Again, this makes perfect sense to me. I thought that's what I was doing and if it was February, 8:30 would be an ideal time to head out (sun's been out enough to warm things up a little, no traffic since it's early, etc). But in late May, not so much. This is undoubtedly why I had such a fantastic run during the workweek last week...it was about 57 degrees out! It was also 6:00 AM.
Both days I took plenty of water along and refilled at water fountains along the way, so my hydration is not a problem. The time of day is the culprit here. So, that means my weekends will not be for sleeping in, but instead will be peppered with afternoon naps, which I'm OK with, actually.
So, tomorrow I may get out to run. The reason I say may is that they're installing new windows in my apartment tomorrow and I need to have everything moved away from my windows before I leave for work. I could simply get up earlier and run then come back and shower and move my furniture so we'll see. I have a goal to run the rest of the week and then hit the gym on Saturday, but that may change depending on my schedule. Once these windows are installed, my life will be much less hectic as my apartment's feng shui will have returned.
Nonetheless, I need to get my ass to bed earlier at night so I can get up earlier the next day, bottom line.
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