Beermileage Weekly Round-up

So this past week I got out to another strong start with my mileage, 32 miles in the first 4 days...which was followed, not atypically, by 4 miles over the final 3 days. This is definitely something I need to work on...

Anyhow, here are the numbers:

1st Place: Brian - 27 Miles - 15 Beers = 12 pts

2nd Place: Danny - 24 Miles - 13 Beers = 11 pts

3rd Place: Joe - 36 Miles - 29!! Beers = 7 pts

Lofty Goals on Frozen Ground

Frigid weather has definitely hit the West Coast hard already with DC beginning to feel the chill as well. Both Portland and Spokane have been ice cold this past week and i'm sure that it has put a damper on the running communities there. Joe, however, seems to continue to laugh in the face of nature as he has climbs towards a new beermileage record. This time, its in miles!

Before we go and hand Joe the trophy, let's look back to last week's competition. Going into the weekend Danny was the mileage and points leader with Joe and myself close behind in miles. Joe had taken a quick lead on the beers consumed, but keep in mind that he had the Ducks to thank for that mid-week total. We ran the final tally on Monday to find major changes by Joe and decent progress by me.

Joe: 17 miles - 31 beers = -14 pts.

Danny: 21.5 miles - 11 beers = 10.5 pts.

Brian: 26.5 miles - 17 beers = 9.5 pts.

If we were playing golf, Joe would have embarrassed us. We, however, are not. Though the ducks weren't playing, Joe was still celebrating. My assumption that Danny was going to practically double his mileage most likely jinxed him, yet it did not help me in the end.

Congrats to Danny for the victory!

As for this week, danny had finals early on so his start is understandably slower than normal. I've tried to get out a steady number of runs and was feeling confident against my competition. That is of course until i realized the show that Joe was putting on for us to watch. As i mentioned above, Joe is approaching new realms of mileage per week for the beermileage crew. I won't jinx him here, but his goal is lofty, yet far from unattainable by him. Considering that he is doing this in frozen temperatures, i'm really looking forward to his final total Monday morning.

The current totals are:

Joe: 32 miles - 17 beers = 15 pts.

Danny: 7 miles - 6 beers = 1 pt.

Brian: 20 miles - 6 beers = 14 pts.

A lot of potential with these current numbers. We'll see who can grit their teeth through the cold and knock out some more miles. One mentality that we all share is that the best part of running during winter is that nothing warms you up after a run like a few beers.

Pre-Weekend Tally

The beermileage challenge resumed this week after taking some time off for the extended Thanksgiving weekend. Nothing too crazy with the numbers so far (for example Joe hasn't put us to shame with a 30+ mile showing like he did a couple weeks ago), which makes me think that this weekend will be fairly competitive.

Danny: 18 miles - 1 beer = 17 pts

Joe: 17 miles - 17 beers = 0 pts

Brian: 14.5 miles - 4 beers = 10.5 pts

In terms of mileage, its looking really close. As for beers, Danny and i need to find a reason to drink, hopefully in celebration, and then keep throwing on more miles. Joe has already had his celebratory beers after the big Ducks win last night so i wouldn't be surprised if he catches up in points pretty quickly.

Winter is definitely starting to kick in as we watch the temperatures drop and the hours of daylight continue to vanish. My hope is that this isn't a deterrent for us as we take advantage of some more adventurous and obstacle-laden trails. i found out firsthand last night that when the moon is out and the temps are above freezing there is no better time for a night run with the headlamp turned off. Hopefully, that wasn't my last of opportunity to do that this season, because it would be a great way to sneak in some extra miles Sunday night.

Recap of Last Week's Challenge

I should have known better than to go running my mouth like I had last weeks challenge sewed up on thursday. Over the last 3 days of the week I logged a grand total of 6.5 miles as fatigue from work and running slowed me down and the overwhelming desire to watch college football and drink beer put a stick in my spokes and launched my ass onto the couch. Anyhow, here are the numbers..

Danny: 35 Miles - 10 Beers = 25 pts *New Challenge Record*

Joe: 39 Miles - 23 Beers = 16 pts

Brian: 12 Miles (bum knee) - 10 Beers = 2 pts

-Joe

Mid-Week Update

As of Thursday evening:

Joe: 32.5 Miles - 6 beers = 26.5 pts

Brian: 11 Miles - 0 beers = 11 pts

Danny: 12.5 Miles - 6 beers = 6.5 pts


So far so good for me, wish I could say the same for Brian & Danny. I'm feeling really good this week, so I'm half tempted to rack the mileage up into the 60+ range...but coming off a couple 15 mile weeks that seems unwise. The current plan is to gradually ramp up to 70-80 mile weeks in preparation for the Purge & Splurge 60 Miler at the end of the year.

Though I may have a solid head start on Brian and Danny I'm not counting them out to sneak back on me. Brian may have the knees of an 80 year old, but he's stubborn as all get out, and Danny is a freak...and way better than Brian or I at drinking in moderation. In regards to that last statement, I do realize that Brian currently stands at zero beers for the week, that is the fluke of all flukes and I'm formally wagering a 30-pack of Milwaukee's Best Ice that he can't go the whole week.

-Joe

The last two weeks and a look ahead

First off, Joe and i would like to welcome Danny to the BeerMileage crew. As you can probably tell from his first post, he is a talented runner, writer and beer consumer. We are all looking forward to seeing how Danny's beer totals stack up to Joe's and mine because we know he won't slack on the miles. i already have a number of runs planned for the week in anticipation of some heated competition. Of course, i do have to celebrate Veteran's Day, a friends birthday and the coming and the passing of another weekend... We'll report on the "progress" mid-week.

Among the reasons to take a two week break in the BeerMileage Challenge was for my running in the Potomac Heritage 50k on November 1st. i tried as much as i could to make the week of the race a sober one and felt that it would be a bit unfair to rack up a sizable amount of miles and just a few beers the same week as Halloween. Though he would have given a solid effort, Joe faced a severe disadvantage. The week afterwards was spent heavily drinking and i accompanied that with little running. Joe would have crushed me, but we both agree that it should at least be competitive.

Regarding the Potomac Heritage 50k, i would like to commend the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club on a well organized and overall adventurous race. The start and finish were conveniently located a short walking distance from my house, making this a must do "fat-ass." The rain naturally starting picking up immediately as we started, but the NW roots in me didn't seem to mind. Each of the aide stations were prepared, energetic and well spaced, allowing for a relatively fast first half. i ran with my girlfriend Sheila the whole way and as we made the turn under the American Legion Bridge, each of us had a knee that started to feel tight. This was a major turning point in the run for us, for up until that point, we felt pleased with our pace and easily had the physical energy and mental stamina to keep it up. We continued on, but as we reached a downhill section, though short in length, it was excruciating to run/walk down. Quickly we started seeing people that we had passed miles before catch up and overtake us.

i have become accustomed to running with pain and discomfort and i knew that despite how much she hated life at that point, Sheila and i would finish. This was Sheila's first 50k and her overall longest run by a decent margin. Though we both knew she trained enough to go the entire way, it was the extended distance on the knees that was making this run evermore challenging. We kept pushing and pulled ourselves through the mud and rising streams to the final aide station. i don't know if it was the m&m's, the reese's peanut butter cups or the overall competitive nature in us, but as we left that aide station it was easy to tell that we weren't going to give up on this one. The final six miles went by fairly quickly as we maintained a respectable pace (for our current condition) and chatted the last four with a fellow racer. It was a great feeling to finally step inside after finishing knowing that you didn't quit on yourself. For Sheila, i was especially proud of her for running her first (and far from her last) ultra and because this was my idea, i was very thankful she didn't leave me directly after.

For me, it's another race down and another experience to build on come the next adventure. Danny wrote earlier this week that running has a lot left to teach him and I can't agree with this more. I've noticed that one of the great mind games this sport plays is that you train and train for a specific run often to find out that you need to train more. Maybe it's a knee that tells you, 'hey, stretch more often' or 'you're not that young,' but we learn from our aches and try to alleviate the pains. If while respecting the body, you can push the body, then the end result will often be the pain free desired one. So as i look forward to conquering this zen-like conundrum, what better way to do this then through a BeerMileage Challenge.

See you Thursday!

Stumps

Lessons Learned

A little over a month ago, I began my second official marathon with one huge goal in mind--qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Everything on race morning was perfect; it was about 50 degrees and overcast, and somehow the local Portland weather system had worked its usual race day magic and managed to keep the rain at bay for the Marathon. I felt calm and confident because of the training I had knocked out. By the time the buildup for the race was over, I had done more mileage, by far, than I had ever done in my life, and had remained as injury-free as can be. Everything felt like it was coming together for this one race.

And for the first 15 miles of the race, everything was coming together. Needing a 3:10:59 or faster marathon to qualify, my goal was 7:15 a mile. By the fifth mile, I was at more like 7:00 a mile, and from then on I kept accidentally running sub 7:00 miles. I remember thinking that pace had never felt so easy. It wasn't until around mile 12 or so that I even felt like I was working. Somewhere after mile 15, however, I felt my hamstrings cramp in both legs. I actually stopped running, looked at my watch, and told myself, "Just walk for 1 minute, then you'll be fine." I did walk for one minute, but then I wasn't fine; I started running again, only to find that my legs began to cramp after another minute or two.

After my hamstrings (and later my calves and quads) started to cramp, the race became more about survival than any time goal. For the next 11 or so miles of the race, I would run until I cramped, then walk until they went away...rinse, wash, and repeat. I would end up watching every pace group from 3:10 to 3:50 pass me by the time it was finished. Watching each of those groups pass was probably the most defeated I have ever felt during any running competition.

I finished in 3:51:37 after passing through the first half in 1:32:10. You can do the math on that one...41+ minutes and about 1:36 a mile off my goal of qualifying, which might as well be forever. In the past month since the race, I've come to terms (somewhat) with the race. I've taken a couple positives from it: part of the journey was the training, and I made it through tougher stuff than I ever had before; regardless of how stupid it was to go out that fast, I went balls out for a goal that I thought was possible; and it's beneficial to get a good, ass-kicking humbling every now and again, as I learned quite a bit about what I can do differently next time around.

It's pretty damn disappointing to be in better shape than your time in a race indicates. And it's just really confusing and fun when the opposite happens. After two full weeks off running, and two slow weeks to get back into things, I ran a 5k that my classmates and I were putting on to raise money. I finished in 18:35, which dead-on tied my PR. I had no business running that fast, and am still not quite sure how it happened.

What I think this shows more than anything is that running has a lot left to teach me. And I'm excited to keep bumbling around like an idiot as I learn.

PS: I'll be joining in the BeerMileage challenge this week. School's starting to get a bit stressful, meaning I'll be doing a fair amount of beer drinking this week. Hopefully the mileage follows suit.

Dbrasch

Last Week's Recap

Joe claimed a dominating victory this last week!

After a great start to the week, Joe knocked out another run to finish with 37 miles. A few more beers in there and his final point total for the week was 14.

Success was not scared on both coasts though. The 13 miles that i had going into Thursday nearly remained that way through the weekend. The reason: a trip New York City. Tallying up a final number of beers this week will be a tough task and isn't something that i want to go back and recap. If the actual number is above zero, i will be happily surprised.

Joe: 37 miles - 23 beers = 14 pts.

Brian: 17 miles - ___ beers = a win for Joe

We are going to take at least a week off from the challenge, but will resume shortly. i'll be sure to get my mileage back up to make this competitive again. We haven't been doing this long, but i've already learned a valuable lesson - A weekend in NYC will not help you win a Beermileage Challenge.

Mid Week Check

When Joe said the other day that he was going to bring his A/B game this week, he was not joking around. As of right now, here are the totals:

Joe: 31.25 miles - 9 beers = 22.25 pts.

Brian: 13 miles - 5 beers = 8 pts.

Not as easy of a week for me to build the mileage up as i had originally planned. The knees are a bit sore and with this being Thursday, beer sounds a little bit better every minute. It also doesn't help when you end up getting free pints and $1 pitchers thrown in your face on a Wednesday night.

We'll keep this week's challenge going through Sunday and post the final results early next week. If i get ambitious, we might see this race tighten up and me crushing out a few extra miles right before midnight on Sunday to edge out a victory.... but let's not get ahead of ourselves now....

Recap of Last Week's Challenge

It looks as though Brian has emerged victorious in yet another BeerMileage challenge, I believe he's at 3-0 now. I'll be bringing my A game this week (or at least my B game), so place your bets accordingly.

Joe: 26.5 Miles - 17 Beers = 9.5 pts
Longest Run: 9.5 Miles

Brian: 24.5 Miles - 11 Beers = 13.5 pts
Longest Run: 8.5 Miles

Portland Marathon 2010 News

I read today that the Portland Marathon will have two very significant changes for 2010: they will no longer have a 5-mile race, and will be adding a half-marathon to the lineup.

Personally I am quite torn between excitement for another big time half in Portland and mourning the loss of the 5-miler with which I had first cut my teeth in road racing. I hadn't raced the 5-miler in a few years due to racing or pacing in the marathon and had quite been looking forward to doing it again, alas, it was not to be.

Sidenote: the half-marathon is allegedly going to be a combined mass start with the full marathon, which will be a complete clusterf***k! Adding 3,000 runners to an already over-congested start is not ideal. Hopefully this gets revised before raceday, perhaps a different starting time or location.

Mid-Week Update

As of Thursday Evening:

Brian: 12.5 Miles - 6 Beers = 6.5 pts

Joe: 14 Miles - 7 Beers = 7 pts


Pretty pathetic showing all around thus far, but I think we can expect the battle to really heat up as the weekend arrives. Several inches of rain are expected Friday pm -Saturday in areas of Oregon, so that should make any long runs extra epic.

Note: In case of a tie in point total at the end of the week winner will be determined by whoever had the longest single run of the week.

How i got here

Call it intrigue, call it passion, call it foolishness. The reason as to how i got where i am now with running can be answered as a combination of those three characteristics. When i started running, about two and a half years ago, its hard to say if any of the above factors played a role at all. Running to me was never something that i saw as a 'fun' activity. Running was always a way to train for another sport. Whether it was a 40, a fast break or going from first to third, running was never just for the love of running.


But then came the intrigue. It was late December of '07 when Joe asked me if i wanted to run the Eugene Half with him. The idea itself sounded awful. i couldn't recall the last time that i ran nor did i ever picture myself running that far all at once. My body was in decent shape with climbing and general working out, but no where near 13 mile shape. It was during the time spent thinking all this over when the question hit me. Can i do it? i was never one to turn down sport, of any kind, and here i was thinking that i didn't want to run because i didn't think i could. To me, there was only one way to find out the answer.

Preparing physically and mentally for months and then not actually running the race you've trained for is a feeling that i would prefer never to experience again. Maybe it was the flu, maybe it was nerves, let's just say things didn't go as planned. So i didn't run the race. i laid in my bed that day knowing that i could and i had to prove to myself that i could. i set out the next weekend and knocked out my first 13.1mile run. man, did that feel good. the weight of intrigue that i carried around for 4 months was, for a brief moment, lifted. i distinctly remember finishing that run, my legs sore, my feet blistered and my only thought was that i wanted to do that again. welcome, passion.

i moved out to dc a few months later and for this excuse or that, the running tapered off a good deal. it took awhile, but i slowly built it back up to a modest 2-3 short runs a week, nothing too crazy. For awhile it was clear that the passion i had grown accustomed to, had left me. Also, looking back, i know the intrigue was long gone too. i was back to running as a means to be better at sport, mainly coed touch football. The passion i had only 6 months before was barely a memory.

i needed a spark. i started becoming bored with routes, the pavement running was taking its toll on the knees and the scenery and it was evident i wasn't in it for the right reason. There had to be something that would ignite at least a little passion back in me and not allow me to give up running all together. This time around, the answer was in my own backyard. One afternoon i decided to get a little ballsy and stepped off the sidewalk and onto a a trail that i must have passed a million times before. i had no idea where the trail went and couldn't see through the trees far enough to even venture a guess. Within a few strides i realized that i had found what i was missing. The trail itself wasn't all that long and wound its way to a road about a mile from my house, but for the first time in a long while, i felt the spring return to my step. The trail crossed a couple small streams and zig zagged through trees. i welcomed the interruptions in my stride with ditch clearing jumps and precision stutter steps. With each of these new variations in footwork, i found my pace pickup and my desire to run longer ever more present.

Not having found the trails that i now spend countless hours on earlier in my dc days is a shame, but it's something that i just have to live with. The discovery of one trail led to another and telling someone about a trail was the best way to get a recommendation for another. The mileage picked up each week and as winter pushed through, the temps had little slowing effect. It was mid january. The passion was back in full.

The more i ran the more people i wanted to find people to join me. As i mentioned before, i love the idea of not knowing what i'm capable of and doing something just to find out if i can. The people that i was running with at this point are great athletes. Some of them craved speed at short distances, others excelled at long, well paced endurance runs. Either way, i used their skills to push me and make myself a stronger, well balanced runner. As i look back, i probably couldn't have asked for a better training regime for what was about to come.

i had heard of ultras and knew people that ran them, but i never imagined myself being able to do one. First of all, i have never run a marathon. Ten miles for me is a solid long run and i feel accomplished when i pull that off. i was approached by a good friend of my mine that i run with on whether i'd like to team up with him and two others and do an ultra relay. There weren't any specific final distances, just an 8 mile course and you trade off seeing how many times each teammate can run it over a 24 hour period. 'What?!' That was quickly my first reaction. The last time my friend ran this race, each person averaged 30+ miles over the day and their team set the course record. Mentally, i was more intimidated than i've ever been, but the only thing i said was, 'Of course i'll do it.' And so the foolishness begins.

The 24hr relay was the first weekend of May this last year. There were some trying moments, but our whole team persevered and eventually dominated the course. The emotional high was incredible. Here i was, barely able to walk to the awards ceremony and all i could think about was the next race. Could my body do this again? What distance could i actually pull off? i think it was that moment there that i finally realized all three characteristics had come together. The intrigue was as strong as ever. The passion was going to keep me striving towards whatever i wanted. And it was the foolishness that in no way was going to prevent me from saying 'no' to the next challenge.

As my summer of running comes to an end and with a 50miler and 12hr trail run under my belt, i know how i got here and i've seen what i can do. Now i'm starting to ask myself again, 'what can i do next?'

Beer Vs. Mileage

Welcome to Beer Vs. Mileage, a chronicle covering the weekly competition between two fellow beer aficionados & running junkies, Joe & Brian, in which the goal is to log the most mileage and least beer-age. We'll be posting updates throughout the week as we run, drink, race, and otherwise participate in vomit-inducing past-times.