Heat/Ice & Rest/Repeat

81 miles for the week (recovery)

September 29th (Monday): 3 miles (21:17) in the morning. Just shy of 9 miles (60:13) through the Pinebush Trails with Pete, Lozier, Macky, and Goup. Good group and quality run. The soft terrain felt good on the calves, but definitely are torn up from the last couple weekends. Lift at 8:30pm at the Torres Gym.

 5 egg cheese omelette. Home fries. Toast. (lunch from yesterday after Brocktrot)

September 30th (Tuesday): 4 miles (29:24) in the morning. Two baked potatoes for lunch. Butter and Greek yogurt to top it off. Another 4 miles (29:04) in the evening. Decided to cut the run short because the calves are still sore - made a proactive decision to skip the Wednesday workout because my goal race not for another 2+ months. One workout is not going make a difference and I might make it worse when its not worth it. Can't get greedy and contract the Superman Syndrome.

 Did it again!

 Two more months until I get to see this wittle bugger!

October 1st (Wednesday): 3 miles (NT) in the morning. Been religious about heating before the run and icing soon after. Even for the morning runs!

Another 9.5 miles (61:29) total at 7pm. Wanted to hit up the trails at Kinns Road, but it was kinda late/dark. Two loops in Kinns and onto the roads through a back neighborhood. Found a grass field to do a couple laps on in. It turned into a mini workout. 300+ meters hard, 100 meters easy. 14x300. Decided to keep rocking intervals until I slowed down. Easy on the legs and raised the heart rate for a solid 20 minutes.

October 2nd (Thursday): 4 miles (28:09) in the morning. 8 miles (55+) in the evening. In the solid routine well of heating and icing. Foam rolling and sticking like crazy too. Continue to recover and get my legs fresh for the Hartford Half.

Egg salad (prepped some at home, some at work) for lunch.

October 3rd (Friday): Just shy of 7 miles (48+) with Renee at 5am. She convinced me to run in the morning somehow. Relaxing run in the dark and good conversation. Stopped at Bentley's for after work refreshments and food. Lots of good laughs with co-workers. Back to the house by 7:30pm to change up and head out for 5 miles (33:58) at 8pm. Stomach a little heavy from beer and fried food, but made it happen. Dedication right there.

Finisher medal put to good use - courtesy of New Bedford.

October 4th (Saturday): 4 miles (NT) first thing in the morning. Work 8:00am-4:30pm. Nonstop day and major OT! No lunch break because I was too busy out in the field. Peanut butter, Nutella (aka hazelnut chocolate spread from Italy Sarah brought back - so good), banana, and honey wrap for a snack when I arrived home to hold me over for my tempo. Mapped out a 10 mile loop. Cut it short at 9.5+ miles (54:14) - tempo 9 in 50:20. Calves tightened up in the middle, but nothing too bad. Ice and protein shake to continue the recovery process. On the upswing.

October 5th (Sunday): 10+ miles with some Fleet Feet women on the new Stockade-athon course in Schenectady. Renee let me borrow the electric stim device for my calf muscles. Take recovery to another level! Used it twice this day (mid afternoon and evening). Relaxed the rest of the day on the couch watching television movies.

 17 oatmeal pancakes (11 for breakfast, 6 saved for later - dinner/snack)

 The right way to cut a banana for wraps.

 Baked potatoes. Greek yogurt, chili powder, hot sauce.

Brocktrot 10K Week

78 miles for the week (with a day off)

September 22nd (Monday): Decided to turn over a new leaf and dress up more for work. Less of the typical "jeans and a polo" attire day in and day out. More of a buttoned down, ironed and tucked in. Burrito mix for lunch. Evening run at 6:30pm. Lost in the trails in the dark towards the end of the run, but made it out alive by scaling a hill to bushwhack to reach someone's backyard. Just shy of 9 miles (62:28).

 Cape Cod taffy. Fuel from yesterday afternoon after Palio Half.

September 23rd (Tuesday): 5 miles (34:38) in the morning. 7 miles (45:25) right after work. Lift session at the gym immediately after (protein shake to hold me over). Down to Clifton Park (10 minutes away) to Spare Time for the start of the bowling league with co-workers from GLOBALFOUNDRIES. 14 weeks total. Threw terrible, but now I can only throw better from here on out. Sweet potatoes fries as a snack/dinner. Stopped at Walmart for a full length mirror and face wash.

September 24th (Wednesday): 3 miles (NT) in the morning. Normal day at work and out on time. I am in a routine of workout Wednesday down at UAlbany. The workout was the exact same as 2 weeks ago. 5xmile with 400 rest. I worked out with a couple people. One was a senior in high school that ran 9:16 as a junior in outdoor. He assisted with the 1st, 3rd and 5th interval. I wasn't sure how my legs were gonna feel after the Palio Half. I ended up cruising the intervals. 2.5 mile warmup around campus. Some strides and onto the track with my Lunaracers. 14.5 miles on the day.

4:55, 4:54, 4:51, 4:53, 4:49. (overall quicker than last time - NBD)

33:06 for a total time for 10K. Rocked the Nike Streak 5's and felt like I was on a bunch of big puffy clouds. So comfy. 2.5 mile cooldown around campus. Home to make some food and head to bed.

September 25th (Thursday): 3 miles (NT) in the morning. Healthy and simple salad for lunch. 10.5 miles (72:39) on my own as I explored some trails and roads around my house at 6:30pm. Good day of recovery and relaxation.

September 26th (Friday): Day off. Mad cleaning for 3+ hours after work. Such a huge stress reliever to organize the room. Down to Albany for a couple beers and crashed at my buddy's house.

Priceless.

September 27th (Saturday): Slept in and had a decent breakfast (eggs and oat bran) before changing up for a long run. Texted Renee to see if she was home in order to use her house as a water stop. She was free all day so I mapped out an 18 mile route with her place at the 10 mile mark. I also received a cheering squad from her kids and a wonderful song from Addy accompanied with some maracas. "You're here. You're here, you're here, you're here." That's it. Sounded like "your hair," but its the thought that counts. She is only 5.

Finished up the remainder of the run and finished up 17.85 miles in 1:51:49. 6:16 pace in 80 degree weather. Calves were sore during the run, but felt wicked smooth. Solid confidence booster.

 Under all those sauteed onions is a baked potato (with plain Greek yogurt) and BBQ chicken.

September 28st (Sunday): 6am wakeup. Oat bran with brown sugar, almond milk and real maple syrup for breakfast. On the road by 6:45am with Goup over to Lenox, Mass. Arrived by 8am to register for the race and use the bathrooms. 2+ mile warmup. Changed in the Nike Streak 5's, calf sleeves and my Fleet Feet jersey. Too warm for a hat and a watch. Race on feel, not splits. Jogged the half mile+ up to the starting line for strides/drills. Off the line well and no one by my side in the first mile. Splits based off the lead car yelling them out to me were as followed:

Mile 1: 4:50 (Downhill and relaxed)
Mile 2: 5:08 (Uphill and pushing)
Mile 3: 4:59 (Some downhill and flats - open road with some sun)
Mile 4: 5:06 (Uphill and some sharp turns)
Mile 5: 5:10 (Stay focused and keep the arms swinging to keep the legs moving)
Finish (last 1.2): 6:30 (5:25 pace with the last mile being uphill - held it together for a strong finish)

31:45 for a road 10K PR. Woohoo! 2+ mile cooldown after walking back to the car to change up with Goup. Food and awards ceremony. On the road back to NY to relax the rest of the day.

 Starting line and the only picture. No action shots.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Sprague.