New Member of the Saucony Hurricane Program

Feburary 29th (Monday): 5.5 miles (39:52) in the AM

March 1st (Tuesday): 7 miles (50:40) in the AM. 3 (NT) in the PM before bowling.

March 2nd (Wednesday): Shy of 6 miles (49:08) in the AM with Morgan. 7+ miles (50:18) in the PM.

March 3rd (Thursday): 6 miles (42:50) in the AM. Yoga post run @ work. Workout post work. Mile, 2x800, 4x400. Short quick workout. 5:07, 2:31, 2:29, 70, 70, 69, 68. Swim post workout at the Y.

March 4th (Friday): 7 miles (51:08) in the AM.

March 5th (Saturday): 6+ miles (45:26) in the AM. Travel to Leominster.

March 6th (Sunday): An Ras Mor 5K. Solid rust buster for the roads. 15:10 in a deep field.

65 miles for the week with a classic Keene workout and a fast 5K on the legs.

Spring Care Package.

Backfilled the Weekly Mileage

February 22nd (Monday): Traveled in from Mass in the early AM. Swim with Renee and Addy in the PM. 4 miles in the late PM.

February 23rd (Tuesday): 5 miles (36+) in the AM. Bowling in the PM.

February 24th (Wednesday): Snoozed multiple times and never made it out the door for an AM run. 10 miles (70:42) with Donegan at the Saratoga Stryders run. Brewski post-run.

February 25th (Thursday): 3 miles in the AM. Yoga class before work. Plan for the track workout was mile, 3x600, 3x300. Goup kept me company. He was doing some striding 200s. Splits were as followed: 5:04, 1:47, 1:47, 1:45, 50, 49, 48. 3 mile warmup and 2 mile cooldown for 13 miles on the entire day.

February 26th (Friday): 7.5 miles (55:11) in the AM. 3 miles in the PM. Relaxed for the night.

February 27th (Saturday): 8+ miles (with 3 sets of 30/60/90) in 47:06. Solid fartlek. Travel to Leominster. Ran errands with Sarah. Shakeout 5 miles (37:19) before dinner. Bob, Sarah and I started a puzzle. Headlamps were required to see the true colors in the evening hours.

February 28th (Sunday): 15 miles (1:41:04) in SHORTS AND A T-SHIRT. Beautiful afternoon run around the neighborhoods of Leominster (See Strava data at the bottom of post). I ran down a side road (ended being a dead end) and had a close encounter with two dogs. It was to a point where I had to wait for the owner to exit his house to calm the dogs down. One turned out to be friendly. I was able to pet it. The other not so much. Made it out with all my limbs. Back to help put the finishing touches (2nd coat on trims and hardware) on the nursery for my future niece/nephew! Drove home at a decent hour and witnessed a spectacular sunset.

70 miles for the week with a couple workouts and a long run to cap off the week.

Headband season.

 Eggs seasoned with cumin and chili powder. Salsa. Avocado. Hot sauce.

 Favorite LÄRABAR. Chocolate chip cookie dough.

 Mac and cheese. Cajun style chicken sausage sauteed in hot sauce.

 Chicken and broccoli alfredo. Courtesy of Sarah.

 Frozen on Ice outfit.

 Headlamp marking. Wifi symbol?

 Tucker.

 Such a good helper.

#nofilter

Keene & USATF NE Indoor Championships

February 15th (Monday): 9 miles in the PM.

February 16th (Tuesday): 7.5 miles in the AM with some snow. 5.5 miles in the PM.

February 17th (Wednesday): 5 miles in the AM. 3 miles in the PM.

February 18th (Thursday): 3 miles in the AM. Yoga class for an hour at work. Track workout in the PM. Workout plan was 6x400 and 4x200. Full rest. Tough to change into those gears. Yoga left my hamstrings sorta sore. I made it happen. 7x400 because I mentally needed to break 70. and 5x200 because I needed to break 33. Splits were as followed. 72, 73, 71, 73, 70, 70, 69, 34, 33, 33, 33, 34, 32. Froyo with Renee, Sydney and Addy for dinner.

February 19th (Friday): 6+ miles in the AM with Renee. Movie date with Goup. Deadpool. Highly recommend it, but definitely not for kids. Though, there were a bunch of them there for some reason.

February 20th (Saturday): Travel to Keene in the AM. Pit stop in Athens, VT for a 10 miles (71:23) with TPaq and Ferenc. Solid road run. Alumni shindig in the evening. Great to see old faces. Lots of dancing.

February 21st (Sunday): Travel to Boston to run the 3,000m at the USATF New England Indoor Championships. 4 mile warmup (29:27) with Scott Mindel and Renee (fellow Saucony Hurricane teammates). Switched into spikes and ready to roll. Legs felt fresh and with some pop. Splits were solid. Rounded up and made it to add up to my finish time of 8:42.75. 400ish splits with a final 200. 65 (with the short lap), 71, 72, 71, 71, 70, 70, 32. Happy with the time. A few seconds off the PR of 8:40.

68 miles for the week with some solid track work, some double days and a quality performance at the 3K. Keep it rolling.

 Friday morning frost.

 Chocolate milk. Extra frothy.

 Target trip. Items were buy a certain number and get a $5 gift-card. I was handed 4.

 Harvard track. Cool perspective. 

Photo credit: Scott Mason

 Pushing hard. Scott Mindel on my heels.

Photo credit: Scott Mason

Staying smooth.

Photo credit: Scott Mason

 

 

Already untying the shoes. Not even 30 seconds after the race.

Photo credit: Scott Mason

Valentine's Day (Weekend of Singles)

February 1st (Monday): Long day of work. Day off.

February 2nd (Tuesday): Just shy of 7 miles in the AM. 4++ in the PM.
February 3rd (Wednesday): 4 in the AM. 5 in the PM.
February 4th (Thursday): 3 in the AM. Short workout in the PM. 2 mile warmup. 2x800. 4x400. 2:24, 2:23, 69, 69, 67, 68. Total time for 3 miles: 16:45. 2 mile cooldown.
February 5th (Friday): Just shy of 7 miles. Weekend in Leominster helping finish the nursery.
February 6th (Saturday): 5++ miles in the AM.
February 7th (Sunday): Snowshoe race cancelled so I ended up cancelling running that day. Day off.

 Making pizza.

 Official squatty potty from my family for my birthday.

 Sarah's bowl on the left (size of a apple sauce container). Mine of the right.

42 miles week. Two days off. Gotta jump back on the horse.

February 8th (Monday): 5 miles in the AM. 3 miles in the PM.
February 9th (Tuesday): 5 miles (41:46) in the AM. 5.5 miles in the PM.
February 10th (Wednesday): 5 miles in the PM.
February 11th (Thursday): 3 miles in the AM. 7 miles in the PM on the treadmill at work. Two uptempo miles in 5:27 and 5:21.
February 12th (Friday): 8 miles (56:16) with Goup in the PM. Headed over to my buddy Shaun's house for dinner.
February 13th (Saturday): 10+ miles (67:40) in 8 degree weather with a windchill of -17 degrees F. I was overdressed.
February 14th (Sunday): 13 miles (1:44:19) in the snow-covered trails of Schuylerville, NY. 9 degrees F with no wind.

64 miles for the week with an epic weekend of running. With me being single and it being single digits outside, it was only natural to be motivated to battle the elements. Pleased with sliding back into a groove of miles and doubling up on half of the days.

 Windproof Saucony RAZR jacket. Clutch.

 

 Never thought I would use the neck-warmer from Loon Mountain Race. 

Studs for extra traction on Sunday.

 Organic. Non GMO. Valentine's day gift to myself.

 No caption needed.

My Valentine every year.

January (Indoor Track & Birthday)

December 28th (Monday): 8 miles (57:49) with Shaun Donegan in the trails at Luther Forest
December 29th (Tuesday): 7 miles with my new Dion snowshoes at SPAC.
December 30th (Wednesday): 4 miles in the AM solo.
December 31st (Thursday): 8 miles on the Vermont trails with Ferenc and Hammett.
January 1st (Friday): 8+ miles (62:39) with Eric Narcisi and Scott McGrath in North Andover.
January 2nd (Saturday): BU mini meet. Rust buster since the marathon. 4:31 in the mile, 2:04 in the 800.
January 3rd (Sunday): 5+ miles (52:16) with Sarah, Bob, and my parents in Leominster, MA.

51 miles for the week with a "speed workout" at Boston University.

 The Macknight side of her is evident here.

Tutus all around.

The flow is coming back. Scott Mason captured it!

January 4th (Monday): 5 miles at 5am with the morning group.

January 5th (Tuesday): 5 miles at 5am.

January 6th (Wednesday): 4 miles in the AM. 8 miles (53+) with Shaun Donegan at the Stryders Wednesday night run. New course record on a strava segment. 4:53 pace for just under a mile (overall downhill).

January 7th (Thursday): 5 miles at 5am.

January 8th (Friday): 5 miles at 5am. 5 miles (30:04) in the PM.

January 9th (Saturday): 6 x Kinns Hill Rd. 400 meters. Quality hill. 1:37, 1:36, 1:37, 1:34, 1:38, 1:32. 12 miles on the day.

January 10th (Sunday): 12 miles (89+) during the Winter Series at UAlbany in the pouring rain.

61 miles for the week with a hill workout.

January 11th (Monday): 6 miles at 5AM. 3 miles in the evening.

January 12th (Tuesday): 5 miles at 5AM.

January 13th (Wednesday): 7.5 miles in the evening with Shaun and Goup.

January 14th (Thursday): 9.5 miles (59:20) with 4 sets of 30, 60, 90.

January 15th (Friday): 9 miles (65:09)

January 16th (Saturday): 11 miles (NT)

January 17th (Sunday): 10 miles (1st 5 - 34:29 with Renee, 2nd 5 miles - 26:41).

61 miles for the week with a fast 5 miles to end the week.

 Love it.

 1st attempt.

 I decided to not jump and change the angle.

Strainer woman!

January 18th (Monday): 6 miles in the AM. Made a bomb eggplant parm.

January 19th (Tuesday): 6 miles in the AM. 4 miles on the treadmill at work.

January 20th (Wednesday): 10 miles (NT) in the evening.

January 21st (Thursday): 6 miles in the morning. Exhausted in the afternoon. Bed early.

January 22nd (Friday): 9 miles (62+) on the treadmill at work.

January 23rd (Saturday): 5.5 miles (NT) in Leominster

January 24th (Sunday): Tough double at GBTC Invitational at Harvard University. 8:54 and 4:36. Raced both in the Nike Victorys. Ouch.

59 miles for the week with a solid track double.

 I see white hairs?

Can't get sick of this puppers.

January 25th (Monday): 6.5 miles (50:40) with Goup in the evening. Calves wicked sore.

January 26th (Tuesday): 6.5 miles at 5AM.

January 27th (Wednesday): 7.8 miles (48:10) with 10 x 1 minute (1 minute rest).

January 28th (Thursday): 6.5 miles (NT) plus 1 hour of swimming (treading water) at the Y with Addy (Renee's 6 year old daughter). So a bunch of tag and "racing."

January 29th (Friday): 8++ miles (NT) in the morning.

January 30th (Saturday): Track workout at Fitchburg State's outdoor track with my dad. 2.5 mile warmup. The workout was mile, 3x400, 6x200. 5:02, 69, 68, 69, 33, 32, 32, 32, 31, 31. 2.5 mile cooldown. Cruised through it. Helped to have my dad running laps while I worked out. Home cooked meal by my sister. Ridiculously good (as always).

January 31st (Sunday): Just shy of 13 miles on my 27th birthday in Leominster. Beautiful weather out for January. Homemade lasagna for a late lunch.

58 miles for the week with a solid track workout.

2015 Review

Yeah, I'm a few weeks late on this. Better late than never. I learned a whole bunch this past year:

• Two marathons in one calendar year - not my thing
• The winter season should be spent running less miles, but quality shouldn't suffer
• Racing myself into shape is a terrible time and not for me
• I thoroughly enjoy training for marathons, but not always racing them (ain't that the truth)
• Time off is underrated
• My hips and IT band need constant attention (foam rolling doesn't cut it anymore)
• Yoga is super beneficial
• PRs are great motivators (there are 
• You learn way more from your mistakes/failures than your successes

I covered roughly 3,460 miles in 2015 (average of 66+ miles a week). I have big plans for 2016 and there are no full marathons on the schedule. Don't worry - plenty of races still in the plan. It's been a solid start to 2016, but the lack of snow has already altered some of the weekends. Gotta roll with the punches and keep at it. Neither of my goal races (VCM and Philly) went well, but I am able to chalk them up as experiences. Plus, those weekends were jam packed with friends and family.

The best way to describe the end of the year is through photographs. See below:

 Cereal and protein shake.

 Views @ Trapp Family in Stowe, VT.

 Chunkster.

 Ready for a hike.

 I guess my back is comfy.

 Work selfie.

 BLT with onions and cucumbers.

 Hubba hubba. Official NY.

 So big.

 Working on the smiling.

 Cheese.

 :)

 Cheddar bacon mac and cheese Lays? Gross.

Recovery tools.

 Running it in with the coworkers - their 1st half marathon.

Run bright.

 Weeeeeee!

 Relay done. Clothesline.

In my "backyard"

 Work of art.

 Hartford Half Marathon. PR: 67:25.

 From the 15 mile run the day after Hartford.

 VT represent.

Mmmmm.

Potty training.

 Fuel the body.

 Group shot.

 Taking the W. Kent, CT. 25:02

 New protein powder choice.

 Owls kill things. Through and through.

 Steph Curry with the shot.

 Saucony visited Fleet Feet Malta - we killed the photoshoot!

Selfie with the freshest shirt I own.

Staple dinner - marinated chicken, smashed sweet potatoes, asparagus and pasta.

Date night with the roomie.

Stockadeathon (last mile). 15K PR: 46:21

Yogurt containers full of ice for the bathtub.

Saucony reflective jacket.

Coworker made me a post marathon treat. 

Layer of chocolate chip cookie, layer of Oreos, layer of brownie.

Black Friday movie - one of best traditions.

Finally installed a new battery in my favorite watch.

My niece fast asleep.

Killing it at my cousin's wedding.

Madison chilling while her mommy gets tatted up.

Christmas morning. Face of determination.

Brother-in-law.