Blog Master G

Something tells me our dogs are spoiled:

Jen had class the night of actual Valentine’s Day and had her wisdom teeth removed the day after, so we celebrated Valentine’s Day this year on February 13. Where’d we go? Well, I had just returned from my California trip and Jen was jealous of all the delicious Mexican food I ate, so we went to the best Mexican food place that Saratoga offers: Leon’s, of course! We learned that Wednesdays are two-for-one margarita night, too. Aww yeah.

We had a great time on our little Mexican food date night (even though the veggie burro I ordered wasn’t my favorite), so we’ll be doing it again this week — only this time we’ll be hitting Amigos Cantina, where Jen’s previously been and really enjoyed, but I’ve yet to experience. Oh wait, scratch that — they seem to be closed for vacation this week. Doh! Plan B?

Sunday, February 24, 2008 will go down in the history of Gabe as the day I ran my first-ever 10-mile run — my longest run ever (so far). I finished it with a smile on my face, and I haven’t yet passed out, though I’m still a bit in disbelief.

The official distance was 10.02 miles, which I ran in 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 12 seconds — a pace of 8:11 per mile. The conditions today were perfect for a long run: 34 degrees, sunny, and only a slight wind from the west.

It’s been one hell of a week for me:

• Ran my previous distance record of 9 miles 8 days ago
• Donated blood 4 days ago
• Clocked in my record weekly mileage: 25.147 miles since Monday
• Skied a full day yesterday
• Ran my first 10-mile run today

I’ve read — and saw in the most excellent and inspiring documentary Spirit of the Marathon Thursday night — that it’s important to hydrate every 20 minutes when doing a long run. I doubled that hydration rule, first doing a 5-mile loop around town and back to my house in about 40 minutes to refuel with water and half a Clif bar, then clocking in another 5 miles with only a couple minutes of downtime in between.

So there you go. That’s about all I have to say about that.

Oh yeah, and it’s for a good cause, of course — big thanks to everyone who’s donated so far!

Yesterday I skied only my 2nd day of the season (since January at Gore), and it was pretty awesome. Amy and I braved the chilly 18 degrees at Stratton, which was my first time there, unless we had a Vassar Ski Team race there that I can’t recall.

It was cold most of the morning and the Vermont wind pierced right through my running hat — great for running since it breathes and absorbs sweat nicely, but not so great for skiing, I realized. The temperature eventually warmed up to 34 degrees and the sun shone, making for some awesome afternoon runs with the sun at our backs (fun for watching your form in your shadow right in front of you).

I forgot my actual camera (the horror!), but managed to snap a couple photos with my phone before the battery died (phone was stuck in roaming mode all day, which drains the battery). It’s so beautiful in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, my legs actually didn’t hurt after skiing (though my quads were starting to feel it toward the end of the day), thanks to all this crazy running I’ve been doing. Ironically, the only sore part of me today is my left wrist since I have a tendency to pole plant and drag my poles when I turn… or at least that’s my theory.

It’s another beautiful day here in Saratoga Springs today… good day for a run!

If you’ve been following my blog recently, you probably already know: Last week I officially signed up for Team in Training and committed to run the Rock ’n Roll Marathon in San Diego on June 1, 2008.

This is both exciting and overwhelming.

There are 3 main reasons why I’m running a marathon with TnT:

1. To help raise money for blood cancer research to make life better for those living with cancer, and to find a cure.
2. To honor the memory of Nana, my Aunt Patty, and so many others lost to the horrible sickness of cancer.
3. To give myself the personal challenge and to have the satisfaction of achieving the incredible feat of pushing my body and my mind to run 26.2 miles.

And you, dear reader, can help me reach my goal. How, you ask? The deal I made with TnT is that they’ll provide me with the training for running the marathon and will get me to San Diego. In exchange, I’ve committed to raise $4,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is the organization that TnT directly supports.

You can donate directly via my TnT donation site, and I’d be grateful for donations of any size — be it $1, $25, $100, or more. Every donation counts and 75% of the money I raise goes right to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Of that, more than half goes to research and patient / community service.

I may have passed the 100-mile mark in my training, but the hard part is yet to come: I still have hundreds of miles left to run in my training before I cross that marathon finish line in June. Running is a solo sport, but with Team in Training, I’ll be running for a great cause — and occasionally with my man Alex, who also committed to TnT and the Rock ’n Roll Marathon last month (Alex’s donation page is here).

Please consider making a donation to help me reach the finish line and improve the lives of those battling blood cancers.

And yes, the Nashville half marathon has now become one stop along the way…

Speaking of blood and running, I was donating blood to the American Red Cross this afternoon — my 14th lifetime donation; 2-gallon club here I come! — and had the cool experience of the dude doing the pre-screening questions ask me if I run. How did he know? My resting heart rate has slowed to a cool 62 beats per minute. I’ve always been told I’m a pretty chill guy, so with that kind of heart rate, now it’s official.

I did it: Yesterday I passed a major milestone in my training and have now officially run more than 100 miles since I started training on December 26, 2007!

My 5.03-mile run yesterday pushed me to 102.29 miles. 97.09 of those miles are in 2008 and more than half (59.78 miles or 58.4%) are in the past 4 weeks alone.

With Monday’s run in the Spa State park with Happy Dingo, I also broke into the 7-minute pace range, averaging 7:58 per mile. It was 50 degrees and I ran sans hat and in short sleeves. Yesterday’s run was tougher since it dropped down to 33 degrees, was really windy, and I was wearing my heavier, baggier warm-up workout pants instead of my pimped out running pants, so I really appreciated the difference the right gear makes — I felt the wind drag on my pants, so my pace slowed to an average of 8:16 per mile.

I’ve also been dealing with this blister on my right heel and a corresponding hole that’s already worn in my new shoes, so yesterday I tried sans Super Feet in my right shoe and this lock-lace technique on both shoes. Locked lace will stay, right Super Foot will come back.

This morning while Jen was recovering from yesterday’s wisdom teeth removal surgery, I ran my longest run to date: nearly 9 miles (8.78, to be precise). It took 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 36 seconds, so my pace was 8:02 per mile (I’m closing in on the 7s!).

The temperature at that hour in Albany this morning was a whopping 12 degrees. I felt great afterward and I still feel really good this afternoon. And I was done shortly after 8am this morning. I’m usually an afternoon runner — it’s warmer, I’m more awake –so it was a different experience running so early.

The run was part of the weekly Team in Training run. It was my first TnT run since the kick-off run with Alex a few weeks ago, and my first team run following my official TnT registration this week for the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.

If you haven’t already done so, you can see the stats on my run this morning right here on the Nike+ site. You can even mouse over each of those little dots you’ll see — which correspond to all the times I asked my Nano for a status — to see what my distance and pace were at that moment. My best pace this morning was the home stretch, when I picked it up to run a 7:37 pace.

Oh yeah, and not that it was a race, but I finished 1st among those of us who did 4 laps around the State Office Campus in Albany. So that was a pretty awesome feeling.

Miles this week: 23 (rounded up) since Monday.

Next up: The milestone double-digit 10-mile run!

Last week following a work trip to Atlanta for a conference Sunday through Tuesday, I hopped on a flight to my home away from home: San Francisco. I love that city and every time I go, it’s like I never left. I was there Tuesday and Wednesday nights, cruised to Sacramento Wednesday and Thursday nights, then back to San Francisco for one final, rockin’ evening. It was my first CA trip of the new year and the first since the October family reunion.

San Francisco: Part I highlights:

• Greeted by Dad & Pete @ SFO; we cruised from there for drinks @ The Irish Bank pub in the financial district
• Crashed @ Ben’s place and hung out with him late into the night
• Ran my then-longest distance ever: 5.1 miles from Ben’s place in Lower Haight to mine and Jen’s old neighborhood in the Inner Sunset (near 9th and Judah — here’s our old apartment) and back. Of course, two days later, I’d break that distance in my hometown (Sacramento) with a 5.25-mile run from Shannon and Mike’s place around downtown, around the Capitol, Nana‘s old office (@ The Thayer) and back
• Enjoyed lunch in the old ‘hood (burritos, of course) @ L’avenida with Dad, Pete, and Mark
• Hung out with Enoch at Ocean Beach & checked out some jellyfish
• Went out for drinks with Ben and my cousin Lucy
• Ate delicious burritos @ Pancho Villa in the Mission, where we met up with Jeanine

Next, it was time to visit my Mom, Shannon, Mike, James, and Melissa in Sacramento for phase II of my vacation.

Sacramento 2/2008 highlights include:

• Enjoyed an In ‘n Out grilled cheese, Animal Style in Davis
• Spent the afternoon chillin’ with my bro @ a pub called Streets of London
• Continued the party @ Paesano’s for happy hour & dinner with Pete, Mom, Shannon, and Mike
• Met Shannon & Mike’s kitties then hit the town for an evening of fun at Pine Cove karaoke night (we even made this funny Napkin Nights site, along with these studs in the matching duds)

And oh no, the fun didn’t stop there. Friday morning, following my longest run to date (5.25 miles — see above) and a delicious breakfast prepared by Shannon and Mike, Pete and I cruised back to the City by the Bay.

San Francisco: Part II highlights:

• Stopped at the Berkeley waterfront to bask in the sunshine with Dad & hang out with the Bay squirrels
• Enjoyed an amazing shrimp burrito & margaritas @ Juan’s Place in Berkeley with Pete and Enoch
• Partied the night away with Pete, Ben, Enoch, Val, and Maria, including a stop at the Noc Noc in the Haight (where the Knocker struck a pose)
• Met up with Jeanine, Martha, Tiff, and Miguel at Lucky Thirteen in the Castro
• Played wingman for Pete & Ben into the night
• Stayed awake until my 4:20am Super Shuttle arrived to whisk me back to the East Coast (Pete & Ben, you guys are troopers and I hope you’ve recovered by now!)

As always, it was an awesome trip and so great to see everyone. Thanks for such a kick-ass time, and I can’t wait for the next one!

View the California 2008: Trip I Flickr collection, which contains all 3 sets.

Pete also has an awesome recap of the trip on his blog.

I have lots to write about — including my rockin’ vacation last week to San Francisco and Sacramento, and the fact that I’m now officially registered with Team in Training for the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in San Diego (more on both those updates later this week)! — but first: It’s time for yet another challenge.

First, it was the Anderson Brothers Mustache Growing Competition 2007. Next, it was the challenge to myself to run a half-marathon (challenge still in effect, training underway).

Now, it’s time for a new challenge: To run as many miles as I can in the next 30 days. My coworker Dave has been doing the Nike+ thing for a while now and helped encourage me to get one. So now we’re officially in a 30-day miles challenge, and you can see our live progress right here, effective with today’s miles (4.53 for me and 4.55 for Dave — and hey, before anyone gives me shit, he’s on the West Coast so he knew what he had to beat 🙂 ):

It’ll be fun to watch our challenge progress. Bring it, Dave! I’m sure you’ll be rubbing in that that 60-degree temperature difference we have… plus the fact that I’m getting up to 7 inches of snow as I write tonight, which will put a cramp in my running tomorrow, no doubt.

Can I just say how awesome my new toy is? It’s a shiny (red) iPod Nano with the Nike+ Sports Kit and armband. It was the first gadget I’ve bought in ages, but given how much I’ve been running lately and how much I enjoy tracking the data, I figured it was time to do so accurately (it was either this or a cheap stopwatch). My old-school iPod just wasn’t cutting it on runs and was pretty bulky, too.

Here are a couple photos of the new treats shortly after I bought them:

Now all my miles get automatically updated to the Nike+ Web site whenever I synch it with iTunes. There’s a whole new interface I get to use, which even logs little dots on map at the points where I press the center button on my iPod to get current pace, distance remaining, and elapsed time. It also automatically logs miles to the old interface I’ve been using, which I’ve posted here a couple times before.

Here’s my current mileage (through today) on the old interface (yup, that’s 9 miles since yesterday):

…and on the new (this one shows 8.54 miles since the first half-mile I ran yesterday was to calibrate my Nike+ adapter, so it didn’t count toward my workout):

Let the running games continue!

Following my 4-mile race Saturday, the annual Saratoga Chowderfest ’08 couldn’t have fallen on a better day. Jen and I met up with friends and family alike to hit Saratoga’s local holiday and enjoy 5 rounds of delicious chowder around town.

Of the chowders we tried, Gaffney’s was the clear winner in this year’s contest with Hattie’s a close second.

Chowderfest ’04 was our first February in Saratoga Springs and our first Chowderfest. We missed the 2005 edition (I think we were traveling or had a conflicting event), but came back strong for Chowderfest ’06. Last year I was traveling again (ski trip with coworkers in California) — so no blog entry or photo evidence — but Jen and friends hit the ’fest.

So this year was my 3rd Chowderfest and it will certainly not be my last. Without further ado, here are the chowdershots from each venue we visited, ranked in order of MMMs in the spirit of the ’06 rankings:

1. Gaffney’s: Spicy Bourbon Crab Chowder with Crispy Shrimp. MMMMM
This was the first chowder we tried and it held a strong lead. It was hot ’n spicy (as the name promised), filled with chunks of crab, and topped with a giant crispy shrimp. Damn good.

2. Hattie’s: Fried Chicken Chowder. MMMM 1/2
This was the last chowder we tried and it came close to topping Gaffney’s in my book. I don’t eat much chicken these days, but I’m willing to make an exception for Chowderfest. And I’m glad I did — it was excellent.

3. Bailey’s: Veggie Bean Chowder. MMM 1/2
Bailey’s had two options: Philly steak ‘n cheese chowder (woah) and a veggie option. I went for the veggie option, which I thought was excellent and tasted like a liquid burrito. Some others in our group went Philly steak chowder and said it was OK, but nothing too special.

4. Four Seasons: Vegetable Curry Chowder. MMM
Four Seasons is the only vegetarian restaurant/grocer in town. I’m not sure why Jen and I don’t go there more often, but they busted out a unique curry chowder on Saturday. I hesitate to rank it 4th and give it only 3 Ms since it was so good. Let’s give it an imaginary 4th M for the creativity factor.

5. Lillian’s: Crab & Corn Chowder. MMM
This was the second chowder we tried and it had a tough act to follow after Gaffney’s. So maybe that’s why I’m ranking it 5th. But it still gets a solid 3 Ms just like Four Seasons. It was your traditional crab & corn chowder — good but nothing too memorable.

Good times and good eats! And a great way to recover from a 4-mile winter run.

The usual line was not going around the block at Brindisi’s this year since they abandoned their famous lobster chowder in favor of a less popular Manhattan chowder — so there was actually no line at all this year.

Until next year… you can view the rest of the Chowderfest ’08 photos.