Ups and Downs of MRR

November 21st: 6:30am wakeup. Oatmeal for breakfast. Work 7:30am-2:45pm. Manager let us out early with full day of pay. Sweetness. Home to pack and head home to Connecticut. Smooth ride with no real traffic. I took the Taconic Parkway home, which made the ride hilly and curvy (couldn't use cruise control that often, boo).

Home by 7pm. Immediately changed into running clothes for a short shakeout run. Talked with my parents for a bit before heading out at 7:30pm. Brisk, but beautiful night out. I was cruising along thinking about the Manchester Road Race the next morning and just about a mile into the run, I realize I forgot the envelope with my bib number back in NY. Shiznit! Instantly, I begin stomping my feet on the ground (not good for the joints) in frustration as I was running down the road. I stopped in mid-stride and thought to just turnaround. What's the point of running right now? I told myself to just get the 3 miles in and started surging to the end of the street. I attempted to tear up, but it's definitely difficult to cry while running. I was more mad with myself (rather than sad) and so many thoughts were rushing through my mind over the next 2 miles. Some of the things that popped into my head included the 7 consecutive years of running the MRR on Thanksgiving morning with my family, Kimber was arriving at about 8:30pm to carpool to the race the next morning, I could run my local 5k race in Newtown depending on registration, pace Kimber through her race, not race at all. With about a 1/4 mile to go, I shined the flashlight over this blind hill and my beam of light met with the eyes of an smallish angry dog on the left side of the road. I screamed bloody murder like a little school girl and repeatedly yelled "No!" It retreated back to it's yard slowly (never turning its back to me) and I sprinted the next 50ish meters away to safety. Home to slam the door and pout around. I emailed the guy that sent me the elite entry bib number to see if I could grab another one in the morning. My stomach was uneasy and I was bumming like crazy. Sat down for dinner with the family (and Kimber) with a stink face. I checked my email right before we sat down and I got an email stating I was gonna be setup with another number without any problem. Woohoo! Switch flipped to ecstatic. Good to go.

Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Chilled the rest of the night in good spirits and ready to race tomorrow. We will see how the ups and downs of the day affect my race.

November 22nd (Turkey Day): 6:20am wakeup. Oatmeal for breakfast. Changed up and off to Manchester for the race. I got dropped off at Carter Chevorlet to pick up my new bib number. A whole slew of runners are bundled up in the room I enter. It's all the elites. I didn't know they had all these amentities for the elites. Sweet. Food, coffee, water, chairs for resting, and private bathrooms. With 15,000 people in the race, it's extremely difficult to get access to a port-o-potty (one year I ran down a side road and used a random person's bathroom because it was too close to the race). Lucky me. Blessing in disguise forgetting my number. Donn Cabral was in there and a whole bunch of fast guys. Coolio. Off to my normal spot to drop my stuff off and warmup with Thomas Paquette. 3 mile warmup and changed up for the start of the race.

Strides "with" Anthony Famiglietti. Wicked sweet. 2 time Olympian for the steeplechase. Start at 10am. Quick first 1/2 mile. 5:00 at the mile and downhill from there (2nd mile actually is uphill, but you know what I'm saying). Survived, but the elite women started passing me up the hill before the 2 mile marker. Still an amazing atmosphere and greateful to be out there healthy. Just not in 5 mile shape and the legs (especially the calves) are still feeling the marathon. 2.5+ mile cooldown. 11 miles on the day.

Off to the next town, Coventry, to pick up a grill for my Subie. Sweet. Conversed with the guy for a while and his wife/girlfriend. Subie enthusiasts as well. Parting out a car because the woman hit a deer. Car wasn't exactly recoverable. Works for me.

Over to my Aunt Kathy's for Thanksgiving dinner. Relaxed with the family. Delicious dinner at 4pm. Dessert. Leftover turkey sandwiches around 8pm. Mmmm. Crashed at my Aunt's because we were seeing the movie in Wallingford this year.

November 19th-20th

November 19th: 5am wakeup. Out the door by 5:30am to make the commute back to NY. Stopped off at Mickey D's for a sausage egg and cheese. Chowed on some homemade banana bread (courtesy of Kimber) before making it to work by 8ish. Work was easy and slow. Bought some cookies from the vending machine (Oreos). I forgot what I ate for lunch.

Home by 5pm to run 10++ miles (72:15 + strides) with Goupil. Back to the apartment to stretch, foam roll, and shower. Made a quick chicken wrap (leftover chicken parm from the weekend) with ranch dressing, hot sauce, and cheddar cheese.

Watched The Amazing Spiderman. I heard it received good reviews and my sister Sarah said it was better than any Toby McGuire one. Wrong! Not even close to as good as the original with Toby. Too similar and not as cool. Bed by 10ish. 11 miles on the day.

November 20th: 6:20am wakeup. Small bowl of cereal for breakfast. Work 7:30-4pm. Yogurt during the midmorning. Meeting with our project manager. Positive things for the future. Good review from the Global manager on me personally. Sweet. Chicken wrap for lunch with BBQ sauce and ranch dressing. Pretzels as a snack. Cornbread.

Home by 4:30pm. Goupil and I headed over to the "hill" in Clifton Park to do a workout around 5ish. 5x800 meter hills. Smooth. 2:56, 2:52, 2:50, 2:44, 2:43. Felt strong running faster and controlled. 21:11 warmup and 20:22 cooldown to get 11 miles on the day. No gym. Pushups, situps and pullups. 3x10 pullups no problem. That's a first!

Another chicken wrap for dinner. Chilled and headed to bed at a decent hour.

November 12th - November 18th (2 mile TT)

November 12th: 5 miles (35:11). Received my Wrightsock shipment from the sales rep. Unfortunately, they sent me the wrong socks. 3 grey pairs and 9 white pairs (supposed to 9 black pairs). I felt bad because I let the lady know I don't wear white socks. The shipment papers said grey and black. Oh well.

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Leftover chicken parm from Saturday's night out at Bellini's
Dinner: More leftovers (Kimber's chicken a la vodka sauce) and a protein shake

November 13th: 8 miles (51 + strides). My mom sent me a phone car mount for my iPhone. Sweetness. I used it in the kitchen and on my night stand that night to test it out before placing it in my car. As well as this, I received my check from the Hartford Marathon. Coolio. 4 days since my last lifting session. A small shock to the body, but it felt good. Benched 115 pounds 5 times. I am shooting for my body weight (135 x10) by the spring time.

Breakfast: Cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats)
Lunch: Chili (2nd serving) with cheddar cheese
Dinner: Protein shake.

November 14th: 8 miles (59:xx) down at Albany. Warmup with the guys, 15+ minutes on the track, cooldown with the guys.

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Chili (3rd serving)
Dinner: 5 Guys. TCBY.

November 15th: 8 miles (59 with strides towards the end). Today's run felt smooth and the strides felt great. Felt strong and things are clicking back into position. Another lifting session. No shower before bed because I'm gross.

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Chili (what a surprise 4th serving and finished off the slow cooker pot).
Dinner: Protein shake because I'm lazy.

November 16th: 5 miles in the AM (39:03). Short day at work. Home after work to wash some dishes and pack up to head to my sister Sarah's house. 8pm arrival. Ordered out and watched a movie. Classic catch up on the latest songs dance party.

Breakfast: Cereal.
Lunch: Double decker PB&J.
Dinner: Cajun Steak Bomb and jalenpeño poppers with cream cheese filling.

November 17th: 3++ miles (24:25) in the AM. 9 miles total in the PM. 2 mile time trial in the hood of Leominster. 10:02 (77, 74, 73, 75, 73, 76, 76, 75). Solid day. Along with the smooth running, I purchased my suit for my sister's wedding on December 8th in San Francisco, CA. Rich from Macy's truly helped me out with 25% off and Kimber opened a Macy's card to snatch another 15% off. $186 for a 2 piece suit and shirt. Boom!

Breakfast: Eggs with onions and ham.
Lunch: Nothing
Dinner: Spinach ravioli with homemade sauce and potato gnocchi, side salad.

November 18th: 13 miles on the day divided into 3 runs. 5 mile pacer for Sarah (36:25). 3.5+ miles (26+) to Planet Fitness. 3.5+ miles (26+) back to the house from Planet Fitness. 1pm race made for a weird day, but lots of eating.

Breakfast: Omelettes and toast
Lunch: Half of a turkey sandwich after the race. Banana. Garlic bread. Protein shake.
Dinner: Salad, pasta, and chicken. Banana bread pudding for dessert.

59 miles for the week with some promising runs and a confidence booster with the 2 mile TT. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving weekend.

Stockadeathon 15K

November 11th: 6am wakeup. Oatmeal and a half of banana for breakfast. Picked up by Renee Tolan (Willow Street) to carpool to the race in Schenectady, NY. Arrived with time to spare. Chilled before doing a 2.5+ mile warmup (18:56). Off to the elite bathroom stop (elites and Brooks VIP members - people who bought Brooks in the last 3 months) so it was a bit crowded. Changed up at the tent into the uniform and racers. Off to the line for strides and scoping out the competition. Some great competition on the line and I was feeling okay after strides.

Off the line well and through the mile 5:20. Hmmm. Didn't feel that slow. 5:20's for the next 2 miles and through the 1st 5k in 16:52. The next mile was easy and I went through 4 miles in 21:45. 5:45? Blah. A few of my teammates have passed me by now and I am struggling hard. The crowd began to cheer, "First women!" and "Go Maegan!" Uh oh. I threw in a downhill surge and started to race again after that short lapse of "my legs feel like sh*t and I don't know how this can go any worse." I powered up the next hill and came through 10k in 34:22 (17:30). I kept pushing and passing someone one by one. I caught up to a couple teammates in the last miles and pushed in with them. Finished up in 51:21 (last 5k in 16:59). I survived. Cooldown a mile plus and chowed down on food in the refreshment tent. Chocolate milk, chocolate pudding, fruit snacks, chips, and Coca Cola. Massages offered and I took full advantage of it.

Home by 12:30 or so. Chilled for the rest of the day. Attempted to go to the gym at 6:45pm, but they were closing at 7pm. So we literally walked in and walked back out when we realized what time it was. Kimber made cornbread to go with the chili we had for dinner. Watched Leave It To Beaver on Netflix and crashed for the night soon after.

13+ miles on the day and 50 miles on the week. A decent workout and a survival race. Looking back at my New Bedford Half Marathon, I must of went through 15k in about 47 low. Knowing this, the 15k's have not come at a good time in my training. 1st 15k: I ran a 20k in the winter series. 2nd 15k: Boilermaker. And this one was yet another bad day. Rerally and get ready for Manchester Road Race and indoor track.

Regionals @ Westfield

November 10th: 7:45am wakeup. Bowl of cereal for breakfast. Woke up to a fairly deflated mattress in the middle of the night and moved over the single bed with Kimber. Basically all this means is a bad night sleep. Drove Kimber to Starbucks to grab a coffee since Goupil and I don't drink coffee. Nick Webster drove over to the apartment so we could all carpool to New England Regionals at Westfield State College.

Drove down at 9am to make it down there in time for the men's race. $5 dollar donation at the church parking was non-optional. Hmm. So it should of advertised $5 dollar fee. Spectated by running around to see them at all different points. Great race by the guys. Watched the women's race and saw Maggie Fitter kill it for the Keene State women. Said our goodbyes and off back to Clifton Park.

Stopped off at the Lee Premium Outlets for some premium deals. Nike Outlet immediately with major clearance. 30-40% off. Ca-chang! Picked up a pair of running shorts (legit ones) for $6 bucks. A dri-fit tee for $11 bucks. A sweet lightweight pullover jacket for $30 bucks (originally $50). The best purchase of them all was a pair of Lunarfly 2 Breathes for $22 bucks. Yes, I said $22 bucks. New gym shoes.

Back to Clifton Park to relax and head out for an easy run. 3 miles with Kimber. Back to stretch, foam roll and no desire to make dinner. Out to Bellini's for dinner. We didn't have a reservation so we were originally seated right at the front of the restaurant next to a door to the outside with a cold draft. 30 seconds later, the hostess let us know a booth opened up in the main restaurant. Probably the best seat in the house. Above everybody and out of the way of traffic. Sweetness. Delicious bread with olive oil and herbs. Chicken Parmigiana. Huge serving. Full quickly. Not too full for dessert. Big ole piece of chocolate cake with a hazelnut layer. Mmm.

Over to Da Choppa for ingredients for chili. Made chili with Kimber and bed soon after.

Busy Day

November 9th: 6:30am wakeup. Cereal for breakfast. Honey Bunches of Oats with vanilla bunches. Same lunch as Monday-Thursday. Work 7:30am-4pm. Busy bee all day between tool sign-offs, facility safety walks and meetings.

Home by 4:30pm. 5+ miles (36:56) modified loop of the Evergreen. Back to stretch, shower and clean up the apartment a bit. Put away some clothes, washed some dishes, etc. Kimber arrived around 8:45pm. I made a chicken and veggie wrap for dinner.

Relaxed and bed by 11pm.

Go Dog Go!

November 8th: 6:30am wakeup. Cereal. Another classic lunch made. Work 7:30am-4pm. Home by 4:30pm. Run with Derrick at 5:15pm. 4 miles (28:11). The high visibility vests came in. One for me and one for Derrick because he didn't have one. He was appreciative of us taking care of him. Back to foam roll, stretch and head to the gym for some light lifting.

Met up with our buddy Tom in Albany for a brewski (hard cider for me). Hung out for a bit before making the trip back to Clifton Park by 9pm. Felt good to shower after a long day of non-stop moving/sweating. I made the mistake of rocking flannel pants and a waffle long sleeve to the bar. Sweated by buns off.

Made a chicken and veggie wrap. Mmm delicious. Bed by 10pm. The day just flew by for a Thursday and I felt like I didn't have any down time. I like my down time and not feeling rushed. Oh well. It's just one day.

Boom! The Brighter, The Better!

November 7th: 6:30am wakeup. Cereal for breakfast. Classic lunch of double decker PB&J, Balance Bar, yogurt, and banana. Work 7:30am-1pm. Pre-trial court hearing at 2pm. Stopped off at the apartment to change up into fancier clothes.

Swung by to sign in and sit in the court room with about 20+ other people. Wow. All sorts of violations; speeding, window tint, cell phone use, etc. The violation was brought down to a speeding/parking violation and $125 bucks with no points on the license. Sounds good to me. Deposited a check at the bank and home by 3pm.

Watched a few episodes of Workaholics. Passed out at 4pm. Up at 5pm to run a workout at Shen High School. It wasn't worth heading down to UAlbany. 4x400, 6x200. Full rest. Quick, but relaxed. 72, 70, 69, 69, 34, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32. 2.5 warmup and 3.5 cooldown. 10+ on the day. The great thing was the workout was under the lights. I passed by the track on the warmup and saw lacrosse practice ending, but when I came back football was jogging onto the field at 6pm. Hmmm. I did a few strides and asked the coaches if they could just watch lane 1. They said they would be on the field so I shouldn't have to worry. I started up my 1st 400 and coming into the homestretch with players in lane 1 and 2. Thanks for nothing coach. As I had about 75 meters to go, the coach yelled out to the team to move onto the field and watch the track because this young man was using the track. It baffled me and made the rest of the workout super smooth

Back to the apartment to stretch, foam roll, and take a hot shower. Protein shake and off to Josh's house in Albany (right across the street of the entrance of UAlbany) for the team meeting. Recapped on the summer/fall racing. A look ahead on winter and spring. The best part was the new team jackets!! Highlighter yellow! Siiiiick! Subs for dinner. We all video chatted with Karen (moved out to Colorado a couple weeks ago).

Home by 10pm and bed soon after.

Here's my motivation to keep running and stay healthy.

Almost Like Christmas!

November 6th: 6:40am wakeup. Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast. Main course already made for lunch. Packed some snacks. Carpooled with Goupil again. Into a decent routine for the mornings with the absence of the morning runs. That will change soon enough. Work 7:30am-4pm.

Stopped off at Redbox to finally return my DVD after 3 weeks. Ouch. Oh well. Arrived at the apartment to a package. I forgot what I ordered so I opened it up as soon as possible before trying to remember what I ordered. It was like a true surprise! My Nyko Wii Remote charging station for $14.99 + free Amazon Prime 2 day shipping. Sweetness.

Run at 5:30pm with Goupil. 8 miles (56:48). We figured out the area we wanted to run before we ventured out. Unfortunately, we have run this neighborhood only in the daylight. After about 25 minutes of running and not making it back to the main road (aka hitting a few dead end signs), we stopped and asked a local guy about to leave in his car. He had to think for a second, but he directed us flawlessly us out to Plank Road with precise directions.

Back to the apartment by 6:30pm to stretch, foam roll, and wash some dishes to not allow them to add up like the last couple weeks. As well as dishes, I cut up my veggies for my burger to have everything ready for post gym workout

Off to the gym at 7:15pm for lifting and lots of abs. Again, abs until I felt like throwing up. Home by 8:30pm. Nice toritilla burger for dinner. Avocado, peppers, onions, peppercorn ranch, and ground beef with Italian dressing, bread crumbs, and BBQ sauce.

Some television and bed by 10pm.

Issue? Throw It In A Wrap

November 5th: 6:20am wakeup. Bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast. Lunch made. Double decker PB&J. Cape Cod sea salt and cracked pepper potato chips. Odwalla bar and Chobani Greek yogurt (courtesy of the race refreshments). Pretzels. Banana. Smooth day overall. Carpooled with Goupil to work and nabbed one of the last spots in the front parking lot (closest walk). Easy/productive day at work.

Home by 4:30pm. Run with Derrick at 5:15pm. 7++ miles (52:00) of the normal loop. Cut the 2nd half short through the Shen High School fields. I almost didn't make it back to the apartment in time for the bathroom. Too close for comfort. Stretched, foam roll, and showered first to air out the bathroom for Goupil.

I didn't know what I wanted for dinner so I just started making food. Steamed some broccoli (Yeah, I know how to spell it Dom). Sautéed up some mushrooms and onions. Cooked up some chicken with Italian dressing, chili powder, and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. The best way to eat all this is to toss it all in a wrap with a bunch of cheese. Mmm.

Watched some Hulk on television. Frozenish chocolate milk for dessert. Bed by 10:30 or so.

Quality run and legs were just tired from yesterday. Not much soreness.

The Fall Frun 10k

November 4th: 6:35am wakeup. Hmm. The race isn't until 11am, but I am wide awake. Surfed the net and updated the blog to pass the time. Out of the bed at 7:20am to make a couple packets of instant oatmeal. Watched some television. Changed up (aka bundled up) for the 1+ mile car ride to the race venue.

Arrived at Shen High School at 8am. Walked into the gym to pick up the bib and met up with teammates. Warmup at 8:20am. 2.5 (18+) miles around campus. Back to the gym to change up and head to the starting line. The goal was to tempo for as long as possible. Off the line well and onto very familiar roads (I run them all the time). 1st mile: 4:20. Boom. It was off by a minute. 5:20 first mile. Ran with Chuck Terry and Mike Roda for the next 3 miles. Mile 2: 5:25 (10:46). Mile 3: 5:24 (16:10). 5k: 16:47. Felt fine and relaxed. I held back on the 4th mile and stayed in single file behind Chuck and Mike. 4th mile: 5:31 (21:41). Sweetness. 5:25 pace and feeling good. Within 15-20 meters of passing the 4th mile, Mike threw down a surge that changed the pace significantly. He wasn't looking back so Chuck and I tried to cover the move. Chuck wasn't having it as much so I cruised past him to try to close the gap on Mike. 5th mile: 5:09 (26:50) and Mike up about 5 seconds. Ever so slowly closing the gap on Mike. I don't he was expecting me behind him. 6th mile: 5:07 (31:58). The final mile was part pavement and dirt/grass. The last .2 was on the track. Mike still had a solid 2-4 seconds on me and I wasn't sure if I wanted to close up the race. With about 200 meters to go, I made one last move and never looked back. 32:56 for the finish and 1st. Boom! Closed up the .2 in 58 seconds, cool!

Into the gym to throw on some warm clothes and cool down with a bunch of the guys. 2.5 miles (19:12). 11.5 on the day. Back into the gym for the awards ceremony and tons of free food. Stocked up on snacks and Cokes. $100 for 1st, a sweet red hat, and a red long sleeve for a Sunday morning. Can't complain.

Back to the apartment to have a protein shake and watch television. Year One on FX.

Gym at 4pm. Lots of abs and lifting. I felt like I was gonna blow chunks during the lifting because we did so many abs. The good thing is it prevented me from buying too much food at Da Choppa. Major grocery shopping was a success except that didn't have my orange juice (Simply Orange High Pulp), so I had to settle with pulp free. Gross.

Back to the apartment to make a big batch burrito mix combing the leftovers from the other night. The result: a huge heaping pile of burrito mix on a plate with a Cherry Coke. Mmmm. Hot Tub Time Machine for the first time. Hilarious movie.

Bed by 11pm.

11.5 miles + lifting for a productive day. 51 miles on the week. Solid week with a couple hard efforts to get the legs back underneath me. Stockadeathon 15k next Sunday. Should be a fun one.

Cleaning Madman

November 3rd: 10am wakeup. Chilled in bed for some time. Goupil had already left at 6am to go to a benefit walk in Beverly, MA. Made some oatmeal for breakfast. Plan was to run at 11:30ish, but I decided to just run once in the evening. Searched on Craigslist for a dresser in the area. No dice. All too expensive or too far away. I currently do not have a dresser. Half of my clothes are on the ground (clean) or in a laundry basket/hamper. Watched some television.

Motivated myself to wash some dishes since they were overflowing onto the counter. Cleaned up in the kitchen. Emptied the garbage. Gathered all the recycling and headed over to the transfer station. Just in time. Arrived at 3:57pm and they closed at 4pm. Finished the dishes when I got back.

Run at 4:45pm. Decided to run the 10k course I planned on tempoing the next morning. Total for 7.5 miles (50:35). Back to stretch, foam roll, and clean the garbage can before taking a shower. It had something growing in the bottom of it.

Abbreviated burrito mix because I was still out of groceries. Rice, beans, tomato, avocado, onion, cheese and ranch dressing. No bell peppers or salsa. Kinda crucial elements to the burrito mix.

Watched The Ugly Truth on TV and bed by 11:30pm.

Katie, this came up on Pandora while I was cleaning my room.

Night Run

November 2nd: 6:30am wakeup. Bowl of oatmeal for breakfast (instant packets because I am lazy and that's one of the only items I am stocked up on). Burrito mix made for lunch. Big serving and I brought the remainder of the cheese (mozzarella and cheddar) and the last of the Newman's salsa medium heat. Work 8am-4:30pm. Afternoon was spent training one of my co-workers on tool sign-offs. Productive day and he was very appreciative.

Home by 5pm. No rush to get out the door so Goupil and I sat around until 6:45ish. Run at 7pm. 6.5 miles (44:24) while Goupil added on some more. Can never go wrong with a night run. Just you and the road (and cars zipping by you, but we had reflective vests and a blinking light attached to it for safety).

Some burrito mix and television movies (I forget which ones we were watching). Bed by 11pm. Goal is some cleaning over the weekend.

Oh, and it happened again. Notice in the top right. Different person I was playing. HM? Words With Friends is making me question life sometimes.

Nitty Gritty

November 1st: 6:30am wakeup. Egg sandwich with a couple slices of the 3 pepper Colby jack cheddar cheese and ketchup for breakfast. Off to work for 8am-4:30pm. Just another day at work. Leftovers with a spin for lunch. Added mozzarella cheese and some peppercorn ranching dressing. Mmm. Sorta messy to eat, but tasty.

Home by 5pm. Oatmeal as a snack because I was starving. Goupil was a sleepy panda so he took a nap for like 45 minutes. Run at 6:30pm. 5 miles (35:39) in the dark. Chilly so we wore a bunch of layers. Good run. Back to stretch, foam roll, and change up for the gym. Short gym session.

Back to the apartment to immediately make a burger for dinner. Ciabatta roll, peppercorn ranch, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, and Colby Jack cheddar cheese. Perfect combo. Burger seasoned with an assortment of flavors. So good.

Some television and bed by 11pm.

A good day of recovery and a wonderful day of eating. Everything counts from diet to the strength training at the gym. As Wilson Perez would say, "[It's the nitty gritty that you need to do.]" (Paraphrasing, but he loves using the word nitty gritty).

First Workout Back

October 31st: 6:15am wakeup. Finished off the cereal for breakfast with the possibly questionable milk (no grocery shopping in the agenda either). Made a quesadilla with peppers, onions and some avocado. Carpool again to work. Work 8am-4:30pm. Easy day. Kinda slow week overall with our manager out.

Home to change up, empty myself, and head down to UAlbany. Goupil and I hoping a couple other of our teammates were in for the tempo run around campus. Bailed. No biggie. Goupil and I did a 3 mile warmup (20 + strides). Out to the State Offices for a inner/outer loop and a 800 finish on the track. 6.3 miles - 36:26 (2:28 finish). 1++ mile cooldown (9:16). 10+ miles on the day. Smooth progression run in the dark. Reflective vests were utilized. Though, they did not prevent a car from not moving over a lane as it passed us multiple times. Pathetic. He/She definitely saw us and just chose to not move over.

Out to TGIF's with a big group and a ridiculously good time. Too funny all around. Loaded baked potato skins (2000+ calories) for appetizer and Korean steak tacos (1000+ calories). Gave away one potato skin. Saved a 1.5 tacos for lunch the next day. Home by 9:45pm. Bed by 10:30pm.

Solid day with a quality workout. Breathing slightly labored because it is the first workout back, but the legs felt good.

"Iz" Is Not A Word

October 30th: 6:30am wakeup. Cereal for breakfast. With lunch already made (finishing off the homemade meatballs with homemade spaghetti sauce) and with the lack of groceries (snacks especially), I filled a small ziploc bag with raisins. Work 8am-4:30pm. Carpooled with Goupil.

Home to poop (all the spaghetti sauce, meatballs, and sausage did a number on me) and get ready for a run quickly to with Derrick at 5:15pm. 7 miles (45:44). Smooth and always entertaining to run with Derrick.

Back to foam roll, stretch, and make a protein shake. Goupil and I changed up for the gym. We both walk out of our rooms with the ING Hartford Marathon pullover on. Goupil instantly changed because I technically was wearing it first. It happens.

Gym for some major lifting. We put in a solid 30-40 minutes of circuit training and we are good to go.

Home to make dinner. Not. I told myself I would, but I made a protein shake instead. Watched the New Girl.

Bed by 10ish without a shower because I can be that lazy.

Good run. The thing I am not happy about is something that occurred in Words With Friends. I will let the screenshots of the two games explain itself.

Close Call Followed By A Long Day

October 29th: 4:30am wakeup. Packed up the car and on the road by 5:10ish. Smooth sailing in the darkness until I had to get off exit 7 to head onto I-90 W. I thought it was a double exit (so it would be exit 7-8 and the exit forks), but it was not. I proceeded to exit 8 and slammed on my brakes immediately. My ABS worked like a charm. In front of me, a car perpendicular to the offramp and the front end smashed up with the guardrail in fairly bad condition as well. I stopped in time and threw it in reverse to park on the side of the highway. Put on the hazard lights and waited for the police to arrive at the scene. Good deed of the day. Early morning (still dark) and slick roads are a bad combination.

Jetted down to exit 7 (which was the next exit) and continued on with my ride with extra extra caution. Arrived at work right before 8am. Slow morning. Oatmeal for a snack because I had chocolate covered donettes and a water for breakfast at like 5:45am. Leftover spaghetti, sauce, meatball and turkey sausage for lunch.

Home by 4:30pm. Straight to the couch to relax. Took a nap around 6pm. Out for a 4+ miler (28:20) at 7:15pm. Hurricane? Pshhh. No rain, no wind, and an enjoyable night run. Back to stretch, foam roll, and have more leftovers (angel hair pasta with the homemade sauce, meatballs and sausage). Saved some for lunch the following day because I haven't gone grocery shopping (aka minimal food in the house).

Bed by 10:30pm.

Happy I made it out the door for a run with the weather pending the whole day.

Giants Baby!

October 28th: 8:30am wakeup. Changed up for a run. Used the bathroom to empty myself out from the heavy eating from the night before. Out for a 10 mile loop (65:41) around the side neighborhoods of Leominster. Friggin scenic run and pretty hilly the whole way. Run felt smooth and another beautiful day out. Even a view at around 8ish miles of Leominster.

Back to have a protein shake and decide where to go to get my Sunday lifting in. Sarah was taking the day off completely from any exercise after he Insanity, run, and yard work combo yesterday. Bob was looking to hit up the gym. We were gonna go to the private gym that Bob and Sarah belong to (gym only allow guests on Friday, weirdos). Ding ding ding! Idea popped into Sarah's head. There is a Planet Fitness in Leominster. I have the black card membership (any location) and that allows me to bring a guest on any day. Boom! Problem solved. Bob and I lifted while Sarah grocery shopped (pumpkins and food).

Home by 2pm to make some food (a terrible attempt at a omelette due to the quality of the frying pan I used, but still tasted delicious) and carve pumpkins. Fed Tucker some pumpkin because Sarah said it's supposed to be helpful to a dog's digestive track.

Quick shower to head over to Bob's dad's house for dinner and the Giants. Homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade stromboli, and other delicious treats. Chilled and watched the Giants win (too close of a game when it shouldn't have been).

Swung by Walmart on the way home to grab candles for our pumpkins and pick up Horrible Bosses on Blu-Ray. Home to light our pumpkins, snap some pictures and watch the movie. Grabbed my laundry out of the dryer and headed to bed by 12am.

10 miles on the day and 37 miles for the week as a recovery week. Smooth week with a couple solid runs. No aches or pains, which is the best part of it all.

Raw Fish? Why Not?

October 27th: 10am wakeup. Amazing to sleep in and on a double bed to sprawl out everywhere. Changed up for a run and ate some candy (one of my weaknesses) while stretching/warming up. Sarah, Tucker (dog), and I ran a small loop together. I continued on for another 4+ miles. 7 miles total. My 4.25 miles was cruised in 26:59. Not bad. 6:20 pace. Felt good. Beautiful weather out so I couldn't complain at all.

Back to the house to stretch, foam roll, and change up for some yard work. Pancakes and scrambled eggs with cheese and ham mixed in. Fueled up for the 4 hours of yard work. Before any real work started, I took a major digger with the wheelbarrow. Basically, I turned too sharply with it and the wheelbarrow stayed in one spot while I gracefully flipped over it. Laid on the ground for a solid 5 minutes in pain. My sister thought I was okay initially until she saw some of the scraps on my legs and arms. Once I was okay and moving, she laughed. It's all good. Moved most of the wood chip pile from the driveway over to the spot in the woods. Done by 4pm. Chilled and surfed the net.

Showered up and changed up for dinner with my cousins, Aunt Eileen and Uncle David from Texas. My cousins (Sarah and Hannah) go to school in Massachusetts. Their parents were up for parents weekend and to see the sights. Over to Worcester for sushi and good times. It was crazy to see everyone and catch up on everything (it had been too long). I even tried some sushi and liked it. Not my top choice for food still, but I'd have it again. I ordered the chicken teriyaki with vegetable tempura and a legit ice cream scoop of rice.

Drove over to a frozen yogurt place in Leominster and pigged out. Well, I mostly did. Bob made the mistake of not having a theme when making his self-serve fro-yo with toppings. He mixed mango with chocolate for yogurt flavors. That was just the beginning. Next, he added toppings in no rhyme, right, or reason. If he liked it, it was being scooped and poured onto his concoction. Once all said and done, he noted that everything was delicious except for the peanut butter syrup he put on at the end of the toppings line. The pictures will show the tragedy and my masterpiece of chocolate.

Home to relax, watch some television and head to bed by 11ish or so.