Another not so good one

Thurs. Jan. 24, 2008

7am - 4 miles

Worked all day and planned on taking the rest of the day off so I think my body needed the rest in the afternoon.

I also made some kick ass Chai this morning. I was pretty excited about it.

Maybe I will share the recipe if I feel it is worthy after a few more trials.

Slow day for this guy

Wed. Jan 23, 2008

7 am - 3 miles (pretty easy)
7pm - 7 miles (probably pretty easier)

My legs didn't feel the best today so I just took it easy and did some easy miles. I haven't taken an off day in a couple of weeks so tomorrow might be the day.

Worked at the Greenwich store for the rest of the day and just hung out.

Workout

Tues. Jan. 22, 2008

9am - 4 miles
6pm - 3 mile warmup, 4x1200, 3 mile cooldown
The 1200's were supposed to be (72,71,70) (72,71,69) (72,71,68) (whatever I could do)

The first two started out a little slower, I think I was about 3:37, then 3:34, then 3:28. Coach Mike came up to me after the 3rd one and asked how I was doing, and truthfully my legs were pretty tired. He said if I couldn't do the 4th one faster than the 3rd that it wasn't worth doing. So instead he had me do an 800. It went 69, 65. It was nice changing the workout a little. Hopefully this won't have to happen very often. The weather was also about 28 degrees but it wasn't too bad.

13 miles today

Martin Luther King Day

Mon. Jan. 21, 2008

11am - 11 miles

Ran at the Rockies with Jon and James for an easy 5 miles, then met up with Joseph, one of the Kenyans on the team, and finished another 6 with him. He is a super nice guy and for a while we were going nice and easy and talking. After about 3 miles we started hammering and it was alright but I truthfully didn't want to hammer. Anyways we finished up and then afterwards I went to meet up with the boys at the El Dorado diner in Tarrytown.

Took a nap later in the day, then played video games. Good day.

Football day

Sun. Jan. 20, 2008

Noon- 15 miles at the Rockies

I met up with Jon Byrns at the Rockies and we went for an easy run. He ran about 10 and I tacked on a few more miles. I think we were cruising at a comfortable pace. The weather was a bit chilly at around 20 degrees, but not too bad. Afterwards I went out to eat a little lunch with Ryan and Kevin at Eileen's Country Kitchen on McLean.

Also today were some big football games, so after lunch I headed to Kevin's house in Woodlawn and watched the games for the rest of the afternoon. Most people would call this a very slow boring day....I couldn't have been happier.

Hills

Sat. Jan. 19, 2008

9:30am - 2.5 mile warmup, 1 mile tempo, 8x300 meter hills, 4 mile cooldown

Jeff came with me today up to the Rockies to do some running but he was only going for an easy run because he is racing tomorrow at the GBTC Invite . SO we got there and met with coach Mike and talked for a few minutes and met some of the new teammates that I never saw before. I will say some of the chicas are cute.

The Tempo mile was 5:02 and then the 300 hills were 51, 51, 50, 50, 50, 49, 49, 49. Didn't feel 100% again but I felt alright. I didn't try to kill myself on the hills either, I just wanted to put in the good work.

After the workout we came back to the house and I cooked some delicious steel cut irish oatmeal...I will put up a pic of what it looks like. Then headed down to the Armory to watch the New Balance Games and Jeff's teammate Jess Minty run in the professional mile. It was really cool to see her lined up against so many good girls....and my secret woman, Sara Bei....thats right BEI not HALL, in my mind she is still available. Her race didn't go as well as she had wanted but she still ran good for a season opener, 4:49. Then my teammate Abioyot Endale ran the men's race and ran 4:04.

Afterwards we headed to Coogan's pub to grab some food with the other athletes. I got a burger. After that Jeff and Jess took off back to Bean place and I went up to Nuge's to play UNO for money.....it was pretty sweet.

9 miles today

Jeff Came down to the Great State

Fri. Jan. 18, 2008

10:30 am - 4 miles
4pm - 8 miles

I didn't feel 100% today, i think it was the fact that my house was about 60 degrees and I had to sleep last night with like 18 layers on. My thumb has been purple for the past 3 days.

Later in the day after having a VERY uneventfull day, I went running with Nuge up to the Gates of Heaven cemetery. This cemetery is huge and never crowded, so it turns into a very safe place to run. This place is exceptionally hilly too, and just staying to the perimeter gave me 8 miles. Afterwards we had some pretty delicious pizza, and then I headed home.

Went to Greg's and dominated in Fight Night 3, even though he will argue that he was fighting better. All I can say is that he got KNOCKED THE F*** OUT.

Then Jeff came down. Jeff's teammate Jess Minty is racing tomorrow in the invitational mile at the New Balance Games at The Armory in NYC. So he is shacking up here and we will run together tomorrow then eat then watch some running then eat then he leaves. Good day in my opinion. Thats is, now I am gonna finish watching Gangs of NY and sleep.

12 miles today

Danny Devito Day....AKA Short Day

Thurs. Jan 17, 2008

10 am - 7 miles

Had a longer AM run with my new teammate Jon Byrns. Jon's a solid 1:50 800 runner and is a pretty funny dude. We went for an easy run around the Rockies and afterwards went to the dinner in Tarrytown and grabbed some late breakfast. He was racing on Friday so it was an easy day for him.

Afterwards I headed up to work up in Greenwich for the remainder of the day. Another relaxed day working with some funny kids. I had planned on running again in the evening, but when I came home the weather turned really sour and it just was not worth it.

Stopping the chocolate

Wed. Jan. 17, 2008

7am - 4 miles - at a little faster than I would have liked.
4pm - 8 miles - descent pace but had some stomach issues.

So my legs felt like crap this morning from the workout last night, and it just made me a little tired, so I ate more oatmeal.

Today I had to work at the Greenwich Running Co for a couple of hours, the manager there is this kid Kyle. I can honestly say this is one of the funniest kids I have known; he makes work alot of fun, if you want to call it work. Afterwards I headed home and then took a nice 8 mile run at the Saxon Woods Park. From what I ate for lunch my stomach did not really agree with me but I made it through it. The only problem is that I think I re-aggrevated the top of my foot again. I think I have a problem of tightening my laces too tight and it causes some issues. I had a hard time walking later in the evening.

After dinner I headed to the Longarzo's for some much anticipated video games. We rock it out to Fight Night 3 and Call of Duty 4. Fight Night goes up and down cause we got some pretty dam good fighters. However, in Call of Duty I tend to DOMINATE. I hope they all read this, cause my teammate Diesel is not carrying his weight, and he needs to get cracking on the practice. OHHHHH YEAH....the chocolate. Yeah so I have HUGE addictions to chocolate and GO TO TOWN on candy when I go to Greg's, so I really need to quit, this is my testimony that I plan on cutting the chocolate down to once a week and not nearly as much as I have been having. I mean I ate a whole package of Milano cookies last week....COMON

12 miles today


Tues. Jan 16, 2008

11 am - 4 miles
6pm - 3 mile warmup, 2x1200 2x800 2x400 w/ jog lap recovery, 3 mile cooldown.

The whole workout was pretty much relaxed for the first half then pick up the pace. So for the first 1200 we were 76, 75, 67 (3:39). Next was a 1200 in 74, 73, 66 (3:33). First and second 800's were 68, 65 (2:13)(2:13). The first 400 was 59. and the second was 61-62. The whole workout felt really comfortable and there was no wheez in my chest. Plus it was also 25 degrees on the track. So not too shabby. I do like working out with the team, they are a good group.

13 miles today


Mon. Jan. 15, 2008

3pm - 9 miles with Nuge - Scarsdale Golf/ Bronx river bike path.

For some reason Nuge REALLY pissed me off today . DOn't know why, but he did. Not really gonna go into it, but I wanted to rip his head off. The run was fine.

9 miles today


Sun. Jan 14, 2008

8:30 am - 13 miles
Ran with the masters crew today at the Rockies for a steady 13 miles of not so flat terrain. We really didn't hammer, I think we averaged like 7:15-7:30 or so. It was a nice relaxed run where we all talked and had a good time. This was the first time I have had a group run in a LONG time.

13 miles plus strides


Sat. Jan 13, 2008

9:30 am 2.5 mile warmup, 1 mile tempo, 4x400 hill 4x300 hill, 2.5 mile cooldown

Good workout with the team at the Rockies. The hills were nice and quick but not overly fast, and the tempo was fine. Afterwards I went up to Greenwich running Co and worked for a few hours.

Things are getting back on target.....I guess

Fri. Jan. 11, 2008

10 am - 4 mile steady paced run around the woods.
4 pm - 8 mile run


Thurs. Jan. 10. 2008

10 am - 4 mile easy pace run, legs didn't feel super but they were there.
4pm - 8 mile steady pace run.

The steady run started off quicker I guess, and I really didn't feel too great but I just kept rolling with it and then it worked itself out to be an alright run.

Today was my boy Jon Brosnahan's bday. Hitting the milestone, 24. I went over to his place at like 9 and his family was just cuttin some cake, which I had to decline cause I eat way too many sweets. My gift to him was a box of peanut brittle that I paid 7 bucks for, which I bought off some kid in Bronxville, which he was selling for the New York Youth thingy. Not really sure if it was legit or not but the kid had a good spiel and I figured why not help out.

Also today Ryan and I hung out at Slave to the Grind in Bronxville, which is a pretty kick ass tea and coffee cafe right next door to the store that I am gonna be working at. We hung out for like 2 hours drinkin vanilla chai, which by the way I have become pretty dam fond of, and just talked about some stuff. Mostly we were BSing and talking about funny stuff that has been happening lately.


Wed. Jan. 9, 2008

11am - 7 miles with Nuge in Pleasantville ( NEW TRAILS ) I will get back to you with the name of them, but it was pretty sweet, and not flat.
4:30 pm - 4 miles with Greg Longarzo, but he biked.

The run with Nuge was pretty sweet, we had always known there was a little park area by Pace University, but we just never ran there. So we decided to hit it up. It was probably a 5-6 mile loop, for the most part it was awesome, but there were some really rocky patches. Which I did roll my ankle pretty dam hard once. Other than that there was a like 6 min hill near the end that was pretty steep too, but all part of the lure. Then we hit up a chicken parm sandwich on a roll.


Tues. Jan. 8, 2008

Today was day two of working down in NYC at the New York Running Co. It was like training for me for my upcoming managerial position. The commute is like an hour, not terrible, but the hours they want me to work, 4-9, are pretty crappy. Today I was able to persuade them to let me work from 10-4 because I was having a workout tonight with the Westchester Track Club for the first time.

The workout was at 6pm up at Irvington high school, which is like 15-20 min from me, so not too bad. This was the first time meeting a couple of guys on the team and the coach Mike Barnow, who I have been in contact with for the past couple of months. The only thing was was a bummer is that I still have that crap in my chest when I run, so it makes my breathing a little more difficult, but I came to BALL. Barnow had told me that I was going to be working out with Abiyot Endale, who ran 3:58 at the 5th aveune mile in the fall and has run 7:45 for 3k, so he is pretty good. Apparantly he had a race this Saturday coming up so it was an "easier workout" for him, which I am not really sure if that is true.

I told Barnow that I had been sick, so as an introduction day he was going to see how it went. The workout was 2x800 2:10 w/ a lap jog and 4x400 in 60 w/ a lap jog. Not too terrible i thought. So Abioyot and I did the 800's together alone and then a couple other guys hopped in with us for the 400's. The first 800 was 2:10 on the dot which felt pretty good, then the next 800 I ran 2:07 and he was 2:04. His first quarter was like 61-62, and that SUCKED. I was not ready for that, so I backed off and that took a little toll on the legs, but not too bad. Then the other guys hopped in and the were set up to lead the first quarter, and for all runners out there, this never equals something good, when fresh people jump into a workout mid-workout. So they led to a "comfortable 56sec quarter". Yeah it was not comfortable, and I had to back off if I was planning on finishing my first workout. SO I was about 60, and then Barnow told me that the next one was going to be my last. The next one I ran 58 which felt alright, just my chest had been tight for quite some time. SO I went ( 2:10, 2:07, 60, 58) not too bad, Abiyot was (2:10, 2:04, 56, 57, 57, 57). SO my new statement is that he is good. I am looking forward to working out with him over the next couple of months, so hopefully I will be able to stay with him for all the workouts, if so I have no doubt that I will improve to where I want to.

I also had a 2.5 mile warmup and 3 mile cooldown, then ate pizza at Nuge's house and told him about the workout.


Mon. Jan. 7, 2008

Today was my first day running in like 3 days because of this crap that I caught in my chest. I ran 9 miles down in Van Cortlandt, and it really didn't feel too great but whatever, I toughed it out and then laid down for a little while once I was finished.

Today was also my first day working with the New York Running Co. down in NYC. It wasn't too bad, all I pretty much am doing right now is learning the ropes.

LONG TIME

Jan. 06, 2008

Alright so it has been a while since I last updated this thing, but I am back on top of teh ball here. So I will basically start off by putting down what I remember from the past few weeks.

To start off, I am now in NY and continuing my training. I was up in Bean Town for 4 days for New Years with my counterpart Jeff Caron, Ken "I don't need no chocolate" Savary and Jeff's teammates. It was a great weekend, we ate some all you can eat Brazilian BBQ and saw some kick ass friends and did some drinky drink for the New Years. That list of friends that were seen were Katie Gwyther, Mark Driscol, John "flanel is my middle name" Neiskins, Gabe Rivard, Justin Maloney and Sarah Crispin. I won't go too crazy into stories cause it takes too long, but it was fun. Then I was also able to work out on the Reggie Lewis track with Jeff's team. UMMMMMM other than that I don't know.

Jan 05, 2008 - Day off, I have a bunch of crap in my chest and it really is making me feel like poo.

Jan 04, 2008 - 3.5 miles, took it easy cause I am feeling something not so good starting into my chest.

Jan 03, 2008 - 9 miles with Jeff at 9am in 6 degree weather. This run truthfully sucked early into the run cause it was -10 with windchill. When we did get the wind at our back it turned out to be nice.

Jan 02, 2008 - 4 miles in the am
3 mile warmup, 3x200, 2x300, 500, 2x300, 3x200 90 sec rest. 10min break then a hard 400, not all out, 3 mile cooldown. (30.2, 29.9, 29.7, 45.5, 45.1, 1:17.6, 46.0, 45.8, 29.9, 29.7, 29.7, 55.1)
This was a good workout, there were alot of people at Reggie so I had to work around the people too, and it was in flats.

Jan 01, 2008 - HAPPY NEW YEAR, I was feeling pretty crappy in the morning, so I did 12 miles in the pm with Maloney.

Dec, 31, 2007 -IN BOSTON- am - 5miles.....afterwards we at all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. I had planned on running again later in the day, but my legs felt like crap. SO we started drinkin early. We played 3 man all night and it was a FUN FRIGGIN time.

Dec. 30, 2007 - ran 15 miles in teh morning here in NY before heading up to Boston. I think I ran a little too far today, my body was feeling very crappy but I kept pushing it cause I wanted to hit the distance. I probably shouldn't have but what are you gonna do.

Dec. 29, 2007 - no am run. pm. 3 mile warmup, 10x1000 meter 1 min rest. 4 min between first 5 and second 5. I did my workout at Sleepy Hollow HS, first 5 on the track and the second 5 on the trails. On the track I averaged 3:06 for the first 5 with a min rest and then hammered on the trail for the second 5. It was a good workout, I did not feel the best but I hammered it out anyways.

Thats all I really remember in order of days I ran but I have been puttin in the miles and doing some of the workouts. My biggest problem right now is that I cannot get on to an indoor track down here. To get on the Armory it costs $300 and the Manhattan College track that I usually workout on apparantly is broken up and not good for workouts.