AntiEpic 50 mile Gravel Grinder

Great day getting my ass kicked.  I would recommend doing one of these rides if you have any interest in cycling, they are a blast.  Especially since they start and end at a brewery.

Strava data: http://www.strava.com/activities/127317605 

More information on Gravel Grinders: http://ridinggravel.com/

March Numbers

Biggest month that I have had in a few years.  Good mileage (332.85 miles) and gym time but lacking on the vertical.   Starting April out with a down week after running 41 miles last Saturday then I will go back into the build hopefully hitting 100 miles the last week of April.

My new lunch running buddy on every Monday.

24 Hours of Palmer Lake

Great way to spend another beautiful Saturday.  Set a goal of at least 40 miles and a max of 50 miles which is way more than I have ever run at one time in the month of March.  The plan was just to jog all day and that is what pretty much happened.  Covered 50 laps which works out to 41 miles in 7 hours and 10 minutes.  Not a bad training run.  Not to sore on Sunday or Monday which surprised me, just really low energy levels on Sunday.  This week will be a nice recovery week then back to building mileage again.

Thanks again to VFuel for donating the box of gels for everyone.  Check out the new flavors!  They rock!  

You can get Jerry's lowdown of the race at: http://trailandultrarunning.com/24hrs-of-palmer-lake-race-report/

Towards the beginning when it is still chilly out.

Walking lap 50 (the last lap) re-hydrating.

Great video that Jerry made.

24hrs of Palmer Lake: Race Video 2014 from Jerry Armstrong on Vimeo.

Still around.

I know I have been kind of quite lately both on here, Facebook, and all the other social media sites.  Between it being Q4 at work, slowly building up my running mileage for Bighorn, and family life in general I have been pretty busy.   Honestly I forget to maintain this blog because my mind is in other places, thinking about what I need to get done that day.  Anyway I am still working on the 365 Beer Challenge which you can check out over here at this link: http://shadsyearofbeer.blogspot.com/.  Hopefully after our Q4 is done at the end of April things will calm down a bit and I will get back to posting regularly again.   I have been keeping my race results page up to date and if you are wondering about my training you can click on the graph on the right hand side and it will take you to my training log.

Until then....

Taos Free Day

Great day today.  The hockey tournament starts tomorrow so today was our only free day to explore.  Got here last night where I promptly drank 2 new beers and chilled in the hot tub.  This morning was a 8 mile 1300ft gain run which was just plain awesome hitting the summit as the sun rose behind me.

Then it was off to Rio Grande Gorge Bridge where I got yelled at by Tribal Police because I left the highway to take some photos of some Bighorn Sheep.  Guess that was Tribal land.

Then off to Taos Pueblo which was the original Indian settlement that is now out on the Rez.  These buildings are over 1000 years old.  It was $15 per person to checkout this place but well worth it to me.

Beer 7

Got my 7th beer on the 4th day.  Things are progressing with the beer challenge.

http://shadsyearofbeer.blogspot.com/

Day one on the Beer blog

I was going to do my year end write up like I always do but just don't care this year.  Maybe later if I get in the mood.  One can always look back through the blog and get an idea of how the year when if so inclined to do so.

Today was day one on Shad's Year of Beer.  Not sure how long I can keep this going before all the tracking just becomes to much but we will see.

http://shadsyearofbeer.blogspot.com/

Possible 2014 challenge in the works

Still pondering if I am going to take part in this challenge or not due to some personal shit going on but just in case I do jump in I started another blog over here to track it, http://shadsyearofbeer.blogspot.com/.  Go over there and check out the challenge.  If I do decide to go live with it I will link it on the side under "Other Places to Find Me". 

Came across this article and love it! http://www.t-nation.com/powerful-words/merry-christmas-bob .  It is about weight lifting but could easily be applied to any activity.  Quote, "I think he's just stuck in a rut, and as the saying goes, the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth. The way out of the rut is to make major changes in your life, most of which won't be too pleasant in the beginning."

On that note HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my awesome little sister whom I call GG!  I love ya sis!

2013 Solstice Slog

Report of yesterday's stupidity. http://georgezack.blogspot.com/2013/12/solstice-slog-122113.html

GZ writes it up much better than I ever could.  I will add links to any other reports that go up in the next few days.  This run has me pondering doing something similar in Boulder with some peak summits thrown in.  Enjoy.

Meet Punisher

Picked up a new 29er mountain bike after all the fun I had at Greenland Gravel Grinder with the idea of doing more of these events in the future.  I named her Punisher because that is what I feel like she does to me every time I ride her right now with my lack of cycling fitness.  Hopefully that will change over time if I can ever gain any mountain biking skills. 

She is a 2013 Foundry Broadaxe B2 carbon fiber bike that weighs in at 24.1 pounds with peddles on her.  I thought about upgrading more parts of her to push her closer to 20 pounds but figured it would be a lot cheaper just to lose a few pounds from my fat ass.

You can see all the details on her at this link if your that kind of bike nerd- http://foundrycycles.com/bikes/broadaxe

30 Day Challenge: Cold Shower Therapy

I came across this article earlier last month and have really been pondering giving it a shot.  I mean, what do I have to lose?  I feel like I have become mentally weak this past year with the lack of challenges that I have laid out for myself.  The one challenge that I did layout to do, Pikes Double, I wimped out because I had a bad day on the Ascent and was not feeling well.  Yes I am still beating myself up about it even though I said I was ok with it, I am really not looking back at it.  Since then I have not done much of anything and have been in a deep self pity funk.  Starting today I am going to try and work my way out of this funk and one of the tools I am going to use to help me,  30 days of cold showers.

Why you ask?
Because it is uncomfortable and it will be mentally challenging to make myself do this.  Plus according to the linked article above and some other sources I have looked at it is good for you too.  At least that is what I am going to keep telling myself as I freeze my balls off.

Day 1:  First cold shower at lunch.  Just jumped right in at the showers at work after a 8 mile run over lunch break.  Lets just say I could not cry yelp due to being at work but damn it was hard to breath.  It really took my breath way for the first 4 1/2 minutes.  This is going to be interesting considering that there are times when I take 2-3 showers a day due to lifting, running, working in the yard, ect.

Here is a short 10 min video that really hit a nerve with me and pushed me into the yes column to do this challenge.



Are you going to join in my stupidity?

Rambling Thoughts.....

Been really thinking about how I have been feeling since my bailout at the Pikes Peak Marathon.   As some of you may or may not know I did the Ascent in subpar time and bailed on the marathon the next day due to not feeling/recovering from the Ascent.  I lost 9lbs in a 13 mile run that day, that is not right. Just burnt out and sore all the time.  Even now 3 weeks later I go out for an easy flat 6 miles only to feel like shit for 2 days.  I am not sure what to think about it anymore, it makes me want to give up running for awhile with the hope that it will come back in a month or two.

Came across this article this morning and makes me think that I should just keep on pushing until I break through.  I know it sounds like I am feeling sorry for myself but that is not it.  I am trying to figure out how to solve how I have been feeling so I can move on.  Ok, rambling over.

5 Things Mentally Tough People Don’t Do (by addicted2success.com)

5 Things Mentally Tough People Don’t Do

By Justin Sua

1) They don’t feel sorry for themselves

They understand that complaining doesn’t make the situation better.
They know that people won’t treat them they way they want to be treated, circumstances might not be ideal, and they will experience adversity; however, rather than complain about the negative aspects of their situation, they focus on what they want to happen and what they’re going to do about it.

2) They don’t give people power over them

They are not people pleasers.
They are relentless in their pursuit of their passion and aren’t worried about what other people think.
They give power to what they focus on, and if they waste their time focusing on the opinions of others, they lose sight of the things that will make them truly successful.

3) They don’t avoid change

They are always looking for ways to evolve. They believe that if they continue to give their best, their best will continue to get better over time.
With the competition continuing to get bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter; it’s important to have the mindset to improve by learning from successes and failures.

4) They don’t play small

The mentally tough swing for the fences and know that it might mean striking out a few times (or many times). Their purpose for achieving greatness casts away their fear of failure. They refuse to tip-toe through life, they intend on creating a legacy for the future by making an impact in the here-and-now.

5) They don’t focus on things they can’t control

They refuse to waste time focusing on things they can’t control because there is nothing they can do about it!
They understand that the less control a person feels the more susceptible they are to making poor decisions, falling into bad habits, and crumbling under pressure.