Foto Friday--Hartford Fair Edition

My sister lives out in the sticks. Actually, it's only a 1/2 hour from where we live but it is COUNTRY! There is a really popular county fair about a mile from her house and yesterday I attended for the first time. I took along my TTV contraption and took a lot of pictures.

I'm really digging these pictures and I've been thinking about selling them. I have my own shopping cart that I use for the photo booth, but I'm not really driving any traffic there. I've been thinking about using Etsy, but I'm a little nervous about how much of a cut they take. What's your thoughts on this? Do you think people would be interested in buying these pictures?

Here's a few of my favorites from the fair yesterday.

Thursday Thoughts

This morning while running I heard something hit beside me. I knew it had been a bird dropping and I thought, "woah, that was close." Then my watch beeped to change intervals, I looked down at it, and it was covered in bird poop. Yuck!

So what has been the grossest thing that has happened to you during training or racing?

Pikes Peak Marathon

My friends Andrea and Helen are doing something absolutely crazy this weekend: running Pikes Peak Marathon. You've got that right. They are running 13.1 miles up to the summit and then 13.1 miles down. I have to admit, I'm nervous for them. The summit is over 14,000 ft. Now I've been over 13,00 ft. and I thought I was walking on the moon. It was hard to breathe and I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Andrea has been training on Pikes Peak as she lives near there, but Helen lives about 20 miles from me. I think her "mountain" training has consisted of running up and down stairs in her office building.

Andrea and Helen, good luck and please be super-safe.

Vacation Bible School

Last year I got invited to speak at a vacation Bible school's "Sports Camp". I spoke about running and triathlon. This year Dave was invited to share his experience about Ironman. The topic for today's VBS: self doubt.

Dave did a fantastic job of speaking at the kids level and tried to make them understand the enormity that is Ironman. He spoke up training 6 days a week. He spoke about the number of hours it took him to complete the race. He brought props: his swim cap, a cowbell, his race number, and his bike. He let the kids pick up the bike to show them how light it was. What I thought was brilliant was how he incorporated self doubt he felt about signing up for the race, training for the race, and finishing in the race while in the race. I'm not sure the kids really grasped it, but the adults that were in attendance gasped and giggled as Dave made jokes about only having 20 miles left in the race.

Thanks Jon and Tamara for inviting us along this year. Those kids are a blast.

Two old married folks

Dave and I are, seriously, an old married couple. It might surprise you to know that most nights we play card games. Usually our game of choice is Five Crowns. But Dave recently taught me how to play Hot Dice and it's my new drug of choice. The game is played with 6 dice. I would explain the rules here but I'm typing this on my iPhone and that's a lot of thumb typing. All I can say is that it is awesome. Go online and look up the rules. Or if you're on Facebook and play the games on there it's called Farkle.

With a little bit of regret...

This morning Dave and I donned our helmets and cleats and boarded our bikes into New Albany. This morning there was a 10 mile race through the trails we run every day. I have run this race twice before and run it well, but this year I decided not to do it and concentrate on the half marathon instead. We camped out at the 2 mile mark and watched the runners come by. Immediately we realized it wasn't a big race and there weren't a ton of fast runners. The mortals were out today. We helped the volunteers pick up the cups and then waited for the lead runners to come back. Now we were stationed at mile 9 as this was an out and back. The first runner came flying by and we hopped on the bikes again and headed to the finish line barely beating the first runner there. First runner: 1:02. Nice! Then we waited and waited and waited to see the first woman. We had a friend out there who was the lead runner by A LOT, but she was using the race as a long run and decided to not finish the race and continued to run without crossing the finish line. The first woman came in: 1:20ish. That's an 8:00 pace. While that's excellent there was a part of me that knew I would have run this race had a run it. Grrr! That would have been two wins in one year. But, I'm 6 days away from my next PR :) and ready to rock the half.

Head Case

It's been a rough week of running. For as much success as I've had physically--good paces, solid runs--I have been mentally destroyed this week. There's a lot going on in this little noggin. First off, I've been fighting a cold/sinus infection for 13 days. Yeah, 13 days! I thought I was better but I've been waking up every day pretty much feeling the same way--not bad, not good. The sinuses are killing me, though. Yesterday my back teeth hurt. Today my front teeth hurt. With every step I take, my teeth feel shooting pain. Coach has scolded me--no running until I see a doctor. After all, I do have a race in a week.

Secondly, I've been fighting some nasty demons in my head. A year ago no one read my blog and not many people cared about my running. But I've turned in some good performances this past year and along with blogging every day, I feel like the weight of the running world is on my shoulders. The expectations have gotten so high. How am I ever going to live up to them? Of course, I know I'm the only one who has put these expectations on myself. If I set the goals, I can achieve them.

It's been a tough week. But, coach has sent me some rah-rah e-mails and Dave has given me plenty of hugs. Hopefully with a little bit of antibiotics and a good race next week, my head with be back to normal.

Foto Friday

Seriously, do I not have the best job in the whole world?

Thursday Thoughts

A friend told me this week that our internal clocks are genetic. I was complaining that Dave never got up early to do any of his Ironman training and she said it was because Dave "couldn't" get up early because that was the way his body was programmed. I don't know if that's true or not, but it got me wondering...what time is your internal clock set for?

Intrigue

Our "group" consists of a bunch of runners (and some REALLY good runners at that), with those runners also as wannabe triathletes. Most of us have tackled a triathlon of some kind either a sprint or a few of us have even gone on to do half Ironmans, but Dave has been the first one to tackle the monster: Ironman. Now that he's completed it, the questions have been coming rapid fire. Everyone is really intrigued--intrigued to the point others are wondering if the Ironman will be their next race.

Me included.

Tonight we had dinner with some of our running friends and the questions were non-stop. By the end of it I think we were all convinced to give it a try. Or should I say tri. :)

Let's Talk About Socks, Baby

I've been running for 8 years and really haven't thought a whole lot about socks. As long as they didn't bunch in my toes or cause blisters, then they were okay in my book. And considering I don't have problems with bad toenails or blisters, then most socks worked for me. When I finished 2nd in my age group at the Crystal Coast 1/2 Marathon, I won a gift card to a local running store. I used that gift card for two new pairs of socks. And WOW! They were like the best socks I've ever worn.

The brand of the socks is Balega. They have a perfect amount of cushion and I love the extra fabric around the achilles tendon area. My racing flats really rip up my achilles area so these socks really make a difference. The same manufacture makes Zulu socks which are made out of bamboo. I haven't tried them yet, but I know they are cheaper.

Let's talk about compression socks. They seem to be all the rage right now, and yes I own two pairs. One pair I bought at Meijer and they fit really tight. The other pair are Sugoi. I like them both and think they are both effective. Now I don't wear them while running because that's now what they're for, but I do wear them after hard workouts to aid in recovery. I feel like I get less sore when I wear them for a few hours after hard workouts. I also wear them when I'm flying to keep from getting blood clots. Multi-use!!!

What sock brands do you swear by and why?

Hard, Harder, Yuck!

So now that I know you guys actually know how to comment, please feel free to leave little comments like "nice run Mer" or "come on, wuss, you can do better than that". And now, on with the post...

I love that Coach names all my workouts. Today's was called "Hard, Harder, Hardest." Since my Garmin can't use that many characters I called mine HardHarderYuck. He he he! The workout called for intervals at half marathon pace, 10K pace, and 5K pace at differing time segments. And I wasn't allowed to use a heart rate monitor or Garmin. I had to keep track of the intervals somehow so I did use my Garmin but I used a lovely green sticker to keep from peeking at the paces:



Honestly, I didn't think this run was going to go real well. I've been fighting this stupid cold for a week. Just when I thought it was better it turned into a sinus infection. Ugh! But, I was feeling well enough to give this workout a try. Surprisingly, I think the workout felt good and hard but nothing I couldn't handle. And shockingly, my paces were WAY better than I expected pulling in a half marathon pace interval at 7:09, a 10K pace interval at 6:58, and a 5K pace interval at 6:51.

A year ago if you told me I would regularly be running sub-7:00s I would have told you, you were crazy. But something's changed not only physically but mentally. It's not expectation to run that fast and to be confident in it. I'm excited to see how it all pulls together. There's an "A" race on the schedule in less than two weeks.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

I set a goal this year to blog every day. So far I'm at 100%. I'm even further along than half a year because I actually started 21 days before the start of the year. Not every post is fantastic. I struggle a lot of days to figure out what the heck to blog about. But, it's getting easier and less of a chore.

What I have noticed by blogging every day is that my statistics continue to rise. Yet, I rarely get more than one comment per entry. So today come out, come out, wherever you are and leave me a message. Just say hi. Let me know where you're from. Tell me what you like (and don't like--be nice or I won't publish you) about the blog. Tell me what you want to read or see more of on the blog. I'm also always looking for new exciting blogs to read, so if you're a blogger, please, please, please drop a comment.

Thanks again y'all for following me on this journey.

July Totals

I was rocking July. I had only missed one running workout and only a small handful of other workouts until the very last week when I got sick. Gosh darn it! I was totally on pace to break a 100 miles this month.

Swim = 8,000 meters

Bike = 70.55 miles

Run = 77.88 miles

Other = 1/2 hour of core workout

Foto Friday--60 Mile Walk Edition

Last night Dave and I traveled up to Cleveland to attend the 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer. The walk kicked off Friday at Cleveland Brown Stadium (although we didn't get up early enough to see opening ceremony). The first day of the walk, 60 miles in total over three days, traveled approximately 22 miles from downtown Cleveland to West Lake, a suburb. Why were we there? My sister and her friend Jennifer were participating.

The first spectator spot was approximately 8 miles from the start at a local park. Amy and Jennifer looked great at that point although they asked us if we could get them some better Gatorade than they were serving on the course. Doesn't my sister look like me?



The next spot we saw them was at mile 14 right around lunchtime. Spectating this walk was not like spectating a race. There was a lot of downtime and boredom. I like to sing when I'm bored. :)



We used our best Reach the Beach skills and followed the arrows to the finish line even though the finish line was not open to spectators. The crew would not let us capture pictures of anything or go on the grounds at all, but we occupied our time the best way we knew possible: dancing and taking pictures of ourselves. Yeah, we're awesome.



Finally, an hour after we expected them, Amy and Jennifer crossed the finish line of the first day looking utterly exhausted and complaining of back pain.



I'm so proud of my sister for taking on this challenge and seeing it through. Good job, Amy and Jennifer.

Thursday thoughts

I'm fighting off my millionth cold of the year. I was really sick for most of the year but after getting on an allergy prescription I've been really healthy from March until now. And even now, this is a low-grade cold.

So what's your home remedies for colds?

TTV How it Works

Michelle commented yesterday saying that she didn't quite understand the whole "through the viewfinder" thing and I realized, I didn't really explain it really well. Since there's like a million tutorials online, I'm not telling any secrets here. So, here's how I did it.

I started with my Kodak Duaflex IV. You can find these on eBay or at a vintage store or thrift store. I think my sister paid like $5 for this.



You will notice that there is glass on the top of the camera which is the viewfinder you look through to shoot the picture. I removed the cover from the viewfinder.



Then I took a cardboard box and cut it into strips and put it into another box held together by duct tape. I also put a shoelace through it and used a shoelace tie to secure the box to the camera.



Then I use my DSLR with a 13mm macro ring and a 50mm lens to actually shoot the picture.



And this is what the final product looks like:

I'm still smart

I worried when I quit my job last year that my brain was just going to rot and that I would forget everything I learned in 5 years as an engineering student and 7 years working as an engineer. Tonight, I put those skills to the test.

A few years ago my sister got me some old, non-working cameras that I just loved. I had been wanting to use them to create "through the viewfinder" (TtV) pictures, but had trouble figuring it all out. Tonight using a little cardboard, some duct tape, a tripod, and a little ingenuity, I figured it all out. I think I still have some more prototypes to come up with before I'm happy with my final result. But, for a first picture, I'm in love.



FYI, if you're ever super-in-love with any of my pictures and HAVE to have them, I'd be more than happy to sell you a print. Click here to see some of my fine art photography for sale.

Coming tomorrow: the awesomeness that will be my track workout. He he he!

Summer Sufferfest 2009

I had a 10 mile run on the schedule. It made me nervous just looking at it. Four of the miles at half marathon pace with the fifth mile (mile 9 in sequence) faster than half marathon pace. Yikes!! And now that half marathon pace falls below 7:30s, workouts like these scare me. I had intended to do this workout on Saturday when it was assigned but pop-up, violent storms all day kept me from getting it done. Sundays are out of the question the day after a wedding. So this morning I suited up and headed out.

The progression warm-up went well, starting just over a 9:00 pace and heading down to low-8:00s by the end of 4 miles. Then it was time to move. My goal was to hold between 7:00 and 7:30 for 4 miles. I was easily able to get the pace down that low and for a while it felt comfortable but things went south quickly. I felt like I couldn't get a full breath. My stomach got three different stitches in three different areas. My chest appeared to be on fire like I had heartburn or something. My legs wanted to move but my head was telling my body NO WAY! During the next 4-5 miles I stopped 20 times. Yep, 20 times. The farthest I made it in any one stretch during that 5 miles was a half mile. I probably made it harder on myself because every time I had to start faster to be able to hold the pace below 7:30. I don't know if I've ever been happier to make it to the final mile and shuffle my way home.

I took my ice bath, put on my compression socks, and tried my best to recover. But hours later, I feel horrible. My back is killing me, my hip is feeling a little tweaked, and my knee is a bit bruised from a handstand accident earlier today (don't ask). Thank goodness there is only a swim on the schedule tomorrow.

Happy Ending

This week has been one of the hardest in recent memory. Between online arguements, business taxes being due, feeling like a monster from my new birth control, and another tough week of training, most days I loved crawling into bed and sleeping knowing that bad things couldn't happen when I slept. But this weekend has been good. I watched the Ironman world championships twice along with the live converage (I'm still watching it) of Ironman Lake Placid. I know I'm not an Ironman and may never be but I find it inspiring and being around and surrounded by such greatness brightens my spirits. Running makes me happy. Watching people succeed makes me happy. I really needed this. I will start next week with new fervor and excitement.

Boogie Down!

I know you've seen this because it's all over the internet. Owning the photo booth, I go to a wedding every weekend and most of them blend together. It takes something really awesome to make it stand out. I absolutely loved this video. If Dave and I were getting married again I would change EVERYTHING we did. And, we might throw in something like this.

Foto Friday

Seriously, I am a narcissist. If you haven't figured that out about me yet, you obviously haven't be around very long on this blog. One thing I like to do as a photographer to work on posing, lighting, composition, etc. is to take self-portraits. I also find it is a good way to express my emotions without saying a word. This week I took this (below). I think it pretty well describes the week that I've had.

Thursday Thoughts

Dave and I were out to dinner tonight and saw a little girl, probably around 2 years old, who was wearing glasses. We wondered how does the doctor get the correct prescription if she cannot answer he questions an eye doctor would normally ask?

So today if you know, go ahead and answer this question. Or ask another burning, pondering question you've always wondered about.

Feel the Burn

I had a friend come over the other day and she said I looked really fit. Well, no duh! I'm working my buns off! While I may be working my buns off, I'm feeling kinda squishy in the middle. Today I decided to attend a core class at the gym. I didn't know what to expect but I knew it was going to hurt. And hurt it did. We started right away with crunches on the ball, which turned to back crunches, sideways crunches, crunches with a medicine ball, planks every which way, bicycles, Russians. By the end of it I couldn't hold my legs up in any crunches. Was it my abs? Was it my hip flexors? Was it a half hour of total burnout? Pain, pain, pain!!!

Yeah, I'm going back next week. :)

Hang Up!!!

Manoj, this post is for you.

I realize that everyone has a cell phone. For me, it has revolutionized my work and has allowed me to own a business and have a life. But, come one people. Hang up! We live in an affluent part of town where everyone owns a big giant Range Rover and even if they don't try to, they flaunt their wealth. Today while riding my bike there were many big ol' cars that would creep through stop signs and not look at all for other traffic or for bikers. And every person I saw in these cars were talking on their cell phones. Here's what I don't understand...who are you talking to all the time and why are you ALWAYS on the phone in the car?! Ohio is not a place where you have to be hands-free, but I think it should be. Hang up your damn phone!!!

Funny, because I need some funny

Because I needed some cheering up, I found a really good YouTube video. Enjoy.

I Need a Vacation

It's been a long few days. I'm not very good at car rides and this weekend was no exception. And unfortunately every time I was behind the wheel I got in a traffic jam. One of them being THREE. HOURS. LONG!!! Add to that a very private matter that was discussed very publicly on Facebook that unfortunately I've know for a long time very privately. Throw a dash of being called bad names publicly on Facebook which all lead to being de-friended by a relative of mine. All of this while being stuck in a car and hotel room with my parents. I was emotionally drained when I got home. I cried for a long time as soon as I hit the door. It's funny, you go on vacation to unwind, to unplug, but with us being wired all the time I found myself answering phone calls and emails and ending up in disagreements on Facebook. I learned a lot about myself this week and I have finally concluded that I like the adult I've become. I've struggled with that a long time. I'm ready to tackle the week ahead with new vision and looking forward to the road ahead.

Working (out) Vacation

I might have been on vacation for the last week, but I didn't take time off from my workouts. I didn't bring my bike and although we had a pool, it didn't lend itself well to swimming laps. But, I did bring my running clothes and have done my running workouts including my track workout.

After some driving around and some research we found a track. Yesterday morning my mom, dad, and I headed to the track. They agreed to walk as long as I was doing my workout. The workout was brutal. I'm starting to wonder as Coach has gone to running as her sport of choice this summer if I'm going to be doing all her workouts the week after she does them? I started out at 8:30am and it was 85 degrees with 100% humidity. Any minute the skies could open up (and they did with one of my sets to go). The plan was for 800s and 400s at descending paces. As hard as I tried I just couldn't live up to what I was supposed to be hitting. Only one of the sprints was actually below a 6:00 pace. I know the weather has a lot to do with pace and overall feeling (I just read about it in Runner's World), but I wish my head would have said, "No Meredith, you can overcome this." I did the workout, but it wasn't the way I wanted it to be.

Tomorrow it's me and the hotel treadmill.

Foto Fridays

I only took a few pictures while on this trip. Here they are:

I once caught a fish THIS big! I have no idea who these guys are, but they caught a really big fish!

Me, before I got rolls tossed at my head at dinner.

Me, on the beach standing in front of the condo we stayed in. Among all the condo complexes on the beach, this is probably the most modest.

I wish this was my office.

My best Corona commercial.

And here I am getting rocked by a wave.

Thursday Thoughts

When my parents said they were going to the beach in Alabama, you betcha, I made fun of them. A beach in Alabama? But now that I'm down here, this is a BEAUTIFUL beach. White sand. Not overcrowded. Clear water. I'm really impressed.

What is the best beach you've ever been to?

Lobster Girl

Melissa asked me yesterday what my next race is. I'm doing a half marathon in the middle of August.

_____________

Today was my first full day at the beach. I put on my SPF70 and headed out with my book, a chair, and a blow-up inner-tube. After spending 6 hours in the beating-down sun, I am fried!!! I look like a lobster. I am particularly burnt where I have short tan lines from running.

Tonight for dinner we went to Lambert's Cafe. They're famous for throwing rolls at you. In addition they had designated side dishes that they would just carry around and offer you. It was terrific Southern cooking. Yet, I didn't get a roll. We waited an hour and a half to get in, but it was good food. Dave, you would have loved it.

That's about it folks. When my family vacations, it is relaxing. Tomorrow should be much of the same.

Vacation Day #1

Last night around 11:00pm I booked my trip to Alabama. Around 1:00am I finally went to bed. And at 5:45am I got up and finished packing. My flight itinerary was a mess: Columbus to Cleveland, Cleveland to Philly, Philly to Charlotte, Charlotte to Pensacola. My first flight left at 9:55am. Because Dave had to get to work, he dropped me at the airport around 7:45am. I used the kiosk to try to check myself in but only got to pay for my bag and then it said I needed assistance. Two women came over to help me. One was putting on my tag while the other one said, "ugh, yuck. Your itinerary is awful." No crap! She said they needed my seat to Cleveland so she rerouted me from Columbus to Houston, Houston to Pensacola, and I would get in two hours earlier. And it didn't cost me anymore. Sold! She gave me a fake boarding pass and told me I needed to go because the flight left at 8:30 and it was now 8:00. I got through security, which kinda surprised me since I had a one-way ticket that I had purchased less than 12 hours ago, and made it down to the gate while trying to call Dave and my mom. As I arrived at the gate they were calling my name. I was given a real boarding pass and I was on the plane.

The rest of the trip was pretty adventure-less. It's HOT down here with a huge side-scoop of humidity. I had to go over two big bridges which my dad laughed the whole way and made fun of me. The teasing doesn't end no matter how old you get. Tomorrow will be a full helping of beach and hopefully I'll have some pictures to share.

And Coach, I found a track. :)

I'm Leaving!!!

Originally, I was supposed to be in Chicago this week but that fell through. My parents are vacationing on a beach in Alabama and after talking to mom today she wondered why I didn't come with them (we have NO photo booth events this week). Well, I hit the internet and tomorrow I leave on a jet plane and will land in Alabama (actually Florida) later in the day. That's right, I'm going on vacation!

Seven Traits

The Unathletic Runner tagged me to reveal 7 traits about myself. Let's see how this goes...

1. I'm highly competitive. Well, duh! Our house consisted of how fast you could do things like putting your napkin on your lap. Seriously. Being competitive has helped me on a lot of things but it's also hurt me as I've lost a lot of friends because I don't know how to NOT be competitive with them and has also made me highly suspicious of people.

2. I'm opinionated. That's an understatement. You might say I have an opinion about everything. My mom thinks I'm too opinionated which is funny because she also has an opinion about everything. She's just learned to keep her mouth shut but still shows it all over her face. Me too.

3. I am very self-critical. Nothing I do is ever good enough for myself. Believe it or not, I do not have a single photograph I have taken displayed in my house.

4. I have a counting obsession. This is probably a ritual from obsessive-compulsive disorder. :) I count when I run. I count when I wash my face. I count when I brush my teeth. I count different items. This probably isn't a good trait.

5. Surprisingly, I would consider myself an introvert. I DREAD social situations, even with people I've known for years. I've steadily gotten better since my teenage years, but it's more about getting comfortable with my shyness than actually coming out of my shell.

6. You might say I have an anger management problem. :) When I'm angry, it's full-out rage. Poor Dave.

7. I'm self-conscious. This probably all goes back to gymnastics and always having to be perfect. Damn childhood! My grandmother told me about a year ago that I had a big forehead. I immediately cut my bangs. I've been dealing with acne since I was a young teenager. I have probably spent tens of thousands of dollars on acne solutions even going so far as Accutane. Twice. I do not like to wear a two-piece swimsuit. I will NEVER walk around the house without clothes on. I always change in the closet or the bathroom.

Basically this list is all the reasons why I need psychological help. He he! No, seriously.

I'm not going to tag anyone else, but if you want to participate, please do.

Solid Run

Most of my workouts, including the long runs, have very specific instructions. Run X about of miles at X:XX pace. Run for this amount of time. Run in these zones. But today the instructions read, run 13 miles comfortably. I met the group this morning, which unfortunately, wasn't very big and I wound up running all by myself for almost the entire run. Thank goodness I brought my iPod. I have to pat myself on the back...I am really good at pacing! I started with my first mile at 9:20 and continued to descend until my last mile which was an 8:21. Overall my average pace was 8:44 and my heart rate was steady in zone 3. A solid run and a great conclusion to my three week training cycle.

Foto Friday

My sister has like a million kids (okay, only 4) and she has me photograph them ALL THE TIME! The fourth and final child was born in February and this was the first time I got to photograph her.

Welcome, baby Ashtyn! (And, my sister.)

And all the kiddos: Shelby, Jared, Carter, Ashtyn.

Thursday Thoughts

I almost forgot to blog today! So I was watching tv today and saw there was a new Dairy Queen blizzard that involves Girl Scout Tagalong cookies--my favorite type of Girl Scout cookies. I HAVE to try this blizzard.

What is your favorite DQ Blizzard?

A Car Accident and a Dog with an Erection

I knew at the start of the summer that since I would not be working I was going to need to find things to keep me occupied. My thoughts were to going on photo safaris every week to get outside the house and to work on my photography. Sure, I'm more than a month into my summer hiatus, but this week was my first photo safari.

I left the house with my polaroid camera with 9 pictures left in it and went down to the Short North/Campus area. I should have known right from the start of my walk that things were going to go badly. I parked at Goodale and the first person I see happens to be someone I kinda know. But, this person has always rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't really want him to see me. So I walked three blocks out of my way to get to the North Market. Once at the North Market I couldn't figure out what I wanted and the stench of an open-air market made me a little nauseous so I left without eating. Then I started walking down High Street into the Short North looking for interesting things. You know what I saw? NOTHING! The only things I saw that were interesting was a car accident and a dog with an erection. After walking from the North Market to 12th Avenue in the campus area I took only FOUR pictures. And they weren't even that good. So bad, in fact, I'm not even going to post them. I walked for two hours, had awful pizza for lunch, sweated my ass off in my jeans, and took four freakin' pictures. FAIL!

Any ideas for better photo safaris?

Speed is my Drug of Choice

After my performances the first half of the year and my goals for the remainder of the year, I knew there was going to be a lot of speed work for the summer. Surprisingly, I haven't been on the track much (or maybe I should say, not yet) but there has been quite a lot of speed work within daily workouts and including my long runs.

My 11 miler was no exception. There was 20 minutes between a 7:45 and an 8:00. Then I had to do intervals between 7:00 and 7:30. And, I hit them all. Booyah!!!

Tomorrow there is another speed workout: long intervals at a 7:15. These are within a 1 hour 5 minute workout.

I'm hoping these will bring great results in my upcoming races.

Guest Post - Movie Adaptations!

Hi everyone! This is trusty guest blogger Dave, Meredith's husband. I've been nominated to guest blog tonight because Meredith is currently finishing off the last 20 pages of The Da Vinci Code. We just went out to Blockbuster and rented it, so she's got to finish up before we start the movie!

We've both read the book now, but have not seen the movie. You never really know what you'll get in that situation - the movie can either bring everything to life that you imagined, or can really put a damper on what you had envisioned. So, the question is:

1. What is the best movie adaptation you've seen of a book you had already read?
2. What movie completely ruined a book that you really liked?

For me, the first has to be Lord of the Rings. Loved the books, have read them many times, and went into the movie nervous. Couldn't have been more pleased with the result.

The second...hmm... One would have to be Jurassic Park. Not that it was a bad movie, but something about rewriting endings gets to me! I also remember reading 2001 when I was younger, then renting the movie and being completely confused by it. I'm not sure if it was just because I was too young, or because Stanley Kubrick is kind of a strange guy.

What are yours?

My True Love

A few months ago Dave's computer died. Our only PC; our other two computers are Macs. (Thank goodness.) But my true love and my world record :) were on Dave's computer. Yes, I'm talking about Mine Sweeper. This weekend, though, Dave fixed his computer and my beloved is back along with my record. To celebrate here's a really awesome video about my favorite game.

I need a nap

This week has been a big week of training. I sometimes think Coach has forgotten that my next scheduled race a a half marathon. I've done two days of biking, a swim, an hour of yoga, a track workout, two other days of running, and tomorrow will be an 11 miler at some crazy fast paces. Needless to say I'm exhausted. Today I fell asleep while watching TV.

Next week doesn't let up either. Coach is calling half marathon pace 7:15. Holy crap! I also have a 90 minute bike ride and a 12 mile run.

I wonder how much harder Ironman training is going to be?

Foto Friday

A view from the top....these pictures were taken from the airplane on the way home from Idaho.

The first one is Mt. Rainier up above the clouds on our way from Spokane to Seattle.



The second is the sun rising over Chicago.

Thursday Thoughts

My favorite holiday is not Christmas or my birthday or Halloween. My favorite holiday is the Fourth of July. But this year, we will be working a wedding and we won't get to see the fireworks or have a cookout. I'm not upset, I'd rather be working.

What are your plans for this holiday? Or if you're Canadian, what's your big holiday and what do you do?

Thinking Ahead

Well this is post 203 in a row. After talking with Dave I was thinking of quitting after half a year, but some of my other friends think I should keep going. Ah, crap!

This morning I was at the pool doing a set of 4 X 400s: swims, drills, pulls, kicks, etc. There was a gentleman swimming beside me who looked like Dave when he first started swimming--not a bad stroke, but certainly over-swimming. Halfway through my set he stopped me and asked me what I was training for. I kind of tripped up on my words...uh, nothing. He he he! How awkward it was for me to tell him I was training for a marathon. Yes a marathon, and I'm swimming. He mentioned he just did his first triathlon last week; I mentioned I did a triathlon last week. He said he would never consider a marathon; I said I had done 12 marathons. Our whole conversation was a conversation of contradictions.

As the day went on I got a little sad that I wasn't doing another triathlon this year. Last year and for the last several years, I really hated the triathlon. I wasn't good at it and couldn't figure it out. But this year I've had some success and that's certainly bred confidence. I'm fully committed to my upcoming running races, but a part of me wants to give triathlon chance next year. Yes, you read that right, Liz.

Yep, that's right...2010 is in the planning stages.

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.