I entered into the Gnarly Bandit, a race series consisting of four 100 mile races and one 100k race. I feel like I have no business attempting, or even thinking about something like this. But I'm in it. My first race, Zumbro 100, is in two days and to say I have butterflies in my stomach is an understatement. I have never run 100 miles before, and here I am attempting to do four of them in one year (along with a 100k races, a distance I have never run before either).
Wish me luck.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Friday, October 18, 2013
Two weeks to go
Only two more weeks before I fly to New York to run the marathon and visit some old friends. I really wish I could stay longer because I love New York, but work/life commitments don't allow it. :(
My training is pretty much done (as of the night run that I just completed) and all that is left is my taper. Just try and not injure myself between now and the race. And to not allow taper madness take hold.
I'm looking forward to taking a bit of time off (a week or two) from running. It has been a while since I've just vegged. And I owe Bean a lot of daddy time.
My training is pretty much done (as of the night run that I just completed) and all that is left is my taper. Just try and not injure myself between now and the race. And to not allow taper madness take hold.
I'm looking forward to taking a bit of time off (a week or two) from running. It has been a while since I've just vegged. And I owe Bean a lot of daddy time.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Whoops!
I just realized that it's been over a YEAR since I updated my blog. This will not do.
As a recap of where I left things, my through-hike of Superior fell through. The first day went perfect, except for a little bit of rain. It stormed that night but I stayed nice and dry in my bivy sack. The second day, the inside liner of one of my shoes fell apart. :( The heel cup ended up rubbing a hole into my achilles tendon. Ouch! Fortunately, I was crossing the highway (right after the "beach walk" section of trail) when I noticed the Superior Shuttle van bombing down the road. I flagged him down and got a lift back to my car at a discounted rate.
Some other things happened since:
I ran and dropped out of the Manitoba Trail Marathon 50 mile race in June. This was 100% mental. I will never make that mistake again. I have now run an ultra: where I finished but should have dropped, another where I should have dropped and did, dropped but should have finished. All that's left is running where I shouldn't drop and finish!
The NYC marathon is coming up in less than a month. I'm running it. My training hasn't been too shabby, and should be able to finish my first marathon with no walking.
I paced a friend at the Superior 100. It was ridiculously hot, and she was suffering from some massive chafes when she came in to the Finland aid station (halfway point). We got her across the finish line, so I guess I did an alright job as a pacer. :)
When at the pre-race briefing for the Superior 100, I heard about a race series called the "Gnarly Bandit". I was immediately smitten with the crazy idea that I could finish 4 100-milers followed by a 100k, despite never having run that distance before in my life. I've already signed up for the Black Hills 100. 2014 is going to be a crazy year.
As a recap of where I left things, my through-hike of Superior fell through. The first day went perfect, except for a little bit of rain. It stormed that night but I stayed nice and dry in my bivy sack. The second day, the inside liner of one of my shoes fell apart. :( The heel cup ended up rubbing a hole into my achilles tendon. Ouch! Fortunately, I was crossing the highway (right after the "beach walk" section of trail) when I noticed the Superior Shuttle van bombing down the road. I flagged him down and got a lift back to my car at a discounted rate.
Some other things happened since:
I ran and dropped out of the Manitoba Trail Marathon 50 mile race in June. This was 100% mental. I will never make that mistake again. I have now run an ultra: where I finished but should have dropped, another where I should have dropped and did, dropped but should have finished. All that's left is running where I shouldn't drop and finish!
The NYC marathon is coming up in less than a month. I'm running it. My training hasn't been too shabby, and should be able to finish my first marathon with no walking.
I paced a friend at the Superior 100. It was ridiculously hot, and she was suffering from some massive chafes when she came in to the Finland aid station (halfway point). We got her across the finish line, so I guess I did an alright job as a pacer. :)
When at the pre-race briefing for the Superior 100, I heard about a race series called the "Gnarly Bandit". I was immediately smitten with the crazy idea that I could finish 4 100-milers followed by a 100k, despite never having run that distance before in my life. I've already signed up for the Black Hills 100. 2014 is going to be a crazy year.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Superior Trail coming up!
I'm getting excited. My through-hike of the Superior Trail is coming up. This is going to be the first time I've hiked a trail of this length. My previous longest hike was the Mantario, which pales at 66km compared to Superior's 240 miles.
Have my entire gear load figured out, except for my trekking poles which I need to re-order from MEC (one of the ones I had bought for the trip snapped on my first day using it, and had to return). Food's all sorted out. The weather so far this year has been pretty good too. I've heard the bugs are pretty bad out there right now though.
Just have to hope that things don't take a turn for the worse in August.
Have my entire gear load figured out, except for my trekking poles which I need to re-order from MEC (one of the ones I had bought for the trip snapped on my first day using it, and had to return). Food's all sorted out. The weather so far this year has been pretty good too. I've heard the bugs are pretty bad out there right now though.
Just have to hope that things don't take a turn for the worse in August.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Garrison Martello Stout
Today's beer is another beer I've been hoarding in my basement for some time. It comes in a 500mL narrow bottle with a pry cap and 4.8% alcohol/vol. The Garrison Brewing company is relatively well-respected, so I have decently high expectations for this beer.
When opened, I could immediately smell lots and lots of chocolate malts. It poured a dark brown colour with a small tan head. The bubbles were almost completely undetectable due to the darkness of the beer. After the pour, the chocolatey aroma had completely disappeared and was replaced with with a smell I couldn't quite place.
The first sip went alright. I found the beer to have an exceptionally weak flavour. There wasn't anything off per se, it was just weak. There was a faint coffee flavour to it. The feel in the mouth had a little bit of bite. The beer had a bitter aftertaste that came slowly and was probably the most noticeable part of the beer. The beer wasn't unpleasant, but I don't think I would waste my time with it again.
When opened, I could immediately smell lots and lots of chocolate malts. It poured a dark brown colour with a small tan head. The bubbles were almost completely undetectable due to the darkness of the beer. After the pour, the chocolatey aroma had completely disappeared and was replaced with with a smell I couldn't quite place.
The first sip went alright. I found the beer to have an exceptionally weak flavour. There wasn't anything off per se, it was just weak. There was a faint coffee flavour to it. The feel in the mouth had a little bit of bite. The beer had a bitter aftertaste that came slowly and was probably the most noticeable part of the beer. The beer wasn't unpleasant, but I don't think I would waste my time with it again.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Grand Teton Bitch Creek
It's been a while since I've had a beer. So what better excuse to drink one tonight?
I've heard a bit about today's beer. It's not available here in Manitoba, so props go out to my sister for getting me a bottle for Christmas. It comes in a 355mL brown bottle with a pry cap. It has a surprising amount of information on the bottle for beer nerds: 15.0 plato original gravity, 54 IBUs, 6.0% alcohol/vol, and it's bottle conditioned.
When opened, I got a facefull of hops, and maybe a little fruitiness? Wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The beer poured a dark brown with some sediment in it, and few bubbles. The fruity aroma was much more noticeable after the pour and the hoppiness was scaled back.
The first sip was very bitter. And sour, too. I wasn't sure if the beer had gone "off" or if this was an intended flavour. I didn't enjoy this beer very much, but finished it anyway. I couldn't think of any good qualities to note for this beer other than it had a fairly soft feel in the mouth. I don't think I would drink this beer again unless somebody convinced me I had a bad bottle.
I've heard a bit about today's beer. It's not available here in Manitoba, so props go out to my sister for getting me a bottle for Christmas. It comes in a 355mL brown bottle with a pry cap. It has a surprising amount of information on the bottle for beer nerds: 15.0 plato original gravity, 54 IBUs, 6.0% alcohol/vol, and it's bottle conditioned.
When opened, I got a facefull of hops, and maybe a little fruitiness? Wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The beer poured a dark brown with some sediment in it, and few bubbles. The fruity aroma was much more noticeable after the pour and the hoppiness was scaled back.
The first sip was very bitter. And sour, too. I wasn't sure if the beer had gone "off" or if this was an intended flavour. I didn't enjoy this beer very much, but finished it anyway. I couldn't think of any good qualities to note for this beer other than it had a fairly soft feel in the mouth. I don't think I would drink this beer again unless somebody convinced me I had a bad bottle.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Fort Garry Kona Imperial Stout
First off, apologies for not writing in a while. Second off, I'm fighting off the tail end of a cold so my sense of taste may be a bit wonky.
It's time for Fort Garry Brewing Co.'s second beer in their Brewmaster Series. I was a huge fan of their eisbock, so I have big expectations for today's beer. It comes in a 650mL brown bottle with 6.5% alcohol/vol and 50 IBU's. The label proudly displays a tiki doll, putting more emphasis on the "Kona" part of the beer's name. Near the bottom, it says "beer brewed with coffee". Oh boy! I suppose the best beers (that I've had) to compare this one to are Half Pints' Stir Stick Stout and Mill Street's Coffee Porter.
Upon opening, I was unsurprisingly greeted with a strong coffee aroma. It wasn't as strong as I was expecting, however. Upon pouring though, the coffee aroma got much stronger. It formed an average-sized dark brown head on its ridiculously opaque brown body. I couldn't even see through the beer as I poured it. Any bubbles were completely undetectable.
The first sip was pretty good. It tasted like the love-child of a beer and coffee. The beer was exceptionally bitter, but obviously needed to be as it made my lips slightly sticky (from the malts). The beer had a very soft feel in the mouth. The aftertaste was remarkably like that of a strong cup of black coffee. While the taste was like coffee, it was unlike any coffee I had ever had. Most likely due to the Kona variety of bean used in the brewing process. I will definitely have this beer again due to its limited production run. This beer pretty much reinforced my conclusions that coffee-flavoured beers are not my favourite.
It's time for Fort Garry Brewing Co.'s second beer in their Brewmaster Series. I was a huge fan of their eisbock, so I have big expectations for today's beer. It comes in a 650mL brown bottle with 6.5% alcohol/vol and 50 IBU's. The label proudly displays a tiki doll, putting more emphasis on the "Kona" part of the beer's name. Near the bottom, it says "beer brewed with coffee". Oh boy! I suppose the best beers (that I've had) to compare this one to are Half Pints' Stir Stick Stout and Mill Street's Coffee Porter.
Upon opening, I was unsurprisingly greeted with a strong coffee aroma. It wasn't as strong as I was expecting, however. Upon pouring though, the coffee aroma got much stronger. It formed an average-sized dark brown head on its ridiculously opaque brown body. I couldn't even see through the beer as I poured it. Any bubbles were completely undetectable.
The first sip was pretty good. It tasted like the love-child of a beer and coffee. The beer was exceptionally bitter, but obviously needed to be as it made my lips slightly sticky (from the malts). The beer had a very soft feel in the mouth. The aftertaste was remarkably like that of a strong cup of black coffee. While the taste was like coffee, it was unlike any coffee I had ever had. Most likely due to the Kona variety of bean used in the brewing process. I will definitely have this beer again due to its limited production run. This beer pretty much reinforced my conclusions that coffee-flavoured beers are not my favourite.
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