To Leominster

October 26th: 6am wakeup. 3 mile (22:30) run in the dark. Back to eat a bowl of cereal and pack a lunch. Shower. Work 7:30-3:45pm.

Home to pack up and head over to Leominster, MA. Left at 4:30pm. Arrived by 7:30 with any problems. Leftovers with Sarah and Bob. Threw in a load of laundry. Watched some television.

Feel asleep on the couch and made my way to the guest bedroom by 2am.

The best part of the week occurred yesterday afternoon. I received my oversized package from running house with all my new kicks. Over the past week, I have bought 9 pairs of shoes (running, racing and casual) for myself (and two pairs for my sisters). A bunch of solid deals and nothing not on sale.

I ventured over to the office to pick up Goupil's package and mine as well. I hadn't even made it into the door (finishing up a phone conversation with Kimber right outside the front door) and the two packages were sitting on the table. It was like Christmas! Goupil and I opened them up together. We proceeded to try on every single pair we bought. Below is the inventory. I know it's pathetic, but all of them will be going to great use. A couple pairs of Sanuks (most comfortable shoe ever), a few pairs of Sauconys (tempo and trainers), Nike Lunarflys (trainers), Nike Streaks (replacement from the marathon), Nike Victory (for the mile/3k), and Nike Frees (bright green and ridiculously baller).

More Sore 2 Days After

October 25th: 6:35am wakeup. Cereal and made the lunch. Same deal. Finished off the chipotle chicken for a sandwich. No hot pepper rings because I just didn't feel like it. Work 7:30-4pm. Quality day of work.

Home to relax and run 5+ miles (34:13). Smooth run through Evergreen. Back to stretch, foam roll and add a few layers for the gym.

I don't have any normal basketball/gym/knee length shorts so I have to wear sweatpants for the time being to Planet Fitness. Lifting (and the way we do our circuit lifting/exercises) builds up some major heat in a short time. Before we even started, my pecs were sore to the touch and I knew this because Goup poked me right in the "chicken wing." I think I shed a tear, but luckily that was in the comfort of my own apartment. Gotta start somewhere. This is the first true lifting regime so it will be a new experience for sure. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

Home to shower and eat a burrito. Some television and bed by 11pm.

Gotta Splurge Every Once In A While

October 24th: 6:30am wakeup. Bowl of cereal for breakfast. Work 7:30-4pm. Easy day with a delicious lunch once again. Chipotle chicken and the 3 pepper Colby jack cheese. Mayo and peppercorn ranch dressing. Hot pepper rings. Snacks.

Home to relax for a bit before making out way down to Albany for the normal Wednesday evening. 5 miles (35:13) and the legs felt great. Could of done more, but 5 miles is what the day called for.

Over to the 99 Restaurant for dinner with coach Dick, Josh and Goup. Appetizers, dinner AND dessert. Outrageous potato skins, turkey burger with guacamole and salsa, and then the towering midnight fudge cake. It was a calculated 2720 calories. Boom. 46 bucks + tip between Goup and I. Always a good time with the guys especially coach.

Home to shower and hit the hay soon after.

Day of Pure Amazement

October 23rd: 6:30am wakeup. Cereal for breakfast. Work 7:30am-4pm. Easy day at work. I was able to park in the front parking lot because I arrived at work "on time." Chiptotle chicken and 3 pepper colby jack cheese with light mayo, sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, and hot pepper rings on ciabetta rolls. Ballin! I did use the bathroom at work and came across a pair of boxers that were attempted to be flushed down the toilet. I didn't know I worked with people that can't control their bowels well enough. I am just baffled sometimes.

Home by 4:30pm. Picked up a couple packages at the office. Some Nike Victories for the indoor season. A major sale on running warehouse email was sent to me around 4:45pm so I bought a few pairs of trainers for the winter time. Changed up for a run with Derrick.

We met up with Derrick right down the road and we stopped for a second. He removed his hat and gloves he was wearing (he bundles up all times of the year) and tossed them on the ground. He proceeded to bow down to congratulate us on our marathons. He let us know, "I know you guys have been working hard. 14 miles here. 15 miles another day. Running in the mornings." He seems like he brags about us sometimes to his teammates. Short run with Derrick. 4 miles (27:38) for a nice easy run. Legs are working themselves back into a stride.

Back to foam roll, stretch and change up for the beginning of a new era. Gym time. Planet Fitness gym membership. Black card. 40 minutes. I don't know the exact name of all the lifting we did, but I know my arms will be extremely sore. Oh well. This will be a 3 x a week regime.

Home to make a burrito. Shower and bed.

4 miles on the day. This week's goal is just get my legs back underneath me.

As a side note, yesterday I filled my car up with gas to get ridiculously frustrated. I experienced another amateur that thinks he is better than everyone and doesn't understand the rules of pumping gas. Same gas station as last time and this one is a busy one because it allows you use your Price Chopper Fuel Advantage Card to receive discounts (10 cents off every $100 dollars you spend at Da Choppa) and it is right off the highway. I pull in after grocery shopping to fill up the tank and pull in behind this Porsche that is in between the two pumps. I am expecting him to either leave or pull up to the second pump. I waited atleast a minute or two. I saw the wife checking herself in the mirror and no one attempting to exit the car. I beeped the horn as the guy opened the door. He said something, but my music was loud and my window was up. So I turned down the radio and opened the window. He said that the fuel tank was in the front of the car so he had to use the 2nd pump. Hmm. I kindly said okay and went to another pump once it opened up. After thinking about for a few minutes as I was filling up my tank, it didn't make any sense that he has to block the 1st pump. The picture explains it below. He should of just pulled up to the 1st pump and filled up on that. This would of prevented one of the pumps from being blocked. Dumb!

One Step At A Time

October 22nd: 6:50am out of bed. Real tough to get myself out of bed this morning. Jumped in the shower to try to wake myself up. Kashi Autumn Harvest for breakfast. Made some lunch. Work 7:45-4pm. Slow day at work with not much excitement. Single decker PB&J because I was that lazy with some Fig Newtons and pretzels.

Stopped off at the grocery store on the way home to grab veggies, milk and orange juice. Home to relax and head out for an easy run. 3 miles (21:36) and it felt okay. No real aches or pains. I just felt off and not in a groove.

Back to foam roll, stretch and wash some dishes. Goupil hit up the grocery store. I had the kitchen to myself to cook up some burrito mix. Brown rice on one burner. Onions and peppers on another burner. Finally, tomato, avocado and black beans on the last burner. Shredded a half a block of cheddar cheese and tossed it in some tupperware for the week. Burrito for dinner with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The rest for leftovers.

Skyped with Kimber. Some television watching. Skyped with Thomas Paquette and Andrew Sears because I forgot to sign off of Skype. Caught up with them on training and stuff. Protein "milkshake" for dessert (slightly frozen protein shake).

Bed by 10pm.

Post Marathon Recovery

October 14th-21st: Sunday, I ate a whole bunch of food (ice cream and Sour Patch Kids) and relaxed at my parents' house for a couple hours before heading back to NY. Recovery was a breeze the rest of the week and it was amazing to not have to run. I slept in every single day. I stayed late on Monday at work and my supervisor (at Globalfoundries) demanded me to come in late the next day so I strolled into work on Tuesday at 8:30am. Woohoo! Cereal every morning for breakfast. Calves were extremely sore Monday-Wednesday. Lots of double decker PB&Js for lunch.

Right after work on Wednesday, I stopped off at Jiffy Lube to get my an oil change. They do good work there and take care of you as a customer. My front seats were vacuumed out and everything. Wednesday is usually Albany so Goupil and I couldn't break tradition too many weeks in a row. We drove down to UAlbany to spectate the workout. I trotted 20 minutes extra slow and it loosened some things up. Stretched a bunch right after the run. Moe's for burritos and TCBY for dessert.

Thursday and Friday was a whole lot of nothing. We did watch "That's My Boy" on Thursday night and laughed our asses off. I prepared burrito mix Friday morning before work. The time you have when you don't run in the morning is extraordinary.

Saturday was Pumpkinfest in Keene, NH. Day drinking and hanging out with friends. Spent the evening at Kimber's in Peterborough with her family (mom, aunt, cousin and cousin's fiancé). Lots of fun. Catch phrase until 1am. Homemade buffalo chicken pizza for dinner. Mmm.

Sunday consisted of sleeping in. Bagel Mill for a sausage egg and cheese of a sesame seed bagel. So friggin good. Chilled out and back to Clifton Park, NY. Tomorrow, Monday, kicks off the recovery week of running and getting back into the swing of things. We are adding in lifting 3 times a week at a gym (Planet Fitness). Stockade-athon 15K is in 3 weeks and it's a team race (last race of the Adirondack Grand Prix for me). That's the next race and Manchester Road Race (4.748 miles) on Thanksgiving day in Connecticut.

Let the new cycle of training begin for the indoor mile/3K! Sub 4:15 and sub 8:30. Boom baby!

ING Hartford Marathon

October 13th: 5:30am wakeup. Rolled around in bed for a few minutes before crawling out of bed to use the bathroom. Goupil was fast asleep so I made sure to be extra quiet when moving around. I used my iPhone as a flashlight to navigate in the pitch darkness. Grabbed the coffee maker and brought it into the bathroom. Cooked up some water for instant oatmeal (1.5 packets because it's a longer race). Ate my oatmeal while Goupil slowly awakened from his slumber at around 6ish. Some television watching and relaxing before the prepping began.

Changed up into some of my race day gear minus some of the accessories. Headed out for a pre-warmup just around the corner to make sure I shook up anything that was left in my intestines and to test out the weather. It was definitely chilly (frost coated grass), but no wind. Toes were cold by the time I made it back to the hotel. Back into the bathroom for the last remains. Out to change up into the rest of the gear (arm warmers, gloves, Buffalo Bills winter hat, cheap shorts and long sleeve shirt, Powerbar gels into the 3 pockets, band-aids on the nipples, petroleum jelly on the inside of the thighs and underarms, Nike Streaks). Some foam rolling and light stretching before heading downstairs to head over to the starting line.

Antsy at the beginning of the warmup and Goupil calmed me down. Easy jogging over to the start line. Arrived with plenty of time, but not too much. Found a couple college buddies (Zack Schwartz and Kerwin Vega running the half). Found my teammates (Aaron Knobloch and Kevin Treadway). National Anthem singing and ready to roll. Long sleeve and long shorts off. 35 degrees for the start and couldn't ask for better weather.

Off the front line well without minimal traffic. Settled in nicely in the middle of the pack (since the half marathon went off at the same time and followed the same 1st mile or so). Saw Kevin Treadyway (shooting for sub 69 out in front of me, which was a good indicator) and the Stotan guys in front of me.

Mile splits:
Mile 1 -  5:32
Mile 2 -  5:36 Hooked up with Pat Moulton and we worked together for the next 10 miles or so
Mile 3 -  5:29

Mile 4 -  5:38 Top of my left foot tightened up/cramping, but went away. Panic for a short bit

Mile 5 -  5:36 (27:53)

Mile 6/7 -  11:09 Did not mind missing a split and seeing the 2 mile split (Gel taken)

Mile 8 -  5:35

Mile 9 -  5:42 No problem, work back into it

Mile 10/11 - 11:05 (61:27) Sweetness

Mile 12 - 5:34 (Gel taken)

Mile 13 - 5:31

Half: 73:09 Feeling good, relaxed, and not too taxed. Nothing hurting

Mile 14 -  5:23 Cool, keep it going

Mile 15 -  5:22 What? Alright, just ride it out

Mile 16 -  5:31

Mile 17 -  5:34  

Mile 18/19 -  10:44  Downhill section that I didn't notice heading out on this road (mile 16 and 17 was the uphill section of these miles (Gel taken)

Mile 20 -  5:32 (1:50:41) 2nd 10 miles: 54:46

Mile 21 -  5:35 good

Mile 22 -  5:38 fine (Gel taken with some water his time)

Mile 23 -  5:42 okay

Mile 24 -  5:51 ouchies, my body is tightening, but I am too close to the finish to fall apart

Mile 25 - 5:44 better

Mile 26 - 5:44 Along this mile, I was yelling at myself to close it up and finish strong (out loud)

Mile .2 - 74 ahhhh!

2:26:13 and a second half in 73:04. Whoa! Sweet deal.

Immediately, my entire body cramped up and I was on the ground. A volunteer by the name of Vinny helped me to my feet and down the corral for a while. Continued down the corral to almost reach the exit before I realized I didn't have a finisher's medal. Damn. Backtracking through the crowd to reach a volunteer. I asked her where they were and she said she would grab one for me. I made the mistake of sitting down on the curb to wait for her. My legs throbbing and cramping with a pain face to match it. A fellow runner asked if I was okay and if I needed some help up. She assisted me up and brought me to my parents, Kimber, and to my surprise my sister Sarah and her fiance Bob. Cool! The woman who rescued me to my fan club was from the town over from where I grew up in Connecticut. Not too crazy since the marathon was in Connecticut, but still pretty neat.

At this point, my legs are in so much pain and I just needed to jog/shake my legs out. My dad brought me over to some open road to allow me to work out the kinks. I wish I had a video because it looked like I didn't even know how to walk. Stayed in the sun to keep warm. Found Goupil and we all walked back to the hotel ever so slowly and stumbling.

Shower, foam roll (as much as I could), and said my goodbyes to the family members. Kimber hung out for a little while more. Calf massage :) Kimber got picked up from her Dad around 1pm so Goupil and I headed down the street for lunch.

The rest of the day consisted of a whole lot of nothing. Sat in bed until about 6pm. No napping. Some icing. Dinner downstairs. Spicy buffalo wings, a Coors Light, and chocolate lava cake. Mmmm. It was perfect. Hung out with our teammate, Kevin Treadway and his girlfriend, at the hotel.

Bed by 11pm.

Great day with a 13+ minute PR in the marathon. Perfect weather. Felt prepared. Great day. Can't wait for the next one, whenever that will be in the future.

Perfect To A "T"

October 12th: 7am wakeup. Immediately to the bathroom. Washed some dishes and decided on what I wanted to have for breakfast. I didn't have much so I swung by Da Choppa to pick up a few things. I decided on a couple blueberry bagels, instant oatmeal (mostly for race day and emergency quick breakfasts), eggs, and orange juice. I wanted a quality breakfast the day before the race.

Back to the apartment to make breakfast and finish up packing everything into one big duffle bag. I toasted up a blueberry bagel and made a onion/green pepper omelette. Mmm. Perfect breakfast. I purchased a cassette tape adapter for my iPod off Amazon, but it wasn't working. I attempted to take it apart and fix it. After multiple trips to the car and unscrewing the itty bitty screws off the tape, it was a complete failure. Oh well. Radio will have to do.

Out the door at 10:30am to make the trip down to Hartford, CT. Smooth sailing with minimal traffic. GPS directions to the XL Center for the Expo. We made the mistake of going to the XL Center "Business Branch." The front desk directed us the correct way to the Expo. It was only a couple blocks away so we walked and kept the car in the parking garage.

The Expo was wicked sweet and we checked out everything. We hit up the merchandise section first thing to find the sweet pullovers. There were only women's XL for the full marathon. Luckily, we are skinny male runners so they fit perfectly. Boom! We found a couple clearance high visibility jackets (converted into vests by zipping off the sleeves). We proceeded to the checkout table and the total came to $102 bucks. Whoa! The clearance jackets were actually $70 bucks, not $10. Whoops. No dice. We just went with the pullovers. Saw Erica Jesseman at a table and conversed with her for a while. Off to check out the rest of the vendors. Got a "massage" on my right achilles with these metal pieces that looked like knifes. Felt amazing. It was called the Graston Technique. Picked up a pair of throw away maroon gloves for race day. Walked back to the parking garage and used a crosswalk with a countdown of 60+. WTF?! It was maybe 10 meters and not a busy side road. Whatever.

Off to check into the hotel on Morgan Street (1.3 miles from the starting line) at the Ramada Plaza. No problems with check-in or parking or anything. Up to the room to relax and get ready for a shakeout. Out for 2 miles (14+) and we realized we should have ran to the start, but it was all good. Almost ran into the ghetto of Hartford, but we made it back okay.

Back to stretch, shower, and change up for some dinner. Organized all of the running gear and accessories for a photo shoot and to make sure everything was accounted for. Downstairs for a roommate date at the nice fancy restaurant. We splurged and ordered two appetizers. Mozzarella and tomato. Chips and guacamole dip. Main course was Tuscany chicken sandwich with pesto mayo, sauteed onions, provolone, and tomato. I made sure we held off on dessert to continue all the good karma. Everything is fuel for the next day. Chocolate lava cake had to wait.

Back up the room to just relax and watch some television. Bed by 10ish.

2 miles on the day with some light walking and lots eating/snacking/hydrating.

Bad Influence

October 11th: 6:40am wakeup. Another bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Maple syrup and chocolate syrup. Work 8am-4:45pm. Busy bee at work today. Nonstop as soon as I sat at my desk. Day flew right by. Double decker PB&J, Nature Valley bar, Clif Bar (split with my co-worker), half of an avocado (sprinkled with salt), a banana, and Gatorade.

Goupil and I carpooled again since I am driving to Hartford tomorrow morning. We stopped off at Walmart to pick up some cheap clothes for the warmup to ditch at the line. Everything was more than we wanted. We left immediately to hit up TJ Maxx and Sports Authority down in Latham.

We realize that we cannot shop in the same store at the same time. We entered TJ Maxx to spend the minimum amount of money, we left with over $100 dollars worth of stuff between the two of us. Ouch. Oh well, we picked up some sweet stuff. It was easier when we stopped next door at Sports Authority. Everything is overpriced except for the winter hats on sale for 5 bucks. Exactly what we needed for race day. A Buffalo Bills hat to toss to the sidelines after I heat up in the first few miles.

Home to make sweet potato fries (two potatoes worth) and pack up for the weekend. Easy A was on FX and major relaxation.

Bed by 10pm. Planned day off.

Looking Forward & It Looks Good

October 10th: 6:30am wakeup to slowly emerge out of bed to the bathroom. I had a plan of walking to Hannaford's and grabbing milk because I really wanted a bowl of Shredded Wheat. I wanted to listen to music on the way there, but I could not for the life of me find my headphones. 20 minutes later, I borrowed Goupil's headphones and started to walk. Unfortunately, it was 7:09am and I turned around to walk right back into the apartment. Oatmeal for breakfast. Maple syrup and chocolate syrup helped, but didn't change that I wasn't eating my newly purchased ($1.50 off with a coupon) cereal. Work 8am-4:30pm. Goupil and I carpooled again. Burrito mix with fresh avocado for lunch. Clif Bar. Gatorade. Banana.

Goup dropped me off at Collision Experts to pick up my Subie. Woohoo! Looks amazing. Great work. Home to relax.

5+ miles (37:41) with some of it with Goupil. Last 4 minutes, I caught 5 leaves (crazy wind storm and the leaves came pouring down). It's a sign. A good sign. Legs felt good and fresh.

Back to foam roll, stretch, and chill. A couple burritos for dinner. Finished the end of Miss Congeniality 2 because it was on TV again. No big deal.

Shower (I'm definitely a right before bed showerist, I made up that word). Bed by 10ish.

5 miles on the day. Legs felt good. No aches or pains.

Proceed To Checkout

October 9th: 6:30am wakeup. Omelette for breakfast. I haven't had one in the morning in a while so it tasted that much better. Work 8am-4:30pm. Carpooled with Goupil since the car is in the shop. Double decker PB&J for lunch. Clif bar. Gatorade.

Headed home to relax for a little bit. I checked all my tracking for my packages. 3 packages arriving this week. Powerbar fuel, Bluetooth headset, Nike order of clothes, and cassette adapter for my car. I am overly excited for everything to be at my doorstep. It's kinda pathetic, but I don't care.

7 miles (48:18) at 6pm with Goupil. Easy run on the legs. Back to foam roll, stretch and NO strength training. Rest up all the body parts for the weekend.

Goupil and I made a trip to Da Choppa for small grocery shopping. Orange juice, a few veggies, cereal, and bananas. Realized I forgot milk for my cereal as I was putting away the food.

Burrito mix for dinner in a tortilla. Avocado, tomato, red pepper, black beans, brown rice, onions, and some seasoning.

Shower and a little Miss Congeniality 2 because I'm a manly man. Bed by 10:30pm.

7 miles on the day. Legs feel good and ready to go.

Solo Run

October 8th: 6:30am wakeup. No morning runs all week and I ain't complaining. Protein shake for breakfast. Work 8am-4:30pm. Leftover steak with mushrooms, onions, and cheese. Snacks. Clif bar (chocolate brownie).

Dropped my car off at Collision Experts to have my front end/radiator fixed up. Hopped into Marshall's/Homegoods to break up the .8 mile walk back to the apartment. Found nothing.

Home to relax and head out for a run at 6:15pm. 10 miles (66:50) on my own. Goupil was traveling back from NH so he ran earlier in the day. Smooth and relaxed.

Back to foam roll, stretch and relax. Finished off my steak for dinner. Television and shower.

10 miles on the day. Longest run o the week before the race. Feeling good and peppy.

Laundry To The Max

October 7th: 10am wakeup. Felt amazing to sleep in especially because it will be difficult to get the quality sleep as it gets closer to race day. Made a monster omelette for breakfast. I started to attack the apartment beginning with my room. The laundry was piling up and I was overdue for a laundry run. Two hampers and double load laundry bag later, I was set with all my dirty laundry. I tidied up other parts of the apartment. Organized the recyclables. Emptied the garbages. Nature Valley bar for a snack.

Took a break to run at 4:15pm. 11 miles (71:23). Felt smooth and relaxed. Back to stretch, foam roll, and FaceTime with my dad. Caught up and talked about the marathon weekend.

Made myself a double decker PB&J. Showered and off to the laundromat at 6:45pm. Loaded up 5 washers full of clothes (4 double loads, 1 single load). I knew I needed a couple things at Target and I could use an actual laundry basket. I purchased some bodywash, facewash, Tums and a 2 bushel laundry basket. Back to the laundromat to put everything in the dryer. 6 dryers. Boom. Once I started folding, I had a similar feeling as Ron Burgundy had when he chose milk as a drink. I wore cords and a long sleeve. I was boiling up. It got to a point where I stopped next door at the gas station and bought a couple Powerades to cool me off. Done at 9pm.

Home to FaceTime with my sister Sarah. Leftover steak with cheese and ranch dressing. Bed by 11pm.

11 miles on the day. 66 miles for the week. Easy workout and a down day. One more week.

Light As A Pillow

October 6th: 7am wakeup. Eggs and a bowl of yogurt for breakfast. Changed up for the volunteering at the local road race with AREEP and running attire for afterwards.

Arrived at the middle school at 7:45am to help with the timing. Set up some equipment and everything went smoothly. The volunteers helping with day of registration were in the elderly side so Joe (lead timer) and I offered some useful advice to them. I mean one of them was the guy the middle school was named after. It was overwhelming for the two of them and the people swarming them. We straightened them out and gave them a more efficient system. Saw my boss at the race. His 12 year old daughter ran 22:24. Flying.

Headed out at 10:30am to park at The Mill and explore a dirt path I pass by all the time when commuting to work. 7+ miles (47:02) in the Nike Lunarspeed Lites. A passing shower in the middle. Other than that, it was a smooth run with a bathroom break halfway and gently packed dirt for the legs to recover.

Hopped in the car and drove back to Clifton Park. I had plans of cleaning and doing some much needed laundry. Instead I watched a bunch of television and chilled out on the couch until about 5:45pm.

Decided to drive to the Kinns Roads Trails for some more soft terrain. Crowded parking lot, but there was plenty of parking. Roughly 5 laps of the mile+ perimeter loop. 6 miles (42:25) in the books. Stretched at the picnic area and bundled up to blast the heat on the short ride back to the apartment.

Home to cook up a steak with mushrooms and onions. Salad with avocado, cucumber, tomato and green peppers. Medium rare and delicious.

Some television watching and bed by 11pm.

13+ miles on the day of quality running.

The picture of the fuel gauge on empty is for a couple reasons. My family is notorious for running their cars to complete empty before filling up. The other reason is for Sarah to let her know the gauge has become more regular and does not fluctuate like back in the day :)

Not Everyday Can Be A Career Day

October 5th: 6:10am wakeup. 3 miles (22:55) at 6:40am. Goupil wasn't out of his room yet so I ventured without him. Back to stretch, foam roll, shower and finish off my cereal for breakfast. Work 8am-5:30pm. Double decker PB&J with the homemade jelly, again. Once again, it was amazing. Goupil headed to NH after work so I wasn't rushing to get home to run with anybody. I had to tie up a few loose ends at work so I decided to take care of them before the weekend.

Home by 6pm. Chilled and finally changed for a run at like 7:45pm. I am foam rolling and warming up to head out for a short run. I hear some noise from the outside and it is the sound of torrential down pouring. Hmm. I guess no 2nd run. It was bound to happen one of these weeks. I sorta unplanned down day. Goupil wanted me to take a day off, which this pretty counts as one.

Protein shake and yogurt with a crushed up Nature Valley bar and chopped up bananas for dinner. Bed by 11pm.

3 miles on the day and at least it's not a goose egg. No problem.

Taper

October 4th: 6am wakeup. Out for 3 miles (NT) with Goupil. Back to stretch, foam roll, shower and eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Work 8am-4:30pm. Double decker PB&J with my mom's homemade blackberry jam. Mmm. So friggin good. I put some much on that it was oozing out the sides.

Home by 5pm. Goupil and I made it out for 5 miles (35:21) because it was getting pretty dark out and it's a taper week.

Back to do some stretching and strength training. 3 sets of 10 pull-ups again. Final day of strength training. 11 weeks strong. Most consistent "lifting" (of my own body weight) regimen every in my life. I would like to continue it through the winter season plus add some more.

I don't remember what I had for dinner, but it was something awesome of course. Shower and bed by 10pm.

8 miles on the day and I am not ashamed of it. The work has been put in and it's taper mode now.

I did take this sweet panoramic picture of the living room in my apartment.

Late Start

October 3rd: 6:10am wakeup. Finally on the road at 6:40am. 2+ miles (16:20) for a quick shakeout. Back to stretch, foam roll, and eat a big bowl of cereal. Decided to take the rest of the burrito mix for lunch. Nature Valley bar and pretzels for a snack. Work 8am-4:45pm. Late out of work to make sure I completed my assignments for the day. I poured my burrito mix onto a plate and it was more than I thought. Oh well, crushed it all without any hesitation.

Home to change up and head down to UAlbany for the workout. Last workout of the cycle before the marathon. 10x400 with full rest. Quick and comfortable. Things went according to plan with: 76, 74, 73, 72, 71, 69, 67, 68, 66, 63. 4.5+ miles of warmup and cooldown (32 + strides).

The final dinner outing with Coach Dick. TGIF was the decision. I went with the 2 for $10 deal. Fried mozzarella (the waiter thought it was for the whole table so it gave us plates for them, nope it was all for me). BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich topped with onion rings. Side of sweet potato fries. We didn't stop there. Right across the street was the one and only TCBY. $9 bucks worth of frozen yogurt with toppings. Lots of chocolate. Cookies and cream, chocolate and peanut butter froyo. A bunch of toppings.

Back to Clifton Park by 10pm. Shower and bed.

12 miles on the day. Solid workout and felt real good.

Burrito Mix

October 2nd: 6am wakeup. Slow start in the morning. 3 miles (23:41) with Goupil at 6:30am. Honey bunches of oats with almonds for breakfast. Oh yeah. Work 8am-4:30pm. I went big with the lunch. Double PB&J. One layer with strawberry and one layer with raspberry. Slap chopped some almonds for my yogurt. Chopped up banana. Nature Valley bar. Gatorade. Goupil and I carpooled to work because our schedules matched up in the morning.

Home by 5pm. Ritz crackers for a quick snack. Run at 6pm. 7 mile loop (45:55). Felt smooth and easy. Back to stretch, foam roll, and strength training. I have officially made it to 3x10 pull-ups. The last set was a struggle the last couple, but I managed.

Big batch of burrito mix that usually is about 3 servings. I tossed some in a tortilla with cheese and a scoop of salsa (Goupil's salsa) for a burrito. Remaining in a tupperware.

Shower and bed by 10:30pm.

10 miles on the day. Happy with the day and taper mode is going well.

Sleep In

October 1st: 6:30am wakeup. Felt amazing to sleep in. No morning run. Oatmeal for breakfast because I was in desperate need of groceries. Decided to toss in maple syrup AND chocolate syrup. Mmm, great combo. Work 8am-4:30pm. It was an easy Monday. Double decker PB&J.

Stopped off at Da Choppa for $75 dollars worth of groceries. All the essentials. Home by 5:30pm. 9 miles (62:33) with Goupil slightly later. Good run.

Back to stretch, foam roll, and just relax for a bit. Salad with chicken for dinner. Avocado, green pepper, tomato, mozzarella cheese, and ranch dressing. So good. Bed by 10pm.

Marathon Spectator

September 30th: 6:30am wakeup. Headed over to the new Keene middle school to met up with Ferenc and Fyffe. Stopped at Dunks on the way to grab a bagel with butter for breakfast.

Biked the 5 mile mark. Watched from there until the end of the marathon. Hammett and Big George ran tough. T about mile 11 of the course, it takes a downhill hairpin turn. I thought we were going straight. We weren't. I was riding Ferenc's old school road bike and clipped Fyffe's back wheel. Launched myself off the bike and barrel rolled ever so gracefully onto the pavement. Up and good to go. A nice crowd of 10-15 spectator witnessed my acrobatic moves. Marathon finished at Keene State College. Biked to the finish. Watched the guys come in. Biked back to the car drop.

Back to the lake house to run with Najem. Just shy of 10 miles (67:01). Beech hill 7 loop with a detour to the lookout point. Beautiful view of the town. Kimber picked me up and we headed out to Elm City Brewery for lunch. Burger and sweet potato fries with home-brewed root beer. Mmm. Took a drive through the marathon course to digest. Stopped off at the Stone Arch Bridge to check it out.

Back to the lake house to pack up and head out back to NY. Stopped off at Beeze Tees to see Tim Pipp and his booming business. Saw the new truck. Sweetness. Pointed out a bunch of safety violations in his work area, obviously.

Home by 9:15ish. Bed by 10pm.

10 miles on the day and 88 miles on the week. Smooth running with a quality workout and a quality long run. Prepped and ready to go.

Ferenc Long Run

September 29th: 8am wakeup. Refreshed. Packed up my stuff and headed over to Keene for the KSC invite. Met up with Titus and Goupil for breakfast at The Pub. Ordered the same thing I get every time. One of each of the early riser's breakfasts. A pancake, two pieces of French toast, two eggs overeasy, homefries, and toast. Mmmm. Killed it all.

Drove over to the KSC athletic complex for the races at 10:45am. Watched the girls and guys tear it up on the course.

Back to the lake house in Swanzey to change up for the long run. 19 mile loop at 2pm. Fyffe, Ferenc, Goupil and I trekked out to a parking lot to start up the run. Epic run and smooth sailing. Ferenc and I added on to make it 22 miles (2:17:41).

Back to stretch, put on warm clothes and pound Coca-cola. Great run and a huge confidence booster for the marathon.

Back to Keene for more stretching, showering and out to dinner for Mexican food at Pedraza's. Five enchiladas with cheese, chicken, beef, shredded beef and beans. A couple root beers. Delish (short for delicious)!

Out to the bars to chill out with friends. Woodchuck cider and other brewskis. Charleston Chew. 3 for $1. Bed by 1am.

22 miles. Feel full prepared for the marathon in two weeks. Get pumped!

Can't Stop Me Now

September 28th: 5:35am wakeup. Bathroom. Washed some dishes. Gathered up my stuff for the weekend. 3 miles (23:05) with Goupil. Back to stretch, foam roll, and pack up my bags. Two eggs overeasy. Work 8am-4pm.

Drove to Keene right after work. Napped the first 30 minutes of the ride as always. Snacks on the ride. Not a ton of traffic.

Arrived in Keene by 7:15ish. Planned 4-5 mile run turned into 7+ (50:18). Rain held up for the run and it turned out to be a solid run. Overdressed in the beginning, but worked out in the end. The temperature dropped.

Kimber picked me up around 8:30pm. Athens for a large chicken parmesan sub. Devoured it on the way to Peterborough. Showered up at Kimber's apartment. Shot of NyQuil. Knocked out by 11pm.

10 miles on the day. "Ferenc long run" to follow tomorrow. Byahh!