Anyone who knows me knows that I live much of my life around coffee.
Let me rephrase that.
"good" coffee.
After all, life's too short for bad coffee. I will be the first to admit, I am a snob when it comes to coffee. I used to drink whatever just to get through long nights in studio at college. Then is carried over when I began work. But as I have moved on in my life, my love of coffee has grown and my palette has become more sophisticated. I have a friend form Seattle to thank for this by the way...
I believe my interest really grew back in 2005 on a trip to Key West. While there we stopped at a coffee roaster (Baby's Coffee), actually not just any coffee roaster, but the southernmost coffee roaster in the United States. Long story short, I was getting a lot of my coffee from there for quite some time. Roasted in small batches, always whole bean, it was something I looked forward to at Christmas time when I'd get a few pounds... it never seemed to last long enough though.
Since then, I've ventured into local roasts here and when on vacation I ALWAYS try to find a local roaster to taste their creations. Most of the time I am not disappointed.
Not too long ago I was introduced to tea. Maybe that's not quite right - I've had tea before, but mostly it was a drink for when I was under the weather with a cold or flu. I think some of the lackluster image of it stemmed from that, but it never gave me the same satisfaction as a good cup of coffee.
Until a couple of months ago.
Steph got me a cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon as a "pick me up"and I'll admit I was slightly disappointed when she said it was tea (hoping for a coffee), but when I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised. It was an amazing taste and on top of that, it had an awesome level of caffeine in it. I later found out it was a blend -- chai / mate with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee -- that sold me. I ended up going back to the tea store and getting some as an alternative to coffee (shudder the thought). I am still quite the die hard coffee drinker, but having an option isn't too bad.
I did have a bit of a disappointing day yesterday when I broke one of my beloved coffee mugs that I've had since college -- from the same Seattle friend. It had an image with "just say no to decaf" saying on it. It served me well every weekend for 16 years. It will be sadly missed as it was a nice large mug with a big handle. I have plenty of others to fall back on, but it won't be the same...
On a running note, I got out for a 15k today. It was a little sloppy with some slushy spots along the way, but overall felt great, hit a lot of hills and still managed an 8:58/mile average. Looking forward to the trail run series that starts next month. I now feel ready for them as well as a half marathon. I think I've decided on the Geist Half Marathon for this spring. I have two days to sign up before prices go up, so guess I had better get to it...
Now, time for a cup of coffee. Until then keep on running.
The trials and tribulations of an average runner in the midwest. It's about running, life and everything in between.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Daughter / Daddy Weekend
For me, the weekend started out on Friday evening with a Father/daughter dance at our local Y. Lilli got dress up in her flower girl dress (to be used in April) - we figured might as well get as much use out of it as we can. Just as we were ready to leave, she decided that her hair wasn't right and had to brush it.
For ten minutes.
I patiently waited, being the good father that I am. When she was ready we headed out arriving about 10 minutes after the event started, which turned out to be good timing. They were playing some Kenny G and Michael Bolton at first, which didn't leave me very hopeful for the evening. We got some punch and a cookie and cupcake and Lilli proceeded to devour hers... then again, so did I.
Once the "good" music started we began to dance. Lilli jumped up and down and twirled around with all her might. She was having a blast. About 30 minutes into dancing, Lilli decided that I was no longer fun to dance with and turned around and danced by herself, as well as other people - including her tumbling class instructor. At least I was at least able to take more photos and video of her. We left about 20 minutes before it was to wrap up, but it was getting late and Lilli was showing signs of slowing down (slightly).
She woke up this morning in a good mood, actually coming into the bedroom saying, "it's morning". So I got up and made coffee and got breakfast for Lilli. Then I decided to go for a run today since it really was going to be the nicer of both days this weekend (though not nearly as warm as it was earlier this week). Upon mentioning my intentions for my run, Lilli wanted to join me. So I loaded up the jog stroller, snacks, water and a blanket for Lilli and we headed over to a popular running/biking path. The goal was for 8 miles and I wasn't sure if she would last or not since 5 miles had been our longest run together ever. But I ran an out and back route, so it would force us to run the whole distance. Surprisingly, she didn't complain, she just enjoyed the people and dog watching. I ran at an average 8:53/mile pace while pushing her in the jog stroller. I'd say that was pretty darn good. When we were done with our run, she and I stretched - in fact, she made me stretch longer than I would normally - such a good girl.
Afterwards, we headed to lunch at Jason's Deli (one of my new fav places to eat). And we celebrated the good run with a little ice cream.
Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow, but it's been a great weekend so far...
For ten minutes.
I patiently waited, being the good father that I am. When she was ready we headed out arriving about 10 minutes after the event started, which turned out to be good timing. They were playing some Kenny G and Michael Bolton at first, which didn't leave me very hopeful for the evening. We got some punch and a cookie and cupcake and Lilli proceeded to devour hers... then again, so did I.
Once the "good" music started we began to dance. Lilli jumped up and down and twirled around with all her might. She was having a blast. About 30 minutes into dancing, Lilli decided that I was no longer fun to dance with and turned around and danced by herself, as well as other people - including her tumbling class instructor. At least I was at least able to take more photos and video of her. We left about 20 minutes before it was to wrap up, but it was getting late and Lilli was showing signs of slowing down (slightly).
She woke up this morning in a good mood, actually coming into the bedroom saying, "it's morning". So I got up and made coffee and got breakfast for Lilli. Then I decided to go for a run today since it really was going to be the nicer of both days this weekend (though not nearly as warm as it was earlier this week). Upon mentioning my intentions for my run, Lilli wanted to join me. So I loaded up the jog stroller, snacks, water and a blanket for Lilli and we headed over to a popular running/biking path. The goal was for 8 miles and I wasn't sure if she would last or not since 5 miles had been our longest run together ever. But I ran an out and back route, so it would force us to run the whole distance. Surprisingly, she didn't complain, she just enjoyed the people and dog watching. I ran at an average 8:53/mile pace while pushing her in the jog stroller. I'd say that was pretty darn good. When we were done with our run, she and I stretched - in fact, she made me stretch longer than I would normally - such a good girl.
Afterwards, we headed to lunch at Jason's Deli (one of my new fav places to eat). And we celebrated the good run with a little ice cream.
Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow, but it's been a great weekend so far...
Sunday, February 13, 2011
I'm still standin'
... and running.
It's been a little while since I've posted anything, but after a long week in Geneva, NY the first week in February, I've been able to get right back on track. The weather today was simply beautiful - high 40's and plenty of sun. Felt nice to be able to wear shorts outside. Paths still covered, though mainly snow now versus the ice that was there just a couple of days ago. There were a few soft spots that I seemed to find with my heal, as a couple of times thought I was going to twist my ankle. I ended up changing my foot strike a little to compensate for the loose footing (even with screw shoes). My run ended up being shorter than intended, but I've got a long list of things to get done, so it will have to do... more nice weather all week, so I expect to be out as much as possible.
It's been a little while since I've posted anything, but after a long week in Geneva, NY the first week in February, I've been able to get right back on track. The weather today was simply beautiful - high 40's and plenty of sun. Felt nice to be able to wear shorts outside. Paths still covered, though mainly snow now versus the ice that was there just a couple of days ago. There were a few soft spots that I seemed to find with my heal, as a couple of times thought I was going to twist my ankle. I ended up changing my foot strike a little to compensate for the loose footing (even with screw shoes). My run ended up being shorter than intended, but I've got a long list of things to get done, so it will have to do... more nice weather all week, so I expect to be out as much as possible.
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