May Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava. 

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals.

My 2026 Fitness / Activity Goals are:

1. #MetricCenturyEveryMonth
   As of July 2021, I've cycled at least one Metric Century every month, and this month was no exception (see May Metric Century). This is 58 straight months I've done this. 
   
   
2. #7000MilesIn2026
   This is significantly lower than my #8200MilesIn2025 goal, but I figure with the running, 7,000 miles is still a big cycling number. As of the end of May, I have logged 2,659 miles for the year. While technically this puts me "behind", I am tracking to my plan.
   
   
3. #13EverestsIn2026
   Also significantly lower than the #16EverestsIn2025 because of the added running goals. My goal is to climb 13 x 29,032 = 377,416 feet on the bike. At the end of last month, I've logged 141,254 feet climbed on my bikes. This is almost 4.9 "Everests".
   
   
4. #Run700Miles2026
   700 miles is just under 100km per month. With my Half Marathon (see #5) training, I'm ahead of this pace with just over 71 miles so far this year. I did unfortunately hurt my knee on my last long run. Hopefully I'm able to recover soon, or this goal will start to be difficult to hit.
   
   
5. Run a Half Marathon
   CHECK ✅
   I finished my Runna Half Marathon plan and completed the Platte River Half Marathon in mid-May. I even ran the Half Marathon faster than planned and blew away my 2:20 goal.
   
   
6. VO₂ Max > 44 ml/kg/min
   As measured by my Garmin Watch, I started the year as 42 ml/kg/min. Right now, I'm at 44, but Garmin has shown me at 45. In previous months, I mentioned that I've been "bouncing" between 42 and 44. Now I seem to be "bouncing" between 43 and 45. I won't give myself the "Check" on this one until I seem to be above 44 more consistently. 
   
   
7. 15 Stone
   At my heaviest, I was over 260lbs. I've been as low as 214 last year and this month, I got to just over 216lbs. 15 Stone is 210 lbs, which would be lighter than I've been since my early college days. I'm "on track" on this, but it will get more and more difficult. 

My Cycling numbers show I’m behind the straight‑line daily pace for 7,000 miles and 13 Everests, but because my mileage spikes in the warm months, I’m actually right where I should be. This is the time of year that I'll start to approach the "daily tracking lines".

Month		Miles		YTD			Elevation		YTD
January		500		500	-94		28,741		28,741		-3,235
February		454		955	-177		23,250		51,991		-9,015
March		470		1,424	-301		25,481		77,472		-15,588
April		576		2,001	-300		31,463		108,935		-15,150
May		659		2,660	-236		32,319		141,254		-14,880
June		...		...	.		...		...		.
July		...		...	.		...		...		.
August		...		...	.		...		...		.
September		...		...	.		...		...		.
October		...		...	.		...		...		.
November		...		...	.		...		...		.
December		...		...	.		...		...		.

As always, stay tuned on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer, barbeque, biking and other things in my life: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.

D is for Dry Dock Pub

We started Round 7 of our A to Z Breweries series of articles.

If you're not familiar ... back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by how few Denver Breweries that I had visited.

I decided to make an effort to hit more of them, and worked my way from A to Z, hitting a brewery for every letter.

Now, more than 11 years later, I have made my way through the alphabet 6 TIMES, and the Beer Model and I have decided to start #7.

Just about a week ago, I posted C is for Cerberus Brewing Company. This means we are ready for a "D" Brewery.

D is for Dry Dock Pub

Chicken Wings on the Weber

If you follow this blog, you probably know from Paint Mines: Mini - Bad Lands, C is for Cerberus Brewing Company ... and other breweries, and Garden of the Gods Photos that we spent Memorial Day Weekend away.

After returning from the trip, I grilled some wings.

It's been awhile since I posted anything about cooking Chicken Wings, so I thought I'd do this quick post.

Grilling Chicken Wings is fairly straight-forward on the Weber Kettle.

Apply SheppyBrew Rub. Fill up the Vortex with hot coals targeting 400F or so cooking temperature. Cook for about an hour.

Sometimes I'll substitute lemon pepper or Crack for the rub. Sometimes I'll cook a little longer at a slightly lower temperature. But for the most part the process is pretty much the same every time I grill wings.

Garden of the Gods Photos

If you read Paint Mines: Mini - Bad Lands and/or C is for Cerberus Brewing Company ... and other breweries, you know that the Beer Model and I spent Memorial Day Weekend down in Colorado Springs.

It went really fast.

On Monday, after packing up from the hotel, the Beer Model wanted to visit Garden of the Gods.

We discovered that parking is difficult to come by on Memorial Day mid-morning in the main area of the park.

We ended up closer to the south end of the park and jumped on the hiking trails.

Here are the photos that we took while walking around ...

C is for Cerberus Brewing Company ... and other breweries

So ... remember I mentioned in Paint Mines: Mini - Bad Lands, the SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife) and I spent Memorial Day Weekend away.

After our Paint Mines visit, but before check-in time for our hotel room, we had a few of hours to kill.

First off, we had to find lunch, and as luck would have it, there was a nice little brewery with a food truck between the Paint Mines and Colorado Springs, where we were staying.

We stopped at one of Black Forest Brewing Company and had a couple flights along with some Mexican food from a food truck.

Both the food and the beer was really good. If you find yourself in the Colorado Springs area, this is a good place to visit.

Paint Mines: Mini - Bad Lands

So, this past Memorial Day Weekend, my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I had a weekend away.

On the way down to where we were staying for the weekend, she wanted to check out the Paint Mines Interpretive Park, which I had actually never heard of.

"The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is one of El Paso County’s most unique open spaces. The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Brightly colored bands, caused by oxidized iron compounds, are found in varying amounts throughout the many different layers of clay."

This park's rock formation remind me quite a lot of the South Dakota Bad Lands, which we visited with the kids back in 2013 and then again in 2015.

Where’d My ManGo Wheat

Brewery: SheppyBrew 
Style: Mango Wheat (Fruit Beer)
ABV: 4.7%
IBU: 27
SRM: 6.2

Appearance

A hazy, sun‑gold wheat beer with a soft, glowing body. The head is pale and fluffy, leaving light lacing as it settles. It looks like summer in a glass — bright, inviting, and just a touch opaque from the wheat and fruit.

Aroma

A gentle wave of fresh mango rises first — not candy‑sweet, but ripe and natural. Underneath it sits a clean wheat backbone: light grain, soft dough, a hint of citrus. The fruit and wheat blend seamlessly, giving it a tropical‑but‑balanced nose.

Flavor

Soft wheat malt leads with a smooth, slightly creamy base. The mango comes through as a bright accent, adding a touch of sweetness and tropical lift without overwhelming the beer. Low bitterness keeps the profile refreshing. The finish is clean, crisp, and lightly fruity — the kind of sip that makes you immediately want another.