Quidi Vidi Brewing Co.- Iceberg Beer

A few weeks ago, my parents took an anniversary trip over to Newfoundland. Before they went, my mom had done some research and found out that one of the towns they were going to visit had a brewery that made a beer from iceberg water. While iceberg beer sounded pretty sweet, I didn't go on the trip, so I figured I would never get a chance to try it. Then my parents got back from their trip and brought back, sure enough, iceberg beer! Interestingly enough, the most expensive beer in the world was recently sold for $800. And why is it so much? Because it's brewed with water from...icebergs! However, the ice for this beer was harvested by the Sea Shepherd, an anti-whaling ship that has become famous through the Animal Planet show "Whale Wars." All proceeds from the beer go towards the Sea Shepherd's campaign. So it's not the fact that it's brewed with iceberg water that makes the beer $800. Damn. Still, it's a cool idea.

Iceberg Beer pours an extremely pale and almost greenish yellow color. I can't remember ever seeing a beer this pale. It worried me a little bit initially because usually (in my experience, at least), less color means less taste. The head of the beer was surprisingly resilient and stayed at around 1/4 inch for the entire beer.

The smell was initially a tad skunky and I was a little worried that the beer was spoiled. But it didn't smell skunked enough to not give it a fair chance. As I smelled the beer more, it seemed that the "skunk" smell may have just been the yeast. There was also a hint of malt, wet grass, grain and a bit of lemon zest. It was smelling much better than most light beers.

I took my first sip and was completely blown away. Not only was the beer not skunked, it was full of flavor. The familiar lager taste comes to the palette first, but it's followed by a full creamy sensation that I didn't expect at all. It reminded me a little bit of Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice beer, which labels itself a cream beer. The flavor of Iceberg Beer wasn't as sweet as Anderson Valley's, but it was just as velvety smooth. The finish was really clean with almost no bitterness, a slight tinge of honey, a slight nuttiness and a bit of hop sourness.

Chances are, you will never see this beer in a store. But if you happen to be in Newfoundland, look for this one. It will be easy to spot. It's the one with the iceberg on it.

Final Grade: A-

Stone Brewing Co.- Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic

In 2002, Stone started an ambitious project. It was called "Vertical Epic" and the idea was to release a beer on every day of the year when the day, month and year matched up perfectly (ie. 2/2/02, 3/3/03, etc) until the last time the days would line up this century, 12/12/12. All of the beers in the series are meant to be aged until the day the last Vertical Epic is released in 2012. Pretty cool idea, no? The Bruery, located near Anaheim, recently started doing something similar in which they release a beer named and themed after the "12 Days of Christmas" song every holiday season. I just picked up 3 French Hens, but we're going to have to wait for the tasting of that one.

Back to Stone. Here's the write up of the 10.10.10 Vertical Epic off of Stone's website:

"This ninth edition of our Stone Vertical Epic Ale series takes two interesting left turns. A Belgian-style golden triple is the starting point of this beer, but the first left turn is nearly immediate with the addition of dried chamomile flowers, triticale, and Belgian amber candi sugar. The second, and rather unusual left turn takes us half an hour up the road from Stone to Temecula courtesy of the addition of just-pressed Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from our friends at South Coast Winery. As the Stone Vertical Epic Ale series has moved through the calendar, we found that the brewing schedule for a 10.10.10 release coincided nicely with the grape harvest, neatly providing an interesting twist in this epic ale."

Wine grapes in a beer? Interesting...

The beer pours a pale orange golden color with the thinnest ring of a head imaginable. The smell is pure grapes. It almost smelled like a white grape juice. Hidden somewhere in the grape smell was a slight herbal smell. So far, there was little that would lead me to believe I was about to drink a beer.

The taste was again full of the grape flavors that were present in the smell. Again, I was reminded of white grape juice. It tasted a lot like a sauvignon blanc with a hint more sourness on the finish. The aftertaste was definitely way more wine than beer. However, there were a few beer elements present. I noticed a definite yeast presence with a hint of banana/ bubblegum sweetness that you can find in many hefeweizens. I also picked up a slight malt presence that you wouldn't find in a wine.

Overall, this was a really strange beer and I cant wait to see how it matures with 2 years of aging. I wasn't crazy about this beer, but I'm still looking forward to revisiting it in a few years time.

Final Grade: B+

Port Brewing Company- Old Viscosity

Part of being a beer lover is trying new styles of beer. But every once in a while, you find a beer that you really can't classify. Port's Old Viscosity would be one of those beers. Technically, this beer is classified as a Double/Imperial Stout. But I've had quite a few Double/Imperial Stouts and this one is nothing like anything I've ever seen

The beer pours an absolute jet black with slight hints of brown and a slight mocha colored head which doesn't last long. As soon as the head's gone, it looks like you're holding a glass of tar. The smell is heavy with coffee and a little bourbon. This is a pretty intimidating beer.

The taste of this beer is absolutely beastly. There's a slight sweetness with hints of dark fruits upfront and then the taste dives to the most bitter coffee taste I've ever experienced. There's a hint of hops to it, but the majority of the flavor is coffee. The tagline for this beer is "Not your Dad's 30 weight," and it's perfect for this one. This is, without a doubt the thickest beer I have ever tasted. It's almost sludge-like and goes down like mud. I wouldn't recommend drinking an entire bomber of this. Luckily, I just had one glass and it was the perfect amount. If you're interested in trying something different, Old Viscosity may just be what you're looking for. Still, know what you're getting into before you go.

Final Grade: B+

Alpine Beer Company- Pure Hoppiness

If you don't live in San Diego, chances are you've either never heard of or never tried a beer from Alpine Beer Company. Alpine is a little town outside of San Diego that most people only know because you pass through it on the way to Julian, the closest place to find snow from San Diego. Even in San Diego, it can be very difficult to find beers from Alpine. I had to go a bit out of the area to find Pure Hoppiness, but it was worth it for this one.

Pure Hoppiness is another Double IPA, and it's a great offering from Alpine. The beer pours a slightly hazy golden orange color with a pretty massive foamy white head that eventually calms to a thin layer on top of the beer.

The smell of this beer really caught me off guard. Being a Double IPA, there was definitely a huge hop presence. I don't know where Alpine is getting their hops from, but their beers always smell like the freshest hops I've ever smelled. This one is no different. Huge pine and citrus hops were the first thing I smelled and they smelled amazing. While I expected the hops, I didn't expect the next thing I smelled. The beer had an pretty big "funk factor." I know this isn't going to make it sound like a beer I would recommend trying (which it is), but I couldn't help thinking that the "funk" smell was almost like a cross between a strong cheese and a wet dog. I have no idea where the funk came from (maybe the malts?) but it didn't stop me from enjoying this beer.

The taste is where Pure Hoppiness really shines. The pine hops hit your palate hard upfront and are followed by smooth bready malts. The result is a hard hit of hops with minimal bitterness on the aftertaste. There was almost a creaminess to the beer and I picked up a little flavor that, after trying to figure it out for a while, I could only describe as buttered popcorn. There's also a slight caramel sweetness to the malts that works perfectly with the rest of the beer. The mouthfeel is just what I expect from a double IPA- slightly heavier than a single IPA but not so heavy that you forget about the hops. Alpine makes another double IPA called Exponential Hoppiness that I will no doubt be trying if I can get my hands on it. So look for Alpine beers out there, they're definitely worth a try.

Final Grade: A+

Russian River Brewing Company- Pliny the Elder

There are few beers out there with the reputation of Pliny the Elder. Rated the #2 beer in the world by Beer Advocate, it's become one of the harder beers to find in the country, especially if you live outside of California. Fortunately, I do not.

I had trouble finding this one for a while. But one day, I walked into a local liquor store and there it was, waiting for me. I had planned to try a different beer that day, but it's too hard to wait for Pliny. Plus, there are about 50 warnings on the bottle telling you not to age this beer and to drink it fresh, so the issue was settled.

First of all, let's learn a bit about this beer. It's brewed by Russian River, a brewery that, as far as I'm concerned, has yet to miss on a beer. It is named after the roman scholar who is credited with giving the botanical name to hops. Pliny is classified as a Double IPA, which means it's going to have more malt and more hops than a regular IPA. In fact, Pliny is brewed with 40% more malt and twice the hops as RR's standard IPA, Blind Pig (another great beer). On a side note, there's also a beer called Pliny the Younger. This has a reputation for being one of the most difficult beers to find in the world. It comes out in February and is only released on draft. You have to know where it's going to poured and be there within 20 minutes of the keg being tapped if you want a chance at trying this one. Look for a review in February (if I'm lucky).

Back to the Elder. The beer pours a coppery golden color with a lush foamy white head which settles fairly quickly. The smell is amazing. Sure, the hops are there, but they're coupled with some surprising scents. I could pick our pineapple, mango, a little bit of wet grass, and a decent malt presence. This, of course is all tucked under the real star of the show- the huge piney hops. The beer smells incredible.

The taste, if it's possible, is even better. I was glad to see that this beer wasn't a straight hop bomb like a lot of IPAs. This was even a beer that I can see people who aren't huge hop heads appreciating. The hops definitely take the lead, but they're offset by a lot of grapefruit and a hard peppery bite. The finish is all resiny hops, but it doesn't stick to your mouth and leave you puckering up. It fades smoothly, leaving you wanting more and more. The feel of the beer is perfect; velvety smooth and full. If you can find this one, do not pass it up.

Final Grade: A+

The Bruery- Coton

After taking 2 months to write my Hood to Coast piece, you better believe I have a few beers to review. I've been very busy trying out new styles and new breweries and I'm going to try to get a lot of reviews up in the next few days. Let's start with a biggie.

The Bruery is a relatively new brewery based out of Placentia, California. They make some of the most coveted beers on the market right now, including one called "Black Tuesday;" a once a year release that packs a punch at nearly 20% ABV. Wowsers. They try some pretty different styles and for their second anniversary, they released a beer called Coton.

I had heard a little bit about Coton and was definitely interested in trying it. However, with beers from The Bruery being pretty hard to find with the exception of 2 or 3, I figured I might not get the chance. Then my girlfriend and I were having dinner with some friends in Culver City and I noticed that they had Coton on their specials list. Sold. There was just one problem. I assumed the beer would come in a small goblet or pint glass at the most, but soon the waiter brought out a 22oz. bomber of it and a glass. Uh oh. I checked the label to see how strong it was- 14.5 %. It was going to be a long night. I poured a glass and had a look.

To tell you the truth, I've never been so taken back just by looking at a beer as I have by Coton. It poured a thick dark brown color that was almost black and had no head or hint of carbonation at all. I took a whiff and it smelled like soy sauce. I couldn't believe what I had gotten myself into. Then I took a sip.

The taste of Coton takes you places most beers don't go. It's classified as an Old Ale, which means that it is typically aged a bit longer and has a higher alcohol content than most other ales. A portion of Coton is aged in bourbon barrels, so the smell definitely has a bit of heat to it from the bourbon. For a beer that smelled so strange, the taste was really surprising. It was full of dark fruits and pleasantly sweet. I picked up a strong flavor of raisin and hints of plum, burnt brown sugar, a bit of the alcohol, smoke, caramel, molasses and fig. That's a lot going on for a beer that smells like soy sauce. As it warms, the flavors open up even more and the smell definitely becomes more complex.

The mouthfeel of the beer is very thick and syrupy, but it works somehow with the flavors. To tell the truth, it almost feels more like drinking a brandy than a beer. It's really a unique experience.

Coton is a beer that is not meant to be pounded. It's one that needs to be sipped and shared to be truly appreciated. I would absolutely try this again if given the chance. As I was drinking it, I couldn't help but think it tasted like it was begging to be aged. I feel like a year or two of aging would make this beer really special. Still, it's a fantastic offering by the Bruery.

Final Grade: A

Hood to Coast 2010

After running the Hood to Coast, I decided to wait a few days to write about it. My logic behind this was that if I wrote everything down right away, I would have way too much information to process and the experience wouldn't have had a chance to fully settle in. The dangerous aspect of this approach, of course, is finding yourself over a week (or two months) removed from the race and slowly forgetting some of the details that made the experience so memorable. So I guess it's time to finally write about this one. Coincidentally, this happens to be my 100th blog post and I can't think of a better subject. Let's get this going.

Before The Race:

As probably anyone who has ever run Hood to Coast will tell you, one of the hardest parts about the race is the wait. It seems like you're always waiting. And while the end result is always worth the wait, it can be tough on your nerves knowing that something so physically strenuous is right ahead of you but having to wait to get to it. I usually tend to overthink things like crazy right before the race. It varies, but usually my thought process right before the race goes something like this: "Did I really train enough?" "Have I been eating right to make sure my body doesn't sabotage me during the race?"" Why did I think this was a good idea again?"...etc.

This year, I didn't feel nearly as stressed before the race as last year. Maybe this was due to actually feeling ready for the race this year and maybe it was because I really knew what I was getting into this time. It also really helped to not have as much downtime before the race. This year, my girlfriend and one of her best friends accompanied Brian and I up to Seattle on Wednesday and then drove down with us to Portland the next day to get ready for the race. Having the time with all of them in Seattle really took my mind off of the race. We took a nap under the Space Needle, took the duck tour through the city, ate amazing food and all decided that we could see ourselves living there. On Thursday, we explored the area of Fremont and Gasworks Park and then drove the three hours down to Portland. By the time I was able to collect my thoughts, it was Thursday night already and the race was less than 24 hours away. It was the perfect way to spend the time before the race.

Friday came before I knew it and all of a sudden, we were on the road to Mt. Hood and late for our start time. After finally negotiating traffic and an Andretti-like performance by my dad up the mountain roads (in a minivan, no less), we made it to the start line about 10 minutes early. After a scramble to pick up our baton for the race and about 2 team pictures in front of Mt. Hood, our first runner, Dylan (one of my best friends since second grade), stood at the start line with the seconds ticking down until our second Hood to Coast would begin.

Ask me now what I was thinking as the race was about to start and I don't think I could tell you. I don't think that there was really a thought process as I was standing there, just a rush of emotions. There was a certain element of nostalgia present. Part of me couldn't believe that I had been standing in the same place exactly a year ago. But mostly, I was feeling a rush of excitement and adrenaline that I was trying hard to subdue. Being the sixth runner meant that I was going to be the last one in our van to run. So while our race was starting at 3:15 on a Friday afternoon, mine wouldn't be starting until it was almost getting dark.

Run 1

Total Distance: 7.4 miles

Average Pace: 7:30

Runners Passed: 5

Runners Who Passed Me: 3

Net Roadkill: 2

Song That Was Stuck In My Head: Arcade Fire's "Modern Man"

After waiting for what seemed like forever and seeing everyone else take off and finish, the last runner before me, Dylan's dad, Perry, took off. Finally, I was on deck. So far, we were already beating the ambitious pace we had set out for and I didn't want to be the one to ruin it. At the same time, I didn't want to destroy myself on the first run like I had last year. Since this was my longest run, I decided to try and find a good pace and stick with it for as long as I possibly could.

After getting lost trying to find the next checkpoint, we finally showed up a few minutes before Perry did. As I waited in the gate, my thoughts were racing. I kept asking myself if I was really ready for this. By now it was too late, but I couldn't help wonder if I had doomed myself by not training enough. In the van everyone else had been talking about the work they had been putting in for Hood to Coast and it had dwarfed my efforts. Still, not it was too late to do anything but run. And it was time. Soon enough, Perry came around a bend in the road and the moment was finally upon me. I took the baton and started running.

To tell the truth, running the first leg was a little weird for me. I had been waiting so long that it felt like I had used up most of my adrenaline while I was cheering for everyone else. In a way, I think this was a good thing. It didn't sap me of my energy, just my nerves. So while I was running, I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time. I remembered my fatal error from last year (putting all my energy into my first run) and I tried to find a comfortable pace as quickly as I could and stay there. Usually, this takes me a while, but this time, I was able to find a groove pretty quickly.

The first two miles had some nasty hills but, surprisingly, I found myself cresting each hill with relative ease. I couldn't believe how good I was feeling. Were these the same legs that had struggled to get through the tiny hills by my house? Had someone switched legs with me over night without my knowing?

As good as the running felt, I was beginning to get a little discouraged. I had run nearly 2 miles and didn't have any roadkills to show for it. I was sure that by the 2 mile mark, I would be way past my roadkill total from last year. I didn't expect the course to look like the PB boardwalk, where there are seemingly 30 people to pass every quarter mile, but I had expected to see a couple people to pass. Finally, I saw victim number 1 about a quarter mile in front of me. After a few minutes, I was past them and my roadkill total was in the positives. But it seemed like as soon as I passed that person, someone else came racing past me.

After passing the next runner, I was sure that my roadkill count was going to be in the positives for good. No sooner had I thought this than another runner came flying by me. Well, she looked like a runner, only smaller. She was about 4'9" and at least 50 years old and her gait was somewhere between an old man who can barely walk going out to get the morning paper and someone on one of those Gazelle aerobic machines. I don't think I can call it running. It was more like speed-shuffling. But she was speed-shuffling at a ridiculous pace.

Finally, I reached the town that was to be the end of my run. I felt surprisingly energized, even though it had been nearly an hour since I started running. I quickened my pace, knowing that each bend in the road could bring the sight of the finish line. There was just one problem- this was the longest town ever. Every time I was "sure" that the end was near, I would come around a curve only to find another long straightaway and no finish line in sight.

At last, I crested the final hill and saw the finish waiting about half a mile away. It seemed like it took 20 minutes to get there but, finally, I powered through the finish line and handed off the baton. The first leg was finished.

Run 2

Total Distance: 4.15 miles

Average Pace: 7:50

Runners Passed: 4

Runners Who Passed Me: 2

Net Roadkill: 2

Song That Was Stuck In My Head: Usher's "Yeah" (...don't judge)

After our first legs of the run were complete, we drove to my cousin's house near downtown Portland to get some much needed rest. While I didn't get that much sleep, I had some pizza that may have been the best pizza I've ever had. If this pizza had come into my life at any other point, I don't know that I would have thought as much of it. But after eating nothing but Powerbars and Power-gel for a solid half day, that pizza was looking real good.

Soon enough, we were standing at the next checkpoint in downtown Portland and it was freezing. Dylan was first up and he looked way more ready than I felt. I think at this point the only thing anyone was really thinking about was how much sleep they could be getting at home right now. Still, we were all about as amped as could be expected after getting an hour of sleep and running on energy bars.

After Dylan took off, it felt like the countdown had finally begun again to my next run. Still, with 5 runners before me, I had to control my emotions. By the time we got to my handoff, it was 3 am and I pretty much felt like doing anything but running. Still, I mustered up what energy I could and got ready for the handoff.

And here's where things started to go wrong. As I was checking my vest to make sure everything was on right (my number, my safety pins, my lights, etc.), I realized that my front light had fallen off. I found it beeping in the grass by my feet but couldn't find the magnetic back. I had no idea what to do. I scrambled around in the grass but it was no use. It was gone. I had no idea what to do and I could see Perry coming around the bend. If I was caught without a light, my whole team could be disqualified. I had to think of something. So with one had clutching the light to my chest, I took the baton with the other and started running.

Before the race, I had asked my dad (who had run the same legs last year) which leg he thought was the hardest. I figured he would say the first, if only because it was so much longer than the others. But he didn't take long to say that the second leg had been the one he had struggled the most with. I didn't really believe him until I got about halfway through the second leg.

Let me set the scene for you. The second leg goes gradually uphill through a little more than 4 miles of country road. During the day, I'm sure the scenery is beautiful, but at night, there's nothing to see, not even lights. Every once in a while, you can see the light of a house far off in the distance, but it's rare that the lights come close to the road. For the majority of the run, you're running next to huge empty fields and listening to the overwhelming silence of night pierced every once in a while by the sound of crickets and maybe a bird or two. With no runners around me, there were times when I was pretty worried about some creeper jumping out of the bushes to snatch me. I don't think I've ever been happier to hear the sound of someone running up from behind me if for no reason other than it meant I was still on the right road.

To make matters worse, the reflective vest I was wearing was being a jerk. Somehow, I had ended up with a vest that seemed to be made for a 450 pound man and it was being whipped by a cold wind that seemed to always be blowing at me diagonally. At this angle, it was coming under the vest and pulling it off to the side and I would have to adjust it every few seconds. The end result was that for about half of the run, I had to run with one hand over my chest holding the light in place and another hand trying to keep the vest from flapping around. It looked ridiculous. I didn't look like I was running as much as imitating a T Rex with it's arms tied around its torso.

As I neared the end of the run, I finally saw a halo of light in the distance. Surely this was the handoff and I decided to pick up the pace. Right as I did this, I felt a sharp pain on the outside of my right knee. Not good. I've had this before and it once kept me from running for 2 weeks. This was not what I needed with a long third leg ahead of me. So while I was happy to be done with the run, the grim reality was that I was going to have to get through the third leg with a bad knee. And as the knee felt right then, I wasn't sure if I could. Uh oh.

Run 3

Total Distance: 5.35 miles

Average Pace: 7:00

Runners Passed: 15

Runners Who Passed Me: 3

Net Roadkill: 12

Song That Was Stuck In My Head: Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go"

After the second leg of Hood to Coast, I was in bad shape. My knee felt like if I took another step, it was going to explode. Luckily, I had a few teammates who had a lot more experience with running pains than I did. Perry recommended I take ibuprofin, and while I wasn't sure that it would do much, I figured it couldn't hurt. Soon enough, everyone had finished their runs but me and it was time to get back to it.

I stood at the last handoff feeling about as good as I possibly could but really worried about my knee. It had been feeling better since I had taken the ibuprofin, but it still felt a little unsteady. I wouldn't know until I was on the road.

About a quarter mile into into the run, I realized that everything was going to be alright. Without a doubt, it was the best feeling I had the entire race. My knees felt as good as I can ever remember them feeling. It was amazing. Thank you, Ibuprofin!

Now, there was only one thing on my mind. I wanted to finally get some roadkills under my belt. Last year, I think I finished with a grand total of 6 and I was on pace for a similar total this year. I wasn't about to let that happen. My first was waiting about 300 yards ahead of me. There was only one problem: she was fast. After about 10 minutes, I had finally pulled even with her, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Finally, I nudged past her and saw nothing but open road ahead of me. Great, this roadkill thing wasn't looking so hot. To make things worse, about 2 seconds after I passed the girl, two elite runners passed me like they had jetpacks attached to their backs.

As I running up the last gradual hill before a long downhill, I was beginning to get discouraged. Everyone else had been coming back to the van with roadkill totals in the double digits and it appeared I wouldn't even be able to get five in one run. Then, I saw him. He was a guy about my age with long shaggy hair and he wasn't running as much as he was skipping. I don't know what it was, but something inside me went off. It was probably like the feeling a hungry lion would get if he saw a gazelle stuck in a pit full of honey barbecue glaze. I knew that nothing was going to stop me from getting this roadkill.

As I came up behind him, the guy went into a bit of a panic mode. He wasn't about to let me pass him. We started down the hill and his skipping became frenzied. Unfortunately for him, by the time he heard me coming it was already too late. I passed him and sprinted down the hill.

As I got farther down the hill, I saw two people running together. Voom! Roadkill! Soon enough, I saw two more people running together. Voom! I added two more to the total. This is what I had imagined my cousin Phil's (who routinely came up with returns of 20+ roadkills) runs to be like. Just one victim after another. Running had never felt this good before.

By the time I got close to the finish, I felt better than I had before I had taken my first step of the race. It was incredible. This is what I had imagined finishing would be like last year. As we all know, last year's finish was absolutely disastrous, but this year, I was rocking it.

I saw the handoff ahead and ran as fast as I possibly could, passing roadkill #15 on the way in. I crossed the finish line. I handed off the baton. And just like that, the Hood to Coast was over for me.

Final Thoughts

Looking back on the Hood to Coast, I learned that you can train as much as you want, but you never really know what is going to happen out there. So many thing went wrong for me on the road but, more importantly, so many more things went right. Time for a little tidbit called- "Things I Didn't Expect That Did Happen."

Things I Didn't Expect That Did Happen

1. The iPod was never missed: This is definitely #1 on the list of things I did not see coming. With the exception of my runs with Cesar and the one time I ran two miles before realizing I had forgotten my iPod, I had failed to run once without my iPod before the race. I thought this was going to suck. It didn't. The only time I think it really would have helped would have been on my night run.

2. I enjoyed my last run more than any of the others: Total surprise. I expected to be gassed by the time my second run was over and to survive the third run by sheer will. While I wasn't feeling great after the second run, I was able to pull it together and have a great third run in which I averaged a better time than both of my other runs. Thank you, Ibuprofin!

3. I would run at sub 7:30 pace for the whole race: Before the race, one of the guys in our van, Dave, asked what I was hoping to average for the race. I told him 7:30, but in my head I was thinking, "yeah, if I hitch a ride along the way." With the help of a ridiculously quick (by my standards) final run, I averaged a 7:26 mile for the whole race.

4. Chafing: 'Nuff said.

5. I would enjoy this year more than last year: Last year being my inaugural year, I was caught up in a tornado of emotions. I was trying to take everything about the race all in at once and I felt like I missed a lot. This year, I knew more of what to expect. I knew that I needed to train more. I knew that the Hood to Coast is something that everyone appreciates differently. And I knew that I was going to have a blast.

Thank you, Hood to Coast.