Feeding Roses

Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage against the dying of the light

- Dylan Thomas

This weekend's Cactus Rose 100 will be a solo attempt for me. There's nothing out there for Nancy and the kids to do so I'm going to drive down by myself and sleep in the back of my new Yukon. I don't have any crew or pacers (by choice), so it's doubly important for me to get my drop bags right.

For every other race I've ever run I haven't worried too much about drop bags because I just grab whatever they have at the aid station, but this is not an option at the Rose because the only thing they have is water. So unless I have my race catered by Taybarns (see last post) I need to nail this.

I plan on running with my two handheld bottles (partly because they're faster to refill and partly because there's a hole in my camelbak), and I've tried to gear my drop bag food to ensure I can get in and out of aid stations quickly.

Here's what I have in mind.

Lodge
2 gallons of homemade Iskiate
4 cans Ensure
1 bottle pedialyte
Pimento cheese sandwiches
4 small cans tomato juice
Salted peanuts

Boyles
2 cans sliced peaches in heavy syrup
2 16oz servings of Spiz
Bananas
Turkey sandwiches
1 box Gatorade powder

Equestrian
3 bottles pedialyte
Several portions of my parents pasty pie
6 small cans tomato juice
Sandwiches
Peanut butter crackers
ipod (ok, I can't eat this but I may want it at some point)

Nachos
2 cans sliced pears in heavy syrup
2 16oz servings of Spiz
Bananas
4 small cans tomato juice
1 box Gatorade powder
Turkey sandwiches
Salted peanuts

Misc
2 Headlamps and one handheld torch
Spare batteries
Blister kit
Salt caps

I finished up my training tonight with 20 road hill repeats and worked off all the soreness in my lower legs. I'll do a relaxed 7 miles tomorrow morning and then rest until the weekend.

I feel good and I feel focused, so Cactus Rose this is your fair warning - I'm going to kick your ass. If I get it wrong and you kick mine then fair enough, but you're going to have to fight me tooth and claw for it. Just know I've gone through 10 marathons and 14 ultramarathons without a single DNF and I don't intend to lose that record this weekend.

Happy Halloween.

Pigs at the Trough

"Table for three sir?"

I was browsing the BBC website earlier today and discovered to my horror that the "all you can eat" buffet restaurant concept has made its way to Britain. Now we have many "all you can eat" buffets here in Austin at which I have been known to partake (often quite enthusiastically), but honestly sometimes it's like feeding time at the zoo - you could swear some of these people had not been fed in weeks the way they chow down. And it's not as if we Brits don't have our own obesity epidemic to worry about - the last time I went back home it was alarmingly apparent that we are expanding at an astonishing rate of calories.

The accompanying video clip (in the BBC article) sadly just echoes the same old British self-deprecating stereotypes as we laugh and poke fun at our self destructive gluttonous behavior while making excuses and crowing about getting "a bargain". Where's the self restraint? Oh yeah, there is none - you may as well let Billy Bunter loose in the tuck shop and hope everything will still be there when you get back.

I remember a few years back Jamie Oliver was so appalled at the junk food that constituted school dinners that he shamed the British Government into investing in more healthy choices. What happened? Parents were sneaking burgers to their kids through the school railings.

Have we really become so conditioned (lazy) that convenience now takes precedence over the health of our own kids? The phrase "ticking time bomb" comes to mind.

But my favorite bit of the article was the assertion that Taybarns (the trough in question) have invented "what appears to be a new hybrid cuisine, Texican". Excuse me, but isn't that what we know as Tex-Mex?

Or did they just slap a tortilla around some soggy fish and chips?

These Shoes were Made for Running

Yet I haven't run a single step in them......yet. I bought them about two years ago and they've been sitting in my closet while I pounded the soles off my other pair of Hardrocks. But those faithful old warriors have finally been pastured off (due to parts of their tread falling off), so the challenge has been issued for these young whippersnappers to (hopefully) see me through 100 miles of cactus Rose on Saturday.

Ideally I would have liked to run a few miles in them beforehand, but with all the rain we've been having over the past few weeks I didn't want to get them caked with mud. On the other hand that means they have a lot of support, spring and bounce I can take advantage of.

And since I'm going to be running in Bandera on the 31st we wanted to enjoy a little bit of Halloween early this past weekend. We had a great time at the Frankenthon marathon on Saturday (though my calves are still mooing from all the concrete), and last night we went to "Halloween in the Park" at Guadalupe River State Park. We had a great time and Gavin cleaned up on candy. The trails were full of witches, ghosts, vampires, spiders, and a roaming bigfoot (not to mention a few shapely wenches, though being a married man I didn't stare...too much!!!). All the staff and volunteers were obviously having a blast and it was a whole lot of fun - I mean how often do you hear a park ranger tell you to "pull forward and pay the witch"!!!

Here are a few pics.

Frightfully Fun Frankenthon Marathon

This morning I ran the Frankenthon monster marathon at Brushy Creek park just North of Austin. Let's face it, a local Halloween-themed marathon complete with long-sleeved tech shirt and socks - how could I not? Let me just say, the shirt and socks are AWESOME!!!

We showed up at the park and got going at 7am. It was still dark so the early footing was a little hit or miss. I was wondering how the trail would hold up since it was underwater last week, but it was fine apart from two patches where the water was ankle deep - I enjoyed running through it each loop, making sure to splash some of the more tentative road runners who were trying to edge around it.

With Cheri, supplier of yummy finish-line kolaches

The first two loops passed by really quickly and I started the final loop with a comfortable sub-4 hour marathon in the bag. I wasn't really worried about time goals, so with Cactus Rose next week I backed off completely and finished nicely in 3:52 - good for 28th overall. Oddly enough, for the first time in over three years I actually cramped up a little in the last few miles - I wonder why.

Once I finished I enjoyed spending time with friends at the finish line - I got to introduce my parents (who are visiting from Wales) and show Dylan off. The race organizers had laid on a superb spread with lots of pizza, cookies, vitamin water and sodas (plus some friends had brought some yummy kolaches). As a bonus I got in a few extra miles when I went back out and paced a number of friends for their last few miles. It was super fun to run with each of them for a while - a great chance to chat and catch up.

This was a really fun little race which I would definitely do again next year - there were lots of neat little touches like having tombstones as mile markers. We really lucked out with the weather and conditions couldn't be more perfect. On the other hand I have a slightly sore Achilles (a problem that's been haunting me all summer) and am definitely not in the same kind of shape I was back in January.

Hopefully it is enough to see me through 100 miles next Saturday.

The Beast Cometh

If you're going to try, go all the way
There is no other feeling like that
You will be alone with the Gods
And the nights will flame with fire.

- Charles Bukowski

The other night I watched an episode of Biggest Loser where they had a slice of chocolate cake that they claimed contained 1000 calories. My first thought was "wow, I should take that to Cactus Rose with me".

Yes, I'm starting to focus in on the Cactus Rose 100 miler which is now only 10 days away. Sure I'm running the Frankenthon marathon this weekend, but I've found myself already looking past it to the big bad wolf lurking just around the corner.

It's been a tough summer with the record heat and a new baby. I haven't really put in the long miles I would have liked, my running has been very up and down and I am not where I hoped to be going into the race. But I suspected that would be the case back when I signed up so I'm just going to suck it up and get on with it.

Besides, I'm kinda looking forward to the challenge - the uncertainty, the fear of failure that drives you on. Back in my rugby days I always had my best games against the big teams because the extra challenge gave me an edge. Sometimes it's good to run scared and I haven't had a race motivate me quite this much since Rocky Raccoon last February. Back then I spent the whole week prior to the race getting my head right so it's time to unleash my secret weapon and get my mental game going.

One thing I did that worked really well for me at Rocky was to set an ambitious time goal which I nailed almost to the minute. I've set myself a similarly ambitious time goal for this beast and worked out what times I need to hit on each loop in order to make that goal. At the very least it'll keep my mind occupied

And like Rocky Raccoon I'll seal it in an envelope and not tell anyone what it is beforehand.

After all, you can't be too superstitious on Halloween night!!!

26.2 Miles to Marathon

RT and myself near the start line outside of Alpine

Yesterday morning I ran the M2M marathon - the excuse for our trip to West Texas. A beautiful sunrise greeted us as we made our way to the start line, and I bumped into several friends from Austin including RT - a super runner I met at the Timber Knoll race this summer.

We got going and I was feeling good so I stretched my legs and enjoyed the cool of the morning and the banter of my fellow racers. Suddenly I realized the only thing in front of me was the pace car. Holy s*#t, I'm leading the race!!! I knew it couldn't last, so I decided to just enjoy the feeling while it did. That turned out to be about three miles, and I was honestly quite glad when some guys caught and passed me.

As the sun came up we found ourselves running into really strong headwinds which made running a lot more challenging. Knowing these winds were probably going to be with us for the rest of the race, and with Cactus Rose only two weeks away (and another marathon next weekend), I decided to reevaluate my race plan, backed off and ran a lot more conservatively. It seemed everyone was struggling with the wind, so not that many people passed me as I dialed the pace down. One who did was RT - he was looking really strong and went on to run a great race.

Now that I'd decided to turn it into a training run it became a lot more fun. I enjoyed the spectacular views of the mountains, and stopped to chat, flirt and answer questions about my "cute accent" at several aid stations. I even stopped for a beer at mile 24 where there seemed to be a party going on. Then I set my stall for the finish line.

I'd known for quite a few miles that this was probably going to be the end of my streak of sub-4 hour marathons, and sure enough I crossed the finish line in 4:06 (my slowest marathon in 3 years). Oh well, not really that bothered. Nancy and the boys, RT and my friends Tony and Jodi (who had run the half) were at the finish line to cheer me in.

We had a great time socializing, the post-race spread included some yummy brisket which we all enjoyed, and Gavin found a new friend in one of the race sponsor ladies who kept coming by with cookies for him. I was also surprised to find that RT and myself had taken 1st and 2nd in our age group, though I've no idea what the award was because we didn't stay for the award ceremony.

Tony, RT, myself and Jodi at the finish line

The boys enjoying post-run brisket

As we drove us back to Alpine, I spotted another Austin friend who was at mile 21 and obviously struggling a bit. So we stopped the car and I ran across with some water and gatorade. I asked if he needed some company and paced him for a couple of miles, talking about everything and nothing. Nancy drove back toward Marathon and waited for us just before mile 24. By that time we could see the town coming up ahead and he knew he was going to make it, so I gave him my water and we took off.

Gavin and I played in the gloriously frigid swimming pool for a while, we pottered about, and in the evening we traveled up to the McDonald observatory for the star party. But by this time the boys were so tired that they'd crashed, so we skipped it and just went back to the hotel. Oh well, maybe next time - and it really was a spectacular drive up into the mountains.

We've had an outstanding time here, but sadly we head home today.

Davis Mountains Day 2

One of my great unspoken hopes is that Gavin or Dylan (or both) will one day pace their old man to a 100 mile finish. For that special experience I would abandon my "no-pacer" rule. Unfortunately, Gavin seems to have inherited his dad's clumsiness - he falls over his own feet and knocks drinks over with alarming regularity. So when we visited the Fort Davis National historic site today and found a really technical steep trail that led straight up the mountain I wasn't too hopeful that Gavin would want to hike it.

I was right, he didn't. He wanted to run it.

I had Dylan in a sling, but I was so worried Gavin was going to fall right off the mountain that I took off after him. And he wasn't hanging around - he was flying up the trail. After a few minutes I realized I needn't worry about him - he'd found his platform. He was gliding effortlessly, picking out his footing, shifting his weight and bounding from rock to rock with a grace and ease I only wish I possessed. I went to go past him but he wasn't having any of it - he wanted to be the leader so I eased back and waited for him to tire out and stop. But he didn't - he kept on going all the way to the top. I was the one who ended up breathing hard.

Maybe I got it wrong - maybe I'll be the one pacing him.

Nancy and Gavin outside the visitor's center

On the trail - note Gavin is not happy because I ordered him to stop so we could take the pictures

This afternoon Gavin wanted to take a swim in the hotel pool. Regardless of how it looks in the photo below, that pool was like ice. I guess I'll count it as my pre-race ice bath, though I'm betting it will feel quite good after the race tomorrow.

Can you tell we're cold?!!!

Davis Mountains Day 1

Mural in the lobby of our hotel in Alpine

A Welshman is born with the romance of the hills in his heart and the song of the mountains in his soul (shame I can't sing for toffee though), and they are certainly one of the things I miss most about home. So it's always a thrill whenever I get the chance to return to them - that's why I've been looking forward to this trip ever since I booked it.

We left Austin this morning riding high on the back of an amazing sunrise and the promise of adventures to come. We stopped off at a bakery in Fredericksburg and enjoyed a delicious breakfast in a beautiful old courtyard. We made several more stops along the way, but the time flew by and we found ourselves closing in on Alpine by mid-afternoon.

Then a couple of miles outside Alpine I got pulled over for speeding. I got out of the car, handed my license and insurance over and the highway patrol guy asked where we were headed. I told him we were on our way to Alpine for the M2M marathon, and it turns out he's a runner too. We got to talking and he was a really nice guy, so I asked him what the course was like (it goes right along the highway we were on). He gave me a few inside tips (hilly first half, mostly downhill second half, watch for the wind), then he pointed to some blue chalk marks on the ground and said he thought that was going to be the start line. We both wondered at the odds of me being pulled over right at the race start line, talked a bit more and then shook hands.

I got off with a warning.

After we got settled into our hotel we decided to explore a little, so I took highway 118 up through Fort Davis. It was a lovely meandering route through the mountains complete with some amazing fall foliage. We ended up at Davis Mountain State Park and decided to explore the skyline trail. Here are a few photos we took along the way.

Me and Gavin at the first scenic overlook

Nancy and Gavin - note the "will you please stop pointing that thing at me" fake smile pasted on Gavin's face

Me and my boys - do you know how hard it is to get two kids to look in the same direction at the same time?

Nancy and Gavin at the highest point of the trail

I love these two photos of Gavin

Nancy and Gavin at the "bridge" overlook - it was a long way down!!!

By the time we were done we were all a little hungry, so we went back into Fort Davis (which is a really cool little town) and stopped for supper at a place called "Murphy's Pizza and Pasta" which a friend had recommended. The food was wonderful - three of us feasted like ravenous dogs while Dylan looked on wistfully and had to make do with baby milk (sorry buddy).

Dusk was setting in as we left the restaurant and we headed West on highway 17 toward Marfa. It turned into such a memorable drive. We were enraptured by one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen, showcased by the mountains and compounded by the loneliness of the road (empty for miles in both directions). I stopped at one point and took a few photos but they really don't do it justice - the evening had an almost eerie quality to it.

Though that may have something to do with the fact that were about to stop off to look for the famous "Marfa ghost lights". I love my ghost stories and had read all about these. They didn't disappoint - we saw a red light and several white ones floating around a fantastically starry sky. It was a beautiful night in the mountains.

Everyone was tired out and they all crashed when we got back to the hotel (even Dylan), but I wanted to write this up in case I forgot any of it. Today was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.

Oh, and there's the small matter of the marathon on Saturday too!!!

Go West

Have you ever seen the movie "Rat Race"? It's a comedy in which John Cleese plays an eccentric Vegas millionaire who gets a group of goofy characters to race to New Mexico for $2 million in prize money just so he and his cronies can bet on the outcome. Well last night I had the most bizarre dream - I turned up for the Cactus Rose race, and all the other runners were characters from that movie....and they were all faster than me. At one point I was chasing Rowan Atkinson up Ice Cream hill.

As bizarre dreams go, running an ultra with Mr Bean takes some beating!!!

Back in reality we're heading out to West Texas tomorrow morning - I'm running the M2M marathon in Alpine on Saturday so we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it. The forecast calls for highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 40s - perfect running weather. This is the first of two marathons I'll be running in the build up to Cactus Rose at the end of the month, the first I've run since our trip to Seabrook back in March and my first at altitude (4600ft). I've never been to West Texas before and I'm really looking forward to the trip - should be fun.

As for the race, I plan on treating it like a training run. But I know you've all heard me say that before :-)

Yesterday evening I did my last hard run before the race - 20 road hill repeats - and I really hammered them. The temperature was in the low 90s, humidity was up, and I finished the workout exhausted, dripping with sweat and glowing. You know those times where you push it and it really feels good? Well this was one of them.

I was also dripping after this morning's run - the air was so thick and muggy you could cut it with a bread knife. Where oh where did our cool weather go? At one point I almost wondered if I'd wandered into the shower in my running gear and just forgotten about it.

And finally, here's a funny story that I know my trail buddies will appreciate. The other day two of my slower road friends asked me if I'd ever run any of "those ultramarathons", and when I said I had they asked me if I'd ever run 100 miles. I could see where this was going, and sure enough the next question was what pace I'd run. I replied it was about a 12:30 average.

Considering my road pace is usually somewhere in the 7s, this came as a bit of a surprise to them. One of them looked me up and down and said "well that's not very fast, I could do that".

I just smiled.

Planning Trips

Nancy and I had a long talk about Western States last night. We discussed the pros and cons, logistics and options, and the end result was I decided not to put my name in the lottery this year. It was an exciting thought for a while, and I'm a little disappointed, but it was the right decision. It was completely my choice and Nancy would have supported me either way, but if I'd gone it would have been a solo trip, and I would much rather go on vacation with her and the boys. And that's what it finally came down to - while running is important to me it will never ever compare to being a husband and a dad. Not even close.

The other deciding factor was that although Western States is pretty cool, there are many other 100 mile races out there that are ahead of it on my list, such as Headlands and Massanutten.

So instead we decided to get on Marathon Guide and plan a trip that coincides with an out-of-state marathon. Marathons are easy to incorporate into vacations - not really that taxing, you just run 'em in the morning, get back to the hotel for a quick shower and change, then get on with the vacation. We are still pondering possibilities, but the two that we liked were the Post Oak Lodge 50k and marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma (the little devil inside me says run them both) and the Little Rock marathon in Arkansas. Anyone have any other suggestions? (note that we want somewhere we could drive to, because flying with a small baby is no fun at all).

The Arkansas trip may be the favorite because Nancy has been wanting to visit the Ozarks for some time, though since they're only a week apart I guess we could always do both - drive up to Oklahoma, motor over to Arkansas and spend the week playing in the mountains, then come down to Little Rock before making a big loop back to Texas.

Of course, half the fun of these trips is planning them. And if we do this, that would leave room for another little vacation over the summer before Gavin starts school.


On another note, mad props to my friend Ryan Valdez, race director of the El Scorcho 25/50k and one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet. He completed his first 100 miler this weekend at the Heartlands 100 in Kansas.

Welcome to the 100 mile club buddy - I raised a beer to you last night.

Spirit of the Marathon

If you missed the original cinematic release of "Spirit of the Marathon", head on over to hulu.com where you can watch the entire feature film for free.

Excellent documentary - very enjoyable and inspiring.

(Thanks to Steve Spiers for the link).

Kicking my own Ass

I've been kicking it up this week. Not so much the number of miles run, but the quality and difficulty of the runs mixed in with lots of cross training (allied to the by-now usual lack of sleep, courtesy of my favorite 2 month old :-) ).

Here are the highlights.

On Sunday I followed up a crappy early morning run with a full hour of nonstop lunges, squats and crunches. Eventually quit when my legs wouldn't stop shaking.

Monday evening I ran Walnut Creek with Eric and Alan. The recent rains had made it really slippery, and at one point I made a tight corner and slid, but managed to stay upright. I turned around to watch Eric sliding completely off the trail into the brush, then we both turned around to watch Alan fall flat on his face. Of course, we then had to point out every bit of mud for the rest of the run. I think he was ready to kill us by the end - classic!!!

Tuesday evening I hammered road hill repeats for a solid hour - I did 21 repeats, including 3 backwards and ran myself into the ground. I was still a little sore from Sunday's mega leg session, and summer made an unwelcome temporary return - the temperature was in the mid-90s and I went home soaked.

Wednesday morning I had some welcome relief and did an early morning Danish run with Clea. I always enjoy these - just running and chatting with friends - and as an added bonus she had kindly stopped by the club meeting the night before and picked up my HCTR shirt order.

Note to Marcia - they are awesome!!!

Thursday morning I did some yoga because my neck/upper back was feeling a little stiff. Then in the evening I did some more leg work, which consisted of 30 minutes of nothing but squats. Up, down, hold, pulse, sink lower and hold again then repeat. Wide stance, narrow stance, feet pointing out, feet pointing forward, with and without weights, two legs, one leg and every variation thereof.

Friday the neck was worse, and I woke up unable to turn my head to the right. I'm not certain but I think I did it while avoiding a headbutt from baby Dylan during one of our midnight jaunts around the living room.

Then this morning I skipped my early run and just went out for 10 miles of road with my group. My neck is still sore, but I was feeling frisky so I hammered the 10 miles and left my group way behind while collecting 10 sub-7:30 miles in a row (finishing with a 6:50 last mile). Then I drove down to St Eds to meet up with Alan and did another 10 miles of trail hill repeats. That slowed me down, and not having eaten anything this morning finally caught up with me. On the last loop I was pulling myself up the hills by imagining a large bacon sandwich with mushroom and cheese sprinting up the trail ahead of me.

I never caught it so I made one when I got home - it was delicious, so I had another. And some toast. And some trail mix. And I'm still hungry.

16 miles of trails at Bastrop State park planned for tomorrow morning. Nap planned for this afternoon.

Loving this cooler weather.


***Sunday update: cut the Bastrop run short at 10 miles due to torrential rain. Still an enjoyable run though.

Anyone need a pacer?

I won't be running the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler this coming February since I will be camping outside the Austin ISD building overnight on the Friday to get a school transfer request in for Gavin when they open on the Saturday morning.

However, I will be free later in the day so thought I would see if anyone who is running needed a pacer for the last 20 or 40 miles. I did the 100 there earlier this year, had a great race and really enjoy Huntsville State park.

So if you're running and want company for the night portion, or just someone to kick your butt and bully you into crossing that finish line, let me know and we'll figure something out.

Lottery for Western States

I am debating whether or not to enter my name in the lottery for the Western States 100 next June. For those who don't know, it's kind of like the Boston marathon of ultras - 100 miles through the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The race goes from Squaw Valley (at 6,200ft) to Auburn, with 18,000ft of climb (2,550 in the first 4½ miles) and 23,000ft of descent inbetween, and follows the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850s.

It also has an interesting origin, being first completed in 1974 by Gordy Ainsleigh. A previous finisher of the Tevis cup endurance trail horseback ride, his horse turned up lame that year so he decided to run the course on foot instead and staggered across the finish line just under 24 hours later.

I've already met the qualification standards, and although the course has a reputation of being as tough as it is beautiful I also know that I have the physical and mental ammunition to finish it.

But the big downside for me is the expense, especially with a new baby. It's nearly $300 just to enter the race - I could buy a lot of diapers for that!!! Add on flights, rental cars and expensive accommodations, and that's a sizeable chunk of change. Nancy is all for us going as a vacation, but I'd feel guilty and selfish - it won't be much fun for her following me around with two small kids when it's freezing in the mountains and over 100F in the canyons. I think they deserve a better vacation than that.

I have until October 15th to decide, but I suspect I may pass. It would be fun, but running 100s is not the most important thing in the world for me.

Odds are I wouldn't get in anyway.

Fall is in the Air

Autumn smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin, and the first clue that summer is finally over is when our local grocery store starts stocking my favorite Pumpkin ale. As a bonus, this morning they also had clusters of cinnamon brooms that make the store smell divine. Halloween is also coming - one of my favorite holidays (though my Halloween this year is doubly scary since I will be attempting to run 100 miles on it).

This weekend we had some very welcome rain, and yesterday I got in a great 10 mile run with my group before it started. Since this is my pullback weekend I didn't do any extra mileage beforehand so I was feeling frisky and went out fast. We ran around the Brushy Creek neighborhood and every three miles or so I'd stop and wait for my group to catch up. I'd let them all pass me then chase them down again. I did this three times, and it was a great focused workout.

On the other hand today's run sucked, so the less said about it the better :-)

We had company this weekend, and last night we drove out to Lockhart for some yummy BBQ at Blacks. Lockhart is famous for its BBQ, and Blacks was a really cool throwback, exactly what comes to mind when you think of good ol' Texas BBQ - the jukebox was playing oldtime music and you could smell the smoke in the bones of the building. We enjoyed a great feast of brisket, sausage, potato salad, coleslaw and pinto beans, finished off with some peach cobbler.

Tonight I decided to take advantage of our cool and rainy weekend by making some of my rustic and hearty Irish Stew.

Irish Stew with GuinnessThis dish contains three of the staples of Irish cooking - meat, potato and Guinness. And let's face it, there's nothing more Irish than a good old pint of the black stuff - it flavors this wonderful stew to perfection. The addition of prunes adds some sweetness that offsets the distinctively bitter taste of the Guinness.

You could cook it in a stock pot or large saucepan, but I think cast iron imparts a ton of extra flavor, so I always use my trusty dutch oven.

Serve with a side salad and warm bread.

Ingredients
1lb beef (chuck roast, stewing beef etc), cubed
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups beef stock
1 can of Guinness
2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into chunks
2 large carrots, thickly sliced
1/2 cup prunes, halved and pitted
2 bay leaves
Thyme and ground pepper (to taste)

Heat 1Tbsp canola oil in the dutch oven and add the onions. Cook until transluscent then add the garlic and cook for a minute longer. Remove from dutch oven and set aside.

Heat another Tbsp of oil and brown the beef quickly under medium-high heat. Reduce heat and stir in the flour until the meat is coated.

Add the stock and stir until it forms a thick sauce

Pour in the Guinness and stir until it reaches a simmer. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, prunes, herbs and pepper. Stir until combined.

Simmer uncovered for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. This will allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, and result in a wonderfully rich and flavorful gravy. A big bowl of this will warm you up and fill you up on cold winter nights, and defines the term "comfort food".

An Impression of Expression

I love the amazing range of expressions that babies have. They may not be able to talk but they can communicate in so many different ways. In a short space of time this afternoon, Nancy took the following pictures of Dylan.

Dylan thoughtful	Dylan happy

Dylan surprised	Dylan plotting mischief

He was sitting in this chair a few days ago and I sat him up on the edge so we could play. I turned around to say something to Nancy and while I was looking away he pulled himself to his feet, stood up and looked around with the cheekiest expression I've seen outside his older brother. He seemed to be saying "Hey daddy, this ain't so hard".

I thought it may have been a fluke so I sat him back down. Sure enough he pulled himself right back up again. I took my hands away and he just stood there grinning at me.

Jeez kid, you're only two months old and I'm not ready to start moving stuff out of reach yet. Please learn to crawl first!!!

Can I Still Call it Deckmart?

Last December I took on the "Deckmart" challenge - running 50 miles at Sunmart followed by the notoriously hilly Decker half marathon the next day. I felt great, smashed my 50 mile PR on day one, then ran and chatted away the entire Decker race with Clea (who had run the 50k at Sunmart) on day two. It turned out to be the last running of Sunmart, so our unique challenge seemed to be consigned to history.

But Sunmart was reinvented earlier this year at the Texas Trails 50k, and the challenge was back on. Huntsville State park is one of my favorite places to run, so I knew right then that I would probably end up running it. Last night I finally took the plunge and signed up for both races.

The only problem is what to call the challenge this year. Sunmart is no longer involved so the old name no longer applies. Anyone got any ideas?