The day after the GABF, I flew home to Oregon for my granddad's memorial service. He passed away earlier this month after a drawn out battle with a brain tumor. He lived a long and happy life and was one of the most honorable, respected, and loved people I've ever met. I learned a great many things from him and, along with many other people, will miss him greatly.
I returned to Boulder this afternoon, only to leave tomorrow for some field work near Naturita, CO. Naturita is in the middle of nowhere, close to the Utah border. I'll likely be there until Thanksgiving.
October 21, 2007
GABF
About a week ago, Ashley, Melanie, Keith, and I attended the Great American Beer Fest (GABF) held annually in Denver, CO. This is the largest beer tasting event in the world. Upon entering the convention center where the event was held, we were all handed a glass with a one ounce line on it. We proceeded to drink one ounce of as many different beers as we could for the next 4 hours. Of course, we started at the Pacific Northwest corner of the room because that's where the best beer in the world is made.
GABF Statistics:
473 breweries represented
2793 beers were on tap
25,000 gallons of beer
Entry Fee - Priceless (just kidding, it was about $60 and well worth it)
GABF Statistics:
473 breweries represented
2793 beers were on tap
25,000 gallons of beer
Entry Fee - Priceless (just kidding, it was about $60 and well worth it)
Marathon Pics
I finally got a hold of some of the pictures Melanie took during our race.
Ashley and I near mile 17.
Post-race photo, trying not to appear as close to death as we felt.
Ashley and I near mile 17.
Post-race photo, trying not to appear as close to death as we felt.
October 04, 2007
26.2
For the last several months, Ashley and I have been training for the Boulder Backroads Marathon. Last Sunday the training program culminated in a final run of 26.2 miles.
At the 16 mile mark, we passed Keith and Melanie cheering for us, and I remember feeling pretty good at that point. At about mile 18, I felt Ashley pulling away from me. I kept up until about mile 20 when my quads "exploded" in a very similar manner that they did during the relay race one week earlier (see previous blog post). Shortly after the quad explosion, they began to cramp. At mile 23, my hamstrings and calves joined the cramp party.
Somehow I continued running/hobbling and crossed the finish line in an official time of 3:57:51. Ashley beat me by exactly 6 minutes. Up to mile 20, our nice steady pace was somewhere around 8:40 per mile. From mile 20 the finish my pace was approximately one minute slower per mile.
In the end, I accomplished my goal of finishing under 4 hours and beating Jake's time of 3:58:xx (mind you this was at altitude and on a notoriously slow course). My third goal of beating Ashley did not and never will happen.
My muscles that nearly ruined me during the race recovered rather quickly. My joints, on the other hand, are not so happy with me. Now, almost 5 days after the race, my right ankle and the bottom of my right foot are still pissed about my decision to run a marathon. I fear I have a stress fracture on the ball of my right foot.
That night we celebrated by drinking copious amounts of beer and eating all the junk food we so diligently deprived ourselves of prior to the race. My pre-race weight of nearly 170 lbs is probably now back up to 185 or so.
I'm now working in North Dakota, drilling holes in the ground as part of a mine permitting project. From all I've seen, North Dakota might be better off as one large open-pit mine.
At the 16 mile mark, we passed Keith and Melanie cheering for us, and I remember feeling pretty good at that point. At about mile 18, I felt Ashley pulling away from me. I kept up until about mile 20 when my quads "exploded" in a very similar manner that they did during the relay race one week earlier (see previous blog post). Shortly after the quad explosion, they began to cramp. At mile 23, my hamstrings and calves joined the cramp party.
Somehow I continued running/hobbling and crossed the finish line in an official time of 3:57:51. Ashley beat me by exactly 6 minutes. Up to mile 20, our nice steady pace was somewhere around 8:40 per mile. From mile 20 the finish my pace was approximately one minute slower per mile.
In the end, I accomplished my goal of finishing under 4 hours and beating Jake's time of 3:58:xx (mind you this was at altitude and on a notoriously slow course). My third goal of beating Ashley did not and never will happen.
My muscles that nearly ruined me during the race recovered rather quickly. My joints, on the other hand, are not so happy with me. Now, almost 5 days after the race, my right ankle and the bottom of my right foot are still pissed about my decision to run a marathon. I fear I have a stress fracture on the ball of my right foot.
That night we celebrated by drinking copious amounts of beer and eating all the junk food we so diligently deprived ourselves of prior to the race. My pre-race weight of nearly 170 lbs is probably now back up to 185 or so.
I'm now working in North Dakota, drilling holes in the ground as part of a mine permitting project. From all I've seen, North Dakota might be better off as one large open-pit mine.
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