Blog-a-rama

Yesterday was a decent day. Got alot done at work. I think the adjusters at Liberty Mutual are well on their way to considering me annoying. I sent 40-50 emails to them over the last week requesting updates on claims that they haven't taken care of. I guess the adjusters that aren't taking care of business got the majority of them. Interesting thing is, those are the same people who haven't replied to many of the emails. It sucks when you can't trust someone to do their job and you have to follow up on every detail to make sure it is done properly.

I was as tired as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest when I got off work. Mainly because I only had 5 hours of sleep the night before and staring at a computer screen all day sucks. Kyle called me to go for a mountain bike ride and I obliged. The weather is beginning to stay consistently nice. I live in the development on the left side of the pic.





I could tell my legs were still tired from the 10K, but I needed to get blood circulating so they can heal faster. Got some groceries, cooked a delicious Fettucini with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce (I use fat free vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream), went to sleep. I slept really well and it was hard to get up this morning because I wanted to keep sleeping, but no dice. Not sure what I'll do when i get off work today. Whatever it is, it needs to be active. I'm hoping to find some people that I can start climbing with soon. Apparnetly the Vail Valley isn't the best place.

BULLSEYE!!!

We put up a dartboard in our basement not too long ago. I've played occasionally and I'm not that good, but I do have my moments. Like this one...

Yes, I actually threw that. Two bulls and one double bullseye. My roommate Luke can vouch for me. I'm pretty much a badass. I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.

Race Weekend

Most of this weekend was pretty laid back because I was preparing for the Bolder Boulder on Monday. I did a 3 mile run on Saturday, but that was about it until the run.

We drove to Boulder on Sunday. It was pretty hot out. We walked around a little, ate, and relaxed. Luke showed me around the town a bit and went on about how it barely ever rains in Boulder because the mountains send the clouds around it. This was obviously foreshadowing.

We woke up Monday to grey, threatening skies. Didn't get much of a warm-up because the lines for the port-a-potty were long and well... enough said. There were too many people around and not enough woods, and I'm not a fan of getting an indecent public exposure charge or anything.

I ran decently well for the amount of training I put in. I ended up with an 8:26 minute/mile. Not that great of a time, but better than I thought I would do. The overcast skies kept us cool through the whole race. Right as I was coming to the end of the race and running into the stadium, some guy next to me yakked all over a rail on the side. It was good motivation to keep going at the least. Once the race was over it got cold since I was covered in sweat, not running, and it was spitting rain. They had a cool vendor expo with lots of free stuff. I stupidly had more sugary free stuff instead of electrolyte replacement stuff. I felt pretty good until we got back to Joel's house (Luke's boss). I felt weak and tired and kinda queezy. We had some good BBQ and I felt much better after falling asleep on the way home.

Once I get some pictures from the race I'll put them on here or post a link.

First Bike Commute

I commuted by bike to work for the first time this morning. Not exactly the best day to choose. It was cold (probably around 40 degrees), sprinkling rain, and windy. But I made the 12 miles in about an hour with over 900 feet of elevation gain. It is almost all uphill on the way to work. I could have planned the whole thing better, but now I know for next time. I think I kinda liked it. Even though the conditions weren't the best, it will make next time that much better. It puts you in a whole different mood for the day. Plus with gas as expensive as it is ($4.11/gallon at the cheapest station up here), I save money while getting in shape. Great way to stick it to the man!

I brought an extra shirt, boxers, and change of shoes, but I should have brought more. My pants were a little wet in the seat from road spray and sweat. Plus I sweated through the shirt I was wearing and soaked the long sleeve I had on over it. I planned on wearing the long sleeve today... not so much anymore.

I had a little headache once I got to work. Most likely from my head being so cold and burning 600 calories on the way to work. If I am going to keep riding to work, I have to eat more in the morning.

Bike Times

A few days ago I ranted about stuff that I want to fix/upgrade on my mountain bike. I was doing some research online and a co-worker mentioned that his friend was trying to sell his 2005 Trek Fuel EX 9.

It is usually a $3,000+ bike that he was selling for about $1,200-1,000. It's in pretty good shape. The wheel set that he put on there is worth about $800 alone. Everything else works pretty well except for the freehub which clicks and I think causes the cassette to slip in low gears. It's a little big for me and I don't like the brake/shifters. Even though it is an INCREDIBLE deal, I don't need to spend the money on it right now. I could probably buy it and sell the parts for more than I bought it for, but I better not.

Dept. Ski Day

Yesterday was our department ski day. Yes... a ski day in late May. The one we had scheduled earlier in the season got cancelled, and for good reason. A HUGE snow storm had blown in and there was a 50-car pile-up. I didn't ski, but I did join a group that rode bikes from A-Basin to Loveland and back. That's about 1000 feet of climbing in 3.5 miles, down about 1000 feet in 3.5 miles, and back. Not too shabby for my first mountain ascent/descent.

I'm in the middle, towards the back. But that doesn't reflect when I got to the top, promise. Now I really need to get ready for the Bolder Boulder 10K that I'm running next Monday. With the little amount of training I've been doing, I'd be happy with a 9:30 minute/mile pace, but I'd like to hit a flat 9 minute/mile. When I was in better shape, I did a 10K with 8 minute/miles. Once that is over, I have about 2 weeks to finish getting ready for the Teva Mountain Games Hill Climb.

Birthday Weekend

Last week was pretty slow for me. I went running a few days and got on my mountain bike to tune it up and get it ready for the summer. On Friday I rode around with Luke and Blair in Edwards. Basically just played around until I jumped into a pot hole, popped my rear tube, and put a huge dent in the rear rim. My rear wheel was already shot and I was thinking about getting a new wheel set, cassette, chainrings and chain. I wouldn't mind getting new brake levers, V-brakes (or disc brakes), and derailleur's as well. A new fork would be nice too. Really I just want a full suspension bike. I don't have the money to throw at it right now, so I probably won't do anything. If I get a new wheel set (front and rear wheel), I will need a new cassette and chainrings. And the brake upgrade is just a logical step. I hate having to go all or nothing.

Enough bike ranting. Saturday morning we went for a jog and I felt like crap. I am sure that I could name a million reasons why I ran like crap, but here are a few: I'm not in the shape I used to be in, didn't let my breakfast digest enough to fuel my body, started out too hard before warming up. As soon as we finished, my allergies took control of my very being. I couldn't stop sneezing and my nose was running MUCH faster than I had that morning. After I calmed down my mucus machine, I did some core workout and then laid in the sun in the front yard for an hour.

After some afternoon ciders at the bar, I went home to take a nap and get ready for the evening. A group of about 7 headed to Balata and had an awesome dinner. We rounded the night off at our local bar, E-Town. After becoming sufficiently intoxicated, we headed home (yes mom, we had a designated driver).

Kyle woke me up at noon on Sunday to go for a mountain bike ride. Still slightly hung over, I ate a bowl of cereal, had my tire changed and hammered out the dent in my rim. There are few better ways to get over a hang over than sweating it out or puking. I opted to sweat it out and almost puke. We climbed some decent hills on our way up. The view from the top was gorgeous. The snow on Arrowhead in Beaver Creek is finally starting to melt.

Perfect Sunday

Yesterday was one of the best days I've had since moving. Woke up around 9:30 and Chris had breakfast cooked. I was still stuffed from the steak, lobster, and shrimp the night before, but I ate anyway. What can I say, I'm a gluton for... food. Chris said he was going to clean the garage and I told him we better get to it then.

Got some crap at Home Depot and WalMart (ughhh), then went home and stalled by playing with those velcro gloves and fuzzy tennis balls (old school = awesome and still fun) and then went for a 5 mile jog. My stall tactics are becoming much healthier these days... actually I usually stall because I don't feel like jogging, but who's counting? After a healthy bowl of cereal for lunch it felt like late afternoon. GREAT!!! No garage cleaning today! Wrong, it was only about 2. We hit it hard and threw a bunch of crap away. Well, it's in a convenient pile waiting to be thrown away at least, but there is now twice as much room in the garage and it's organized.

It was pretty fun going through all the junk and trashing the... trash. And a clean accessible garage feels like a beautiful spring day in the Colorado mountains. Maybe that was why it was so nice. Did I mention that it was absolutely perfect outside? Well, let me tell you something. It was absolutely perfect outside.

We finished the day off with a BBQ, some trick bike riding, and a nice soak in the hot tub. The day went by so slow and I loved every minute of it.

Starting of ...summer?

The weather is starting to look really nice up here. I got in 3 bike rides last week around 15-20 miles each. I also managed to get in a nice jog on Friday before going out with some friends. A rain storm was blowing in Wednesday afternoon, but I sucked it up and went for a ride anyway. I got home right before it started dumping rain.


I am really getting the get-in-shape bug again. I registered to ride the Teva Mountain Games Hill Climb in June. It's a huge event that draws world class athletes, but I'm doing it more for the experience. I don't think I will come close to competing with guys who ride the Tour de France. I'm also going to try to run the Bolder Boulder 10K in late May.

I had plans to wake up this morning and go for a jog or a ride, but the weather had this in store instead...


I went for an awesome pancake breakfast with Chris, and by 10:30 it had mostly cleared out and the snow started to vaporize into a gorgeous day.


My new plans for the day were going to involve putting up some shelves in my room and unpacking the endless supply of boxes junking up the cave that I call my room. But who knows, maybe I will go for that run.

Back in CO

I had a great time in TX over the last week. I took the opportunity to visit most of my favorite restaurants in Austin. Phil's Icehouse, Freebirds, and Polvos just to name a few. Shiloh and I played a few holes at Peter Pan Mini-Golf, went for a few jogs, and took a dip in the Springs. It was sad to leave such a beautiful place with incredible friends.

The drive back was uneventful and I had good weather. It snowed last night and has been snowing for most of today as well. I think we have got 3-5 inches so far. It's not sticking on the streets or most of the pavement, which is a good thing since I took my winter tires off before leaving to TX.

Not much else going on, just getting back in the groove at work. I'm hoping to start jogging more and working out as my ribs heal. It always feels good to get back in shape.