Snow Day

Time: none
Distance: none

The weatherman was right and it snowed enough to make running outside not worth it. It was also crazy windy and I had no interest in braving the weather. Oh well. I have to tell myself that taking a day off now and being a wimp is worth it to not be injured later this spring.

Blizzard 2013

Time: none
Distance: none

Today was an unplanned day off due to Blizzard 2013. It was a good thing that I made the decision on Thursday to race back to Salem and arrive at 2 AM on Friday morning. I'm always a little skeptical of the weathermen in this area because it always seems they are less than 50% correct with their predictions. This time, however, they got it right.

The snow started falling around noon on Friday and didn't let up until today at 3 or 4 PM. There was a driving ban in effect and it's a good thing I waited over 30 minutes to find a spot in the parking garage because the lot outside our house is impassable. Running outside in the blizzard was an option, but I didn't want to fight the wind or have to worry about blowing up my achilles. Meagan and I assumed that the YMCA would be open and we could jump on a treadmill, but that wasn't the case. Everything is closed. Life Alive, the overly healthy restaurant downstairs, didn't even open on Friday and won't reopen until Sunday. My favorite joint, Gulu-Gulu, that is here to serve the people of Salem was essentially forced to close.

I guess today was one of those unexpected days off that can be a drag but also help the body and mind recover. I did a whole lot of nothing in terms of running, but I did a little bit of cleaning around the house and watched The Master.

Planned Day Off

Time: none
Distance: none

I decided to take the day off and it was a good day to do so. Despite it being March 1st, we received some of our first real snow of the year. It would have been nice to layer up in some Craft gear and get out there, but slipping with an already sore hamstring is just not playing it smart.

Paragon Sports Run Group

Time: none

Distance: none

This morning Meagan and I headed over to Paragon Sports which is a NYC institution for sporting equipment. If you're ever in New York and find yourself near Union Square, stop in to check it out. We were on hand to chat with their run group training for 13.1 NYC and raffle off some goodies.

The weather was perfect and the crowd was enthusiastic in anticipation for a great run along the West Side Hwy. I was bummed to not be running with everyone. Instead I walked over to Starbucks and slurped the black stuff, walked through the farmers' market and chatted with people in Paragon. Meagan got to run with Jay Holder who was finishing up a 22 mile run. At least someone from Karhu can represent.

Travel to NYC

Time: none
Distance: none

I traveled from Marblehead to NYC today making several stops along the way to visit accounts. I can't really tell how my hamstring is doing having not run in a few days. I think it's getting better with my rest and massage balling. The plan will be to run early next week. I purposefully did not pack running shoes or gear in order to keep me from running with friends this weekend. Sad, but true.

City Sports & Balega

Time: none
Distance: none

Surprise, surprise... Today was another day off due to a nagging hamstring. I'm trying not to stretch it, but rather massage it with a firm round object. I drive with a Trigger Point massage ball placed underneath my upper hamstring, right where it meets the buttocks.

My travels today took me to Spark Bike & Run Sports in Taunton, MA and City Sports corporate. I like hanging out at Spark because the owner is good guy. His store is new, he's making connections with his community and he's interested in learning more about the industry. He also carries BMC bikes (repped by my buddy Liam) and will soon have Karhu.

The City Sports visit was mainly for Balega which I was fortunate enough to pick up recently. Everybody loves a good pair of socks and Balega has the best ones out there. It was the first time I had a chance to visit with the sock buyer. She was cool, British, and likes coffee. The headquarters are in the North End where the streets are narrow and it's impossible to find parking. I managed to find a spot and leave the neighborhood with no scratches on my car. The only bigger win would have been to lace up the kicks and get out for a run.

Trivia in Rhode Island

Time: none
Distance: none

Today was day off. Lame.

I drove down to Providence, RI to spend some time at a Winter Rep Show. The foot traffic wasn't fantastic but I got to hang out with the Moving Comfort and Craft reps. They know the business and all of the accounts in my territory so it was fun to pick their brain. They also have house bunnies. Yes, rabbits that are basically cats, but related to Roger Rabbit. Earlier in the day one nearly got locked in the closet which wouldn't have ended well for anyone. True story.

After the expo, I met up with my former teammate Ryan Graddy. He's in med school at Brown and invited me to play trivia with some of his classmates. I was next to useless but I did know the final questions which ensured us a third place showing. The answer had to do with 80s music, Billboard Top 100 and pop music... not my strongest category. I would have excelled at rap music by Bay Area rappers in the 90s who were signed to either Death Row or Bad Boy. However, I somehow came up with the answer of Prince. Yes, the artist formerly known as Prince. I knew it.

Hurting Hamstring

Time: none
Distance: none

You're going to be seeing a lot of the above as I try to get caught up on my blog. Pretty depressing and I apologize if you're reading this in a RSS feed for a multitude of recaps as they are not going to be entertaining.

Since it's Valentine's Day and Meagan is out of town, could there be a better way to celebrate the evening than drinking a beer, rubbing arnica on your hamstring and alternating between heat/ice? I think not! I'm probably negating any benefits of my hamstring recovering by enjoying this Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, but it's delicious.

I started the day off positively by going to see Dr. Anne Gilbride who is the girlfriend of the Karhu CEO. It's unfortunate that I can't pay her in shoes. She did ART and adjusted my hips which weren't too out of place. I'm battling a really tight right hamstring that shoots signs of discomfort every time I plant and pull on my right side. Not good.

The good news? My SI Joint no longer hurts. Keep reading the catch up (ketchup?) posts to find out why my hamstring is hurt.

Lazy Sat.

Time: none
Distance: none

I decided to take the day off and spend the day nursing my hamstring. After the lousy feeling run yesterday, I thought it would be best to take it easy. Meagan is out of town in Birmingham, AL working the Mercedes Marathon Expo so I had the task of updating the Karhu Facebook page. Like it!

ME > NH > MA

Time: none
Distance: none

Today I traveled down from Maine back home after a few days of being on the road. I opted to not run as the hotel I stayed in wasn't the greatest and my hamstring is not in the best of shape. I hope by resting my leg I'll be able to have a decent weekend of activity.

Vision Lost

This is not how I envisioned my training after Meagan's Olympic Trials performance. I had hoped to start running my own workouts eared to running a spring marathon. There was even talk about getting an entry into the Boston Marathon, but all of that has been put on pause. I had been having some slight discomfort in my low right side of my back, hip, groin during the last couple of runs with Meagan leading up to the Trials. In Houston, the pain wasn't getting any better, so I opted to take Saturday (the only running I did was to cheer on the runners) and Sunday off. Fast forward to today and I'm still having the same discomfort whenever I land on my right side.

I'm pretty convinced it's my SI joint and I'll find out more this Saturday when I go to see a chiropractor. I have run a bit which I'll update soon.

Since I'm not really running, check out a few recent articles about work:

Antenna Mag & Candy Washington

I didn't attend Project NY, but it's a big shoe and fashion trade show. My sense is that people way cooler that you or me browse mostly underground brands looking for the next biggest urban trends.

I don't really work on the Karhu Originals side of the business, but I wear the shoes all the time. There is something about the brand's unique history that I like. Wearing brightly colored mesh upper shoes also gets a big boring as I spend enough time in running shoes. When I visit accounts or hang out with my friends, I prefer to wear Karhu Originals. (Yes, that was a Dos XX reference).

Day Off

Time: none
Distance: none

What a way to start the month by taking a day off! Whoops.

I wasn't going to be getting any time on the feet before leaving for the Maine Marathon Expo, so I hoped to sneak in a run while in Portland. It just didn't happen so I was required to take a zero. My body probably needs it anyway as I've been running a fair amount now that my foot no longer hurts.

Hepcat Hopscotch Race

Time: none
Distance: none

There was no running today as I had to be out the door early for arrival and set up at an event in Raleigh. I helped to sponsor an alley cat race with Chrome and the event organizers wanted me on hand to show off the brand. I set up a table and displayed a bunch of bags and shoes for all to see. The stickers were an immediate hit and some were placed on bikes at the event.

I'm feeling lazy and don't feel like posting individual photos, so I will direct you to the TGA Facebook page.

Day 5

Time: none
Distance: none

Another day without bringing the heart rate above 100.

Labor Day with No Labor

Time: none
Distance: none

I put in zero work in terms of running today on Labor Day. I did go to the movies to see The Debt with Meagan.

One More Time

Time: none
Distance: none

And here's a third day of no running. So awesome.

No More Running

Time: none
Distance: none

One day can easily turn into two at this rate.

Day Off

Time: none
Distance: none

I'm taking time off as it isn't fun to run when every toe-off brings discomfort. My hope is that a few days with continued therapy will help alleviate some of the pain. I still have hopes of running Blue Ridge but those thoughts are rapidly fading.

Driving to DC

Time: none
Distance: none

Meagan and I drove to DC this morning as she had a run club with Pacers in Arlington. I considered running, but figured the past three days of training have left my foot in a foul place. Time for some recovery.

Day Off in the Triangle

Time: none
Distance: none

I wasn't in the right mindset to put in the time today. I had a fun night out with George "Monk" Linney and stayed up way to late to recover. My foot probably needs the day off especially after attempting a track workout yesterday.