June Totals

I would say June was a pretty balanced month. Swimming, biking, and running were not a lot but equally not a lot. I'm sure hoping things pick up soon. There's big races to be run. I probably should let Coach see that I just wrote that. :)

Running = 54.74 miles
Biking = 71.26 miles
Swimming = 10,500 meters
Other = 4 hours (all yoga)

What I did learn this month is that I'm freakishly strong and balanced in yoga, but still lacking in the flexibility department. Let me rephrase that, I am really flexible for a runner, not so flexible for a former gymnast. Look what I learned today:

Yes, this is actually me showing the pose this time.





Now y'all go ahead and try that but make sure you're wearing a helmet when you try the first time. :)

Rock the Vote

Hey y'all! It's time for your help! I'm in a photo contest to win a Sugoi racing kit valued at $350. What I need you to do is to log onto Sugoi's facebook fan page, click on the promotions tab, and vote for the pictures of me. It's titled, "Wendy's Triathlon."

I'm Meredith Gordon and I approve of this message. :)

Tri for the Cure 2009

The plan was to do only one triathlon this summer, Tri for the Cure. A friend of mine from gymnastics was doing it as her very first triathlon. Initially I was going to go and watch, but I thought, if coach is making me swim, bike, run for practice, why not do a small triathlon? This race was SHORT!--1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run. So my race plan was REDLINE, REDLINE, REDLINE!!!!

We got to Alum Creek early to check in, get body marked, and set up transition.



I went down to the water and did a little warm up. Who said you can't have a little fun?



I was in wave #3. The waves were divided by every 50 numbers, mine being 119. But, the numbers were not designated by age group, which made it really hard to determine what place you were during the race. After sizing up the talent, I decided to take my chances and line up at the front of the swim wave and GO FOR IT! The gun sounded and I shot off. I was the first one in the water, but I happened to be in a wave of super-strong swimmers. I was quickly overtaken.



I found clear water and swam harder than I ever have in a triathlon. I stayed close to the buoys and swam all the way until my hands hit sand. Then it was a quick sprint up the beach to the transition area.





I took up triathlon a few years ago believing I would be a pretty good triathlete because I was a decent swimmer and a pretty fast runner. What I found out was that everyone was strong on the bike and I absolutely sucked on the bike. And I've used that as my excuse for why I have not continued to pursue triathlon as my sport of choice. For this race, I decided to prove that theory wrong. I pushed on the bike and made things hurt. I wanted to pass people and hang on. I wanted to go for it. And I did. Finally, my first race I averaged over 18 mph on the bike. Makes me wonder why I didn't try that two weeks ago at the Wendy's Triathlon?!



I blasted through T2 and was onto the run. I tried to go as fast as my legs would take me, but unfortunately there weren't a whole lot of people to catch and a good portion of the race was cross country on rough grassy, wet terrain. I did pass 8 people with only two being in my age group.





I thought I had a good race and it paid off. For the second triathlon in a row, I finished 3rd in my age group.

This officially marks the end of my triathlon series. Now it's time to concentrate on my upcoming half and full marathons.

Race Report, Race Reports EVERYWHERE!!!

If you haven't already make sure to go check out Dave's blog for his race report from Ironman.

And stay tuned for my race report tomorrow from Tri for the Cure. It's been a very full day and we still have a wedding to work tonight. Sorry, I couldn't get it done today. :)

Foto Friday

Dave's official race pictures are in. I "borrowed" them from the website. :)

Thursday Thoughts

I went out for my run this morning at 9:00 and it was already blazing hot with a humidity of 1000%. Okay, maybe not but it was crazy hot. As I drove around doing my errands today my car continued to say it was 97 degrees. And it never went lower the whole day! So, I guess summer is officially here.

What's your favorite summer thing? You know, baseball, corn on the cob, ice cream, etc.

Canon Ball!!!

Today it was back to the grind of work and working out. The workout today was a short swim and being that it was FRIGGIN' hot outside, I decided to do my swim outside. I got to the pool and they had the lanes all set up for a swim meet later in the day. Awesome! More lanes to choose from. Except, the lifeguards were not keeping the kids out of them. And not only were they allowing the kids to swim in them, they were allowing the kids to play in them. There was lots of splashing and racing and horsing around. As I was doing my sprint section of my workout, the kids in the lane beside me were practicing their canon balls. Nice!

So today, I really got in an open-water workout. There were waves, and wind, and lots of obstacles.

Sure, it's beautiful...

Sure Coeur d' Alene was beautiful, minus the crappy weather and the sitting around all the time.



More pictures to come in the next couple days. I haven't even unpacked!!!

IMCDA Wrap-up

The race is over, the vacation has come to a close, and I'm on the way to the airport to head home. And I'm happy to be going home.

I'm not going to lie, it was extremely difficult to spectate this race. Don't get me wrong! I'm proud of Dave. He worked really hard for 9 months and accomplished something I wasn't sure he was capable of. He deserves this and it's something that can never be taken away. He is and always will be an Ironman.

But I'm jealous as hell. To watch so many people I knew and didn't know finish this race and accomplish their goals made me want to do it even more. When I started my life list years and years ago the first thing on it was "finish an Ironman." It's still on the list and I'm worried it's always going to be on the list without being crossed off.

I have accomplished more in the last year of running than I have in the past 8 years of running. And I feel if I switch focus now I may just be throwing all of that aside or maybe even throwing it away. I'm not sure I can put away the runner in me for a year. And to be honest, I hate biking. I cannot even fathom what it would be like to sit on my bike for 6-7 hours at a time.

I need to come down off of my iron-high and remember the lonely days I had while Dave trained. I need to remember that I'm a good runner and that's my calling and I'm only goof to get better. I need to remember the rashes and pain associated with riding a bike ALL THE TIME. I need to do another race and remember what running hard is all about.

Or maybe I should take the leap...

Dave is an Ironman!!!

Dave is maybe around mile 16. Still smiling! Next time we see him he'll be an Ironman!

Dave is halfway done on run. He's still smiling. He's gonna be an ironman.

Just saw Dave with 2 miles left on the bike. He's gonna make the cutoff! He'll be out on run in 15 minutes.

Dave's halfway thru thebbike and looking good. He's smiling and waving and seems to be enjoying himself. He's hitting his paces really well. Let's hope it holds up through the second loop.

Dave just made the turn to go out on the long portion of the first loop on the bike. I have to admit I missed him as the first pro was coming the other way at the very same time.

Dave is out of the water an had a good swim. We saw him in transition and be was in high spirits. Now he's out on the bike.

Countdown to Ironman

We are only a few hours away from bedtime which means Ironman! Dave packed his stuff up today, turned in his bike and bags, and now is resting and hydrating.

I will be live-blogging the race tomorrow. Or if you wish, follow Dave's progress on ironman.com. His number is 608. See you at the start line.

CDA Day 3

Today started off with rain and boy was it cold too. After checking out the weather I decided to skip my swim but supported Dave as he went down to the Gatorade swim. I enjoyed people watching, especially seeing Sister Madonna and Michael Lavato. In the afternoon we met fellow blogger Carrie and her husband Shawn (http://tritobefunny.blogspot.com). We had lunch with them and chatted a bit. We hope to see them again the weekend of the USC vs. OSU game. Finally, Dave went to the athlete dinner and meeting and I met up with Deidre to grab a bite to eat. It was kinda a long day and I have to admit I'm kinda bored here. I'm usually the athlete and it's been hard to just be a spectator. I'm fully supportive of dave and proud of him but a very small part of me wishes I was racing. I'm sure I'll feel completely different after seeing the suffering on Sunday.

Day 2 in CDA

Today was another great day in Coeur d'Alene. I started the day off with a hard interval run, which excitingly I hit all of them. Then we took a tour of the bike course. Well, I'm pretty glad that I'm not riding it. :) But I kept reminding Dave that he's done the training and everyone else was going to be doing the same hills. After the ride we hit up a local burger joint--Hudson's. It was a 19 seat counter where you could order a burger or a cheeseburger. Then they made the patties right in front of us and cooked it up. There were no fries and no chips, just burgers. And of course we had pie. From lunch it was to check in where Dave signed his life away, spent all our savings on Ironman gear, and picked up his bike. He did some small workouts and then we met up with some other bloggers--Marit, Deirdre, and Tasha--for dinner. Now we are chilling out in the apartment watching TV. It was a good day. :)

Holy Tiredness

I don't know if I've ever been as tired as I an right now. The day started at 3:00am eastern time and by 6:00pm eastern time we had finally made it to Idaho. We have a very lovely place to stay, have been to the grocery store, and have checked out part of the course. But for now, it may be bedtime. Yes it's only 8:00pm in Idaho. :)

I Da Ho?

No, you da ho!

And we leave tomorrow bright and early. Our flight leaves at 6:00am, which means we've got to be up by 3:00. We're mostly packed and I'm not sure how Dave's going to fit it all into his suitcase. It's nice, for once, that I'm not traveling to race. I love that I get to spectate.

I'm not sure what internet connection we're going to have out there, but I'll try to blog from my phone. There will be lots of pictures taken and I will be live-blogging here on this site on Sunday from Dave's race.

If you're going to be in Coeur d'Alene this weekend, give us a shout out! We'd love to meet you.

Take 2 - I've been edited

So Jerry Bruckheimer called me today and said my video from yesterday needed some work and he was willing to do the work for free. Okay, not really. But, in between the loads of laundry and packing for our trip this week I decided to work on the video myself and make it AWESOME! This is the first video I've produced so give me some lovin' if you like it. :)

Wendy's Triathlon 2009

I looked at my schedule for Sunday earlier this week and it had a bike at race pace and a run at race pace. Knowing that there was a triathlon for Sunday I asked Coach if I could do the triathlon as a workout. She agreed, gave me a race plan, and thus, I signed up for the Wendy's Triathlon. I arrived this morning feeling pretty calm. I had no expectations. I was just going to follow the plan and see what happened. I set up my transition and headed down to the water to get in some practice swimming. Things were clicking right away and I got excited.

I lined up pretty close to the front for the swim. After attending an open water swim clinic this past Monday, the instructor said don't be afraid to line up in the front. People are going to swim over you regardless. And within a few strokes I was in open water. I did have one guy who kept going back and forth in front of me. When it was possible I would hang onto his feet, but in the end, I dropped him and focused on my own swim. When I got out of the water Dave said I was 5th woman in my age group. According to the results, I was 4th. Not bad!

Onto the bike....let's just say, I'm not the strongest biker. I've done this race three times and each time it has been a different bike course (and run course). This time it was kind of an out and back. I tried to ride comfortably yet faster that what I was used to. I took my gel. I drank my water. I got passed by many people but I still passed people too. I think I might have been passed by 4-6 women in my age group. I averaged over 17 mph which is good for me, but WAY slow compared to everyone else. According to Dave, if I had averaged 2 mph more I would have won my age group. Dang it!

The run felt very comfortable. I LOVED the new course. We ran through a crushed path up to the dam and then halfway across the dam and back. And I ROCKED it! Not only did I pass 4-5 women in my age group, but I had the fastest run split in my age group! I averaged 7:32s for the 5K and it made the difference because...

I finished 3rd in my age group!!! I have never placed EVER in a triathlon!

Dave followed me around with a camera all day and took a ton of great pictures. Enjoy a slideshow of all of them...

Okay, I officially hate how small the video is. If you all leave me nice comments below, I'll upload the photos separately so you can see them all. :)

Three Days!!!

Foto Friday

I'm stealing ideas from the Chic Runner today as I'm going all Foto Friday. Actually, I'm doing it because I can't think of anything to blog about.

This week I shut down my photography business. Things have been so crazy with the photo booth business that I just haven't had time to be the photographer I need to be. I still hope to do photography some day, but for now I want to take pictures for me and take pictures that I want to take. One type of photography that really interest me is "Street Photography." So this week I carried around my big honkin' camera and took pictures of people being people. Here are two of my favorites...





What I need from you, Internet, is a caption for each of these pictures. I'm terrible at naming my art pieces. What would you call these pictures?

Thursday Thoughts

I looked at my training schedule for this weekend and it had a brick on it...bike at race pace, run at race pace. Well, shoot, there's a triathlon this weekend. Why not throw a swim in the mix too? So today I signed up for the Wendy's Triathlon.

Not exactly the most spontaneous thing I've ever done, but I want to know today, what's the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?

I Had a (Crazy) Dream

I just woke up from an afternoon nap while in the middle of a crazy dream. My friends Jason and Lindsay along with my sister and I were somehow playing baseball for the Cincinnati Reds. That's weird to start, no? I remember Lindsay and I getting the opportunity to hit and had successful at bats. Then Jason got up and hit a grand slam home run. Finally my sister got up to bad and that's when things got weird. She was a last minute substitute and was playing illegally. When she hit the ball all of the people on base had to get on a big giant airplane and fly across the Ohio River in Cincinnati. The problem? My sister doesn't know how to fly an airplane let along a commercial jet. Amy gets the plane off the ground and barely gets it across the river only to crash it on the other side. Fear that we'll get in trouble for putting Amy in the game, Jason, Lindsay, and I don hazmat suits to go help in the rescue mission. On our way out the door we receive news that Amy and the rest are okay, and that Amy has admitted to authorities that she wasn't really on the team and that she didn't know how to fly an airplane. The three of us, in our hazmat suits, somehow get put into this holding pin, sort of like a giant cup holder, and this is how we are to fly across the river to get to the crash site. We found it very odd that we would go to investigate a crash site while being totally careless with our own lives--no seat belts, overweight compartment, etc.

And this is when I woke up. What the hell was that all about?

I Didn't Eat Crow

Back a few years when I was unemployed I used to go to yoga twice a week. I found an instructor I really liked who didn't do traditional yoga. I felt that it helped with my core strength and my flexibility. Now that I'm on summer break I've decided to go back to yoga. The same class is still going on with the same instructor. I was interested to see where my abilities lie now that I've certainly got better strength and better flexibility from all the gymnastics.

What I found out was that I'm a little more flexible, although I struggled some poses like child pose because of the bruise on my knee. Remember? I fell off my bicycle yesterday. But, I still have some serious strength and balance. Yeah, I'm a regular yogi. :) Today I mastered the crow pose and could even do it with my feet crossed. See that picture on the left? That's crow pose. That's not me, however. I borrowed that picture from somebody else. There are several variations of this pose that I'd love to try. For now, I'll call day 1 of yoga a success and I'm looking forward to going back on Thursday, hopefully a little less bruised.

He Took Me to the Clinic

The day started off with a short recovery bike ride down into town and back. It started off a little rusty, however, when I crashed in the driveway bruising my knee, my wrist, and my ego. To add insult to injury, on my return trip home it rained, HARD!

My second workout of the day involved open water swimming at Alum Creek State Park with COTT. Coach had given me a workout (see picture on the right). This workout took us back and forth and back and forth along the beach, finally finishing in about 2400 meters. The members of COTT kept mentioning a swim clinic after our swim practice, but Dave and I didn't know what they were talking about. So after our swim we stuck around to find out what everyone meant. Dude, this clinic was hard. We learned about beach starts, dolphin dives, sighting, drafting, sharp buoy turns, swim exits, and even how to strip down our wetsuits. And all of it we had to practice as a group and HARD! My heart rate was quite elevated and I was certainly gasping for breath. Overall I think I got in over 3000 meters and boy are my arms tired! That's a lot of swimming for that one 400m in the one triathlon I'm doing this summer.

Tomorrow starts anew with a run and some yoga. I love summertime. :)

Running from the Devil--A Book Review

I was in the middle of "Breaking Dawn" when I was contacted by a publisher to read and review a book. I agreed and was sent "Running from the Devil" by Jamie Freveletti. I must admit, I was a bit hesitant about reading a new book by a new author especially after reading all the Twilight books at once and being really immersed in them. But, I absolutely LOVED this book!!!

The main character is Emma Caldridge, a biochemist and ultra-runner, who discovers something she is not supposed to. She is en route to Bogota, Columbia when her plane is hijacked and brought down by anti-government guerillas who take the surviving passengers hostage. Emma eludes the hijackers and escapes the wreckage. She begins to pursue the hostages, the guerillas are pursuing her, the American government gets involved, and all of it comes to a head when her secret is exposed.

What makes this book exciting is there is action, a hint at sexual tension, and this overall secret that suspends the reader not knowing if Emma is a good guy or bad guy.

I've recently begun communicating with Jamie Freveletti via Twitter and she's one cool chick. :) Not only is she an awesome writer, she is herself an ultra runner and a SUGOI Brand Champion. Check her and her book out!

Saturdays are so Busy

My mom called me tonight to let me know some information I had asked about. Half way through the sentence she goes, "You're at a wedding, aren't you?" Yep, that's pretty much every Saturday for us now.

The day started with a run with the husband. Ten miles at an easy pace. It was nice to run with Dave on his last long run before the big day. After some ice baths and some lunch, we packed up the photo booth and headed to our next wedding. And what a wedding it was! Let's just say there was a nacho bar, a group song and dance, and someone called me Rainman. This wedding was awesome! Look on our brand new VIP Photo Booths blog tomorrow for a taste of the fun.

Thankfully, this evening is ending before midnight and there will be good sleep in our future. Tomorrow Dave has a four hour bike ride. And he's meeting someone EARLY in the morning to do the ride. That means, I get to see Dave for most of the day. Yippee!!!

I feel the need, the need for speed

Did I say it was the summer of the sports bra run? Yes, well, it's also the summer of the track workout. Today was workout #2 of the week on the track. Included was some form running, some sprints, and some regular ol' running. Of course I did the run right smack in the middle of the afternoon when the sun was beaming off the black track. Working on my tan, yes, but felt absolutely sluggish and dehydrated. I was looking ahead to next week's workouts and there are lots of speed workouts. Think Coach is trying to tell me something? I know it's going to work, though, and that helps me be willing to suffer. I can't wait to see the results.

Thursday Thoughts

One of my favorite home makeover shows is called "Dress My Nest" on Style. To help design the room, Thom Filicia has the individual wanting the room makeover choose three style items and three personal items. He then uses those items as design ideas like a dress with a cool design into a rug with a similar design.

Today's Thursday Thoughts involves your three style or personal items. What are the three things you MUST have for running, triathlon, swimming, exercising?

My list...
1. Nike Boston 06 hat
2. Balega socks
3. Timex watch/HRM

A Test and a Tank

The word for the summer is speed and I kicked it off today with a track test. After a good warm-up the plan was for 6 minutes AS HARD AS I CAN GO!!! I was really nervous about this. No one to push me; around and around a track; expectations knowing I should be able to go a full mile. And did I mention it was raining?

I put on my racing flats, took a swig of water, toed the line, and started out FAST! I kept my knees up. I pushed off my toes. I tried to count my steps instead of worrying about my heaving breathing. The time was going fast and so was I. As I passed the 1600 (1 mile) I checked my watch, 5:43. Five freakin' forty three!!! Holy crap! I was flying. At the end of 6 minutes, I was just shy of 1700 meters. Nice!

This was more than a track test. I was testing out my new tank from SUGOI. This is the Fizz Tank specifically designed for Brand Champions. This is an amazing tank top! This is the first tank top with a shelf bra that I've been able to wear without another sports bra underneath. It's tight, but not clingy. It did not ride up while I ran. The entire back and sides of the tank is mesh and completely breathable. There is a pocket in the bank that held my key but would definitely hold a lot of gels and/or iPod. My run was pretty short, but the tank did not rub anywhere either. My only "complaint" I have is with the mesh shelf bra. It made me itch, but maybe that's just because it's summer and I itch everywhere. We'll give that one some time to see if that's really a problem. I'm looking forward to getting my shorts later this week and see if they're as magnificent.

Oh yeah, there was also a bike ride after the run today, followed by an ice bath. Then there was a nap. A very full and fantastic day!

8 Things

I know there has been some 8 Things lists going around all these blogs. And since I'm a blog lurker and not a commenter, I haven't been tagged, but that's not going to stop me from making up my own list. I don't know what the correct 8 Things lists are, so I'm making mine up.

8 Beaches I've Visited
1. Myrtle Beach
2. Cocoa Beach
3. Laguna Beach
4. Venice Beach (Florida)
5. Wikiki Beach
6. Virginia Beach
7. Cannon Beach
8. Hampton Beach

8 States Where I've Run a Race
1. Ohio
2. Massachusetts
3. New Hampshire
4. North Carolina
5. Kentucky
6. Indiana
7. Illinois
8. California (okay not yet, but I will)

8 Competitive Sports I've Done
1. Gymnastics
2. Tennis
3. Track
4. Rowing
5. Distance Running
6. Triathlon
7. Softball
8. Basketball

8 Television Shows I Love
1. Ed
2. The Wonder Years
3. ER
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Greek
6. Gilmore Girls
7. Friends
8. The Amazing Race

8 Concerts I've Been To
1. Peter, Paul, and Mary (my first concert)
2. Aerosmith
3. Cranberries
4. Garth Brooks
5. Earth, Wind, and Fire
6. Kenny Chesney
7. The Backstreet Boys (yeah, that's right)
8. Sarah McLaughlin

8 Blogs I Like to Read
Disclaimer: I read a lot more than this, but these are the ones that popped into my head first
1. E.L.F
2. Bree Wee
3. Bobbi and Mike
4. Jasmine Star
5. Tri to be Funny
6. Twenty Six Point Two
7. Notes and Lines
8. Jessica Claire

8 Movies That I Love
1. You've Got Mail
2. Sleepless in Seattle
3. Joe vs. the Volcano (see a pattern here?)
4. While You Were Sleeping
5. Memphis Belle
6. My Best Friend's Wedding
7. Rent
8. Shag

8 Places I've Worked
1. Westerville Academy of Dance and Gymnastics
2. The Medallion Club
3. The Ohio State University
4. DSW
5. Nationwide
6. The Limited
7. Wendy's Gymnastics and Fitness for Children
8. VIP Photo Booths, Inc. :)

I Did Not Drown

I looked at my schedule at the beginning of the week and today's workout said open water swim. Say what?! Oh crap! I picked Dave up from work with our wetsuits loaded in the trunk and headed down to the quarry at the Runaway Bay apartments. We were banking on traffic but alas there was none and we made it down there nearly 45 minutes before the group swim. We waited until 6:00 and then decided no one was coming so we made our way in, just the two of us.





The water felt very cold at first. I had a hard time controlling my heart rate as I felt the sliminess on the rocks and the green of the water got darker and darker. I wanted to turn back but Dave encouraged me to keep going. When we reached the other side of the quarry my heart was pounding out of my chest. Then we decided to take a long swim over to the giant rock sticking up out of the middle of the water. It was then that I was able to settle down and feel good about my stroke. Dave was on my right side which helped since I only breathe to my right. As long as he was in my sights, I felt comfortable.

Once we reached the rock we rested a while sitting on it. I got back into the water to make the return trip and slammed the top of my foot into a rock while trying to stay afloat. Ouch! That hurt. The return trip was again comfortable and the whole swimming experience took us about 27 minutes. We probably went about a mile.

Here we are looking so pretty after our swim. I especially like how my mascara is smeared all over my eyelids.



The next open water swim will be next Monday at a different location. I hope it goes just as well.