Grand Opening

It's time.

Meredith Gordon Photography has opened for business. Check it out!

The Winter Plans

Now that the racing season has wound down and the next training cycle doesn't start until January, I need something on which to focus. Last year I worked really hard at my running and dieting and had great results. I got down to my lowest weight in a long time (107) and had two fantastic marathons--Boston (3:40) and Chicago (3:35). This year I kinda let myself go and gained back a lot of weight and didn't concentrate too much on my running.

But this few week offseason and all the way leading up to Boston, I am going to try to get back to where I was a year ago and I'm shooting for a really big goal in Boston--3:33. Yep, I'm gonna go ahead and publically announce it!

Here's the plan now that a week has passed since the marathon. I'm going to cut back on the gluttony. Seriously, I love food and high caloric food, but I need to slow it down and eat a few more fruits and vegetables. Next, I'm going to do a little more cross training. I love to swim, but I rarely make time for it. I'm also going to put more emphasis on my speed training, something I didn't do any of for Columbus. And lastly, I am going to weigh in and take weekly measurements to see how I'm tracking. This is more about getting fit than losing weight and I think that should be tracked more through total numbers than just what the scale says.

So, I weighed in and took the measurements last Tuesday and will continue every Tuesday. Here are the baselines:

Weight: 119.3 pounds
Chest: Do you really think I'm going to tell you that?!
Bust: Seriously?!
Waist: 28-1/2 inches
Hips: 35 inches
Butt: 36 inches
L Bicep: 10 inches
R Bicep: 10-1/4 inches
L Quad: 18-1/2 inches
R Qual: 19 inches
L Calf: 14 inches
R Calf: 14 inches

The best part...my calves are only 1/2 inches smaller than Dave's!

Columbus Marathon 2007

Back in the spring after making super-fast friends with Mary, we decided to run the Columbus Marathon together in hopes of qualifying Mary for Boston. We began running together and building up our miles and then shared a training plan when the fun began in July. Finally, Sunday, the day arrived and we were anxious to find out if our planning was successful.

Mary and I met up with Patty and Andrea to run together. We started slow and began building our speed finally falling into a comfortable pace~8:15 per mile. We talked; we laughed; we generally had fun. As we made our way up the long 5 mile stretch of High Street, things began to get quiet. Around mile 16 I noticed Patty had dropped off pace. Andrea informed us that Patty was going to do her own thing. Mile 17 is one of the hardest on the course and it didn’t help that the temperature was quickly rising and the sun was brutal. At mile 17, Mary let out a sigh that I knew meant trouble. At the next water stop, Andrea and I looked back and Mary was gone. I slowed down a bit, but didn’t want to lose my pace as we were only eight seconds ahead of qualifying pace and Andrea held back to see what was going on. We turned onto Dodridge and Andrea came flying up to me. She said Mary was tired and that she was going to fall back. I knew there that Mary’s Boston dreams were not going to happen.

Andrea and I continued on until mile 20 or 21 when I just couldn’t hold pace anymore. I told her to go on and she did. The next several miles were lonely and difficult. I had previously run three other marathons in the 70 degree temperature range, but this felt much hotter. I was so thirsty I felt like I had come to run the marathon after a night of drinking. I would lick my lips and it would provide no relief. Even though I was still on pace to run a 3:40, at mile 22 I decided to do a little walking. Now my walking is not like most people in the marathon. I generally walk for a maximum of a few seconds and then get running again. It’s more for a brain relief than a body relief. As I worked my way into the campus area, I was alone. Dr. Gordon Gee, president of OSU, congratulated me and I personally thanked him. That was the highlight of my race. I slowed down; I walked; I shuffled. Finally at mile 25 I saw Mary’s sister and I had to inform her that I didn’t know where Mary was. I made my way into the last stretch, saw my family, shook my head and smiled. Even though it didn’t go the way I had planned, it had been a good race. I turned onto Nationwide Blvd. heading down to the finish line and I heard people yell out, “Go Mary.” I turned back and she was right there. We grabbed each other’s hands and finished together—3:44:25. Although exhausted, we hugged and congratulated each other. It wasn’t the race we wanted, but it turned out the way it was supposed to. Any other day, I am sure we would have done it.

Next up? Although we didn’t qualify together, I will be going to Boston this spring for my 10th marathon. And Mary has said she and her sister are planning the Country Music ½ Marathon in April.

Oh, I forgot to mention my second highlight of the day. Mary and I coach together at the high school and some of our girls came out to watch the race. They had made great signs that said “Coach Bauman and Coach Gordon Boston Bound.” Luckily I found one of the signs on the street and I took it home to keep it. They were awesome!

Bring it On!

The marathon is this Sunday and I'm feeling pretty good. I have been fighting some shin splints, but it looks like I'm going to win. The water drinking/carbo-loading is probably going to start today. I'm pacing two people to qualify for Boston. Here's hoping I don't screw it up for them. :)

Can I just say how awesomely fun it is right now to be an Ohioan? How 'bout those Indians? Dave and I went up and saw game 1 of the ALDS when we romped the Yankees 12-3. Now we sit eagerly in front of the TV and cheer every run, pitch, and hit.

And how 'bout those Buckeyes? Who would have thought we'd be #1 this year?

With all the excitement going on, how am I supposed to get any sleep before the marathon?

Homestretch 20 Miler

This past Sunday I ran the Homestretch 20 miler which was my last long run before the marathon in a few weeks. The gameplan was the run easily and get in the miles. Dave and I met up with my dad and Patty. Dave had decided he was going to run slower today, and I didn't see him again until the end. Dad was going to walk all the waterstops, so I didn't see him from the third waterstop on. (He got really bad blisters and walked the last five miles.) Patty and I ran the whole thing together--comfortably.

We started out in the 9:30s and finished in the low 8:00s. Exactly how I like to run. We didn't walk any waterstops and had fun passing A LOT of people. My time was seven minutes slower than last year, but that's okay. I finished in 7th place of my age group with a 2:56:38.

Less than three weeks until the marathon and I'm feeling good.