<p>Stopped off at Marshalls and they had some interesting shorts. More Nike stuff in my size - several without pockets and a few with pockets. There was one that I was happy with (5 inch inseam, pockets, thin liner) but the waistband was all stretched out. Shorts that they leave on those plastic alligator clip hangers get the waistband all stretched out if they are left like that for a long period of time.</p>
<p>So I went to the Womens Activewear section and picked up two Drifit S shirts for my wife and daughter to try out. They had black, gray and pink. Daughter likes pink and black so I got those two, noticed that they were $3 less than the same shirts in the mens department and took them home. They fit my daughter quite nicely, just slightly loose. They also fit my wife, a little less loose. The womens section had a lot more stuff with less material. The Drifits that I bought also have a bigger neck opening than on the mens stuff. My daughter told me that she likes the neck opening fairly loose - she doesn’t like to feel like she’s being strangled. So a good trip for them and I’ll keep looking. My RRS shorts should arrive by Tuesday. I don’t know if the post office is running tomorrow.</p>
Judging from the amount of Nike stuff at TJMAXX these days, I would say that it’s a safe bet Marshalls/TJMAXX will be getting the the same endless stream of NIKE shorts (running, tennis, etc.) as they did last year.
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I was quite the ol’ (formerly) fat guy fashion plate yesterday. Black Brooks running pants (now baggy), black Marmot PolarTec lightweight base layer (1/4 zip mock turtleneck), under my new red adidas long sleve tech shirt with black stripes. Hey, at least I look like runner (if they don’t actually see me lumbering along!)
It’s was just about perfect. Just a bit chilly walking in the breeze at the top of the hills, a bit sweaty during the running intervals. That’s about as good as I could ask for. I was surprised at how muddy it was in the park, considering that we haven’t had any snow melt.
<p>My wife suggested looking in TJMAXX - I don’t know if I’ve ever been into one before and it would be a bit of a pain figuring out the layout.</p>
<p>I noticed more guys in the grocery store sporting tech stuff today - either the weather is getting nicer (it was 45 degrees this morning) or people are picking up a lot of good bargains at Marshalls. I had a look at the winter coats and there’s a lot of stuff going for a song.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of moving my XL tech shirts from the bedroom down to the basement. They’ve been sitting on my (maybe I’ll wear it chair) for several weeks which means it’s time to move them to the (very unlikely I’ll wear it spot on the basement floor) after which it either moves to long-term clothing storage or the donation bin at the YMCA.</p>
TJMAXX and Marshall’s are the same store. Same ownership. Same credit card. Basically the same merchandise. It may be just local stores, but my Marshalls tends to have a better selection of men’s dressy pants (Dockers, etc.). The nearby TJ’s tend to have a bigger selection of tech athletic stuff.
I’ve got one of each next door to my two closest Market Basket grocers, so it’s quick to take a quick look-see, although I’m pretty much all set.
I moved all my LARGE shorts to a plastic bin in the basement. LARGE tech shirts are in an extra bedroom closet. Those will see hot weather PJ duty just as long sleeve cotton Ts have been seeing PJ duty this winter. I’ve got some bundles for charity.
<p>A gift card at one can be used at either. The only thing you can do is return TJ MAXX stuff to Marshalls or vice versa.</p>
<p>Same merchandise, usually the same pricing, although I guess the selection varies by store. TJ’s has a lot bigger selection of Nike tech shirts right now than my local Marshalls does, but the Marshall’s has a lot of the adidas short sleeve shirts. I think that TJ’s tends to devote more floor space to men’s athletic wear, but the same stuff eventually cycles through both stores.</p>
<p>After the discussion, I went to the Y for a 1 mile run and to drop off a bunch of XLs (and bigger) shorts and jeans. Also did a bit of weights. Need to do more tonight in the basement. There’s now an empty spot on the basement floor that I can move the shirts down to.</p>
<p>I knew that they were the same company because they all got hacked several years ago - they were using an obsolete encryption standard on their wireless routers and a huge number of credit cards accounts were affected. That’s one of the reasons why I like to pay in cash at Marshalls.</p>
<p>I’m sure that their problems are fixed now but it left a bad taste with my plastic.</p>
<p>I do. not Nike shorts at Dick’s, but I’ve paid full price for a lot of my gear (except for my Brooks discount stuff) like skirts, jackets etc. I like what I like!</p>
<p>Well, I almost hopped on the Airdyne, but I stuck to my guns and took a nap instead! The ol’ (formerly) fat guy is just wore out from too many days of exercise in a row. I’ve also got a sore throat, so I’ll have to see if there’s a bug brewing.</p>
<p>I did finsh up four days of taking blood pressure measurements and uploaded to the computer. Pretty much where it’s been all along: average of 127/77. Interesting that I am consistently the highest right around mid-day, rather than first thing in the morning. Consistently the lowest after exercise – an effect that seems to linger for hours. Probably because my pulse is higher after exercise.</p>
<p>Average pulse for the week (not strictly “resting”): 56. I saw numerous measurements in the 46 to 49 range.</p>
I came up with a truly awesome recipe last night. It’s actually a variation on a Victor Soodsook Thai recipe, but cooked a different way - pan roasted instead of in steamer. The following is per person and the amounts are just guesses (I didn’t measure anything):
1 salmon filet (whatever size you like)
Mix in a bowl:
Juice of 2 lemons (from a juicer, you might need more if you are hand squeezing)
1/4 cup water
2 tsp sugar (could be omitted, but I splurged on the 30 calories!)
2 serrano chiles (seeded and sliced – or don’t seed them if you like it firey)
2 heaping TBS of pink pickled sushi ginger
1 TBS Thai fish sauce
1 TBS minced garlic (cheater kind from a jar is fine)
1/2 red bell pepper (sliced)
1/2 red or vidalia onion (sliced)
Heat a skillet (non-stick works best). Small pat of butter. Sear the flesh side of the salmon until it is as brown as you like it. Turn over, skin side down. Dump the contents of the bowl on top of the salmon, cover the skillet, turn down the heat, and let it simmer/braise/steam for 10 minutes (or until the fish is cooked as you like it).
Put the fish on a plate and dump the other stuff on top. Could serve with Jasmine rice, or lo-carb it with the green veggie of your choice. I had fresh green beans.
Wow! The sauce/topping melds with the fish oil thrown off by the salmon and is pretty much to die for! And, I here it’s good for your abs! This is going in my regular rotation.
<p>You’re not the average person that works out though. The median household income where this Dicks is located is under $60,000. I play with Pro Stock tennis racquets which are a lot more expensive than retail frames (often $300 to $600 vs $60 to $200) and I’ve purchased Nike stuff at full retail recently after making money on their stock but I’m a bit silly about that sort of thing. I’m amazed that this gets done on a large scale locally. Or maybe a lot of stock winds up at TJMaxx and Marshalls.</p>
<p>Nike appears to have done an across-the-board price hike for their Spring lines as I looked at a lot of other stuff with eye-popping prices. There was an article at CBS Marketwatch last week on price inflation for food and clothing. It will be interesting to see if these price increases hold. Dicks was also discounting the winter stuff but not by much (their discounted prices are still considerably higher than Marshall’s regular prices).</p>
<p>I was feeling a bit tired too so I closed my eyes and woke up three hours later. I probably have a minor cold that’s slowing me down a little.</p>
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<p>Pulse in the 50s is awesome. Reminds me of the stories about Bjorn Borg.</p>
<p>For those of you that listen to your ipods while running/walking/etc., can you recommend a good brand/style (ideally, a set that I could order from Amazon with prime shipping)?</p>
<p>Ultra-lightweight. Sit on top of the ears. You can still hear traffic. Easy to pop on or off to talk to someone. Plus, they are considered to be one of the best sounding portable headphones around. I probably look like a geek, but who cares?</p>
<p>Also available in an iPod version with full control of an iPod on the cord.</p>
<p>I’d get the iPod version if I were buying them today, but Sennheisser just sent me a new pair of the plain style to replace a pair of worn for every workout for two years and finally broke the cord. Two year warranty!</p>
I use the Sennheiser-Adidas bar-style - they stay on. I have tried behind the ear and around the inner-ear styles but the bar-style stays on the best and doesn’t have cord-tangle issues because there’s only one wire.
<p>OK, I’ve resisted asking for soooooo long now, but I give up: Idad and BCEagle: You live relatively close to each other. Have you met in person?</p>
<p>I’m not sure where BC lives. I’m guessing southern NH along the I-93 corridor? Nashua? I’m over near the seacoast in Massachusetts. We are probably 45 minutes from each other, depending on traffic. </p>
<p>No… we’ve never met. I couldn’t keep up with him running or on the tennis court, that’s for sure!</p>
<p>I’m in the Merrimack Valley (Route 3). I think that we’re both too busy working out, shopping for clothes and sleeping. I’m sure that interesteddad has me beat in the muscles department - it’s pretty hard to do everything.</p>
not Nike shorts at Dick’s, but I’ve paid full price for a lot of my gear (except for my Brooks discount stuff) like skirts, jackets etc. I like what I like!</p>