No run yesterday. Call from the elementary school, Jack had a head-ache, so no go. Which was fine since that 11 miler on Wed. was nails. Really solid. The best part is my body feels strong. I'm starting to recover faster from these runs.
The boy is home sick today so I got in 10 miles by 7:00am. 10 miles, 1500ft of climbing.
Warm-up 1 mile, 6 miles at 7-8% (10min/mile) 1500ft., felt really easy. Yum. Cool-down 3 mi.
I could actually live with 10-15 mile runs every other day, some harder than others with climbing/intervals/etc. But recover between them (no runs). I'm not doing that, just saying.
So a little thought or two on beer. I really like beer. I have been taking it easy lately. After I drank my last little batch of brews, I didn't re-stock. So I haven't had beer on the premises. Not a bad call. We like to get a bite now and then, so I'll have a beer or two with dinner and then that's it. And we haven't eaten out much these days, so the beer in-take has been pretty minimal.
But then I got an itch this last week. On an off day, I wanted a beer. So I went down to Pizza Port Ocean Beach. I was craving a solid cali IPA. Perhaps a big DIPA, but again a big cali hop bomb. I turned around after studying the boards because the selection sucked. I could have gone Jetty IPA, but I wanted more. And I guess I wasn't that thirsty, so I left.
Up the street is a bar that has a nice tap selection. It's a dive. But they always have 2-3 Alpine taps. Enough said. So I belly-up, and ask what Alpine they got. "We're out." WTF. I had a Ranger IPA and it tasted like water. I left after that. Big disappointment.
I was getting some groceries at Ralphs which has the worst beer selection, but they had Firestone Double Barrel Ale for 6.99 for 6. Picked one up. Not IPA, but a good deal?
No. Thirst was not quenched.
Bad luck on the subject of beer.
So yesterday I had had enough. I don't want to drink anything but what I want. I picked-up a 6 pack of Firestone IPA and a 22 of Green Flash Imperial. I know what I like and it looks like it's up to me to get it myself.
So, now I have some beers on the premises. And given a loooong run on Sunday, homemade chili and a hopefully good Superbowl, I might add a few gems to my little stock, sit back and chillax at Matt's Pub. Sigh.
Karma at the Superbowl. . .
Bill Romanowski, who's a certified nut (which doesn't really support the credibility of this take, granted) has an interesting take on the Superbowl. He says the Packers will win because Ben Roethlisberger has a little bad karma coming his way. As we know, Ben served a 4 game suspension for some bad behavior in a bar with an young lady. He wasn't arrested, but clearly he was up to no good (perhaps sexual assault), so the league suspended him. With that, even though he's served his suspension and has worked-on his image (getting back to the superbowl has helped), there are those that might think he's got some "pay-back" coming.
I tend to believe this kind of stuff. I think the Steelers are the better bet in this game. But you just have to wonder a little about that big picture, the metaphysics, etc. Ben has done some bad things. That we know. Does he win the Superbowl despite that kind of lascivious behavior?
It just doesn't seem to work that way, does it?
On top of that, there's a lot of talk about Aaron Rogers. He's the burgeoning Green Bay QB who is set to win his first ring. I'm one of those skeptical of all the hype. I need to see some results before the coronation.
But karma comes in here as he is a good guy and he's replaced a legend there in GB. That "replacement" has a whole bunch of history and drama. But Rogers has finally replaced Favre, and Favre's legacy has been tarnished because of all of his questionable behavior. He's not, as it turns-out, a very solid character.
So on two counts, the karma is with GB in in this Super Bowl.
Should be interesting to see how it turns-out.
TGIF. Beer me.
Update:
For those not interested in the SB cuz it's lame:
I would make the kind of argument I make to Jehovas Witnesses about Christmas that I would to most (especially men) about the SB. It's a tradition that involves hanging with people you like (family in my case), watching our culture show it's private parts, and drinking a few beers and eating some yummy homemade junk. Word.
One last note:
I think I hit Mission Bay tomorrow to watch the Open Men's XC national champs. The weather will be ridiculously good and the entry list looks nice. Watch-out for a guy I met a few years ago and follow on Twitter: Ben Bruce.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday
11 miles with a little 2 mile cruise interval in there. Some hills - 1100ft. & mostly on the road.
Tough run even though a lot of easy pacing. Cold santa ana winds were right there. Good stuff.
Nice little reminder on the run. Just cruising along looking around taking in my surroundings appreciating my environment. . . no music. . . what I should be doing, no? An elderly man walking on the sidewalk says, quite pointedly, "Good Afternoon." I responded quickly, "Hello!" I was caught off-guard and I think that was his point.
Point made, my man.
On the same street I came up on an even older woman who looked at me and practically hugged me with her smile. "It's a little cold!" "It's that wind," I said. I waved and turned the corner, just as I heard her say "It's beautiful. . ."
I definitely want to stick around and get old. The world desperately needs the old.
A few recent pics.
What happened to my little one?
On top of Cowles Mt.
Chopped salad. The bomb. Grab, chop, season and grind.
Tough run even though a lot of easy pacing. Cold santa ana winds were right there. Good stuff.
Nice little reminder on the run. Just cruising along looking around taking in my surroundings appreciating my environment. . . no music. . . what I should be doing, no? An elderly man walking on the sidewalk says, quite pointedly, "Good Afternoon." I responded quickly, "Hello!" I was caught off-guard and I think that was his point.
Point made, my man.
On the same street I came up on an even older woman who looked at me and practically hugged me with her smile. "It's a little cold!" "It's that wind," I said. I waved and turned the corner, just as I heard her say "It's beautiful. . ."
I definitely want to stick around and get old. The world desperately needs the old.
A few recent pics.
What happened to my little one?
On top of Cowles Mt.
Chopped salad. The bomb. Grab, chop, season and grind.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tuesday
Monday I did a lot of walking, but was just taking it easy after a big Sunday.
Today I will run a little, probably on some dirt and probably up a hill. Easy.
There have been a few days recently where I actually have a killer work-out lined-up, but I don't end-up getting after it. Getting those kinds of things lined-up usually is not a big deal, especially since I have a little more free-time these days :(
When it's on a weekend, I definitely need to coordinate with the family.
I think as most people would agree, this is an important part of making a schedule work.
The busier, more ambitious the schedule, the more important it is to coordinate.
The words coordinate and schedule associate time. Making time for yourself
in the presence of others seems to amount to a simple look at a clock or calendar;
a few suggestions and compromises later and the time element seems to have been settled.
As we all know, time is not the only consideration. There are relationships involved. Work and family and friends. My family has proven lately to be the most sensitive part of my training.
I almost always make the time. As long as you give people a few days notice, or more, that is rarely an issue.
However, the emotional element of my training has given me a few hurdles lately that I might normally not have noticed in the past. Now, they are bigger than before, waving bigger red flags.
Bottom-line: I will not go for a run (as simple as that may sound) if there is an unresolved issue at home (I feel I can control these issues more than, say, the price of gas. I care more about the health of my family, I guess, than anything else). My wife and I have never been closer. We see eye-to-eye on almost everything. My point is simply that I don't want to run if something like that (an argument we're having, a job I haven't finished, a mis-communication exists) is weighing on me. More than ever, I have to be free out there (generally this happens on a bigger run) on the trail, cruising, loving that physical, mental and psychological exercise, which is part break, part mediation, which can be anything but a break: It's a time to grow.
If there is something on the home front holding me back, I prefer to hold off on the workout until I have discussed the matter and know we have reached a clear and reasonable resolution, even if that means talking about it further.
My conscience has become a matter of security and freedom.
Since we always do find resolution and I can then proceed to the trail, should I just trust that success we have and go for the run knowing we'll work on it later? Maybe. But my gut, which i trust religiously, says no. Get in an even better place before the work.
I could relate this to recovery. There's "damaged tissue," or "sore muscles" that need attention. One has to fully recover for the subsequent work to be meaningful or even enjoyable.
For me.
Today I will run a little, probably on some dirt and probably up a hill. Easy.
There have been a few days recently where I actually have a killer work-out lined-up, but I don't end-up getting after it. Getting those kinds of things lined-up usually is not a big deal, especially since I have a little more free-time these days :(
When it's on a weekend, I definitely need to coordinate with the family.
I think as most people would agree, this is an important part of making a schedule work.
The busier, more ambitious the schedule, the more important it is to coordinate.
The words coordinate and schedule associate time. Making time for yourself
in the presence of others seems to amount to a simple look at a clock or calendar;
a few suggestions and compromises later and the time element seems to have been settled.
As we all know, time is not the only consideration. There are relationships involved. Work and family and friends. My family has proven lately to be the most sensitive part of my training.
I almost always make the time. As long as you give people a few days notice, or more, that is rarely an issue.
However, the emotional element of my training has given me a few hurdles lately that I might normally not have noticed in the past. Now, they are bigger than before, waving bigger red flags.
Bottom-line: I will not go for a run (as simple as that may sound) if there is an unresolved issue at home (I feel I can control these issues more than, say, the price of gas. I care more about the health of my family, I guess, than anything else). My wife and I have never been closer. We see eye-to-eye on almost everything. My point is simply that I don't want to run if something like that (an argument we're having, a job I haven't finished, a mis-communication exists) is weighing on me. More than ever, I have to be free out there (generally this happens on a bigger run) on the trail, cruising, loving that physical, mental and psychological exercise, which is part break, part mediation, which can be anything but a break: It's a time to grow.
If there is something on the home front holding me back, I prefer to hold off on the workout until I have discussed the matter and know we have reached a clear and reasonable resolution, even if that means talking about it further.
My conscience has become a matter of security and freedom.
Since we always do find resolution and I can then proceed to the trail, should I just trust that success we have and go for the run knowing we'll work on it later? Maybe. But my gut, which i trust religiously, says no. Get in an even better place before the work.
I could relate this to recovery. There's "damaged tissue," or "sore muscles" that need attention. One has to fully recover for the subsequent work to be meaningful or even enjoyable.
For me.
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