Weekly Log: 12.8.14 - 12.14.14

Monday - Westerly, RI - 11.4 miles

225 push-ups (standard/military/wide/decline) 30/25/35/25/30/20/30/30

The office was closed due to much of the staff returning from Miami the day before.  With the day off, I had originally envisioned a long Arcadia run but the morning began to get away from me and I had shopping scheduled in Westerly for the afternoon.  I had considered Woody Hill but I opted for the Grills Preserve which I'm more familiar with.  Good thing too, as my entire run was accompanied by the sound of gunfire coming from Woody Hill.

It was a little chilly but I warmed up quickly.  I followed the trails along the perimeter of Westerly Grills, before crossing the magical silvery bridge and taking on the technical trail.  I was around five miles at this point and the ol' janky knee was beginning to ache as usual but I bore on and it never got worse.  The miles ticked away and I was pleased to get over ten.  It was nice to finally be out in the woods and get in a decent trail run.  Felt good!

Tuesday - 0 miles

Fuck this knee.  After yesterday's Grills adventure I can barely walk down the stairs today.  You'd think I just ran a 50k.

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 5 miles

Gah, I've got some kind of painful twinge at the base of my neck.  I don't think it's from the push-ups as I had some DOMS yesterday but otherwise felt fine.  Hopefully it'll disappear in a day.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with the sports medicine doc in the office below mine.  Knee is still sore from Grills but I figure I should give it some work today so that it's easy to identify the sore spots tomorrow.  I felt alright during the run - the run itself was unremarkable but the Ten Mile River was impressively high thanks to the recent rains.  I can only imagine was a disaster this area was during the March 2010 floods.

Thursday - 0 miles

Neck still hurts.  Went to the doc who said that according to my X-rays my janky knee looks great.  He thought it's probably just a minor thing brought on by overuse.  He recommended keeping the mileage low and very gradually raising based on how the knee's feeling.  I almost wish he had found something definitive on the X-ray as "staying the course" hasn't done me much good so far.  Guess I'll just keep the mileage very low for a while and see if that helps.

Friday - 0 miles

No running today and now I can't even do upper body stuff because my goddamn neck still hurts.

Saturday - 0 miles

I hate bailing on a group run so close to my house but I'm going to rest my knee considerable for awhile.  On the plus side I did make another 2.5 gallon batch of 15 Minute Pale Ale this morning.  I got the entire prep/brew/clean-up process down to 90 minutes which is not too shabby!  At night I was sitting on the couch and I stretched my other leg too far - my calf seizes up something terrible.  I haven't had one that bad in a while and it took a while before it loosened up.

Sunday - 0 miles

Now not only does my right knee ache but my left calf is extremely sore from last night's seizing.  Had quite a limp first thing in the morning.  It improved over the course of the day but it was still tender to the touch by the evening.  I took Oliver over to Carter Preserve for a dog walk - he's such a spazz when we walk in the woods.  He nearly strangles himself on the leash he's so excited.  It works much better when we run but there would be no running today.

Oliver is either yawning, barking or choking.  Take your pick.

Weekly Mileage: 16.4 miles
Year to Date: 1,683.6 miles

This week started off with a great run and went to shit from there.  Looks like I'm going to have to dial back the running even further in the hopes of besting this janky knee.  I still hope to run the Old Mountain 5k next weekend though I'm not in racing shape.

Adventures in Homebrewing - Fall 2014

Time for another recap of my most recent concoctions. 

Deadringer IPA - 4.9% ABV

I've done this recipe several times as a 1 gallon batch but something went amiss when I attempted it at 2.5 gallons.  I think I added too much water because the ABV was about one percent too low.  That didn't phase me as it would still be a tasty brew.  However after a few weeks in the carboy I detected a distinctive cidery smell from the airlock.  That couldn't be good.  When I finally bottled it I found that the cidery taste was very evident as well.  I was pretty bummed and I'm thinking the cause was simply fermenting too high?  In retrospect my temp control method was jank and the temp hovered around 68% for the most part.  It also took a long time to carb up but thankfully the cider taste/smell has somewhat abated with time.  Certainly not a great Bell's Two-Hearted clone but drinkable.

Not-Quite-Imperial Stout - 7% ABV

Made on the stove at the same time as the Deadringer, this 1 gallon batch was a disaster from the get-go.  It was a last minute decision to attempt it when I realized I had all the ingredients on hand to give it a try.  First of all I used my old canning pot to bring the wort to a boil, but it's waaaaaay to wide for a 1 gallon batch and the evaporation rate was crazy high.  I didn't occur to me until nearly the end of the brew session that I barely had any wort left.  Then my attempt to use a paint strainer bag as I poured the wort into the fermenter just resulted in a big sticky mess.  Finally the messy transfer was done and I was greeted to a much lower than expected ABV.  7% isn't that low but it's definitely not in Imperial Stout territory.

Three weeks later and my plan was to transfer it to secondary and leave it for a while.  I was worried about duplicating my barleywine secondary fiasco but luckily I picked the right wine jug and filled up a 3 liter bottle just so.  There was also enough to sample but sweet Christ it was sweet!  And...weird.  It just tasted strange.  So I dumped 3 ounces of Jim Beam into it and now I'm going to leave it be for many months.  Let's see what time makes of this ugly beast!

Saison - 5% ABV

This was my third all-grain brew-in-a-bag batch and my first outdoor attempt.  I don't have a lot of experience with saisons so I can't so with any certainty how on the mark it is but I fermented it warm in the style and it certainly has a yeasty flavor and a slight tartness.  Overall I'm happy with it and looking forward to another attempt in 2015.

I made sure to dump the yeast in the glass to give it a
traditional cloudy appearance

Ye Olde E.S.B. - 4.5% ABV

This was a 2.5 gallon extract batch using Northern Brewer's basic E.S.B. recipe.  Starting Gravity was a bit low but the beer came out really good.  A malty, easy drinking brew.  This was also the first beer to go into my kegging system.  I'll definitely make another one at some point but I'd like to experiment next time and make it my own.

Last glass of E.S.B. that kicked the keg

Runner's High Double IPA - 8% ABV

My first attempt an original recipe, I previously made this Imperial IPA last December.  That batch was decent enough but I felt it missed the mark in several ways.  It was maltier than I would have liked and the color was darker than I wanted.  That was due to using extract - you can only get it so light.

For round two, I went all-grain and changed the hop bill considerably.  I kept the Cascade, but dismissed the Chinook, Centennial and Falconer's Flight in favor of Summit for bittering and Amarillo for late additions.  The change was noticeable and the new version has distinct fruity notes that were absent before.  The color is also much improved.  The picture below doesn't do it justice - it's very close to the straw color I wanted.  While the first attempt was too malty, I'll admit that this one veers a little too far on the sweet side.  But hey there's always room for improvement!

This was my second kegged beer and I love having a double IPA on tap, dangerous though it can be.  It's just about gone and I'm going to avoid drinking anymore so that we have some left for a winter solstice party we're hosting in a few weeks.

So good

SS Fermenting Bucket

I would be remiss if I didn't mention this awesome stainless steel brew bucket I won on the great homebrewtalk.com. They have tons of stellar contests and I couldn't believe it when I won one of them.  Made by SS Brewtech, this thing holds up to 7 gallons and has a conical base to compact the trub.  I'll be able to drain the beer directly into the keg using the spigot at the bottom.  And it has a thermometer to let me know the exact temperature of the fermenting beer.

I will admit that my first attempt at using it didn't work out so well.  There was a slight leak from the spigot and I had to ultimately move the wort to a plastic bucket.  I think I've since got the leak issue fixed so I'll be trying this thing out again soon.  I'll post a more indepth report at that time.

Shiny

On Deck

I just kegged a vanilla stout but I'll save that for the next AIHB post.  I plan on making another 2.5 gallon batch of 15 Minute Pale Ale to replace the Runner's High once it runs out.  I'd also like to make about 3 gallons of bourbon barrel porter which I'd plan on aging for a while in secondary.   After that I have an eye on another all-grain double IPA recipe that was featured on homebrewtalk.com.

Weekly Log: 12.1.14 - 12.7.14

Time to head off to Miami!  I fly to Florida on Tuesday for my company's annual meeting.  I stay through Friday.  I should be kept very busy during the event but I'm hopeful that I can sneak out for a couple early morning runs.  There's a three mile jogging path that lines the perimeter of the resort which holds a ridiculous amount of Strava segments that go every which way.  Looking at the best times, they would be ripe for the pickin' if I was at 100% (most call for a average speed of just under 6 min/mile.)  However as faithful readers know, I am definitely not 100% thanks to my janky knee.  So we'll see how it goes.

Truthfully I'm starting to really get bummed out by this janky knee.  I had thought that rest and low mileage would have allowed it to heal up.  But it's not any better and has become the worst injury of my running life.  It's frustrating and I was really looking forward to Miami runs which will unfortunately have to be tapered.

Monday - 0 miles

19 pull-ups (standard/chin-up) 6/5/5

Beautiful day in Rhode Island and I had planned to run at lunch.  But I decided to scrap it and rest up so that I can make the most of my attempts in Florida. A pathetic excuse by there you have it.  Oh and I aborted my morning pull-ups when I felt that familiar strain in my elbow.  I'm falling apart.

Tuesday - 0 miles

Woke up at 3:45 for my early drive to the airport.  Spent the day traveling and organizing stuff for the meeting.  78 degrees in Florida - I could get use to that.  And the resort is top notch - my room has a veranda and everything.

Beautiful Course

Pool was open 24/7.  I got in there once.

Despite trees and lights it just doesn't feel like Christmas
in the sub-tropics

Wednesday - Aventura, FL - 3.1 miles

I had to be downstairs to prep for the first day of the conference at 6 AM so I woke up at 4:45 in order to check out the jogging path which circles the resort.  75 degrees and humid out there but a welcome change from northern weather.  The path is well lit but it curves so slowly that I thought I had veered off it and missed a turn.  I decided to turn around at 1.5 miles so as not to be late.  It was only afterwards that I realized that I had never left the path - I was half way around when I turned back.  What a maroon.

Thursday - Aventura, FL - 3.7 miles

I woke up again at 4:45, this time determined to run the full loop.  I went in the opposite direction, exploring a side street as well.  The thing about this town - every "neighborhood" street is gated, which severely hampers exploration.  There's also canals and ponds everywhere.  Still, the warm temp was lovely and this time I was able to complete the whole loop.  Somehow I managed to not hit a single segment on either of these runs.

Wednesday and Thursday were very busy at the convention and we worked from 6 AM to about 7 PM on both days.  We all took turns taking breaks but they were still very long days.  At night we'd go out for food and drinks.  Fun times but it was rough getting up even earlier to fit in these short runs.

A man could get use to this

Friday - Aventura, FL - 10.3 miles

Last day in Florida.  I worked the conference until noon and then I had some time to kill before my flight home.  I wanted to get to the beach at least once on this trip - despite being one mile from the beach it's not easy to get to.  The highway next door is not open to foot traffic and between all the gated communities and water hazards it took five miles to get there.

I ran through a ritzy casino/outdoor mall place and then along a busy road until I finally reached the water.  The beach was narrow due to high tide and recent rains had washed up tons of seaweed and jellyfish.  I ran along it a short ways before turning around and retracing my path.  The midday sun/heat took its toll on the return trip and I took a couple brief rests along the way.  Placed second or third in a couple Strava segments - would've pushed harder had I known they were there.

Back at the hotel, I had already had to check out of my room but I made use of their gym locker room which was as fancy as everything else in this place.

A dozen huge ducks hung out along the jogging path

Along the way: massive statues depicting the age old battle
between pegasus and dragon

Saturday - 0 miles

Back in Rhode Island where it was cold and rainy.  Knee was achy after yesterday's run - my longest since Bimbler's.  Figured I'd take it easy and run tomorrow.

Sunday - 0 miles

Run didn't happen.  I always think I'll fit it in later in the day but of course that never happens.  Need to get it in early before life gets in the way.

Weekly Mileage: 17.2 miles

Year to Date: 1667.2 miles

Weekly Log: 11.24.-14 - 11.30.14

The last week of November?  How did that happen?  With a four day weekend on the horizon I hope to maybe get a decent longish run but we'll see.  Will my endurance be as shaky as my speed?

Monday - 0 miles

My knee was pretty sore from the Mews race yesterday so I decided it was best to just rest it.

Tuesday - Charlestown, RI - 4.8 miles

P90X Chest & Back (25 minutes)

I started off the day with good ol' Chest & Back, figuring the warm-up/stretching routine at the beginning would help since I had tweaked my elbow doing pull-ups a few weeks back.  I was only a few sets in when I felt a twinge in my back doing pull-ups.  Great.  I cut it short and within a few hours it hurt to turn my neck.  This kind of twinge usually abates within a few days and then I'm good to resume but it's frustrating nonetheless (especially on my commute when I need to turn my head to merge.)

I left work early for my yearly physical (hearty as an ox) and then went over to Charlestown beach for a short run before dark.  I battled the wind down to the breachway and then took the dirt road back to the car for my gloves.  Then I followed the beach down to Green Hill.  The waves were huge and with the wind at my back the going was easy.  The return trip - not so much.  But the sky was salmon and pink as the sun set and I found myself smiling as I pushed into the wind.

Wednesday - 0 miles

Nasty noreaster outside - luckily it was mostly rain for my work/home though there was some sleet coming down up in East Providence.  At any rate, between the nasty conditions and the boss letting us go home early to enjoy the four day weekend, there was no running today.

Thursday - Charlestown, RI - 5 miles

I took the dog out on a Turkey Day trail loop.  We parked at Browning Woods, ran the trail clockwise to the Heart trail and took that over to Sand Trail Road.  We explored the trails along the sand pits briefly - I've said it before but it's a shame that everyone uses this like a dump.  There is no hope for people.  Then we followed the dirt road back to Gravelly Hill Rd.  A nice five mile loop.  We encountered two people with dogs on the run and amazingly Oliver did not have a barking freak-out with either one.  I'm going to chalk it up to his being exhausted as he doesn't normally run this far.

Friday - Charlestown, RI - 8 miles

I met up with Jonny, Muddy and Jeff for an early morning Black Friday beach run.  We started at the Breachway Grille parking lot and ran down to the Breachway.  From there we took the beach down to Green Hill.  Pace was good but the knee began to ache as we approached Green Hill.  I opted to bail at this point to give the knee a break.  Plus Amanda was waiting for me at home to take Em to get her driver's permit.  I took the roads back to the car, making a brief detour for the tiny trail loop in Green Hill park.  Turns out the rest of the guys only went a little bit farther and made it a 10 mile loop.  Guess I could have stuck with them after all.  But the knee was plenty sore later in the day so it's probably best I quit when I did.  This was my longest run since Bimbler's.

Saturday - 0 miles

Knee is definitely sore from yesterday's run.

Sunday - 0 miles

190 push-ups (standard/wide/military) 30/40/25/25/40/30

Shame to waste a gorgeous final November day but I wasn't getting up early to run and in the afternoon Amanda and I grinded out several hours of necessary yard work.  The raking was enough to irritate my knee.

Weekly Mileage: 17.8 miles
Year to Date: 1,650 miles

A couple good runs this week but it's clear that my knee just isn't getting better.  I suppose a long rest is needed to make this right.  I have an appointment with a sports medicine doc in a couple weeks but until then I guess I'll just play it by ear and listen to my body.