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.

Putting the Fun Back in Fun Run

If I were to ask you the first thing that comes to your mind when I say cherry pie, apple turnovers, and whipped cream pies to the face, you'd clearly say running a 5k, right?

If you're shaking your head wondering what I'm talking about, you're not alone. In fact, there's a pretty good chance you're having the exact same reaction I had when I opened the Champaign Parks

District summer catalogue earlier this year and saw this ad to the left.

You do the double take, you read a little closer, and then you realize that sitting right before you, is an athletic event that involves eating pie while running. What kind of evil genius could come up with a race that one could conceivably consume more calories then they burn?

The answer, of course, is who really cares.

And that is exactly the mentality I had as I quickly got my credit card and immediately signed up. While I appreciate the challenge and the accomplishment of pushing my body to its limits, I find an equal amount of enjoyment in a run for fun's sake.

Luckily for those of us in the Chambana area, we have a Parks Department that clearly feels the same way. The Pie Run, held June 22 during the Taste of CU, marked the second fun run I've participated in through the Champaign Parks Department. The first being last fall's Zombie Run, a 2 mile Zombie evasion course that challenged you to make it through hordes of the undead without losing all 3 of your lives.

Unlike my first go around last fall, the Pie Run not only offered a fun course, it gave runners a chance to bring home a little bling as well.

As I have an affinity for unnecessary validation, I was determined to come home with some hardware at any cost to my humility. The options included delivering your best pie themed joke, most spectacular finish at the flying pie finish line, or best pie themed costume.

As I'm not afraid of making a fool of myself, I chose the costume contest as my best opportunity to bring home a medal. Growing up a fan of the Simpson's, I knew there was only one choice. I bought some felt, some red fabric, and a pie tin and transformed myself into the Pie Man.

The costume was an excellent choice as I not only got my medal, but seemed to be one of the more popular runners throughout the course. I'm definitely glad I won because the costume was absolutely miserable to run in.

The route itself was easy enough. The run started just outside of Westside Park on Elm Street in Downtown Champaign. We worked our way towards Church Street, swung a left, and ran straight until we hit Davidson Park.

At just shy of the one mile mark, the park was the location of our first water stop. And while there was a chance to rehydrate yourself, this was also the first opportunity to scarf down on some delicious apple or pecan pie. Not being a huge fan of nuts in my desserts, I instantly went for the apple. I don't know which of our sponsors provided the treats for this station (Pekara, Curtis Orchard, WalMart), but I do know that after running a mile it was the most delicious apple pie I've ever tasted.

We worked our way around the park only to be greeted by a second pie/water station. Our options at this station included a chocolate creme pie and a cherry pie. I enjoyed the chocolate so much, I couldn't help but enjoy the cherry as well. I slammed another cup of water and got back on course. We kept going down Church until we hit Victor and pulled a quick U-turn and started heading back towards downtown on Park Ave.

It was another straight shot until we hit the 2 mile marker at Eisner Park and our third pie/water station. Cherry was the only option at this station, but seeing as cherry is my go to pie, I enjoyed it just as much as I did a mile earlier. I enjoyed a few samples, posed for a few pictures, and then quickly took off to the other side of the park and our final stop before the finish line featuring an apple turnover that was by and far the tastiest option on the course.

Now, as I eluded to earlier, one of the medal categories was the most spectacular finish at the flying pie finish line. In other words, you had an option to just cross the finish line or you could chose to cross the finish line with a bunch of kids chucking whipped cream pies at your face. What fun would it be just to cross the finish line? Clearly my super powers were in full effect as I'm pretty sure I was the only finisher not to get jacked in the face.

Once all was said and done and the whipped cream was wiped off our faces we were again met with a table offering what else but a slice of apple or cherry pie to cap the event.

Whether your run for your health, for competitive purposes, or just for fun, the Champaign Parks Department puts together really well organized and planned out events that are highly enjoyable. I highly recommend you give one of their runs a try. I know the Pie Run certainly won't be my last.

Courtesy of the News Gazette