Dear Columbus Race Companies,
This weekend I have signed up to run Run CBus's River Run 5K. Originally I had wanted to run the First on the First 5K, but the price was $35 ($40 by the time I decided to sign up), which goes against my rules of paying more than $10 per mile. The River Run was $25 which is still outrageous but at least doable. Both these races had good swag. The River Run has a long sleeve tech shirt, which they did not have available when I picked up my packet, a finisher's mug, chip timing, and refreshments at the finish. The First on the First run had a long sleeve tech shirt, chip timing, medals for all finishers, and a meal at the finish.
Here's my complaint...I don't need all that swag. And I think a lot of "regular" runners would agree with me. I would love to go back to having cotton shirts or an option for no shirts at all. I can't even close my drawers because of all the shirts and most of them don't fit anyway. And, why do I need chip timing for a 5K? If I want to bust out a PR, shouldn't I line up closer to the front? A mug or a medal for all finishers? It's a 5K not a marathon.
I want the race companies to go back to the basics. I want my 5Ks to cost no more than $15. And really, I only want to pay $10. I hope you will take my suggestions into consideration.
Sincerely,
Meredith
Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
My Midlife Crisis
My therapist says I need to be more real and authentic, especially in my public life. So here it is...
I'm going through a midlife crisis.
There's a lot to plays into this but this post is going to focus on the external: I am super self-conscious and generally loathe my appearance. Recently I went back to work. And once again I'm working in retail at a highly stylish company filled with young, attractive people. Although I am really enjoying my work and love the people I'm working with, being in my mid-30s there makes me feel like a dinosaur and I think I'm trying to overcompensate.
I mentioned on a Facebook post a few days ago that I was interested in going blonde and piercing my nose. My aunt said I was going through a midlife crisis. Another really good friend of mine said I needed to stop working with the youngin's. What I really need to do is be comfortable with myself. Instead I did this:
Yep, I went blonde. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's shockingly blonde and not natural looking whatsoever. I kinda hate it. People are gonna stare and it's made me feel even more self conscious.
But I now have a plan for my 2012 resolution...
**Update**
The next day my hair was still hideous and I was still hating the color. I immediately called the salon, made an appointment for a re-do, and got my hair colored back to it's "natural" color. Of course, it's not all that natural looking now. It's a little bit warmer than my natural color with a touch of red to it, but it's WAY better than the "blonde".
I'm going through a midlife crisis.
There's a lot to plays into this but this post is going to focus on the external: I am super self-conscious and generally loathe my appearance. Recently I went back to work. And once again I'm working in retail at a highly stylish company filled with young, attractive people. Although I am really enjoying my work and love the people I'm working with, being in my mid-30s there makes me feel like a dinosaur and I think I'm trying to overcompensate.
I mentioned on a Facebook post a few days ago that I was interested in going blonde and piercing my nose. My aunt said I was going through a midlife crisis. Another really good friend of mine said I needed to stop working with the youngin's. What I really need to do is be comfortable with myself. Instead I did this:
Yep, I went blonde. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's shockingly blonde and not natural looking whatsoever. I kinda hate it. People are gonna stare and it's made me feel even more self conscious.
But I now have a plan for my 2012 resolution...
**Update**
The next day my hair was still hideous and I was still hating the color. I immediately called the salon, made an appointment for a re-do, and got my hair colored back to it's "natural" color. Of course, it's not all that natural looking now. It's a little bit warmer than my natural color with a touch of red to it, but it's WAY better than the "blonde".
Monday, December 19, 2011
Week in Review
After my sub-par week of running last week, I decided to get back on the running band wagon this week. And I kicked it off by officially changing my marathon status to half marathon for Houston. Relief!
Monday - 3 easy miles with Dave. He's getting over a cold and he just wanted to get through the run without feeling awful.
Tuesday - Yoga. Yes you read that right. I actually really liked this class. It wasn't really traditional yoga in the sense where your arms shake and you hold poses forever. It was more like an hour of stretching and I felt really relaxed afterward. Good thing, because I had to spend the rest of the evening with my entire family. :)
Wednesday - 5 miles with the 3 middle miles at a sub 8:30 pace.
Thursday - off
Friday - off
Saturday - Easy 5 miles with Dave. No watch, no heart rate monitor.
Sunday - 11 miles at an 8:45 pace.
The plan for Sunday was actually 15 miles working our way down to an 8:30 pace. The day started rough. I have a hard time on Sundays because I ALWAYS wake up with a headache (I can't oversleep or else it gives me headaches), so I just wasn't feeling well from the start. Then I had to wait over an hour for Dave to wake up. In addition, he didn't have his Garmin or iPod charged and plugged them in before we were to leave. I threw my Garmin at him, told him I'd figure out the distance, and just left. The first mile I did by myself, then I waited for him to catch up. Then he pushed the pace to wear I wasn't comfortable and it was all downhill from there. Here's the problem:
I have monsters in my belly.
Okay, maybe not monsters, but I have an ulcer. I don't think I've talked about this yet on the blog. Five years ago I started developing some pain in my lower chest. I was tested out the yin yang for everything. I had an asthma test, I had an EKG, I had a CT scan, and finally they concluded nothing. The pain persisted but was manageable. Last year as I was training for IM Louisville the pains came back and became a constant burn. I saw the doctor again and he said it was an ulcer. He prescribed me prescription-strength Prevacid which worked really well. As the training ramped up for my ironman this year, my stomach started to bother me again. I went back to using Prevacid and was also using Zantac around my meals and it wasn't doing anything. Between my botched Beach2Battleship non-attempt and up until about 2 weeks ago, I was in agony. I was sick every night. I didn't want to eat dinner because I knew I'd be sick. I went to the doctor again and this time I was prescribed Nexium and also was referred to a sports psychologist.
Where the heck is this story leading?
Because of the hole in my stomach, the foods I love to eat are now no-nos. But, I'm having a hard time giving them up. One of my favorites is my homemade spaghetti sauce. Not only is it spicy, but tomatoes are really bad for ulcers since they're acidic. Of course, we had spaghetti for dinner on Saturday night. Not only did I have a headache when I woke up Sunday morning, but my stomach was on fire. And I'm discovering that the quicker I run, the more my stomach bothers me. It's been so frustrating as my body is telling me I can run those 8 min/miles that I want to be running, but my stomach is only letting me run 9:00s. ARGH!
Hopefully with the therapy and the Nexium, I will get back to being the person I want/need to be. For now, I'm dealing.
Monday - 3 easy miles with Dave. He's getting over a cold and he just wanted to get through the run without feeling awful.
Tuesday - Yoga. Yes you read that right. I actually really liked this class. It wasn't really traditional yoga in the sense where your arms shake and you hold poses forever. It was more like an hour of stretching and I felt really relaxed afterward. Good thing, because I had to spend the rest of the evening with my entire family. :)
Wednesday - 5 miles with the 3 middle miles at a sub 8:30 pace.
Thursday - off
Friday - off
Saturday - Easy 5 miles with Dave. No watch, no heart rate monitor.
Sunday - 11 miles at an 8:45 pace.
The plan for Sunday was actually 15 miles working our way down to an 8:30 pace. The day started rough. I have a hard time on Sundays because I ALWAYS wake up with a headache (I can't oversleep or else it gives me headaches), so I just wasn't feeling well from the start. Then I had to wait over an hour for Dave to wake up. In addition, he didn't have his Garmin or iPod charged and plugged them in before we were to leave. I threw my Garmin at him, told him I'd figure out the distance, and just left. The first mile I did by myself, then I waited for him to catch up. Then he pushed the pace to wear I wasn't comfortable and it was all downhill from there. Here's the problem:
I have monsters in my belly.
Okay, maybe not monsters, but I have an ulcer. I don't think I've talked about this yet on the blog. Five years ago I started developing some pain in my lower chest. I was tested out the yin yang for everything. I had an asthma test, I had an EKG, I had a CT scan, and finally they concluded nothing. The pain persisted but was manageable. Last year as I was training for IM Louisville the pains came back and became a constant burn. I saw the doctor again and he said it was an ulcer. He prescribed me prescription-strength Prevacid which worked really well. As the training ramped up for my ironman this year, my stomach started to bother me again. I went back to using Prevacid and was also using Zantac around my meals and it wasn't doing anything. Between my botched Beach2Battleship non-attempt and up until about 2 weeks ago, I was in agony. I was sick every night. I didn't want to eat dinner because I knew I'd be sick. I went to the doctor again and this time I was prescribed Nexium and also was referred to a sports psychologist.
Where the heck is this story leading?
Because of the hole in my stomach, the foods I love to eat are now no-nos. But, I'm having a hard time giving them up. One of my favorites is my homemade spaghetti sauce. Not only is it spicy, but tomatoes are really bad for ulcers since they're acidic. Of course, we had spaghetti for dinner on Saturday night. Not only did I have a headache when I woke up Sunday morning, but my stomach was on fire. And I'm discovering that the quicker I run, the more my stomach bothers me. It's been so frustrating as my body is telling me I can run those 8 min/miles that I want to be running, but my stomach is only letting me run 9:00s. ARGH!
Hopefully with the therapy and the Nexium, I will get back to being the person I want/need to be. For now, I'm dealing.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
2012 Schedule
I know I said I would not set a race schedule for 2012. And although this might look like a schedule, it's really not. I am currently, not working with a coach, I'm making no "A" races, and I'm just gonna go with the flow. I will not wrap my life around training and racing this year. So here's what I'm thinking about for 2012:
January :
1/1 - First on the First 5k
1/15 - Houston half marathon
February:
2/12 - Columbus Winter Run 15 miler
2/26 - Last Chance for Boston marathon relay (with Dave)
March: ?
April: ?
May:
5/28 - Dave and Meredith's running adventure
June:
6/2 - Greenswell Aquathlon (1 mile swim/5k run)
6/16-17 - Relay Around Columbus
July:
TBD - Lakeside to Kelly's Island Swim (2 mile and 4 mile swims)
7/14 - Greenswell Aquathlon (1 miles swim/5k run)
August: ?
September: ?
October:
10/21 - Des Moines half or full marathon
November: ?
December: ?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Miscellany for Thursday
Gosh, there's just not much to talk about in the winter months. So, here's a few somethings that have been on the brain.
- I switched to the half marathon in Houston. Yes I've been doing the long runs in the marathon training and I enjoy the distance training, but my heart wasn't in the marathon. Frankly, it's not much in the half marathon either but I think the half will suit me much better right now. I think I am going to continue to keep the super-longs run though just so I can have someone to run with.
- I am excited to see that Greenswell has added two aquathlons to the schedule next year. I'm in!
- I have only asked for $$$$ for Christmas this year. I started a new job in September that has required me to completely redo my entire wardrobe. I get a fat discount and I've been using it, but I'm still looking to get a few more outfits.
- I am looking for the perfect red lipstick. Here's what I'm looking for: prefer it to be long-wearing, cannot fade to pink, must be a blue-base (ladies, you know what I'm talking about), prefer it to be shiny or a gloss to a matte lipcolor. Any suggestions?
- I'm also looking for the perfect daytime lip color. Nothing in the pink family, but something with just enough color that it looks like you're wearing a little something. Suggestions?
- Feeling great about myself, huh? (sacrasm, see previous two bullet points)
- Are you digging the new look of Facebook Timeline? I think it looks a lot like MySpace, which I'm way too old for, but otherwise I think it's pretty rad.
- Dave and I are planning an epic weekend trip this spring. It's going to be amazeballs!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Weekly Update
I only ran two days this week for a total of 9.6 miles. Dave was sick and I didn't have anyone to run with. Mostly, I just wasn't feeling it.
Right now I kind of feel like a speck of dust just floating in space. I'm unmotivated, I'm unhappy, and I'm lost. For 11 years I've out together my goals and set out a plan and now I've got nothing. I don't know what to do with myself. I so badly want to pick out some races and look toward 2012 but I can't and I shouldn't.
Like everyone else yesterday, I watched the NBC broadcast of the Ironman world championships. For the first time in a long time it did nothing for me. I didn't cry. I wasn't motivated. In fact, I was a little bit bored by it and if anything, angered by it. I'm so sick of watching it and everyone else around me and making it look so easy. I'm so effing sick of the ironman! And yet this morning I said in my head, "give it one more year. Give it another try".
I'm not going to. I'm not ready. If I tried again now it would be for all the wrong reasons and would probably end with the same results because I'd be doing it for all the wrong reasons. But I need a plan of some kind, even if it's small. Right now I'm just a speck of dust floating in space.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Year of Awesome #4 - Save a Horse, Ride a Bull?
This Year of Awesome moment (and yes, it's just a moment) happened on accident. We were working the photo booth for one of our favorite charities, A Kid Again, this past Saturday. Their holiday party broke down into age groups and we were stationed in the Teen Room. In the teen room were us, an obstacle course, Wiis and Xbox Kinnects, arts and crafts, and a mechanical bull.
Confession: As I've gotten older things have become more difficult, I've developed some fears, and things aren't as much fun as they used to be. For example, those who know me well, know that I'm scared to death of roller coasters. This hasn't always been the case. I used to love roller coasters, especially wooden ones. Now not only do they scare me, they hurt me and make me sick.
Like I said, there was a mechanical bull stationed right next to us at this Christmas party. Dave was really pushing me to do it, but I worried about falling or being sick or making a fool out of myself. But I promised myself that the Year of Awesome was all about getting out of my normal rut and trying new things.
So here it is, evidence I tried this. Needless to say, I will not be making an appearance at the rodeo any time soon.
Confession: As I've gotten older things have become more difficult, I've developed some fears, and things aren't as much fun as they used to be. For example, those who know me well, know that I'm scared to death of roller coasters. This hasn't always been the case. I used to love roller coasters, especially wooden ones. Now not only do they scare me, they hurt me and make me sick.
Like I said, there was a mechanical bull stationed right next to us at this Christmas party. Dave was really pushing me to do it, but I worried about falling or being sick or making a fool out of myself. But I promised myself that the Year of Awesome was all about getting out of my normal rut and trying new things.
So here it is, evidence I tried this. Needless to say, I will not be making an appearance at the rodeo any time soon.
And oh, how much I love Justin Beieber (sarcasm implied).
Thursday, December 01, 2011
November Totals
Ahhhh, back to running and nothing else. And November was a great month because for some crazy, global warming reason, I was able to do most of my runs, especially my long runs, in shorts and t-shirts. Love! And I'm following a three-day-a-week plan which means my world no longer revolves around training. (Of course, I've gained three pounds this month so maybe I ought to pay a little more attention.) It also means there are no easy runs either. For the first week of November I did nothing. Not a thing. The second and most of the third week I was training for the half marathon. The rest of the month was spent training for the marathon, although I still haven't made a decision. What? I have until January 6th! :)
Running - 82.02 miles
Weight Lifting - 1.5 hours (one hour of weight lifting, one hour of core work)
I'm going to be close to hitting 1000 miles of running for 2011. We'll see what December brings...
Running - 82.02 miles
Weight Lifting - 1.5 hours (one hour of weight lifting, one hour of core work)
I'm going to be close to hitting 1000 miles of running for 2011. We'll see what December brings...
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