New Bedford

New Bedford

Friday, August 31, 2012

Long Day

August 29th: 5:47am wakeup. Out the door for 5 miles (35:08) by 6am. Lunch already made and a honey wheat bagel for the ride to work. Made it to work by 7:30am because traffic wasn't terrible and I left early enough. I was able to park way closer and not make the 10 minute trek from the far parking lot. Rice and beans. Work 7:30am-4pm.

Home by 4:30pm to wash some dishes and get ready for the workout at UAlbany. Made it to the workout early. 3 mile (20 + strides) warmup at 5:50ish. Workout was a pyramid style. 4x400, 3x800, mile, 3x800, 4x400. Slowest interval being the mile at a goal of 5:00. 73, 73, 71, 73, 2:28, 2:27, 2:28, 4:57, 2:25, 2:24, 2:25, 70, 67, 67, 67. Boom. 3 mile (22:00) cooldown.

Team meeting at Josh's house to get an update of the fall season. Pizza. Chilled there until 9:45am. Home to shower and head to bed. Threw on the calf sleeves to reduce the massive amount of swelling from the workout.

20 miles on the day. Great day of training and all around productive day.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Two Extremes

August 28th: 5:50am wakeup. I heard rain coming down, but the temperature was warm. Out the door at 6:15am for an easy run. I ended up just being shy of 5 miles (33:40). I prepared myself well for the run with older trainers and a hat to shield my glasses from the rain. It went downhill by mile 1 because it started to pour. The Chen high school trails flood and puddles (small lakes) form throughout the entire trail. I didn't double back on the trail and looped around on the sidewalk.

Back to the apartment to ring out my shirt and jump in the shower immediately. Cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast that was eaten on the ride to work. Double decker ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Work 8am-4:30pm. Busy day at work that made the hours fly by super fast.

Home by 5pm. Relaxed and got changed up for a tempo run. Mapped out a random 8++ mile loop. Progressive run to average 6 min pace. Warm up of a mile followed with the clipping off of the pace through out the remainder of the run and finishing up the last 2 miles in 11:15 (5:37). Smooth run and cruised the whole way. It felt like the morning run was a completely different day because I was shirtless and sweating in 80 degree weather for my 2nd run.

Back to the apartment to foam roll, strength training and shower up. Rice and beans with homegrown onions, avocado, and green pepper. Lots of cheese, but no salsa. Still delicious. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow. No plates so I used a bowl. Goupil resorted to a tupperware top for his pizza.

Some television and bed at a decent hour.

13 miles on the day between two totally different runs. Big day of mileage tomorrow with a workout in the afternoon.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

4 Weeks Down

August 27th: 5:55am wakeup. Out for a easy shakeout of 4 miles (29:14) at 6:20am. Everything bagel for breakfast. Rushed around to get things together for work. Finally made it to work by 8am. I did leave late, but the parking lots are being worked on so mad traffic in the morning. It's terrible. A full 20 minutes from when I hit traffic to my desk. Usually it takes me about 4-5 minutes. I have to park super far away and walk through Admin 1 to get to Admin 2. Work 8am-4:30pm. Another salad for lunch. Mmmm.

Home by 5pm. Picked up my package at the office. New lightweight trainers/racers. The Lunarspeed Lites. I added a Brooks Running Warehouse hat for $10 bucks and a free Running Warehouse reusable grocery bag.

Out for a 2nd run at 6:30pm. 8.5 miles (56:47). Tried out the new kicks. I like them. Cruised through the run. As I am updating my running log, I realize that I keep track of 8 pairs of shoes (between racers and trainers). It forces me stay up to date with my log. Foam rolled and started making dinner.

Goupil and I made burgers for dinner. Watched some television and bed by 10pm. Iced before I fell asleep.

12.5 miles on the day. 4 official weeks of marathon training completed. 88, 77, 97, and 93. Boom!

A typical week in the running log. Abbreviations for each pair of shoes.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Tying Up Loose Ends

August 26th: 7am wakeup. Chilled in bed for a bit. Up to make a single packet of instant oatmeal, wash some dishes, and get ready for a tempo long run. Equipped myself with all the necessary gear. Full calf socks, official long run shorts (pockets galore), singlet, mile markers on a piece of paper, and a watch (cleared of all data) to take splits. Mapped out a run that was a double loop plus a loop through Chen High School and neighborhoods. 17 miles (1:41:52). Overall an fairly even run with a slight negative split overall. 31:06 (1st loop relaxed), 29:43 (the 1st loop in reverse), 12:06 (shook it out and got ready for the last 5), 28:57 (last mile I suffered and should of finished up low to mid 28s). I did have my emergency Clif Liquid Gel Fuel that was used at mile 13+. I found a hose faucet behind the snack bar for the practice football fields to wash it down. Splashed my face, soaked my hair, and gulped a few sips out of my cupped hands. Lifesaver. Finished up strong. Legs were feeling the pace the last few miles, but I pushed through the pain.

Back to the apartment to foam roll, cool off, make a protein shake and chill on the couch for an hour plus. I was getting hungry and I had minimal food. Scarfed down a plain tortilla and changed up to swing by Da Choppa. Kept the calf socks on and threw on a pair of pants. Picked up all the essentials. Cold cuts, meat, cereal, OJ, veggies, bagels, bananas, yogurt, rice and a 5lb bag of angel hair pasta.

Back to apartment to make a monster double decker ham and Swiss cheese sandwich. Toasted bread, heated/melted cold cuts under the broiler and the addition of banana peppers, hot pepper relish and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. It was a serious sandwich.

Flipped on Being John Malkovich with the power of Netflix. Once completed, I swung by the laundromat to revive 3 full loads of dirty clothes. Sheets, towels, all of my boxers (rocking running shirts right now), and all that other good stuff.

Back to the apartment for dinner and some Netflix. The Hard Times of RJ Berger and a salad. A salad with chicken, caramelized onions, green pepper, cucumber, avocado, and cheese. Fat free ranch to keep it extra healthy. Oh and I purchased some Stewart's on my way home from the laundromat. Kimber reminded me as we were Skyping before bed. Snacked on some chocolate peanut butter cup. Bed by 11pm.

93 miles on the week. Tough workout and a quality long run. Down week with a day off. Alumni @ Keene State!

Volunteer AREEP

August 25th: 7am wakeup. Stayed in bed for 10 minutes or so. Played Words With Friends. Took a poop. Ate a bowl of Autumn Harvest for breakfast. Grabbed a Clif Bar for later in the day. While I was changing up in my room, I grabbed some socks and this creature came crawling up the wall. It might of been worse than a spider and I ran out of the room to grab paper towel to smoosh it to it's death. Crazy fast, but I succeeded.

 Drove to Indian Meadows Field in Glenville. Arrived at 7am to set up the start/finish line with ARE Event Productions (AREEP). It was the Muddy Sneaker 5k Trail Race. Put up the finish line banner, start/finish chute, entered in day of registration runners into the computer, and other miscellaneous stuff. 3 hours later, we were all done.

Stopped off at Garnsey Park for a "morning" run at 11am. 6 miles (42:30). 3 miles of exploration and 3 miles off solid running. Ran around a couple muddy puddles and there were literally 15-20 frogs that jumped into the little puddle. I also ran past skeleton head of a horse or something (this is also in the middle of the woods through trails that are definitely not run on a bunch. Lastly, I dispersed a group of turkeys or something.

Back to the apartment by 12ish to shower and just straight up relax. I had plans of grocery shopping and laundry. Instead, I took a 3 hour nap until 5:30ish. Protein shake, a Nature Valley Bar, and some Gatorade to fuel up for the 2nd run. Out on the roads by 7pm. 7++ miles (48:43). Back to foam roll, shower and make some dinner. Another diesel quesadilla for dinner. Onions, green peppers, and avocado with chile, cayenne, and cumin. Cheddar and some fancy cheese. Some black beans for protein.  As my dad would say when he orders/speaks of good fish and chips, look at how thick that is!

Watched Adventureland on Netflix from 9:30pm-11:30pm. Bed by 12. Long run tomorrow at tempo pace. Yesss.
13++ miles on the day. Relaxed mileage.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Big Breakfast

August 24th: 6am wakeup. Out for a morning run by 6:18am. 4 miles (29:44). Out and back through Chen High School trails. Back to throw in a French toast bagel (yeah, that is flippin right) and make a protein shake. Ate a bowl of cereal while waiting for the bagel to toast. Single decker PB&J for lunch with a Clif bar and a Nature Valley Bar. Work 7:30am-4pm. Devoured the bagel on the way to work. Busy Friday for work. Lots of things to close out and whatnot. A meeting with our GLOBAL supervisor on the incident log.

Out of there and home by 4:30pm. Drove next to my co-worker until I took exit 9W. It was kinda funny because I was on cruise control in the slow lane and he was up and back in the middle lane. Goupil headed home for the weekend so I was in absolutely no rush to get out the door. I ate a Clif bar to curve the hungry. Finally, I changed up and got running by 8pm. Reflective vest because I'm safety. 7.5 miles (NT) because I just wanted to have a relaxing night run. I did.

Back to foam roll and make a protein shake. Eventually showered and ate a plain tortilla for dinner. I wasn't hungry and I need to hit up Da Choppa. Bed by 11pm.

11.5 miles on the day.

No Morning Run Again

August 23rd: 6:00am wakeup. The schedule asked for a single afternoon run of 10 miles, but I wanted to split it up maybe 3 and 8-9. Nope. Slept in until 6:35am and it felt amazing. No biggie. Cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast. Made a double decker PB&J while it was toasting. Work 7:30am-4pm. Just another day at work. We are receiving more direction and assignments from upper management so the days go by faster.

Home by 4:30pm. Chilled out for a while. I started changing up around 6pm. Goupil was moving a muscle so I headed out at 6:30pm for a semi-exploration run. Ran through a few side neighborhoods, popped into the Kinns Roads trails for a loop, and back through Chen High School campus. I did have to stop at mile 1 and mile 5 to poop. 11 miles (78:13) in the books.

Back to stretch, foam roll and do my strength training (push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups). I showered up and figured out what I wanted to make for dinner. I hadn't gone grocery shopping all week so it was somewhat slim pickings. Chopped up some onion, green pepper and an avocado. Sauteed that up and melted some cheese on half of a tortilla. Threw on the veggies for a quesadilla. Mmmm. Black bean and corn salsa to top it off. Bed by 10:30pm.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Face Your Fears

August 22nd: 5:50am wakeup. 3 mile shakeout (23:03) to start the day off right. Back to the apartment to stretch, foam roll and toast a bagel full of blueberries before hopping in the shower. Rice and beans (second helping of them in two small Pyrex dishes) for lunch already made. Work 7:30-4pm. Normal day.

I told myself to make the bold decision to conquer my fear of taking exit 9E (the off ramp where disaster struck) and swinging by Target. Drove it like a champ and no relapse/blackout of the horrible accident that took place only 2 days prior. Grabbed some contact solution, Clif Bars (white chocolate macadamia nut), Carmex, a hammer and a few (mad on sale) v-neck tees. I ran out of solution. Clif bars because I needed a change from Nature Valley bars. Carmex because I have been using petroleum jelly (not as good). A hammer to attempt to reposition my radiator of my car. V-necks because they were $2.98 and I pull them off like a pro.

Back to the apartment to wash some dishes to clear the mind and return from the workout with less to do (aka I never do for the rest of the night after the workout). Changed up and gathered the essentials.

Down to UAlbany a little late, but it's not like we are in any rush. Goupil got late from work and he was dilly dallying at the apartment. 3 mile warmup (20+ strides) with a couple teammates. Planned workout was 6x1200 (HMP) and 6x400 (65-70). 400 rest for everything.

3:55, 3:53, 3:50, 3:48, 3:47, 3:45. Had some difficulty finding half marathon pace (HMP), but eventually got in cruise mode to finish up quick (similar to last week). 69, 69, 68, 67, 67, 65. Felt good to get after it and run hard at the end of a workout. 3 mile cooldown (21).

Smart move to just head home to Clifton Park since it 8pm and we were toast. Home to make a protein shake and have a mug of Autumn harvest for dinner. Not much of an appetite, but I replenished my body with protein and carbs. Bed by 10pm.

18 miles on the day.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Ease Off

August 21st: 5:45am wakeup. Tough to push myself out of bed. Finally out the door at 6:18am. Goupil was running with Renee at 6:15pm. He wasn't ready yet and he was only running 3 miles. I had to get in 5. I was in a bit of a time constraint. So I just bolted out the door and greeted Renee in the parking lot as I passed by. 5 miles (34:28) for the brisk morning. I could of used a long sleeve for the first half or so. Back to foam roll, shower (toast a bagel to make the best of my limited time), and pack my lunch. Honey and wheat bagel with butter. Work 7:30am-4pm. Car made it to work just fine after the tragic mishap yesterday. Radiator got pushed in somewhat so I got fix that at some point on my own time. I was dragging the last couple hours. Rice and beans for lunch (with onions, peppers, avocado, salsa, cheese, and seasonings).

I made it home by 4:30ish. I crashed on the couch for an hour+ to nap. I think the adrenaline rushing and everything yesterday tired my body a bit. Plus, the shoulders and neck are a tad bit sore. I have been icing them and popping the store brand Aleve (naproxen sodium) to reduce swelling.

Goupil and I ran at around 6:45pm. Almost 7.5 miles (50:23) around town. The tempo 7 mile loop with a slightly modified beginning.

Back to the apartment to foam roll, strength training (push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups), and shower. I had to emergency stop on the run at about 4 miles in the woods. My stomach wasn't feeling amazing so I just went with a cheese quesadilla with salsa. I tossed it on the middle rack under the broiler and closed the door. Sorta forgot about it and crisped the top real good to a dark golden brown. I had to scrap it off and flip it over. It was like brand new. Still tasted good. Shower and bed by 10:30pm.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Uh-oh!

August 20th: No morning run scheduled. Slept in like a baby until 6:35am. All I had to do was eat breakfast and brush my teeth. Everything bagel with butter. Work 7:30-4pm. Normal Monday at work. Nothing too exciting. Maybe it was too quiet. Well not for long.

I headed home and decided to stop at Walmart to grab a few things. I usually get off of 9W, but I had to get off 9E to head in the right direction. The worst decision of my life. I see the green light. I slow down (not that much), look down to change the radio station, and next thing I know I am in the back of the car in front of me. Huge fender bender that the pictures will explain everything. No details needed. 30 minutes later. I was driving again to Target. Something sounded like it was dragging/grinding. Stopped, pulled over and realized my bumper was pushed in that it was rubbing up against the front passenger tire. Pulled into the next closest parking lot (in the drizzling rain) and ripped my bumper off the tire. Continued to Target before stopping again because something else was dragging on the road. It was a splash/debris guard thing. I didn't want to take it off so I needed to figure out how to tie in up to prevent it from touching the ground. The other thing I had was the cassette device with the wire that connects to an MP3 player.. It was broken so I ripped the wire off. I Jerry-rigged the wire to hold up the guard. My car is officially a POS. Still runs so I am happy.

Stopped at Target and took a few laps talking with my dad. Picked up some groceries and back to the apartment by 5:30ish. Out for 10 miles (69+) at 6:45pm. Burger with onions and mushrooms for dinner. Made burrito mix for lunches the next couple days after I showered. Bed by 10pm.

No morning run. 10 miles on the day and my first (and hopefully last) accident.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Boom!

August 19th: 8am wakeup. Rolled around in bed. Up at 9am. Kimber slept in. We decided after watching television that we wanted something other than cereal for breakfast. We hit up Da Choppa for some breakfast items. Grapes, half a dozen bagels (each), and avocados (for this week). Chose 6 different bagels: French toast, blueberry, cinnamon raisin, honey and wheat, everything, and cinnamon sugar.

Back to the apartment to eat breakfast. I went with the cinnamon sugar toasted and some real butter. Still ate a bowl of cinnamon harvest after the bagel. Hydrated with Gatorade. Watched some television and snuggled up on the couch with Kimber.

Kimber headed out around 4pm. I mapped out a 17+ mile loop for my long run. Changed up into long run clothes (new Brooks shorts with two outside velcro pockets and one inside key pocket, cushiony Balgea socks, Kinvara 2s, and a Nike featherlight cap). One pocket for the directions. One pocket for an emergency gel (Clif Bar Raspberry). Inside pocket for the apartment keys. Foam rolled and a set of jumping jacks to head out for 2 hours. Cruised right through the run and explored some new roads to mix it up. I had some distance to kill. I got semi-lost in the last 4 miles, but no worries. Made it back. Remapped the run and it turned out to be 18 miles (with the slight detour towards the end) in 1:56:38. 6:28 pace. Sweet. Solid run and scenic roads. You gotta search for them here in Clifton Park. I did see a bunny (wild) and a couple horses (on a farm of course).

Back to stretch, foam roll, shower and hydrate like crazy. I was cursed with cottonmouth for the last 5 miles on ro so. In one of the neighborhoods, there was a sprinkler that I stopped at to soak my hat to cool off. Helped, but the mouth was still dry. I told myself to not take the Clif Shot Gel to force my body to utilize the energy storages I already had. Worked out well.

Rice, beans, cheese, onions, salsa, and seasonings for dinner. A Long Trail Ale to reward myself with a quality week of mileage. 97 miles on the week with a solid tempo effort at a 5k, a rocking track workout, and a honest long run. Most mileage in a week for me so far in my life and looking forward to more of them. Down week of 90+ next week and Alumni in Keene in 2 weeks. Get pumped!

Day of Relaxation

August 18th: 9am wakeup. Bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest for breakfast. Mmm. Extra delicious. Chilled for a while to digest. Kimber wanted to check out Saratoga. We headed out the house around 11:30am to drive up there for a couple hours.

Popped into Alex and Ani's because Kimber wanted to check out some bracelets. I sat on the couch and played on my phone. I was getting hungry and needed something before the planned run with Derrick and Goupil at 3:30pm. Stopped in at Putnam Market for sandwiches. I immediately decided on the 2nd item on the menu, The Gunpowder. The sandwich consisted of quality deli roast beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, BBQ sauce, mayo, and smoked cheddar cheese. All on sourdough bread. It was perfect. Light, but filling.

Back to the apartment to get ready for a run and met Derrick at Shen High School at 3:30pm. We left at 3:27pm. Ran a mile on the track to wait for Derrick. No show. No big deal. Ran around town and some neighborhoods. 12 miles (84:40). Back by 5pm to stretch, foam roll, and shower.

Goupil, Kimber and I headed to Wolfe 1-11 in Albany for some food and drinks for Goupil's birthday. Buffalo chicken wrap and a couple Woodchuck Ciders. Kimber drove us to a couple other bars. Home by 12am.

12 miles on the day and a relaxed long run tomorrow at some point.

The Rainbow

August 17th: 5:45am wakeup. Out the door at 6am for an easy 3 miles (22:47). Starting to get nice and cool out in the mornings (55-60 degrees), which makes it more motivating to get out there and have it not already be 75 degrees and humid. Back to foam roll and stretch. Bowl of Kashi Autumn Harvest for breakfast. Packed the lunch real quick because everything was already prepared. Grabbed the container of Stony Field yogurt, banana, Nature Valley Bar, and my tupperware of chicken, rice and veggies. Work 7:30am-4pm. Alyssa made owl cupcakes for Goupil's birthday. I restricted myself to one.

Home by 4:30pm to relax. Goupil only had to run 7 and I had 10 on the schedule. Kimber wasn't arriving until after 9pm. So I ran at 7:20pm on my own. 10 miles (66:50) exploration run. Back to shower and do some speed cleaning before Kimber arrived. Watched the movie, Goon, on Netflix and ate rice, beans and chicken. Bed at a decent hour to sleep in on Saturday morning.

13 miles on the day. Packing em in.

And this is what I do in my free time, organize my running shorts. Byahh!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Not Sore? Sweet.

August 15th: 5:35am alarm goes off. Did not want to get out bed. Finally up at 6:05am. Out the door at 6:25am. I was just gonna run a short morning run to get back in time for work. I "explored" (aka made up a route). I ended up with 4.5+ miles (33:44) and back by 7am.

Slow moving to make lunch and shower. Work 7:50am-4:20pm. Home by 4:45ish. Decided to run later in the evening for the 2nd run. Threw in a load of laundry (running clothes). Washed the rest of the dishes in the sink.

Out the door for a run at 6:35pm. I had to run a wittle (yes a wittle) bit more than Goupil so he left about 7 minutes after me and run the same loop, but cut off a mile detour. Literally perfect timing at the intersection. He had run 1.65 miles, I was at 2.65 miles. Pow! 8.5 miles (59:01). No real soreness from yesterday's workout. Surprising, but not gonna complain.

Back to the apartment to stretch, foam roll, and strength training (push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups). Started making dinner. Showered while my yellow squash, mushrooms and onions sautéed. Cooked up some rice and chicken. Made two helpings. One for lunch tomorrow.

Watched some television. Big Bang Theory. Grabbed my laundry before bed and passed out by 10:30pm.

13+ miles on the day and all recovery.

6xmile

August 15th: 5:55am wakeup. Out the door for a easy 3+ miler (22:09). Back to stretch and foam roll before showering. Kashi Autumn Harvest for breakfast. Leftover rice and beans with onions for lunch. I just had to add cheese and salsa. Work 7:30am-4pm. At 12pm, we had our monthly EHS meeting that offered pizza. I decided to restrain myself and eat my prepared lunch before the meeting. I stayed strong.

Home by 4:30pm. Sat on the couch for sometime before making moves to change up for UAlbany. Arrived at the campus by 5:45pm. The goal of the workout was 6xmile with 400 rest at marathon pace (MP). 5:20-5:25. 3 mile warmup (20 + strides). Switched up into the Nike Streaks (the newest ones that replaced the marathoners, same ones Hammett wore for VCM). Told myself 80 second quarters as a round number to shoot for every lap. The workout went like this:

5:25 (smooth)
5:24 (same as the first)
5:22 (feeling antsy because it was a relaxed pace)
5:18 (negative split of 2:35, 2:33)
5:12 (uh-oh, but still felt relaxed)
5:05 (told myself 5:10, but it was smooth, 2:34, 2:31)

I was either negative or even splits for all the intervals, which I was very happy with myself. I sometimes get after it too early and positive split intervals 800 and up. I came around 500 meters on my last interval and let Goupil know I might be going a tad faster on the last couple. He replied with, "If you still talking, you're fine!" Ha. Alright. I flowed with it and felt great. No calf sleeves or full compression socks. Rest keep at 7:00-7:20 pace. 42:50 total for the 7.5 miles. 5:43 pace. 3 mile cooldown (20:18).

Stopped at Bountiful Bread for a sandwich and a drink. Pesto, tomato and some thick slices of mozzarella cheese. Chocolate milk from a local town in New York. All around tasty.

Home by 9:20ish. Talked with Kimber for a bit. Showered. Protein shake. Bed by 10:30pm.

17 miles on the day. Boom baby!

Local 5k

August 14th: 5:50am wakeup. Out for a run by 6ish. Easy 2.5+ (20+) because I had to get to work earlier today for an "urgent" project. Stale Honey Nut Cherrios for breakfast. Work 7:15am-4:15pm. Project went well and the day went by fast. Beans and rice for lunch. This is becoming a staple meal for me because it's short prep time and friggin delicious. Home by 4:45pm. Picked up my Runningwarehouse package from the office. 3 new pair of shorts! Yay! Light blue, red and grey. All different brands (Nike, Brooks, and BOA).

Goupil and I decided to do a workout at the local 5k right down the road (1/2 mile away). Ate a Nature Valley Bar to hold me over for the run. Finally chose the shorts I wanted to rock for the run.

We were lazy and drove over the parking lot that was ridiculously close. Parked at Hannaford's because there was too much traffic close to the starting line. Walked over and registered. I only had $24 dollars and the entry fee was $25. They let it slide. Dropped off our stuff at a nearby tree and warmed up 2 miles (14+) around the neighborhood. Stopped at a mile to take advantage of the open bathrooms at the baseball field/park area. Popped into a trail to cut it back to the starting line. We cut it close and had about 5 minutes to spare to get to the line. The workout was 1 min on, 1 min off to keep me from racing it too much. Ended up sub 15:50. Sweet. Felt way better than Cigna and the weather was less humid/overcast. Cooled down 3 miles (21+) and stopped at the refreshment table. Cup of Barq's root beer and waited for awards. A trophy. Cool, I guess. The raffle winner won a gym bag with an iPod shuffle in it. I receive a clear trophy. Not fair.

Home to eat a bowl of Autumn Harvest and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

10.5+ miles on the day and a solid effort to run on tired legs for the track workout tomorrow.

And yes, I look like a zombie.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Monday It Up

August 13th: 6am wakeup. Out the door for an easy 4 miles (29:21) through the Shen campus. At around 2.5 miles or so, I just trotting along when something landed on my neck/collarbone. I immediately grabbed it with my hand and realized it was something that decided to sting me. As soon as I was stung, I felt like I was shot (obviously I have never been shot, but I can only imagine). I pressed my shirt on my fresh wound to make it feel better, but it was definitely throbbing the rest of the run. I am glad I am not allergic to whatever I was stung by because my throat would of swollen up like a balloon.  I barely made it back to the apartment to rush around to go to work. No breakfast because there was minimal food in the cabinets/fridge.

Work 7:30am-4pm. Purchased a berry turnover from the cafe for breakfast. Ate my nutella/peanut butter tortilla wraps for lunch and a Nature Valley Bar. I would rather make some ridiculous (and delicious) lunch than buy the overpriced food from the cafeteria restaurant.

Stopped at Da Choppa to grab the main food groups. Unfortunately, there were no tortillas in stock. Home by 5:15ish. We decided to start our "spring" cleaning because our bathroom (the full one with the shower) was a 8th grade science project. The showers became shorter and shorter to stand less in the presence of the gross organisms living in our bathtub. Cleaned the bathroom and relaxed to recuperate from the lack of fresh air. Goupil rocked safety glasses and chemical gloves to prevent from any transfer of disease into his body. I was responsible for the sink and toilet.

Run at 7:20ish. Goupil headed out 15 minutes before and ran the lollipop 11 mile loop. I met him at 4.5 miles (the opposite way of the lollipop loop) and ran in with him. Worked out perfect. 9 miles (58:18).

Home to stretch, foam roll, and make a burger with cheddar cheese, onions, and the spicy ketchup. I had to settle for sandwich bread because of the lack of tortillas at the store. Showering in the super duper clean shower was amazing.

Bed by 10:30ish. 13 miles on the day with a quicker run in the evening.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Late Run in Keene

August 12th: 6am wakeup. Turned on the television and saw the start of the marathon. Fell back asleep for 45 minutes. Watched some more of the marathon. Saw Ryan Hall and Adbi drop out within minutes of each other. Boo. Fell back asleep for a little. Watched some more. Missed the finish, but whatever.

Up to eat breakfast. Apple Jacks. Chilled for a while. Said some goodbyes to Kimber's sister's family. Packed up some stuff to head out on the boat for a couple hours. A toasted blueberry muffin with butter before we departed. Within 10 minutes of leaving the dock, I was fast asleep and for almost the whole time we were out there. I was tired.

Left Newport by 2pm to make it back to Peterborough by 4:30pm. Way quicker on the way back. I was driving and we just followed the GPS (we weren't originally, then we took a wrong turn and ended up just using the GPS). Packed up the rest of my stuff at Kimber's and headed to Keene for a solo long run up to The Clearing.

Left the gym parking lot by 5:50pm. 15 miles (94:38). Solid run. Rocked the last 3 miles in 17:35. I was drenched by about 5 miles and left my shirt on until about 10+ miles. Once I took it off, it was a huge relief. Stopped off at Fowler to shower and foam roll. Headed back to NY by 8:15ish. Home by 10:20pm. Smooth ride home. Almost hit a skunk though.

Bed by 11pm. 87 miles for the week with a couple quicker runs, a solid race effort, and a tough long run.

Newport, RI

August 11th: 6am wakeup. Back to sleep for another 45 minutes. Out for a run just after 7am. Explored some roads and a trail to make it 7.5 miles (55:00). Relaxing run. Back to Kimber's house to shower and eat breakfast. Half a vidalia onion and a half a red pepper 3 egg "omelette." Pan was on the hot side when I was cooking it so it turned into scrambled eggs with sauteed vegetables. Still tasted delicious. No biggie.

Headed out from Peterborough by 9:45am. Stopped off at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee and I grabbed a couple of Arizonia Iced Teas. Got somewhat misguided by the GPS because it was taking us a different way so it took us 3+ hours to make it to Newport. Arrived at 1pm.

The rest of the day was filled with board games, food, and Olympics. Stayed inside all day because it was kinda crappy out. Double decker sandwich as soon as I arrived. Taboo for a couple hours. My team won in the end. Pow! Bananagrams. Steak and potato salad for dinner. Olympics after. Slept on the pullout couch with Kimber and set the alarm to watch the men's marathon in the AM.

Great day with Kimber's family (aunt, uncle, cousins, sister, brother-in-law, mom). Worth driving the 3 hours :)

Double Time

August 10th: 6:15am wakeup. Dying of thirst. Pounded a bunch of Gatorade. Run with Goupil at 10:15am. Beech Hill 7+ (53:35). Goupil turned for 5 miles. Back to Fowler to pound more Gatorade, stretch, foam roll, and eventually shower. Stopped at Fritz for a date with Goupil. Italian Stallion with a black cherry soda. The sandwich consisted of Genoa salami, Virginia ham, pepperoni, provolone, artichoke hearts, lettuce, tomato and onion on sliced Italian bread. Mmmm. So friggin good.

Back to the house to digest and watch 21 Jump Street once again (this was actually the 2nd day in a row). Goupil was heading out for a run at 4:30ish so I joined him. I only had to do 5 miles. Goupil had to do 7 miles. I decided to do 7 miles with him. I wanted to run to Goose Pond. So we did. Raining the whole run. Made it to Goose Pond at about 7 miles and we still had 4 miles to go. Jumped in to cool off. The water was really warm (which was weird), but still was nice to kick the legs around for a couple minutes. 11+ miles (79:42). 18 miles on the day and felt great to just run around Keene for all those miles.

Showered up at 6pm and headed over to Peterborough to see Kimber. Grocery shopping once I arrived. We couldn't decide on what to have for dinner. We went with fruit salad, cheese/crackers, and rice/beans with some veggies (onions, red peppers, and avocado). And no, the Elmer's glue was not part of the dinner.

Watched some Olympics and cleaned up before heading to bed at a decent hour.

Cigna 5k + Keene

August 9th: 7:30am wakeup. Chilled for a bit before driving over to Keene State campus for an easy Yale 5 miles (36:45). Back to Fowler to shower up and make it to The Pub before 10am to take advantage of the early bird special. A pancake, two pieces of French toast, 2 eggs overeasy, homefries with onions, and 2 pieces of white toast. Chocolate milk to wash it all down. Destroyed it all and only $5.00 + tip. Ca-chang! Stopped off at Dick's Sporting Goods to peruse the clearance section. Huge find. Small Nike Miler singlet for 19 bucks. Lime green. Sweet!

Back to Fowler to relax and watch 21 Jump Street for the 2nd day in a row. Bagel Works for a sourdough bagel with veggie cream cheese. Left Fowler to pick up Ryan at 3:30ish and travel to Manchester for the Cigna 5k.

Arrived right around 5:15pm. Walked to registration. Registered. Warmed up in the cemetery. 20 minute warmup with the guys. Forgot my trainers so everything was done in my flats. Oh well. Luckily I didn't forget my racers. Race went off at 6:20pm.

Didn't feel smooth, but managed to make it through the race. 4:48, 9:48, 14:46, 15:27 for the finish. Humid out and not happy with the results, but I'm not training for the 5k and especially not his one. It was my first race in over a month. Cooled down almost immediately with the guys. Just short of 4 miles (28:19). 15 miles total on the day. Solid day of training.

Grabbed some Coca-Colas and an ice cream sandwich for the ride home/on the walk back to the car. Made it back to Keene by 9:20ish. Headed out to Cobblestone to hang out with some close friends. Fun night and ready for some more miles.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Keene Bound!

August 8th: 5:45am wakeup. A relaxed 5 miles (35:31) through the Shen high school campus to pop on some trails. Cruised the last couple miles. Back to make breakfast and lunch. Oatmeal with maple syrup. Leftover rice and beans with carmelized onions, seasoning (chili, cayenne, and cumen), and some fancy cheese (preshredded cheese that Goupil let me have to finish up before the weekend). Work 7:30-4pm. A fairly easy day before my mini vacation away in the New England area. Moved my desk over the new admin building (Admin 2) and attended a few meetings.

Home by 4:25ish to pack up/clean up for the weekend. Teammate Karen met us at our apartment at 5pm. We continued to rush around like chickens with our heads cut off for the next 10-15 minutes or so trying to remember everything we wanted/needed to bring with us.

Hit the road. Unfortunately, we all were required to take separate cars because we are all leaving to head back to NY at different times/days. Easy ride and always scenic riding through Vermont. Made it to Keene by 7:40ish. Greeted everyone at the house of Fowler Street. Changed up for a run. 5 miles (38:26) with Karen and Goupil. Mini tour of Keene. Back to the house to stretch, foam roll and shower.

Walked down to Main Street to grab dinner at Athens. Large chicken parmesean grinder. Saw some classic Keene characters while waiting for our food. Back to the house to chow down and watch some track and field. Bed by 11pm. Futoning up (yeah, that's a verb)!

10 miles on the day and easy does it. Shakeout in the morning and headed over to Manchester for the Cigna 5k. Woohoo! First race in over a month. Got the itch to get after it.

Beans Give Me Gas

August 7th: 5:45am wakeup. 5 miles easy (36:27). Back to make a quick lunch and realize there is a pile of ants coming out of the wall near the dishes. The only logical thing to do was to spray them down with Clorox bleach cleaner spray (totally humane) and wash some dishes. This prevented me from a real breakfast. Tortilla on the ride over to work. Yes, just a plain tortilla. Nature Valley bar once I arrived at work. Work 7:45am-4:15pm.

Home by 4:30ish. Plan was to run with Derrick at 6pm so just chilled until then. Cut up some sweet potatoes to make fries for dinner. 7+ miles (45:14) with 5x1min after 2 miles into the run. Felt smooth. Barely made it to a port-o-potty at around 5 miles. I started to get goosebumps (that's how close it was). Chatted with Derrick for a bit after the run. Always an entertaining conversation with him. Too much for the blog. Cooked up a burger and the fries. Avocado and onions with the burger. Olympics and bed by 10:30pm.

12 miles on the day with a quicker run. One day closer to the 5k.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Manwich

August 6th: 5:45am wakeup. 6:10am out the door for an easy 3 miles (22:47). Back to the apartment to greet Sean Gavaghan with a good morning. He had an interview with my company, Colden Corporation, so he was crashing on the futon. Stretched, foam rolled, and starting boiling some water while I showered. Oatmeal with maple syrup for breakfast. Made a quick lunch. Work 7:45am-4:15pm. Egg noodles with sauteed onions and avocado.

Home by 4:30ish. Originally we were planned to run with Derrick. Cancelled. Goupil and I headed out around 6pm for a quicker 7 miles (45:54). Conversed the whole time. Comfortable.

Back to the apartment to stretch for a while. Foam roll. Started making dinner. I defrosted some ground beef to make a tortilla burger. I decided to add a twist with a couple hotdogs. I noticed I had some eggs in the fridge and a hot pan to cook it on. Fried up a egg next to the dogs. Throw it all in a tortilla and killed it. I felt like I was on Man vs. Food. It was a beast of a dinner.

Shower. Olympics. Bed early.

Long Run + Recap

August 5th: 8am wakeup. Out of bed to change up for a long run to finish up the first week of marathon training. Checked the weather before I left and it was 76 with about 70% humidity. Thought it might be a good idea to have someone met me at 10 miles with some fluids. Made a Nalgene of Gatorade and coordinated with my dad a location and time to met me with it. 15.25 miles (1:39:57). Solid run. I was drenched by 2 miles. The water stop with my dad was a lifesaver. Took aa shot of Clif Bar fuel and about 8 ounces of Gatorade. Last 5.25 miles in 32:12. Happy to be back and pop in the outdoor shower to cool off. Iced for precautionary matters.

Big ole breakfast with everyone. 10+ blueberry pancakes with some bacon. Chilled out for a while. Watched the women's marathon from the morning on DVR. Took a nap for a couple hours after that because I was falling asleep at the end.

Woke up at 6pm. Chowed down on potato salad and watched some television with the family. Good fellas. Ice cream sandwich. Storm came rolling in so I had to wait it out before I could leave for NY. Cupcake before hitting the road. Home by 11:40pm. Bed by 12.

88 miles for the week and looking forward to another solid week with Cigna 5k on Thursday.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Made Emissions My B***h

August 4th: 7:20am wakeup. Out of bed. The emissions test hours were 8am-1pm, first come first serve. I had a protein shake to hold me over for the run and to keep it light. Headed out at 7:45am to make it there on time perfectly. I handed over the keys, my current registration and a crisp 20 dollar bill. Sat down in the waiting room keeping my mind off the fact that my car will most likely not pass emissions. I waited as my baby was pulled into the bay to get hooked up to the computer. I checked Facebook, watched some Youtube videos, and checked my e-mail. The elderly guy pulled my car back out front and approached me with a piece of paper. I asked, "How I'm looking?" He said,"Would you look at that? It passed." What?! Woohoo! Yippee! This was how I was reacting on the inside. We shot the shiznit for a little bit about my Adirondack 10 Miler shirt and how it's so beautiful up that way. I ripped right out of there and over to Fairfield Hills for a run.

Parked at the new facility. Changed up in the bathroom and out for a easy, humid 7+ miles (53:09). Stopped at 3.5 miles or so after snatching up a couple handfuls of ferns for toilet paper for a quick bathroom stop. About half trails and half pavement. Nice on the legs to be on the soft terrain.

Back to my parent's house to take an outdoor shower, stretch, ice, and all that good stuff. We hit up Town Fair Tire to get our tires rotated and a wheel alignment. One of the employees thought I should be in the Olympics after hearing my times. I was wearing my calf sleeves so that is why he inquired about my running. Back to the house and my dad wanted to mow the lawn so I ate some Fig Newtons real quick before helping him out in the yard. My Uncle Darin (Colorardo) was here now and my Uncle David (Florida) was here. After the lawn was down, we chilled out for a bit before deciding to go fish on the lake.

Grabbed the kayaks and headed down to the pump house to launch them out. My Uncle Darin and dad used them first while my Uncle David and I fished the shore. Soon they were out of sight and we were stuck on the shore. We walked along the shore in above knee high water casting away. I found a spot and caught a large mouth bass. Pow!

Back to the house to change up for a 2nd run at 6pm. Fueled up with a couple Oreos (my weakness). 5+ miles (34:49). Last 1/2 mile in 2:31 for fun. Outdoor shower and dinner on the deck with everyone (Aunt Jane, her husband Uncle David, Aunt Deidre were the late additions). Burgers, potato salad and cupcakes my Uncle Darin's 40th birthday. Watched the recorded men's 10k from the afternoon. Super exciting.

Fell asleep on the couch watching the other Olympics and zombie walked to bed once I was woken up by someone.

Oh and my car hit 209,000 miles.

Late Night Run

August 3rd: 5:15am wakeup. Back to bed. Finally out of bed by 5:35am. Bathroom. Out the door by 5:45am. I wanted to get more miles in the morning out of the way, but that didn't happen. It's all good. Easy 4 (30:57) miles on my own. Back to the apartment to make oatmeal and shower up. Work 7:15am-3:45pm. The first hour+ of work was dedicated to teaching the new contractor training course to about 40 people. It went alright. My mouth was cotton mouth by the end because I had been talking for an hour straight. Salad for lunch. Delicious. I brought a whole avocado and put half of it in the salad. The other half was eaten with some ground sea salt on it. Mmmm.

Home by 4:10ish. Grabbed my stuff for a weekend home (dirty laundry and running stuff). Watched the women's 10k before I left at 5pm.

In Newtown by 7:30pm. Out for a 2nd run at 8:15ish. 6 miles (41:26). A slow progressive run and closing my last mile in sub 6. Solid run. Always fun to run in the dark. Small salad for dinner. Fancy cheese, tomato and cucumber. Topped with some tasty raspberry dressing. I thought it was homemade, but it wasn't.

Watched some Olympics and bed at a decent hour. 10 miles on the day and a relaxing weekend at home to follow.

Leftovers Are So Key

August 2nd: 5:30am wakeup. Out of bed by 5:40am. Out the door by 5:50am. Super easy 5 miles (38:28). First mile was 8:20 and last mile was a blazing 7:32. Finished off the milk for the bowl of Honey Nut Cherrios for breakfast. I had time to kill in the morning because I only ate half of my DiBella's sub for dinner last night.  Always thinking ahead because the last thing I wanted to do this morning was make lunch. Work 7:30am-4pm. Normal day at work. The spicy ham sub was just as good the next day. In the cafeteria, they are showing the Olympics over the projector big screen. Makes lunch more entertaining than just people watching.

Home by 4:30pm. I tried staying awake on the couch, but Goupil (Jeff, same person) told me to go nap. So I did. Attempted 20 minutes nap turned into an hour nap. Woke up at 6:45pm and changed up for an easy run. 7 miles (50:37) through the residential neighborhoods to avoid any main roads. Relaxing and comfortable run. Sore, but a good sore from yesterday's long workout.

Back to the apartment to cool off and do some core/strength. Same deal as Tuesday. 3x10 situps, 3x10 pushups and 3x5 pullups. Salad with chicken, shredded cheddar, avocado, carmelized onions and peppercorn ranch dressing. FaceTimed with my mom. Made enough for two servings for lunch tomorrow.

Watched a bunch of Olympics and bed by 11pm. 12 miles on the day. Recovery to the max.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Pile It On

August 1st: 5:55am wakeup. Out the door (with Goupil) for a easy 3+ miles (24:06). Back to stretch, foam roll, and eat some Honey Nut Cherrios for breakfast. Started cooking some mushrooms/onions and boiling up egg noodles while I showered. Gathered up my belongings and enjoyed work from 7:30am-4pm. Work is going well and more/different responsibilites are being assigned to Colden by Globalfoundries. It's a good thing. More job security. Lunch was delicious, even for being so simple. Carbed up for the afternoon workout for some serious mileage.

Home by 4:30pm. Changed into running shorts immediately to get my mind focused on the important part of the day. Washed all the dishes before the workout to clear the head and to not have to worry about them at a later time. Collected all my things for the workout (flats, extra clothes, the Stick, Gatorade, etc). Out the door by 5:20ish to travel down to UAlbany.

Warmed up 3 miles (20:00 + strides). Switched into my flats and did away with my shirt. Decided on the Zensah calf sleeves to ease the calf pain that will be occurring towards the end of the intervals. Workout consisted off the following (everything at half marathon pace 5:10-5:15): 2 mile (800 rest), 6x800 (400 rest), and 6x400 (200 rest). Total mileage: 9.25 miles.

10:28 (5:16, 5:12), 2:38, 2:37, 2:36, 2:35, 2:34, 2:30 (a little antsy for the 400s). 75, 74, 75, 74, 73, 74. Clockwork. All rest keep between 7:00-7:20 pace. Overall time: 53:44. 5:48 pace. Just short of 3 mile cooldown  (20:42). 15 for the afternoon and a solid 18 on the day.

Threw on some shorts and a dry t-shirt. Swung by DiBella's in Albany with the team. Spicy ham sub with lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, oil/vinegar, and mayo. Mmmm. Ate half of it. Powerade and a chocolate chip cookie. Stopped off at TCBY right after for some frozen yogurt. Restricted myself to less than 5 dollars.

Home to shower, pound some more Gatorade and be in bed by 9:45pm.