Tapering + Day Off

September 30th (Monday): Slept in like a champ. Out of bed at 7am. Some breakfast. Bought lunch at work. Buffalo chicken sandwich special. Home to run with Derrick and Goup at 5pm. 7 miles (48:30). Back to stretch, foam roll, and throw some warm clothes on. Picked up Derrick to bring him to the Toyota dealership up in Saratoga.

It was very interesting to see the differences between my sales transaction compared to Derrick's one. Two very different people looking for two different cars. Stopped at Subway with Derrick for dinner and dropped him off. Over to the grocery store at 9:15pm to do big shopping.

Home to relax and get to bed at a decent hour. Bowl of cereal before bed.

October 1st (Tuesday): Day off from running. Work 7:30am-4pm. Caught up with a whole bunch of stuff once I arrived home. Threw a couple loads of laundry in the washer. Loaded the dishwasher. Wiped down the counters and stove top. Scrubbed the toilet because it had a layer of something in the bowl (built up over the past couple months). Relaxed. Washed my sheets after so many weeks/months.

Omelet for dinner. Bed by 10pm.

Spinach, onion, and mushroom. Ketchup. Hot sauce. Sriracha sauce.

Bed is slowly getting there. Purchased a few more pillows. I even tucked in my sheets.

October 2nd (Wednesday): 4 miles (29:03) at 6:15am. 3 miles with Goup and added on another mile. Protein shake for breakfast. Chicken wrap for lunch. Normal day at work. Taught NCO in the morning.

Stopped at the Post Office to ship back my at home try-on pairs of glasses. No shipping label in the box so I had to rush back home to find it. Swung back before 5pm so I could ship it out on time without penalty. Phew!

Quickly changed up and headed out for an easy 7 miles (46:30) with Goup at 5:15pm. Chilled out for the night. Foam rolled. Iced. Snacked on a bunch of food. Bed by 10:30pm.
 

Brocktrot 10K Weekend

September 27th (Friday): 3 miles (22:27) on my own. Quick day at work. Closed out things before the weekend. Home to relax and coordinated with Ferenc to meet up with him at the dealership where there was a Toyota Tacoma he just might possibly purchase.

Met up with Ferenc at 5ish down the road in Ballston Lake. It ended up being a 2 door gold Tacoma rather than the 4 door silver Tacoma as the guy described. Bummer. Convinced Ferenc not to get it since it wasn't what he wanted. It was a great deal, but not the exact truck.

Back to the house to chill and change up for a run. Ferenc ended up driving back to Vermont around 7pm. I headed out for 8.5+ miles (59:58) plus a 6 x parking lot strides post run. 12.5 miles on the day.

September 28th (Saturday): Early wakeup around 6:15am. Packed up the bags for Leominster and on the road by 7:15am. Arrived at my sister's house just before 10am. Out for a quick 3.5 miles (22:27). Back to stretch, foam roll, and shower up.

Into Worcester for bridesmaid dress shopping. Yayy! Appointment around 11:30am. I thought they were gonna be at one store for a while so I headed to the bank with my mom's car. It ended up being a short visit so it was somewhat hectic to get back to them. Into Boston for some more bridesmaid dress shopping. Some window shopping as well. Stopped for food at Joe's American Bar and Grill. Chips, salsa, guacamole, and queso. Fresh bread with butter. Buffalo chicken mac and cheese (see below). Banana cream pie for dessert.

Bombdiggity.

Home by 7pm or so. Changed up and headed out for a 2nd run around 7:45pm. 5 miles (38:34). Lots of walking and standing throughout the day so my legs were sorta tired. The mac and cheese was sitting real heavy the whole run and I felt like I was gonna throw it up. Held it down.

Bed by 11pm. Tucker slept with me out in the living room on the air mattress the whole night.  

September 29th (Sunday): 5:45am wakeup. Bathroom. Oat bran with milk and brown sugar. On the road by 6:15am. Arrived at the race venue by 8:10ish. Inside to register and back to the car to organize my shiznit. Warm up at 8:25am. 3 miles total (2.5 miles, then another 0.5+ mile to the starting line). Some strides and light stretching before a 9am start.

 Vroom!

 In the words of Beyonce: To the left, To the left!

I saw my competition was cut out for me from the showing of Kenyans/Africans. Off the line well and felt out the early race strategy. Lead the 1st half mile or so. Chilled out and let them swarm me. Downhill 1st mile. In the group through in 4:54. The Africans communicated to each other in another language and threw in a couple surges. I covered the first one and held on for the 2nd one. Once we hit the first uphill section, it strung out and turned into a hammerfest. I moved into 3rd place, but once we hit the next downhill section. Gone. All three of them. Left me in 4th place by myself. ARE Racing Team member Jamie caught me around 3 miles. Woke me back up. Back into a groove and followed right behind him. Passed him with confidence just before 5 miles on an uphill and said we needed to work together. Charged through the last mile up the hill and could see 3rd place. Ran out of real estate and finished up in 32:00 flat for 4th place. 

Back to the car to change up and cool down by running the course all over again. 7 miles (48:59). I realized there was maybe 2 fast miles overall on the course. The first one and the 5th mile. Everything thing else had uphill or turns (or both). Happy with the effort and final race before Hartford. After the awards and texting Goup, the guy who won ran for AIC and ran 24:0x at Franklin Park. The guy who finished 2nd won the Hartford Marathon last year in 2:15:xx. I don't feel so slow (haha).

Out to lunch with a few buddies before driving back to NY. Home by 2:15pm or so. Crashed hard in bed for about 3 hours. 3pm-6pm. Woke up in a haze to head downstairs to sit on the couch for the remainder of the night. Snacked and decided to not shakeout a few miles in the evening. 89 miles for the week for the start of the taper. A couple weeks left until the marathon.

6 Mile Paced Run

September 25th (Wednesday): Standard day. 4+ miles (30:48) on my own at 6:20am. Protein shake for breakfast. Pasta with chicken (marinated in sriracha sauce), spinach, and onion. Out of work by 4:15pm.

Down to Walmart for an eye exam at 4:50pm. Quick exam and one of the ladies was helping me pick out glasses. I couldn't make a decision and she was waiting on my try-on at home pairs to arrive from glasses.com. So I felt obligated to buy a pair, but I just couldn't. Grabbed my prescription from the doctor and was on my way. Purchased a plastic bin, ice cube trays, and kitchen garbage bags. Making my own ice bath for my feet/achilles as a precautionary action. Felt great to do it after the Palio Half. Recovered well with the help of that.

Home by 6:30pm. Chilled on the couch. Mustered up the motivation and energy to change up for a run. Out the door at 8pm. 7+ miles (51:34) with the high visibility vest and headlamp. Home to foam roll and snack on some food. Bed by 10:15pm.

September 26th (Thursday): 5:50am wakeup. Out for 3.5 miles (25:28) with Derrick. Back for a protein shake. Quick day at work. A delicious lunch made that morning. Lightly sauteed up some sliced apples and onions. Spinach, black/pinto beans. All in pasta.

Home by 4:30pm to relax. Snack and get ready for a run. Powerbar gel taken before the run and washed it down with some water. 6 mile loop mapped out for the workout portion of 5:05 pace (goal for the run). 3 mile warmup (morning run loop) in 19:02. Trotted off and started up the workout.

Mile splits: 5:14, 5:11, 5:06, 10:03 (the mile splits were off), 5:14. 30:48 for total time of 6 miles. 5:08 pace. Took a couple miles to get going, but happy with the solid effort. 3 mile cooldown (reverse morning loop) in 20:25. 12+ miles total for the afternoon.

Some snacks and bed a decent hour. 15.5 miles on the day.

Cheap. BPA Free. Attempt at an ice bath.

On the couch. Cold, but nothing crazy. Served a purpose though.

Delicious cider donuts as a reward. Last 2 of the batch.

4xmile

September 23rd (Monday): 6:30am wakeup. Bowl of cereal for breakfast. Combined the Berryful and Autumn Harvest together for a great combination of flavors. Work 7:30am-4pm. Snacks for lunch. Pound of yogurt with granola for lunch, Clif Bar, cider donuts (heated up in the microwave).

Target and Marshalls/Homegoods after work. Looped it around in Target and found nothing of interest/necessity. Picked up a couple king sized pillows for the bed at Homegoods. Home by 6ish. Out for 10 miles (67:27) on my own at 7pm. High visibility vest and headlamp utilized. Home to foam roll and make a spinach & onion omelet. Cooked up the marinated chicken for lunch tomorrow (for a wrap).

Bed by 10pm.

September 24th (Tuesday): 6am wakeup. Out for 3 miles (NT) on my own. Protein shake for breakfast. Chicken wrap for lunch. Home to have a small snack (graham cracker snack bites and honey). Changed up and warmed up (foam roll and lunges) for the workout in the living room. Goup was home by 5:30pm. Drove together to the track. Planned workout was 4xmile (4:50) with 400 rest.

Over to Burnt Hills High School by 6pm. 3.25 mile (21:17) on the normal neighborhood loop. Quick pit stop in the woods at the high school. Walked over the track to change into the flats and do some strides. Started up. Focused on being relaxed and smooth. Cruised right through the intervals.

 Injinji are my new favorite socks. No complaints.

4:49, 4:48, 4:49, 4:47. Kept the rest between 1:41-1:44. Pushed the last rest in 1:26 to finish up the 5 miles (total distance) in 25:51. Boom. Felt great. Short workout overall.

3.25 (24:00) with Goup. Back to the house by 8pm. Cider donuts as a reward, protein shake, yogurt with granola, and a Clif Bar. Not a crazy huge appetite. Bed at a decent hour.

Apples + Dunkin 5K Weekend

September 21st (Saturday): Woke up on the couch after a great night sleep. I hadn't showered after last night's run. Oh well. Made myself some oat bran with maple syrup and almond milk. Vegged out on the couch before changing up the shorts and socks (kept the same shirt on) for the morning run. 7.5 miles (53:35) on my own at 10:30am. Relaxing run. Hopped on the short trail system for a couple miles. Back to foam roll, protein shake it up, ice, shower, and head over to Rexford for apple picking with a couple buddies at 1pm.

Bought about 6+ pounds of apples, a bag of caramel, a gallon of apple cider, a large jar of honey, and a dozen cider donuts. Support the local community. Hung out for a bit before making it home by 4ish. Back on the couch to relax and watch television. I packaged my cider donuts into sandwich bags to elongate the freshness (and proportion them evenly for myself, 2 donuts a sitting). I packaged 10 total. 2 were eaten while I was packing them. One was squashed so it would of been inhumane to let it suffer.

 To control myself.

 Local. Keeps the sickness away.

Eventually I was out for my 2nd run around 6pm or so. 5.5 miles (39:18) on my own. Back to make a hearty meal for dinner. Washed it all down with a protein shake. See below:

Clockwise: Sweet potato with maple syrup and butter, BBQ chicken over a bed of rotini, broccoli.

Both chicken and broccoli topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions and garlic.

September 22nd (Sunday): 6am wakeup. Downstairs to make some oat bran with maple syrup and almond milk. Gathered up all my stuff for the race. On the road by 6:50am to head down to Albany with Jeff and Kristen. Arrived by 6:30ish. Picked up the bib inside and back to the car to huddle up the crew for a warmup. 2.5 miles (18+) with Webster and Paley. Stopped in the woods for a number 2 break. Portajohn line was too long anyways. Back to the car to change up into the flats and strip down to racing gear.

Over to the line. Chuck let me know the winner from last year was here this year. Josh Edmunds from Liberty. 14:12 on the track back in college. Hmm and quick in the shorter stuff. 8:30am start. Off the line well. Lead from the gun. No messing around. Aggressive 1st mile and running in fear. 4:40's and kept it going. No one contended with me. It was a 2 lollipop loop course that started and finished in the same spot. The 2nd turnaround was a tight one so I could see the 2nd place person. I had a decent gap and kept it going. Finished in 15:00. Flat. Couldn't quite dip under 15, but a strong race. Happy with the results especially with the killer half marathon last week. 2nd place was 15:18.

Watched the 10k finish up and out for a 7 mile (51:03) with a bunch of guys (some on my own, some with others). Awards, light massage, and the scenic way home. Home by 12:45ish. Two apple cider donuts with a glass of apple cider were consumed almost immediately. Other snacks such as leftovers (broccoli and BBQ chicken). Relaxed the rest of the day with an assortment of Netflix movies. I started with End Of Watch, followed up with Charlie Bartlett.

Out for a easy 7 mile (47:27) around 6:30pm. Back to foam roll, make a protein shake, and shower up. Finished off the night with My Idiot Brother (starring Paul Rudd). The easiest (and best way) to get out for a shakeout run in the evening time after a race is to NOT SHOWER and NEVER CHANGE OUT OF YOUR RUNNING CLOTHES. Soak in the success and bring it into that 2nd run.

 Leftovers with apple cider.

Bed by 11pm. Added up the miles for the week. 107 miles for the week. PR for mileage and a road PR for the 5k. Another great week of training and loving every minute of it. Since pictures don't show up that quickly after NY races, I was unable to attach any pictures of the race.

Wait. Found a couple after some research.

  Start. Only 10 meters into the race.

Couldn't snag 1 second. Oh well. Still a 13 second PR on the roads.

Late Night Runs

September 19th (Thursday): 6am wakeup. 4 miles (30:21) on my own around 6:20ish. First mile was 8+ minutes and it felt amazing. Protein shake for breakfast. Chicken wrap with "chutney" for lunch and some snacks. The chutney was basically spinach, raw onions, raw red peppers and raw mushrooms. Busy and nonstop day at work. Home by 4:30pm. Grabbed the two containers of yogurt that didn't have too much left. Picked my two weapons to destroy the yogurt and granola I added with it.

I'm sorta addicted to yogurt.

Chilled on the couch and then out for 8+ miles (58:06) with Goup around 7pm. My Runningwarehouse shipment arrived this afternoon so I was able to rock my new Nathan high visibility vest. Beautiful night out and in the low 60's. Back to the house to have a bowl of Autumn Harvest. Going off my FaceTime conversation last night with Erin and Dom, I drizzled some New Hampshire maple syrup on top of the cereal. Bed at a decent hour.

You can't tell there is syrup on it, but it was good. The combo of vanilla almond milk is bomb.

September 20th (Friday): 6am wakeup. 5 miles (35:11) at 6:20ish. Protein shake for breakfast. Chicken wrap for lunch with some snacks for lunch. Long day of work 7:30am-5:30pm. Lunch was eaten at my desk as well. So it was a long.day to say the least.

 Made in the morning.

Stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend. 3 more 2 pound containers of yogurt because it's an essential in my fridge. Some other things before making it home to just relax a bit. Out for 10+ miles (70+ minutes) on my own. Rocked my new high visibility vest PLUS the new Petzl Tikka 2 headlamp. Worked like a charm and wasn't even close to getting hit by a car.

Home by 8:20pm to FaceTime with my dad on the porch until I caught a chill. Inside to continue the conversation. Katie called the house phone at my parents' house. My dad threw her on speaker and we continued to FaceTime. 2 hours later, we ended the conversation. On the couch to relax and I ended up falling asleep on it. Oh well. Solid Monday-Friday. Dunkin 5k on Sunday.

6 x mile + 400's (Dang!)

September 18th (Wednesday): 6am wakeup. Out for 5 miles (35:54) on my own. Normal day at work. Busy day with meetings and completing a bunch of tasks. Chicken with pinto/black beans wrap for lunch with a couple snacks.


Home just before 5pm. Relaxed on the couch for a few minutes and watched some of The Social Network. I was starving so I finished off my bunny graham cracker snacks and vanilla wafers. Washed it down with some honey. Upstairs to change up for my workout and gather up some warm clothes. On the road by 5:50pm over to Burnt Hills for a hefty workout. Similar to last week, but with some 400's at the end.

3.25 mile (20:57) in the back neighborhoods. Over to the track to drop off the bag, change into the flats, and get some strides in before starting up the workout.

The workout was a plan of 6xmile (200 rest), 400 rest after the last one to finish up with 4x400 (full rest). 5 seconds faster than last week's workout. I decided on 8-10 seconds faster. I was just going with the flow and letting my body cruise.

5:07, 5:06, 5:03, 5:02, 5:02, 5:00. 66, 65, 63, 63. Boom! 200 rest was keep between 47-51. I allowed myself to just trot off the full rest for the 400's to ensure I hit the 400's fast. Goup wanted me to get after it on the 400's and take the full rest. Total time of 48:59 for the 9 miles. I added on an extra 200 at the end to make it the full 9 miles. 3 mile (21:24) cooldown. Back to the car to add some layers and place the towel on the car seat to keep it fresh to def!

Home to have a protein shake and eat a classic meal. Foam roll and bed at a decent hour.

 Stonyfield yogurt with granola. A Clif Bar that was dipped in it.

Better Than I Thought

500th post, woohoo!

September 16th (Monday): Slept in after a wonderful night sleep. Protein shake for breakfast. Taught NCO first thing in the morning to start the week off right. Chicken wrap for lunch with a whole bunch of snacks since I packed a huge lunch. Normal day of work 7:30am-4pm. Busy week overall with all the preparation for EHS management systems audit. Lots of "running around" completing things. Home to have a mug o' cereal and a Clif bar before getting out for a run.

Just the right amount before the run.

11 miles (76:16). First 7 miles with Goup and added on some more. A bit of soreness, but nothing serious. I was surprised with the springiness in my step. I had an emergency stop around 9 miles or so. I found some woods, but jumped into a bush that I thought I could make it through. Instead, it was a pricker bush that was thickly grown. Ouch. Found a compost/grass clippings pile down the ways that I contributed to nicely.

I looked back at the immediate week after New Bedford (2 years ago, 67:56) and I barely ran 5 miles on the trails the next day. No workout during the week to just recover. This year is much different. Breezed through 11 miles and a planned workout on Wednesday or Thursday.

Back to the house to foam roll, relax and shower up. Made myself an omelet for dinner. Cooked up pasta and chopped up some veggies for a cold pasta salad (lunch for work tomorrow).

September 17th (Tuesday): 6am wakeup. 4.5 miles (32:24) on my own at 6:25am. Protein shake for breakfast. Packed up the lunch (cold pasta salad - onions, red peppers, spinach, and some marinated chicken) and work 7:30pm-4:30pm. Another busy day. Home to have a bowl of cereal and yogurt with granola (dipped Clif bar in it) before the 2nd run.

9.7 miles (69:42) plus 6xstrides in the complex parking lot. 15 miles on the day and another solid day of recovery divided into 2 runs. Back to do lots of foam rolling and fueling up with a protein shake. Bed at a decent hour.

Palio 1/2 Marathon Race Report

September 15th (Sunday): 5:45am wakeup. Out of bed by 5:50ish to use the bathroom. Downstairs to start up the oat bran on the stove while I retrieved my laundry in the basement. Upstairs to change up and back downstairs to prepare the oat bran with maple syrup and almond milk. Scatterbrained a bit to ensure I had everything for the race. Socks, flats, extra clothes, warm clothes, trainers, etc. Sat down and ate my oat bran. Pinned my number on my jersey.

Out the door and on the road just before 6:30am. In Saratoga by 6:45am. Parked approximately 0.6 miles away. Planned out my warmup according the distance away from the starting line. 2 miles total for a warmup. 6+ minutes out. Popped in the woods for a poop. Back to the car to change up into flats and apply the Bodyglide to the inner thighs. Injinji socks to prevent the blisters. Zensah sleeves to protect the calves. Trotted over the starting line with a long sleeve on because it was chilly out. Tossed it behind the fence to hide it. Over to the line for strides and seen some familiar faces.

7:30am start and the temperature was in the low 40's (perfect). Scoped out the competition quickly and lined up right in the middle. Decided on wearing a watch to get mile splits. Off the line well and felt out the 1st mile to see if anyone was looking to go after it. Mike Rhoda was rocking the first 1+ mile with me. I decided to drop the hammer down on the 2nd and 3rd mile to break away. The remaining race was running in some fear, but staying relaxed as possible to hit my splits. Cruised right through the miles and happy with the ease of the controlled pace.

5:34, 5:01, 5:01, 5:13, 5:12 (26:02), 5:12, 5:03 (downhill), 5:13 (decent uphill), 5:11, 5:08 (51:52), 5:09, 5:08, 5:01 (13th mile), 29.xx for the last bit. 67:41 for the win. Boom!

Killing it!

 Bringing it home.

Cheered in the next couple guys before jogging off the car to grab some warm clothes for a cooldown. Jogged off 2 miles with a couple people. Grabbed a blueberry bagel and smeared some cream cheese on it for the walk to the car. Back to my car to put on more warm clothes and the Sanuks with the fur to keep the toes warm. Picked up my shirt by the starting line and down the Fleet Feet tent for an ice bath.

What's cooler than be cool? Ice cold!

Awards weren't until 11:30am. Renee's kids were running the kids run (well Sydney was, Addy's legs were sore). So Sydney and I warmed up. I headed over to the finish line on the grass to cheer on Sydney. It ended up being too short for her and she didn't like that it was on the grass. I asked if she wanted to do a longer road race and she was all in for it. Addy's legs "loosened up" and she wanted to run too. So we found a starting line and an obvious landmark to run towards (Police Do Not Cross Barricade, Perfect!). Obviously, a ready, set, go! Took a short break at the barricade. A 2nd ready, set, go and back to the starting line (now set up as a finish line with a jacket as the finishing tape by Renee and Charlie). Sydney crossed the tape first and Addy in 2nd! I can't win 'em all!

 Discussing the race tactics and course (Sydney on the left, Addy on the right).

Awards ceremony. Out to eat with Kevin and Rich for appetizers and a wrap. Deep fried potato slices, jalapeno poppers, and a Cajun chicken wrap with a side of potato fries. Stuffed. Home by 2pm to relax on the couch and have a protein shake/Clif Bar.

Out for a 3.7 miles (25:58) shakeout at 6:30pm. More couch sitting and snacking on a bunch of different things. Bed by 11pm. 

105 miles for the week and an all-time high for weekly mileage. Another 100+ this upcoming week and then the tapering begins for the Hartford Marathon on October 12th. Pumped.

Rest Up With Miles

September 13th (Friday): 3 miles (23+) at 6:25am with Goup. Foam roll and made a protein shake for breakfast. Decided to have a bowl of cereal too. I didn't have to make lunch because I was have a work lunch with my project manager and the owner of the company. Work 7:30am-4pm. 2 hour lunch work meeting in the middle of the day. The purpose was to catchup with me and receive feedback on how the project was going at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. 

Home by 4:30pm. Steady rain in the evening hours forced me to wait it out and run around 7:45pm. I killed time by eating a Clif Bar, yogurt with granola, fruit stripe, and kettlecorn. Out for 8+ miles (57:57). I was slow to get out the door so I thought listening to music would help on my run. Wrong! I lasted 2 miles before I pulled off to use the bathroom in the woods. Back on the road with the headphones wrapped up and tucked away in the half tights. The remaining miles were spent listening to the light rain and silence of the night. Very soothing and easy recovering run. Home to make a protein shake and get to bed at a decent hour.

 Yogurt with granola and a Nature's Path Crunchy Granola Bars.

September 14th (Saturday): 7am wakeup, on the couch. Oh well. Bowl of oat bran with New Hampshire maple syrup and vanilla almond milk.  Classic and so delicious.

 Don't worry, I stirred it up.

Down to Clifton Park at 9am to carpool up to Saratoga to preview some of the course and pick up my bib number. Up to Saratoga to run a 5+ mile (37:55) loop with Karen and Crystal (3.5 miles with them on the course and added on extra by myself). Inside the hotel for the mini expo and packet pickup. Photo booth fun. And it was free.

Boom!

Home by 11am. From 11am-6pm was spent mostly on the couch. So many good movies on television and I ate a whole bunch of food to fuel up for the half marathon on Sunday. Food included a bowl of cereal, a bowl of yogurt with granola and a Clif bar to dip in the yogurt, lots of grapes, strawberry fruit stripe, half a bag of kettlecorn and a chicken wrap.

 BBQ chicken/sauteed mushrooms, onions and spinach/ranch dressing

Out at 7pm for another 6++ miles (46:13) to make it 11.5 miles on the day. Back to foam roll and ice the calves. Protein shake. Some more yogurt and bed by 10:45pm. Palio Half Marathon tomorrow morning at 7:30am.

Always clean the 2 pound yogurt container out with a spatula.