The past few days, I've been car-less, which hasn't been so fantastic. My car broke down about a week ago and it should be all fixed (hopefully) by this afternoon. While it hasn't been the end of days or anything, it's meant that I've had to walk the 2 miles home from work everyday which also means that I haven't felt like running a whole lot when I get back. Yesterday, I decided that with two weeks left, I really had no choice but to run, so I ran the last mile home in my work clothes (box cutter and all) and then changed and went back out and ran the 3.25 mile loop.
Not so long ago, I dreaded running after work. It wasn't that I didn't want work to be over, I just didn't want to run after working an 8 hour day. Things have changed a lot in the last few months though, and now, I find myself constantly looking out the window and wishing I was running. This went on for the entire day yesterday, so when I finally started running, it felt like a spring had been winding inside me the entire day. I took off down the street a lot faster than I had meant to and almost tripped over the uneven pavement a few times. I was still in my work clothes and I could feel my box cutter smacking against me with every step, but I had been waiting too long for this to stop. By the time I reached home, I had worn myself out and hardly felt like running again. Still, I realized that a mile wasn't going to do a whole lot for me and my training, so I changed into my running clothes and went back outside.
The weather had warmed considerably, but it still felt good to be out and running after being at work all day. I could feel my legs protesting after being asked to exercise again in such a short time, but I felt surprisingly good. After cresting the first big hill, I went into a steady tank mode and never really drifted into the torpedo or T-Rex zones, which was a good thing. I think the important thing was getting back out there, not pushing myself too hard. I'm saving a bigger run for Thursday.
It's now 2 weeks until we leave for the race. As far as the progress I'm making goes, I think I am light years beyond where I was last year, but I still feel there's a little ways to go. I feel like if the race was today, I would be ok (which is a really great feeling), but I still want to improve and make sure that I kill my end of the race when the time finally comes. I think Thursday is going to be a really good test of where I'm really at. Let's see how it goes.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Unibroue - Ephemere
So finally, it was time to try the last of the Unibroue taster pack. Sadly, I cracked open the last of the beers, Ephemere, and poured.
The beer pours an apple cider gold with a lot of carbonation. The beer is unfiltered and has a lot floating around in it. Right at the end of the pour, something brown sloshed out of the bottle and into the glass. Total buzzkill. I didn't find out what it was until the end of the pour.
The smell of the beer is pretty much all granny smith apple. This definitely carried into the taste as well as a slight pepperyness and spiciness. The feel is a little thin and the sweetness is a little off. Definitely not my favorite of the Unibroues.
When I got to the bottom of the glass, all the sediment had settled there and I just couldn't bring myself to drink it. It had become a brown glob at the bottom of the glass. Really, I've seen more appetizing things in vomit. I wasn't a fan. I kind of wish I had saved a better beer for last. Not a total waste of time, but definitely not the best.
Final Grade: C
The beer pours an apple cider gold with a lot of carbonation. The beer is unfiltered and has a lot floating around in it. Right at the end of the pour, something brown sloshed out of the bottle and into the glass. Total buzzkill. I didn't find out what it was until the end of the pour.
The smell of the beer is pretty much all granny smith apple. This definitely carried into the taste as well as a slight pepperyness and spiciness. The feel is a little thin and the sweetness is a little off. Definitely not my favorite of the Unibroues.
When I got to the bottom of the glass, all the sediment had settled there and I just couldn't bring myself to drink it. It had become a brown glob at the bottom of the glass. Really, I've seen more appetizing things in vomit. I wasn't a fan. I kind of wish I had saved a better beer for last. Not a total waste of time, but definitely not the best.
Final Grade: C
Uehara Shuzou Co. Ltd. - Koshihikari Echigo Beer
Yesterday, I went out for sushi with my girlfriend and one of my best friends, Dylan. While we were there, I noticed that the restaurant had just gotten a new beer- Koshihikari Echigo. It sounded interesting enough so I decided to try it.
The beer comes in a very traditionally Japanese looking bottle. Most of the writing is in Japanese on the bottle and the label has a watercolor on it of some people picking rice in a field. It almost looks more like a sake bottle than a beer bottle. Something told me right away I was going to like this beer.
The beer pours a very pale and clear yellowish color with almost no head. The smell of the beer is pretty similar to that of a Kirin or a similar Japanese beer with a lot of maltiness coming through. As the beer warmed a bit, I could pick out a little steamed rice in the smell.
The taste of the beer was also pretty similar to that of a Kirin and was malty with a slight bitterness. However, whereas the finish of a Kirin or Asahi is all bitterness, the finish of the Koshihikari fades into an almost sweet smooth finish. Probably my favorite part of the beer. It's absolutely perfect with sushi. Definitely worth a try, just make sure you find out how much it is before the check comes. Oops.
Final Grade: B+
The beer comes in a very traditionally Japanese looking bottle. Most of the writing is in Japanese on the bottle and the label has a watercolor on it of some people picking rice in a field. It almost looks more like a sake bottle than a beer bottle. Something told me right away I was going to like this beer.
The beer pours a very pale and clear yellowish color with almost no head. The smell of the beer is pretty similar to that of a Kirin or a similar Japanese beer with a lot of maltiness coming through. As the beer warmed a bit, I could pick out a little steamed rice in the smell.
The taste of the beer was also pretty similar to that of a Kirin and was malty with a slight bitterness. However, whereas the finish of a Kirin or Asahi is all bitterness, the finish of the Koshihikari fades into an almost sweet smooth finish. Probably my favorite part of the beer. It's absolutely perfect with sushi. Definitely worth a try, just make sure you find out how much it is before the check comes. Oops.
Final Grade: B+
Friday, August 6, 2010
Run 20
Everyone has a different mantra while they run. Last year during the Hood to Coast, I read Haruki Murakami's book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running." It was probably the best thing I could have read at the time and I really think that a lot of the nuggets of wisdom from the book helped me through the race. One was Murakami's mantra: "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." Whenever I was in pain during the race, I told myself this mantra and I'd like to think it helped. For a while now, I haven't really had a mantra of my own, but if I have, it's probably been something like this: "The faster you finish, the faster you'll be done." While this has worked for a while, I feel like it's not really the best approach as it really does nothing for me when I'm in a rough spot.
Maybe the most optimistic mantra I've heard is that of my friend and teammate Bryce, whose mantra is this: "Hills are your friend." I wish that this could be my mantra, I really do. I just can't do it though. As much as I tried to like them, hills and I have never been on good terms. I'll be in the middle of a decent run (or near death like I was during the last leg of the Hood to Coast last year) and then a hill will come along and make things worse. So this year, I decided to try something different- train for the hills.
When I ran the 7 mile loop around my house, the most brutal part was towards the end of the run when I came to the large uphill by the Mormon temple by my house. So yesterday, I drove to the bottom of the hill and ran it. The uphill is part of a 1.5 mile loop that I used to live on, and it goes steadily uphill for about 3/4 of a mile before turning back downhill.
I went out to the loop planning to do it 3 times without stopping. Not only would this get me in shape on this hills, but it would get me out of my usual pattern of having to stop at a ton of traffic lights, forcing me to run the 4.5 miles nearly non-stop.
As it turned out, this was easier said than done. I made it through the first lap without much of a problem. Then the sun decided to make things interesting and warm up about 15 degrees. Suddenly, I was nearing T-Rex mode on only the second lap and being absolutely baked by the sun. Somehow I made it up the hill, but I didn't think I would be able to do another lap without a break.
I've noticed a pattern in my train of thought when I'm running. I always tend to make the worst decisions when I'm running downhill. Decisions like "10 miles is totally doable today," or "I can definitely do 3 more laps of this." Then I come to a section of the run that actually tests me and I start to hate my life and my poor decision making skills. It's a vicious cycle.
On the run yesterday, I started downhill on my second lap and decided it would be a good idea to just go for it and run a third lap. After all, it was what I had set out to do at the start of the run. Of course, I got to the start of the hill and remembered how badly I had felt on the last lap. Still, I wasn't about to turn back, so I steadily made my way back up the hill. Soon enough, the run was done and so were my legs. Still, I felt like I was a step closer to liking hills. For now, we're still not friends. Frenemies maybe.
Maybe the most optimistic mantra I've heard is that of my friend and teammate Bryce, whose mantra is this: "Hills are your friend." I wish that this could be my mantra, I really do. I just can't do it though. As much as I tried to like them, hills and I have never been on good terms. I'll be in the middle of a decent run (or near death like I was during the last leg of the Hood to Coast last year) and then a hill will come along and make things worse. So this year, I decided to try something different- train for the hills.
When I ran the 7 mile loop around my house, the most brutal part was towards the end of the run when I came to the large uphill by the Mormon temple by my house. So yesterday, I drove to the bottom of the hill and ran it. The uphill is part of a 1.5 mile loop that I used to live on, and it goes steadily uphill for about 3/4 of a mile before turning back downhill.
I went out to the loop planning to do it 3 times without stopping. Not only would this get me in shape on this hills, but it would get me out of my usual pattern of having to stop at a ton of traffic lights, forcing me to run the 4.5 miles nearly non-stop.
As it turned out, this was easier said than done. I made it through the first lap without much of a problem. Then the sun decided to make things interesting and warm up about 15 degrees. Suddenly, I was nearing T-Rex mode on only the second lap and being absolutely baked by the sun. Somehow I made it up the hill, but I didn't think I would be able to do another lap without a break.
I've noticed a pattern in my train of thought when I'm running. I always tend to make the worst decisions when I'm running downhill. Decisions like "10 miles is totally doable today," or "I can definitely do 3 more laps of this." Then I come to a section of the run that actually tests me and I start to hate my life and my poor decision making skills. It's a vicious cycle.
On the run yesterday, I started downhill on my second lap and decided it would be a good idea to just go for it and run a third lap. After all, it was what I had set out to do at the start of the run. Of course, I got to the start of the hill and remembered how badly I had felt on the last lap. Still, I wasn't about to turn back, so I steadily made my way back up the hill. Soon enough, the run was done and so were my legs. Still, I felt like I was a step closer to liking hills. For now, we're still not friends. Frenemies maybe.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Run 19
I've discovered that I have 3 different running styles. Which one I use can either depend on the day in general or on the way I'm feeling at any given point during a run. I'm going to call these "Walker's Three T's."
T1- Torpedo Mode: It's rare that I'm in full torpedo mode, but when I am I feel like there's no stopping me. There have only been a handful of runs, including the one last Monday, during which I felt I was in full torpedo mode. Usually, I go into a short stretch during any given run where I feel like I've gone into torpedo mode. Feeling like I'm in this mode is pretty much the reason I've come to love running. Torpedo mode means "full steam ahead" and it feels great. If I can have a few good stretches of torpedo mode during Hood to Coast, I will be a happy panda.
T2- Tank Mode: This mode is what probably 80% of my running falls into. When I go into tank mode, I try to find a pace that's not too fast and not too slow. For the most part, this is about a 7:30 mile pace, but I'm trying to knock that down a bit. Tank mode isn't quite as exciting as torpedo mode, but I still feel like it's going to take a lot to bring me off my steady pace. Nothing wrong with tank mode. But there is something wrong with our last "T."
T3- T-Rex Mode: Bad news. When I'm running in T-Rex mode, I feel like my arms are way too short for my body. For whatever reason, when I'm struggling, my arms pull up close to my chest and swing diagonally rather than moving backwards and forwards along my sides. I don't know exactly what a T-Rex would look like running down my street for exercise, but I can imagine it would look a little something like me when I'm in trouble.
Usually when I go running, it takes me a minute or two to warm my muscles up and get into tank tode. But once I'm there, I usually feel pretty solid throughout the run barring a few dips into T-Rex mode or highs that reach into torpedo mode. Sadly, Run 19 began in T-Rex territory and never really made in out.
I could feel something was wrong pretty much right off the bat. It wasn't that any part of my body really hurt, it was just that I felt really sluggish. Maybe it was because I had already worked a full shift at work. Maybe it was because I worked really early the day before and had ingested enough caffeine in the past 24 hours to put down a small animal. Whatever the reason, my body just couldn't get in the groove and soon enough, I felt my arms shrinking up against my chest. T-Rex mode was in full effect.
Despite struggling for the majority of the run, I was able to finish less than 2 minutes slower than my fastest time. So now, I feel like I have my range established. The pace I should be running is somewhere right between as fast as I ran last Monday and as badly as I did this Monday. Even though this run was brutal, I feel like I'm still making progress. I'm just hoping that T-Rex mode decides to stay in California when we go up for Hood to Coast.
T1- Torpedo Mode: It's rare that I'm in full torpedo mode, but when I am I feel like there's no stopping me. There have only been a handful of runs, including the one last Monday, during which I felt I was in full torpedo mode. Usually, I go into a short stretch during any given run where I feel like I've gone into torpedo mode. Feeling like I'm in this mode is pretty much the reason I've come to love running. Torpedo mode means "full steam ahead" and it feels great. If I can have a few good stretches of torpedo mode during Hood to Coast, I will be a happy panda.
T2- Tank Mode: This mode is what probably 80% of my running falls into. When I go into tank mode, I try to find a pace that's not too fast and not too slow. For the most part, this is about a 7:30 mile pace, but I'm trying to knock that down a bit. Tank mode isn't quite as exciting as torpedo mode, but I still feel like it's going to take a lot to bring me off my steady pace. Nothing wrong with tank mode. But there is something wrong with our last "T."
T3- T-Rex Mode: Bad news. When I'm running in T-Rex mode, I feel like my arms are way too short for my body. For whatever reason, when I'm struggling, my arms pull up close to my chest and swing diagonally rather than moving backwards and forwards along my sides. I don't know exactly what a T-Rex would look like running down my street for exercise, but I can imagine it would look a little something like me when I'm in trouble.
Usually when I go running, it takes me a minute or two to warm my muscles up and get into tank tode. But once I'm there, I usually feel pretty solid throughout the run barring a few dips into T-Rex mode or highs that reach into torpedo mode. Sadly, Run 19 began in T-Rex territory and never really made in out.
I could feel something was wrong pretty much right off the bat. It wasn't that any part of my body really hurt, it was just that I felt really sluggish. Maybe it was because I had already worked a full shift at work. Maybe it was because I worked really early the day before and had ingested enough caffeine in the past 24 hours to put down a small animal. Whatever the reason, my body just couldn't get in the groove and soon enough, I felt my arms shrinking up against my chest. T-Rex mode was in full effect.
Despite struggling for the majority of the run, I was able to finish less than 2 minutes slower than my fastest time. So now, I feel like I have my range established. The pace I should be running is somewhere right between as fast as I ran last Monday and as badly as I did this Monday. Even though this run was brutal, I feel like I'm still making progress. I'm just hoping that T-Rex mode decides to stay in California when we go up for Hood to Coast.
Rogue Brewery - Chocolate Stout
In a few short weeks, we will be embarking on our trip up to Oregon for the Hood to Coast. In case we have some extra time up there, I looked up some of the breweries in Portland and found that Rogue has a brewhouse right in downtown. Score! Not only that, but the airport happens to have a bar in it that is run by Rogue. I don't know for sure yet, but something tells me this trip needs to be extended a few days.
To get in the spirit, I've decided to try and get my hands on a few of their beers before we go up there. So far, I've only tried their Dead Guy Ale and their Hazelnut Brown Nectar. Then, a few weeks ago, I spotted their Chocolate Stout in the market and had to pick it up.
Rogue's Chocolate Stout pours a deep and thick brown with an almost Abyss-like dark brown foamy head. The head had really great retention and left a lot of lacing down the glass. When you smell the beer, it smells like cocoa. And not like Swiss Miss cheap cocoa, but the best cocoa you can imagine.
While the smell of this beer pretty much sticks to "chocolate," the flavors locked in it are a bit more complex. There is definitely a lot of chocolate in this beer, but it's not as sweet as the smell leads you to believe. The chocolate is definitely bittersweet with a slight hoppiness coming through about midway in the taste. The finish is a hard hit of bittersweet chocolate that is perfect. The mouthfeel of this beer is really smooth and almost milky. A very smooth beer and a solid offering from Rogue. I'm excited to try more of their stuff before I head up there.
Final Grade: A
To get in the spirit, I've decided to try and get my hands on a few of their beers before we go up there. So far, I've only tried their Dead Guy Ale and their Hazelnut Brown Nectar. Then, a few weeks ago, I spotted their Chocolate Stout in the market and had to pick it up.
Rogue's Chocolate Stout pours a deep and thick brown with an almost Abyss-like dark brown foamy head. The head had really great retention and left a lot of lacing down the glass. When you smell the beer, it smells like cocoa. And not like Swiss Miss cheap cocoa, but the best cocoa you can imagine.
While the smell of this beer pretty much sticks to "chocolate," the flavors locked in it are a bit more complex. There is definitely a lot of chocolate in this beer, but it's not as sweet as the smell leads you to believe. The chocolate is definitely bittersweet with a slight hoppiness coming through about midway in the taste. The finish is a hard hit of bittersweet chocolate that is perfect. The mouthfeel of this beer is really smooth and almost milky. A very smooth beer and a solid offering from Rogue. I'm excited to try more of their stuff before I head up there.
Final Grade: A
Monday, August 2, 2010
Unibroue - Blanche de Chambly
Last night, I finally got around to trying the third beer from the Unibroue taster pack. I have to say, I really wish these beers were easier to find around here. Maybe it's time to move a little closer to Montreal.
Blanche de Chambly pours a murky straw color with a thin white head. The smell is definitely full of citrus of some kind, probably lemon, and the yeast is definitely present.
The flavor of the beer is definitely one of the best in a wit I've ever had. Very smooth, very drinkable. There is a slight peppery flavor towards the finish that blends really nicely with the citrus flavors. This beer reminds me somewhat of a Blue Moon, but definitely one that is better made (no offense to Blue Moon). Overall, this was a really fantastic example of the Belgian Wit style and I'm a little sad there's only one more of these Unibroue beers left to try.
Final Grade: A
Blanche de Chambly pours a murky straw color with a thin white head. The smell is definitely full of citrus of some kind, probably lemon, and the yeast is definitely present.
The flavor of the beer is definitely one of the best in a wit I've ever had. Very smooth, very drinkable. There is a slight peppery flavor towards the finish that blends really nicely with the citrus flavors. This beer reminds me somewhat of a Blue Moon, but definitely one that is better made (no offense to Blue Moon). Overall, this was a really fantastic example of the Belgian Wit style and I'm a little sad there's only one more of these Unibroue beers left to try.
Final Grade: A
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