Car Slappin'

I've invented a new game. It's rather fun. It's called Car Slappin' and all the cool kids are doing it. Let me give you the background story to the game.

Lately I've been doing a lot of running. Like A LOT of running. In the last 40 days I've done upwards of 100 miles. Not too shabby. Gotta do something now that rowing doesn't consume my life anymore.

Anyway, running in Westchester County can be pretty strenuous. Apart from all the hills and busy intersections you have annoying motorists who could care less about the safety of anyone around them. Going back to this past Saturday I was running a normal 5 mile route that has the least amount of intersections and busy roads. The only time I have to worry about getting hit by a car is in the first half mile and the last half mile.

***Sidenote*** I believe in that Karma stuff. You give what you get. Literally every time a car waits for me or allows me to continue on my run without making me stop I give them a nice little thank you wave.


So finally here is what I came here to write about. I'm on my last two minutes before I finish at my apartment. I'm running on Pelhamdale and there is a little road that leads to apartment buildings before the Hutch bridge. I'm running at a pretty quick pace and there is always cars flying down this road. I'm gonna also note that I've rarely seen a car go into that apartment complex.

So, I'm about to step off the sidewalk and cross the road when I notice I'm about to have a standoff with a Honda Civic.We were never going to hit but I had to stop myself from running into the car. He couldn't wait an additional 1.5-2 seconds to let me pass. Then the genius does the most sensible think ever and slows down while he's in my way. Almost to a dead stop. That's when he earned the CAR SLAP. I give a nice little double slap to the trunk of a car that literally is causing me to stop running/slow down or almost ran me over during a run. It's my way of calling the guy and asshole and making sure he/she knew what the hell they just did. This guy was extra fun because following my car slap he beeped at me as if that was going to do anything. After the slap I carried on with my run and finished without getting chases and run down by said Civic.

I've only done 3 car slaps in my lifetime... Every time is an experience. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, SLAP that ish.

Running like the wind!

Holy crap. I ran fast today. Maybe it was the cold. I'm not sure but I beasted and Pr'd my 10k by a solid 2 minutes.

It switched to 26 before I snapped the picture. Crafty thermometer....

Waking up I knew it was going to be freezing. The thermometer read 25 and I read that it was going to be 19 with wind chill. I should been snuggled up in my bed dreaming of Turkey and stuffing but I willed myself to run the race I've grown rather fond of over the last 2 years.

Anyways, long story short. I ran a 6:37 per mile pace which is blazing for a guy like me. So blazing in fact that I finished 12th out of 243 people! 2nd in my age group! That's a silver medal people! They don't just give out those kind of things everyday. Though I didn't actually receive a medal, everyone got to take home a sweet ass apple pie as a reward. I graciously accepted my pie and stumbled to find my mom's car and warm up.

I had to include my boy Youngblood who beasted 23rd. Congrats to him on setting a PR as well!

PS: Thank you Mr. cool old guy who ran beside me for miles 4 to 5.5. You're the man. You may have been 55 and done 20,000 Boston Marathons but today...You were MY little pace bunny. I wanted to pass you at mile 4 but you had such a groovy tempo that I couldn't resist. When I finally started my sprint with a mile or so to go, I looked back and you didn't follow me. Nothing personal. Thanks again. Your pal Bryan.

Getting into a rhythm

Things have been pretty rocky for the last couple of weeks. (New classes, new internship, NCAA clearance to name a few). Today has been a day unlike any I've had i the past couple of weeks. It's the perfect way to end the week. The skies are clearing up (literally and metaphorically).

Getting cleared by NCAA on Monday morning. Boom. Done
Got work to do for my internship finally. Boom. Done.
Weekend. Boom. Need I say more?

The first 2 weeks of my internship were a little concerning. Being thrown into the back of an office complex/epic maze of cubicles, a.k.a Cube City a.k.a. Dharmaville. Whatever you want to call it, it was a little depressing. The good thing about being the first intern on the job was getting one of the only "window seats" on the whole floor (My desk is next to a window). Who isn't a fan of the window seat? Airplanes, Trains, you name it...It's one of those things you have to have. My brother isn't here so I don't have to switch seats with him on returning flight. So to speak. Back to the point of this...Interns have slowly been piling up back here, slowly filling up the desks like leaving a hose on to fill up a kiddie pool. Some cool kids back here. I'm the only one from Westchester. They all think I have a crazy commute, which I do, but living in the city hasn't intrigued me for the most part. Right now I'm researching some blogs for a company but I'm not sure which one. Got assigned to lifestyle brands so I'll be working with Honey Nut Cheerios, Hilton, Hard Rock, Sports Authority, and Smithwicks! Can't wait for some of the projects I'll be getting in the upcoming weeks.

On a completely random note I ended up dropping my bid for the Yonkers Half Marathon. :( Haven't had time to run. Ironically enough, I've been running around a lot lately from work to class and such. I'll get back on the horse soon hopefully. I dread missing a few days because I feel that my endurance goes right out the window as well as a little bit of confidence. I did however sign up for the 10th Annual 10k at the Lowell Elks on Thanksgiving morning. 10k is the perfect distance to run, I've found. Its quick enough so I don't get too bored, but It's long enough that you feel like you really accomplished a lot on the run. This year's goal is to break the 7:00 min/mile mark. Last year I ran a 7:08 min/mile if I remember correctly. Also, maybe this time I won't run the wrong way and lose 45 seconds off my time AND disqualify myself from the 10k :) No promises though