Half Marathon Training - Week 15

Tuesday I went to a chiropractor to have him look at my left calf. The prognosis? Bursitis in my knee. It is from my muscles not having enough time to repair themselves between runs.

He said that I can run the half marathon without injuring myself so I'm going to do it. He massaged and moved around the areas that are bad and said that the massage would help bring up any scar tissue and work it through so the muscle heals. He showed me a few stretches and said to do those every hour (that doesn't happen even though I try but especially at work I'm just too busy. I forget to do it.) He also said to make sure I ice it and use ibuprofen. When it's hurting, it's because the muscle/joint is swollen and that's not allowing it time to heal.

Several nights this past week it has hurt badly enough in the middle of the night that it wakes me up. But I take some ibuprofen and it seems to help eventually so I can fall back asleep.

He also said it's ok to run but just 2-3 miles. If I can go 2-3 miles without pain I can bump it up to 5 miles. But so far I'm still having a lot of pain, even walking sometimes. He also said that the long run isn't necessary at this point; I've built up my stamina and the risk of it hurting worse and not healing is much worse than trying to build more for the half marathon.

So the half marathon is going to be a very mental race for me. And I'm very, very nervous about it.

This week:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Ran 2.1 miles on the treadmill with a break at 1 mile to stretch
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Ran for the photo shoot with Colleen.  I talked to her about it and we probably ran at least 2 miles.
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Walked 1.17 miles by myself and then ran 2.17 miles with Mandy and Greg.  Also did some ab workouts after icing from the run.

I think I might have rode the bike Wednesday or Thursday but I can't remember which day so I put them both as rest days. This is why I usually try to write everything down.

I'm icing after workouts now and just hoping I'll make it through the race.  The weekly miles are pretty dismal but my goal right now is to run this race and then go from there.  I have a feeling the day after the race is going to be pretty brutal for me.  We'll see!!!

Mileage on shoes
Mizuno: 86.23 miles
Brooks: 65.84 miles

Photo Courtesy of Paul Meyer Photography

Pittsburgh Comicon

We went to the Pittsburgh Comicon earlier in April. It's the first time I've ever been to a Comicon and it was pretty good. We saw our friend Scott McDaniel and our cousin Tod Allen Smith. We also bought some of the Runaways comic books that I'm missing from my collection.

George Perez signing some of Dave's comics

The charity sketch/painting I won by Stuart Sayger

The charity sketch I won by Zeke Savory

We also saw Stan Lee- he seemed really nice and funny. And had pictures with Randy from A Christmas Story and the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.

Lifestyle Photo Shoot

Colleen and I did a lifestyle photoshoot with Paul Meyer yesterday. It was a lot of fun.  We went to Presque Isle in Erie and wandered around taking pictures. We started in some dresses and then spent the rest of the time in various running clothes, running on the beach and in the path. My favorite was running in the waves (just our feet got wet really) even though it was VERY cold.

Colleen posted some of the pictures here. We took these from the car as we sat in it trying to warm up between getting pictures taken. I started out a little timid so I don't know how those pictures will turn out but the running ones are going to be amazing! I can't wait to see them.

Paul showing me how he wants me to pose when I'm on the dock

Taking my shoes off- you can see how windy it was.  The wind chill- whoa!  BRRR

Walking back towards the beach

Splashing in the water.

Hold Fast

This week has been a very difficult, emotional week.  I don't really want to talk specifics but work has been very difficult and things were looking pretty bad there.  Tuesday night I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep and I prayed.  A lot.  For guidance on how to handle things and doors to open.  Prayer isn't always answered the way you want it to be but God showed He heard me.

First, on the way to work, I had on the Message on Sirius XM and Hold Fast by MercyMe was on.  I wasn't even really paying attention and it wasn't a song I'd heard before but when I heard the chorus it just, I needed it.  Here are the lyrics to the whole song:

To everyone who's hurting
To those who've had enough
To all the undeserving
That should cover all of us
Please do not let go
I promise there is hope

Hold fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He's come to save the day
What I've learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast

Will this season ever pass?
Can we stop this ride?
Will we see the sun at last?
Or could this be our lot in life?
Please do not let go
I promise you there's hope

You may think you're all alone
And there's no way that anyone could know
What you're going through
But if you only hear one thing
Just understand that we are all the same
Searching for the truth
The truth of what we're soon to face
Unless someone comes to take our place
Is there anyone?
All we want is to be free
Free from our captivity, Lord
Here He Comes

I had to turn it off because I was carpooling with someone and I was starting to tear up just hearing the words. (The chorus starts with Hold Fast, that's what I was listening to.)  I tried to remember the song so I could look up the rest of the lyrics later, which I actually didn't do until just now.

When I got to work, things worked out and it wasn't because of anything I specifically did.

I have to admit I struggle a lot at times with God and how do we know He hears us and honestly sometimes I do question is He really there.  It's hard to even publicly admit that.  But I think we all go through that at various times.  I really needed this and it proved to me that He does listen and answer our prayers.

Half Marathon Quasi Training - Week 14

I am still having calf pain. Things have seemed to clear up in my right calf, but my left calf is still hurting and my left knee is also starting to hurt as well. I have an appointment for Tuesday to go see a chiropractor to find out what's going on (hopefully).


Monday - Ran 2.65 miles and walked 0.25 miles as a warmup
Tuesday - Walked 1.00 miles on the treadmill
Wednesday - Ran 2.87 miles
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Ran 3.10 miles
Saturday - Ran 1.792 miles on the treadmill
Sunday - Biked 13.5 miles in 45 minutes


Total running miles for the week: 10.412


My monthly mileage for April is going to be dreadful.


Each of the runs this week, I did intervals of walk/run because my calves were hurting. The compression socks and stick seem to help but my left calf was bad enough after my run on Friday that I couldn't put pressure on it while I was trying to stretch. (I was trying something new Colleen showed me and to stretch out my other calf rested my leg on my car but the pressure of pushing down on the left leg when trying to stretch out my left calf was bad.)


I also tried using the Brooks on Wednesday- maybe I just can't use those shoes. I used the Mizunos after that and probably will until I can figure out what's going on. It's funny, I already have blisters on my toes with the Mizunos. But I'll take blisters over the calf pain any day if I can fix it! (The Mizunos are the "old" shoes and are at least 1/2 a size too small. They also allow too much pronation so I really should probably try to find another pair of shoes; not just size these up.)


Mileage on shoes

Mizuno: 80.79 miles 
Brooks: 65.84 miles

Pittsburgh Penguins

I was being superstitious and held off on this post until the Pens were out of the playoffs. It seems like every time I post about going to a game or something, I somehow jinx them.

We got a brand new camera in Delaware at the Outlets in Rehoboth Beach. We went to the first home playoff game against the Flyers (which we lost) and got some pretty nice pictures with our new camera, playing with settings to see what it can do.

Unfortunate running update

I ran yesterday around Oakmont, where it's completely flat.  I was originally aiming for two loops, which is slightly over 3 miles.  But even during the first loop my calves were hurting.  Which really stinks because I felt so good during the day and thought the combination of the stick and compression sleeves had helped finally.

I stopped to stretch slightly before the end of the 1st loop, hoping that would help.  But it didn't.  I ended up cutting the 2nd loop short and running 2.78 miles.  I walked with Jackie to Carnivore's to eat and grab a beer (and Dave met us there as well) and we walked back to my car.  I could feel it but wasn't hobbling.  Last night I tried wearing the compression sleeves all night and this morning I'm hobbling and feeling much worse.  In both calves again.

I'm starting to wonder if it's the new shoes, my Brooks Ravenna 3.  Even if it's that I need to build up muscles, shouldn't I be able to run a few miles in them without this much pain?  I have no idea what's going on here.  I ran around the same mileage on Monday with the old shoes and although I felt a little soreness after the run, with the compression sleeves and stick I felt great yesterday.  I change to the new shoes and run the same mileage and I'm hobbling (also using the compression sleeves and stick to roll out my calves).

I've tried bananas to see if the problem is potassium deficiency; and that doesn't seem to make a difference either way.

So from now on it's back to my old running shoes, along with the compression sleeves and rolling out my calf muscles to see if I can fix this.  I'm worried now that I won't be able to run the half marathon at this rate- or I'll be hobbling for at least a week afterwards.

Anniversary!

This is when I get mushy.

4 years ago today, Dave and I got married. I love him so much and he makes me so happy. These 4 years honestly have just flown by and it doesn't seem like it's been that long already! We are very different from each other but I keep finding that to be complementary. We both make each other a better person (and I know I'm somewhat speaking for him but I think he would agree).

And for our differences we also have a lot of common interests/similarities.  We both love sports, especially the Steelers, Penguins, and the Pirates.  (Even though I find the Pirates VERY FRUSTRATING.) I've even gotten him to root for the Buffalo Bills and Sabres as long as they aren't playing Pittsburgh. (I also will root for Pittsburgh over Buffalo though.)  Of course we also share a love of music, which is how we met in the first place.  It's easy to hang out because we like to do the same types of things.

I don't know what I would do sometimes without him. He has been by my side through some trying times and helped me out so much. I love you so much, Dave! Happy anniversary!

Here's our wedding web page, which is still up!

Aaaahhhh!

Some friends have gotten an email with this post title as the subject.

For the first time in at least 3 weeks, my legs actually feel almost normal! I did not realize how much they hurt until they pretty much stopped hurting. I wonder if I just got so used to constant pain that I didn't realize how much it was hurting. I say that it's pretty much stopped hurting- my right leg seems to be fine but my left calf still has a knot in it. So I'm still wearing compression socks a few hours a day.

So this is how I worked through this. (I'm writing this mostly for future reference, for myself.)

3 weeks ago: Ran 10.35 miles due to injury- couldn't do a long run
2 weeks ago: Ran 9.87 miles due to injury - couldn't do a long run
Last week: Took 7 days in a row off (Sunday-Saturday) and ran on Sunday 5.00 miles with a lot of breaks to stretch and walk around off the treadmill

I went to Mojo Running after work on Monday and talked to the people there. This is where I bought my Brooks Ravenna shoes. At first he said it shouldn't be the change in shoes to cause the calf pain. But as we talked he did mention that if you pronate that actually absorbs some of the shock, and flattening out my foot strike could affect the muscles.

He recommended compression sleeves, and I bought the CEP brand right there. He also recommended something called the stick, which apparently is better for calves than a foam roller. This is what it looks like:

You can push harder so it actually massages your calf more than a foam roller would.

After that I went to the Mars High School track with Colleen and we did something she called a ladder exercise. We warmed up with a lap of walking around the track. Then we did a lap alternating running 100m and walking 100m (so run/walk twice). Then we ran 200m and walked 200m. After that we ran an entire lap and walked a lap. I think we repeated that again and then ramped back down- ran 200m, walked 200m, ran 100m, walked 100m, ran 100m, walked 100m. We were between an 8:00 and 9:00 pace for most of the runs. I had the compression sleeves on throughout this as well. But by that point, including our warmup walk, we had gone 2.75 miles and my calves were hurting so I said I had to stop. I used the stick to roll out my calves and drove home with the compression sleeves on.

When I got home, I used the stick again right away- driving in the car seems to tighten everything up.  I left the compression sleeves on for an hour or so after that and also iced each calf for 20 minutes.  I told Dave my legs/feet felt tingly and that felt really good.

But when I woke up Tuesday morning, I was still in pain. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed. I hoped this would do the trick. As I walked around at work, though, things started feeling better. I also wore the compression sleeves for about 5 hours at work. When I got home, I ended up walking one mile on the treadmill as I watched something on tv. I also used the stick on my calves in the morning before I left for work, after I got home, and after walking on the treadmill.

With all of that, I'm finally feeling better this morning. Yay!!! I can't repeat over and over how much better I feel. Not I just need to work this kink out in my left calf and I'll be golden!!! I still need to figure out what I should be doing as far as ramping up running to get ready for the half marathon. I'm really bummed this sidetracked me for 3 weeks.

Half Marathon Training - Rest Week

So I decided this week to take the entire week off because my calves were still hurting. When I looked at my mileage for each week I realized I was only getting around 10 miles each week and I wanted to be at 20. I figured it would be better to take almost an entire week off and let the calves get back to normal and then keep going. BUT, my calves are still hurting.

So now I am starting to wonder if I'm just being  a big baby and I should push through this. I dunno. It's both my calves although sometimes I feel twinges in my left knee. It did feel better towards the end of the week but they're both still sore.

I wanted to run the Genesis Riverside Run yesterday but my calves were sore when I got up in the morning and we had a concert to play so I decided it was too much hassle. That race was my very first 5K, a year ago. I wanted to do the 10K this year which I know I should be able to do fairly easily, considering I ran the March Mad Dash.

I ran on the treadmill today to round out the week and did it VERY hesitantly. I didn't decide how much I was going to run, just figured I'll run a mile at a time and take a break at each mile to stretch.

I ended up (not counting time for breaks which were long I have to admit) doing 5 miles exactly in 49:48. I started out really slowly but the last two miles I set the treadmill at 6.5 mph. The last minute I set the treadmill at 7mph because I wanted to get 5 miles in at 50 minutes or before for a 10:00 pace.

We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I hope I'm not hobbling. I stretched a LOT throughout and after and hopefully I didn't push too hard after taking 7 full days off. (I didn't even cross train which might have been stupid but I was really trying to just get my calves to stop hurting.)

I should note I also used my old (Mizuno, purple) shoes to see if that would make a difference. The half marathon is 3 weeks away and this is making me even more nervous for that!

Miles for the week: 5.00 (in 49:48)

Mileage on shoes

Mizuno: 73 miles (have also been wearing them regularly though)
Brooks: 62.97 miles

Pens vs. Flyers 4/7

Dave and I went to the last regular season home game on Saturday. The Pens clinched the 4th seed in the playoffs and we knew that the first round was going to be Pens vs. Flyers with the Flyers being the 5th seed. So we weren't expecting a huge game. It turned out pretty well though! We saw Malkin score his 50th goal this season, and the Pens won. There was only one fight and things were calmer than they usually would be when we play the Flyers. It's a big rivalry with a lot of animosity, for both the players and the fans.

The first round of the playoffs makes me nervous. The Flyers are tough this year.

Bye bye, Mellon Arena. :(

Dave before the game

Geno's parents- his mom is in the striped sweater and his dad is to the left of her

With some Flyers fans before the game

There were a lot of Flyers fans at the game. The Phillies were also in town to play the Pirates and a lot of people from Philadephia seemed to take advantage of that. When these guys showed up behind us, Dave told me not to turn around. (He didn't want me to say anything to the other fans haha.) I said, oh I should get my picture with them! And Dave said he would if I was serious. I hadn't been but I decided, why not? So I asked them for a picture and of course they immediately said what are you going to do to the picture. LOL! I promised nothing (although thanks, guys, what a good idea). They were pretty nice and admitted that their fans are pretty bad to opposing players fans. I told them I will never go to a game in Philadelphia because of that. (They told me if we ever did to sit in the lower level.) And I was probably the nicest Pens fan they saw all day. As they walked away we heard people booing them. Dave posted this picture on Facebook and surprisingly I didn't really get much crap about it. Just from a few people over text because Dave also texted it to our friends. We thought it was funny. And you can see in my face the, "Am I really doing this??" and trying not to just laugh.

Week 13 Half Marathon Training

Week 13


Monday - Some upper body strength training
Tuesday - 4.86 miles running in 48:58
Wednesday - Exercise Bike, 8.8 miles in 30 minutes
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Rest 
Saturday - 5.01 miles running in 50:35
Sunday - Rest


Totals: 9.87 miles in 1:39:33 plus some cross training


I took a few days of complete rest because my calves were still hurting.  I figure it's muscle soreness because it's both calves equally.  But when I rested I started to feel it in my left knee a little bit.  By Saturday, though, I was feeling much better and I went for a run.  I was planning on trying to get a long run in to make up for taking days off but because of my calves I only ran one loop at North Park.


I was actually somewhat ok the rest of Saturday but by Sunday my calves were hurting a lot again and they are this morning.  So, reluctantly, I think I'm going to take this whole week off.  There is a race on Saturday that I really want to do.  It was my very first 5K and I want to do the 10K this year.  They allow registration on race day; so I will just wait it out and hope that my calves fully heal or whatever and try that race if I'm feeling better.  That means my mileage will be REALLY low this week.  But I'd rather have a really low week and fully recover so I can actually run the half marathon instead of continuing to try to push through it and be miserable for the half marathon.  


So cross your fingers that taking off Sunday through Friday will fix this and I'll be able to run the race on Saturday!!!  I really want to.  I might even skip cross training; we'll see.  I didn't cross train Thursday or Friday because I wanted to give my legs a complete rest.  And they were feeling a lot better Saturday.  Still somewhat tight, so maybe I should have waited a few more days.

Mileage on shoes

Teal: 362.8 miles (retired)
Purple: 68 miles (have also been wearing them regularly though)
Brooks: 62.97 miles

5 mile run 4/7/12

This post is specifically for Colleen, who asked people to write about running since she's taking some time off to make sure an injury heals.  It's driving her nuts, not being able to run.

I've been trying to figure out what to do about my calves hurting the last few weeks.  I ran on Tuesday, a little less than 5 miles, and was feeling good, but my calves were still sore.  So I didn't run the rest of the week and figured I'd try to get a long run in on Saturday.  Originally I was hoping for 10 miles and if I felt good I wanted to take on one or two after that.  But that didn't end up happening.

Before I talk about the run, I have decided that 45-50 degree weather with the sun out is perfect running weather.  It's cold enough that when you're standing there you're chilly but as soon as you start running you warm right up and it's perfectly comfortable.  I had on a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt, which seemed to be less than a lot of other people were wearing at North Park.  We met at 10am and I think it was just about 45 when we started.  Because of the holiday (Happy Easter, btw!) and other factors, our little running group was only 3 this time.

We started out and they told me I could decide if we would run straight or in intervals.  We ran the first mile straight and I was actually feeling good.  I looked at my watch and it said we did the mile in less than 9:30, too!  I was so happy, feeling back to where I was before my calves started hurting.  They did start out tight and I was going to warm up a bit by running and then stretch but I was feeling so good I decided it was ok.  I could feel them loosen up as we were running.  (Maybe that was a bad idea, to skip stretching, I dunno.)

When we hit the first mile I asked if we could change to run/walk intervals.  I wanted to try to ease into the longer distance and I really wanted to run two loops, so I wanted to pace myself.  But we started to take off.  During the runs we were averaging less than a 9:00 mile.  At one point my watch said we were at an 8:45 pace.  I started complaining and my running buddy said well let's at least get to 3 miles together and then you can slow down and we'll keep going.

I really tried, but by 2.5 miles my calves were starting to hurt.  I also was feeling a bit dehydrated from some excessive drinking the night before.  I stopped at a water fountain just before 2.5 miles, and I just realized I needed to slow down.  So I told them to go on ahead and I'd see them at the end.  I asked them to stick around- Sarah was talking about maybe doing a 2nd loop and I hadn't decided for sure whether or not I'd do it and I figured we could at least run together.

So my 3rd, 4th, and 5th miles were slower.  I didn't do 4:1 intervals anymore.  I did walk a few times, for a minute at a time, when I felt like my calves needed the break.  But I ran a lot more than I would have doing the 4:1 intervals, just a lot slower.

These are the mile splits:

1	09:20	09:20
2	09:47	19:07
3	10:35	29:41
4	10:31	40:13
5	10:12	50:25
5.01	00:10	50:35

My overall pace ended up being 10:06.  My fastest split (.25 miles) was in 2:14 which included part of a walk.  Yes, CRAZY for me, since it included the walk!  And my slowest split was exactly 3:00.  That one also included a walk though, at least.  I think my run sections were averaging between 9:30 and 10:15 while I was running by myself.  A whole minute slower than what we had been doing.

Afterwards, I didn't see them in the parking lot so I thought they decided to run a little more.  I started chugging some gatorade and realized they were on the grass, stretching.  Sarah showed me some different stretches- and one that does really well for your quads.  My quads in general seem fine and the normal stretch when you stand and hold one led bent at the knee- I usually don't even really feel that.  The one she showed me definitely helped.  I could already tell my calves were stiff but stretching helped and for once after the half hour drive home, although I felt slightly stiff, I wasn't hobbling.

I'm hobbling this morning though.  I really need to figure out what to do.  I do think it's the new shoes which have changed my stride (probably for the better but I haven't worked into it).  It's still both of my calves although I have to admit I have gotten a few twinges in my left knee.  The weird thing is, I felt that after a few days of rest when my calves were starting to feel better.  Right now I'm considering taking this week off running.  I really hesitate to do it though- I don't want to lose the endurance I built up for the half marathon!

Off to go do some foam rolling...

Delaware Breweries

Dave and I visited a few other breweries in Delaware that were closer to Rehoboth Beach.

The first one was 16 Mile Brewing, located in Georgetown, DE.  It was fairly close to Dogfish Head and someone in the Dogfish Head tour had just gone on a tour at 16 mile and recommended it.  I had been eyeing it up anyways.  We checked and they closed at 5, so we figured we'd try to make it before they closed.  We got there right at 4:30.  The employees were really nice and didn't mind us sampling even though we were the only ones there.

We sampled:

Amber Sun Ale

Old Court Ale

Blues Golden Ale

Inlet India Pale Ale

Responders Ale

Harvest Ale

DE Oyster Stout

The beers were pretty good and we got a case with 4 six packs of Amber Sun, Old Court, Blues Golden, and Inlet India Pale Ales.  Dave is going to be the one drinking the Old Court Ale- that coffee taste again!  We also filled a growler with Inlet India Pale Ale.

After that we headed to Delmar, DE to Evolution Brewing.  They are actually moving from their current location to a brewery/restaurant and we saw the "old" location just before the move.  Unfortunately they weren't selling bottles, but we did fill a growler.

For $5 you get a sample, which Dave and I split and these were the beers available:
Primal Pale Ale
Exile ESB
Lucky 7 Porter
Lot No 3 India Pale Ale
Rise Up Stout
Then we each got a beer- I got the Primal Pale Ale and I think Dave got the Rise Up Stout.

I can't remember which beer we got in the growler- either Primal Pale Ale or Lot No 3 India Pale Ale.  We also bought a pint glass because I liked the design a lot- both the logo and the hops behind it.

Dogfish Head Brewery

The Dogfish Head Brewery is actually located in Milton, DE- a short drive from Rehoboth Beach.  Dogfish Head actually started at the Brewpub but expanded into the building in Milton.

We made reservations for a tour (which was free but reservations were a must because it's so popular, at least partly because of the show on Discovery Channel, Brewmasters).  The actual brewery looks like it might be a fun place to work.  I'm sure it's decent hours, but while we were there, some employees were taking a break and playing bocce outside.

When you drive up, you see the big treehouse outside the brewery.  Too bad you can't actually climb up in it but it's locked and I'm guessing it would be a big liability problem.

The tree house outside the brewery

They gave 4 samples along with the tour and limited you to 4.  You can't buy any additional beer to sample/drink there, although they definitely sell bottles and cases, as well as clothing and other items.  (Dave and I spent WAY too much money there but we also figured that's why we went!)

The samples we had were:
Saison du BUFF (also tasted at the brewpub- the pickle beer)
Chateau Jiahu
Sah Tea
120 minute IPA

Our tour actually kicked the keg of 120 minute IPA so I'm glad we didn't go on a later one.  That's not even a seasonal brew and pretty tasty.

The tour itself was pretty good, here are some pictures from that.

On our way in

With the tour guide in the background, she was awesome!

Aren't the safety glasses so beautiful?

Dave, I think it will take more than that to push it over!

Employees playing bocce

Rehoboth Beach - Dogfish Head Brewpub

There was a Bed and Breakfast deal on Google Offers, so a few months ago we bought it and made reservations for last weekend in Rehoboth Beach.

We've always wanted to visit Dogfish Head, and of course getting away to the beach is good at any time. Rehoboth Beach is about a 7 hour drive from Pittsburgh, though, so it isn't worth just going Saturday/Sunday.  We took Friday off, drove up Friday, and stayed both Saturday and Sunday nights.

It wasn't very long but it was relaxing.  The Bed and Breakfast was two blocks from the beach, and in walking distance to the Dogfish Head Brewpub.

The first night we got there, we immediately headed to the Brewpub and proceeded to sample a bunch of beers.  The ones we tried were:
Punjabi Export*
Mahopma*
Big as Tripel*
Lil' Hoppy*
Saison du BUFF
Bricolage*
Noble Rot
Life & Limb 2009
Cask 75 Minute IPA
Red and White
*brewpub exclusive, can't sample anywhere else or buy in bottles

They also had 90 Minute IPA with extra hops (I don't know the terminology).  They run it through extra hops before serving it, and that's only available on Fridays so Dave took advantage and had 2 of those.

My favorite beer out of all of those was Noble Rot.  They weren't selling bottles in Delaware (didn't have any left) but luckily we already had a bottle at home, so I can't wait to drink that now.  It tasted like a combination of beer and wine.  I also like Lil' Hoppy and Big as Tripel.  The only one I didn't like at all was Punjabi Export because it had a distinct coffee taste.  I don't think I'll ever like the stouts that have even a hint of coffee.

Saison du BUFF is a collaboration with Stone and Victory.  I actually had it a few days before this trip in Pittsburgh.  It is flavored with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  (I sang/hummed part of Scarborough Fair.)  To me it tastes like you are drinking a pickle.

Dogfish Head also makes their own liquors.  The server brought me a sample of the peanut butter infused vodka, which was just amazing.  It smelled like pure peanut butter (which I LOVE).  I didn't want to drink it because I kept smelling it.  When I did, though, wow- you knew it was liquor!  I ended up getting a martini with both peanut butter and chocolate infused vodkas, and it was amazing.

Oh and the food was also pretty good too! ;)

Rehoboth Beach

I would definitely go back to Rehoboth Beach again.  And not just for Dogfish Head.  Rehoboth Beach itself is pretty small but it has a number of restaurants that look interesting and a boardwalk about a mile long.  The middle of the boardwalk has more of the stores and touristy type things, and on either end it's more residential.

I was able to run twice while we were there.  Both times, I ended up on the boardwalk back and forth and then on the beach as well.  It was the off season, and definitely not swimsuit weather.  There weren't really many tourists but there were a decent number of other runners.  Most of the other runners seemed to stick to the boardwalk, so when I headed to the beach (and away from Rehoboth) I was running mostly by myself.  It was very peaceful and relaxing.

I ran right by the waves- the sand is packed down a little more so it's easier to keep your footing.  And it makes the run more interesting as well.  I just watched the waves roll in and got used to figuring out how high up they would go so I wouldn't end up getting my sneakers all wet.  And when I backtracked it was interesting that for the most part my footprints had already been washed away by the waves.  Running on the beach was one of the highlights of the trip for me, as far as relaxing and just enjoying the beauty goes.

Dave and I also headed out to the beach ourselves a few times.  It was a bit cloudy on Saturday but it didn't rain as much as they predicted; in fact I really only remember a few sprinkles earlier in the morning.  And even that, it was more like the sky was spitting rain; not even a sprinkle.

I didn't take any pictures of our room at the Bed and Breakfast- we stayed at the Rehoboth Guest House.  We stayed in Room 34, which had a king bed and its own bathroom.  There were nice windows in there so during the day it was really light and the room was fairly big.  It was Dave's first experience with a Bed and Breakfast and I think he was ok with it.  The Bed and Breakfast was in a great location- two blocks from the beach, and to get to the main street with the restaurants and stores, you could walk out the back of the house through an alley type thing (not really an alley because it was more residential, if that makes any sense) and that put you out in the middle of the stores/restaurants.  It was nice to have that little short cut.

We talked to another couple in the Bed and Breakfast, who stays there every so often (drives up from Virginia).  Apparently during the summer season, Rehoboth Beach gets pretty busy and packed.  It can be hard to find a place to park.  They said if we ever come back during peak season, it's best to stay around where we did (near the beach), park your car, and walk everywhere you want to go.  That would mean not going to the actual Dogfish Head Brewery, but the Brewpub is in walking distance and that's where you can really try the beers (and even buy).  It would also mean not getting to the Outlets, which would save $ anyways.  Delaware doesn't have any sales tax and we definitely took advantage of that and some of the deals at the Outlets.

I kind of like being at the beach during the off season though.  We've already been to three (Dave says two as in trips but I count 3 as in beaches).  When we visited my sister, we also were on Tybee Island, GA and even made a quick trip to Hilton Head, SC.  They are both beautiful beaches as well and it was off season then, so it was really quiet and not crowded at all.