January 13th (Monday): Another batch of chili for the week for dinners/lunches. 8++ miles (60:31) with Goup in the evening.
Mmmm.
January 14th (Tuesday): 7+ miles (46:35) in the evening. Standard day.
January 15th (Wednesday): Decided to take the day off. Listened to my body because the ankle felt like I rolled it. Moving the ankle laterally hurt a bit. Foam rolled and iced in the evening.
January 16th (Thursday): Out to hit up all the spots we usually run in 1 run. 11.7 miles (76:08) with the last 2 miles in 10:35. Solid run and ankle was good to go. Iced after as a precautionary action.
Starting to do this routine a couple times a week.
January 17th (Friday): 8+ miles (53:52) after work. Up to Saratoga for the work holiday party (better late than never). Bowling and food. Rocked it for the 1st game and best score ever by like 40 or 50 pins. Bowled a 190. No big deal.
4 strikes in a row? Boom.
January 18th (Saturday): 8am wakeup. 9 miles (64:33) with Goup and Megan from our house. Received a text and a phone call that I did not have to come into work. Woohoo! Proceeded to sit on the couch for a couple hours. Checked out a couple places (houses) to move into in Latham. No dice. Chilled for the rest of the night.
January 19th (Sunday): Joe Benny Pancake Run in Albany at 8:30am. Some cornbread for breakfast. Double 7.5 mile loop. 15 miles (1:33:11). 1st loop: 49:32. 2nd loop: 43:39. Last 8 miles were: 6:30, 6:20, 6:07, 5:34, 5:31, 5:40, 5:48, 5:50. Worked some miles for fun.
USATF award ceremony at Fleet Feet. Carpooled with Renee. Free dinner. Played with the kids (Sydney and Addy) pretty much the whole time. Home to relax and head to bed at a decent hour. Brought home a catering dish of pasta. Ca-chang! 59 miles for the week with a day off.
January 6th (Monday): Work. Chilled on the couch after work. Some cornbread. Out for a steady 9 miles (60:49) with Goup at 6:15pm.
January 7th (Tuesday): Work. 4+ miles on the treadmill. Crappy weather outside. Stopped at Planet Fitness in Clifton Park to cancel the membership. Grabbed a large handful of tootsie rolls as a last hooray. I felt like Jim Carrey from Liar Liar. Specifically at 10 seconds (grabbed it like the air freshener). Down to Albany for a solid strength training session with a couple of the team members.
Pre-run snack. Organic chocolate pudding.
Pre-workout fuel.
January 8th (Wednesday): Just another day at work. 8+ miles (54:23) with Goup in the evening. Temperatures were in the teens. Chili all week for dinners. Started reading my car manual (dad found it online) and came across the page below. My car automatically locks the door after a certain miles/hr. Once I park the car and turn it off, my door would be the only one that unlocked. Ughh! Boom! Found the solution in the manual!
Snowbeards.
Reading my online manual for my car.
I like my milk extra cold. Tossed it in the freezer for 10 minutes before having chili for dinner.
January 9th (Thursday): Work. Right after work, we stopped at the local gym in the Hannaford's parking lot right by our
complex and ended up signing up for a year (only $99 bucks). A mom and
pop place that is pretty low key. The guy was super nice. Steve Torres.
Thought it was pretty cold out, but once we were out there. No issues. 10.5 miles (75:04) with Goup at 5:30pm. Solid run for a Thursday evening. Over to our new gym for a lifting session. Abs, some arms, and lots of squats/lower body.
January 10th (Friday): Easy day. Might Ducks: D2 was on television. So we ran after the movie was over. 5+ miles (43:14) with Goup. First mile was 8:26 and we didn't have an intention of picking it up. We didn't. Chilled on the couch the rest of the night.
January 11th (Saturday): Up to Saratoga in the morning for a run with Megan. A solid 10 miles
(69:50) on the outskirts of Saratoga. Quiet roads. Back to the house to
relax most of the day. Goup and I walked over to Hannaford's in the
evening to pick up a Redbox movie and ice cream. Bowl of ice cream with Sarah's homemade caramel! Yum!
Omelet with cheddar cheese.
Breyer's chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
January 12th (Sunday): 7:00am wakeup. Cornbread for breakfast. Down to Albany for a group long run. 15+ miles (1:44:36). The last 4-5 miles we picked it up. Last 5 miles: 6:10, 5:50, 5:53, 5:55, 5:54. Smooth and felt good to cruise. It was decided before the run started so it was a group effort. Solid run. Big pancake breakfast after at Paley's house. Chocolate chips in some the pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Forgot to capture the moment before we dug in. There will be plenty more of them so I'm not worried. 62 miles for the week and a solid week of work. Getting into a groove.
Another batch of chili made at night for the week. Dinner for the week!
December 30th (Monday): Goup was heading out for a workout so I decided to join him. 5 x 1/2 mile hills. 3+ mile warmup (22:30). 2:57, 2:55, 2:59, 2:54, 2:59. Just shy of 2.5 mile cooldown (17:14). 11 miles on the day.
Diesel omelet for dinner.
December 31st (Tuesday): Short day at work. Over to Keene NH for the New Years festivities. 4 miles (27:48) at 6pm. Super relaxing run and felt great to run in Keene. Beautiful night out. Showered up and out to Scores (old Railroad) for some dinner and drinks with friends. Danced it up for 4 hours total between 3 locations (Scores, McCues and Fowler). Fun night with close friends and bed by 2am.
Angry Orchard and Fireball Whiskey (Angry Balls).
January 1st (Wednesday): Slept in and hydrated in the morning hours. Chilled and some breakfast in downtown Keene. Sausage, egg and cheese at Bagel Works. Over to Hammett's for a quality run with Big George, Hammett, Ferenc, and TPaq. 12 miles (85+) on the snow covered trails of Pisgah. Exhilarating run in the thick of nature.
January 2nd (Thursday): 5 miles on the treadmill. Sub 35. Last mile at 6 minute pace at 6% percent grade. Woohoo! Keep knocking away at the hill training even on the treadmill to gear up for June.
Drive over the mountains in VT.
January 3rd (Friday): Another 5 miles on the treadmill due to the cold temperatures. 30:45 this time. Last 3 miles sub 16 for fun. 5:35, 5:15, sub 5 (effort). Last mile was .75 miles at 12 miles/hr at 2% grade (so technically 4:59 pace), but rocked my last .25 miles at 6% grade (technically at 3:51 effort). Boom! Chilled for the night.
From the Jack Daniels book.
January 4th (Saturday): Slept in. Originally I had to go to work, but the tool was not ready. Yesss. It has to wait until Monday. Ran some errands and organized a couple runs for the week. Run at 3:30pm from my place with Paley, Pete, and Megan. 8 miles (57:58). Stayed in the rolling hills of the back neighborhoods. Solid run. Hit up the grocery store to buy ingredients for some veggie chili. Ended up heading up to Saratoga for the night. Left the slow cooker on low overnight.
Honda hit 36,000 miles.
The slow cooking begins.
January 5th (Sunday): 7:30am wakeup. Over to Megan's house to met up with Paley and Pete. 12+ miles (82:xx). Solid run. Through 6 miles in 40:30 and negatively split the run slightly. Total of 57 miles for the week and the biggest mileage week since the marathon. Happy with the week with a bunch of solid runs.
Resembles my mom's grocery list when I was growing up.
Added the corn after 16 hours of slow cooking.
Homemade guacamole.
Chopped cilantro.
Cornbread. Almost forgot about it in the oven.
Final product. Sour cream and cheddar cheese added.
December 23rd (Monday): Rain all day. Slept in like a champ. The Danbury Fair Mall for some last minute shopping for my sisters with Sarah, Erin, my Dad and Dom. Craziness, but we made it out alive. Day off. Purchased a diesel snow brush and all weather mats for my Honda.
December 24th (Tuesday): Christmas Eve. Easy 4.5 miles (34:15) with my dad and Sarah. Over to New Milford to have dinner with everyone.
December 25th (Wednesday): Christmas day consisted of stockings, a huge breakfast (German pancakes and bacon), present exchanging, shower and ran around helping my mom set up for an early Christmas dinner. Day off.
Photobooth fun.
December 26th (Thursday): Early morning travel back to NY. Slow day at work. Exhausted. Home to nap for a few hours. Too tired to run. Day off.
December 27th (Friday): Work. Home to back up quickly before heading back down to Newtown for the baby shower weekend. 6 miles (39:04). Quality hilly progression run after a couple goose eggs.
December 28th (Saturday): 10 miles (69:56). Last mile with my dad. He was out running with Tucker. He turned around when he saw me. Ran the last bit hard with Tucker (she was galloping along) and my dad.
December 29th (Sunday): 17 miles (2+ hours) at 7:15am with my buddy Pat Dennen and some veterans on a dirt/pavement bike path a couple towns over. Solid run. Haven't run that long since the marathon. Boosted my motivation and ready to get back into the swing of things after a holiday week. 38 miles with 3 days off. Not bad.
Tucker has the ability to get pretty comfortable.
Notice the lip.
I spoiled her and let her stay on the cot with me every night.
December 16th (Monday): 10 miles (71:55) at 6:30pm with Goup and Alex Paley in Clifton Park. 5-7 degrees out and my facial hair frosted over a bit because I am a mouth breather.
Frosted.
Reflective.
December 17th (Tuesday): Crappy roads from the afternoon snow covering. Didn't want to contend with the crazy drivers. Forced to pop on the treadmill for 5+ miles in the evening.
December 18th (Wednesday): 6 miles (42:25) on the easy side.
The fresh kicks.
December 19th (Thursday): 2 hour nap after work. Woke up and decided to hit up Sweet Road for some hill repeats. 5 x 1/2 mile. Cold, but made it through the workout. 2:52, 2:53, 2:51, 2:51, 2:44. 9 miles on the day.
December 20th (Friday): 5am wakeup. 8 miles (53:22) with Ken Little at 5:30am. It's always a solid effort with Ken. Cruised right through the run. Traveled down to Newtown, CT for the Christmas holidays after work.
December 21st (Saturday): Woke up with some stiff pain in the achilles/ankle area. Decided to take the day off. Relaxed all day with the family. Foam rolled, sticked the calf, and iced multiple times throughout the day.
December 22nd (Sunday): 10 miles total (78:15) with the first couple miles with my dad in the morning hours. Solid run. Felt the stiffness, but much better than yesterday. Dinner at the house my grandparents rented in New Milford. Photo shoot with the cousins.
48 miles for the week with a day off. Happy with the week. Next week will be tough with the holidays. It's all good. Time spent with the family is worth taking a day off here and there.
