September 2010 Recap

Yeah, so... I haven't been very diligent with this whole blogging thing. I'm gonna keep trying though. I thought I'd spend a little time summing up month of September as a start.

Since Leadville most of my time has been dedicated to working, attending weddings and their associated events, and sitting on my couch drinking beers. It's been quite a change of pace to say the least. Some for the good, some for the bad.

Runningwise- The week after Leadville was actually pretty rough. I'm still not positive why (I'm thinking I overdid the electrolytes), but my feet and ankles swelled up like crazy after the race. I had cankles. They looked like 80 year old women legs. For several days after the race I could leave thumb prints in my lower legs that would stay for several minutes. I ended up investing in a rather expensive pair of compression socks. They worked magic! I wore those things non-stop, with the exception of showers, so about 23.8 hours a day for an entire week. Needless to say, I netted 0 miles that week. Since then I've really been struggling to find a 'groove' with my running. Some days I felt like superman out there and sometimes I felt horrible. This seems to still be the case. I've decided to take a break for a while (especially after this past Sunday-read the RR; its a dandy) and see if that remedies the situation.

There have been a few notable and fun events over the last month that deserve some special attention:

Summer Beermile 2010

The 4th ever Denver Metro Beermile was held on Thursday September 9. Once again we had a solid turnout. We even had a visitor from runnerspace come and videotape the whole debacle. You can watch it here.

The planning for this event was my responsibility, and I was getting quite used to the sitting on the couch and drinking beer thing, so I put off the arrangements until the last minute. On the evening of the race, I jumped on my cruiser and headed down to one of the several trashy liquor stores on Broadway and picked up a selection of 'fine' wines for prizes, and also picked up a six pack of the cheapest beer I could find. This turned out to be Lost Lake Pale Lager.

The Prizes!

I was looking to defend my Spring Beermile championship, which I ran in a CR of 7:51. This was looking to be the most competitive Beermile yet with some new blood and known drunken exercisers. My friend Turtle is famous in the ultimate (frisbee) community folklore for once running a 5 minute mile after downing a 40. Jeremiah, my friend and Leadville pacer, was also in attendance.

When We showed up at the track we became somewhat concerned because there was a bunch of little people running around attempting to kick a ball, as well a bunch of parents. Luckily they finished up their business shortly. There's not a lot you can say about Beermile. Once again, it proved to be one of the most uncomfortable experience of my life. A few notable highlights were:

-I tried to run while wearing my Leadville buckle. The attempt lasted approx. 100 meters. I need a better belt.

-Lost Lake may possible be the worst beer I've ever tasted. I'm not alone.

I let some photos do the talking....

Start of Beermile: Aggressive drinking, athletic stances

Middle Beermile: Pained faces, beer nursing, not so athletic stances

The Winner: Doesn't even look phased....

When all was said and done, I got my butt whipped this go around. Jeremiah proved the victor. He was within sight on the last lap and I made an attempt to chase him down, but after maybe 20 seconds of hard running I felt an even stronger urge to vomit. For those not familiar with Beermile rules, puking earns a runner a penalty lap. Chasing Jeremiah down would have surely ended with an extended 5 lap Beermile, so I had to let him go. Congrats to him. He finished in 7:33 for a new CR.

Jess was the repeat female winner. She won handedly, and while drunk at the bar later that night, claimed that she could have performed significantly better if only she had felt challenged by any of the other competitors.

Complete Final Results. We may need to move to chip timing soon. It was too hard to track all of the splits.

I'm already looking forward to Fall Beermile 2010!

GABF

After a several year hiatus, I attended the GABF once again this year. We had a nice big crew. Well, its still a shitshow. I went on Saturday night so a lot of the better interesting beers were already gone. I got a chance to try some damn good beers none the less. Some of my favorites... Russian River, The Bruery, Jolly Pumpkin, Trinity. I was sad to see Surly from MN was not in attendance. The TPS Report from Trinity my be one of the best worst beers I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. It kind of tastes like dirty laundry, but for some reason I went back for 2nds and even 3rds. I still can't really figure out the allure.

The GABF Crew. Cliche Pretzel necklaces and all. I ate all of mine and part of another

Tastes Like Funk

Golden Gate Canyon Half Marathon

On a whim I decided to enter runhill racing's GGC Half Marathon on Sept. 26th. I think what pushed me over the edge were some photos posted on FB of the course a few days before the race. Changing leaves and all...I felt inspired to get off my lazy arse and enjoy some nature.

One of the pictures that persuaded me to run the race

I carpooled up to the race start with a bunch of random people I met at a coffee shop in golden early that morning. It was quite chilly before the race, but forecasts were calling for 90's in Denver, so I knew it would probably heat up. I braved a short sleeve shirt right before the race started and toed the line with a small crowd of 75 people. I got out quickly and found myself in 3rd place behind an older guy in a bright yellow singlet and a much younger guy who looked maybe 20. The course starts out on a road that quickly turns off onto a switchback trail going uphill. I can't remember the last time I as expected to run hard up a hill. All the Leadville training had gotten me quite used to power walking. Soon I was passed by a 2nd older gentleman in a bright yellow singlet. I towards the top of the climb I was passed once again, and found myself in 5th place. I kept that guy in sight for maybe 3 miles but eventually lost sight of him. I looked over my shoulder and saw nobody.

At about mile 5 I passed the the younger guy who was in 2nd place at the start. He was walking. I asked if he was okay and needed anything, but he waved me on. Later I wold find out that he turned an ankle.

That was the last encounter I would have with another runner. I ran the remainder of the race all by my lonesome. It was a great morning, with great scenery. I couldn't have asked for anything more. There was a laughably steep hill at mile 9. It was so steep I have to use all 4 limbs.

I ended up in 4th place , finishing just under 1:50. I was beat by 46 and 49 year old men. What an inspiration those guys are. I can only hope I am still doing this stuff when I'm that age.

Some post race chili and socializing topped of a great race experience. I even got a nifty wooden trophy for my efforts. I'd highly recommend any of the runuphill racing events. They are priced right and have a low key fun aura about them, and they're all on fun beautiful courses.