Is it May Already?

So, I know it is January 7th, but when I came out of the Y today I thought it was May. It was so nice and warm. The temps were close to 60! IN JANUARY! Tomorrow and Wednesday will also be warm. So I was thinking about jumping on the bike and getting a nice 15 mile ride in either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Yesterday I went for a 5.5 mile run around town. It was a little cool out and I definately over dressed for the run. By the time I got home I was soaked in sweat. I completed the run in a little over 55 mins. Kinda slow, but there is always room for improvement. I really was not prepared for the run. I did not drink enough water earlier in the day and I really didn't eat all that well for lunch, so that sat in my stomach like a brick for the whole run. So I need to be a smart runner and prepare my body before I head out.

As for today, since my legs were soar from the run, I decided to hit the nautilus machines and then jumped in the pool for 1200 meters. Swimming is definately coming around for me. Talking with a local triathalon coach, he said that I need to incorporate some drills into my swims and not just focus on distance. Becuase if I just work on distance with poor technique, I am just hurting myself in the long run. So starting tomorrow or when ever I am in the pool next I am going to start doing some drills. I actually stayed in the pool area after I was done to watch one the swimmers complete his drill work. I was watching this one guy who just glides through the water. His swimming seemed effortless and fast. Come to find out he is the Masters swim coach for the Y. So I will have to introduce myself the next time I see him.

Happy Monday!

Taking A Look Back at 2007

I am trying to figure out how I want to put my 2007 season into words. Guess I will start from the beginning.

In the beginning of the year I was already on a weight loss program. In May, after talking with my old Navy buddy Moonpie, I decided to train for a 5K we plan on running in August while we where in Las Vegas. I also I decided to sign up for the Shoreline Biathlon which was held in September. This was a 5 mile run followed by a 16 mile bike. Since I couldn’t swim if my life depended on it, I decided a biathlon would be a great way to jump into multi-sport racing. So along with the running I dusted the cobwebs off of my mountain bike and started riding.

The training went well and decided to run the Celebrate Summer 5k in July. I finished the race in a time of 31:03. I was very excited about completing my first 5K and couldn’t wait for the Vegas trip in August and to run the Midsummer Nights Dream 5K.

The Vegas trip was awesome. I completed the Midsummer Nights Dream 5K in a time of 32:09. Slower then my previous race, but I would attribute the slow race to the 102 degree heat and the drinking and lack of sleep from the night before. Moonpie had a good run and we both decided that we will never run another 5K in Vegas again.

After the Vegas trip my focus was on the Shoreline Biathlon. I was running and biking as much as I could. I went out and bought a cheap road bike for the race. I really didn’t want to use the mountain bike because I thought it would slow me down and I really didn’t want to look like a newbie out on the race course, I did anyways.

The day came for the race and I was very nervous. First of all the run was 5 miles. I only ran 5 miles twice before the race and I was hoping that I would have enough in the tank to complete the 16 mile bike. Well I managed to pull off my first multi-sport event. I completed the race in 1:47:37. It was a great accomplishment for me. I was really excited and used this event to push me into training for my first triathlon in 2008.

After the race I completed a few more 5k races. I was setting a PR for every race. The last race of the season, Mews Gear and Beer 5K, I had no intention on setting a PR with the course containing a lot of hills, but I did with a time of 27:43. Awesome way to end my racing season.

Towards the end of September I started swimming. Boy it took awhile for me to feel comfortable in the water. It also seemed like it took forever to learn how to breathe. Practice makes perfect.

Going into 2008, I just can’t wait to complete my first Triathlon. I am still trying to figure out my race schedule for the year but my plans are to do a couple of sprints in the beginning of the season, throw in some 5ks, a 5 mile and a 10 mile road race, and end the season with an Olympic Tri and possibly a Half Marathon. We will see how the season progresses but I am really excited for this year. I hopefully will be heading to Lake Placid to cheer on my Bloggers Peeps and Moonpie as he goes for his first Ironman distance race.

So lets hear it for 2007!!!! Woot!! WOOT!

2008 WILL be better!

End of 2007

What a great year 2007 has been. 2008 is almost here!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years.

See ya in 2008!

Come and Gone

Wow. What a busy holiday for my family and I. I won't get into all the details but I really had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Here is a brief recap of the past couple of days:
Thursday - Day off from work, Christmas shopping with my mom who came up from Florida with my stepfather, saw I Am Legend; Friday - another day off from work, spent time with Kim getting last minute things done, Reese got sick; Saturday - nice 1000 meters swim at the Y, need that; Sunday - Christmas dinner with Kim's nana and dad, lots of food and presents; Monday - Drive to NJ for Christmas Eve at Kim's Uncle's house, more food and Brady becoming sick; Tuesday - Christmas day, presents in the morning, Drive to Kim's other uncle's house for Christmas dinner and then drove 3.5 hours back to RI, got to sleep at 12:30AM; Today - Dropped kids off at daycare, Kim sick, went home and slept for 2 hours then back to work. Well thats it in a nutshell.

One really funny story I would like to share. So we are at Kim's uncle Mike's house for Christmas eve dinner and people were spread out all over the house. Kids running around, going nuts. While walking around I spot a dish of cookies. Oh and they had one of my favorites, peanut butter kiss cookies. I love them! Of course I ate one or was it two? After a few hours, I sit down in the living room and I look over into the next room and see Reese and Kim's brother's little boy Dylan standing next to the dish of cookies. I think nothing of it, but I wanted to grab another cookie. So I start walking over there and I see that the two of them were eating the cookies! So I say "Hey, what are you guys doing!? " Reese doesn't even look at me, and takes off into the other room, while Dylan looks up at me with his cheeks all puffed out. I look at the plate and those little stinkers ate all of the Hersey Kisses off of the cookies! I look back at Dylan and notice that his mouth is full of chocolate kisses. I just started laughing. It was a great moment that I will never forget.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!!!!

In the ZONE

Ever have one of those days when everything just clicks. You hit that ZONE where no mater what everything feels right. I use to have those days every once in a while when I was either skateboarding or inline skating. I would just be able to land every trick I tried. I had one of those days in the pool today. Lets back up a little. This morning I didn't want to do anything today. I didn't feel like swimming or biking or whatever. Staying home and sleeping or just watching TV just sounded so good. Then I read Me and the Boys and read what a great day michelle had in the pool the other day. It just got me super motivated so I grabbed my stuff and headed to the Y. After my initial laps I was going to do as many laps as I could without stopping. I thought I would make it as far as 400 meters then stop. 400 meters, felt good and kept going. 500, 600, ......900, 1000! I stopped at 1000 meters!!!!! I couldn't believe how fluid my motions were and how comfortable I felt during those 1000 meters. I just felt so relaxed and I could have kept going, but I had to stop due to time constraints. In total I swam 1800 meters today. Simply awesome. Hopefully I will have more days like that (especially during race day). After the swim I jumped on the stationary bike for 10 miles. If I didn't have to leave I would have jumped on the treadmill for 3 miles, just to complete my first YMCA indoor workout triathlon! NExt time!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hey

So over the weekend we saw Santa a few times. The kids are great with santa. I finished putting up the rest of the christmas lights, well actually 2 reindeer.

On Monday I wimped out and only went for a swim. It was too cold out and I still do not have proper cold weather running gear, so I didn't want to chance getting sick or whatever. So I jumped in the pool for a great 1000 meter. Of course it was not all in a row, 4 x 50, 3 x 100, 1 x 200, 2 x 100, 2 x 50.

As for today, I went to the Y early and did 10 miles on the bike,

4 miles on the elliptical and a circuit on the Nautilus equipment.

So there is not to much to talk about. Just going through the daily motions. Actually today Kim and I tried to take Brady and Reese's picture for our Christmas cards. They both looked really cute and it only took about an hour and a half to get a decent picture.

Friday!

Boy its funny how a week can fly by during this Holiday season. Went out for a 5 mile run around town today. I thought about running on the bike path but I just enjoy running through town. Don't get me wrong, the bike path is very beautiful, but there is something about people watching me run, kinda gets me motivated and keeps me going. The temp wasn't too bad today. It was probably around 35 degrees. I should have waited to run tomorrow when the forecast calls for 45 degrees.

Tomorrow I plan on getting up in the morning and heading down to the Y for a swim. I have a goal to swim 1000 meters tomorrow. That would be the largest distance yet!

So I have been thinking about what Garmin I should buy, the 301 or the 305. I know both have all the features I would need and I can care less about the size or the 301 over the 305. It basically comes down to cost. Both units get great reviews so I am leaning toward the 301. Plus I have found a few on Ebay that are under $100 for the 301. I should be careful about buying electronics from Ebay, but I figured if I could score a 301 for under $100, it might be worth it. I am still thinking about it.

Other then that, lets see....not much else is going on. I am still trying to decided what races I want to do next year. I know I will be entering a few 5Ks, the Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile race and probably a half marathon. I am still working on the Triathlon schedule. It kinda sucks that most of the early triathlons are either in Mass or Conn. My current thinking is that my first Sprint will be the Mystic River Valley Triathlon in June. I need to keep my schedule open for July 13 so I can watch the Rhode Island 70.3 Ironman and July 20 so I can head up to the Lake Placid Ironman. Both of those events will definately be awesome events!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

The Weekend Report

Saturday the family braved the cold weather and went to a local farm and picked out our christmas tree. Normally we take a good 30 minutes to find the perfect one, but since it was around 25 degrees with a wind chill in the teens, it took us probably 5 mins to pick the tree and get the kids back in the warm car. We got the tree home and Kim and Brady started decorating the tree while I went into the rafters of the garage to find all the christmas decorations. That night Kim and I went out with my sister and her husband to see a 80's cover band. We had a good time.

Sunday we chilled at home for most of the day. We went to a tree lighting party at a friends house in the late afternoon. Good times.

So here is my workout plan for December. I am really excited about it. I went over a little on today's workout, but I would rather be over then under!

Thursday

Well its almost Friday!!! It has been a pretty uneventful week. Yesterday I helped my brother-in-laws rake their Grandmothers leaves. Today I went to the Y and did some strength training and then went for a 3 mile run around town. It was another nice day so I am going to take every opportunity to run outside and avoid the treadmill. After the run I jumped in the pool for 800 meters. It was a good swim that consisted of 4x50, 3x100, 1x200 and 2x50. I was pretty beat after the swim.

I am currently developing a workout plan for December. The plan will have a heavy focus on running and swimming. I am also going to find some good core workouts to incorporate into my everyday workouts. I feel that my body is lacking strength in my core. If anyone knows of any good books or core website please let me know. When I have the plan I will post it.

As for tomorrow, I will head to the Y and spend 30 mins on the stationary bike, 30 mins on the elliptical and 800 meters in the pool.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Thanksgiving and Other Stuff

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did. We had about 18 people over for a great dinner on Thursday. The night before I cooked a 17lb turkey just for people to have left over turkey to bring home and Kim did some prep work on a few things just to make Thursday go a little easier. Thursday morning I cooked a 22lb turkey and cleaned house for most of the morning. Our guests started arriving around 2:00 and we didn’t eat until about 3:30. Lots of food, not enough space in my stomach to hold it all. So at my house we say grace before every meal. Normally Kim, the kids and I fill our plates and then we say grace. Well on Thanksgiving we said grace before we had food on our plates. So I started saying grace the way we always say it (we keep it simple and to the point for the kids, and sometimes Brady says it) “Thank you God for our food…” and I look at Brady who has the saddest expression on his face, he looks down and says “daddy, I don’t have any food”. I never felt so sad in my entire life. He just looked so serious and sad. I looked at Kim and she looked like she was about to cry. It was that sad. So both Kim and I got up and gave Brady a hug and gave him some food. After that I really couldn’t finish saying grace, but I did and the eating began. After dinner we all sat around and relaxed. Some of us went to the basement and played air hockey. Then it was dessert time. We had apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, ice cream….enough to feed an army. I had a piece of the chocolate pie and sat down and read through the sales flyers for Black Friday. After dessert everyone started leaving and after everyone had gone, we put the kids to bed and Kim and I went over the sales flyers again to plan our Black Friday attack. I found a really good deal on a Zune 30gig MP3 player at Toys R Us so I knew I would be getting up early to go stand in line for this thing.

So I get up at 3:50 and I was out of the house at 4:00AM just to make it to Toys R Us by 4:20AM. As soon as I got off the exit I saw the huge line of people waiting to get in. The store opens at 5:00AM so I have 40 minutes to wait in the cold weather for this MP3 player. I make it into the store by 5:10, get my Zune by 5:30 and I was home by 6:00AM with my new MP3,video, Podcast, picture player. AWESOME!!! Kim and I get ready to head out for a day of shopping and the crowds. Kim’s mother came over early to take the kids to daycare. We had a pretty successful shopping day. The crowds were not as bad as I thought they would be.

As for the rest of the weekend. We got the kids picture taken with Santa, took care of some more leaves in the backyard and put up some Christmas lights. I went for a short workout yesterday.

Today everything was back to normal. I went to the Y after dropping the kids off at daycare. Quick run on the treadmill and the elliptical. Finished the day with a 800 meter swim. The water felt great today. I was totally relaxed the whole time in the pool, even though MR. Splashy was right next to me the whole time.

So for not working out for a few days and eating a lot on Thanksgiving, I gained only 1 pound. I was thinking that I would have gained more. I am so glad I didn’t. Well I will have to lose that pound this week. I dropped out of the top 10 in the Challenge, so I need to step up my game.

Time Off and Happy Thanksgiving

I will be taking a few days off from blogging. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please remember our Armed forces this holiday. If you know anyone in the military send a quick note or a care package or just remember them when your family sits down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving. As a former military person, the thoughts, prayers, letters and packages were very uplifting and welcomed during time away from family and loved ones.

I will be hitting the gym tomorrow and Saturday, but Thursday we have family coming over and Friday is the BIG shopping day.

Enjoy and again Happy Thanksgiving.

Last Race of the Season, New PR!!!!

Going into yesterday's race I had my doubts about setting a PR. The course had a very large hills and the temp was around 38-40 degrees. Since I just began running in May I did not have any cold weather running gear so I had to make due with what I had. The race was a huge event. Talking to someone before the race, they said the first time the Mews Tavern held the race there was only 60 people running. Yesterday there were over 800 people running!!! As for the run, I knew it was my last race of the season so I wanted to break my last PR of 28mins 11 secs. The run starts with a nice hill that is probably about 1/4 long, definately a will breaker. After the hill I settled in to a nice pace and just cruised until the last hill. I told myself I would not walk any portion of the race including this last hill. I just put my head down and charged up the hill, passing walkers and other runners. I knew once I got to the top it was all down hill to the finish line. I made it to the top of the hill and started my decent to the finish. I looked at my watch and saw I had a chance to break my PR so I kicked up my pace. I saw this kid infront of me and made it my goal to pass him before the finish. I caught up to him at the turn onto Main Street. As soon as I caught up to him he started to sprint. SO I started to sprint with him but just couldn't pass the little bugger. We crossed the finish line almost at the same time. I told him I tried to pass him but he was too fast for me. Race time - 27 mins 43secs....NEw PR!!!
Just Awesome. I was really excited about me time and very happy with my effort. After the race there was a big BBQ and free beer for all who ran. Plus there was a huge raffle with over 40 differant items to win. I actually won a gift certificate to a local resturant, which my wife and I used last night. In all, it was a great racea and will definately run the race again.

The Weekend

Well its Friday! We have a few things planned for the weekend. Brady has soccer tomorrow morning and in the afternoon we plan on going to the Mews to pick up our bib #, shirt and free bear! Thats about it for Saturday. The race on Sunday is at 1:00 so I have plenty of time before the race. I am definately looking forward to the BBQ after the race. It should be alot of fun. Last year there was close to 600 people running and they will probably have the same amount this year. As for a goal, I hope to run the 5k in under 28 mins. That would set a new PR for a 5k race. This will be the last race of 2007. I will write a 2007 year in review sometime in December.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pre Race Run

Today I decided to run the 5K course that I will be running on Sunday for the The Mews Tavern "Gear and Beer" 5k. I wanted to run it becuase the course is full of hills and I wanted to see what I was getting myself into. So I began my run at the starting line where the first 1/4 is uphill, and not a slight uphill either. It was tough but I pushed through it and settled into a good pace for the rest of the run. There were a couple more hills in the run but nothing like the last hill toward the end. I tried to push it all the way up, but I started walking toward the top. The cool thing is that once you get to the top of the hill, the rest of the race, probably a good 1/4 mile, is all down hill. So I cranked it up and basically sprinted to the bottom of the street and then made the turn onto Main Street and sprinted down to where the finish line will be on Sunday. As I crossed the line, or where it said "Finish" on the road, I looked at my watch and it read 27mins 56secs. What? I just PR'd the hardest 5K I have ever ran? That felt good and now I can't wait for Sunday's race. The only thing that I am concerned about is the Temp for Sunday. The weather guys are calling for temps in the 40's. Pretty cold considering that today's temp was around 60!!! I guess we will see what happens.

After the run I took Reese to the Doctors for her 18 month check up. She got 3 shots and didn't like them one bit. But once we got to the car I said she was a good girl and gave her some M&Ms, which she loves. I dropped her off at daycare and went home to get my swim stuff and then off to the Y for a few laps in the pool. The pool was crowded but I shared a lane with a nice slow swimmer, like me! 600meters complete! Nice swim. I am completing 1 lap (50 meters) every time now. I think next week I will go for 75 meters before taking a rest.

After the swim I cleaned up some more leafs in the backyard, which seems like it will never end.

Weekend

Last weekend was pretty much uneventful. We had nothing planned which was a nice change. We actually found ourselves trying to find something to do. On Saturday Brady had his soccer class at the Y. He was so cute running around with his shin guards. Really didn't do to much for the rest of the day. Sunday was just as boring since the Patriots didn't play. We put together my new Lawn Sweeper so I don't have to rake leaves. I tried it out, why didn't I get one of these things years ago! As for Monday, I went to the Y and completed a 2 mile run on the treadmill and 600 meters in the pool. Then I went home and continued to cleanup the leafs in the yard. I made a huge pile for Brady to jump into. He loved it!!!!

No work out today. I had the kids and they don't like the YMCA daycare for some reason. I'll have to make up for it tomorrow.

Until then........

6 Mile Run

Well I completed my first 6 mile run today. I was going to run through town but decided to run the bike path instead. The bike path has mile markers so it was easier for me to keep track on where I was since I do not have a GPS unit. Starting off was a little cold and stiff even after stretching. I would say it took a good mile to warm up and get into a nice pace. Running on the bike path was awesome. It was such a nice day and the scenery was just beautiful. I was surprised to find only a few people on the path. I completed the first 3 miles in 31min 5 secs. I was running at a slow pace since I knew I was going for 6 miles today. Around the 4th mile my right Achilles heel started to tighten up so I made a couple of stops to stretch it out. At the 5th mile I decided to run the last mile without stopping. I was using the 5:1 ratio for the run today but at the 5th mile I felt pretty good and thought I had a chance to run the 6 miles in under 60 mins if I didn’t take my last walk break. Unfortunately I didn’t make it under 60 mins but I was so happy just to complete my first 6 mile run. I completed the last 3 miles in 30 mins 17 secs for a total time of 1 hour 1 min and 22 secs. I was a little sore but nothing major. I am going to make this a weekly run, except for next week when I have my last 5K race of the season.

My power week is complete. I didn’t hit all my goals but I did make progress on my running and swimming. The one goal I did hit was swimming for over 1700 meters. For the next several weeks I am going to concentrate on bringing that number up. My running goal of 20miles for the week was doomed from the beginning since I forgot that in order to get 4 runs in a week I need to start running on Sunday, not Monday since I run every other day. So this coming week I am going to start my running on Sunday with hopes on making the goal of 20 miles. As for the weight, I did lose another 2.5 lbs. Still didn’t crack the top 10 of the Challenge but that just goes to show that the others in the Challenge are just as motivated as I am which is awesome!!

As for the Challenge itself, I love it. I love entering my daily workout totals and reading others comment on my workout days and I enjoy commenting on others daily totals. It gives me such a boost to have someone comment on my day so I make sure I leave comments for others. I WILL CRACK THE TOP 10!!!!!!

As for the weekend the family and I really don’t have too many things planned. We are going out tomorrow to have pictures taken of the kids and then soccer class with Brady at the Y. I might try to sneak in a couple of laps at the Y tomorrow. Oh yeah and rake leaves, ugggh.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

And its Thursday

Yesterday I was doing my blog rounds and came across a blog I think everyone needs to read. Stopping off at IM ABLE's blog, she directed me to Bolder in Boulder's blog. After reading his post I was full of emotion in which I can not put into words. So for anyone who reads my blog, please visit Bold's blog and help in anyway possible.

On Wednesday I went for a 5 mile run using the 5:1 ratio and it worked great. I ran the 5 miles in just over 50 mins. It's slower then my time for the Biathlon, but it was still a great run. After the run I was going to get a few laps in the pool but decided to go home and get some rest before work. That was about it for Wednesday.

As for today, I went to the Y and did some strength training and some laps in the pool. When I got to the Y there were tons of kids in the pool. I figured it was some type of swim class. During these classes there is one lap lane available, and there was already 2 people sharing the lane so I went and did my strength training first. After 40 mins I decided to check out the pool again. There was no one in the lap lane but all the kids were still there. So I decided to take advantage of the lap lane and threw my suit on and jumped in the pool. After one lap all the kids got out of the pool and headed for the showers....AWESOME!!!!! I had the entire pool to myself. It was me and the lifeguard. So for a good part of 30 minutes there was no one in the pool and I took my time and busted out 600 meters. Great swim!!!

Today is my stepfather's 51st birthday today. My brother and sister pitched in and got him a Homedepot gift card. Happy Birthday David!!!!

Tomorrow I am going to complete my long run for the week, 6 miles. I am going to use the 5:1 ratio for the 6 miles. I am totally looking forward to it. I hav never run 6 miles before so I am really excited. Wish me luck!!

Draft 2008 Schedule

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2008. Right off the bat I knew I wanted to complete my first Triathlon. So I started looking for my "A" race. During that time I decided, basically today I decided, to make my "A" race an Olympic distance Triathlon toward the end of the summer next year. I think the amount of time between now and the end of the 2008 summer is enough for me to train for that distance. So I searched for an Oly Tri in the area and found Park City Mossman Triathlon that will be held on August 10, 2008. The Tri is a 1500 meters swim, 24.9 miles bike and a 6.2 miles run. I think the swim and bike distance is a little short of an true Oly distance, but this is close enough. So the next step is to register for this event. Hopefully it isn't sold out. That would suck!!!.

So on top of my "A" race, I am going to do a Sprint Tri toward the beggining of the summer. I ws thinking somewhere around the first of June. The Sprint Tri will be a warm up for the Oly Tri. Also in 2008 I will be running a few 5ks and 1 10 miler (The Blessing of the Fleet Road Race).
So I just need to find the Sprint tri for June and I will be ready to go for 2008.

As for today, I went to the Y and busted out 4.75 miles on the Elliptical in 30 minutes and swam 500 meters in the pool. Great workouts!!!!

Until tomorrow.....!!!!!!!!

Power Week

Ok thats the only name I can come up with. I am not good with my daily blog titles. I have been lagging behind on my weight loss for the THROUGH TH3 WALL Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge. I have lost 6lbs but I know I can do much better then 6lbs in 1 month. So this week I am going to increase my workouts. By the end of the week I want to run a total of 20 miles, swim 1700 meters and 20 miles on the elliptical machine. That might not seem like alot for some people, but it is to me. Along with that I want to shed another 4lbs. So let the POWER WEEK begin!!!

So for today I went on a new 4.5 mile running route through town. Basically took me all through town and a few minutes on the bike path. Great run! Then after the run I jumped in the pool for 500 meters. Straight freestyle swimming. Today was another break through day in the pool. I swam 100 meters before stopping. I didn't think I was going to pull it off, but everytime I would struggle getting a breath, I just relaxed and took it one stroke at a time. IT was great and I was very happy.

Tomorrow I will put in 4 miles on the elliptical, and circuit workout and some more time in the pool.

Halloween Report

Last night was great. After I worked 1st shift last yesterday so I could be home to take the kids trick or treating. It has been tradition for my family that we have Chinese food on Halloween. I was really looking forward on eating general tso chicken and Singapore mei fun. As we did last Halloween, we invited our friends over Chris and Andrea and their 2 kids Mark and Quinn to partake in the Chinese and to trick or Treat in our neighborhood. My neighborhood is any trick or treater’s dream. It is a wonderful place to live and there are tons of kids here. Plus in several of the houses I think the parents enjoy Halloween more then the kids do and go all out on decorations and dress up themselves. The trick or treaters started showing up around 6:15 last night, just as we were finishing up dinner. We got the kids ready and headed out into the neighborhood. Reese was a butterfly and Brady was Diego from Dora the Explorer. Both were very cute as you can see from the pictures. Reese wanted to walk the whole time. She did a great job saying trick or treat and grabbing 1 piece of candy, sometimes sneaking up and taking another. Brady was an old pro remembering from last year. He loved it and had such a good time. Everyone was wiped out by the time we got home. Talking with the neighbor, they said they went through 15 bags of candy. That’s a lot of kids. Both Reese and Brady made out pretty well. All in all it was a great night and lots of fun for everyone.

Today was the day to get back on track. After I dropped the kids off at daycare I went to the Y and started my work out for the day. I started off with stretching, then moved onto the stationary bike for a quick 5 mile warmup. After the bike I went for a 3.5 mile run. The past few times I have ran it seems like it is getting a little easier each time. I feel so comfortable running and I am not tired. Of course I get winded and have to slow my pace down or take a 30 sec walk break but it just seems easy. Maybe I should push my speed up a little more. I have a 5 mile run planned on Saturday so we will see how that goes I guess. After the run I jumped in the pool for 400 meters. Today was the first time I actually swam full laps. Normally I swim ½ laps and stop, rest and then continue. Not today, I was swimming 1 lap (50meters) and then stopping. A great accomplishment and I was really excited. I am just taking things slow and easy and I know I will be swimming multiple laps soon.