Beer of the Week: Coal Porter

(By Stephen Magee) A friend of mine returned from the mega crazy beer festival in Denver. I asked what beer most impressed him and his answer was the beer from Atlantic Brewing Company, Located in Bar Harbor Maine, this small brewery started in 1991 and brews only 60 kegs worth of beer a day. The brewery is on an estate that is more like a vineyard than a brewery. With picturesque New England houses and beautiful landscaping, I was wondering how good can this beer be? They have an ambitions goal to be sold in every state east of the Mississippi by the end of 2007. With the high quality and fine taste of the products they brew I am sure this goal could be achieved. Currently they only offer 6 brews, but they put quality and craft into each brew. They have a fun Blueberry Beer, yes blueberry (worth a try in the late spring or summer). My favorite is the Coal Porter. This beer is rich in flavor. When you poor this tasty brew you get a hint of the German chocolate and black malt. The color is a rich dark chocolate with a touch of the fine Belgian lace (head) on top. A very subtle hop flavor is evident in this deep rich porter. Made in small batches and aged 6 months you will be able to wet your whistle and smile after you have one . . . or a few of this tasty brew. Buy a 6 pack today and stoke your boiler against the cold winter months. If your a Stout fan run to the store and get some today!

http://www.atlanticbrewing.com/

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Training Summary: November 20-26

San Francisco is only a couple of weeks away now so I've started to taper a little. Did 39 miles last week. I meant to do 45 but I ended up taking two days off and Thursday I only ran 3 miles because I was really sore from Wednesday's session, which was the key workout for last week. In that workout, I ran 8 x 800 with 200 meter jogs and averaged 2:51 per rep. The jogs were all in 6o seconds more or less. After the last rep I even did a brisk 200 meter jog to make the workout total 8K exactly. My total time with reps and rest breaks was 30:51. Not too shabby. The key was that I was able to start at 2:55 on the reps and get progressively faster, working my way down to 2:48 for the final one. My other workouts of note were a 14 miler at 7:24 pace on Monday and a 7.5 mile progression run in XC spikes on a grass loop on Saturday.

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Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

That was Johnny Rotten's famous quote before walking off the stage in disgust after the Sex Pistols' final gig in San Francisco in 1978. It also sums up how I feel about working in rock 'n' roll these days. Rock 'n' roll has been the main focus of my life for the last 22 years and I honestly feel like it's mostly been a waste of time. Up until a few years ago I was making my entire living off of it -- my own record label, working for another label, my own PR company, DJing, freelance writing -- and loving it. Now I'm hastily trying to get out of it as fast as possible. I've been selling, giving away, and even throwing away large chunks of my CD, record and music magazine collection and just trying to be normal. The idea of being the old geek who still collects stuff has scared me shitless. Sometimes I'm saved, like last night when "In The City" by The Jam came on at the bar I was at and I could feel goosebumps, but mostly it's just depressing. I've stopped wanting to see concerts unless it's a band on Elephant Stone and I just turned in the last pieces of rock 'n' roll criticism I will ever write to The Big Takeover and Skyscraper. I retired from DJing last year and just shelved my PR company as I continue to take on more and more hours at my straight job. Ironically enough, one of the articles I wrote for Skyscraper was a review of Jesus and Mary Chain reissues. The JAMC's 1985 debut Pscyhocandy totally blew me away and made me want to do more than just be a music fan. Now, ALL I want to do is be a music fan and never have to deal with bands, editors, and club owners. The famous British DJ John Peel said that he made a point about not wanting to meet any of his favorite bands, and you know what, he was right. I guess part of this is that I turned 40 two years ago and my focus changed from wanting to be 'cool' to wanting to be reasonably well off. There's a fine line between being a cool hipster and being a fucking joke and I feel like I had been leaning more toward the latter. As far as the current scene goes, I just don't 'get it' any more. Rock 'n' roll used to be glamorous and mysterious -- now all the 'hip' indie bands are fat, ugly, regular people like the Decemberists, Black Angels, and Death Cab For Cutie. Iggy Pop didn't bleed so Death Cab For Cutie could make enough money to buy a donut factory. The only stake I've got left in the rock 'n' roll game is Elephant Stone and my interest in that is waning fast. Maybe this is all natural. Rock 'n' roll was always supposed to be a young man's game. My favorite '60s music writer Nik Cohn retired from music writing in his early 20's because he thought he was too old! So perhaps it's high time that I become a fully functioning adult. Better to burn out than fade away...

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Beer of the Week: Bell's Hopslam

(By John Voorhees) Hopslam from Bell's is simply amazing! Bell's recently pulled out of Illinois, where I live, over a dispute with its distributor. As a huge fan of Bell's Two Hearted Ale and other beers, I was heartbroken. Fortunately, I make frequent trips back to my home state of Michigan (Go Wolverines!) and have plenty of opportunities to stock up. Two weekends ago I was in Ann Arbor for the annual Tortoise & Hare 10K/5K with Ben and others. I took the chance to stock up on Bell's and some winter running gear. When I got to the store, I was pleasantly surprised to find every Bell's beer available waiting for me. Among others, I bought a 6 pack of Hopslam, which will set you back a steep $13.50. I've got to say though, that it is worth every penny. Released on October 20, 2006, Hopslam is not long for this world. According to Bell's website, just one batch of this incredible brew was made. A double hopped IPA, Hopslam starts with a strong citrus flavor and ends with a great bitter hoppy bite. If you can still find this brew, go for it. I know I'll be looking for it the next time in Michigan.

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Training Summary: November 13-19

Another image from my 10K race last weekend. As you can see, it was a very scenic course. This past week I got some good recovery from the race but I also got in some good quality work -- can't ease back too much you know. Ran 49 miles with two key workouts: a 12 miler @ 7:06 pace (last six @ 6:52) on Thursday and an 8K tempo run on the track in my cross country spikes on Saturday in a very relaxed 31:16. I started at 6:33 and ran each mile 8-10 seconds faster than the one prior, finishing in 5:58. The spikes feel really good! Feeling really good as I enter my final sharpening phase for SF.

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Jesus and Mary Chain "Teenage Lust"

I had no idea they ever made a video for this! It's borderline pornographic so I'm guessing it never got aired! In any case, one of the JAMC's finer moments...

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The Chameleons "Monkeyland"

Epic post-punk rock 'n' roll. "Monkeyland" is from The Chameleons' 1983 debut album Script of the Bridge.

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Race Report: Iron Turkey

I have to admit that I was pretty nervous all fall when my coach Josh Scully penciled in this event on my training schedule. The Iron Turkey is part of the Ann Arbor, Mich. Turkey Trot and it involves running a 10K race at 10:00am followed by a 5K race at 11:30 -- two long races with less than an hour for recovery. The weather was cold but pretty ideal. Maybe just slightly too windy, but us runners always complain about something! I opted to wear shorts though a lot of people went with compression tights. I also wore a long sleeve compression top underneath my BMLC singlet, as well as a hat and gloves. Felt like I was back in high school running cross country! Josh advised me to go out really slow for the first mile and pick up the pace gradually and finish strong but leave something in the tank for the second race. I made sure not to line up in the front and when the gun went off I went out at what felt like 6:30 pace. Tons of people shot out like crazy but within a few minutes I was passing lots of them who were already breathing heavily as I was only just starting to warm up! I hit the mile in 6:19 and was shocked at how easy that felt. I accelerated just slightly and was again shocked to hit 2 miles in 12:23. This was going to be one of those days! As the course was a loop in the Hudson Mills Metro Park, I got a lot of support from my wife and BMLC teammates John Voorhees and Mike Dubin who cheered for me at different spots. I remember waving to Bella and Mike as I cruised through the 3 mile mark in 18:22 (5:59 for mile 3!). They thought that was pretty funny. At this point the field was pretty strung out so I would just focus on people who were fading and run as fast but relaxed as possible to real them in. Between miles 3 and 4 I was in no man's land with two guys very far ahead of me but coming back to me fast. I hit mile 4 in 21:19 (5:57) and I could really see those guys were hurting so I pushed maybe a little harder than I should have (considering I had another race to do) between 4 and 5 to reel them in. Mile 5 was a blazing (for me!) 5:50 as I hit the 5 mile mark in 30:09, besting my Masters 5 mile PR by 6 seconds with one more mile and one more race still to do! My best 8K at Allen Park earlier this year was 30:07 and that also converts to 30:15 so that means I was more or less around 30:00 at 8K in this race. Just after the 5 mile mark I caught the first of the two guys who looked like he was in my age group. He was hurting bad and I knew he was toast. Turned out he was in my age group and finished second in 40-44 to me. The younger guy ahead of me still had something in the tank as I caught up to him with about 800 to go. I passed him but he went with me and we hit the 6 mile mark in 36:01 (5:52 for mile 6). He threw in a hard surge there and if I were just doing the 10K I would have gone with him and tried to outkick him but now I had to employ some strategy like a Tour de France cyclist and save myself for the final stage. I eased back and cruised in at 37:27 for an overall pace of 6:01 per mile. Most impressively I was 29:45 for the 5 miles from mile 2-6.

But now came the interesting part. I was definitely tired though not totally trashed as I didn't go full throttle in the last half-mile like I would have if this had been my only race. I immediately drank a lot of water, ate a banana got on my sweats and even had half a cup of coffee. I went inside the metro park clubhouse and just tried to stay warm and stretch. About 15 minutes before the race I did some easy strides to try to get the blood flowing again. For the 5K I opted to wear compression tights under my shorts (like Kobe!) as my left calf muscle was kind of tender. It had been bugging me slightly in the second half of the 10K. Again I lined up a little off the front row as the 5K had lots of fast college and high school kids who hadn't run in the 10K. The gun went off and everyone shot out like a bat out of hell. I tried to run at the same pace I was at in the middle of the 10K and felt pretty good. My body was sore and tired and I was feeling mentally lazy but felt strong in the lungs. I knew this race would be a case of mind over matter! I hit the first mile in 6:04 and that gave me the confidence that I would finish OK. Lots of people who started fast were dying so I had a lot to focus on as I tried to maintain pace. I hit the 2 mile mark in 11:58 (5:54) and still felt good. I didn't feel like I could blast a 5:40 or anything but felt like I could maintain, which I did. I didn't catch my split at 3 miles as I was focusing on the finish line and didn't look at my watch but I kicked it home in 18:28, which means I was probably about 17:50 for 3, which means about 5:52.

After that race I was trash but mentally I felt like a million bucks for running up to my full potential in both races. There was nothing I would have changed about either race. I was especially pleased with how smooth the 10K felt. The 37:27 is a masters PR for 10K as is the 30:09 enroute. This week will be all distance running as I recover from the Iron Turkey and refuel for San Francisco!

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The December Sound

(Parts of this write up are from a review I wrote for the forthcoming issue of The Big Takeover magazine). Boston's December Sound are perhaps the best unsigned band on the planet right now. Their latest effort, the "Kill Me" EP is their best release yet. The monstrous title track alone is well worth the price of admission, a six-minute wig out that blends the best of Vanishing Point and XTRMNTR-era Primal Scream, The Jesus & Mary Chain circa Honey's Dead, and the trippier elements of The Verve. And speaking of the JAMC, the last track on this all-too-brief disc is an excellent cover of "Reverence," which is even more frenzied than the original! The other two tunes here are the Slowdive-ish "Reminder" and the high-octane Stooges-styled rocker "Maker. " Like London's People's Revolutionary Choir who I raved about awhile back on this blog, The December Sound are giving psychedelic rock 'n' roll a kick in the teeth that was last evident in the early '90s when British bands like Ride, JAMC, Adorable, Swervedriver etc. put out all those legendary records. And any band that poses with a badass boombox and parkas is alright with me!

http://www.myspace.com/thedecembersound
http://thedecembersound.com

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Vote or Die


More election fun from South Park!

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You're a turd sandwich


Funny how South Park mirrors real life. This snippet from the episode where a douche and turd sandwich campaigned for school mascot sums up how I feel about most politicians these days. Who did you vote for yesterday? The douche or the turd sandwich?

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New Spikes! Nike Zoom Miler XC

Decided to bite the bullet and buy some spikes for the Masters XC Nationals race in San Francisco in December. Us old guys need any edge we can get! I haven't raced in spikes since like my freshman year of college but when I tried these on at Second Sole in Rocky River yesterday, they felt fantastic. Lightweight but super comfortable and cushioned. The course at SF is supposed to be a combo of grass and dirt so I could use the extra traction. Now my resolution for next year is to find as many track and XC races as possible so I can race in these more than once a year at XC nationals. I really dig the badass black/red/white color scheme too.

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Training Summary: October 30 - November 5

50.5 miles with one day off. Had some really good quality sessions, namely a 16 mile run (half of it on trails) on Monday and my best interval session of the fall on Wednesday. I did 5 x 1.5 miles with only 60 seconds rest between each rep and averaged 9:09 (6:06 per mile pace). On Saturday I did 10 hill reps on a really steep 250 meter incline. Glad that this week will be pretty easy so I have time to get rid of the aches and pains and be ready to roll at the Iron Turkey races in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday. I'll be running a 10K race at 10am followed by a 5K race at 11:30. Results are compiled by adding up your times from both races.

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Beer of the Week: Founders Devil Dancer Triple IPA

By Stephen Magee:
If you take the trip across Michigan on I-96 heading west you will end up in Grand Rapids Michigan. The home of President Ford, the Fish Ladder, and Founders Brewery. Since 1997 this brewer has been making some excellent beer. This week we tasted the “Devil Dancer” the most complex beer they brew. Available quarterly and aged for at least one year in the cellar. At 13% ABV and 112 IBU’s this is a beer not for the faint of heart. When you pour a glass you will notice the thick cloudy red color and smell the hops. A beer to be savored in a bell shaped glass. Founders’ uses 10 different varieties of hops and the dry hops for 26 days (dry hop is a post brewing hop addition (after the wort has been cooled) cold hopping or raw hopping). When you raise this beverage to your lips you will taste complex hops and a very smooth finish, but still detect a bite of hop ester. This brew is rich in texture and has a huge malty taste. If you enjoy a good IPA try this one on for size and let me know what you think. Try some of the other founders’ brews, you will enjoy the beer and the time spent acquiring the drink. I found them to be the best brewer at the Michigan Beer festival 2006. A four pack of “Devil Dancer will run $11 to $13.

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