growlers beer bistro, tuckahoe

yesterday tony, wayne and i headed over to tuckahoe to check out growlers beer bistro.  it was happy hour, so one perk was sampling the tap menu selections for only $4 - a pretty good deal as for pints of any kind... a fantastic one for craft beers!

tony and i started with the peekskill simple sour (wayne stuck to wine).  passable for a light sour, but no body to speak of.  the real highlight was the newly released ommegang's "iron throne" blonde ale - timed to coincide with the season three premiere of "game of thrones" tomorrow night. ommegang is one of my favorite breweries, and this one didn't disappoint.

i followed it up with another ommegang, the "barrier relief" a belgian style ipa. tony opted for the captain lawrence reserve, an american style double/imperial ipa, which clocked in with a 9.0 abv! it was served up in a 12 oz. goblet. both were excellent.  tony finished up with a speakeasy black and white cookie stout for the road :D

food wise, have to mention the nachos (w/pulled pork) - which were so good (and went so quickly)that we had to order a second plate :O

if you're in or near tuckhoe, definitely stop in for a beer and nachos!

2013 bunny boogie: race photos and results

spring arrived, albeit somewhat begrudgingly, in time for the bunny boogie this morning.  begrudgingly because even though we had great weather for the race (which kicked off just after 9), when i woke up it was barely 32 degrees!  also, i was a little disappointed because i had planned to run the race w/katie.  but at the last minute she had a change of plans :(

as for the race itself, i was more than happy stringing together 7:20 miles, for a 21:55 finish (7:18 pace)!  given the low mileage i ran over the winter - and the utter lack of any speed work, this is a good benchmark to start off the spring training season (build the base back up and get over to the track)

here are the race results from clubct.

here are the rest of my photos on facebook.

2013 mudders & grunters: race photos and results

even with snow on the ground, we had some great weather for the 2013 edition of the mudders & grunters 5 mile trail race at fdr park this morning.  the trail conditions were pretty tough - ankle deep mud and muck for most of the course.  but water crossings are a great way to clean off all the caked on mud :D

i had forgotten how hilly the course was - until i came up to the rope assisted climb in mile 4 - and that rope was definitely needed to crest the hill!  it took me just over 57 minutes to finish this year - almost 10 minutes slower than my 2011 finish.  i think the course was way muddier this time around - but that's just me.

afterwards, we had 2 kegs of captain Lawrence winter ale on tap for the 298 finishers :D

here are the race results from trrc. 

i posted many more photos on facebook.

arbor brewing company, ann arbor michigan

our trip to ann arbor wouldn't have been complete without a visit to a local brew pub - the arbor brewing company.  as expected, it was packed when we got there around 7 on friday night.  while we waited to be seated i had a bottle of their "phat abbot" belgian tripel at the bar. 

had i realized the size of the sampler that awaited me when we finally were seated at a table, i certainly would have rethought my initial beer selection!  there were a total of 11 selections from the tap in 4 ounce tasting glasses (it set me back $17).  i worked my way around the tray from light to dark - but when i finally reached #11, the steamroller russian imperial stout, i had only enough room for a sip!

it was a great and exhausting selection!  as for food, i opted for a reuben and pat went for a burger.  and, despite all the beer, there was still some room left for a slice of cheesecake... which was an excellent finish up the tasting :D

greetings from ann arbor :D

greetings from ann arbor!  we arrived here late this afternoon to grey skies and snow flurries.  tomorrow is campus day at university of michigan and we're here to see if Katie is a potential wolverine :D  right now it's her first choice... but we have a couple more colleges to see :D

in any event, looking forward to seeing ann arbor!

spring equinox 2013

spring arrived just after 7 this morning - at least that's what the calendar tells us!  with snow on the ground (and the possibilities of flurries forecast for tomorrow) and a stretch of below normal days with the temperatures in the 30's (and wind chills in the 20'), it's hard to believe this is spring.  so much for the groundhog's early arrival forecast last month.

be that as it may, with a little push from setting the clocks ahead, the days are getting longer.  and we have had the occasional warm sunny day over the last few week.  now, as begrudgingly as it seems, we should be getting more of them over the coming weeks.  hurray!  spring has arrived :D

that said, hopefully my running mileage will pick up.  i'm looking forward to putting away the winter gear and running in shorts again!

2013 taconic road runners st. patrick's day 2 miler & 10k: race photos and results

despite some competition from the nyc half marathon, there was a great turnout for the taconic road runner's st. patrick's day races this morning.  i was a course marshal for the 2 miler and then ran the 10k race.  both races had great turnouts, despite the chilly start to the day.  runners had the option of getting a shirt or a beer glass (in the past we normally just gave beer glasses).  why beer glasses for a st. patrick's day race?  because they come in handy for the post-race captain lawrence on tap for rehydration :D

i had a hard time running 8 minute miles for the 10k.  but i did manage to finish it in under 50 minutes (49:52, 8:03 pace).  all in all, i was more than happy with that.

here are the race results for the 2 miler.
here are the race results for the 10k.

here are the rest of my photos posted on facebook.