Cold runs through the Husky Runner house like El Niño

Last week started out great; running Sunday and Monday, Kettle Bell workout Tuesday and then it happened. My youngest daughter got sent home from school with a fever she was the 5th kid sent home that day and 4 kids never made it to school that day because they were sick. There is only 16 kids in my daughters class to begin with. So the next morning I wake up with a sore throat and entire nose stuffed up. Now I'm not good at running but you quickly realize that breathing is crucial to this activity. Nose is clear today and it is beautiful so I'm back at it today. I am marking time running 3.5 miles 4-5 times a week till I kick in Hal Higdon's work-out.
The Black Lightning (American Black Ale)release went well and the beer was well received. X-5 is next to be release in the Summer and I am brewing another pilot batch of a new beer this week for release later in the fall....and we are judging the 3 Lions Clone Beers Tuesday....did I mention I was busy?
Work is picking up and I am busy all around. The runs are well suited for helping turn my head off for a bit.

Marine Corps Marathon 2011 - An Exercise in Time, Weight and Momentum

Today I took the first step (which will lead to many steps in the near future)in a direction to do something I said I would never do. Today was registration Day for the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon. I know what you are thinking "they have a 10K just do that". I should but my stubborn (Jackass) part of me would not allow me to do that. Instead I signed on the (computer) dotted line and I feel like I will be once again on the "Yellow Footprints" at Paris Island.
If I was going to do any Marathon it would be this one mainly because I spent 4 years in the Marines. I think this what my 36 year old body needs; a good kick in the pants out of my comfort zone and beyond anything I have done in 10-15 years. Sound like a good idea? HELL NO!...but for some reason that is not stopping me. So yesterday began my working out, eating better and (begrudgingly) drinking less beer. My plan is to start Hal Higdon's 1/2 Marathon Training that I did in 2007 and 2009 for The Baltimore Half and when that is done (beginning of June) begin to ramp my miles to the neighborhood of 20 miles+ in October and then 26.2 miles on October 30th 2011. I have some time to work on my race day diet and hydration issues. I know I have all my support in place Mrs. Runner is helping me with meals and will be there to give me a good kick in the ass when I need it. A new twist to my training will also be strength, flexibility and cardio with the use of my new favorite toy; the Kettle Bell. I will be chronicling my runs, good days and bad days (You know I've had my share) right here.

Cussing: It's Not Just for Adults Anymore

I had to explain to my daughter that 'Adult Words' are not to be used by an eight year old in any situation and that even today at 36 I don't use them around my Mom.
Kids don't teach other kids to cuss, we do. I know my daughters have heard all of the good 4 letter words in their 6 and 8 years on this earth in their own house via TV, intentionally or conversationally. You try to curb the cussing but nothing is fool proof. Kids hear cuss words and they know them. They need to know (when) not to use them. When my wife told me what happened, my response: "Shit!"

It's February...What are you doing, Chubby?

I've been doing a lot of brewing and drinking beer, put on 5 pounds (I like to call it insulation), watching a lot of Top Chef All Stars and Unique Eats and not working out. Still clinging to:"it's the holidays..it's too cold to run outside...I'll start Monday...Blah, Blah, Blah"!
Some good things are going on while I am not being skinny. Two beers that I brewed for pilot batches are going into full production and 3 Home brewing classes I'm teaching in the next 2 weeks...oh yeah and Max's 72 Hours of Belgium. Which incidental it is not called that anymore.
I have some plans for 2011 so stupid I'm not ready to tell anyone yet.

After that I promise back to working out. But it is the holidays..it's too cold to run outside...I'll start Monday...Blah, Blah, Blah....

BBW Twenty-10 ~ A HoCo Quick Re-Cap

Judge’s Bench in Ellicott City was host to 8 BBW events. The two nights I made my way there for was Friday the 8th for Heavy Seas Firkin Friday with Loose Cannon dry-hopped with local hops from Still Point Farms (Mt. Airy, MD), poured directly from an oak cask and 6 taps of their seasonal offerings including 2008 Below Decks Barley Wine and the bourbon barrel aged Great’r Pumpkin. On Tuesday Night we stopped in for the ‘Judge your Java’ event. Troegs Javahead Stout was on draft, they also had a year old aged keg of Javahead, and the Javahead Stout in a firkin with Vanilla beans. It was a great way to taste a beer in three different ways side by side.

Victoria’s on Monday was Oktoberfest and Pumpkin Beers. They had a great selection of American as well as imported Oktoberfest and Fest biers. Favorites of our Oktoberfest flight were Harpoon’s Oktoberfest, Victory’s Festbier and Weihenstephaner Festbier. The Pumpkin Beers on tap ranged from subtle, Smuttynose, Saranac and Wolaver’s Organic Pumpkin beers, to strong spice and flavor with Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, Southern Tier’s Pumking, Schafley’s and The Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin and Great’r Pumpkin. All the beers were good and I had to see how they matched with the Poutine.

Frisco Grille and Cantina had a BCS of their own (Beer Championship Series), that actual made sense not like the College Football one. Each night a brewery put up a 1/6th barrel of beer (1/6 barrel contains 5.16 gallons. There are roughly 53 servings in one 1/6 barrel, based on regular 12-oz. servings) against another brewery and which ever breweries keg kicked first moved on in the bracket. Breweries that were represented were Dogfish Head, Oskar Blues, Southampton, Bear Republic, Harpoon, Troegs, Flying Dog and Heavy Seas. For the winner you need to go by and check the bracket.

T-Bonz and Flying Dog’s Firkins and Fried Chicken was among the better events in Howard County offering Fried chicken and chicken & waffles sandwiches along with firkins of Flying Dog Beer. Kloby’s Smokehouse had 4 events of its own and is making a name for it’s self in the beer community hosting such breweries as Oskar Blues, Evolution and Flying Dog.

With Frisco Grille in construction at its new location and Kloby’s and T-Bonz, both with plans of expanding, Howard County’s beer/pub scene is really good and is only going to better.

Oktoberfest and Tap opening ceremony with Duff 'Ace of Cakes' Goldman coming later this week

Baltimore Beer Week 2010-Rockin' the Suburbs Edition

I’ve never lived in a city, but I love visiting different cities. I’ve spent a lot of nights I have trouble remembering in NYC, San Diego, Tokyo, LA, Phoenix and Boston. There is something I like about having bars on every corner and the smells of restaurants mixing together into an intoxicating aroma that makes you want to eat everything you smell and stay up all night long drinking.
In my younger days the only reason I would go into Baltimore was for field trips to the Zoo or with my family to 33rd Street to see my heroes Cal, Rick and Eddie play ball. As I got older ‘The City that Reads' was where I went when I told my parents I was going over to a friends house. Instead we were sneaking into to Hammerjack’s for College Night or to Fletcher’s to see whatever band was playing upstairs that night. In my early twenties when I moved back into the area from being out west, I got entrenched in the Rockabilly scene in Baltimore. The Glenmont Pope’s were by far my favorite band fronted by now Dangerously Delicious Pies Baker and Ramblin‘ Pie Man, Rodney Henry. We would be at Fletcher’s, Club Midnight(now the Ottobar),The 8x10 or the Old Bohager’s to see Blue Balls Deluxe, The Pourbillies, Twin-Six and Chester Stacey or Social D, The Supersuckers, Reverend Horton Heat and the like. We would also grab beers at Ledbetter’s, The Horse You Came in on and Max’s on Broadway and good beers were found at Racers, Baltimore Brewing Co. or Capitol City. Baltimore was fun besides the fear of STD’s and 25 minute drive from my house in the Suburbs.


Where is all of this going? I'm not sure, but I think my point was: For me, the city is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

I still go into Baltimore about once a month to see bands or drink great craft beer, and beer of course is what Baltimore Beer Week is all about. The beer scene in Baltimore has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 6-7 years with the help of many fine establishments. For a beer that is made in the city proper there is one of two places you can go, The Pratt Street Ale House or Brewer’s Art. PSAH (formally the Wharf Rat) is a quick stop just inside the city by the stadiums for a pint of authentic English Ale made by Subterranean-brewer and friend Steve Jones. Brewer’s Art in the Mt Vernon area offers fine dining along with fine Belgian beers. Max’s Taphouse has made great steps for ‘beerkind’ in the city with the help of barkeeper Casey Hard and 140 rotating taps, 1,200+/- bottles and 5 Cask Ales. The other places that have helped to bring beer to the people of Baltimore are Mahaffey’s, Metropolitan, Grand Cru, Baltimore Taphouse, Bertha’s, Joe Squared, Mugsey’s and many more.


The nice thing about Baltimore Beer week is that in my neck of the woods in Howard County we have some great Beer-centric establishments that have embraced Baltimore’s week and become a part of it here in the ‘burbs. When I first moved back into the area there was this 'weird bar', The Last Chance Saloon, in the Oakland Mill’s area and it had a leather bound beer menu that confused everyone with different colors of beer and ABV percentages. It was way before it’s time and did not last long. Noel from The Last Chance helped expand what was then Frisco Burrito, (a bare bones restaurant counter and 10-15 tables where you could get great Cal-Mex Food and they had a Sierra Nevada on tap) to become Frisco Grille and Cantina (19 taps and a cask)and began to pave the way for craft beer in Howard County. Since then we have had very good establishments improve their beer offerings from better to outstanding. Judge’s Bench, T-Bonz, Pub Dog and Kloby’s have been great additions to the craft beer scene in my area along with, a Husky Runner favorite, Victoria’s Gastro Pub. Victoria’s has not only brought great food to the area but also great beer flights and Truffle Popcorn that have made me and my wife very happy. Combined I think there are a total of 31 events being hosted by establishments in Howard County, not including the tastings at Perfect Pour, Snowden Liquors or my class at Maryland Homebrew. The beer scene here in Howard County is really good and I only see it getting better. So during Baltimore Beer Week I will be traveling into the city a couple of times but for the most part I’ll be staying close to home and I will not miss a thing.

A-10 2010 - Cramps, Sweat and Beers

I'm not good at running. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I know what you are saying to yourself: What? You, Milhouse? Not good at running? I see plenty of 235 pound marathon runners. Surely you jest!
No really, I'm not good at running. I have no idea how to plan for a long distance run. The day before I stretched, drank plenty of fluids, ate a good diet and rested.
Run day was 5 miles of breathing out stomach cramps, 3 carefree miles that I enjoyed and 2 miles of foot and calf cramps. Awesome.


Oh well there is always next year. Had an awesome banana and a bumper of Southern Tier Hoppe when I got home.