Pajama Jog 5K 2016

Oh hi!

Last weekend we traveled to Colorado for Dave's big race - Pikes Peak Marathon.  Oh yes he did.  And hopefully he'll write about it here soon.  (I think I said the same thing about the Myrtle Beach Marathon he ran in March.)  While we were there I did a small race, the Pajama Jog 5K in Denver.  Secretly I had hopes of winning this race as it was super small, but damn!  Elevation is no joke!

That's me with the blue shirt and white sunglasses, on the left.

I started out great, hanging with another woman, leading the way.  It felt forced but okay.  And then I looked at my watch.  Man!  Sometimes I hate that Garmin.  Next time I'm racing without it.  It said I was doing 6:38s and I knew I couldn't sustain that with the elevation so I dropped back.  Then I was in no-man's land.  No one in front of me; no one behind me.  The race wasn't exactly marked well.  I came to an intersection where I had no idea where to go.  I stopped (and stopped my watch in the process, WTF Meredith!) and turned back to the closest competitor and asked where to go.  We took a turn, hoping it was correct, and kept running.  I was getting closer to the lead female but my pace was slowing.  I was tired, my legs were cranky, and I couldn't get a breath in.  Is this race over yet?  The last part took us past a million (only slightly exaggerating) geese.  Ugh!  I hate geese.  

I finished second female in 23:17.  Not a great time, but you can't argue with second place.  Too bad I couldn't win the sucker.  The winner got a tent, some socks, and a gift certificate to a brewery.

Next race: Aquathlon World Championships!!!

Colorado.  Check, check!

Pinwheel 5K 2016

Where have I been?  On vacation.  And what's a vacation without a race?!  I have been to Florida more times than I can count and yet, I have not run a race there.  This year we finally figured it out.  We traveled Friday to Friday and were able to pick up a race nearby on Saturday. 

The Pinwheel 5K was a smallish race at a beautiful rowing facility in Sarasota.  The two things I love: rowing and running.  I was in heaven.  The weather was sunny and not so hot, which made for great racing. 

There's not much to say about a 5K.  I went out hard and held on for a dear life.  Actually, I felt pretty good for about 75% of this race.  At the turn around I was able to count and see that I was in 5th.  Dave was right behind me and my dad also let me know my position.  I quickly caught 4th place and then spent a mile-ish hunting down 3rd place.  I really felt like I was on the hunt the whole time and felt great.  Until I caught everyone I could and then it was everything I could do not to get caught.  Each time we had a turn I looked to see my position.  It was close but I was able to hold on to third.

This is the second time I have placed in the top three at a race and also the second time there were no awards for top three - only first place.  And I wish I could have caught that girl.  First place got a $100 gift card to a local running store.  That's a heck of a lot towards a new pair of shoes! 

Anyway, I did win my age group.  My final time was 22:09 which is a 7:0-something pace.

It was a good day for Dave and my dad.  They both took home 1st in their age groups too.

I'm starting to like the 5K.  Don't get me wrong.  It sucks.  It's hard and painful, but at least it's over quickly.  I hope to race some more soon.

Pictures from vacation coming soon!

Groundhog Run 5K 2014

I ran one of the most unusual races this past weekend. 

Dave, the baby, and I took a trip to Kansas to visit family over the weekend.  Of course, when we travel out of state we always look for a race to run.  We already have done a race in Kansas, but we were able to find an underground 5K in Kansas City, Missouri while we were going to be there.  Yes you read that right - underground.  There is an old limestone mine there that has been converted into storage and businesses and whatnot.  It is so big that they were holding both a 5K and a 10K.  And this race is popular!  It's been going on for 30+ years and had almost 5000 people in it.

  

Although the race is run in waves (and we were in the first wave - 24:00 and under), we had been warned that it got crowded in the tunnels.  I wasn't expecting to go fast.  I wasn't expecting to race.  

Dave and I took a little warmup and then lined up.  Surprisingly, there weren't many people in the first wave.  We took off pretty quickly, staying side by side for most of the first half mile.  Then I started to slip back.  Things just felt awful.  I felt heavy and winded and my arms were hurting.  I hit the first mile in 7:11.  Ugh, that's not even as fast as I wanted to be going.  Still, I needed to back off.  I kept Dave in sight but mile 2 was just horrendous.  I missed the mile marker so I have no idea how fast/slow I was going but I knew it wasn't pretty.  Mile 3, things started to perk up and I tried by hardest to catch Dave but he was just out of reach.  He wound up finishing just 21 seconds ahead of me.  

My finish time was 23:13 which is nearly 30 seconds slower than my last 5K.  What the heck?  I was disappointed.  I could have done better.  

We milled around for a while and waited in line to get our official results.  To my surprise, I finished third in my age group (35-39) out of 122!!  Well, shoot!  Now I couldn't be disappointed.  I walked away with a third place medal and checked off state number 17 in the process.

Next 5K....4 weeks!

 

Tunnel to Towers 5K 2013

I have a goal to run a race, regardless of distance or type, in all 50 states plus DC.  Before we went on vacation this year we scoured the internet to find a race.  Of course, in Hilton Head there was a race the week before and the week after we were there.  But I was able to find a 5K in Savannah, Georgia, which was somewhat close by.  So, Dad, Dave and I signed up in advance.

As it turns out, Savannah might be close in miles to Hilton Head but it takes a whole hour to get there and you have to cross this monster.

This was a pretty big 5K, in a state and place I've never raced, but wouldn't you know I was lined up right next to a former Trakkers teammate?!  What a small world.

As soon as the race started my legs said no.  It was like my brain was saying run and my legs were saying, "are you crazy!"  But things started moving and I was feeling okay.  I missed the first mile mark so I have no idea what was my pace.  The second mile was so cool.  You ran down this really long road and there were tons of boy scouts and girl scouts out there all holding pictures of firefighters who had died in 9/11 and everyone was waving little American flags.  Because I wasn't taking the race all that seriously, I made sure to slap high-fives with all the kids.

The third mile was full of twists and turns through the cobble stone streets and all the different squares.  Somehow I made it back to the start line where Dave was waiting for me and we waited for Dad.  My finish time was exactly 23:00. 

There was quite a good (not nutritionally) spread at the finish: hot dogs, beer, soda, etc. Of course, at 8:30 in the morning it tasted amazing.  The results were quickly posted.  Dave finished 5th or 6th in his age group.  I was fourth, and dad won his age group.  We stuck around for the awards.  I thought I might have a chance to get pulled up into the age group awards since the winner of my age group finished second overall.  Wouldn't you know they only gave first overall and nothing else overall?  So, I finished 4th in my age group.  Shucks!  And my dad, well, he didn't really win his age group.  I guess when I signed him up I accidentally signed him up as a female.  Woops!  We waited an hour for the awards and got nothing.  We could have been sitting on the beach.  :) 

Overall, it was fun and I picked up my 16th state!!!

Thursday Thoughts

Did you watch "The Buried Life" on Monday? It's a show about 4 guys who created a list of 100 things to do before they die. For every item on their list they do, they help a perfect stranger do something on the stranger's list. I too have had a life list for several years and have accomplished many, many things on it. But now I've gotten down to the really hard stuff that doesn't seem to easily come off the list. I've been thinking more and more about expanding the list and adding on with things that would be substantial and rewarding but maybe aren't quite the life changers that I currently have on my list. So I challenged Dave and now I'm challenging you...

...what are three things on your life list that you could accomplish in 2010? And let's add on to that. What could you do to help someone else on their list? If a comment on here catches your fancy, how could you help that person?

So here's the three things on my list this year...

1. Finish an Ironman--this was the very first thing I put on my list when I created it years ago.
2. Get an article written about me in the local newspaper. It could be about my business or my athletic pursuits and accomplishments. I have struggled greatly at this one while other, let's just say not-so-athletic individuals, have gotten their marathon stories published. Ooooh, it makes me mad!
3. Pose nude/semi-nude for art. I figure, if my body is going to be rockin' for this triathlon, then I want to have it photographed to look back on. I'm hoping it have it done like the ones in ESPN or in "Athlete" by Howard Schatz.

What do you want to do before you die?

Fan-tat-stic!

Okay, so I should have posted this two weeks ago. As promised after Boston (nearly 6 months ago), I finally got my tattoo to celebrate. It looks much better as the picture appears because it's very hard to take a picture with your left hand. :)

Rat Tat Pooey!

Much to my mother's dismay, to celebrate my 10th marathon I am planning on getting a tattoo. But after doing some reading I realized that I am going to have to wait a whole lot longer because you can't swim with a fresh tattoo for two weeks.

Now I'm not going to be swimming again until after the marathon. So the questions becomes do I wait until later this summer when the half Ironman is over or do I get it now before the 10th marathon? Would that be like wearing your race T-shirt before the race?

Live Life

The husband and I are not your typical Mr. and Mrs. We started dating around the time that most of our friends got married. We noticed that when our friends were dating they would becoming a couple and only do couple things with their couple friends. Dave and I had been friends before we started dating so when we said, yes we're going to be a couple, we made a decision together to not cut out our friends just because we are now a couple. And we've kept to this promise. Eight and a half years later we still hang out with our single friends, as a couple. We still hang out with our friends with kids, as a couple. We still work really hard to be good friends with people even if we're not at the same point in our lives as others.

Dave and I choose to live life. We always have and always will. We don't like to follow rules or adapt to societal norms. That's just not us. And we do things because we should without really thinking about it.

Last year Dave and I took our epic trip to Italy for two weeks. People said to get it out of our systems because we wouldn't be able to travel like that once we have kids. We crinkled our noses and said, why? Why would we not want to teach our child the love of travel and allow them to see the world? If we ever do decide to have a child, we would not put our plans on hold, our plan would include him/her. And travel would definitely be in the plans.

Next year we're going back to Europe. Since Jeff let the cat out of the bag in one of his comments, we're going big with Ironman. Why drive four hours down the road to Louisville for the biggest event in our lives? We're flying half way around the world to do this epic adventure in Austria. Yep, we're doing Austria.

2008 and 2009 are all going to be about going big. You all know the life list, right? Things are getting checked off the list fast. This weekend, I'm hoping to accomplish another on the list. I have been accepted to audition to sing the National Anthem at a Clipper's game this season. The Clipper's are our Washington Nationals AAA farm team. Sure it's not Idol, but it's on the list. Then it's on to my 10th marathon and my first tattoo in April.

There are little things too that may not on the list that we just do because why miss out on the opportunities? Our beloved Buckeyes didn't make the NCAAs this year, but they are a #1 seed in the NIT tournament. Last night they hosted UNC-Ashville (with 7'7" Kenny George). Dave and I went and sat courtside. On the floor! Go big! Live life! On my birthday (April 16th) we're going to see Michael Buble in concert. Why? Because I'm a fan and he's coming to town. Do I know the price of the tickets? Nope, but that doesn't matter to me either. Finally, we're planning with a friend this summer to tour a few states on a weekend and see as many major league baseball games as we can.

Dave and I live life. We grab it by the horns and hold on tight. We love the adventure.

Are you living life?

A Little More Lighthearted

On my Life List I have a task to visit all major league ballparks. Currently I am at five--Angel's Stadium, Wrigley Field, Great American Ballpark, Jacob's Field, and Fenway. Each of these visits has filled me with special memories. I saw a double-header sitting in the outfield at Wrigley behind Sammy Sosa and I got to hear Harry Carey sing the Seventh Inning Stretch. The first time I went to Fenway I saw Nomar Garciaparra hit a homerun in the 9th inning to win the game. He's still one of my favorite players. And the first time I went to Jacob's Field I saw Jim Thome hit a huge homerun. To this day, I still totally in love with Jim Thome.

In Columbus we don't have major league baseball, but we do have a AAA minor league team. For the last several years it has been the farm team for the Yankees (boo!), but this year we are the farm team for the Nationals. Two nights ago we went to the Clipper vs. Charlotte game where Jim Thome was rehabbing with Charlotte. And Dave totally got my picture with Jim Thome.



In addition, he hit a three run double.