Welcome back to CU Dogfish!

So I was recently running errands during the work day and happened to drive by Piccadilly on Neil St. I noticed they had updated their sign and that sign made a wonderful proclamation that Dogfish Head had once again resumed distribution in the Champaign-Urbana area.

Now, I've never known Dogfish to ever distribute in the area to begin with so when I saw this sign I instantly remembered my one and only experience with 60 Minute IPA. I quickly pulled in the parking lot to go make a purchase.

As remembered, 60 Minute, is the gold standard which all IPA's should be judged by. It's amazingly crisp and smooth without being at all over bearing. The hops are most definitely its calling card, but they won't make you pucker over how bitter it can taste. I also realize this is subjective as it just may be the best IPA experience I have had to date.

The purpose of this post however, is to review the other Dogfish selection I made, Midas Touch. As of recently, I haven't been too adventurous in my beer selection sticking with the choices I know I will enjoy. So when I saw the packaging I decided to give it a shot.

The original craft in Dogfish's Ancient Ales line claims Midas to be somewhere between wine and mead. Not being much of a wine drinker and having only a few unsuccessful attempts with barley wine and mead, I had my doubts about this beer. What I ended up trying was delightful.

Midas is extremely light and crisp and very much so similar to a champagne or a moscato. Based on most of the reviews I read, it tastes of grapes and honey which is easily identifiable. I didn't quite pick up on it. What I tasted was very citrusy, almost like the grapefruit taste one experiences while drinking a Squirt and thus, the champagne/moscato taste.

You definitely taste the beer but are also given the pleasure of the incredibly refreshing bubbly sweet wine. The smell is amazing as well and enhances your drinking enjoyment.

As for a food pairing, unfortunately I can't think of much to eat with it at present moment. I very much so picture this as a summer grill out beer. I would love to have this while making some sort of lemon herb chicken on the Weber, maybe some white fish, and definitely with a few ears of corn. Would I use it as my go to BBQ brew, no. I would definitely recommend it when you're trying to grill something a little more upscale though.

Dogfish Head Midas Touch comes in at 8 bottles out of 10.

Look At Me, I'm on TV!!!

One of the coolest things about running is the different opportunities it opens you up to. In this case, my running and want to provide a healthy example for my son Jack landed me on the local CBS affiliate as a Face of the Race, a 3 month weekly series preceding my next half, the Illinois Marathon.


Face of the Race - Run for Baby - IllinoisHomePage.net

Back in the Saddle Again...

Well, well, winter is still in full swing and an end doesn't seem likely any time soon. Despite the non-stop pounding Mother Nature keeps doling out, I promise there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For that reason, I'm choosing to place my focus 70ish days into the future at the 6th annual Illinois Marathon. After all, one has to imagine that we'll at least be able to see temps consistently above 0 in ten and a half weeks, right?

After participating in the 10k last April, I've chosen to participate in the Half Challenge this year. For those that aren't aware, that's Friday night's 5k followed by the Half Marathon the next morning. I still haven't decided if I'm going to try and shoot for a certain pace in the 5k or just use it as a nice little tune up. Regardless, at 10.5 weeks out, I'm officially into the training schedule.

Following last fall's Purdue Half in which I chose a 16 week training routine, I decided to settle on a 12 week program for this race (well, it's actually a 13 week plan since I ended up skipping a week on the calendar). It was a bold choice considering I spent most of November hobbled by my knees after extending my shoes well past their prime, followed by strict orders from my Doctor to do absolutely no running during December and the early part of January as I recovered from my Paniculectomy, and then finally missing the mid portion of January welcoming my little boy into the world (zero complaints there, Jack Jack is amazing and has changed my life in more ways than I could ever imagine).

That's all behind me though, after 6 weeks of absolutely no running we're back in the saddle and two weeks into the training program. Getting back into the groove hasn't been easy as having a newborn definitely makes things a little more challenging. I've run mid-day, late night, early in the morning, about the only thing I really haven't done is ran on a full tank of gas. This doesn't keep me from setting goals however.

Last fall my only goal was to finish, and if I did so in under 2.5 hours well, that was just gravy on the cake.  After crossing the finish line in 2:24:36, I'm much more ambitious this go around. The goal is to shave 5-10 minutes off of Purdue and set the PR somewhere between 2:15:00 and 2:20:00.

My other goal is to hopefully drop 25 pounds or more in the next 10 weeks. It seems like such an easy thing to accomplish when you consider how much running you do each week, but training for a half turns me into a ravenous cow. I actually gained two pounds throughout my 16 week program for Purdue. The good news is if I can find a way to keep my eating in check and not use my training as a get out of jail free card, those 25 pounds should melt off.

Hope everyone else is finding a way to stay sane running on the treadmills. For those of you braving the chill and sub-zero temps...you're crazy.

This weeks training motivation:

Ska Brewing Euphoria Pale Ale

Deck the halls, it's Christmas beer season, fa la la la la la la la la.

That's right folks, as the calendar turns from October to November we welcome back the single most delicious time of the year to be a beer drinker. Yours truly has enjoyed several seasonal delicacies and have only found one that I would not go back to the fridge for another.

This years first dip into the magical waters of untasted Christmas Ales comes from the good folks at Ska Brewing in Colorado. This American Pale comes in a very eye catching can. Although a solid beer, the visually appealing can is its finest asset.

The aroma was very standard for the style of beer, floral and citrusy. The taste however doesn't live up to the expectations set forth when you cracked open the can and caught the first whiff of your beverage. The piney taste was very much present the second it his your taste buds but you quickly notice it's a very subdued taste that doesn't finish overly crisp.

It also seemed a little too heavy on the malt for my taste. It came through as a very sweet biscuity undertone that combats the sharp bitter I expect from a beer that claims to be "crafted in piles and piles" of hops. That being said, this beer did go down incredibly smooth and was a good warm up for the rest of the season.

Ska Brewing's Euphoria comes in at 7 mugs out of 10.

An Ode to the Most Wonderful Time for Beer

All Hallows Eve has come and past... Its bewitching fun ending all to fast. But if you're like me and in need of good cheer... Rest easy my friends, Christmas beer season is here!

So You're a Half Marathoner, Now What???

Well boys and girls, I've finally done it. Finally, after months of training and a lot of miles I've earned my 13.1 car sticker! Well, magnet in my case. Keeping the integrity of the car was a little more important to me than the extra dollar to upgrade.

My official time was 2 hours 24 minutes and 36 seconds. A solid time, especially for a first time Half Marathoner, but I can't shake the feeling of what could have been. I got to the starting line in a very well hydrated state. By the time I finished stretching, the race was 5 minutes from starting and the two port-a-johns on site had a line at least 30 deep.

So I hopped in my corral and just hoped that it would go away. Great idea in principle,  until my bladder was bouncing up down for 3 miles. By the time the second water station popped up I was begging for a bathroom and took a quick pit stop. The line was much shorter but I can't help but wonder just how much time I added to my run.

Let's just chalk that up to a rookie mistake. This may have been the 7th race I've done, but it was the first half and that's the story I'm sticking to. I'll make sure I don't make that mistake again.

Almost immediately after, I hit a groove and a strong pace for 7 miles that took us from the West Lafaytte residential area, through the college apartments, across the river, into town, and back through campus. This was by and far the most enjoyable leg of the run. The leaves were perfect. Orange, yellow, red, green, pretty much every color that just screams fall.

Coupling that with the new surroundings I've never run through, those miles just flew by quicker than I could have imagined. I was cruising until we hit the 10th mile and reached the athletic complexes, and more importantly, the hills. HOLY CRAP was I not prepared for that. I had spent the last month or so of training finding every hill in Champaign I could run on to help prep for this leg...well what I thought were hills at that point in time.

By the time I made it to the 12th mile, my legs were shot and my will was being tested. I would have crushed a flat course but I needed every ounce of my adrenaline to get me across that finish line. I still made it and all the prouder for it.

I had only two complaints about my first half marathon.

The first issue came with how I crossed the finish. I had spent the days leading up to the race
contemplating how I was going to cross the finish line. I had settled on the traditional one fist in the air, a sign of strength and will. But when it actually came time to strike a pose, the animal inside of me took over and roared as I was crossing. I have no problem with that. I typically lose myself in the run and throw random punches or screams when I need an extra boost, and yes, I scare the hell out of people when it happens too. No no, the problem comes with the picture taken of me as I was crossing. Yep that's right, rocking the Oh face!

The other issues was the last tenth of a mile. The course brought you to a hard right 90 degree turn exactly at the 13 mile marker. You spin to your side and see the finish line so close you can taste it. Naturally, you kick things up a gear to finish as hard as you can. It was just too bad there was a 30-35 foot drop in the span of about 20 feet. Dana was waiting just at the bottom of that slope and told me every person running by her was complaining about how it was killing their knees. Yours truly, somehow hyper extended his right knee. I had no intention of resting more than a few days as I have a 10k a mere two weeks after the half, but that hill put me out of commission for 9 days. It just seems no matter how they shape that course, there's going to be some trouble getting to the finish line if they keep it at Ross-Ade Stadium

No biggie though.

After all, I'm a Half Marathoner now, pain comes with the territory.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Marathoners

You see that thing to the left? Have you ever felt the urge to see what you're made of and given the Couch to 5k a try. Have you ever felt the urge to double down and go for a 10k? Have you ever felt half crazy or full on nuts and pushed yourself to a Half or Full Marathon?

Well, if you answered yes to any of those questions you not only recognize that document, you've no doubt scoured the inter-webs looking for a training program that is perfectly suited to your style of preparation. Regardless of your distance, following a set plan is one of the best ways to achieve your goal in the most efficient and healthy way possible.

My first race ever was the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon 10k, and good ole Coach Purvis and her Nike Running training schedule (seen above) was the exact method I used to get me to the finish line. My original intention was to run the 5k with a group of friends but due to the Friday night start time, none of them could make it. So they talked me into the 10k the morning after and my goal was set, run 6.24 miles straight. The plan worked.

But that doesn't mean it has to be so damn boring, does it? I mean look at it; so bland, so monotonous, and un-inspirational. It is literally just exercises on a calendar.

So when I finally decided I was ready for my first Half Marathon, I wanted to come up with something a little more lively and impactful. Something that would change regularly and give you a fresh mindset on a regular basis. So instead of simply using your basic event training calendar, I found the program I wanted to use and wrapped it in a shiny new package.

I broke my calendar into a single page per week and I love it.

This structure is an absolutely amazing way to keep track of how far you should be going and when you should be running/lifting.

The best part of the single week structure is it prevents you from peering to far ahead. Seeing one week at a time, the farthest you can look ahead is your long run for the week. Let me tell you, seeing you have to go 7 miles in a few days is a hell of a lot easier to digest than seeing you 'll have to run 12 miles when you just worked yourself up to a 10k distance.

As you can see, I've also added an inspirational message into each week of my calendar. This is another great way to help push yourself in a manner that's best suited for pushing yourself. For instance, having run multiple 10k's, I no longer view the 6 miler as a challenge. So for the first month of my training program I used humorous runspiration pictures to help keep me in a jovial mood prior to the heart of my training program.

As the mileage becomes more difficult, I chose messages that had a much stronger motivating message behind them. An added bonus is you get to chose which messages you choose to motivate yourself. After all, who knows what messages have more impact on you than you?

Like I said, every one knows what works best for them, but I'd highly recommend you turn to yourself when looking for your next training motivation program.