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.

Only in My Dreams

This is for all you Debbie Gibson fans out there.

Totally just kidding. Except I did see Debbie (now Deborah) Gibson in concert a few years back when NSync came to town. But, seriously, y'all don't need to know that about me. And now you're probably not my friends anymore. It was a phase! Seriously!!!

Anyway, I've had two reoccuring dreams in my life. In one I would be able to puff myself up, like one of the balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and I would float around. It was weird and kinda creepy. I used to have curtains and bedding when I was a kid that had hand-drawn zoo animals on them. Sometimes I would wake up, but still be in a trance and they used to puff themselves up and float around my room. I remember having this illusion while I was in the shower too when I was a kid. Used to totally freak me out. I don't know if those have anything to do with each other, but I haven't had either dream/illusion in a long time.

The other reoccuring dream I've recently been having is that I'm enrolled in college and I've reached the last week of the quarter. I'm heading to my finals only to realize that I haven't attended class or studied all quarter. Last night I had this dream. I was living in a house with a lot of other people, probably a sorority house or a dorm, and I was supposed to attend a multi-cultural function at 5:00. But it was 5:10 and it was clear across campus (I'm guessing I was at OSU and OSU is a HUGE campus), so I decided I couldn't make it there in time. But I needed to go to this function/class. So then I decided I needed to run a race, but the race was at 4:40 and it was 5:10 and obviously I couldn't make it to the race either.

Reoccuring dreams freak me out! They obviously mean something and have a place in your every day life and that's why you're having the dreams. Yes, I feel totally disorganized right now with juggling all my balls, but is that really what the dream meant? I feel like I can someone control my chaos. Is it really that out of control?

Strike up the Band

He's alive!!! He's alive!!!!

Dave has posted on his blog!!!

More Boston Stuff

Coming from small town America, I was always told that people in big cities are not very nice. Of course, this was proved wrong last year when I spent a week in New York City. The people there were extraordinarily friendly and helpful. And last weekend in Boston, one local was very nice to me.

The morning after the marathon we went to breakfast at a restaurant called Steve's. Most people in there were wearing marathon jackets and walking very gingerly. The woman at the table beside me saw me in my jacket and asked if I had run the marathon. I said yes and then she asked me what I thought about the water stops. I thought, what a weird question?! I told her that I thought Boston had some of the best water stops: they're evenly spaced, the volunteers give the water to you instead of you taking the water from them, and there are tables on both sides of the road so people don't jam up at the water stops. Turns out, this woman was the manager of the water stops and that's why she wanted to know my opinion. And in one of the nicest gestures, which totally made me feel like I was an Olympian, the woman took her Boston Marathon pin off her jacket and gave it to me. I'll cherish it always.

Some more pictures from Boston:

At the expo there were these HUGE dry erase boards where you could find you're number and write why you run. If you can't read it, it says "Because God gave me the ability." The famous Hoyts had their's displayed all over Boston that said something about 'Because I always enjoy beating my dad.' I should have put mine as "Because I always enjoy beating my dad too!"

This is the finish line two days before the race.

Me and my pastries on the podium.

The group before the Freedom Run. From the left: Dave, my dad, me, Jim, Andrea (in the bunny ears), Doug, Mok, Jen, and Andy.

Looking at the Capital (I think) during the Freedom Run.

The view from our seats at the Red Sox game.

Dave and I at the Red Sox game.

The girls or as Andrea called us, The Boston Bitches.

Boston Marathon 2006

The perfect race. I ran the perfect marathon.

The group rode up together to Hopkinton (including Helen and I on a "blue only" bus). The temperature in Hopkinton was probably in the mid-40s and I was a bit cold. I wore my rainsuit and a long-sleeved shirt over my running clothes and gloves. I ate a banana and most of a bagel and drank lots of Gatorade. The time passed quickly and before we knew it, it was 11:00 and our friends were leaving Helen and I for the first wave. Helen and I used the opportunity to use the bathrooms while the lines were short. Then it was 11:45 and time for us to drop off our bags on the buses and walk our way to the starting line. I walked into corral 13 and I was all alone.

As I stood waiting for the starting gun all I could think about was having to go to the bathroom and how badly I didn't want to run a marathon. With these thoughts, you would have bet I was going to have a rough day.

The gun sounded promptly at 12:30 and we were off. It took me less than 2 minutes to get to the start line, but even knowing I was 32 minutes behind the first wave, my math skills were still not sharp enough to figure out how I was doing compared to the race clock. And my watch was on split time which means I could only see the time from the previous mile, except right when I hit the split button.

The first 4 miles all I could think about was having to go to the bathroom. But there was always a line so I stopped thinking about it. I also forced myself to hold back on the downhills and go ahead and let people pass me. I was a smarter racer this year.

Before I knew it 10 miles had passed and soon it would be Wellsley. And it didn't disappoint. Screaming girls!!! It was deafening and inspiring. I really had to control my emotions. The came the 14 mile mark. I checked myself here. Last year at the 14 mile mark is when I started taking walking breaks. This year at 14, however, I felt good and said to myself that I only had 12 miles left which would be easy because that's what I run all the time.

As the miles and kilometers passed I was amazed at how good I felt. I reached the 25K point and started to climb the hills in Newton. Last year I walked the hills; this year I took it one step at a time and ran up them. I got to mile 16, then 17, and I was still running and feeling fine. I told myself I would run to 30K which is about 18.6 miles. I knew some friends at work would be tracking me and I didn't want to disappoint. At 30K I decided I would continue to run to the 20 mile mark and see how I felt. At 20 or 21 is Heartbreak Hill. It wasn't pretty but I ran up Heartbreak too. This was my slowest mile of the race. I crested Heartbreak and it was all downhill into Boston. I was going to be okay.

I reached 35K ~ 22 miles and I was still running. I had never run this far without stopping before. I was entering new territory and despite my right quad getting sore, I decided to take it mile by mile and keep running. Besides there were only 4 miles left.

I reached mile 23, still running, and thought to myself only two miles until I saw my family and make the last turn. I started to see the Citgo sign and used it to pull me into the city. Mile 24 and I can't believe I'm still running and still pacing well. Only 2 miles left and the Citgo sign is ahead. Mile 25 and I'm getting tired and my head's getting foggy. I click the split and see I'm at 3:30 exactly. I have 10 minutes and I know I'm going to qualify for Boston in Boston. A big accomplishment.

All of 25 I'm looking on either side of the street for Mom, Dad, and Dave. The route has changed here and I didn't know where they would be. It's just a sea of faces and I'm having trouble concentrating. We go under Massachusetts Avenue and as we're coming up I hear "MJ" and I see my dad on the right. I point to my watch and yell, "I'm going to qualify."

I turn right onto Hereford and power up the hill as best I can. I then turn left onto Boylston, look up, and see the finish line. I click my watch at mile 26 and I have got 3:38 and change. Better move Meredith!!! I finish with my watch at 3:40:36, but I believe my official time is 3:40:33 (that's what my in-laws tracked online).

I ran the whole thing. All 26 miles. I didn't walk through a water stop. Nothing. And I ran even splits from start to finish. I'm encouraged. I feel like the hard training I put in paid off. I'm pretty sore. Check that; VERY sore, but not as bad as last year. I don't know what the rest of the year's racing season looks like, but this week I have plans to rest. I've very happy with my race.




Splits:
Mile 1: 8:54
Mile 2: 8:22
Mile 3: 8:26
Mile 4: 8:18
Mile 5: 8:22
Mile 6: 8:22
Mile 7: 8:12
Mile 8: 8:17
Mile 9: 8:18
Mile 10: 8:18
Mile 11: 8:23
Mile 12: 8:11
Mile 13: 8:12
Mile 14: 8:06
Mile 15: 8:14
Mile 16: 8:15
Mile 17: 8:22
Mile 18: 8:35
Mile 18: 8:22
Mile 19: 8:22
Mile 20: 8:43
Mile 21: 8:59
Mile 22: 8:25
Mile 23: 8:25
Mile 24: 8:20
Mile 25: 8:34
Mile 26: 8:39
Last 0.2: 1:49
Finish: 3:40:33

Ready for Boston

The taper is going great. I had my back and my hip worked on last week at the doctor and I feel so much better. I ran 5-1/2 miles with my dad after work today at am 8:30 and it felt great. I think things are going to be great.

The following are pictures of what I'm going to wear in the race.


This is the whole outfit. I'm going with a black singlet with my favorite pink shorts. I'm wearing a black hat that I've put rhinestones on that says "MJ." That's my childhood nickname. The long-sleeved shirt is in case it's going to be cold, but I don't think it's going to be. Finally, I got a pack to carry my gel and my disposable camera.





My number in the marathon is 13849. See y'all in Boston!

Columbus Distance Classic--Photos

Yeah, I totally stole these off the website. Why do I look completely lost or like I'm going to throw up in every picture (except the one I'm smiling)? The girl in the green is Helen and the one you can only see the bill of her hat or her arm is Andrea. Isn't it funny that she was behind us in these pictures, yet beat both Helen and I. The last picture is of Dave. I think his picture is so cool. I might have to order his picture.

Columbus Distance Classic

Formerly known as the Capital City Half. This race, hosted by John "The Penguin" Bingham Racing, is a big event. It attracts around 4000 participants and has a half marathon, 5K, and kids fun run mascot chase.

This was my first race of 2006 and I kind of wanted to test myself to see how the training was working. But, with my back and hip hurting I thought racing may not be such a good idea. I met up with Helen at the start of the race and Andrea joined us before then end of the first mile. The three of us ran together the whole race (until the end when they both out-sprinted me because I thought I was going to toss my cookies). We eased into the first couple of miles and then started getting faster. Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 8:49
Mile 2: 8:10
Mile 3: 8:09
Mile 4: 8:02
Mile 5: 8:04
Mile 6: 7:47
Mile 7: 7:43
Mile 8: 7:38
Mile 9: 7:53
Mile 10: 7:43
Mile 11: 7:35
Mile 12: 7:47
Mile 13.1: 8:23

My overall time was 1:43:58. I'm somewhat okay with that. I guess I wish I had tried a little harder, but I also think with a good time and a good race that I'm satisfied. I had fun and that's all that's really important.

By the way...check out the sidebar. Our new photo journal is up. We only have the main page, but more is in the development. Check it out and let me know what you think.

March Totals

It was a busy month of March. I went way over any mileage I've ever done in a month.

Running = 164.70 Miles
Swimming = 2400 Meters (or Yards, whatever)