Yesterday marked Day 13 of ABMGC III. It was Jen’s birthday, so I thought I’d give her a birthday present by shaving back the beard and revealing the glory of my 2009 mustache. The shaving ensued and a bushy lip companion was born:
Who’s got two thumbs and a sweet mustache? This guy!
ABMGC III also made its debut on Facebook last night, where I posted the above photo to share with family and friends. Commentary on the photo blew up, inspiring 20 comments, 4 “likes,” and counting, including excellent praise like the following:
“a porn ’stache”
“that thing looks like something died on your lip”
“You just look like a shady car salesman!!”
“I see you’re forgoing the trucker porn look this year.”
“HECK YA! can u get me out of tickets officer?”
“BADASS!!!!! That is how a man ‘looks’. Just ask Magnum PI or Teddy Roosevelt or Col. Sanders!”
I’ve removed the names of my fans to protect their innocence (in case anyone is a closet ’stache fan), but here’s a screenshot of my original Facebook post and a couple of my replies to the above:
Finally, I’ll leave you with another photo I MMS’d to Pete last night, to which he replied that I look “drunk with pleasure” in it:
Here’s wishing a big happy birthday to my awesome wife and best friend! I’m lucky to call you my wife, Jen. Thank you for being such an amazing part of my life all these years. So…who can guess which of the below photos are new and which are old?
Yesterday marked Day 11 of ABMGC III. Lest you think we’ve been slacking on the smack talking and lip companion growing, dear readers, fear not: This has been the year of the text / MMS mustache battles! Today I’d like to share a recent exchange that began simply with a smug photo of Pete’s proud ’stache:
As you can see, Pete was intimidated by my bean-powered ’stache and proclaimed in fear, “Holy shit! That’s testosterone.” That’s right, broseph; my muzzy doesn’t mess around. As suspected, he used those photos for his latest blog entry in the contest. Let’s take a closer look at those photos so as to appreciate their full follicular glory:
In true ABMGC fashion, our friends have been inspired by the adrenaline of the mustache spars, and Megan got in on the action with this recent blog entry, sporting her own ’stache-tastic mug:
And last night I got a text from James, offering to be the official ABMGC IV t-shirt designer. With a year to go, he’s already working on his concept design:
Last but certainly not least, ABMGC fans, I leave you with my ABMGC III: Day 11 entries from last night, taken when the ’stache, fueled by refried beans, was feeling sassy and was ready to wash down those beans with some Super Beer. That’s right, Super Beer: Old Monk 10,000 Indian Super Beer, a glorious 22-ounce bottle of 8% lager (would you expect anything less from a man with a ’stache like that?):
Satisfied after a delicious Indian food meal with Jen, Anne, and Tom – in celebration of Jen’s birthday week – the ’stache walked on, but not before a photo opp to show off the awesome hat that goes nicely with all the facial hair I’ve been harvesting:
The day after Thanksgiving marked the official start of the 3rd annual Anderson Brothers Mustache Growing Competition. I came out with guns blazing, posting this ’stachetastic inaugural entry of 2009. Pete came back with a recap of last year’s Sharpie surrender, then cited a technicality in the ABMGC Rules and Regulations to set himself up for redemption this year:
Section 4, Line 8, that reads: the winner will be decided based on not only thickness of follicle, but also in the design, procurement, and presentation of said mustache.
Pete also upped the ante by putting the legendary Chalice of Champions on the table to be awarded to the victor in this year’s competition:
Look at that beauty! It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.
I’m happy to report that the growing is coming along quite nicely this year. In fact, being the first day of Advent yesterday, it seemed appropriate to celebrate a Christmas-themed new beginning for the finely tuned follicles making a hell of an appearance on my upper lip. So as part of the tree trimming Jen and I were doing last night, we decided to do a little ’stache-tastic photo shoot:
It was about 30 degrees warmer for this year’s Operation Santa 10k in Hudson Falls, NY. The sun was even shining brightly, a stark contrast to the 20-degree temps and piercing winds of last year’s race (where I also sported the beginnings of my ’stache from the 2nd annual ABMGC – set for a later start this year). As always, my biggest fan, Jen, was there to cheer me on and document the occasion for my 4th 10k.
The nicer weather also brought out a much larger field than last year — 112 total 10k’ers vs. a mere 39 of us last year. A warm day (low 50s) also meant there were more volunteers on the course, so things didn’t seem quite as chaotic as last year, when I almost missed a few turns.
Coming off a week of battling the sniffles — coupled with two back-to-back hard workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday this week — it wasn’t my best race ever, but I did beat my time from last year, and was 45 seconds shy of my Great Pumpkin 10k PR in October.
My official time was 43:00 (though I swear I crossed the line at exactly 42:59, which is what my Garmin said when I hit stop after the line), which was good for 13th overall and 4th in my division (again, better time than last year, but not as good placement, thanks to the bigger turnout). But I can’t complain: I gave it my best today with the 6:56 average pace.
I came out strong (6:31 first mile), taking advantage of the early race adrenaline and the first big downhill through the rolling farm country. The course quickly shows you who’s boss, though, with a series of uphills for most of the first three-quarters of the course, the toughest being after Mile 3. I clocked in Miles 2 and 3 at slower paces of 6:51 and 6:59. In that challenging fourth mile, my slowest of the day (as last year), I clocked in a 7:22 (only 3 seconds faster than last year in the same mile).
With the worst of the hills behind me, it was back to the residential area near the middle school where the race started and finished. This is also the point where things get a little confusing since I was running against 5k’ers coming at me the other direction.
I was feeling pretty winded, but pressed on with everything I had, keeping the #2 female finisher in my sights pretty much the whole race. I thought I might catch her, as I did with the top female finisher in the Great Pumpkin, but alas, she held strong and never gave me the chance.
With a half-mile or so to go, I pushed with everything I had left, and let the cheers of the spectators lining the home stretch pull me to the line (7:02 and 7:03 in Miles 5 and 6). As the clock came into view, I saw that it was inching toward 43:00, so I floored it, and passed with 42:59 on the clock (43 flat was my official time, though):
Santa made an appearance this year, too, but he seems to have lost some weight and dyed his hair from white to black:
This race was even harder than I remembered it. You can also tell it was harder than the Great Pumpkin by comparing my average heart rate from each race – GP: 169; OS: 177. That’s a big difference.
It’s always fun running into people we know, too, which today included a handful of Jen’s book club friends, one of whom was my Green Mountain Relay teammate, Megan.
Good times and another day at the races complete! Congrats to all of my fellow Operation Santa runners, too!
Along with the daily status updates to keep up with people’s lives, one of the greatest things about Facebook is when someone digs out an old photo, tags a bunch of people, and reminiscent chatter ensues. This happened to me in the spring this year when a classmate from my 6th grade class at Sutterville posted a class photo, which led to a 20-year reunion this summer in Sacramento. And it happened again yesterday when a couple photos from Vassar’s The Miscellany News editorial boards of the mid-1990s surfaced.
Let’s just agree that I look pretty awesome in both of these photos (see me?) – from my freshman and sophomore years, respectively — and that in the first I’m sporting some sweet bling in the form of a gold chain, and in the second I look like a strange lipstick-wearing, Woodchuck-chugging awkward punk:
Miscellany News Ed. Board – Fall 1995
Miscellany News Ed. Board – Fall 1996
So what do you think? Does the Gabe of 13 and 14 years ago rock, or what? It’s been fun to reconnect with the other peeps in these photos via Facebook.
Working on The Misc. was a significant part of my college experience. Not only was I an editor with the paper all 4 years of college, but I was Editor-in-Chief my junior year, when a certain girl named Jen (then Deane) applied to be a News Editor. Though we had an English class together, we didn’t really get to know each other until our work together on the weekly (entirely student-run) school newspaper.
Being part of that organization was an amazing experience, taught me lots of sweet skills, kept me on track my junior year when I was at risk of being asked to take a leave due to poor academic performance (I rebounded academically and had the best semester in my entire 4 years at Vassar when I was also spending 40+ hours per week as EIC), and, most importantly, brought me and Jen together.
I went digging around my basement this morning for my Vassar yearbooks, in hopes that I could scan the Ed Board photos from ‘98 and ‘99, but couldn’t find them… yet.
Man, it’s blowing my mind that I started college nearly 15 years ago. Time flies when you’re having fun.
My Facebook status update last night was the following:
…which pretty much sums it up. I’m stubborn about admitting to being “sick,” though I do get cold-like symptoms maybe once a year, usually around this time. Jen likes to give me a hard time since I like to say I never get sick.
And I’m certainly not going to let some sniffling, sneezing, and coughing get in the way of a good workout – or a good time out on the town.
So sure enough, I put in a hard afternoon workout yesterday: 2-mile warm-up, followed by 6×400-meter intervals @1:26 average time with 200-meter rest in between, concluding with another 1.2-mile cool-down. It was the first I’d run 400s at all since May – and, from what I could find in my training log – I think only the third time since I started running last year. And wow, are they hard. These after a tempo run the day before (5+ with 3 @ 6:58 average pace).
Using McMillan as my guide (and my 19:31 5k PR as my input), I was shooting for between 1:25-1:30 per 400, which is roughly a 5:38-5:58 per mile pace. I ran the first one a little fast (1:24), but was pretty consistent (and a little slower) the next 5 laps. The key with intervals is to run them consistently so that your last one is as fast as your first one.
Here’s what each lap looked like (minus the 200-meter jogs in between each):
1
1:24
2
1:25
3
1:27
4
1:27
5
1:30
6
1:28
Avg.
1:26
I’m also almost done reading a book called Once A Runner, declared by Runner’s World “the best novel ever written about running.” It is a great book – about an elite miler – and my intervals yesterday, though a miniscule workout in comparison to the book’s protagonist, Quenton Cassidy, made me think of the fictitious character as I panted and pushed hard in each lap.
So after a punishing workout, despite this so-called “cold,” what’s a guy to do? Hit happy hour, of course! As James noted in response to aforementioned Facebook update: “That’s the Gabe I know and love - nothing eases a sore throat or cleanses the palate of bile quite like an ice cold beer!” You know it, James!
After work Jen, Jami, and I took the 2-for-1 Wheatfield’s happy hour by storm, followed by a brief coat trying-on session at the Saratoga Saddlery (Jami ever the sales person) – Jen found a winter / rain coat she really likes – and then we hit Max London’s for $9 pizza night, where we enjoyed a delicious tuna tartare appetizer and some shrimp pizzas, with a nightlong of laughs on the side.
Good times, and just another Wednesday in Saratoga!
A couple weeks ago Jen and I made a run for the border, Canadian style. Lisbeth was getting married in Niagara on the Lake in Ontario, not far from Buffalo, so it also gave us a good excuse to visit Johnny; we crashed with him both Friday upon arrival and Saturday after the wedding, so it worked out perfectly.
It was a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time and it was well worth the 5+ hour trek. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to visit our neighbors to the north?
After a quick post-work stop at the mechanic to assure us the WRX was OK for a road trip – the check engine light had come on and we’d just had a pricey repair of a fuel leak – we headed west and were Buffalo-bound. The trip went pretty smoothly and only took about 5 hours or so.
We arrived in Buffalo by 11pm and met up with Johnny and a few friends at Gabriel’s Gate (a fine name for an establishment if I do so say myself), where we had some late-night snacks and drinks before calling it a night.
Saturday morning Johnny fired up the skillet and made us some most delicious apple pancakes and other goodies to fuel our ride across the border. Being a most gracious host, he even busted out the French press to satisfy our caffeine cravings.
That Saturday was a picture-perfect day: Blue skies and warm sun – unusual for Western New York in November. We hopped in the car and headed north for the border. On the way, we saw an old building that was on fire and leaving a hell of a mess in the sky. It must’ve just happened when we drove past since there didn’t seem to be anyone attempting to stop it and a minute later we saw a fire truck with sirens blazing heading the other way.
We hit the Peace Bridge at the border and didn’t have to wait long at all (though we always manage to pick the wrong lane at the border, as we watched a number of cars go through in the lane next to us as we waited patiently in our lane). Either Canadians are a really trustworthy people or Jen and I don’t come off as being too suspicious (unlike a certain friend of ours whose name rhymes with “you” – who once went through a Canadian border crossing in the truck lane ) since even though I had our passports in my hand, the border agent didn’t even ask to see them.
Once in Canada, we hit the church for the wedding ceremony – which started a bit late due to some issues with a certain drawbridge at the border some of the guests ran into. The afternoon sun shining through the stained glass made for a brilliant backdrop to the service.
After the ceremony, it was time to get our party on, so we joined a caravan of cars heading for the beautiful Queens Landing hotel, site of the reception in Niagara on the Lake, a quaint town not unlike Saratoga Springs, except that it’s on a giant lake.
We enjoyed some delicious appetizers and meal during the cocktail hour and reception itself, and were seated with our friend Kat’s doppelgänger (though we neglected to get a picture of her to prove it). It’s always fun to hang out with Heather and Saahil, as we got a chance to do before and during the reception. We even got to chat with the bride herself a bit, which is always a treat at a big wedding. And, of course, we danced to some tunes before heading back to the good ol’ US of A.
Back in the States, we met up with Johnny and his friend Dave for some more late night drinks and eats. At Johnny’s place later that night he introduced us to the joy of the drunk Ewoks on the Today Show and we laughed our asses off the rest of the night.
Sunday we went out for a tasty brunch at a cozy warehouse-style coffee shop in downtown East Aurora – a really cool little town with a great main street. We wandered around a huge five and dime for a bit before jumping back in the Scoob and beginning the long journey home to Saratoga.
This is one of those things that’s just too funny not to share:
(Be sure to watch the whole thing; it doesn’t start getting crazy until about 2:05 — with martinis and even the Moonwalk.)
Jen and I first saw it late last Saturday night at Johnny’s place in Buffalo — after returning from a wedding in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. We were watching it on my iPhone around 3am and were laughing so hard that Johnny’s neighbors actually started knocking on the wall to quiet us down.
I’m no Today Show regular, but do they normally drink martinis on the air? Or was it just for the benefit of the Ewoks?
Finally, I’ll leave you with another photo I MMS’d to Pete last night, to which he replied that I look “drunk with pleasure” in it:
