Columbus 10K 2017

Last year was the first time I ran the Columbus 10K.  It was super fast and super competitive, and I knew I wanted to add it to the schedule again this year.  Three days before the race I started to have a little niggle in my hip (more on that another day) and frankly, I just haven't been feeling in all that great of shape, so I didn't expect a whole lot from this race.

We got down there in good time, but there was still a line for the three port-a-johns already a block long.  I decided to take my warm up run to the other side of Columbus to where I knew there was a public bathroom.  It was hot and humid and I was feeling like this race was going to suck.  I barely got back in time to get in line for the start.

I decided I just wanted to go hard and not worry about my splits, so I put a sticker over my watch.  In hindsight, this was a bad idea as my first mile was the fastest of the day and although I thought I was holding back, I wasn't.  I was suffering right from the beginning.  I wasn't getting passed by many people but I was getting passed and I was falling further and further behind.  I was struggling to keep my head in the game.  Six miles felt like they took forever. 

I have no idea what my final time was, but it was a solid 1:20 slower than last year.  I have no excuses but it is frustrating that I feel less in shape than last year when I have bigger goals this year.

Regardless, I still placed in my age group.  Last year I was fifth with quite a respectable time and this year with a slower time I finished third and walked away with a camp mug. 

Do What You Need to Do

Day 1

It's 5-1/2 months until aquathlon nationals and I'm ready to commit.  I started the day off strong with a run test.  It's been since December since I had a run test and then I was coming off a terrible cold and was just beginning my marathon training.  This time I am coming off of the marathon and starting to feel like myself again.

The test is 3000m on the track as hard as you can go.  I started out fast, probably too fast, but I was doing what I could to hang out.  Several time I had to sort it out in my head.  My brain struggles on the track.  I would do much better if the run test was a race.  I clocked in my first "mile" (the garmin never matches up to the track) at a 6:14.  Holy pajamas!  I haven't run that fast in years!  I pushed and pushed and came away with a 12:41, which is like a 6:49 pace (although my watch read 1.99 miles for 6:22 pace).  This was a 45 second improvement over the last run test I did.  Hopefully this translates into some speedy races this spring/summer.

So now I have a baseline for a little while, which includes new heart rate zones and paces.  Most of my workouts have one or the other so lots of updates to come soon as to if I can hit these new zones/paces.

Shamrock Marathon 2017

I read lots of blogs out there where the writers have big, fluffy, life-altering, insightful race reports.  I'm just not the kind of girl or runner.  When I run, I just run.  I don't solve life's problems.  I don't learn valuable lessons.  My life isn't changed.  I just run.

No sugar coating it, the weather sucked.  I woke up race morning to pouring rain, 40 degrees, and winds up to 30 mph.  I was pissed!  All this training and I was going to come undone because of the weather.  The husband helped me to settle down, get ready, and eat something.  We walked to the start line, keeping to myself.  I waited under a hotel overhang, took one bathroom break, and I lined up.  It was raining, but I felt almost peaceful.

And then I ran.  I didn't go with a pace group.  I didn't set a pace for myself.  I just tried to stay comfortable.  I kept my watch underneath my sleeve the entire race and only looked at it when it beeped for the miles.  The first couple of miles were so comfortable.  Then we turned around and we were headed into the wind.  It was rough but I tried to stay out of my head.  We toured a military base (the first of two) and anytime I could I tried to hang with other runners to block the wind.  I was close behind the 3:35 pace group but I couldn't quite catch up to them to use them in the wind. 

Before I knew it we were back in Virginia Beach proper and on the boardwalk.  This is when the wind was started to get crazy.  I was running with another girl and used her to block as much wind as possible.  She wasn't running fast enough for me, though, so I got ahead of her.  This was my marathon, I had to do the work.  And still I was just far enough behind the pace group to not be able to use their energy.  I saw Dave and Anderson around mile 12, and let them know I was okay.  He offered me dry gloves and shirt, but I didn't need it (famous last words).

We turned off of Atlantic Avenue and made it over to Pacific Avenue.  We were headed north, straight into the wind.  These were some miserable miles.  It was pouring and crazy windy (I was literally holding onto my hat) and then it started sleeting.  This was the lowest point of the race for me, and yet I still felt good.  I just kept running.

Somewhere around mile 16 or 17 we turned to the left and headed down a long, tree lined road.  This was my favorite part of the race.  We were finally out of the wind and I felt terrific.  I was flying.  We got to the second military base and I just felt great.  19 miles, 20 miles, 21 miles.  Things were going fantastic.  My pace was so consistent; my legs were a metronome.  At some point in here I did some math and knew I was going to be golden. 

Finally we were back on the boardwalk.  I could see the finish line.  I had run every step of the race.  And I was going to qualify for Boston 2018 easily.  It's hard not to smile when you've had such a great race.

My finish time was 3:37:29 - my fourth fastest marathon.  I was 11th in my age group (by four seconds, dang it!).  My fastest mile was a 7:57 and my slowest was 8:38 - pretty damn consistent.

Guess I'll see you in Boston on my 40th birthday!!!

Lent

I'm not Catholic.  Nor am I overly religious.  But, I feel like this Lenten season is a good time to get my act together and focus.  And yep, I'm talking about my running.

Before I went back to work I had my act together.  I was doing all my workouts; I was hitting goals; and I was following my nutrition.  After I went back to work, I got tired, lazy, and fell off the wagon.  With two and a half weeks until my marathon and with Lent starting this is a great time to jump back on that wagon.

So, I've committed myself to following that nutrition plan again.  It's gonna help me sleep better, which will help with my patience and desire to work out.  And hopefully it will help me lose a little weight and oh yeah, maybe turn out some good running performances. 

I'm a day and a half in with a gazillion to go and I'm doing alright.  I'm a little sugar and sweets deprived which has made me hangry, but I can get through this.  I CAN EFFING GET THROUGH THIS!!!

What did you do for Lent?  Or did you do anything for Lent?  Or what did you start fresh in March?

Warm Up Columbus Half Marathon 2017

You can't win them all.  Or even come close, I guess.

I'm in the thick of marathon training.  It's four weeks until the race which means I have 1-2 weeks of heavy training left.  My body is shattered.  I have back pain that is not going away.  My calves and hamstrings are tight.  I am so tired I could sleep at the drop of a hat.  My mind is fragile.  I'm teetering somewhere between excited for the race and wanting to not do it at all.  I want to quit with every workout I do and yet I'm excited to run every day.  I am a mess.  You would think with this fitness, now would be a good time to run a half marathon.  Except, it wasn't.  My body and my mind just said no and I had to work to finish the race.

 That's me in the grey tank with black arm sleeves and green shoes.

I started off well, maybe even a little too fast.  I was in the 7:30s-7:40s - a pace I should be able to hold.  I was trying to calm down, though, as it felt a little tough and I knew there was a lot of race to go.  With longer training, those first couple miles lie to you, so I kept telling myself that.  Unfortunately, it wasn't until mile 5 that I felt good and also unfortunately, that seemed to be the only mile that felt okay.

You'll see in a lot of these pictures that I'm looking over to the right.  Lots of speculation on Facebook as to why.  It is actually because the husband and kid stayed home and I was hoping they'd surprise me and show up.  I was always looking for them.  I really wanted them there.

In my head I wanted to drop out of this race so badly - at the 5K mark, at the 10K mark.  But the course is a one mile loop you do again and again.  I could talk myself into doing "just" another loop.  

In the last mile I got passed by two women and that didn't make me happy.  I wanted to go with them but I really had nothing left.  In the end I came up 10 seconds short of 10th place and an award.  This may be the first time I've run this race and not gotten an award.  I'm not going to lie, I was super disappointed with this race.  I wanted it to be better.  I wanted to be faster.  I want to look thinner and leaner like I feel.  I want to be fast like those chicks that were whizzing past me.  This wasn't the confidence booster I needed going into the last few weeks before the marathon.

 Don't I look exhausted?

But, the marathon is a different beast and I don't have to run balls to the wall like I do in any other race.  Plus, the marathon is at the beach so there will be other things to see.  And the husband and maybe the kid will be there.  I need my support team. 

Just a few more weeks of focus and then the real goal. 

For bonus blogging points....is this 26point2ers Amy's KOB?  Dude, he was FLYING!!!  He lapped me no fewer than 4 times during the half marathon.

Life Update

It's winter.  It's dark outside.  I'm working all day and surviving the evenings.  And I'm running lots of miles.  There's really not a whole lot to say.  But I swear there's a few of you reading this that would probably like an update. 

Let's start with the dog since I left you hanging last week.

Sloopy
We brought Sloopy home from the hospital one week ago today.  The first two days were rough.  We cried a lot.  We didn't sleep much.  I worried we had made the right choice in doing the surgery.  I worry about her quality of life.  I worry about our quality of life.  But after several days we have settled in and seen improvements that give us hope.  Honestly, the bathroom thing is not that bad.  She's easy to squeeze the pee out of her (most of the time) and when she has to go #2, she does.  She doesn't leak and I've only been peed on twice.  It's kind of like having a baby all over again, except I can put the dog in her crate and she will sleep all night.  The first couple of days were rough in getting her to eat and especially with taking her medicine.  Now she eats her own food and we're down to one medicine a day which she easily eats with a chunk of cooked chicken.  She still has no use of her back legs but we have seen improvement.  She now wags her tail, which, from what we read, is voluntary and a good sign that signals are moving down her spinal cord.  She also stiffens her legs when picked up and can hold herself up for a blink because she's still not stable.  She has started licking in hindquarters which may mean that she has regained some feeling and is trying to get the pins and needles she's feeling.  We have even seen her move her legs a few times.  She does not respond to pain, however, she doesn't respond to pain even on places she can feel.  She's never been a dog that yelps when she gets hurt.  Her staples come out next week and we have a follow-up in a few weeks.  From what we have learned and read, this is a VERY long process.  We are trying to be patient and still holding out hope that we have made the right decision.

Running
My marathon is coming up fast.  It's only about 6 weeks away.  My training has been okay, at best.  I was on a roll until I got sick the entire month of December and then I basically had to start over again.  Two weeks ago I did an 18 miler that felt like death.  When I got home I had to have Dave take off my shoes and pants and help me into the bathtub.  This past weekend, though, I did a 20 miler that was great.  I hit all the paces and it didn't seem so bad.  I wasn't that sore and have been able to return to working out quickly.  This week is another big week of training ~45 miles for the week, and I will conclude with yet another 20 miler.  I, finally, get to race next week and am hoping for something good.

Back to Work
I've now been back to work two months and things are starting to fall into place.  Those first couple of weeks were really rough.  Anderson and I both battled some serious illness.  We both had sinus infections.  We both had pink eye.  We had a cough that wouldn't quit.  We both visited the doctor twice.  And then one day we were better.  Now every time I see a kid with snot all over his face at daycare I get nervous, but Anderson has been in preschool and child watch programs for years so hopefully we are over the initial sickness shock to our system.

Just a few weeks after I started at my job they informed us that we were moving offices to a different suburb.  I was PISSED!  I specifically chose this job over a different, probably, better option because it was walking distance from my house and I could keep the little one in his preschool.  I was so upset that I even thought about calling the other company and seeing if I could continue with the interviews.  But, I have decided to stay put.  Yes, I will have to pull Anderson out of his preschool and put him in his daycare all day (which is one of the best preschools around, but not a Christian preschool like he is currently in) and yes, I will have to drive to my job now, but I have to give this a chance.  It's good for me to get back in the game, refine my skills, and then decide what I will do in a few years once Anderson starts school.

In addition to the full-time job, I have continued to fill in time-to-time at the Y.  It's kind of a pain in the butt, but I like it there, I'm comfortable there, I adore my manager there, and I also get to keep my reduced family membership.  I have no plans on leaving and they have no plans on getting rid of me, so I'm sticking with it.

God's Watching Over Us
Probably the most stressful thing for the last several years has been finances.  It's hard to be on one income and my part-time job paid for nothing.  We thought me returning to work would allow us to live a little more comfortably and be able to do the things we wanted to do.  But our dog getting sick really threw us for a loop.  I have been scared out of my mind.  Would I be able to do my marathon in March (it's out of town)?  Would our vacations we planned this year be put on hold?  Should we cut back on some of our expenses like TV, etc. (things you don't need but would struggle to live without)?  But God's been watching over us.  We did our taxes which is going to help out tremendously.  And Dave got bumped from a flight this week that gave us big money in airline vouchers.  So this month is still going to be a challenge as we pay off our credit card debt but barring any other craziness, life should return to normal soon.

- - - - - - - - - - -

So that's what new.  Life has been busy.  Life has been uncomfortable.  We're managing.  We're going to get through all of this and see the sunlight again.  And I swear I will revive this blog with rainbows and puppies sometime soon.

How to Wash Your Running Clothes

After much trial and error I have finally figured out how to wash my running clothes and get the stink out of them.  Silly, I know, but they get stinky and good running clothes are expensive so you've got to make them last.  I have tried every detergent known to man, including those fancy ones for workout clothes (made me break out), but finally Google gave me the answer.

First I soak the clothes in cold water with some cleaning vinegar.  I usually do this for about 30 minutes unless I forget about setting a timer and forget I'm doing laundry (pretty typical) and then they may be in there for who knows how long.  Then, after draining the washing machine, I wash them in warm water using Arm & Hammer baking soda detergent.  Although the embedded yucky smell may not come fully out it's sooooo much better than it was. 

And because a blog post without pictures is just plain boring I give you this...

My kid is sick for the third time in 7 weeks.  Again!  Daycare is kicking our ass.  We just cannot keep him (or us) healthy.

2017 Plans

Yeah, yeah.  It's the 10th of January and I'm just now blogging about my 2017 plans.  I've got some goals, some big goals, but I'm going to keep those private for now.  I'll let you know if I achieve them.

So, here are my plans athletically.

• A couple of half marathons.  I was thinking one next month, but I'm frozen to the bone.  Winter running is stupid.  I'll keep thinking.
• Early spring marathon.  I would really like to qualify for Boston again.  In 2018 it falls on my 40th birthday and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate such a big milestone (who the hell would say that running a marathon for their birthday is fun?!?!)  I have yet to sign up for the marathon, but I'm planning on the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on March 19th.  I haven't done a race yet in Virginia so this also checks that off.
• Aquathlons, aquathlons, aquathlons!  Surprisingly there are three or four aquathlons in Ohio that are eligible towards USAT ranking points.  I'm going to do as many as I can to help my ranking and to give me experience towards....Aquathlon Nationals.  I've got some BIG BIG goals for this race.  Nationals will be October 1st in Austin.
• Also some fun stuff like run 2000 miles (that'll never happen but I'll at least try for it), swim 200K yards, do pilates once a week, stop skipping strength workouts, continue to eat healthy foods, etc.

Let's talk about personal stuff.  I love the new year.  I love new goals and resolutions and all that jazz.  Here are some thoughts I have personally.

• Read more than 12 books.  I know this is the same goal every year, but my Kindle is awesome and I read much faster with it.  Now if I could just get the ebooks faster from the library.
• Take more pictures.  I swear this is a goal I set every year for myself.  I was making a Shutterfly calendar this week and struggled to find enough pictures from last year to put it together.  Unfortunately, the memory is full on my phone right now and my laptop is on it's last breath and I really can't afford a new one so I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish this.
• Be more present.  Honestly, I am still really struggling with having put my kid in daycare to go back to work.  It's been 6 weeks now and he still cried and throws a fit every time we go (although he does the same at the end of the day because he doesn't want to leave).  When we come home I want to pay attention to him.  I don't want to be on the treadmill leaving him to play by himself.  I don't want to be on my phone reading Facebook.  I want it to be family time.  Truly, this has been hard.  Aren't we all addicted to our phones and Facebook and Instagram (and for me, the TV)?  As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer I think family time is going to become even more special.

I thought 2016 was a great year.  2017 is going to be even better.  I'm back to work.  I've got money again.  I can make improvements to the house.  I can camp with the family now.  The kiddo is a fantastic age - he's so fun.  I'm really looking forward to what lies ahead.

What are your thoughts on 2017?

Eff this Sh!t!

When I was first starting out I loved winter running.  I still love running in the snow but I used to be able to handle the cold temperatures like a champ.  As I've gotten older, I don't really want to be in the cold.  I hate the cold.  Why DO I live in Ohio?

But, of course, I chose a March marathon to try to qualify for Boston so winter training it is.  This weekend it was like 7 degrees and I had a two hour long run on the schedule.  I was wearing...

Compression sleeves
Wool socks
Tights
Long sleeve base layer
Another long sleeve shirt on top of that
Jacket on top of that
Buff
Winter hat
Mittens

And I was carrying about 90 gallons of water on my back.  At first I was hot - sweating within a few minutes.  I quickly took my mittens down to gloves, took the Buff off my face, and unzipped my jacket a little.  But, my legs were cold and my heart rate was jacked.  I was shuffling along and it was sucking with every step.  When I finally reached the light were I could turn around or keep going, I said fuck it and headed home.  I had the biggest bitch fest when I got there that included me screaming, "I don't even want to do the fucking marathon!  I have nothing to prove!"

I wound up with 4.3 miles and I am sore like I ran a half marathon.  I'm probably going to try the run again today after work, but even though the weather is looking better, I think I'm going to take it inside to the treadmill.

Bite me, mother nature.

Athlete of the Month

I totally forgot to write about this earlier this month.  My coach named me "Athlete of the Month" for her Multisport Mastery program.  She gave me this honor not because of some achievement I had received, but because I have been embracing the whole picture and working towards bigger dreams.  She sent me a series of questions to answer and ask me for some pictures and VOILA! 

Check it out here!  Thanks Liz for thinking of me, pushing me, and being the best coach I could hope for.

Thanks for Giving 4 Miler 2016

Like all warm blooded Americans who like to run, I too ran a race on Thanksgiving morning.  And I freakin' rocked it!

I didn't get much of a warm up in so I thought I would use the first mile as a warm up.  Well, if you consider a 7:13 mile a warm up then so be it.  The whole race would go this way.  I just kept catching people and zooming through the miles in the low 7:00s.  During the last mile I passed one of my high school coworkers who recently went to the state cross country meet.  WOAH!  The final time was 28:07, a 7:02 average (I had the course a little short, but hey, I'll take what they give me), and a 1:23 PR.  I finished 6th female and first in my age group. 

If you don't look like death at the finish line, you weren't running fast enough.  Also, how can you not feel fast when you're wearing a Team USA shirt from the world championships?

So in addition to working my ass off for the last year, I've made some serious nutritional changes in the last couple of weeks that have made a huge difference for my training, racing, and every day life.  More on those in the coming days.

I Got Locked Out

Sunday I did my long run.  It was an hour and 25 minutes.  While away, the husband took the boy to the park for a "nature walk."  I figured they were going to the local metro park as they had asked me to go with them and run there.  I took a key just in case they weren't back in time.

I finished the run, walked up to the door, opened it, and BAM!  The freakin' security chain was on.  Oh crap!  And they weren't home yet.  I sat down on the front step thinking they would be home shortly.  The waiting became longer.  I took out the newspaper and read some article.  They still weren't home.  I went through the ads and picked out the coupons for the week.  Still not home.  My stomach started tossing and turning (as it does after most runs anymore).  I worried I was going to have to find a hiding spot on my property and drop trough.  Still not home.  I moved into the sunshine.  I was getting cold.  I looked at my watch.  I had finished my run an hour ago.  Where the hell were they???  Oh yeah, I should mention, I didn't have my phone with me.  I don't carry one when I run (safe, right??).

Finally, they came home.  Dave knew as soon as he pulled in the driveway what had happened.  Guess we'll be going to the Home Depot this week to get one of those garage door security pad thingies.

Races, Races, RACES!!!

Have you ever counted up the number of races you've done?  The husband and I were wondering how many half marathons I had done.  It's my favorite race distance and it seems I race it often.  So, I counted.  And then I started counting the rest of the race distances.  Um, bored much?  Here's what I came up with.

1 mile - 4
5k - 42 (for a gift who doesn't like the 5k, I've sure done a lot of them)
4 miler - 8
5 miler - 10
10k - 7
7.5 miler - 1
10 miler - 4
Half Marathon - 28
15 miler - 3
20 miler - 3
40k - 1
Marathon - 17

I didn't count triathlons or aquathlons or relays or any of the distances within those races.  Totals?  118 races.  Dude, time to find another race...

Columbus Half Marathon 2016

The last time I ran the Columbus half it was a real sh!t show.  Literally.  My stomach just exploded and I had to take three port-a-john stops.  This time I had different thoughts.  I wasn't nervous, my stomach emptied early in the morning, and we had good logistics and I was able to stop into the port-a-john before the race without incident.

Things started pretty well.  I goofed and didn't have my watch on autolap per mile, which of course, I didn't figure out until three miles in.  Just in enough time for my stomach to revolt.  You have got to be sh!tting me!  Literally.  I got lucky and cut a guy off to get an open port-a-john somewhere in the three to four mile range and decided to just do my watch manually.  That's probably better anyway as my Garmin is always off from the mile markers (especially in a race downtown).

I was cooking.  I was moving.  Things were going well.  I really felt like I was racing, like I was back to the old Meredith. 

Mile 5 - 7:35
Mile 6 - 7:31
Mile 7 -  7:54 (uphill? long mile? gel?)
Mile 8 - 7:24

Then my stomach started to bother me again.  You have got to be kidding me?!  How can this keep happening to me?  I have, literally, raced more than 30 half marathons including faster ones than this.  How are my guts not cooperating?  I took another bathroom break.

Mile 9 - 8:23 (bathroom stop)

Dave saw me right after this.  I didn't see him.  But I was angry that I was losing time so I know I was going fast here.  The picture even looks like it.

Mile 10 - 7:22

Alright five kilometers to go and my legs and lungs and heart still feel good.  Come on Meredith.  Salvage a good race here.

Mile 11 - 7:40
Mile 12 - 7:48
(Both of those were uphill into downtown.)
Mile 13 and 0.1 - 7:49 (7:11 pace)

The overall time was 1:41:43.  Ya know, I'm okay with that time.  I haven't done a half marathon in over a year and I didn't have any specific training for this race.  I was able to take the endurance and speed I had from aquathlon training to turn this into a decent race.  If I wouldn't have had the stomach problems I wonder what I could have done.  For years my goal has been 1:35 or better.  I know I've got this in me. 

PS - Dear Marathon Foto, it you're going to charge me $24 for a single download, I am totally going to steal your images and put them on my social media.  Love, Me

Official Pictures from the World Championships

I spent about a million dollars to get four pictures from the world championships.  This might be a once in a lifetime opportunity so I HAD to get the pictures.  Right?  RIGHT?!?!

Coming into T1.  I like that you can see hair stuck to me as this proves how freakin' humid it was even with only a 1.55 run.

Coming out of the swim.  I don't know if I am starting to look like I've got swimmer's body or I just need to slim down my arms/chest.  Either way, doesn't everyone look stupid in a swim cap?

 Heading out on the second run.  Look at the focus.  Or, I'm saying, "where the heck is everybody?"

And the finally, quite possibly the coolest finisher picture of all time.  The time is irrelevant as it was from the start of the first age group wave and I was in one of the last waves.  But how cool to have the finish line all to myself, waving my flag, with my hands up in victory?!

Week in Review

I got back to business this week and totally kicked ass!  With the little one in preschool several days a week I have been able to do ALL my runs outside.  I also did some core work and got back in the pool.

Swimming - 4950 yards
I missed one swim this week.  I had intended to do it on Saturday but forgot there was a swim meet that closed down the pool.  Maybe I'll try to fit it in next week.

Running - 29.02 miles
Woah!  You read that right.  I had a great week of running - 4 runs, all outside.  I did a fantastic track workout of several 800s, the fastest one being 3:12.  I haven't hit that pace in a long, long time.  I also did a long run with hill repeats.  I found the steepest and longest hill I could find and made it my bitch!  Half/full marathon training has begun.  It's my happy place.

Strength - 0.5 hours
I did two small core workouts this week that left me crazy sore.  The first one was done with our middle school swim team.  I totally schooled them, but was sore for days.  The second workout was done at home, late at night, waiting on the bug-a-boo to fall asleep.

Next week - more running, more swimming, more core.  I see PRs in my future!!!

September Totals

Can you believe September is over already?  Man!  That went fast. 

September was all about the WORLD FREAKIN' CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! And, oh, there was still good training.  Check it out.

Swimming - 13,036 yards ~ 7.4 miles
Yes, this is a weird number.  That's because I did two 1000 meters swims in the ocean and I converted them to yards in my spreadsheet.  I also passed 200,000 yards (114 miles!!!) for the year this month.

Running - 67.1 miles
Not many miles, but when you're training for a fast 5K there really doesn't need to be a whole lot of miles.  Don't worry!  There will be a lot of miles coming up in the next couple of months.

YMCA Visits - 11
Cost Per Visit $3.42

After Anderson started preschool and we returned from Mexico, I just got tired of taking Anderson to the Y.  And frankly, I got tired of going to the Y.  All of this will be changing soon.  Another blog post on this soon.

October is here which means pumpkin everything (yuck), Halloween (my least favorite holiday), and miles, miles and more miles. 

Aquathlon World Championship 2016

Err.  Umm.  Errrrrrrrr. 

How do I even write this post?

Ten months of training.  Forty-five minutes of racing.  And now the biggest race of my life is behind me.

Mexico is hot.  Maybe I should say, Mexico is humid A.F.!!!!  I had trained for it (sauna, overdressed, general summer training), but seriously it was humid.  Between checking in to transition and the start of my race was about three hours.  By the time I started I was sweating like I was running a marathon.  I had sweat rolling down my back and the front of my uniform was completely soaked.  Thank goodness there was going to be a dip in the ocean in the middle of the race.

Let's get started.  My wave started at 9:50am and had two other age groups in it, 40-44 and 45-50.  In total there were somewhere between 50-100 ladies starting together.  I lined up somewhere in the middle and tried to not get nervous about what was about to happen.  The gun went off and it was time to move.  The race was all inside a park inside of a marina and there were lots of turns.  The first turn was within the first 100 meters and then the first water stop was 100 meters from that turn.  I lined up to take the turn on the tangent and then skip the first water stop.  I mean, who needs a water stop 200 meters into a 2.5k race?  Well, the chick in front of me, that's who.  She came flying from the right side, cutting in front of me to grab the bag of water (yep, BAG of water) and I pushed her out of the way.  Sorry chick.  You don't need water that close to the start of the race.

I stayed in the pack for most of the first run, probably running into transition in the top 10 of my age group.  Transition was quick, shoes and socks off, grab cap and goggles and I was off.  It was long run down to the dock and I took it a little easy to get my heart rate down.  And then I did the most graceful thing ever - I jumped like an 8 year old boy into the water.  The previous day at the swim practice I dove into the water and my goggles came off and filled with water.  I wasn't going to risk that during the race, so I just jumped and immediately started swimming.  I doubt I even lost a second and my goggles stayed put. 

I thought I had a great swim.  For me it was a great swim.  I swam confidently and strong.  My line probably sucked, but with the water being so clear I just looked for other competitors and swam toward them.  The whole backside of the swim I had a girl tapping my feet.  The whole damn way!!!  At one point I told her not so politely to GET OFF!!!  Then in the last couple hundred yards I was able to get on feet myself and swim in the draft.  That NEVER happens to me.  It was the fastest swim I have ever done in open water and yet, it was a solid two minutes slower than most of the competitive girls.  I've come leaps and bounds this year with my swimming but I still have a long way to go.

The water was so beautiful and clear.  There were fish and corral and I really tried to concentrate on my race.  I saw those things the day prior in the practice swim and while I was snorkeling earlier in the week.  But the coolest thing was that there were scuba divers at each turn pointing you in the correct direction.  I couldn't help but smile and wave to the first one.  So neat.

Anyway, I was out of the water and running up the dock into the second transition.  Cap and goggles off, shoes and race number on.  I had decided to do the second run with no socks, which I had never practiced.  I didn't want to waste time putting on socks and it was only for a mile and a half.  Who cares if my feet got ripped up.  But, I struggled with the stupid tongue on my right shoe in transition and in my head I'm screaming, WHO CARES!  GET MOVING!!!  And so I did.  But I was in no-man's land.  As much as I could run with those chicks, I fell behind them in the swim and there was no longer anyone to catch.  Well, I did catch about 5 girls during the run but only one was in my age group and all the others were from the previous wave.  I thought I was running well, but I was a solid minute and a half slower than the first run.  I kept running, though, and as I made the last turn onto the finishing chute, my team manager handed me an American flag and I got to have my own personal victorious moment at the finish line. 

In the end I finished 17th in my age group.  Top 20 at the World Championships?  I'll take it.  And I went from the 10th American to qualify in my age group to finishing as the fourth American in my age group.  I race confidently and without fear.  To me that's a victory.  But I have to admit, I'd like another crack at the race.  I believe I can do better.  Unfortunately, I can't go to the 2017 world championships as I already have vacation plans paid for during the championship.  But coach and I have already devised a plan to get to the 2018 race.  I'm ready for revenge!!!

August Totals

How can it be September already?!?!

Although this blog has been nothing but crickets this summer, I have been training.  I haven't been as consistent as I would have liked, but I'm getting it done.  Less than two weeks until the big dance and I'm feeling ready.

Swimming - 26,300 yards ~ 15 miles
I swear my hair and skin are just going to fall apart with all this swimming.  To be honest, I'm ready for a break from the pool, but considering it's my job to be in and around the pool every day, I don't see a break happening.

Running - 68.59 miles
Sure, I'd love to be running big miles, but the long runs stopped weeks ago in favor of short fast runs with lots and lots of intervals.  Nowadays, long runs are about 7 miles.  That will change after the world championships as I have a half marathon on the schedule.

YMCA Visits - 20
Cost Per Visit - $1.88
Some day soon I'd like to break up with the Y too.

Let's do this September!!!

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!