The Importance of Running Buddies

I know it's been a while.

I ended up having the flu and couldn't run for a month. Then I tried to get back to it and within two easy miles something in the Tuberosity of the Tibia was giving me a shooting pain. Yeah. No idea. Off another month. And I felt as though I had nothing to really write about.

And I passed for my insurance license. So studying took up a whole month on its own.

But I'm here. It's March and another big storm is rolling in (?). Thanks Mr. Groundhog.

Lately, despite the nagging pain near the tibia, I've been meeting my friend from high school for Tuesday afternoon runs. We both get out of work around 4-4:30 and head over to the high school and then run around the neighborhoods. She's a senior still and has another track season of steeplechasing left. She's interning and misses practice on Tuesdays so I gladly accepted when she asked if I'd meet up to run.

Last week went well. Although I miscalculated the miles but about a 400.

So this time, I made sure we ran those extra 0.25 miles. She originally asked if I wanted to do a tempo run. I haven't done speed work in A WHILE. I've had a bunch of crappy things happen - the heart, the groin/hamstring pull, the flu, the shin injury. Yup. Laundry list. But I was willing to try based on how I felt. So we started off and I was having trouble breathing. But that's normal lately. I've been stuck on the treadmill. So we were cruising along and I settled in. I felt like we were moving, but just thought that maybe I was tired. We went by the other high school and a herd of high schoolers on skateboards went rolling by. The cloud of weed smell was overwhelming. We both laughed about it but I thought my clothes were going to smell of it that's how strong it was.

We also have some pretty decent hills that we hit on this run as well. So after one really big hill, I felt my friend start running faster. So I'm thinking "oh boy, I need to tough this out and just deal with being tired." I hung with it and then we hit our gradual uphill and then turned onto the last monster hill. I was getting my wind back and started to push a little so that it didn't seem like I was falling back. From there it was downhill until we hit the short, steep hill that went into the school lot. Now the boys ALWAYS pushed this hill when I ran with them in high school. So I pushed up it without thinking. It was a 5.76 mile run total - when done the right way. We ran it in 39:30. O_O Yeah. So the reason I felt crappy was because we were pushing hard. And my friend laughed because she thought she was getting tired and pushed so I wouldn't think she was backing off. And then when I surged up the hill she was beat too. So by accident we put in a hard run haha 6:52 pace was the end result.

My whole point of this was that it is so much better with a running buddy. We talk most of the time (minus when we're both sick/tired hahaha). But I was DREADING going back outside since my legs had been such a mess. Up until Christmas, I was up to 8 mile runs outside in my neighborhood. Then I was sick/hurt and on the treadmill to stay flat. Where I live, you can't escape the hills. So it was nice to have another person to chat with. This run literally feels like it's 15 minutes long. By myself it would probably feel like 2 hours. And, it was a solid workout, especially with the monster hills. We were both proud when we were done.

The even nicer part, this friend is an athlete I raced AGAINST in high school. And we were always pretty friendly. And now here we are. Running around and catching up.

So here's to running buddies!

My friend told a coworker that she had to get going because she had a running date. He goes, "Awww with your boyfriend?" and she laughed and said no.  But running friendships are special and that's because runners share that same, pure love for the sport. It's easy to connect through such an intense, work driven sport and that's why road races are such a social event. It's what makes running so unique and special. I've made many connections through the sport. And it's easy! You can just be sitting at a game and someone overhears you say something about running, then they turn around and you start talking about various injuries - that old Achilles that keeps flaring up - or a great race you had two summers ago. It's common ground. It makes me happy that I picked to take it up as a sport.

Frosty Morning jaunt

My Dad thought he was being funny yesterday and said truly dedicated runners get up early and run BEFORE work. I was trying to finagle a way to run AFTER work by leaving earlier and not taking a lunch hour. Well, that didn't work. So he tried to get a rise out of me with the dedicated dig.

(Random Google picture, by the way. Trying to make this post a little more interesting)


Fine.
I went home late last night from work. Cleaned my room and organized stuff. Got my leggings and winter running gear all ready to go and was asleep by 10 p.m. the latest.

Cut scene to this morning.

My iPhone went off at a mere 6:30 a.m. I saw the sun peeking up over the ridge of hills across the lake. So I grumbled and threw my covers off and trudged to the bathroom. Spent more time than was necessary putting my contacts in with the brief hope that MAYBE the sun would work at hyper speed and warm up the pavement so I wouldn't look like a human icicle after 5 minutes outside. Brushed my teeth. NOTE: TERRIBLE AWFUL STUPID thing to do.

I looked outside again. I'll admit tying my shoes on almost made me cry. Now I LOVE the cold. But I love the cold because I'm usually running between 2 and 4 p.m. and I sweat like I'm 400 pounds. I sweat A LOT and normally HATE HATE HATE sunlight because of this reason. So the cold is my friend, normally. But at 6:45 a.m., when I've just gotten out of bed and it's 28 degrees outside, and the sun is BARELY covering a third of the pavement, I am not even close to partially thrilled.

But I tried to make the best of it. I opened the door and plodded down the driveway. The sunrise was pretty so for a moment I felt a surge of, "Wow, I'm pretty awesome and feel pretty awesome for being motivated and getting up early." It made me feel like those rock climbers or runners that you see in the Granola bar commercials. They drive a Subaru and go hiking with their dogs no matter what the weather. They eat all vegan, healthy food and wear burlap sacks for clothes. All their gear and accessories are made from recycled materials. Yeah. Felt like one of them for about...5 seconds. Then my lungs started to freeze over. And my ear cartilage started to crunch if I pressed it in against my head. My eyes were watering so bad that I nearly plowed over one of our neighbors in her hot pink velour bathrobe. GOOD MORNING WATERBURY! What a splendid day it is starting out to be.

About 2 miles in, I realized my toothpaste mistake. The world can deal with my morning breathe for a few miles next time. This was like my mouth was frozen in the open position. Yeah. Awful. I was pretty much gagging on my own spit while I ran.

By the time I shuffled through the front door, completely unimpressed with the fact I finished a super early morning run for once, I just wanted a shower and someone to complain to. Mom was still asleep and when I woke her up, she pretty much told me to deal with it, I have to work, so running early is my only choice right now. Then she went back to bed. Thanks, Mom. Those were some real helpful words.

But yeah...I'm gonna try and find a new headband that actually covers my ears and doesn't flap in the breeze. I'll admit that my ears and chest were 95% of the problem. Mostly my ears. I have a hat for next time, but I don't like to use it because of my ponytail. Just too much hair and not enough hat. So, maybe tonight I'll find a good headband when I go to the Mall for a few returns.

The plus of this whole adventure - I really enjoy the fact that all I have to do later are my core exercises and my run is done. Also, I realize I only have to do these runs 2-3 days during the week, then weekends I can run when it's a little sunnier, and if it rains or snows, treadmill and bike. So really it's not that bad. I just felt the need to write about it and now I feel better.

and how awesome is this?!?!

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/superracing/cool-runnings-as-hooves-hit-the-ice/story-fn67tkww-1226270133346

They attach sulkies or saddles or skiis and hold on while the horses race around the ice. I'm assuming the horses have studded shoes too.

Running post

I haven't written about running in a while.
Mostly because I've had injuries, heart problems, strep throat. You know, STUFF, just getting in the way of actually enjoying the sport.

I got to leave work a little early yesterday (Dad doesn't like me running outside in our neighborhood when it's dark). I've been easing back into it slowly. I was on the treadmill in  Rochester doing 8 miles for a couple days in a row until I got sick.

That went up in flames.

So, this past Thursday, Jack got a gym membership. I went with him and biked, went on the treadmill, and even lifted weights. Something different for once.  I ventured into unknown territory. THE UPSTAIRS. Que scary music. It wasn't that bad.

So then Saturday, Sunday, Monday, I ventured back outside to run my hilly neighborhood. And I was thinking, I got to the point where I became so sick of it, that I wasn't enjoying it anymore. And then I tried to remember if I EVER enjoyed it. I think I did. At least, I enjoyed what it gave me and made me feel.

I remember that breakthrough race. Sophomore year of High School. Setting the scene here: Wolcott High's track. End of the meet. 3200m final. I was always just tossed into this event because I ran cross-country and couldn't sprint to save my life, even if an entire zombie apocalypse was trailing me. I'd probably just give up and die. That was the extent of my running talent. I was still heavily invested in competing with Bandit. So, it's a warm late afternoon day and I put my ugly pink Asics spikes on. I actually felt a little excited. And mind you, my warm-up in high school was stretching. I didn't run 3 miles to get my legs ready for a 2 mile race. That came later in my obsessive collegiate career. I got on the line, gun went off, and I RAN. Ran for REAL this time. I crossed the line and Walker looked at me. No congratulations. Just a: "Where the hell has that been all season?!" My time dropped nearly three minutes from 15:00 to 12:42. I missed qualifying for states by like 10 seconds or something. And that was it. I trained like a maniac all summer. Well, 3 miles a day at the lake was a maniac back then.

X-C went alright. Then track rolled around. 5:20 mile by the spring. 12:00 3200 by the spring as well. Next X-C season, undefeated until I caught mono. And so begins the long line of injuries and sickness. Winter track - 11:17 3200m. Outdoor - 5:16 1600m. Then, a stress fracture.

Once I hit college though, I was determined to prove to no one in particular that I could run. So that summer, once my ankle healed up, 8-9 miles a day from mid-July until I made it to Marist. It was like I was possessed. That turned into 10-12 mile runs PER DAY, along with 12 miles on the bike 3-4 days a week, plus weights, and an hour long core workout. This went on until I strained my Achilles after Sophomore X-Country season. And then started the decline. My mileage slipped up until the summer between Junior and Senior year. I got an inhaler and got my mileage back up and actually had a decent Senior year, but it was pockmarked with injuries. Per usual. Track season was alright. I got close to my 10k PR of 36:12. Within 12 seconds of it I believe. I ran through the summer and started to really looked forward to my half marathon debut. But that spark was definitely missing. It still felt like WORK. After Sophomore year at Marist, anything for track or xc felt like work.

But I also remembered, High School and that summer right before college, other parts of my life kind of fell apart and running was what made me feel GOOD. Paul and I weren't together and everything was extremely rough between us. Instead of spending time out on the lake tubing or jetskiing, I was pounding miles out every afternoon. I felt a little lost going into College. And even my first year of college, all I liked about it was running. I didn't want to do anything else because it made me comfortable.

And now here I am. I went out for my run yesterday and while everything burned and hurt from being sick and banged up, I still did it. I stopped after 4 miles to keep from overdoing it. But I would really love for 9 miles to be a walk in the park. I did a long core workout. And tonight, I'll probably hang out with the bike again.

But here is my question to all POST-COLLEGIATE runner. How do YOU keep that spark? I still love the sport. On days when I don't run, I feel guilty and morose. I sulk around. But getting out on the roads is tough. especially with work being until 4:30 and it's dark when I get out. I don't HATE the treadmill, but I want the strength back from doing all my runs outside. Where's that motivation? I missed an upcoming race deadline because of my strep.

I am in a slump I guess.

Although yesterday, I started to enjoy it again. Maybe it's because I haven't been able to do it. Maybe it's because it's not in a job-like atmosphere anymore.

Whatever the reason, I hope it keeps up.

Sorry if this was rambly. I was thinking about it yesterday. Didn't know what to write today. So here it is.

And I this made me giggle. hahaha

Happy Trails everyone.

Stress Test Champ

I really don't have much to write about today...
It was a quiet weekend. I possibly came up with a new story/book concept but it needs some serious hashing out before I begin my foray into the world of fiction.

I had my stress test last week. What an experience that was. My heart rate never got over 173, although I felt like I was really tired and light headed. Apparently I was fine. I went for 17 minutes, which I was informed was one of the longest times in their office. I'm so stupidly competitive though that I wanted to try and hit the 20 minute mark that two other runners had requested to hit a while ago. My mom was in the corner laughing when I asked them why they stopped the machine. This is why I'm always hurt. I wouldn't want to do another stress test again though. I am the slowest walker on planet Earth, most likely. So walking, uphill, for 12-15 minutes, was NOT my idea of a good time.

And that wasn't even the end of the whole ordeal. I had to wear a holter monitor for 24 hours right after. That meant no shower and no "real" clothes. Sweats alllllll day. The no shower thing was really annoying especially due to the fact that I sweat an obscene amount no matter what I'm doing. Embarrassing.
So I spent my day, reading, on the couch. Sean came by later to get froyo and watch a ridiculous episode of South Park ("Sarcastaball"). My love of football made me laugh even the next day when I just thought about it.

I removed the monitor Friday morning and I'm pretty sure China heard me yowling in the bathroom when I tried to rip the tape off. For some reason, the nurse put X's over each of the little stickies. Actually, I KNOW why she did it and it was just protocol. Doesn't make any less excruciating the next day. The X's were mostly just to keep them from falling off when I slept. But they itched like no other and then took pieces of skin with them when I finally tore them off. OW. I shudder to think of it right now.

BUT...and here's the silver lining...The nurses said my stress test looked very normal and my heart warmed up and cooled down "beautifully" (their word choice, not mine). So I left there feeling a little more confident and positive. I haven't received any immediate phone calls about my holter results. So...until then, life looks a little more sunny. Although they did say my Bradycardia could pose a problem in the future if my heart rate continues to drop. Then I'll need a pacemaker.

I think it just stopped beating at the pure dread I feel toward an impending surgery.

I am a doctor's worst nightmare. Seriously.

I'll try for a more interesting/exciting/colorful post either end of this week or next week :)
I'm going to try running again today too. Someone tell me how taking a week off causes my adductors to seize up and be angry like they were last year? They had a break from running and they hurt MORE.

Doctor/PT's WORST nightmare. I really wasn't kidding.

Fairs do make you feel like a kid again...

Last Friday night was the start of a local tradition - The Bethlehem Fair.
Short of arriving home with a monster headache and obviously unrelenting earache, I decided to skip the run for the afternoon and traipsed out into the sticky night to go to the Fair.

Best. Decision. Ever.

My mom's reaction: "I'm so glad you decided to join us! This is like taking you to the fair when you were little and rode the elephants and ponies!!"

Needless to say, I was not the only one having a good time. Not only was I entertained, I was the ENTERTAINMENT.

I pretty much RAN to the livestock barns and laughed at the chickens with the weird afros. Looked at the cows with their runny noses and dirty butts. Picked out an energetic gray bunny that I would never be allowed to bring home. And then, finally, shopped at all the vendors to find the best price on this stupid Baja hoodie. It was made more difficult by the simple fact that a size small clearly doesn't exist nor will it ever. I managed to snag one by the end of the night, along with a completely ridiculous/obnoxious/outofthisworld costume ring. I seriously love this thing and it is probably worth less than nothing. I know. Not possible. Continuing on...

I almost convinced myself into paying 10 bucks to climb this rock wall for little kids. The prize of 50.00 for staying between the lines was really tempting. The harness that was made for 8 year-olds, was NOT tempting. I passed that one by.

We found my dad and the parents ate. I wanted to go in the Mother Goose barn aka the PETTING barn. It got to the point where I said I was hungry, when I wasn't, and ate part of my mom's chicken sandwich thing just to help her finish it faster. Then I was in mini pony/mini donkey/mule/llama heaven for about an hour. The mule, Sarah, had just about the most gorgeous coat ever. She was so soft. All I wanted to do was play with her massive ears though. She started braying and my mom blamed it on me. There were two Shetland ponies there too. The mare was full of hell. They both had blue eyes too. Really striking against their dark brown.

Yeah. I had fun. Lots of fun. The smell of my clothes was evidence enough. And my hands were brownish black from petting everything within arms reach. Oh, and I had hobbit feet from scurrying around in flip flops the whole night.

And yes, I did have a tomboy moment as well. Saw a Polaris Pro R snowmobile for sale and HAD to stop to admire it.

My advice to everyone - go to fairs! They will make you happy.
I'm beyond excited to attend the Big E at some pojnt. My weekends are usually a mess and my parents are planning to take some vacation weekends in September. But I WILL GO. Even if it's the last weekend available. It's worth it for a few hours of lost childhood happiness.

In other news,
My body is having a weird freakout. I think it knows it should be doing workouts and running harder than it currently is. Hopefully a race will fix that. It definitely is all out of wack right now though.
I actually joined this new website that Kevin told me about... www.fitocracy.com
You get points for the work outs you do and if you have friends already on it, it's even more fun. They give you challenges and you join groups for extra motivation. It's definitely interesting. I need to start doing my planks again! haha Go check it out.

And it was close-up weekend in Otis. All the toys are out of the water. We started bringing stuff in and the lift is winterized. I woke up yesterday morning to brisk September air. My favorite. I definitely will miss certain things about summer, but Fall is my favorite. I think the only season I dislike is Spring. Fall and Winter are my favorites. Yup. Ok. I think I have things to do. Actually, I definitely do. Until next time - Go exercise and go to fairs!

Swimmer's Ear?!?!

Well, it's after Labor Day aka summer is over.

I just answered the phone at the office and one of my dad's more animated clients (I seriously think she plans an opening monologue to unleash as soon as I finish saying "Good Morning"), actually made a startling comment about the upcoming election and the dire need for jobs. She said something along the lines of how I am lucky to have a job when so many college kids come out with nothing. She's right. And for a moment, I felt content and happy with where I am. And then, I panicked. Mostly because I can't seem to find a job anywhere else. My resume is continually rejected without the common courtesy of a reply that the company even RECEIVED it. Yeah. Insert a "McCayla is NOT impressed" stand here.

-_-

In other news, I watched Mean Girls last night and my mom informed me that Jack finally had a sex ed class and he said that he knew everything they were talking about because he learned it from Mean Girls. He then continued on to spell Chlamydia - K-L-A. I laughed, of course. Texted Mike, who apparently broke out into peals of laughter in front of a group of random people on his way to pump some iron at the UConn gym. It's the little things sometimes.

And I FINALLY went to the doctor for my earaches.
Swimmer's Ear. Because I'm SUCH an avid and talented swimmer. NOT.
I somehow contracted it and I wasn't sure how. Then, lightbulb! When I am on the treadmill, everyone knows how I sweat more than your over-sized elephant in the desert. The result is that I often get pools of nasty sweat in my ears. It drips in behind my headphones, which I always wear to keep myself from dying of boredom. Bingo - Swimmer's Ear du jour. So, now I have these alcohol drops that I have to put in both ears every few hours. My life sometimes.

I have nothing else to say.

The Giants are playing tonight. My fall ritual of being glued to the television and cheering for my G-Men has resumed. I'm not complaining about the endless hours of television or commercials I shall screen.
GO GIANTS!!

Oh and I'm going back up to Otis with Jack on Friday. We're just perpetuating the inevitable end of summer. But really.

A Running post...what do ya know?

So this summer has been a little hairy with running. I'll be the first to admit how much I DESPISE the heat and humidity. So, unless I'm in Otis, I've been on the treadmill 3-4 days a week and then outside on dirt roads the rest. So half and half. But I've been running pretty much every day.

Paul went with me for a few runs in June. I really thought he was getting into the sport again. He pulled his Vibrams on and met me at the corner of the dirt roads, right above the beach. We took off at a casual jaunt. Then we hit the hill on Curtiss Hall. Oh my God. I always forget about this hill. I tried to keep talking and felt like I had a thick wad of cotton in my mouth. We stretched at the corner of Westerly, our turn to head home. Paul did not seem as thrilled about this run as he had when we first started out. I think he made it to the end of Brookman with me before telling me to just go as Moreau Hill loomed ahead of us. That was the last run he went on with me. Now he rides the Solo Wheel, occasionally. I guess that's what all the cool kids do now. Guess I'm not cool for resorting to my own two feet and dirty running shoes. But whatever. My runs are alone now. And I have to say, there's something that goes on during those runs that I wouldn't trade in or change. I see these houses and roads every summer, nearly every day, and they never get boring. I look at them and wonder what their families are like. How do they spend their summer days on the lake? How long have they been there? I know it's weird, but it makes the time pass. Then there are the days when I go way too fast because I see or hear something moving in the woods and my brain immediately reverts to - MOUNTAIN LION! BEAR! GO HOME! Yeah. Not cool. I know I could never out run either. And honestly, I have no tactic if I come across one.

Recently, Land's End has installed (I think that's the proper word here) plastic, yellow speed bumps. These things must be only about 4 inches high and they're two separate little strips that barely reach across the entire road. The first morning I saw them I was like, WHAT?!?!?! And proceeded to jump over them and make a big deal about it. Hey, I run this road every day. Gotta spice it up a little bit. I'm pretty sure these speed bumps are useless other than to be a great tripping device when I'm extremely tired. So, to you Land's End, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. I can just imagine the homeowners sitting, eating their lovely muffins and drinking their strong coffee, and laughing at the dirty, sweaty runner girl that's trying to "hurdle" these mini speed bumps. Oh well. I guess everyone could use a laugh now or then. I say all this now, but lately, I've been so tired that no hurdling has occurred. I've either stepped over or around them while secretly hoping a huge truck comes blasting through and crushes them to bits or twists and warps them onto the side of the road. They. Are. Pointless.
I'm waiting to see them in my neighborhood next.

In other news, I went for a jetski ride once the weather cleared last weekend. (Can we just discuss how MISERABLE sitting in the house for three days straight trying to watch the Olympics on a poor satellite signal was? Stupid Rain. And our phone got struck by lightning). I drove around the whole lake pretty relaxed and just looked around. I stopped by Overflow and it just made me think of how times and places seem changed. I miss where I was last summer, what I was doing. There are certain things I don't want back. (Marist, thanks for the four years, I DO NOT want to re-live you. Hands are clean. Champagna preseasons were probably the bane of my existence).  But last year had this quality to it. The people I saw every day and what I did...it all just felt so much more lively. Now I drive around and see all these For Sale signs and the Marina's garage doors were closed tight. Everything seemed shrunken and tiny. And then when I run, everything seems too big. I can't find a medium.

So, before I'm done, I also want to complain about the Olympics. They didn't show ANY of the Equestrian. And the Cross-Country jumping is pretty exciting. At least 8 horses went down over these jumps and the queen's GRANDDAUGHTER was one of the riders. The ENTIRE royal family was in attendance and NBC felt the need to show fencing and Men's INDOOR VOLLEYBALL. What is this world coming to?! If they cut the Track coverage, I will seriously feel the need to write a scathing letter. Maybe J.K. Rowling can lend me a Howler that will explode and hiss at them if they don't open it. So much for more equal coverage NBC. I'm sick of seeing just swimming, gymnastics, volleyball. Either spread it out better between your channels, or cut down on some of the time on certain events. I did not need to see an entire volleyball game. Whatever. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one upset about this. Most people don't think horseback riding is a sport. (But ping pong and Badminton are?!) I'm sorry but you have to be pretty strong to get a 1,200 pounds or more animal to listen to you and jump over 4+ foot high obstacles.

Rant done.

Got a weekend of speed bump hopping ahead of me.

Why does this always happen to me?

Just like that my hopes and dreams get trampled on.
Brian has my Sartorius all taped up. I went to see him today. Haven't run since Saturday afternoon when I did like 6 miles. I'm a mess. I cried it out, I think. but I couldn't do the workout today and Regionals are Saturday. I'm sick of this. It's what makes me hate running. I did nothing to make myself get hurt. I was so careful. And here I am, limping to night classes. UGHHH.

In other news...Paul came to visit this weekend. It was really, really nice to see him. We went and surprised his parents Saturday afternoon. And then we simply watched football all day Sunday...went to the diner and Barnes and Noble. Went to the Subaru dealership. It was nice to just have him around to talk and laugh about stupid things with. It distracted me from being injured over the weekend. Normally, I'd be sitting staring at the four walls (which I did all day today until PT). I wish he was still here to tell me it'll be ok and that running is stupid. I let myself fall back into loving running because I have a couple good races. And then it rips my heart out, just like that. Chuck said he still wants to bring me to Buffalo. I can maybe still race. But this is 100 x worse than it was at MAACs. There's only so many times you can push through something before it's legitimately done.

I'm going to watch the Crew Team tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. and then do their interviews for my final project for Pete. Once I get that done, then I'm nearing the wire. Most of the important stuff is done. Just one more essay for my English class, my capping presentation, handing in the two articles to Pete, and then writing up stuff for my screenplay. I can literally count on one hand what's left to do, which is scary. I should be going to class. I have some Otis pictures for later. Hopefully.

Oh and everyone go check out my graduate school blog!!! It's almost done. I have one more post for next week.

Weekend Update (not SNL, sorry)

Sooooooo...I had a rough week. Going home was exactly what I needed. After the whole heart fiasco...I am fine. Wednesday on was a little better. I ran and then went home Thursday. So nice to be home. Got some errands done, some homework...Saturday was the Albany meet. Of course it was cloudy and windy. The start was on an uphill. Seriously? Freaked me out. We brought Jasper along. He made tons of new friends and then pooped on the sidewalks and tried to eat an adorable little black lab puppy. Crazy. Love him though. The race was, eh. I hated the start. Bottle necked straight through the mile mark. And I felt like I was running SO fast, but my time was off or something. Maybe the course was long. I don't know. It was weird. I guess Chuck said the Albany girls mentioned their times were much slower compared to earlier time trials on the same course. So something was off. After the meet, pumpkin coffee and Otis!!!! Super. The lake was HIGH and looked like the ocean. The trees weren't that colorful, which was sad. I did laundry ALL night and watched Bridesmaids with mom. Laughed our butts off.

Sunday we went shopping. Finally got my Sperry boat shoes. Half price, man :) New pair of dark jeans, a scarf and some leggings. So just some basics really. I was trying to watch my spending because I have Christmas presents to buy and possibly a surprise plane trip to Pittsburgh to make. We shall see. I also found a dress for formal/lauren's wedding. It's an adrianna papell. They didn't have my size, but we finally found a store in Buffalo that had it and it's on its way. It was one of those numbers that didn't look like much on the hanger. One shoulder. I love that style. Ran 11 miles when we got home. I went to Holy Cross and then had to run back up the hill by Spartan's. Ugh. Stupid decision. That hill is death. It's probably only like 0.35 miles at MOST, but it's like straight up and curves. My butt hurts just thinking about it. No wait, my lungs are burning remembering it. Back to school and I hit traffic in Danbury. There was a white pick-up that was so charred from fire that it was mostly black. Spooky.

I HATE Mondays. It's official. Start off with an 8 a.m. and coffee dripping through my mug all over me. Then go to a presentation for my capping blog, which I'm proud of and WANT to show off. I flub the speech because I touched the keyboard and sent it to the next slide before I needed it. I was shaking. Not to mention, my nice black dress pants...bought them last year. Yeah, now they're too big. I didn't have a nice, professional dress belt so I had to make sure they stayed up while I spoke. Seriously. Nightmare. But, I have an interview lined up with HV Mag and I made it through my run and 5 o'clock class. Got two more capping posts written. So I managed to get work done. I just have a lot left for the weekend. It needs to slow down :/

I have one thing I'd like to accomplish before I leave though...I want to capture a Marist groundhog. I found out what they eat. Blueberries, apples, bananas. They're SO FLUFFY! I'm gonna die. hahahaha. Had to do it. Ok, I need to go to bed.

 LOVE this sunset picture

"I love car rides!" Jaspieeee <3 haha