Branching out in 2014

Like many people I don't "resolve" to do anything at the new year, but I do tend to set goals.  The last two years I've set a goal of reading 12 books in the given year.  I'm 0-2.  Who knows though, I'm off to a decent start again, so hopefully I can keep it up.

Many of my friends are also chasing the elusive 365 beers of 2014 and while I don't intend on reaching that lofty goal, you just never know.  I've begun tracking the different beers here on the right and I'm on pace through 16 days...  Early leader in the clubhouse is Gigantic's The Future Is Now which is a truly fantastic take on an IPA and not something I've tasted despite my pension for them.  Almost like a cross between Gubna and Alaskan Amber, sticky and malty.  Good stuff.

I don't have an arbitrary number I'm shooting for, though I assume I'll be able to hit 100 different beers this year just out of habit.  The nice thing is that it forces me to branch out and try new beers. As with everything else though, I assume that it'll peter out in the summer when I tend to do little else outside my family fun and running.  The winter is when I get my beer/read on mostly, so I need to maximize my time here in the next few months.

Between drinking, reading, and running my main goal is to branch out and try new things.  I've been lifting twice a week this winter, reading across genres, and running odd routes around my neighborhood that I've neglected.  I tend to be a creature of habit and having the goal to try new things even at the simplest level (like running a slightly different way to the trail head) is gonna be a great way to shake things up and hopefully improve my improvisation.

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My racing schedule looks to have taken shape pretty solidly, though changes may come due to some rearranging on the family schedule.  The most likely thing is that is out there is swapping EMR with the Dirty 30.  I might be solo around that time, and it'd make more sense for me to maximize that time by hitting some long days after the race in the high country if the weather permits.  If we have another late winter like last year, it's unlikely but if we get another 2012 spring, I should be good to hit some classics that I need to tick like Longs and Holy Cross/Halo Ridge.  Ideally I'd be able to tack on Elbert/Massive as well and make it a 4 day dirtbag odyssey.

I also plan to enter the Cascade Crest lottery with plans to continue on with Fat Dog if I don't get in.  Donnie got into UTMB so he'll be gallivanting around the alps instead of the Canadian Cascades.  Either way, I'll be stoked. Cascade Crest has been a bucket lister for me and I figure I might as well start with the lottery to see how it goes.

In any case, I look forward to chatting it up with yunz runner folks at the Fat Ass this Saturday.

Success and Failure

Success! I made the arbitrary goal of human powered summits of Green Mountain despite a bunch of sparse months through the middle of the year.  It's easiest to get in a groove in bad weather months because the direct route is mostly clear and runnable, but the dry weather brings out the fun stuff on the other parts of the hill.

Failure.  Poor job on the reading front, though as with running it took a back seat in the late summer and fall when life didn't permit it.  Off to a decent start in 2014, and I'll try to get all the way to 12 this year, just have to stay on top of it.  Enjoyed Semi Rad's new book.

The best book I read in 2013 was A Coffin for Dimitrios though I enjoyed the other Noir novels in the queue.  Franny and Zooey was a re-read, so I can't count that really, but it's Salinger goodness.  I've got a good lineup of Noir for 2014 (Xmas gifts from the wife) as well as Nick Offerman's book.  I also need to read a few classics that I'm embarrassed not to have read.

2013 Stats

Spent my long days this fall and late summer on the bike, in fact, I didn't run longer than 10 miles between pacing Donnie at Leadville and the impromptu 28 miler down in Roxborough with Woody, Scott, and Patrick.  If I'd have run those days, I'd be close to about 3K for the year, and considering a couple of long breaks from training, that's a pretty solid daily number (9.8 miles per run, close to 14 miles per running day).

The obvious trend is towards vertical, as I racked up more than 100K more than 2012, including time on the bike.  I ride the same routes as I run and if I stay on Green Mountain, I'm about the same speed as a run due to my shitty bike skills.  However, I'm gonna keep some bike time through the summer, particularly on days after long runs.  Also, contrary to popular belief, biking is actually fun.

2013

2012

2011