December Running Notes

lpaulriddle

I have settled back into a pretty good running groove since getting over my latest cold and returning home from Boston. I had a 6-day break while I was in Boston — I ran about 10K the first morning I was there, but after that, I couldn’t get the weather to align with my busy conference schedule. I did get plenty of walking in, though, and I was able to complete the Historic Boston GeoTour. Since I returned last Friday, I’ve gone running 3 times. I ran 11.4 miles on Saturday, 7 miles Monday, and 7 miles today (Thursday). My pace is back to where it was prior to last summer — 10:38/mi, 10:22/mi, and 10:33/mi, respectively. All 3 runs were in my Vibram V-Runs. The weather was in the mid-30s to low 40s each day. In hindsight, I should have worn my waterproof shoes on Monday, as the pavement was wet, and my toes got damp and cold. The other two runs were dry, and my feet stayed comfortable. I suspect that when the weather and pavement are dry, I should be able to stay comfortable in the V-Runs down to about freezing. If it’s wet out, the cutoff will likely be around 50°F, and if it’s raining, I may want to wear the V-Runs without socks.

I’ve had a slight issue with bursitis (or something that feels like it) in my right heel for the past several days. I think I picked it up while geocaching in Morgan Run Environmental Area last weekend. I did quite a bit of scrambling over rocks and steep, uneven terrain, in minimalist Lems Boulder Boots. I probably need to take it a little bit easier going forward, as I’m not a spring chicken any more, and can’t abuse my feet the way I used to. Fortunately, running (unlike walking) does not seem to aggravate the condition, and as of today, it seems to be improving.

I think I’m going to shoot to run 25 miles a week most weeks through winter and at least early spring. If I continue to run 3 days a week, that works out to two 7-milers during the week, and an 11-12 miler on the weekend. Once a month, I’ll see if I can stretch that to 13.1 miles. Of course, all of this assumes that I don’t have too many setbacks like illness, bursitis, or nerve pain, and that the weather mostly cooperates. I think my conditioning is where it needs to be to do this, but again, I’m not 25 any more. I am, however, quite a better runner than I was when I was 25! Wish me luck.

Back on the bike

lpaulriddle

After a great fall mountain biking season, December has started off slowly. Today’s ride to work was my first time on a bike in 3 weeks. My last commute was Nov 27, and my last bike/geocaching ride was Nov 24. Weather, health, and travel have been the culprits — the fall drought finally broke around the end of November, and now we are in freeze-thaw season, which makes mountain biking tougher. Wednesday is my usual day to ride in to the office, but the past few Wednesdays have been rainy. 10 or 15 years ago, that wouldn’t have stopped me, but nowadays, I’m more apt to just telecommute on rainy days. Last week, I was out of town, and the week before that, I had another cold. On top of that, this time of year, I tend to start eschewing geocaching by bike in favor of hiking. So, there you have it — kind of a perfect storm. I expect the trend will continue for a while. Today was likely my final bike commute of the year (though there’s a small chance I’ll ride in on Friday). We’ve got a cold snap coming up, so I might try to get out on the mountain bike at least one morning next week while the temperatures are below freezing. On the weekends, I’ll likely continue to favor hiking over riding, at least through December, but we’ll see. I’ve learned over the years that with everything going on during the holidays, it’s best to be flexible with planning these kinds of things.

Bean Alchemy Elysian Morning Blend

lpaulriddle
  • Beans “Elysian Morning Blend”
    • Roaster: Bean Alchemy Roasters (New Market, MD)
    • Origins: Bolivia, Colombia
    • Roast level: Medium
    • Roast date: 11/21/2024
    • Purchase date: 11/30/2024 at Sykesville Holiday Mart in Westminster, MD
  • V60:
    • 19.5g to 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15.4)
    • Ode: 5
    • Water at 95°C
    • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 40g bloom water – finishes 02:45-02:50

I started this bag on 12/14, which is a little longer past roast date than I typically like, but that’s how the timing worked out with travel, etc. this month. It’s only a 10oz bag, so I’ll likely use it up within a week to 10 days. I brewed my first cup using grind setting 3+1, mainly because that setting had worked well for my most recent bag of medium-roasted beans. However, these particular beans seem to like a coarser grind. Setting 5 was a noticeable improvement on 12/15, and as of 12/18, my last 2 or 3 cups at setting 5 have been excellent.

With winter once again at our doorstep, and the house getting cooler, I’ve gone back to preheating my mug with insta-hot tap water prior to brewing. I used to also pre-rinse the V60 filter with insta-hot water, but lately, I’ve been pre-rinsing with heated water from the kettle. I also have consistently been using the plastic size 2 V60 for all of my brews, because, for whatever reason, I find I get longer draw-down times and better extraction than with the size 1. I still can’t explain this phenomenon, and there don’t seem to be many people commenting on it online. But, “it is what it is”.

Bean Alchemy Temptation Blend

lpaulriddle
  • Beans: “Temptation Blend”
    • Roaster: Bean Alchemy Roasters (New Market, MD)
    • Origins: Central America, Indonesia
    • Roast level: Medium/Dark
    • Roast date: 11/21/2024
    • Purchase date: 11/30/2024 at Sykesville Holiday Mart in Westminster, MD
    • Process: Washed
  • V60:
    • 19.5g to 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15 to 1:15.4)
    • Ode: 5
    • Water at 90°C
    • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 40g bloom water – finishes 03:10-03:15
  • AeroPress:
    • 17.5g coffee / 250g water (1:14.3)
    • Ode: 5
    • Water at 95°C
    • Prismo with metal + 1 paper filter (not rinsed)
    • Pour all water at once / Stir back to front 7x / Steep until 02:45 / Stir 7x again / Press slowly
  • Hotel Room AeroPress:
    • 1 heaping scoop beans + (optionally) several more for a stronger cup
    • JX: 25
    • Hot water from single-dose pod brewer machine in room
    • Put Prismo + filters on, do not rinse, add grounds, and fill to 1/4″ from top of cylinder
    • Same brewing process as above

These beans are very dark and oily, so I’d say more on the side of a dark roast than medium. For V60, I brewed them with the same settings as my last bag of medium/dark roasted beans. The draw-down finished a little faster than those beans, but even given the (relatively) coarse grind, still slower than a typical light or medium roast. The result was a pretty good cup of dark-roasted coffee — robust and smooth, not bitter, and not all that complex.

My first attempts with the AeroPress were on the bitter side. I probably need to use a coarser grind and/or lower water temperature. I’ll get some more practice next week, as I’ll be brewing a few cups in a hotel room.

In the hotel, I filled the Keurig up to the “fill here” line using whatever water I had on hand (typically either tap or water cooler water). This produced just about the right amount of hot water for the AeroPress- with the Prismo, it filled the AeroPress cylinder to about 1/4″ from the top. The Prismo makes it possible to use a single paper coffee cup without the need to invert the AeroPress (which would also reduce the capacity). I used my JX hand grinder, initially at setting 20, but 25 ended up producing a smoother cup. I brewed 5 or 6 cups like this, and they were all consistently pretty good.

Lola Savannah Wylie Blend Cold Brew

lpaulriddle

I received a pre-ground bag of this about a month ago. Oddly, I couldn’t find any info about it online — it must truly be a local blend only available around Wylie, TX. Per the bag, it is “100% Arabica beans with rich coconut, pecan, and praline flavorings”. No origin or roast date listed — just a best by date of 7/15/2025. Unfortunately, I think they overdid the coconut flavoring. The coconut aroma overpowers everything else, and it’s it’s more of an artificial, chemical-y kind of smell than anything I’d call pleasant. I suspect it’s best brewed with an automatic drip brewer, but I don’t have one handy to use currently, so I tried a few other methods. It was way too coarse for pour-over, and too fine for French press. AeroPress worked OK, but the coffee was not fantastic, and (as with the aroma) the coconut flavor overpowered everything else. I ended up using most of it to make cold brew with this recipe. After brewing it in the French press, I filtered out the sludge by pouring it through a standard pleated coffee basket filter, which worked, but took a very long time. I got my best cup of it by diluting with about 2 parts unsweetened almond milk to 1 part cold brew, and adding a few drops of chocolate-flavored stevia. This coffee would be much better if they eased up on the coconut flavoring a little bit, but either way, it’s clear that coffee snobs are not their target market. 😛

T-Day Run

lpaulriddle

Today is Thanksgiving, and it started off with rain. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get out for a run before the day’s festivities began, but the stars aligned for me at around 10:00am. It was still drizzling when I left the house, but it let up not too long afterwards. The temperature was in the upper 40s to around 50. I ran in long running pants (in hindsight, I would have worn shorts, but I was assuming it was going to drizzle for the entire run), wool blend long-sleeve shirt, Gore-Tex rain jacket, wool socks, and Xero Mesa Trail Waterproof shoes. It was my second time running in these shoes, and I think in the long term, they’re going to work out well for running in these conditions. They did their job well by keeping my feet dry for the entire run. The first time I took them out, I laced the right shoe too tight, and by the end of the run, I had a “hot spot” on the top of my foot under the tongue. I left them a little looser today, and had no further issues. However, on the left side, I ended up with a blister on my third toe. I had worn Correct Toes under the socks, and I guess they must have been rubbing. It kind of surprised me, because I don’t typically have issues wearing the Correct Toes directly against the skin under regular socks. However, it had been a while since I ran with them. Next time, I’ll either tape the toe, or wear toe socks. As for the run itself, it went fine, with no issues. I went just under 8 miles at around 10:30/mile, which was faster than I had thought when I finished. I suspect I’ll be running in Xeros (either these, or my Terraflex hiking shoes) more often in the coming months, now that colder weather is on the way.

Café Medrano Medium Roast

lpaulriddle
  • Beans:
    • Café Medrano Medium Roast Organic (Kensington, MD)
    • Origin: Honduras (Copán)
    • Roast Date: 11/14/2024
    • Purchase date: 11/16/2024 at Chestertown, MD farmer’s market
  • V60:
    • 19g to 19.5g coffee / 300g water
    • Ode: 2+1
    • Water at 99°C
    • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 40g bloom water – finishes 02:45-03:00

I believe I had read about Café Medrano a few months back when I was looking for smaller local(ish) roasters. They seem to be unique in that a single family owns both the coffee farms in Honduras, and the roastery/café in the D.C. suburbs. Kensington is (unfortunately) not all that convenient for me to get to regularly, but I wonder if they are at any other local farmer’s markets. I will have to keep an eye out.

First and second cups (today) were very good at grind setting 3 and 95°C water. We’ll see if it will need tweaking as the beans start to age a bit. I bought a 1-pound bag, so I’ll have them for at least a couple of weeks.

11/28: After a couple of ever-so-slightly underextracted cups, I made a couple of adjustments, and ended up at grind setting 2+1 and 99°C water. I’ve been happy with the past couple of cups at these settings. It’s not that the previous cups were bad — I just felt that there was room for improvement. This is (coincidentally) the same as how I brewed the bag I finished just before these. The difference is that those were light-roasted beans, and these are medium-roasted beans. However, over time, I’ve learned that those terms are rather subjective.

An autumn to remember

lpaulriddle

The title says it all here — it has been an eventful fall, for many reasons, some good and some bad.

Good: My nephew’s wedding. He’s the first in the next generation of the family to marry. It was a great weekend in D.C.

Bad: Losing my cousin. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was too soon, and it was rough.

Good: Visiting college friends who recently moved to Florida. I see more of this kind of thing in our future.

Bad: My annual October/November respiratory illness. For future reference: It started with a sore throat on 10/23, while we were still in FL. The viral part was mild. It never totally knocked me off my feet, and I’m not sure I ever even ran a temperature. The bad part was the aftermath: 3 weeks of laryngitis and middle ear/Eustachian tube congestion (flying a couple of times during the initial onset didn’t help). 4 weeks later, it’s almost out of my system, and I can finally talk normally again, but still have occasional ETD issues. The ETD has mainly affected the right ear, but I did have it in my left ear for a couple of days earlier on.

Bad: Losing one of our cats.

Good: Spending 2 days in Chestertown, MD, for our 24th anniversary. Great town.

Good: Running my first half marathon at age 54 (this morning). This was one of the goals I had set for myself earlier this year, but the outcome was in doubt after a rather tough summer for running and various other obstacles that life threw in the way (some of which are listed above). The run went well, and I averaged 11-minute miles on a windy morning over hilly terrain, which isn’t too shabby for me. I’ve been slower this year than last year, for many of the same reasons it took me so long to go 13.1 miles. However, I did run 6.8 miles at 10:10/mile this past Thursday, so I don’t think I’ve lost a step — It’s more likely that I was just out of practice, and need to work up to faster speeds the same way I worked on increasing my mileage this fall. Not sure where I’ll go from here, goal-wise, but for now, I’m just going to try to run this distance about once per month through spring.

Final Paddle of 2024?

lpaulriddle

I’ve found that the keys to successful weekday morning pre-work paddling are:

  1. Use a launch that is 20 or fewer minutes from home
  2. Plan the paddling route ahead of time to estimate how long it will take
  3. Do as much preparation as possible on the evening prior to paddling:
    • Put kayak on car
    • Gather supplies and clothes together
  4. Leave the house by 7:00am

I was hoping to get out last Tuesday, but didn’t do #2 or #3, and got moving too late for #4. I had better luck today. I launched from Solley Cove Park and paddled upstream on Marley Creek until a little ways past Rt 10. It’s about 3.5 miles one way, and today was the first time I’ve paddled this far along it. It’s kind of like a different world there — very nice and secluded, with lots of waterfowl. The water was deep enough that I didn’t have to worry much about bottoming out. I probably could have gotten a little farther than I did, but the creek was getting narrow and there were a lot of downed branches, and I didn’t want to get stranded by a receding tide (turns out I was there near high tide, but I didn’t know that at the time). I was on the water for a little over 2 hours. The morning started off in the upper 40s, but warmed to near 60 by the time I finished. Initially, I wore my wetsuit, paddling hoodie, neoprene paddling socks and boots, paddling jacket, and pogies. I ditched the pogies after a couple of miles, and at my turnaround point, I traded the hoodie for a hat. Along the way, I saw the usual bevy of blue heron, cormorants, gulls, ducks, geese, and at least one bald eagle. It was a great morning for a paddle, with very little wind (unlike the same day last year). That was my final paddle of 2023, and I suspect today will end up being 2024’s swan song, but as they say, you never know!

Luigi (2008-2024)

lpaulriddle

Random facts about Luigi, in no particular order, and not (yet) edited for grammar:

  • We “adopted” Luigi in March 2009, when she was about a year old.
  • Luigi was never much of a mouser, but she loved chasing after bugs outside our living room picture window on summer nights. You could always tell she was doing it when you heard her leaping up against the glass.
  • Luigi wasn’t big on chasing after toys, but when she was younger, we had a cheap laser pointer that would whip her into a frenzy. We didn’t have one for most of her later years, but like many cats, she would also chase around after those pull tab rings that come with gallon jugs of milk.
  • Luigi truly was the ultimate lap cat, though she liked shoulders even better. The best way to pick her up was to toss her over your shoulder. Later in life, she liked to crawl up onto my chest while I lay on the sofa. Usually, she would get in the way of my laptop screen, and I would have to encourage her to move. She would end up on my lap, or nestled on my left arm against the back of the sofa, and would stay that way until I had to move my arm.
  • Luigi was very vocal. You could always tell she was coming when you heard her meowing. When she settled on your lap, she would meow every time you pet her, until she got tired of it. Then, as she started to relax and settle in, she would start to purr and the meows would change to shorter grunts. When she was really super relaxed, and you pet her, she would open her mouth and make kind of a “silent” meow.
  • Luigi used to nip at you if you pet her too much. When she was a kitten, she would nip to try to get attention. Fortunately, she grew out of that habit before too long.
  • Unlike her sister, Luigi was never much of a dairy/milk fiend. However, when she got older, she became really annoying when I was trying to eat breakfast. She would sit on the table and try to get a lick of whatever I was eating. Picking her up and putting her on the ground was only a temporary fix.
  • Luigi was one of those cats who would scratch the furniture in spite of all of the cat-specific scratch pads around the house. The exception was the “pet friendly” upholstery in the La-Z-Boy furniture we bought for the basement. It was kind of a miracle– she completely ignored it. Instead, she scratched at the crappy carpet on the basement stairs. Not really a great loss there. Occasionally, she would come down and sit on my lap as I sat on the sofa working. When she was tired of that, she would head back upstairs, always stopping to scratch at that crappy carpet on the way.
  • Luigi was not an outdoor cat, but she loved going outside. She would wait for an opportunity to dart out when someone opened the door. Sometimes we’d forget about her until she showed back up on the porch several hours later. If it was raining, she would slink off along the top of the wall flanking our basement walk-out steps, where it was really hard to retrieve her. Later in life, she surprised us by taking off after a rabbit. We didn’t think she had it in her, but we managed to catch her.
  • Luigi was very friendly and social, but unlike her sister, not all that affectionate. But she was always the first to greet guests when they came in, while her sister often ran to hide.
  • Luigi used to hang out in my son Michael’s room a lot, probably because it is the warmest room in the house during the winter. She rarely came into the master bedroom, with the exception of one several-week stretch where she slept in our bed every night. She liked to sleep up near the head of the bed, much to my initial chagrin. However, after a while of this, I got used to it and looked forward to her showing up a few minutes after I retired for the night. This didn’t last– I think I went on a business trip at one point, she relocated back to Michael’s room (or the living room), and that was the end of that.
  • Another of Luigi’s loves was closets. One way to find her was to open the foyer closet, because she’d be sure to come running. Occasionally, we’d either forget about her (or she’d sneak in without us knowing) and she would get stuck in the closet, sometimes for several hours, until someone heard the disembodied meows and figured out where they were coming from.
  • Luigi had a few favorite places to curl up. Her signature spot was inside the living room armoire behind the 32″ flat screen TV. Many times, she would startle us by jumping out from there while we were watching TV.
  • My silly nickname for Luigi was “Luijer”, which is an amalgamation of “Luigi” and “Peejer”, a word that my son Andrew made up when he was 6 or 7.
  • We lost Luigi on November 14, 2024. She was 16. She was a big part of our family, and we will miss her, but I think she lived a good life with us. We buried her out in back of the deck, which was one of the places she enjoyed exploring while she was outside.