Well it’s the day after I embarked on my crazy idea to run the route the of the Craft Beer Bus Tour for Omaha Beer Week. Since I’m typing this, it means that I survived the 18 miles and 12 total beers. And yes, I did actually manage to have 1 beer at each of the 12 stops along the way, for better or for worse.

Loooong Day

My intial estimation for how long the journey would take was around 6-8 hours, and I was not really that close. My running time was about what I had expected (a shade over 2 and half hours), but what I didn’t fully realize was how long I would spend at each location in order to avoid slamming a beer and becoming too intoxicated to continue.

The run finally ended at around 11:40 in the evening, throw in the final beer at my final stop, and it ended up being 12:30 in the morning before it was all said and done. That’s 12 and half hours of either running or drinking (or using the restroom, which happened quite a bit as well with all of the water I was drinking).

Lots of Liquid

My initial plan of a 2 to 1 water to beer ratio ended up being closer to 3 to 1 in an attempt to not drink any of the beers too fast. Besides regular trips to the restroom, this also led to a pretty full stomach along the way which didn’t feel all that great at times during the run. There were a few times where it felt as though some of that liquid would come back up, but fortunately that didn’t happen.

The Longest Stretch

I had somewhat anticipated that the longest stretch of my from (from The Hive to Mojo Smokehouse & Ales) would be the toughest but it ended up being a little more difficult than I thought. I think that this was mostly due to a little bit too hight beer to mile ratio during the first few stops. Since the first 5 stops took place mostly around downtown Omaha, and two of them were only 2 blocks apart, after my 5th stop I had only run 4.5 miles but had consumed 5 beers. And now I was looking at a 4.5 mile stretch with a few hills in between to reach my next destination.

Fortunatley, after a bit of a rough run and an impromptu bathroom stop, I finally did make it to the next stop. After a few minutes to rest and some more water, I felt 100x better. It also helped that my friend, Andrew Osborn, was meeting up with me to join in for the rest of the jaunt. Having someone to run and drink with me for the second half of the journey definitely helped.

Mission Accomplished

When it was all said and done, I was able to acheive my ultimate goal of running the entire route and enjoying a beer at each stop along the way. Even though it took longer than I had anticapted, it was worth taking my time to make sure that it was safe as well as having a good time along the way. And strangely enough, I’m neither hungover or extra sore on this, the day after. I just feel pretty worn out, like I was out drinking all day the day before or something…

Next Year?

I got some positive feedback from others that they would be interested in doing something similar next year, albeit in a little more organized fashion. Also with the possibility of some people biking if the weather permits, since running that type of distance is no easy task. So if all is going well around this time next year, I’ll definitely be looking into providing a little more than 6 days notice as well as talk to some other people that may bike the route and doing a little more planning around the potential event.

Until next time, Cheers!

And I would Run (for) 500 (days)

So last Sunday (September 30th) marked a milestone of my beer-run streak, day 500. That’s right, 500 days in row of running at least 1 mile and drinking at least 1 beer everyday. Since that time there have been plenty of days with a lot more than 1 mile and a few days with way more than 1 beer, resulting in a little more difficult run the next day. When I started this streak, I wasn’t sure how long I would keep it up and I’m still not sure how long I’ll keep going but I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon.

A blog post (I don’t remember where) that I read around the time that I started the streak made a point that kind of stuck with me, the point was that if you plan to run everyday, the only decision you need to make is “when am I going to run today?” instead of “should I run today?”. With that in mind, I’ve made it part of my routine to ge up and go for a run every morning and make sure to fit it in somewhere else if the morning didn’t work. 

Beer (Mile) Me

One of the things that I hadn’t done during my beer-run streak was a Beer Mile, so I figured what better way to mark day 500 than with my first ever Beer Mile. After recruituing people to join, the brave souls ended up being my two roommates and a co-worker that came along for the ride. And while I’ve been running everyday for almost a year and a half, their running may have not have quite been on par but they were up for the challenge.

I decided to map a as close to a quarter mile loop around my neighborhood as I could for our route, since procurring an actual track where we wouldn’t get into too much trouble was a bit risky. As it turned out a loop around my block using the alleyway behind my house was almost exaclty a quarter mile, so we were in luck.

With the effects of the previous nights Nebraska game slowly wearing off, we started the race at 6:15 in the evening. For me the first beer was the most difficult. After taking longer than I thought it would to slam the first one, my stomach wasn’t sure how to resond to a sudden flow of beer paired with taking of on a brisk jog. By halfway through the first lap it seemed as though it had calmed down and I felt like I found a rhythm.

From there I just tried to keep that rhythm, both for my running and for the drinking. Being my first beer mile, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I found it helped to keep a breathing rhythm while chugging beer as fast as I could before each lap. Two deep breaths, chug, two deep breaths, chug, repeat until beer has been consumed.

Once I set out on the second lap, I felt like I found my running rhythm quite a bit quicker and the stomach wasn’t feeling too volitile. With my focus now on finishing the race without vomiting, the last two laps were kind of a blur. Try to find my rhythm and cruise along as fast as I felt I could.

8:40 from opening the first beer, I was done. I wasn’t sure whether to feel excited or relieved that I was done. All in all, I didn’t really feel like the beer was in any danger of coming back up but after running a mile that quick in conjuction with the beer it was anybodys guess.

Fortunately all of the beer stayed down and I was able to relax and cheer my fellow beer milers on to the finish. My first beer mile was a fun experience and for some weird reason, maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, is something I definitely want to try again to see if I can beat my first time.

Beer + Running = Healthy?

In my experience, Absolutely. During my run streak I have been fortunate to not pick up any major injuries that kept me from keeping the streak alive. I don’t necessarily think this was only due to luck though, either. One thing that you learn when running everyday is how to listen to your body. Was that ache due to a strain or just soreness? Why am I sore from the run, did I run too fast, too far or incorrectly? 

By paying attention to how I feel before, during and after a run, I feel as though I have avoided any major injuries. All the while continuing to up my distance and improve my pace. Being sore is okay, it tells you that you have tried something different and new for some muscles that may not be used to it. Feel like something is strained? Take it easy for a couple of days or a week or more until that muscle feels strong again.

Beer and running are all about new experiences and knowing your limits.

What Now?

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! The only plan I have right now is to keep the streak alive. I started reading the book Born To Run, which may be a blessing or a curse based on how I much more I want to run after reading each chapter. I hope to up my mileage this fall by going on more exploring runs where I don’t set a target mileage or pace, I just run to explore the city I live in and see where it takes me. Slainte!

100 Days and Counting

This post is a bit delayed but hey, I’ve been busy. A little over 100 days ago, I started running every day. Motivated by someone that people like to refer to as The Beer Runner, I saw what he was doing and the goal that he set out to accomplish and thought “I could do that”. The basis is simple, run at least 1 mile and enjoy a tasty brew every day. Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, maybe not so easy. The beer a day thing wasn’t really a problem since I keep the fridge at my house fairly well stocked with tasty craft beer and I’m fortunate to have a workplace that does as well. But it became apparent pretty early on that life and work like to get in the way of running. I love what I do for a living, but when what I do means the occasional tight deadlines and the long days and sometimes nights that accompany it, the last thing on your mind at those times can be getting your run in. I decided a little sleep deprivation wasn’t going get in the way and pushed on.

The other obstacle that I faced was golf. Now that may sound like an odd thing, but I’m slightly obsessed with the game and often play in local and national qualifiers which can mean walking 36 holes in a day. Now that may not seem like that big a deal to some, but I ask you to walk 36 holes in a day while carrying your own bag and then let me know if you feel like doing much afterwards. I’m pretty sure that you’ll just want to sit down and take care of the other half of the streak, a nice cold brew.

I wish I had run today…

With that being said, the streak has definitely gotten easier to maintain as time has gone on. The running is now a pretty engrained part of my morning routine during the week. Whenever I don’t feel like running, I just remind myself of the following quote:

There will always be days when you didn’t run where you’ll think, “I wish I had run today”, but there will never be a day where you went running where you’ll think “I wish I hadn’t done that”.

Through all of this running, I have defnitely noticed that my energy has increased and I’m pretty sure I’m in close to the best shape I’ve been in since college (Soccer FTW!). Not only that, but I think that the running has helped my golf game as well. How you might ask? Talk to any athlete out there and they’ll tell you that it is much easier to concentrate and focus when you aren’t tired. Golf is mostly mental, and I know that it helps that I feel like I have just as much energy walking up the 18th fairway as I did the first.

So there it is, it’s been 105 days now and I hope that this is only a small portion of a longer streak. If you’ve been thinking about getting in better shape or just getting back to excercising again, NIKE (Just Do It). I am here to let you know that it is possible to be healthy and active and still enjoy a tasty brew.

Slainte!

 

P.S. I’ve been working on a little project. A glimpse at what it might be can be found here.