Scott Procopio Gold Star Run for Honor 10k

Hi Guys!
Yesterday I woke up at 5 to run a 10k in my hometown of Saugus!  Yes, that's right, 5am on a Saturday, what was I thinking?? 

 I decided to try a different pre-race breakfast than what I've been having.  This was my 7th race, and I've had a bagel with cream cheese, coffee and orange juice before each one.  This time I had 3.25 English muffins halves with peanut butter, honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a mug of coffee.

I think this breakfast worked a lot better.  Bagels get digested pretty fast, so by the time I'm at the starting line, I'm usually feeling shaky (could be from nerves, though) and a little hungry, and depending on the length of the race, I feel like I need more energy.  This time I didn't feel hungry/shaky before the race, and I never felt like I was running out of energy on the course.

The humidity was at 87% and it was around 75 degrees.  Not ideal running conditions!

I ended up running into 2 friends from high school, Ryan and Josh, and they were both running the 5k.  It was really nice to see some familiar faces, and chatting with them really helped calm my pre-run jitters.  So, thanks guys!

The starting line

The course was not very scenic.  It went down some main roads in Saugus, and at mile 4, it lead us up a giant hill.  That was not fun, but I didn't stop to walk once, so I was pretty proud of myself for that.  I enjoyed the challenge!

I crossed the finish line in 58 minutes 19 seconds with a pace of 9:23.  For the women's division, I came in 19th out of 29, and in my age division 11th out of 16.  Not my best, but I had an awesome time running this race, and I loved the challenge of the big hill near the end.

This race was run in honor of Scott Procopio who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2006.  The proceeds go to a scholarship in his name to help children of members in the armed forces go to college.

For more information:
www.procopioscholarship.com

Mike's Law School Graduation

Friday was a special day, my big brothers graduation from Law School!
I went to the commencement ceremony with my Mom, Dad, Grandma, and my brother's girlfriend, Yulia.  The ceremony was held at the Wang Theatre, which is gorgeous.  It was a really nice location, and even though it wasn't super hot, I was secretly glad it was held inside!  

The ceremony was nice, and it wasn't too long or boring.  I found out an interesting fact about New England Law, they were the first and only law school to allow women to attend! They were founded in 1908, so they were teaching women law before women even had the right to vote.  I thought that was pretty awesome.

After the ceremony, we met up with my brother, snapped some pics, and went to lunch.  Our original plan was to go to Texas Roadhouse. but when we got there, we saw it was under construction, and wasn't going to open until 3:30!  At this point it was only 2pm, so we decided to go to Chili's instead.

I wish my brother's eyes were open...

At Chili's, I got a blue moon to drink, and the shrimp tacos for my meal.  They were so good!  I think I ordered them because they have a giant strip of avocado in each taco and I had been craving some.

 mmmm, avocado.

But anyway, I'm really proud of my brother!  He is now the highest educated person in our immediate family (he's a doctor of law!), and I wish him all the luck in taking the bar, and finding employment.  I know he will make a terrific lawyer, so I wish him all the luck in the world. 

P.S: I'm getting his diploma framed for his graduation present, and I'm nervous just having it in my possession!  That's an expensive degree!