Red Dirt Harriers

After some deliberation, I finally agreed to head out on the bike with my co-worker Duke Kern, on the bike. I needed to get in something a little more serious in the way of active endeavors what with everybody around me doing all manner of good things on the run. I met Duke and a few other guys from Fossil 1 racing at the Draper marina and headed south, covering all manner of Norman, OKC, and Slaughterville countryside. I felt reasonably good for about 45 miles and then I incurred a definite hitting of the proverbial wall, which saw me crawl in while one of the other guys that's a little off his game paced me. All in all it was a good one for sure and I definitely need to learn to eat and drink more on the road and most importantly get out on the road for some longer jaunts. I covered right around 60 miles in 3:10 or so, while the others pulled away by a minute or two in the last 5 miles or so. I was pretty beat at the end, I've never ridden that far, but I enjoyed the company ...

I'll be making a concerted effort to amp up my posting and maybe throw in a couple "best of" posts since I have been so pitiful in keeping up with this thing. Must. Find. Motivation.

As has been the trend for quite sometime now, I'm battling injury so I'm hitting the bike which is not so unpleasant and allows me to commute to work in a fairly timely manner without the use of a drop of that blasted petrol. Speaking of combustible compounds, I have been back at the fermenter, priming yeast for battle. My latest beer has yet to be named, suffice it to say that it's a BIG BEER. I started with a sweeter Irish style stout so, think sweeter than a Guinness but drier than a Sam Smith, and then I elected to ferment on American Oak soaked in a little Michael Collins. So time shall render a verdict, I will definitely cask next week and I should be able to get a sense of the direction that this thing is headed. It will definitely be a beer that should benefit from time in the bottle because of such a spectrum of ingredients. Last point of order, I was unable to attend the McNellie's Pub Run 2009 which I'm not pleased about. In any case, I think the race des...

I'm coming to you live from NW Nompton holding down the fort at my friend Vickie's place. The vantage is good, said characters and myself are nursing a tall beer, eating some Triscuits and making sure not to poop in the house because mama gets upset when that happens. We'll be heading out for a walk/jog in a couple minutes but I'm pretty sure Molly and Bandit are pussys, because they're both pure bread Toy breeds and so I'm guessing running ain't gonna fly. They can haul ass around the house when they here me open the fridge, though. Best case scenario is I get them home without getting beat up by any stray cats or armadillos. I managed to again meet my match on the injury front in the form of a glorified hamstring strain and am hopefully ready to do some running again after a 2 week layoff. I have not been doing any exciting travelling but have made the most of my free time by studying the art of zymergy, potentially coming up with a new concept beer, liste...

1. Ran a low-key 10k last weekend around the state capitol, winning by default to collect a few clams, more happily, I didn't seem to injure anything and was able to get after it the last 5k meaning progress has been made... 2. Jerry Faulkner ran a solid time at the Quad Cities Marathon last Saturday. The guy had done some great summer marathon training and it paid off. That being said, it also may have knocked out a few chinks along the way, but I think it took his training to a new level and I guarantee he's got faster days ahead if he keeps his head down. 3. We finally were able to get a proper-like sushi crawl going in Norman. We went Gaijin (at their new location?), O- , and In the Raw. Lance wasn't the only tired puppy at days end but I closed the day at the shop (45minutes tardy) meeting and re-inspiring some OU art kids. One was a scrawny ex-runner for Calvin College and Brian Deimer, chances are I probably ran against him at the Notre Dame Invite in 2001 and that ...

Since I've returned to the level of health that is needed to run 6 or so miles at a go, on pavement, I often find myself doing just that and as a added benefit I can start at the digs and conclude at the shop. I actually rather enjoy doing this and usually I have enough crap in my locker at the shop that I don't have to take extra things along. However, every once in a while, I do take the running pack along laden with a few clean layers and essentials. Well, on Friday morning I took this route and low and behold I getting so fit that I was actually ahead of schedule when I arrived so, what's a boy to do besides add on. For me that consisted of some lappers on the grass field behind Don Cies Realty (basically only Jordan will know where I'm talking about). Anyway I tossed my pack on the edge of the field next to the alley way that runs behind CVS, Brookhaven Goodyear, etc. Each lap on this thing takes at most a minute and consists of a completely open flat grass lot. I ...

Yesterday marked the 24th annual Brookhaven Run and despite myself not being as fit as I had hoped, I did hit the streets with something around 1100 other folks. All things considered, I was fine with my own performance and I think the race turned out pretty well, despite not being able to quite get the caliber of athlete ready to set a new state record. We ended up closing the shop early in preparation for the big OSU home opener, which was immediately followed by the OU opener in the Jerry-dome. Unfortunately it gave me way too much time to drink way too much beer and thusly I will probably not be as productive on this long weekend as I might of hoped. Hopes are sometimes meant to be dashed and words are sometimes meant to be slurred-

Alot of changes around here these days. Norman is back in business with OU starting up. At the same time it's a little lonely too with the sudden departure of Jordan ( hope all is well, man). It was nice to have a counterpart on the roads and at the shop but the siren song of Charlotte, NC doth beckon. Anyway, my foot is still improving and I hope to be able to return to the roads soon but I'm having a hard time freeing up energy while working at the shop. I intend to keep things as light as possible but there are big shoes to fill. I also am hoping to get a couple projects under way in regards to putting together some training resources for local runners. Post title refers to the fact that one of salt's many uses is a neutralizing, sterilizing agent, and all around good luck charm meant to shake up the way things have been unfolding, presumably for the better. Evidently such glam sluggers as the Hanshin Tigers have made fervent their belief in such miraculous fixes. In an...

Monsoons this morning left things nice and cool for a quick jog and some pet-sitting errands for myself but sabotaged Kinley's workout. I always liked running in the warm rain but if you're raging 4hundos in spikes, I reckon it's best to wait it out. Yesterday, it was around 100 as I put in some biking after dropping my car off to fix a flat and heading east for pet-sitting, I managed to get a decent workout over the hills. The biking makes the heat less noticeable but it subtly rears it's head and I managed to get a bit of a head ache from the sun beating down on my noggin. There was a nice dynamic on Boyd St. as someone laid on the horn at me for riding across the intersection so they had to yield and then not a half mile down the way a nice gal said "Hi" as she walked sown the sidewalk. However, my car did make it back from the shop, the animals were fed and medicated, and I got in a jog on the grass loop since the OU football team continues to hold practic...

Maybe I'm just the everlasting cynic but I'll continue on with this existence anyhow. I'll go further to add that it breaks my heart to see other, fellow cynics sell out. Case in point, Anthony Bourdain doing a candid ad for Bing.com. Just when I thought I knew the guy he betrays his image for something. Oh but for what cost is the question I s'pose. My foot seems better maybe, but I'm not running yet. Spenis and I have convened at Lake Hefner a couple times for some laps in the saddle. I continue to enjoy the bike ride to work and just wish there were a little more scenery along the way. I'm always listening to tunes on the bike which may lead to my demise, but it adds some pep and seeing as how KOMA is the official station of OKRunner, it's hard to get much musical interlude any other time. We'll work on that one day at a time...

It's been a wearying last few days at OKRunner Edmond. We sold alot of shoes out there under the hot sun and brought alot of attention to the store, which will hopefully keep Jerry a bit more busy selling shoes instead of shining the floors. Anyway, in the interest of decompressing, Jerry, Ayuko, Tim, and meself went and had a few beers after loading up Tim's sweet new ride, a U-Haul. After that I proceeded to OKC to join up with Spenis, and of course toast the evening with a shot of Sauza. McNellie's followed then, a visit to the Mini-mart with Mike and Spenis in tow on the way to cheer on Team OKRunner at the Midnight Streak. Against my better judgment we went to Edna's and the smoke and noise basically put the cap on the evening. At some point I passed out in the proximity of Spenis's house and woke up with a rug burn over my back from Benoit dragging me around in the front yard. Spenis was a doll and even made me coffee this morning which we held high in salutin...

I'm on one of those late circadian rhythm cycles, which means I'm getting up late and staying up later. It also means I'm riding home from work in the dark more often than not which makes for some interesting scenarios, it's also kind of cool to bike over the interstate in the dark and looking over all the lights in town and the cars streaming along underneath the bridge. There's absolutely no bike shoulder on any of the roads and very few street lights, so when my head light went out yesterday it made for a pretty harrowing ride home but I had an extra incentive to make it home in one piece, Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate . Exciting news on the music front is Animal Collective gaining access to the Grateful Dead catalog and collaborating with Atlas Sound on new work...and how 'bout a little Floyd to commemorate the 50th anniverssary of the landing on the moon. Appropriately, I've tuned in to see the space station 3 times now and happily so can you , yay. ...

Yeah, this is more my style of late. I'm enjoying doing some biking but more in the shorter portioned 2-a-day model, where I try to throw in a few surges, climbs, TT poses- that sort of thing and then wipe the sweat off and go to work for 8hours, and finally repeating the ride back to the house. It never ceases to amaze the disregard I get around town on my bike from drivers, but I haven't gone over anybody's hood yet. I actually really like the idea of grabbing a coffee midway and then finishing the ride out which is what I did last Wednesday and low and behold I was able to do a good deed by rescuing a bewildered dachshund from certain peril and reuniting him with his owner, all while ordering coffee and a danish. For those readers who are both fans of the Tour and graphic novels (statistical analysis has shown this to be a large subset of my visitors), I thought the VS Epic Cycle bit is kind of interesting and worth visiting if for no other reason than to hear the legen...

My day revolved around coffee and food. It was a restful day away from the store and I managed to finish a yard project long overdue. I am trying my hand at a little landscaping involving a large decorative pot and a lot of rocks. Throw in a water pump and the possibility of aquatic plants and you've got some wild stuff brewing. This nonstandard type of activity was made possible by my continued lack of running, which has proven to be a necessary precaution in order to be able to walk without MUCH pain and perform normal daily tasks. I have at least been able to sweat a little this week by biking in to work and I think that this week I'm going to alternate the elliptical and the bike. I really haven't done any laudable amount of cross training as far as volume goes because I really couldn't stand aquajogging solo everyday so the first week was bad, but I'm going to push myself a little this week, maybe.

As I came up with this sweet title, I was tuned into OETA and caught the preview for Okie Noodling II, needless to say I will eagerly sitting in front of the telly tonight. The best quote I heard came courtesy of a ragged, threadbare sage who says: "Noodlin- it's like golf, ya just never can git the hang of it." Ah yes, like life itself I suppose, hand fishing certainly never ceases to challenge our psyche and bewilder our anticipatory powers. Alright, next point of business, I've fucked up my foot to some degree. What exactly I have done alludes me, but I'm pretty positive it's a stress fracture. While I'm no MD and I do get my intelligence on human anatomy regularly challenged by customers at the store, I have researched extensively and have come upon no other explanation remotely close to plausible for my ailment. I have alot of trouble walking as midway along my 2nd metatarsal is sore to the touch and lightly swollen. I had a dull ache for about a week...

Training has been going pretty well, all things considered. As of late I've hit the track several times this summer and have put out some good efforts. This week, we did quarters which is something pretty foreign to my training log as of the last 4+ years. I ran alot of 71's before pushing out a 68 and trying to maintain :60 200 recovery jogs. After that, I got back to 71-72 before battening down on the last 6 or so and running 69-70.It was a good workout for me and I should be able to revisit this type of effort and gauge improvement. I am definitely doing a little tight rope walking as far as health so I aim to maybe take an easier week here and there to just run miles. Anyway, working at the running shop has been fun for the most part and I am looking forward to instituting a optional snowcone evening run next week, which could potentially mean either we run over to the snowcone stand or, in some other individuals, thinking may just include an ice cold beer mid run. Either o...

It seems I've taken hiatus so time to get back at it. Had a fine weekend participating in the StuCat wedding in Enid. We managed to consume some alcohol, despite the early concern to the contrary. I was hoping to record a PB at the Knot Trot but the ensuing gamesmanship and jangled nerves allowed Stu and Cat to get away from me in the last quarter mile. Oh well there's always next year, right? Enid actually impressed me as there was no indication that the place was going drying up and blowing away. We found a couple nice eateries and bars and more importantly, the dirt roads made a pretty excellent training venue for a Sunday 16 miler. I even had a great time chasing tail all the way home from the bars on Saturday night, if only it weren't runner girls who set a mean pace all the way back to the hotel. It did offer a great opportunity to return my tux in a highly compromised state that made to attendant question what the hell I did in the thing. I'm unhappy to note the ...

I hit the track this morning for some work. It was another nice morning but I can't imagine the humidity abating for long. Jordan and Meagan had matching workouts of 4-8-12-16-16-12-8-4 w/ 60 second rest. The paces prescribed were quick and I didn't run great but I tried to hang with Jordan on the middle reps. I should hopefully be able to substantially improve on my efforts this morning and maybe feel better doing it. I did something like a 200-500-1100-800-1600-1200-600-200, I wasn't happy with missing out on the first 1600 but I had to break for the restroom and I at least touched on some faster paces on the other reps. The recovery made it a pretty honest effort and I at least was able to sneak below 5:00 pace. My goal for the summer is breaking 15:00 so we'll see what happens. The picture above is my uncle's digital rendering of a wave complete with a frigate bird. I think he used only Adobe throughout the process.

Superb weather for the weekend- pretty much uncharacteristic late May stuff in Oklahoma with low humidity and cool, sunny temps. On Sunday Jordan, Meagan, and yo headed to the Oklahoma River to investigate the scene at the Boathouse International Triathlon. There was elite competition on Saturday but Sunday featured the amateur race. We saw Trey Vernon finish in first, but the results indicate a different guy winning which is kind of the downfall of a race with staggered starts and circuit courses for all three disciplines, making it pretty easy for someone to skip a lap or just have a hard time keeping tabs on your competitors. The "long" run was sort of a start and stop affair because we were kind of confused as to how to get around the place and we wanted to stop and at least see how the thing was playing out. I didn't get to see the state track meet but it seemed kind of slow and other than the freshman girl from Norman winning the 3200 and getting 2nd in the 1600, th...

Spenis mandated more music, and music he shall have. Come to think of it, he should probably be named music director of my blog, for it seems like I have come upon way too many annoying obligations lately. Spence's suggested addendum to my previous blog (I use an old video because it also mentions Zonker Harris day, of which I'm a conscientious supporter... of the cartoon hero): I counter with: Neutral Milk Hotel covered by The Apples in Stereo and...(noting the beer on the table) And finally, I have a tribute to Trevor Gillum. Unfortunately, I couldn't be in attendance for his epic high altitude, off-road, 50k this weekend . The thing looked cool and I would much rather be there than here this weekend unfortunately a variety of issues have prevented me from modilizing. "It's all Good" John Lee Hooker as done by Dylan

I've been listening to a lot of covers lately, good and bad. I'm typically not a huge fan, simply because there are so many bad takes on great original songs but I suppose it's a show of respect that a band chooses to run with the same toon, now rap and r&b songs where they use the same backbeat, lets not go too far. Some of the more enjoyable takes in my mind are: Yeah Yeah Yeahs covering "Zero" by Animal Collective (I think the original is better) The Sounds in My Head did a whole Cure covers show that was pretty enjoyable. I don't care for Death Cab for Cutie, they do get the award for the most unaltered impression, which isn't really doing anything for me and doesn't warrant a post: Here are The Flaming Lips & Stardeath and the White Dwarfs covering Madonna's "Borderline." sidenote- How many hammer and sickle T's does Ivins have? Or here is a rendition sans Flaming Lips at our very own Norman Music Fest : I'm throwing...

It's a cool, rainy spring day in Norman today and as such I decided to look upon the recent World Barista Champs . This year's edition took place in Atlanta and was won by the UK participant, Gwilym Davies. As each participant is required to prepare an espresso, a cappuccino, and a signature drink, the competition involves both technical and aesthetic factors in addition to the savvy and impulses of the barista. Interestingly, in recent years, some baristas have preferred to get away from the common "espresso roast" and moved towards a more medium roast technique that better showcases the bean. It cracks me up how nervous these people are, I'll chock it up to the caffeine jitters. It's worth noting that the '08 champ from Ireland, Stephen Morrissey, looks exactly like my former co-worker alias Sean Connor... I'm 99% sure it's the same dude. Jordan and I are going to hit up a slog this evening when each of us get off work, but I think I'll be ne...

Stumbled upon THIS and it's just silly, it makes my running seem so un-inspired but that's just because we have lame venues in these parts. My goal is to make my running more impressive to watch, at least cough up blood or look good just gliding up a hill. We all know I have no footspeed but maybe I can look impressive from a k out in some 5k until the kickers feel their oats and look really good coming after me. I've been running a little bit, after taking Monday off, I ran 45' Tuesday, 35 and 35 on Wednesday, 50 and 30 yesterday, and 50' this morning with 15 uptempo(felt king of rough) but it was warm and 95% humidity. My legs feel alright, but my lungs have been a problem, of course it's super humid too. I'm now doped with Singulair AND Symbicort so maybe these will help keep my asthma at bay. It's really hard to simulate the late marathon issues I've experienced so I'm just going to gauge their effectiveness by how many minutes faster I run ...

Well, the 9th annual OKC marathon has come and gone and I'm left with frustration in it's wake. I knew the day was going to present some obstacles with the humidity and winds and so I did what I could to prevent against those problems but it didn't seem to matter. The first half pace felt really doable, but I sort of felt myself getting a little warm, despite dumping water over my head at every water stop. I could sense a certain amount of futility in the morning's endeavor. Jordan looked good, particularly heading back into the wind along Lake Hefner, which was the last good look I got of him. I want to check out this asthma issue that seems to plague my marathon races, but as with any bad race I mainly let my mood sour my racing vigor. I wonder what would have happened if I would have actually stopped, stretched, and thrown up the excess fluids that seemed to be going nowhere in my stomach. I was kind of afraid that I might stiffen but I don't think my legs ever r...

I can't help but look towards the weather conditions on Sunday and it seems dicey. But as the title suggests, I think it will bother everyone and hopefully I can work with Jordan and whoever else shows up (pacers are welcome). Next in the list of scenarios that this title alludes to would be the taste of low-ball alcohol. Now I've shared my sentiment that there can exist some differences in taste for the cost i.e. the Pigs Eye superiority to Keystone or Natty Light options. Yet when one of my patrons come in here and bitches that we aren't carrying her Tvarscki (we do sometimes, but regularly have McCormick's) and that she's "going to have to start going somewhere else" prior to a string of expletives to convey her frustration, I really am not compelled to care. I mean nobody is drinking that stuff by itself for love of flavor, they're masking it with juice. We all know this, don't act like you're a connoisseur if all you're after is the ef...

Alright now, with yesterday marking Patriot's Day, the Boston Marathon of course went down and as usual it was an inspiring feat of humanity. I was amazed to see Ryan Hall streak off the line like he was setting off for a 5k and immediately put the elite contingent on edge. I thought it was unnecessary but I don't really think it significantly affected his race and he may have even weeded out some competitors by starting them off with some discomfort. Ryan Hall ran very tough, but Merga is a beast and there is no shame being around a minute behind him. THe women's race was uninspired but Kara Goucher still was impressive and it bodes well for her future that she has continued to perform consistently well in long races, it just comes down to the day. I just don't believe that she could outsprint the other two flat out so what are her options, especially into a headwind. She may have lucked out but the odds were stacked against her whether she lead for 5 miles or .5 and I...

Somehow a Boricua tradition was begun when some presumably inebriated farmer tied his cow up to a tree next to the ocean. As cows are wanton to do, it met its demise when it fell into a water spout. He proceeded to scream at the ocean, "dame la vaca!," demanding the sea return him his prized Bessy. Now I don't know why this tale has been immortalized but I can say that today is indeed $3 burger night at McNellie's and at Kats (?) recommendation we are staging at that most pleasant of locales for a pint and some vaca. The proud and spiritual Boricuan people must know something so I'm going to assume that this is a good move for all involved. If only I had some more of that choice lychee infused Puerto Rican rum that my friend Rose sent me to go alongside this noble burger... On a related note, I here that the US embargo on Cuba may soon be lifted and that it may be feasible to make a visit to this place. While I'm aware that wasn't impossible to do before a...

In lieu of more enthralling news, I'll opt for the training recap. I've still been fighting off the allergy blues or whatever, so I've been a little under impressed with my training. I went long yesterday and threw in several marathon intensity miles but I wasn't really running the splits I had hoped for, anyway I practiced taking fluids and only had one really bad bear trap like side ache. I think I was needing more fluids anyway as a result of the amount of sinus drainage and the like so I'll of course hope for more inspiring conditions down the road. I did get another beer in the fermenter, a Dortmunder style Lager. This would be in the pilsner classification, but the yeast that I used was a standard top-fermenting ale yeast so my plan is to lager half the beer in a mini-fridge at 50 degrees and then rest the other half at room temp 70-75 degrees. I will look in to this technique more, but right now I'm calling it an alter-Maibock. It is seasonally appropriat...

Jordan and I headed to the mondo oval at Norman High for yesterday's pm workout. It was a nice day, if a bit warm, and so while I wasn't sure what my body was going to be able to manage, it was hard not to get in the running spirit with lots of kids out running around. I was looking for a couple tempo paced segments, maybe like 2 times a 4 mile or something, but upon chatting with Jordan, I opted for something a little shorter, but that was easier to wrap my mind around: 3x 3200 with a steady 800 between. I went 10:29, 10:21, and 10:20 with the rest being covered around 3:15-3:30. I think I may have run an extra lap on the 2nd repeat because I just extrapolated my total time for 7 miles and it indicates as much. The effort was moderately tough, but Jordan mentioned that it was kind of nice to have to keep an eye out for various roves of kids wandering through lane 1 and there were a few close calls, but it kept us from getting too serious and we had to keep our wits about us to...

Well my allergies have continued to slight my attempts to train. In fact last night, instead of a training run, I walked over to Petco and Target to get some Pak Choy for my sisters new lizard, Pancake. It was a really nice evening so I hardly even noticed having to walk over the Robinson bridge, enhaling diesel and noxious fumes from the roadway project and through the rutted, sidewalk-free route up to the supposed aesthetically accomodating outdoor shopping plaza, aka strip mall. I am hoping to avoid digging myself into a hole, so will probably just do a short tempo run with a long warm up and cool down this afternoon while Jordan does some shape-cutting. We're at least going to benefit from being in the same arena as one another, regardless of what stimulus each workout brings. I'm not too concerned about not being able to run an intense quarter workout, but at the very least, I need to have the strength to get out the door for a couple hours. I'm still not sure about t...

As it stands, we are 3weeks out from the marathon and things are going alright. This week I pulled through a funk early on and then felt pretty good throughout the remainder. The weather has been a challenge but mentally and physically but it's probably best this way as we will no doubt encounter some less than perfect race day conditions. On Friday and Saturday, I basically shaped my training around coffee drinking sessions, which was everything I hoped it would be. Finally, Sunday marked the inaugural Redbud Classic bandit workout. On this years installment, Jordan was part of the show to see how a truly well-managed Oklahoma race is conducted. Other than 30 mph sustained wind and 40mph gusts, weather was great and we managed to tack on 2 miles just before the race in 11:0X then ran the 10k in ~32:45 with something like 16:45/16 splits. It was a session that left us feeling pretty good, not all out, and ready for whatever this week holds. This is really going to be the last 14 da...

On this fare morn, just after 6:30am CST, Jokin and I set out from our respective abodes for a 2+ hour sojourn. I had stashed a couple bottles of carefully measured and primed elixir last night and Jordan brought the GU so we were not without electolytes or calories for what ended up being a decent run. First we logged a couple miles around campus with a pit stop at the union, then it was on to greener pastures, cedar lane to 48th with a quick tour of one of the neighborhoods before bringing it home on Lindsay with some quicker miles and a few laps on the track. There were definitely some positives on this run: good company, proper fluid intake, and plenty of practice for OKC(start time, wind, and cheering spectators i.e. cows). As I sit idle at work, I can say that my stomach is not particularly upset thanks to better hydration, and although I will no doubt be looking for a nap in a few hours, I think it was well worth the effort of getting up well before the sunrise.

This spring has been marked by some non-standard training preparations for me. The highly intense and typically short workouts I had been doing were not ideal for marathon preparation, but they got me back in the game and ready to get going. I have now been trying to build into some endurance work, with variable returns. After failing to get the effort in that I wanted, I came back on Tuesday with the old double barrel workout. I did a moderate progression type run of 90ish minutes then came back that evening with a 45 minute steady run and then some half marathon pace efforts in the form of 3minutes on/ 2 jog on the roads. I didn't force the pace so my first few were more in the 2:45 range but then I was able to start turning the legs over with the same effort and my last couple were more in the 2:35 range. I only managed 8 due to rising stomach discomfort. All this ended up being a marathon in volume for the day. I did the second run all in flats too. Then the funk set in. I have...

Winds remain unceasing, whereas yesterday I opted for the treadmill in the morning because I was unmotivated and still a bit lethargic after the weekend, today I went outdoors. I don't think it was actually as windy as yesterday evening, when I basically watched it go from sunny to questionably swirly cloudy. John has jumped on the treadmill bandwagon and searched out capable locales in B'ville. I must say that I curiously felt pretty good yesterday afternoon after a morning running easy with some inclines thrown in. The treadmill provided more cushioning than the roads would have and I think it allowed for a little more recovery due to less pounding. I'm going to continue to utilize this curious machine and see what I think of its effects on the fitness. And yes my indignation has subsided since I found out about this guy's use of the 'mill . I did end up running a kind of marathon effort thing this morning, although I have no idea how fast I was going because I ra...

Recap of weekend: Stu/Kat, Spenis and I met up for a jog on Friday then packed up the Rodeo, poured some road sodas and high-tailed it to Tulsa for an abbreviated stay. Upon arrival, burgers were consumed and some quality ball tossing with Marley filled out the evening. I was pretty bushed, with some residual soreness from Thursday's tempo run with Billy, but the legs felt capable of some pacing duties for Stu's assault of the K9K. I didn't sleep great, but woke to good spirits from the crew and the laying down of a gauntlet between Mike and Stu about who could finish their respective races in less time (Mike ended up finishing his 5k in ~27:XX, so we owe him beer next time). Stu and I felt decent and slipped through 5k in 16:45 after having to run through the fun runners with kids and dogs (a little kid and another runner collided further back, marking yet another instance of ill-advised course direction). Carrot-top was a pleasant addition to the chase group for a while, ...

Following some low-key alms in the name of St. Paddy yesterday, I was ashamedly pretty useless this morning. I've been having trouble sleeping solidly through the night for a variety of reasons, but in any case I rolled out go see the phlebotomist. Needing to regather, I hit Plaid for a quick hit of caffeine and pastry, then forged on to OTR, to open the store and sneak in a run. Still catching up from the weekend in Dallas, I had a dece time and got about the right amount of imbibment in, without incident. I felt so free- being able to go buy my beer at whatever grocery store was available and stocked with respectable offerings. They do still have dry counties interestingly, so at the county line not more than a few miles from downtown Dallas, there are like 5 stores conspicuously toeing the boundary. I managed to get in a nice long run at whiterock and also logged a few miles on Ardmore Lake Road, both coming and going. Ging and I smoked some dry rubbed chickens and I successfull...

The ironic truth about respiration and, in relation to exercise: the more oxygen we can consume and therefore fan the flame hotter and higher, the bigger the VO2max and the more we can detroy ourselves. I hit the miles pretty good this past weekend but was pleased to score a 77 on my post-test session on Monday. My body is feeling the increased workload lately, and a little more sleep really would hit the spot. I'm racing a 5k in Dallas this weekend and then hanging out to watch the St. Patty's day parade on the Greenville with a cooler in tow. I will be looking to hit a long run on Sunday at Whiterock Lake to keep the spring buildup in line. I hope to be ready for some longer racing, maybe a 1/2 marathon , maybe a fu ll, maybe an ultra before the summer heat sets in.

$3 burgers at McNellie's last night with a good crew including Sacker, Kristi, Mike, Stuey, Jordan, Spencer, Jerry, and yo. We had our first opportunity to try a couple beers from the Coop brewery, the newest local brewery. I was mightily impressed, they were truly flavorful beers and I look forward to their additional offerings, in addition to the Native Amber and Belgian Style Golden Ale we encountered. I would say it was a pretty relaxing day by all accounts, as soon as the highly abrasive 14mph treadmill workout was completed. Jordan and I were trying to imagine what this intensity would be like for a legit miler/5k type and we were basically calling it like a 5x800 w/ 1' recovery at like 1:52-4 or something. I imagine it can be done but I don't know if even the guys that have more leg speed than I do would be able to actually complete the workout, because of the recovery. I thought I would be able to do 2' on the last repeat but once I went over the tipping point, ...

I had some fatigue in the quads this morning, which I didn't really expect because yesterday was a medium day on the treadmill, but I've been stringing together some good days and every once in a while the quality takes it toll. I feel generally good though running the miles right now. I did just that this evening, but made the mistake of eating the darko choco bar prior to and paid the price at about the hour mark. Stomach started talking to me but I made it home, only felt rubbish on the few strides I actually pulled off. It was a very windy afternoon, but temps were great and I bumped in to Jenny Graef and legged out some miles in good company, after we stopped to let her new pooch out for a whiz. I got into my promo beer this evening, my version of pepto, I had the Southampton IPA and Gordon Biersch Golden Bock. The IPA needs more IBUs albeit having a nice floral aroma, it lacks some punch and the bock was sweet scented and curiously higher alcohol but sort of low on anythi...

Had to attend to some court proceedings yesterday, amounting to a little inflation of the old blood pressure. It was all fun and games while we sat in on a fairly serious case but then when we had to jump up and down a few times while the judge entered/exited on a whim. All very exciting. The lessons learned outweighed the penalties inflicted. Such as: don't get in a brawl in a casino with a casino guard, don't jump town without paying the bail-bondsman and then come back to town and get arrested, etc. The title of the post actually refers to the Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon I've settled into tonight. Larry David IS George Costanza. At first you get annoyed by him, but then he gets in your head like a jingle- CO-Stanz-A. AND I like his thoughts on the weatherman, their a front building over the land spewing bs. Regardless of this crap weather, I got a good jog in with my buddy Jason, there's no way I was tough enough to run 90' outside solo, but it was very doable ...

Tomorrow is the most intense treadmill session to date, kicking off at 8am. If you're unclear basically what my spring running campaign has been based on, I'm taking this supplement, Gametime, prior to my workout which contains a few stimulants, some protein synthesis stuff, artificial sweeteners, and some mushroom derivative that has yet to be fully explained to me. This thing is so clearly destined for weight lifters and their ilk, because it is lacking in carbs and sits kind of heavy on the stomach. I usually have to use the restroom immediately upon ingestion, as it triggers some digestive reflex, but otherwise I'm on board with it man, if it just came in more exciting fruity flavors. I need to get in a good one tomorrow and then I'm willing to basically can the intervals, because I don't really care about running faster than 4:20 mile pace, it ain't going to happen and it's pretty severe on the old hammys right now. I admit I like the treadmill though a...

I'm still kind of lacking in the long run department, but on other fronts the training is pretty strong. I'm neglecting the tempo runs a little, and I don't have much choice for the next couple weeks but all of the sudden Jerry has put this bug in my ear about the 10k at the Kansas Relays. I'm not sure how realistic it is to do the full thing, maybe just pacing duties. I am leery of running 25 laps and 50 left turns but it's a possibility. I finally got my day off today and it has been ideal. I got in a medium interval workout on the treadmill and then headed outside for a steady 6 mile cooldown, which tested the fuel reserves a bit. I was pretty famished by the time I hit Plaid, but their peanut butter/Choco granola bar and El Salvadorian coffee got me through. I am curious why it is the tendency to light roast a lot of the centro american varieties. It leaves them very beany. Probably more interestingly, I was getting out for a run in the evening and I happened to...

It looks like I've let a week get away from me without blogification so here goes- Training was nice. I've been able to get in some doubles, mainly because I need an easy jog in the afternoons after I do these treadmill tests but as long as I stretch and stuff, I've been feeling good enough. I'm running pretty steady on my runs and as a result having a little trouble building the duration of my runs, but the fitness is coming along and I'm not that concerned with an official long run at this point. I got a nice run in with John on Monday, hit the Vo2 on Tuesday, where I went significantly farther on the test, but got a lower reading than last time, 74. The ex phys kids were threatening to increase my critical velocity to 4:00 pace but I told them that was ridiculous and they relented. I backed that up on Wednesday with 2 minutes at 14mph, big break, then 21 minutes at 5:10 pace, which took some concentration but I could have knocked out a few more minutes. I'm c...

This will be the blog post for the day dealing with things other than my trepidation regarding the ex phys. research project. Jordan and I went up to see the Oscar nominated short films at the OKC art museum. This was the 3rd year I've caught these films and there are usually some pretty memorable pieces this year was kind of a disappointment. We missed a couple of the animated shorts, which marked the first half of the grouping, before we headed to McNellie's for a interlude and a pint. We missed Oktapodi and Lavatory Lovestory . Have I ever told you guys the story of how my great-grandfather came up with the name for the USC mascot. His name was Owen Bird and he was a journalist for the LA times sports beat. He actually was also a trackster formerly, though of the sprint variety. Anyway, the story is alluded to here . I bring this up because although I dreaded nearly every minute that I watched of the Grammy's, the few minutes involving Radiohead and the USC marching ban...

I am really questioning my participation in the research study. My legs are quite sore and at this point I'm really just hoping not to injure myself. This could easily happen when you hop on a treadmill going 14mph and sprint without any real progression into the act. The woodway is a pretty nice piece though and it's interesting to get alot of feedback on my capabilities as a runner. The head professor got really jazzed that he was able to show me how to use the treadmill at high speeds and tell me that if I only do some intense workouts, I will all of a sudden become an unstoppable runner and start winning all those races I was losing in the finishing sprint. It's hard not to accommodate his thinking but he hasn't considered the fact that I have in fact tried to do such training when I was younger and I'm a much better runner now without the aid of such training mainly because I just don't respond really well to that type of training. If I were going to set u...

So things have been perking up for me lately. There's a certain springtime feel in the air and my foot is feeling better, maybe on the mend. I was really chipper this morning running through Norman's rift valley. Yeah, just jogging past the fields of bright green winter wheat and quarter horses. I even had a good group of canines join the mix for a while. I've signed on with my latest University coordinated performance study. Lets see last time I did one of these... I remember laying in a cold shower with my feet elevated, 15 pounds lighter due to excessive sweating and vomiting. Skolnick and I usually try to leave it on the court in these types of engagements. Anyway, I'm going to be putting in some good efforts on the new Woodway at OU and getting a blood profile. I think it will be a nice lead-in to a hopefully healthy spring and I can get used to sweating before the warm weather sets in. I'll go ahead and mention the fact that I've had a couple other prior ...

A good leisurely weekend has been had. The weather has cooled down from our balmy 70 degree temps of last week, but the wind also died down after Friday and so I hit the bike for a mini bar crawl last night going Library/NY pizza/ Blu. A good crew was on hand but the town was pretty quiet and so there is not much debauchery to report. I think that I probably wisely turned down a dance party invite, but I probably would have had more to blog up had I attended and maybe that's what matters more than my hangover quotient. I will note that my morning of dim sum was a great success. I had lots of shrimp dumplings, spring rolls, egg rolls, sweet dumplings, sticky rice and jasmine tea. Also of note, they were offering a Chinese New Year cake. Seeing as how we are leaving the year of the rat and moving forward into oxen times, I think this year will be full of toil and good yields. The cake was interesting. If you know anything about Asian sweets, they tend to not be really sugary sweet. T...

Today marks the 26th year of my existence. My title is typical of a cognac designation (very very special old pale) and yet it strangely applies to me as well. I read somewhere that the 21st of January, not the 23rd luckily, is supposed to be the most unhappy day of the year. I know that my birthday, almost without fail, tends to be cloudy and cold, and accordingly the weather is taking a plunge as I sit tending shop. Luckily, I was able to get some very crucial face time in with the boys at Plaid this morning, and the coffee is just going to tide me over until I get my second wind sometime this evening. I'm going to give the Grand House a whirl tomorrow. It's been a while since I've had dim sum. I'm a sucker for steamed dumplings and actually had a great experience outside of St. Louis and then San Fran, naturally. Tonight, I may end up going Asian as well, maybe sushi, but not before a couple leisurely pints. Speaking of pints, my obligatory malt beverage reference i...

The Dallas weekend extravaganza has come and gone and I've mixed emotions about it. I got to hit the King Tut exhibit which was more like just a general Egyptian royalty from 2 millenia ago. There were some amazing pieces that I could go on and on about but overall it seemed like they were showing us the B circuit. The place was also way overbooked, I felt like we were being extorted and then herded around. I will say that it gave me an even higher appreciation for the pomegranate, being in that it is carved in the gold coffin of Tut's grandmother. Let's see... we hit countless shops and I endured my sister's rigid scheduling of all things pertaining to indulgence. I got a massage at the Spa at the Cresent which was pretty excellent, if not awkward because my masseuse was oh so capable and how can it not be somehow overly personal when you're nude and being worked on by a fit, healthy chick. Maybe I was just a little off because of the birthday champagne they served...

That would be the theme for last night's outing to OKC with der boys. The trend of feeling off continues to overwhelm and I can't help but chalk it up to the "smorgasboard effect." Contemporary wisdom tells us that fusion is all the rage and who am I to blow against the wind? At some point however, I think that can lead to an assemblage frought with gastronomic peril and, worse, something that gives little Scotty D a tummy ache. Cue the scene, we had put down a few stouts and pale ales prior to departure from Stu's. I, of course, was lauded for my incredible driving ability over the perhaps 2 mile route to Cheever's. Upon arrival we ordered a couple bottles of vino and some apps. I think this is where the trouble began. The first combo would be the Malbec/Hummus/Fried Calamari/Pinot combo only to be outdone by the proceeding Merlot/Nacho/Pecan, Chocolate,& Ice Cream Ball conglomeration. Stu knew something was up and opted for a jog back to the house where ...

Going up to Cheever's this evening. THe place is quality and I will be eating lightly, just enough food to go with a couple glasses of wine. I wish that I could put my alcohol charges on the expense report for On The Rocks as "product research." Maybe the higher ups would go for it if they realized that our wine orders have been made in large part by connections made by moi as a result of genuine interest in the product and not its direct monetary gain for the store, as that will obviously come if you do a good job of promoting your wine and impressing upon people some sort of competence and outgoing passion for orientation through the wine industry. I'm getting pretty tired of explaining to customers why I can't help them or why our guarantee holds no water. On the bright side, I'm going away to Dallas this weekend for what I'm sure will be both a fun and frantic weekend. My mom and sister are the true organizers of this operation so I will undoubtedly by...

I have in front of me the potential to carry the best beer in Norman, maybe Oklahoma. The easiest way to stock the best beers is to search by the country of origin and pick up all that say Belgium . I'm sorry to all those that disagree and while there are great beers throughout the world, this is easily the best and most varied beer culture. I have the Eagle Beers catalogue which is pretty hot. The problem is that I don't the authorization to order said awesome beers and it's unclear whether I will get it. What I need you, my lovely reader, to do is stop in and suggest that maybe we carry some of these choice offerings. You needs are covered as there are options covering the gammut. If you like a lighter beer, suggest the Witterkerke, Blanche De Namur, Petrus Blonde, or Konigs Hoevens Dubbel. Middle of the road offerings include Tilburg Dutch Brown, Tripel Karmeliet, Konigs Hoevens Trippel, or Kwak. Finally, there are the heavy hitters that are best served after the day ha...

Sunday was a big day as the weather was superb in central Oklahoma. Jordan and I had done some talking and planned to knock out a "special block" workout. I, of course would not be doing any of the uptempo running but opted to bike alongside to most optimally offer up taunts and sarcasm with his gatorade. Jordan mentioned having eaten shortly prior to our departure, which for me would have been an issue, but was but an afterthought for Kinley. I think he may have opted for the chupacabra chowder, which only helped fortify him. We hit lake Hefner to join Spenis and mobs of other fitness enthusiasts for the 9.5 mile lap after we legged out a 4 mile warmup. The lake can be exceptionally windy, but it was pretty much perfect yesterday, with a light lake breeze and a cloudless sky. Good work was done, for which I'll let Jordan supply the details. This workout is about running down the fuel reserves with a morning session, then coming back for more later in the day. I think it...

It got rough last night but luckily the only carry over, other than another Sooner BCS loss, was a train wreck in my cranium. I should have known not to hang around with the likes of Spenis and Jordan but clearly I haven't learned my lesson just yet. There were some lighter moments on the evening. The first one occurred when I decided to not sit in Oklahoma City traffic for an hour and grab a jog in southwest OKC. As I drove through the derilict neighborhoods next to Woodson Park, there was this dude just walking down the middle of the busy street flipping me and everybody else off, then during my actual run some drunk lady sitting at the park offered her services as I ran by. To say that this is a good place to jog would be a lie, but it was kind of entertaining. The bright spot of the morning was getting up and at it with just enough time to grab a fritter, a pastime which has been neglected for far too long. In fact, I think I'm going to reinstate this as my official Friday...