Special Announcement: Team Tizzel Launches www.racechasebook.com

We are very happy to finally announce our newest project. Team Tizzel has launched a new web page, www.racechasebook.com, in support of our new ebook titled Race Chase: Expert Advice About Seeing Your Runner on Race Day. We've created a complete guide to spectating a distance race and helping runners get the most from the experience. Holly and Dave have logged many hours on both sides of the race course so it's only natural that they publish a guide to help folks enjoy race day.


Race Chase: Expert Advice About Seeing Your Runner on Race Day contains over 40 pages of tips, tricks, advice, pictures, and illustrations. The book teaches spectators how to analyze a race course so they can maximize viewing opportunities, use technology to support their runner, and to ask the right questions at the race expo. We jammed a bunch of knowledge into one document. We also added a bonus section about navigating Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend.



Buy Race Chase Now

$6.99

Race Chase: Expert Advice About Seeing Your Runner on Race Day is available for purchase right now for $6.99. Credit card purchases are handled by PayPal but you do not need a PayPal account. Once you complete the transaction process you will get an email link to download the PDF file. We chose a digital version over a print version so it could be accessible during race day via smart phones and tablets, and of course printed out.

Here are a couple sample pages:



Not really into running or watching a race? Well, here's a reason to buy our book: Net proceeds collected from sales in 2013 will be donated to Avon's Breast Cancer Charities as part of our fundraising efforts with Team AllEars.


Please support our efforts by buying the book, letting your friends know about it, make an added donation to fight breast cancer through our Avon page, and follow us through the social media outlets:

Twitter: @teamtizzel, @racechasebook
Facebook: Team Tizzel, Race Chase: the Book
Avon Donation Page: Teamtizzel
Race Chase: The Book Page: www.racechasebook.com


Buy Race Chase Now

$6.99

2013 Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon Report

Here is Holly's race report from last month's Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Chicago.

Dave and I were really looking forward to a fun weekend in the city for the Rock and Roll Half marathon.  Dave was signed up for the 5k and I was going to do the half.   We had our friends Eddie and Anna coming up from Atlanta, Pam and Stan from downstate, and Laura and Richard from the Chicago area.   Unfortunately, Dave had to make a last minute trip to NY so he wouldn’t be joining us after all.

I drove into the city Saturday morning and picked up Eddie and Anna and we headed over to the Expo and met up with everyone else.    The Expo seemed smaller this year.   I picked up some compression sleeves.   I’m still not sure that I am a fan of them.  I definitely don’t see me wearing them for a race, but they did feel nice after the race.  Also picked up a pint glass, my go-to race souvenir.    We spent some time trying to find my name on the 5 Year runner wall.   I am one of 281 people who have run all five of the Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathons.   I’m registered for next year already so I hope to keep the streak going.   

After the Expo we battled traffic and headed to our hotel to check in.   There we met up with Laura and decided to head to Wrigleyville to show everyone around.   We had a great lunch at Goose Island Brewing and then we had a few more stops around the area.  Next year we need to do more hydrating of the non-alcoholic variety!!  Before we knew it we were jumping in a cab to meet Richard and have dinner at Scoozi’s.   We all enjoyed dinner and made our way back to the hotel to try and get some sleep before the early wake up call. 

I didn’t sleep well at all and was really tired when we all met in the lobby.   I was worried how my foot would hold up.    I am suffering from Plantar Fasciitis and I had just started a painful shock treatment to try and cure it.  This treatment was making my calf really tight.    I was a bit worried but I had a great group of running concierges!  Eddie, Stan, and Richard all did a great job of keeping me going.   

We had a lot of fun the first few miles.  We even had a beer break from our great cheering section!  I was feeling good until Mile 7 when the pain started in my foot.   It just kept getting worse.   Stabbing pain with every step and it was really affecting my gait.   I was pretty much just barely lifting my foot of the ground to minimize the impact.   Also it was getting warm.   We ran through the dreaded McCormick Place tunnel and it was so warm in there and very stuffy with no airflow.   I got really dizzy but didn’t want to panic anyone so I just slowed to a walk when we got out of there and I finally felt better.   It wasn’t the prettiest finish I have ever had and I was certainly glad to be done.   My worst time of all five I have done.    The treats at the end of this race are so worth it: Popsicles, Chocolate Milk, Jamba Juice, and of course beer! 

After the race we all made it back to the hotel to shower and then headed to the Haymarket for lunch.  Good food, but the beer was just ok.   

In case you missed it, this was the race where our Team AllEars mascot, Fozzie from The Muppets, ended up swimming in the Chicago River.   To get more of the story and video, check out this post from a few weeks ago.

Successful Pennsylvania Beer Tour - Part 3

This is the last post about our recent beer tour in Pennsylvania. Our first post showcased a beer bar in Lancaster and a nanobrewery in Manheim. Our second post explored two microbreweries in Mount Joy. In this post we visit Troeg's Brewery in Hershey.

What made Troeg's different from our other stops is that it is a full production brewery. Guests can register for a full guided tour or they can take a short self-guided tour that describes the brewing process. The tasting room was large - like college gym large. There were several long communal tables along with some regular tables off to the side walls. There's an outdoor beer patio and a snack bar serving upscale counter-service food.

 

We hit the brewery between the lunch and happy hour times and noticed the bar fluctuated between calm and slammed. There were plenty of bartenders on hand so the beer flowed quickly. They were also very good at helping guests select the right beers. We started off with samplers of everything on the left of the menuboard, plus the pils, triple, and an unlisted porter.

All the beers were good and very true to their styles. Of course Holly and Dave preferred the dark beers and ordered up pints of the stout and porter. For food, we tried the beer cheese fondue, pretzel, and the day's special popcorn: BBQ spices and browned butter. The pretzel and popcorn were good, but we were not the biggest fans of the fondue - a little oily and congealed - hard to eat.

 

 

 

Troeg's had a very nice gift shop - a little too nice. We spent a few dollars here on t-shirts, bottle openers, and a tap handle (which we collect). The company recently built this facility with the tourist in-mind (next to Hershey Park) . With that said we would not describe it as touristy. The tasting room still had a local vibe. We would definitely visit Troeg's again.

Successful Pennsylvania Beer Crawl - Part 2

In our last post we visited the Federal Taphouse in Lancaster and JoBoy's in Manheim. In today's post we'll visit two breweries in Mount Joy, PA.

The breweries of Mount Joy are almost complete opposites of each other when it comes to aesthetics. Bube's, the older brewery in town, is in a dank 150 year old brewery complex. Zuckfoltzfus, which has been open just over two months, is in a cheery little restored house.

Zuckfoltzfus seems to be focused more as a restaurant than a bar per-se. When you walk into the house you enter the bar area with 8 seats at the bar and a few more along the wall. There was a separate dining room with seating for about 20 more people. Everything was new and clean with decor suitable for the Amish country. We were here on a Sunday, so the food offerings were limited to four choices. We ordered the pretzels to go with our beers. We had a sample of all four beers offered: Oatmeal Stout, Squirrel Bait Nut Brown, Whiney Sarah Pale, and Woodshed Red. These are all nice beers, but of course our favorites were the Nut Brown and Stout. We ordered up pints of those beers.

The pretzels were awesome. They were more like pretzel nuggets that were made with the spent brewing grains. They served bacon jam with the pretzels. Yum!

We'd definately consider a trip back here to see what they offer for a regular menu.

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was a block away. Bube's Brewery was built in the 1870's and originally stayed in business until Prohibition. The building is dark and somewhat foreboding inside - and that's where it's character lies. Like Captain Tony's in Key West or Lafitte's in New Orleans. Small walkways, passages, basements, and catacombs add to the vibe. When we arrived for a Sunday lunch we were the only people at the bar. Everyone else was outside in the pleasant beer garden.

We both ordered chicken cheesesteaks for lunch. Very good choice. Holly had the blueberry kolsch and Dave had the Session Porter. Both were excellent.

We have some more photos form Bube's posted below.

Mount Joy should defininately be on the craft beer fan's list of places to visit. Our next post will visit Troeg's Brewing near Hershey Prk.

 

 

 

 

 

Successful Pennsylvania Beer Crawl - Part 1

In our last post we took a look at a failed attempt to eat cupcakes. The day after that event Holly and Dave found themselves in Pennsylvania and had a chance to check out some of the beer scene in the Lancaster County / Harrisburg area.

In Lancaster, we stopped at the Federal Taphouse. This newer downtown location does not make their own beer, but they do have 100 beers on tap. Before anyone says "Oh it's just Yard House", these are all craft beers - no major brewers represented. The beers were mainly from the east coast, but there were many breweries listed from across the country and abroad. 

The food was excellent - especially the brick oven pizza and wings. The room itself is mainly one big space with high ceilings and huge windows overlooking a small portion of downtown.

For beers, we stuck with pints from Pennsylvania. Holly had two beers from the same brewer: Saucony Creek in Kutztown. She really enjoyed the North Ramp Stout, but wasn't a big fan of the Bling Banger Porter. Dave started with Big Gruesome Peanut Butter Stout from local favorite SpringHouse Brewing. Loved it! After that he went with Stoudt's Heifer-in-Wheat. Too hoppy.

The pretzel appy is actually 2 big loaves of pretzel bread

Another fun stop was JoBoy's Brewpub in Manheim. JoBoys's considers itself a nanobrewery and specialized in BBQ (we didn't eat anything here but it looked good - next time), home made beers, and wines made in Pennsylvania. There were about a dozen items on tap - but a lot were pale ales (not all beers were listed on the chalk board).

We tried a sample of 6 six beers: Manheim Red, Porter, Summer Ale, English Mild, Wheat, and Raz-Ass. Out of them all we liked the Raz-Ass and Porter the best.

Below are a few more pictures for JoBoy's. in our next post we will check out what is going on in Mount Joy.

Cupcake Crawl Fail

Decided to play with the iPad's iPhoto Journal tool to document our recent cupcake failure.

Cupcake Crawl Fail - While in Warwick, NY Holly, Dave, and Dave's cousin decided to go on a town cupcake crawl. The first stop, TheSugar Shack closed at 3pm - we were ten minutes too late. The second stop, Fav's was closed due to an A/C issue. Our third stop, Eat Sweet, was open, but the two products we bought were dry. The tarts we bought for dessert were good.

Since this turned into such an epic fail, we went to a bar.