Homestretch 20 Miler

My plan this weekend was to run 20 miles on Saturday at a slow pace. Problem was, when I woke up on Saturday it was storming and the weather was calling for rain and storms all day. I didn't want to be running in the rain for three hours. So, Dave and I decided to do the Homestretch 20 Miler race on Sunday with the intention of just using it as a training run.

That's never the case.

We say we're not going to race a race, but we always do. There's something about competition and being able to catch and pass people that makes racing racing and training is something different.

I started out conservatively. My first mile was 9:40 with the next couple miles just under 9:00, but then I started picking up speed. The miles started going down to 8:26, 8:25, 8:24. I even through in an 8:08 somewhere in there. The course wasn't a true out and back. It started down Cleveland Avenue to Sharon Woods Metro Park and went around their walking path, which is 3.8 miles. Then we headed to the Alum Creek Trail for the remainder of the race. The turn-around was approximately 12.75 miles into the race. It was at the turn-around that I noticed I wasn't too far behind Doug and Andrea. So I kept my consistent pace hoping to catch them. Dave was about a mile behind me at the turn-around. My miles continued to come down in time. I was now doing 8:15s pretty steadily. I missed the mile 16 marker, but around mile 17 is when I saw Andy and Andrea walking. I started running with Andrea for a little less than a mile and I went on ahead of her. I walked the mile 18 water stop. I was feeling really tired. Mile 19 was my fastest mile--8:04 uphill. And mile 20 felt like it would go on forever--8:40. I finished with 2:49:21 which is an 8:28 pace. I was 24th overall and 5th in my age group. Dave ran a 3:11:31 to finish 13th in his age group. Doug finished one minute ahead of me; Andrea finished one minute behind me; and Andy finished one minute ahead of Dave (I guess Andy is having achilles issues).

I know I wasn't planning on racing this, but I was a bit disappointed by my pace. An 8:28 won't even qualify me for Boston. My last three out of four marathons have been 3:39, 3:39, 3:40 and I really want to be running between 3:30 and 3:35. Now I know I didn't taper for this race. Heck, I didn't even decide to do it until 24 hours before, but how am I going to go at an 8:00 to 8:15 pace for 26 miles when I can't do it for 20 miles? I have four weeks to figure it out.

Do you Remember the Twenty-First Night of September--Thursday Thoughts

Today is Dave and my fourth wedding anniversary (thank you, thank you), so Thursday Thoughts is probably going to follow a theme.

For all the newbies out there...which probably isn't anyone...I ask 5 questions, you answer the questions in the comments section. It's fun, easy, and interactive. Let's get it on!

1. How many years have you been married? Or if you're single (Noj), how long was your longest relationship?

2. What was the best date you've ever had? Worst date (I think I've asked this one before)?

3. How were you proposed to? Or how did you propose? Or how would you like to propose?

4. If you were to get married again, would your wedding be the same? If no, how would it differ? Or if you're not married, how do you envision your wedding?

5. What's a memorable present you have received for an anniversary or wedding or whenever? What's the best present you've ever given?

Flash Gordon

Last night Dad and I ran 8.25 miles with 5X600 at 7:00 mpm pace. That equates to 2:37 per 600. Of course, Dad and I couldn't figure out that math beforehand and we thought we needed to run 2:24s. So my 600s came out like this:

2:18
2:22
2:24
2:25
2:20

I was so mad that I was struggling to get 2:24. It wasn't until hours later that I realized, dude, I was fast!

Only about 4-1/2 weeks until the marathon.

Bits and Pieces

Lots o' little tidbits today.

How 'bout them Buckeyes?!

I followed Ironman Wisconsin on Sunday to track IronWil and TriSaraTops, and lo and behold I found my real-life friend and professional triathlete Joshua Ritchie competing in his first Ironman. Josh finished in like 10:54 and Sara finished in 15:30ish. I watched them both finish via the live web stream. Unfortunately, IronWil didn't make a cutoff and later dropped out. I think they're all winners for having the courage to start and to put themselves through all the training.

Yesterday I ran a really difficult 11 miles with 6 at half marathon pace in a brand new pair of shoes. Today, I'm exhausted. My half marathon splits should have been 7:50, but none of my miles were anywhere close to that. My splits were: 7:32, 7:31, 7:20, 7:19, 7:33, 7:09. The remaining 2-1/2 miles were a slow slug back to the car.

This weekend I'm heading to New Hampshire to compete in the Reach the Beach Relay. Anyone else going to be there? I'll be on Team Profile Deluxe and my team's start time is 2:00pm.

I have one more post scheduled about vacation. Hopefully I can get that done by tomorrow. Later, taters.

Hollaback

O-H...

It's Thursday

Yes, it's Thursday and that means Thursday Thoughts. But, I have been a little disappointed with the lack of response so I'm not sure I want to continue with it. So, let me know what you think. I'll ask the questions this week anyway.

1. What's your favorite book of all time?

2. What book are you reading right now?

3. How many siblings do you have and how many years apart are you?

4. What's the best lie you ever told?

5. What's one thing you'd like to change about yourself?

A few more things....Congratulations to my regular commenter and close friend Michelle. She and her husband just welcomed their second baby boy on Monday. In case you were wondering, because this is a blog about running, yes I am still running. I ran 10 miles of intervals on Monday, 4 miles of recovery on Tuesday, and yesterday I ran 12 miles with Dad and Andrea. I will be doing the Reach the Beach relay next weekend in New Hampshire. Happy Thursday, y'all.

Joshua Tree

Sorry, the vacation entires haven't been in a timely manner. But, since I know y'all are interested here's another adventure from our vacation.

The day after spending 25 hours awake and our flying fiasco, we decided to take a major driving trip from where we were saying out to the Palm Springs area. Dave thought he had found a pretty direct route on the map, so the route was our plan. We quickly found out that the direct route was over a mountain. Thank goodness we were driving a jeep. Two hours plus later we arrived in Palm Springs to take the Palm Springs tram up San Jacinto. Unfortunately, the tram was closed for maintenance, but we decided to come back later in the week to try again on the tram and for a hike.

We drove in Palm Springs and found a grocery store to get a flat of water for our journey out to Joshua Tree. We then ate lunch at a cute little Mexican restaurant. The food was good and so was the ambiance, but DAMN is it hot in Palm Springs. We then got back in the jeep and drove another to Joshua Tree.

Because we were only planning on going to Joshua Tree that day for a star gazing, we decided to stop into the visitor's center to get more information on where to go and what to see. The park rangers gave Dave a map and cicled some things and we were off. And, boy, is is DAMN hot at Joshua Tree.

We started off doing a little walk at Arch Rock Trail. The rock formations were really unique and unexpected. They looked like sandstone, but the rocks were actually lava.





Another unique thing we saw at Joshua Tree was Keys View. Being high atop the desert we were able to lookout and see all the way to Mexico, Palm Springs, and spectacular view of the San Andreas Fault.





After eating dinner at the Pizza Hut in the exciting town of Twenty-Nine Palms, we returned to Joshua Tree just as the sun was setting to take part in a star gazing party. The star gazing was amazing. I have never seen so many stars. In addition to many shooting stars, we saw several constellations, the space station, the Milky Way (amazing) and we got to look through a telescope and saw the Ring Nebula, the Whirlpool Nebula, and Jupiter and its moons. Here are some pictures of the rocks and trees as the sun was setting.





Finally, we drove the three hours (going around the mountain) back to the beach.

Thursday Thoughts

Here we go:

1. What is your most prized possession?

2. What's the TV show you're most looking forward to returning?

3. What new show are you most interested in checking out?

4. Are you excited about the upcoming college football season starting on Saturday?

5. What plans do you have for the holiday weekend?

I Heart Andre

Mistakes on a Plane

Okay, here we go with our vacation posts. Lots of pictures to follow, but this is a story for the ages.

***********************************************************************************

So our flight was scheduled to take off last Friday at 6:20pm for a direct flight to LAX. Dave and I had both taken the day off work and did our long run and finished packing. Dad picked us up at 3:30 and dropped us at the airport just before 4:00. There was NOBODY at the airport, and we were able to check in immediately. Even though our flight would get us in around 8:00pm LA time, it would be really late our time so we decided to get some food. We still had plenty of time to eat, get through security, and make it to our gate.

The weather wasn't very cooperative in Columbus last Friday. It was pouring when our flight was supposed to leave. My mom called us to say goodbye and totally jinxed everything when she said, "You know, your flight is going to be delayed because it's raining outside?" I should have known.

We boarded the plane on time and everything seemed to be going well. The captain got on the speaker and said that the windshield wiper was not working, the mechanics were working on it, and we would be leaving momentarily. In the mean time, they would show the movie "RV" to pass the time. We were flying a 737, so the movie screens weren't really watchable. We sat and we sat and we sat and time was getting longer and longer. I checked my watch and it was now an hour and a half since our flight was supposed to take off.

There were many international flyers on the plane and attendants were starting to rearrange flights for people. The captain got back on the loudspeaker and said the part wasn't going to be available until 8:30 and our flight was now scheduled to take off at 9:30. There was another plane we could take, but it was coming in from Atlanta and wouldn't be available until 9:30 either. To make matters worse, the airport was now closed. I was feeling really trapped. I called my mom and my aunt (who was providing us housing on vacation) to let them know the nightmare that was developing.

If only I had known what nightmare it was about to be. I didn't want to be on the plane anymore since we still had another 1-1/2 ahead of us to wait out the plane plus a four hour flight. I made my way to the front of the plane only to realize I needed my boarding pass. I sat down to open my purse to find it and spilled my water in my crotch region. No, no, not my lap. My freakin' crotch! I was wet both front and back from knee to knee! Was I wearing jeans or black pants that would cover it up? NO! I was wearing khakis, which showed everything. And, of course, I didn't have a sweatshirt or an extra shirt to tie around my waist to cover it up. I had my tiny camera bag and my purse. Dave followed right behind me and I put my purse in front of me and I ran off to the bathroom inside the terminal.

This is where it gets really crazy. The bathroom did not have hand dryers. Instead there were automatic paper towel dispensers. Dave got a hoot listening to the sounds of me ripping off tons and tons of towels. I took those towels into the stall and started to pat myself down. The towels quickly soaked up some water, but it wasn't working well enough. So I took off my pants and started blowing hot air on them. I blew and blew until I almost passed out. I can only imagine what other people must have thought I was doing in that stall! I was in there for 15-20 minutes and then decided it was safe to come out. The wetness was still there, but it was definitely better.

We sat in the terminal until around 9:00 and then they called us to board again. At Columbus's airport they do random searches at the gate also and the woman in front of us got her purse searched. The security person asked her if she had anything sharp in her bag that would poke him. She kind of looked at him quizically, obviously not understanding the language. He asked her again, this time gesturing with a finger poking him in his palm. She smiled and nodded and said "yes." He kind of smiled and laughed and knew she had no idea what he said.

Our plane finally took off at 10:00. You would think this would be the end of the story....

We arrived in LA around 11:30. I called my aunt to let her know we had arrived and that we still needed to get our luggage, pick up our rental car, and drive the hour down to Dana Point. We got our luggage and picked up our rental car after midnight. We drove south about an hour and finally reached Dana Point. We had no trouble finding the complex the condo was in, but we discovered we only had the building address and not the actual condo number. My aunt had told me she left the key under the doormat so I started looking under mats with the light of my cell phone to guide me. I got around to the backside of the condo and a woman was sitting on the adjacent steps smoking a cigarette. Crap! It was now 2:00am and we had been up for about 23 hours straight. I decided to call my dad since he would be getting up soon to go running. Of course, he didn't have the address. So I had to call my aunt and wake up her and ask her what the number was. Finally, we were in the condo around 2:30am.

We were STARVING, so we found a microwavable ravioli, heated it up, and shared it while standing over the kitchen sink. Classy! Finally we went to bed to start our adventures on Saturday.

To be continued....

I'm actually creating a post, therefore it must be Thursday

Look at this beautiful sky that I found around 6:30 this morning just outside my front door!

First things first....my heartrate monitor is back from the manufacturer and it appears to be working. Check, check.

Vacation starts tomorrow. California here I come!

I did my last physical therapy this morning on my foot. Very painful, but handled it with a smile. Did I mention I'm going on vacation?

So, I know you all watched the finale of "So You Think You Can Dance?" last night, right? I did! I don't know if you all caught this, but was that Danny Pintauro yelling and screaming and cheering his buns off last night in the front row? Was I the only person who saw that?

And now...on with Thursday Thoughts.

1. Do you wear sunblock everyday? If yes, what SPF factor?

2. Do you wear glasses or contacts? If yes, are you near sighted or far sighted?

3. Do you donate to charity or participate in charity work or events? If so, what?

4. If you only had three days left in life, what would do?

5. What is your favorite amusement park? When was the last time you visited? Why do you like it?

Lazy Arse

I'm such a lazy arse! Last week I caught a wicked cold and didn't run from Thursday on. Today I have 8 miles to run and the plan was to do it before work because it's supposed to storm this afternoon and I have to put in extra hours this week because of my vacation starting on Friday (Yay!!!!). And I even planned it well. I slept in my running clothes last night. Ha! But, when the alarm went off at 4:30 I just couldn't get up and reset it to the usual 5:20. Now I have a 10 hour work day planned plus the run after work plus packing plus house cleaning plus grocery shopping. Argh! Come on lazy arse. Help me out!

Thursday Thoughts

Yeah, I missed the Thursday Thoughts last week. I was pretty busy and I'm running out of intelligent questions. But, I'm back this week so here we go!

1. What's your theory as to what Maurice Clarett was doing with a 1/2 empty bottle of Grey Goose vodka, 4 loaded guns, a hatchet (A HATCHET!), and a bullet proof vest?

2. Which do you prefer, snow skiing or water skiing?

3. Are you a vegetarian or do you eat strictly organic?

4. What's your favorite flavor of Gatorade?

5. What's your favorite race you run every year?

Why Bert, You're Sick!

All summer I was very careful to craft my mileage so that when marathon training began it wouldn't be a huge jump so I wouldn't get injuries or be too tired or whatnot. Every week I ran around 30-35 miles, which I thought was a pretty good base. Last week was the kick-off to Chicago 2006 and I jumped to 44 miles on the week (only becaues I ran a race on Sunday; otherwise it would have been 36 miles). And wouldn't you know, yesterday I caught a cold! That always happens to me when I put more stress on my body! So frustrating! I'm going to try to run through it, though, and just load up on beverages and sleeping. And I'm already seeing the doctor for a follow-up next week on my foot so if it turns into a sinus thing, which is always does, then I'll just ask him to write me a prescription then.

Sorry I've been so infrequent with my posts. I've been very busy both at home and at work. I'm about to go on vacation people! It takes a lot of preparation to go on vacation. :)

If you're going to San Diego

Okay, I know that's not the way the song goes. Dave and I are heading out on vacation in a few weeks and we're going to southern California. Officially we're staying in Dana Point, which I believe is close to Laguna and halfway between LA and San Diego. We have a few things planned (Angels game, Joshua Tree National Park, maybe going to see the Rose Bowl), but mostly we've kept our schedule open. We just don't know much about southern California and what we want to see.

So tell us, interweb, what's the things to do and see in SoCal?

Summer Classic 10 Miler

Yesterday I ran in the Summer Classic 10 Miler in New Albany. As it is in the rest of the country, it was blazing hot right from the start and there was very little shade on this course and, in my opinion, not enough water stops.

I started off pretty conservatively with the first two miles in the 8:00s. Then the times started to go down into the 7:00s. At the first turn I was told I was in 14th place by two different people and that's how I counted it myself. So I took it as a mission to hunt down as many women as I could. I caught one before mile 6 and then I caught two more at mile 7, where I turned my fastest mile 7:08. It took me two more miles to hunt down another and in the last mile I passed one more, who passed me back in the last 100 meters. By my calculation I was the 10th female finisher but the final results I was 12th. I don't know how I missed them, but maybe there weren't too female looking.

Anyway, my final time was 1:16:41, which is a 7:41 pace. That's a PR for me and I'm pretty excited about that. I also finished 3rd in my age group and got a plaque. Dave and my dad also ran the race.

Today kicks-off training for Chicago. I'm pretty sore after the race, but I'm going to stick to the plan and see what goodness comes from it.

Thursday Thoughts

Welcome to the most interactive fun you can have on the internet! Okay, maybe not the most fun, but still fun. First today, mad props to the husband for creating my new header. Secondly, let's get the fun rolling.

1. What is the saddest book you've ever read? Happiest?

2. What is your favorite book you've ever read?

3. Are you going (or have you gone) on vacation this summer and where are you going?

4. If you had a 4 day weekend this weekend, where would you go and/or what would you do?

5. What's the most embaressing thing that's ever happened to you?

Public Service Announcement

This is my right foot.



This is my left foot on plantar fasciitis.



Any questions?

Thursday Thoughts

1. What television show(s) are you a little embarrassed to admit that you're watching?

2. What character of TV are you most like?

3. What reality show can you not do without?

4. Do you watch any game shows? If yes, which one(s)?

5. Which TV show do you wish they would bring back?

And Now the News

This is going to be a totally random post, so bear with me.

• Dude, could it be any hotter? Yesterday was around 95 degrees so I thought it would be a good day to run intervals with some high schoolers say around 4:30 pm. He he! We made it three 400s and one 300 before the kids called it quits. I ran a total of 6 miles at a very slow shuffly pace, but my intervals rocked. I ran a 1:19 and a 1:22 in two of my 400s and I beat our best sprinter in one of the 400s and the one 300, and I almost caught one of our boy sprinters. Guess they don't quite understand what the term repeat.
• Sarah Reinertsen is going to be in the next Amazing Race.
• I reached a milestone: 750 miles on the year.
• I think I might have plantar fasciitis. I'm going to see the doctor next week about it, but I have no plans to reduce my running and training starts in two weeks.
• The Boston Athletic Association came through. I was not happy about getting a medium-sized shirt at the Boston Marathon after my entry had a small shirt. So I sent a letter to the BAA with suggestions like only giving the shirt size people ask for or putting the shirts in the grab bags so that you get the size you asked for. And yesterday I had a package in the mail with a small Boston Marathon shirt. A big thank you to the BAA.

Okay, so I guess it wasn't really all that random. :)

Thursday Thoughts

I've noticed a big spike recently in the number of hits I've been getting to this site, so let me explain Thursday Thoughts for those newbies. I write a series of questions; you answer them in the comments. Okay, I guess that wasn't that hard. Please comment. I love the comments. They're fun! Even if you just found this site from a search engine (and good gosh there are a lot of you out there hitting me through searches), participate!

Let's get it started!

1. If you could meet one famous person who would it be?

2. What is the worst date you've ever had?

3. If you were going to a deserted island and could only take three things with you, what would you take?

4. Who is the best looking guy and girl in Hollywood?

5. What did you have for dinner yesterday?

I know it's not contagious....

You know when you go to the doctor's office and it seems that every one in the waiting area has the flu and they're sneezing and coughing and snotting and of course, you're only there to see the doctor about something that does not involve being sick? You sit in the waiting area hoping they'll call you back quickly so you don't catch whatever everyone else has?

Today I had my annual. You know what I'm talking about ladies....the most hellacious 15 minutes of every year. The waiting room was packed with women and ALL of them were pregnant. For an hour, AN HOUR!, I sat there with the walls closing in on me and my lungs collapsing and just hoping that I would not catch what these other women had.

Finally I was called back (thank goodness) and all I kept thinking is let's get this over and quickly. Then, I got the pressure lecture. As I approach my 30th birthday, in two years mind you, I continually get this lecture from everybody I know. This is how it goes..."You know, you're almost 30 and it gets harder to pregnant after the age of 30 and I wouldn't want you to regret anything." But my doctor took it one step further. She said that we should be thinking about trying now. WHAT?! First of all, isn't it my decision? And secondly, isn't 30 like the new 20? Am I really that old?

A few weeks ago I was late, like several weeks late. And I FREAKED out! I went into the grocery store, approached THE aisle and looked around to see if anyone is watching me. Let me back up...I went to a grocery store in another town so it was less likely that I would know anyone there. Ha! I grabbed the pregnancy test, hid it under my arm, and approached the self-checkout. I quickly scanned that sucker, paid for the purchase, and stuffed it into my purse. I got home, peed on that stick, and waited shaking like a leaf. I was relieved when the test revealed I was very not pregnant. No denying that. A week later I still hadn't started my period and I started to get worried that I had done something wrong with the test or it was too early to have done the test in the first place. So, I took another one and was again relieved to have it come back negative. Obviously, this episode is a definite sign that I am SOOOOO not ready.

I don't need anyone to tell me I'm getting older. I realize that. I am not happy that 30 is knocking on my door. But, I don't feel almost 30 and I certainly don't look almost 30. And I don't understand why 30 is this magical number that determines my fertility. Right now, I'm not ready. I mean, scares the 'shiznit out of me', not ready. And no matter how many times people give me the pressure lecture, my mind is not going to change.

Go Speed Racer Go!

Dude! I did some fast running this weekend.

I started with 6 miles on Saturday morning with the group. But, no one I usually run with showed up so I had to run with Bridget and Brian who are way faster than me. Bridget kept talking to me and the only way for me to hear her was to keep up with her. The faster she talked, the faster she ran. And she kept saying, "let's chase down that person." As we were finishing the 6 miles I looked at my watch and freaked out! I did the run in 41:41. That's sub-7:00s folks!

Then on Saturday afternoon I did the Columbus Running Company's 1-Mile Dash. I had done a one mile race several years ago and had done a 6:15, so I was hoping to do a little better this time. I really wanted to do under 6:00, but it was really hot and I was feeling thirsty and I didn't know if that was going to happen. There were a ton of high schoolers at this race, which made me really nervous. The race was point-to-point with one turn and seemed a little downhill. I came through the quarter mile in 1:23 and came through the halfway point at a 5:40 pace. Although my lungs were not burning and I felt like I wanted to push, my legs just wouldn't go any faster. I crossed the line in 6:02. I think I won my age group, but the results seem to be a little screwed up. It has me in the 15-19 age group and the 19-24 age group. I don't think they gave out awards and I didn't stick around to find out. I'm pleased with the results.

Thursday Thoughts

Hey! Hey! You know the drill. I ask the questions; you provide the answers. Let's get started.

1. What is one goal you'd still like to accomplish?

2. What has been your biggest accomplishment to date?

3. What is one memory you have of the Fourth of July? (And if you're not from America, pick a holiday native to your country.)

4. What is your favorite candy bar?

5. Have you ever been in a musical or play? If yes, what play/musical and what role did you have?

What the Hail?

I haven't really been paying attention to the weather in the rest of the country the last couple of days (why would I watch the news? Wimbledon is on!), but the weather in Ohio has been crazy stormy for about a week.

Last Wednesday Dave, Dad, and I went out for a run and about half-way into it, as far away from our car as we could be, we got caught in a storm. We were running around the golf course and thunder had been rumbling for a while, but it was a low thunder and it seemed far away. But, the alarm sounded at the country club indicating lightning had been seen and for the golfers to come into the clubhouse. I was worried about the lightning so we stopped under a gazebo right by the course. Then the skies opened! It POURED and lightning CRASHED all around us and we were pelted with hail. The golf course marshall came by on a cart and I thought he was going to pick us up, but instead he said "that's gotta suck!" Thanks a lot buddy! We waited under the gazebo for probably 20-25 minutes and then went on with our run.

Monday Dave and I went to Kroger (grocery store) to pick up supplies to make tacos and bean dip. As we checked out, Dave realized we had forgotten the Tostitos, but we had already paid for our purchase so I told him we'd just stop on Meijer on the way home (we live right next to the Meijer). The skies were starting to look ominous so we headed to Blockbuster to get a movie and then on to Meijer. As we left Blockbuster it had started raining and continued as we got to Meijer. We purchased our Tostitos, but it was too late...it was storming and it was a big storm. I had been watching the weather map all day and there had been several tornados spotted outside of central Ohio. The weathermen had said those same storms were going to reach us around 6:00 and it was 5:45. Damn weathermen! Dave and I contemplated making a run to the car, but it was lightning pretty good so we decided to wait under the canopy of the building. The wind started picking up and shopping carts were rolling themselves through the parking lot. Then a loud crack of thunder and I freaked enough to run back into the store. The sky started to lighten in a few minutes so we headed back outside to try to make a dash for it. We thought too long, however, and then lightning literally struck in the parking lot and I jumped out of my skin and immediately back into the store. Finally, several minutes later Dave and I sprinted to the car and lightning hit across the road just as we made it to the car. Funny enough we both ducked. Yeah, like that was going to save us!

And yesterday we celebrated the un-Fourth of July. The Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday but not so much this year. Yesterday I was awoke with the rumble of thunder around 6:00 and realized this would be the first Fourth of July I wouldn't be running a race. The thunder rumbled all day and the rain pounded down. No race, no parade, no fireworks. At least I got to bed early. The fireworks have been rescheduled for tonight. Of course, the weather is beautiful today...just in time for me to go back to work.

I'm still running

I know I don't talk about my running a whole lot anymore in this blog. Not much to say, really. Left, right, left, right, repeat. But I have been putting in some good miles. In June I totalled over 120 miles for the month and even got a couple 1000 yards of swimming. So, I may not talk about it, but I'm still running.

To My Love

Bet you thought this post was going to be about Dave....it's not.

During the summer of 1992 I learned how to play tennis. I first learned the rules of the game and how to score by watching the French Open and Wimbledon on TV. Then I took lessons from the parks and recreations. As you may or may not know, the summer of 1992 was the year Andre Agassi won Wimbledon. And my love began.

In high school I would say I was a fan of Agassi. I had posters on my wall with him and his long hair and cut off shorts. And I loved watching him on TV with his wild antics. When Agassi fell in the rankings and played the challenger tournaments and came back as a whole different player, that's when I went from fan to admirer. It's almost deeper than admiration...I would have to say I have a deep respect and love for Andre Agassi. I love watching him play. He's a textbook player. He's classy on and off the court. He's respectful and has gained the respect of players and fans around teh world. Andre Agassi is tennis personified.

Last Saturday Andre Agassi announced he was retiring from tennis at the end of this summer, with the US Open being his last tournament. My heart sank. I knew the end was inevitable and I knew it was coming soon, but I guess I wasn't prepared enough. Last year I traveled to New York to witness the US Open firsthand. I absolutely LOVED being at the US Open, but unfortuantely, I wasn't lucky enough to get to witness Agassi play in person. And now the end is near and I probably won't get to see him play in person.

Today I spent the day watching Wimbledon and I watched Agassi play his last match at Centre Court against Rafael Nadal. The match was pretty lopsided and not great to watch as an Agassi fan. At the end he blew kisses to the crowd one last time and I cried. My heart has been broken. I feel like I've lost a close friend.

On behalf of the many fans and admirers out there, thank you Andre.

Thursday Thoughts

It's Thursday which means it's time for Thursday Thoughts. You know how this game is played. I ask the questions, you supply the answers. Today is "Tell a Friend Thursday". So tell a friend to hop on over to this site and answer the questions. And if you're a "Long Time Listener, No Time Caller", we'd love for you to comment. I know you're out there. I get a lot of hits for as few comments as I receive. Ready? Here we go?

1. Did you ever play in a marching band? If yes, what instrument did you play?

2. What do you plan on doing when you retire?

3. What is your favorite magazine you read?

4. What is your favorite flower?

5. What is your dream car?

Photo Scavenger Hunt--Week 2

Obviously, I was disappointed to see nobody participate in week one of the scavenger hunt. Maybe the rules were too complicated; maybe the clues were too. The purpose of it was to get out and participate in your world...to have fun and be creative and always, always, always carry a camera with you.

So, this week I'm going to switch it up a little. No more contest with prizes--just for fun. And each week will have a theme and some ideas. I would love it if you went out and took the pictures during the week of the hunt, but I would rather you just participate. Instead of the signage which I suggested, post your picture and tell me why that picture is significant to you. Remember, it's just for fun so do the pictures you want to do. You don't have to do all of them.

And tell a friend! The more people that participate, the more fun it will be.

If you have questions, let me know.


Week 2--Summer Vacations
1. Post a camping picture--hints: tents, RVs, hiking, campfires, etc.

2. Post a beach picture--hints: sandcastles, surfing, sunsets/rises, etc.

3. Post a water picture--hints: kayaking, swimming, surfing, fishing, etc.

4. Post a destination picture--hints: Walt Disney World, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, etc.

5. Post a family/friend picture--hints: family portraits at the beach, friends toasting at a winery, etc.

Beauty Questions

Okay, this a serious post.

My name is Meredith and I have acne. I have had acne since I was a pre-teen and it has only gotten worse as I've grown older. I have been seeing a dermatologist since I was 12 and only recently stopped going because it appeared I was growing out of my acne. But, it seems to have gotten worse again in the last couple of months. This isn't the small breakouts that I get around "that-time-of-the-month" either. These are big, honkin', cystic acne/pimples that physically hurt. How I only wish it was tiny zits.

So what have I tried? EVERYTHING!!! I have done almost every antibiotic known to man. I have done all the facial creams like Retin-A, etc. I have taken birth control specifically for my acne, which has only made me break out worse. I have done over the counter allergy medicines. And I've even done two rounds of Accutane.

I have recently started seeing a plastic surgeon about my skin. I have two sun spots I'm having lasered off this fall and I am also contemplating a chemical peels to get rid of my acne scars. Thing is, I don't want to spend the money on a chemical peel to do away with my scars if I'm only creating more scars. And, I really don't want to call the dermatologist again because it takes FOREVER to get an appointment and I don't want to go through the torture again (all the medicines and creams, etc.).

This week I ordered the 30 day trial for ProActiv. Does this stuff really work? Does this work for hormonal acne or only on surface acne? Will my acne ever go away?!

I'm sure my running doesn't help. I carry acne face wipes in my gym bag that I use IMMEDIATELY after running, but obviously that is not working either. My dermatologist has even suggested to me that I give up running so that my skin will get better. Obviously, that is not an option.

What is a girl to do?

Thursday Thoughts

It's that time again...time for Thursday Thoughts. Please join me in answering the questions below. It's light-hearted, interactive, and fun. Tell a friend!!!

1. Have you ever seen any Broadway shows? If yes, which ones?

2. Where was the "hang-out" in high school?

3. What is the specialty item that you cook or bake?

4. Did you go to college? If yes, where did you go and what did you study?

5. Do you speak a foreign language? If yes, what?

This is why I coach

Competitive Old Men

I run with my dad. I'm sure I mentioned that before. My dad is 54 and has run 20 marathons. He will be running Chicago with Dave and me this fall and everyone else in our running group.

Saturday we were doing our group run and we got passed by a senior looking man. He was running at a pretty good clip. We began egging my dad on about being able to catch this other guy. Dad said that that guy was probably in his age group. The guy heard it and came back around and asked my dad how old he was. Dad told him and then the guy said "I'm older than that" and took off running again. Again we pushed my dad to go after the guy and then the guy stopped and came back and nudged my dad and said "You need to do speedwork." And then took off so fast, I swear it was like the cartoons where all you see is the dust.

Old dude was fast!!!

Hello. *tap**tap* Is this thing on?

So is my scavenger hunt too hard? Did all the cameras in the world suddenly stop working? Did my fan club turn on me? Do y'all just not want to participate? What's going on?!?

Maybe I didn't make it clear exactly how NOT literal these pictures need to be. I'm looking for creativity here, people! For example, Challenge #5--a photo of you surfing on a beach. Yes, this could be literal. It could also be you sitting on the beach with a computer surfing the internet. Or it could be at a restaurant called The Beach surfing on your computer. Or it could be theatre you've created to look like a beach with you on a surf board. Understand the creativity? Do I need to post an example?

Another example, Challenge #2--photo of you at a finish line with medal around your neck or trophy in hand. Does it have to be a real finish line or could it be The Finish Line, the footwear store? Does it have to be a real medal or something made out of aluminum foil? Could it be a finish line made of toilet paper as the finish line you break. Understand what I'm looking for?

Now get snapping! I'm getting antsy over here.

And if you happen to be a friend or family member of mine who doesn't have a blog or any other sort of media to link your photos to, send me an e-mail with the photo and I'll put it on my blog.

Photo Scavenger Hunt--Better Understanding

I am a bit concerned that I haven't gotten any comments yet regarding the photo scavenger hunt. I thoroughly expected to start seeing some pictures by now. Maybe I didn't explain it good enough.

Feel free to start shooting your pictures and linking them through the comments. Comment as many times as you like. If you can only shoot one of the pictures today, go ahead and post that picture today. If you shoot another one tomorrow, post that picture tomorrow. You don't need to do all ten challenges to be part of this scavenger hunt. Although there are prizes, I just want people to get involved and get creative. Who doesn't like a scavenger hunt?

Photo Scavenger Hunt--Week One

Welcome to Week One of the Photo Scavenger Hunt. Please read The Rules before submitting your photos. Don't forget your salutation signs! Get creative; think outside the box; have fun; and good luck. (Note, not all challenges need to be literal.)

Challenge #1:
Submit a photo with you dressed up in a formal dress or a tuxedo with a martini in one hand.

Challenge #2:
Submit a photo of you at a finish line with medal around your neck or trophy in hand.

Challenge #3:
Submit a photo of you shaking hands with a celebrity. Your salutation sign needs to include your celebrity's name.

Challenge #4:
Submit a photo of you and your bride/groom with a marriage license in front of city hall.

Challenge #5:
Submit a photo of you surfing on the beach.

Challenge #6:
Submit a photo of you getting arrested (please do not break the law).

Challenge #7:
Submit a photo of you at a 26 mile marker.

Challenge #8:
Submit a photo of you dressed up as your favorite character from a movie. Don't forget to tell me what character you're playing.

Challenge #9:
Submit a photo of you kissing a fish.

Challenge #10:
Submit a photo of you singing in the rain.

Photo Scavenger Hunt--The Rules

It's time for some interactive fun and competition, InterWeb. Here's how it works:

• Every Monday morning for six weeks I will post ten photo challenges.
• Your goal is to complete as many of the challenges during the week as possible.
  
• You enter by leaving a comment in the post indicating which challenge number you're entering along with a link to where I can find your photo(s). Comments must be received by Sunday night at midnight to be eligible for weekly points.
  
• Only one photo per challenge will be accepted.
• The score breakdown: first person to comment gets 5 points; second entry, four points; third entry, three points; fourth entry, two points, and fifth commentor receives one point. Those comments are per challenge so if you see 20 comments in the post, don't fret. Keep entering! If there are ten challenges per week times five people to score per challenge, that equals 50 comments. Keep submitting your photos. The more entries, the more fun, the more points.
• There are real prizes for first, second, and third place for the six week challenge. Scores will be updated each week and winners will be announced at the end of the six weeks along with prizes received.
• Photos must be original and you must appear in your photo.
• You must display a handwritten sign in each photo with a creative salutation and the date the photo was taken. The date must be during the week you are submitting your challenge photograph.
• All scoring is done at the discretion of the judge (me!) and obscene photographs and/or salutations will not be accepted and will be deleted from the comments.
• The rules and challenges will always be available in the sidebar.
  
• Good luck and have fun.

Just Appalling

I was driving home from the gym yesterday and the car beside me in it had a man smoking a cigarette with the windows rolled up and two small children in the backseat both in car seats. One of the children had covered her nose and mouth with a pillow.

I about went ballistic. I literally looked for a piece of paper and a pen in my car so I could write a sign and display it in my window, "Hey, you're killing your kids!"

I'm not really into politics. I'm a middle-of-the-road kind of girl so I don't regularly choose sides, but this time I'm am. About two years ago the city of Columbus voted to make smoking illegal inside public establishments. Initially this was voted on and approved by city council, which did not go over well with the general public. It was then put on the ballot and voters chose to adopt the smoking ban. The restaurant and bar owners fought back and put another measure on the ballot to repeal the ban based on a percentage of alcohol sales. The voters turned that down and the ban stayed intact. Since that time many suburbs have also adopted a ban of their own. Personally, I love this ban. It is so great walking into a restaurant and not having to worry about coming out smelling like smoke even when sitting in the non-smoking section.

So this fall, another measure is going on the ballot to ban smoking in the state of Ohio. I believe this ban will work just like Columbus's ban where the is NO smoking inside an establishment. Tabacco companies are striking back with their own ban called Smoke-Less Ohio which does not ban smoking but limits it in establishments.

Here's my thing...How dare you say that it's your choice to smoke; that it's your choice to kill yourself. It's my choice to breathe clean air and your smoke is killing me too. How dare you bring a child into this world and then give them a slow, painful death by smoking around them. Smoke-Free Ohio is something I'm very passionate about and will be getting involved. Smoker's beware: I'm pulling out my soap box and I'm not putting it away.

Sound off InterWeb. What's your stance on smoking bans?

Thursday Thoughts

Good Thursday everyone! It's once again time for Thursday Thoughts, where I ask a series of questions for you to answer in the comments. It's mind-blowing or mind-numbing. Either way, it's fun! Today's goal: at least 10 commentors. So, tell you're friends and start answering.

1. What book are you currently reading?

2. If you could be a professional athlete of any kind, what sport would you choose?

3. How many states have you traveled?

4. What is the most interesting vacation you've ever taken?

5. What do you normally eat for breakfast?

Ladies, Eat Your Heart Out

Even though I'm a runner and I'm an engineer, deep down inside I still am quite the girly-girl. For example, those who know me know that I enjoy wearing at least one piece of pink clothing almost every day.

For years I have longed for a designer purse, but it is so expensive and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And then last week...I started to justify it. I thought....you just bought yourself a $1oo swimsuit at J. Crew and had no qualms about it. What's the difference in buying a swimsuit or a designer purse for a few extra dollars? So, I did.

I bought Kate Spade's Saratoga Spring Small Penelope and it arrived today.

Eat your heart out!

Wendy's Triathlon--Corporate Challenge

Yesterday was the Wendy's Triathlon. I have done this race twice before, but this year when they moved the date to earlier in June, I dediced not to do Wendy's because I figured the water would be too cold. A week ago, however, I was given an opportunity to join our corporate relay team for the YMCA Corporate Challenge, so I took it since I would only be doing the run.

The morning started really early, 5:00AM, and I was out the door by 5:30. The weather has been yo-yoing in typical Columbus fashion the last couple of weeks and this weekend proved to be no different. The air temperature when I stepped outside was 53 degrees. I was cold in sweatpants. Good call on deciding not to do the swim! I arrived at Alum Creek State Park around 6:00 and quickly ran into my friends Jeannie and Josh. We looked and found a rainbow. Today was going to be a good day.



The sun was also rising which made for beautiful hues in the sky and water.



I found my team, worked out the logistics, and then we walked to the water to watch the start of the swim. The water was warmer than the air and it seemed like people didn't mind how cold it was. Me, I was freezing.



The swim got started and we walked down to the transition area, watched our swimmers handoff to our bikers and everyone was gone. I stripped down to my singlet and shorts and got in a warm-up. It what seemed like a few short minutes, the bikers were coming back and the race was about to begin for me. When I got the handoff, I was probably the 5th or 6th woman in the field. It was weird to be in this position. I'm a pretty fast runner, but not fast enough to ever been the hunted. It was exciting to be out with the elite athletes. I raced as fast as I could, passing probably three people and getting passed by as many too, including two women. Bah! I did my run in 22:01, which is a PR, but I don't think the course really is a 5K. As a team, unofficially we were second in our division. Official results will not be available until later in the week. I had fun, which is kind of surprised me. Maybe I'll consider doing more team relays for my new company.

----------------------------------

In something totally not related to the subject of running or racing...hop on over to Dave's blog and send him some well wishes. He's having all four of his wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday. I'll post the pictures later this week. He he! I'm an evil wife, but he did it to me when I got my eyes lasered, so revenge is sweet.

Thursday Thoughts

Well, it's Thursday and you know what that means....time for Thursday Thoughts. Below you'll find the questions for the day. Put your answers in the comments. And send a friend a note about it. The more answers, the more fun!

1. What is the biggest sporting event were you have been a spectator (in your opinion)?

2. What was your first job?

3. What's playing on your iPod / MP3 player / CD player / radio right now?

4. How tall are you?

5. Who is the most famous person you've seen in person?

Heart Rate Monitors Revisited

As you might remember, I have been doing all my training with a heart rate monitor this year. So far, I think it's been really successful.

But, I have a question out there for all of those who train with a HRM. Up until recently it hasn't been very warm in central Ohio. All of a sudden, though, it's been like 90 degrees. I've noticed that my heart rate monitor has started jumping around. What I mean is, one second it's at 117 (which is way low) and the next second it jumps to 240 (hello, defib!). I wear my heart rate monitor completely under my sports bra. Does it just not have good contact with my skin? Is my battery going bad (I just got it in December). I wear a Timex Ironman HRM and I've had trouble with max heart rate readings since the beginning. Is the model bad?

Help me interweb!

It's Over

The weekend is over. Thank goodness.

The highlights....

I finally got to participate in a group run on Saturday morning. I ran a solid 9 miles at Highbanks and did it well. It's good to be back.

State track meet was Saturday and it was good. AG finished 10th in the 1600, with a 5:21. She said she had no idea what the pace was. There were two girls in the race who went under 5:00 and she figured the rest of the group was pacing too fast because of them. But they weren't. I think she did terrific and I'm really proud of her. MC ran in the 800 and got on the podium. He finished 8th in a 1:57. Again, so proud. Track season is now over...what the heck am I going to do with my time (run!!!)?

And now for the challenges...

My HS 10 year reunion was also this weekend. Another girl and I had decided to do the planning because we knew no one else would. For months I researched and found 50 of the 52 classmates. By the time of the reunion, however, I had only received about 15 RSVPs. And in total, we had 20 show up. I don't know if it was the fact I was the hostess, but I didn't have a good time. It was just kinda weird. No one, NO ONE, asked me what I had been doing since high school and it seemed nothing had changed since high school. When I was in school, I really didn't fit into any of the cliques and just kinda did my own thing. It was the same thing this weekend too. Dave and I just kinda stood in a corner and waited for the evening to be over. I'm glad I got to see everybody, but I'm also glad it's over. There was one girl I did really enjoy talking to who I haven't seen in a very long time, and I'm going to try to stay in contact her. It should be pretty easy, we work for the same company.





Hey y'all. Where are the race reports? I want to know what happened in San Diego.

Good Night and Good Luck

Good luck to all the runners who are running Rock and Roll San Diego this weekend. A special good luck to Nic and Dianna who are trying to qualify to Boston. I look forward to meeting you both in Boston next year.

Thursday Thoughts

It's that time again, my friends. Time for the Thursday Thoughts...when I ask a series of questions and you respond in the comments. So, tell a friend, join in, it's fun!

1. What celebrity do you look most like?

2. What is your favorite website (besides mine, of course)?

3. Did you ever attend a summer camp? And if yes, which one?

4. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage?

5. Have you ever traveled outside the country (whatever your home country is)? And if yes, to where?

Tour of Columbus, continued

Columbus, Ohio is really a college town. Our sports revolve around the Buckeyes, and personally, I'd prefer it that way. But, we do have some major league sports (hockey, soccer, arena football) and many minor league teams. Last night we went to a Columbus Clippers game.

The Columbus Clippers are the AAA farm team for the NY Yankees. Throughout the years many Yankee greats have played in Columbus including Darryl Strawberry and Derek Jeter. Last night Columbus played the Buffalo Bison, which is the farm team of the Cleveland Indians. I think there were more people there rooting for the Indians; Dave and I were anyway. We wanted to see Andy Marte play (3rd base).

The Clippers play at Cooper Stadium which is on the west side of Columbus. The stadium only holds a few thousand. Parking is $3, with ticket prices starting at $6 for general admission going up to $10 for box seats. It's really great cheap entertainment. The Coop (as it's called) has specials almost every home game, but the most famous is "Dime a Dog Night" which was last night also. Usually once or twice a month, always on a Monday, you can pay ten cents per hot dog with a limit of five hot dogs per visit. The lines are long at the vendors, but for ten cents a hot dog, it's worth the wait.

View of the The Coop from Interstate 70.

Ticket office

The scoreboard, which earlier in the week had been hit by lightning and wasn't working.

The stadium.

The Clippers will be moving downtown in the next few years. Nationwide is building a new stadium close to Nationwide Arena (where the Blue Jackets play) and the stadium will be called Huntington Park, which is the name of a local bank which will own the stadium. (I understand corporate sponsorship; I just think the naming of buildings and venues after corporate sponsorship is ridiculous.) I'm sure once the team moves, prices will not be as good as currently.

We didn't stay for the whole game last night because it was pretty boring and it was getting late for a work night. Buffalo won. Go Indians!

State-Bound

After four consecutive trips to regionals, AG has made it to State. She finished 4th in the 1600 yesterday in a time of 5:12.76.

We also had some other state qualifiers. Our girls 4X100 team also finished 4th with a time of 50.16. Our boys 4X200 team (our boys were at a different regionals--it's weird in the central district) finished 4th with a 1:31.42. And then one of the boys I coach finished 3rd in the 800 with a school record time of 1:56.13. This is a great way to finish out the season.

Thursday Thoughts

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts. Every Thursday I post five questions for you to answer in the comments. It's fun, so tell all your friends about it!

1. What is the best concert you've ever seen?

2. What was the last movie you rented?

3. What kind of car do you drive?

4. What is your favorite TV show of all time?

5. How many people were in your high school graduating class?

Running Errands

Literally.

With the price of gasoline so high, I decided to combine my running with an errand the other day. The library branch is on my running route and I had a book on reserve there, so I decided to do my run and on the way past the library check out my book.

The library is at the end of my run, so I did approximately 4 miles and then went into the library. I went to the reserves section and found my book. Geesh! It was big! It was a small textbook size and it was a hard cover. Finishing my run with it was a big challenging. I probably saved just a few cents in gasoline, but I felt like I was sticking it to The Man by not driving my car.

In more running news (what? you don't talk about running anymore), I got into the Chicago Marathon as has Dave and I've already received my hotel confirmation. See ya in October!

Moving On...

This past week was Districts and we did pretty well. Both the boys and girls teams finished third overall and qualified some to the Regionals. My girl, AG, who I have been bragging about didn't disappoint as she won both the 1600 (5:18.1) and 3200 (11:41.47). This week we head to the regional where she is seeded third in each race. This is our fourth trip to regionals, and we're hoping this will be our first trip to States. I'll keep you posted.

Randomness

Random #1:
I have a question for all the bike geeks out there. I have a Giant OCR3 and it is too big for it. I don't know exactly it's size, but everyone has told me it's too big and the gentleman at the bike shop who pimped out my bike told me that Giants are not made for people my size. My size? I'm 5'1" and very short-waisted. I hate to ride my bike and I think the reason is that it's not comfortable. Riding my bike is painful. At my size, I probably need a 47 but I'm not really wanting to buy a whole new bike. Too expensive for as little riding as I do. But I was thinking about this and this is where I need a little help. I was thinking of buying a smaller frame and then using the rest of my bike to put it all together. Am I going to need to purchase anything else to make this work? Will this work? I'm guessing I'm going to need a new chain and probably new wheels. Please help. I'm a bike dummy.

Random #2:
I don't know how much y'all pay attention to the weather in Ohio, but there has been a giant green blob over it for the past 10 days. Yes, it has rained everyday for 10 days. And again it is raining this morning. Yesterday on my way to practice it was not raining, but the sky was ominous and looked like it could open up at any minute. And it did in the middle of practice. Here are some pictures I snapped on my drive to practice.

Random #3:
Why do shows have to season finale? Why can't they spread the episodes out over the whole year so we don't cliffhanger at the end of a season and then have to wait 4 months to see what happens? Why do they have to cliffhanger? The best season finale I ever saw was the next to last season of "Ed" when Carol had already professed her love to Ed and he had to choose between Frankie and Carol. And then while he and Carol are out at the pond he tells her that he loves her and that he's always loved her and they cry and I cry. And, it was great. It gives you a warm feeling all summer. So why am I griping about this? I am an "ER" fan. Yes I'm one of three people who still watch that show. I have seen every episode...FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS! And they always leave it in a cliffhanger. ER has been on the slide for quite some time now and I must say, I don't even enjoy the show much anymore, but because I have been a loyal fan I am going to stay a loyal fan. The only storyline I enjoy watching is with Luka and Abby. But of course, last night they had to leave us hanging as Abby's laying on the floor bleeding having a miscarriage, while Luka is chained to a bed with a tube down his throat and all he can do is watch what's happening. Writers of the show if you're reading this...DON'T RUIN THIS PLOT LINE!!! I like Abby and Luka together. I've waited many seasons for them to get back together. And I like they are happy and in love and not mopey anymore. Please, don't take her baby from her. Let this be a happy ending. It's the only interesting story left on ER.

I could go on and on with randomness today, but I've got work to do. Have a great weekend, interweb!

Thursday Thoughts

Welcome to the first Thursday Thoughts. Starting today and continuing every Thursday I will be posting questions for you to answer in the comments. I, too, will answer the questions. So tell all your friends about it, stop lurking (hey Manoj that means you!), and join in on the fun.

1. What was the best song you heard on your commute today?

2. Are you going to see the DaVinci Code this weekend? Did you read the book?

3. What is the coldest place you've ever visited? Hottest?

4. What was the first name of the first person you kissed?

5. Have you ever won a competition of some kind? If so, what?

We're number 1!

Actually, we're number 633. And by we, I mean me.

I got my Triathlon Life magazine this week and it had the end of the year rankings in it. I was looking through it to see if there were names I knew and lo and behold, there is my name! I finished 2005 ranked 633 (in the nation, baby) in the 25-29 age group.

I guess the criteria was that you had to be a USA Triathlon member and have completed at least three sanctioned races and those races had to have their results sent to the governing body. Then I think there was some formula that basically averages you out among everyone.

The cool part was, I only did three triathlons last summer (plus one duathlon). Seriously, maybe I ought to get my bike out and try again this year to see if I can improve on that.

What about the running?

I don't think I've written about running since the marathon. Nothing to say really. I haven't been doing too much running. Too busy. I've also been dealing with a slight hamstring strain and inflammation around the sheeth where my hamstring goes behind my knee.

But, I am going to brag about someone else's running. I have been a track coach for five years now. And I have had great runners and much success. I have had one runner for all four years who has always excelled. She has been to regionals every year, has set school records in the 1600, 3200, and 3200 relay, and will be running in college next year. But, for the first three years of her high school career her head has gotten in the way of her legs. This year, though, she has gotten the confidence to go out and do what was not possible before.

In the past two weeks she has cut 13 seconds off her school record in the 1600. Friday she turned in a 5:14.2 and beat an opponent she's never been able to. In the past two weeks she also beat her 3200 time with an 11:46.6. Post-season starts this week and we're hoping this confidence will carry her a long way. I'm so proud of her and all my athletes.

Before and After

This past January I tipped the scales at 120 pounds. Yes, I know, this isn't such a huge number. But, when you're 5'1", 120 pounds shows. I wasn't happy at this weight. I wasn't happy that the clothes I had been wearing weren't fitting me. So I set off to lose this weight. I didn't really diet. I just watched my caloric intake and tried to eat a little better. I also cut out my Kool Aid, margaritas, and wine and replaced those all with water.

And the results...

Last Thursday I weighed in at 109 pounds. Check out the before and after pictures. Wonder where a skinny girl can lose 11 pounds? You can definitely see it in these pictures. The before pictures are from the Muncie Endurathon last summer. The after pictures I took of myself in the mirror after my run this evening.

Tour of Columbus Begins

This post was supposed to be up last Monday 5/1. Better late than never, right?

For you regular readers, you'll remember a while back I wrote a post basically wondering what you would show people about your hometown if they came to visit. It got me thinking about how little I have visited in Columbus despite living here my whole life. This week I accidently started my Tour of Columbus just by being in the right place at the right time.

It all started on Thursday when I went over to my parents' house to talk to my mom about how horrible my track practice was that day. My sister and the kids were there and said they were going down to the main library to see an art project my nephew had done. They asked me if I wanted to go and although I was sweaty and gross from my run, I agreed to go.

Columbus Metro Library was recently ranked the #1 library system in America. The main library is downtown in addition to 20 branch libraries throughout the suburbs. The libraries are all interlinked meaning that if I can't find it at my branch, I can reserve it from another branch to be delivered at my home library. Personally, that's how I check out my books. I log onto the website and reserve the book to be delivered at the New Albany branch. If no one is on the waitlist, the book should be delivered within 3-5 days. It's a great system. And, if you can't find what you're looking for at Columbus, the library will search the other libraries in Ohio.





Thursday was my first visit to the main library and it didn't disappoint. The youth area has great artwork created by kids. There is also different plush areas for kids to sit and read, computers for kids to use, and a CD listening area with children's music as the selection. My nephew really liked listening to the music. The adult books and other media area are HUGE. Three floors HUGE! There is a media room, which would rival any Blockbuster. There's also a whole room full of sheet music. I've never seen that before at a library. Every floor has computers available for use too. Parking is free for the first hour and it's 50 cents for every half hour after that.



The Tour continued yesterday starting in German Village. German Village is a small section just south of downtown, which boasts a lot of breweries, beautiful Victorian homes, and some original establishments like Max and Erma's and Schmidt's. We ate lunch at Thurman's Cafe. Thurman's is this 'hole-in-the-wall' restaurant/bar that has the best hamburgers ANYWHERE! Each hamburger is 3/4 pounds and whatever toppings you get on it will just ooze out the side. Ask for extra napkins if you are going to be ordering the hamburger. And frankly, if you're going to Thurman's, you should order the hamburger.




After Thurman's we traveled back downtown to the Columbus Museum of Art. The museum is free on Sundays so what a better time to check it out. The last time I had been at the museum was when I was a kid and I remember it being bigger. We made it through the whole museum in about an hour and a half. I really don't know much about art, especially painting, so I'm not going to comment on the quality. I did really like this Chihuly piece. Chihuly had a display at the Franklin Park Conservatory a few years ago, but I'll write about that some other time.




The Museum of Art is next to the Columbus College of Art and Design which had some really cool displays outside. We took some pictures of these too.











The Tour will continue soon....

Playing Catch Up

Where are your posts Meredith? The world is anxiously holding their breath every day to see what you've been up to and you're letting them down. (He he he!) You need to step up to the plate girl or get out of the game!

Okay, my appologies. I've been quite busy, both at work and home, and haven't had the time to write anything. I will say I wrote a pretty good post on Monday, which is still sitting as a draft because I'm waiting to put some pictures on it before I post it. Of course, those pictures are on my home computer and I never think of it when I'm at home.

Anyway, it's been a pretty crazy week. Let's start with yesterday evening and work backwards.

I have a relative who works/worked for a major lingerie retailer. They have legendary (like that Dave?) sample sales where he usually brings home boxes of stuff. Yesterday the stuff was brought to my house so I could pick through and decide what I wanted. I am set for life! I got 30 sports bras (no lie; I counted them)! That's like $1000 worth of sports bras! I also got some workout gear like shirts, shorts, running skirt, and two tennis dresses. Awesome! And to my surprise, most of it fits (not all, but most). Oh yeah, ask Dave...I look totally hot in my running skirt. He he!

Besides the excitement of needing more space for my new sports bras, yesterday was the longest rollercoaster I've ever been on. The day started at 3:00am (yeah 3 freakin' AM!) and not by choice. I was awaken by a helicopter that was so loud I thought it was landing in our backyard. I laid awake for a while and realized the helicopter wasn't going away so I got up and looked outside the window. I'd say, it's probably 3:15am at this point. The helicopter clearly had its search light on and I saw it go across the house behind us. Then I saw two uniformed people walking on the sidewalk. It's freakin' 3 in the morning!!! So I started to get a little nervous especially since I wasn't hearing any sirens. I got up and locked the bedroom door. I figured, if they're in our house I want to hear them trying to get into our room so at least I've got time to call the cops. I was also very thankful that I had recently started keeping my cell phone in our bedroom. I then went to use the restroom and I got nervous about turning on the light. I thought, what if there is someone outside our home and if I turn on the light they'll know someone is awake. Then they'll shoot through the window and the window is right across from the toilet and they'll hit me. Yes, I have a pretty vivid imagination for 3:00am. I crawled back in bed and listened to the helicopter for a bit longer. By 3:30 it had now been hovering for 30 minutes and I was really scared and angry that I had been awake this long. So I woke Dave up and asked him if he was hearing the helicopter. Of course he's not hearing the helicopter; he's asleep! He looked out the windows and didn't see anything and then he started checking out the rest of the house. He said he saw the helicopter further down in the neighborhood. The thundering was definitely softer but it was still around. By 4:00am I was exhausted. The helicopter had been hovering for an hour. I never heard any sirens or any alarms from other houses. I finally feel asleep.

My alarm went off at 5:15am and I woke up tired. Never a good sign. I lolly-gagged getting ready because in my head I had already decided I was going to call a personal day. I sat and watched the news for about 15 minutes to see what was up with the helicopter, but nothing was said. So I went in to talk to Dave about taking a personal day and how we were going to divide up my remaining vacation time. Of course, I had to wake Dave up to talk to him about it. He probably wasn't very happy with me yesterday. :) He then posed the question "what if I got sick?" I was so angry that I couldn't take a personal day. I have so much to do at home. Literally the house has not been fully cleaned since October! How do regular people do it? So then I had to hurry up and get ready. I'm stomping, and huffing, and cussing around the house, totally arguing with myself. I left for work 10 minutes late and decided I was hungry. I stopped by McDonald's and got some breakfast. Then when I pulled up to the stop sign to turn onto the last road before I arrived at work, my car died. Oy! I turn the key and nothing happens. I got in my trunk, got out my cell phone, called my dad (I work with my dad). Just as I hit send, I turn the car over again and it starts. What the? I get to work about 10 minutes late.

I had wanted to take yesterday as a personal day because I didn't have any meetings scheduled. But as the day progressed I got lots of e-mails that basically said you need to do this; you didn't do this and of course, somehow I wound up in fifteen million meetings. Nothing like a little preparation! This all just added to my anger.

But there was another high point (besides the sports bras). I had a one-on-one meeting with my manager and he said nothing but good things. That's quite different than what I've heard at previous jobs. I always think my manager is going to scream "YOU SUCK!"

I guess that's enough to chew on for now. I'll try to get my drafted post up and running today or tomorrow.

April Totals

The beginning of the month was the taper for Boston and after the marathon I really haven't done much of anything. That will all change today, hopefully. So, my running totals for April were lower for those reasons. I didn't do any swimming or biking, but I am also hoping to get to that very soon.

Running = 74.6 miles.