Did somebody say hockey?

You guys are going to hate me. Being that I am racing this weekend and then have to take the next two to three weeks off, I just don't have a whole lot to talk about regarding my running and Ironman training. Today's topic has nothing to do with either.

For those of you new to the blog, and I know there's quite a few of you, I live in Columbus, Ohio. Cow Town, USA. Columbus is also College Town, USA with the largest university in the US right downtown. Our world revolves around the university and especially Ohio State football. The world shuts down on Saturdays to watch the game. You may laugh, but I remember in 2002 when we made the national championship game, high school basketball games were rearranged so that people could watch the game. Yes, that's how serious we are about our Buckeyes. And being that I am alumni and lived here my whole life, I LOVE IT!!!

But, we have two emerging sports in Central Ohio that are doing great and no one knows about. The first is our professional soccer team, the Columbus Crew. Last year our team won the MLS Cup and this year we have clinched a spot in the playoffs yet again. And being that my company has worked with The Crew many times this year, I cannot say enough good things about this organization. They are grade "A" and are very good to their fans. I am now a fan for life.

Another team gaining respect in town is the Columbus Blue Jackets, our professional hockey team. I have to admit, for a while I was quite skeptical. I grew up a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mario Lemieux. But, they kept getting better and better and last year we finally made it to the playoffs. This year we are in first place (for now) and 4-1 overall. Tonight I attended my first regular season game. We were in the second to last row, but we were center ice and could see all the plays open up. Jackets won 2-1 with two awesome goals in the second period. Frankly, the score should have been 6-1 as we had three pucks hit the posts and one goal that went in but I guess the referees had already blown the whistle. What a crock! I had a lot of fun. I hope to go again sometime in the next ten years. :)

Horrible, Too True Nightmare

It's no secret that I am horribly, horribly scare of bridges. No, no; it's a phobia. I freeze up. My heart races. I sweat. I think I will die. Seriously, it's bad.

In four days I leave for San Francisco and they kinda have a very famous, very big bridge there. Dave says I HAVE TO go across it. I vehemently say no. NO!!!! Not walking, not riding. NO!!! Molly, do not let Dave talk you into this. Just say NO!!!

Last night I had a dream, nay, a nightmare. I was being forced to go across the Golden Gate bridge. It was awful. I woke up in full panic.

Seriously, I'm not crossing that bridge.

Miscellany for Sunday

A little miscellany today...

• Watching Ironman yesterday scared the devil right out of me. People looked like HELL crossing the finish line. Louisville has the possibility to be as warm as Hawaii. Yikes!!
• Generally I don't get involved in politics (yeah right) but seriously, Ohioans, we have a big scheme on our hands with Issue 3. Do your homework. This article is an editorial, but it sheds some light on the things the casino companies are hiding.
• I've been filling out some sponsorship applications and going back through my last couple years of racing results. Holy wow have I made improvements in the last year! Seriously, I was bad.
• I hate to shop. :) I spent an hour and a half in one store today, tried on several, several things and walked away with nothing. I love how fast I've gotten, but my body has totally changed into total athlete. Clothes look horrible on me now. Damn you Anthropologie.
• Last week before the marathon!!!

Log on

No new blog post today. I'm watching Ironman today. You should be too. I have even tried pausing it while we are working our wedding tonight.

See ya tomorrow.

Kick Some Kona Butt!!!

Good luck to all the athletes racing in Kona tomorrow. A special shout out goes to Marit and Bree. Kick some major a$$!!! Dave and I plan on following along as much as we can tomorrow, but we do have a wedding (and there is also college football). Next year, I'll be there. Ha ha ha!!! :)

Thursday Thoughts

Ugh, it's been a week of painting. The room is a burgundy color which means layers and layers of paint. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow. In the mean time, it's chores I don't enjoy.

What are the chores you despise doing and why?

Feeling a Little Bloated or Swollen

It's been 6 weeks since I broke my finger and it is starting to feel better. I can finally bend it and can almost get it into a fist. It's still super-sore, but definitely better. I have to wear the tape for one more week and will probably wear it through the marathon just for protection. Today I tried on my wedding rings just to see. Luckily I was not wearing my rings when I fell and did not have to have them cut off. But I've been worried if they'd ever fit again.



I'm hoping I'm still really swollen. I'm going to wait several months and then make a decision if I need to get my rings resized.

I really did some good damage when I took this spill.

Total Destruction of my House

I might have mentioned previously that Dave came home from Yellowstone with thoughts about how he wanted to redo our master bedroom. I have tried to lay low and let it blow over, but he keeps persisting!! He cleaned out his half of the closet and put his dresser in there, which of course meant I had to clean out my half of the closet. Then he decided he wanted to paint the rest of the walls (we had one accent wall and hadn't painted the other ones). Instead of having an accent wall, all the walls would be the same, BURGUNDY! color as the one wall. Again, I laid low, didn't help and watched as my bedroom began looking like a cave. This past weekend we made a trip to Homegoods and that's when things took a serious turn. After dropping a whopping $500!!! we came home with a new set of awesome chairs and a set of new bedside lamps. Game on! Of course, the stuff is sitting in my living room right now. Or maybe I should call that my storage closet--bikes, photo booths, chairs, ugly couches. The only thing I like in my living room is my HDTV. Anyway, Dave and I are now working collectively on finishing the painting. We have 12 foot tall ceilings so it takes A LOT of work. Hopefully we'll have it all done by the end of the week and will have the chairs and my dresser in place. I'll post pictures when there is more progress.

I'm Feeling Fast (and my legs are fried)

I did the hardest run of my life this weekend, races not included. Coach had a LONG interval workout on the agenda that was 15 to 30 seconds faster than race pace. I thought my lungs were going to explode. I kept telling myself, "Meredith, if you want to achieve X:XX in the marathon" (seriously, I'm no longer talking about my goals on the blog) "then you have to be able to do this run." And, "Meredith, Ironmen work hard!!!" It worked. I killed this run! First interval, 7:19 average: second interval, 7:12 average. I remember when those paces were full-out sprints.

One more key workout to go and then I'll be shutting it down. Taper time!!!

Don't Tell Anyone

Ssshhhh! I've got a secret to tell. This biking stuff...it isn't so bad. Ssshhh! Don't tell anybody! Especially not Coach. I've been riding now twice a week, with most rides being between 30 minutes and an hour. The soreness is going away. I've been able to increase my RPMs comfortably. And my mileage is coming up. I think the thing I like most about it is it's a nice respite from running. Marathon training has been extreme and I'm ready for a break.

Speaking of break, after the marathon Coach is making me take a mandatory 2-3 week, absolutely no working out, break before Ironman training begins. I think I might die during that time.

Achy Breaky

I'm not a fan or tapering. Others talk about feeling bloated or like they need to train more. Tapering for me always makes me feel achy. And by achy, I mean my body hurts and I wonder what happened and how I will get to the start line. Right now my right hip is bothering me, which somehow is also causing a pin-pointed pain in my right inner thigh. My left achilles hurts. And of course, my finger is NEVER getting better (okay, that has nothing to do with running). Somehow in two weeks all the pain will go away and I'll feel nothing for 26 miles. I'm so excited!!!

The Plans are Set

It's two weeks until we leave for San Francisco and our plans are coming into place. We're staying with Molly. We're so thankful she's taking the crazies in for a weekend. She'll be just a few weeks away from her Ironman and will have tons of training to do. Dave's going to join her on an ocean swim. I'm going to watch from the sidelines. We've found a bar to watch the Buckeyes' game if we can't get the channel at the homestay. We'll be attending the expo on Friday and driving the course. Speaking of the course, I checked out the profile online today. Yikes!!! But, if I can conquer Boston, I can conquer this one.

Two weeks!!!!

Thursday Thoughts

I mentioned in August that I got a parking ticket and I was upset that I got it because I did pay for my parking I just couldn't read the parking spot number. The next week I started making some phone calls and it seemed like everything was going to be taken care of. I kept my cool; they kept theirs and I waited to hear the outcome. Unfortunately no one called back, so I decided to just pay the bill. When I sent in my check, I added a letter explaining the situation and who I had talked to. This morning I checked my PO Box and to my surprise I had received a letter back from Parking Solutions and to my utter shock, they sent my check back and told me the ticket had been voided. WOW!!! I am so impressed. Thanks Parking Solutions!!

What has been a good deed you have done or received recently?

September Totals

Wow!! September was HUGE!!! I can't believe it; I didn't miss a workout this month. This might be the first time since I started working with Coach a year ago that I haven't missed a workout in a month. September included two twenty milers and for the first time in six years, September did not include Reach the Beach. :( There was no swimming since the finger may be broken forever, but that gave me the opportunity to start working on my biking. And I also started attended a core class.

Swimming = 0 yards/meters
Biking = 60.24 miles
Running = 128.91 miles
Other = 3.25 hours

Surprisingly, this is not my biggest month of running. That would be in March 2006 when I was running nearly 50 miles a week every week.

Next month will be marathon time and then it's on to Ironman training.

Inquiring Crotches Want to Know

Today I returned the demo bike seat we've been testing out for the last week. Dave loves it and is ready to order is. I am a little more torn. There were things I liked about the ISM Adamo like it didn't hurt me in certain areas, it made it easier to stay in aero, and it didn't rub me in ways that would cause rashes. But there were certain things I didn't like, like it was slippery, I adjusted it like a hundred times and never found that sweet spot, and I thought it was really hard. Tomorrow I have an hour long ride and have my other seat on it. Tomorrow will really determine if I like what I have, decided on the other one, or keep looking.

For those of you out there, especially the women, who ride on the Adamo, what do you like about it that made you switch to it? If it's more personal that putting it in the comments, please send me an e-mail. I REALLY want to know.

The Finish Line has GOT to be around the corner.

You'd think after the last long run, my second 20 miler on Saturday, I'd be tapering for my marathon. But alas, this week looks ugly. Sure I don't have a super-long run (although there is a 12 miler on the schedule) but there is tons of speed work. Today I had short intervals, which were hilarious. I am still SOOOO sore from the 20 miler just two days ago. My hip flexors could barely lift my right leg up to turn it over. Even keeping my arms in the correct position was difficult. Come on, y'all know what I'm talking about--when your body hurts and you pull your arms up and out to take the pressure off yourself, yet you're only making things worse?

In addition to the running, I've got more biking. It's starting to become a theme. I can't wait for this swimming hiatus to be over!! I really should have gotten a new tattoo during this time. :)

Hopefully this will be the last week of hard workouts. I'm looking forward to the taper.

2010 Races

Bummer. If I had run the Homestretch 20 Miler race this morning (although it was pouring rain and I didn't get home from the wedding last night until 1:15am) and had run the same time as my training run yesterday, I would have won my age group. But, you learn more by pacing yourself and being in your own head, so I think I made the right choice.

Anyway, I'm trying to put together a race schedule for next year and all I have on it is Ironman Louisville on August 29th. I would like to have a half Ironman in early summer like mid June. Do you guys have a favorite race around that time? I'm looking for one that has a somewhat hilly bike course, one that I could swim in a no-sleeve wetsuit or no wetsuit at all. And I don't want to be swimming in the ocean and preferably would like to stay in the Midwest so I could drive to the race. I'm looking to compete but also simulate race conditions for Louisville. I'm also looking for other races like Olympics or sprints around the same time. Any ideas?

Ready to Roll

Today was the last long run leading up to the marathon in three weeks and I kicked it's a$$! I had hoped to run the 20 mile race tomorrow, but due to our wedding schedule tonight, it was unrealistic. So I set out to do 20 miles on my own. Makes you tough! I was supposed to do everything like I would in the race: fueling, food, and mostly descending pace (except the last two miles were cool down). And I nailed it.

Mile 1: 9:20
Mile 2: 9:19
Mile 3: 8:58
Mile 4: 8:39
Mile 5: 8:33
Mile 6: 8:26
Mile 7: 8:08
Mile 8: 7:57
Mile 9: 7:56
Mile 10: 8:08
Mile 11: 7:52
Mile 12: 7:47
Mile 13: 7:34
Mile 14: 7:30
Mile 15: 7:45
Mile 16: 7:46
Mile 17: 7:49
Mile 18: 7:55
Mile 19: 9:40
Mile 20: 8:56

I struggled through miles 15-18, although I think it was more mental than physical. I was still a long way from being done and was running all by myself. And did I mention it rained almost the whole run? It's too bad I didn't get to run the 20 mile race as I would have PRed and probably would have placed in my age group. I'm ready to roll!

I'd rather be at the gyno

Today I did something I don't like to do. Yep, I rode my bike, but that's not what I'm talking about. :) I went to the grocery store. I HATE going grocery shopping. Seriously, the last time I did a full trip to the grocery store was in June. But Dave and I really would like to go to Phoenix to watch our friends in Ironman Arizona so we're trying to save some money and eating in will certainly help.

Why do I hate the grocery store so much? It is not the place for a type-A personality like myself. I can't just go to the grocery and pick up food. I have to start with a meal list. Then I turn that meal list into a list of ingredients and other things I need at the store. From that list I number the aisles that each item comes from. (And, wait for this, I do this in Excel.) I then sort the list and put it into order of the aisles and the way I walk through the store. Finally I find coupons for the items and then I put them in order that matches the items. Seriously, this takes a whole day to do and I HATE doing it. Today I took that list to the store and put it in action, with the aid of some music on my iPod, and did this all by myself.

I need a drink...

Thursday Thoughts

I own the book To Our Children's Children which is a book that helps you create an autobiography to pass down from generation to generation. My mom owns a copy and I own a copy and I've really tried to keep a journal that I can pass down to my kiddos, or if I never have any, my sister's kids.

The book is a series of questions each within a topic like family, community, etc. Today's question comes from the chapter of politics and history.

Is there a time in history you think it would have been fascinating to live in? Why?

Bike Seat Review Part 1

Today my ISM Adamo demo bike seat was delivered. I was excited to rip open the box, watch the tutorial online and give it a try. Unfortunately, my engineering degree didn't help me whatsoever! When I purchased my bike, I had ALL of it fitted with a professional. And luckily, I've had nothing go wrong, not even a flat tire, that I've had to fix or adjust myself. Seriously, it took me an hour to put this bike seat on. I need octopus arms to have enough hands to hold everything together. Then it was test, test, test to figure out the correct positioning of the seat. I'm still not sure I have that correct.

I did do a 45 minute scheduled trainer ride with the new seat. There were certainly private parts that felt better and parts that didn't feel so good. And I'm not sure what is supposed to not feel good and what is normal. I would think that it should feel like I'm sitting on clouds, but everything I keep reading says my "sit bones" will get used to the riding. So, it's supposed to hurt down there?

This weekend I'll take the bike outside and give it another ride. Another review will follow.

This post will make you say, ahhhh...

A friend of mine recently got engaged after only dating her boyfriend for only a few months. Woah! That seems awful quick, but when you know, you know.

And I knew immediately that Dave was the one. Within two weeks of dating, I was in love and knew Dave would be forever. Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. I'm not sure Dave knew what he was getting into, but I'm so glad he came along for the ride.

Seriously, weren't we cute (and skinny)?

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

...it's back to work I go.

Well, it's been a good summer, but tomorrow I head back to work. In case you didn't know, in addition to owning my own business, I also teach gymnastics part-time. Last year I taught between 10-15 classes per quarter, but this year I'm only teaching 6--3 on Monday, 3 on Tuesday. This should be the perfect schedule between a HUGE schedule of weddings and parties coming up and continuing for the next year and my continued marathon and Ironman training.

The summer without working, though, has been great. I've traveled to Idaho, Alabama, and California. I've participated in two triathlons and a half marathon, placing in my age group in all the races. I've spent my first week alone since Dave and I got married (I did NOT enjoy this, but survived, nonetheless). I've been to at least one weekend every weekend except for two weekends the whole summer. I've logged hundreds of miles on my legs and many, many hours of naps. And one bad trip has left me with a finger that is still not useful (I start occupational therapy hopefully in a week).

I've loved this summer and although work starts tomorrow, I'm looking forward to the next few months and seeing how 2009 rounds out.

It Must be Fall

I played tennis in high school. In Ohio, girls tennis is a fall sport; boys tennis is a spring sport. Anyway, I always knew how deep the season was getting not by how cold it was but by how windy it was. I had forgotten how windy fall can be until this week. I only had a few short run this week but boy it's been windy! This morning was no different. I headed out for a snappy run and the wind was pushing me around. The run was all based on heart rate and it was hard to control it when I was working so hard against the run. (Guess I better get used to this since I'm sure there will be A LOT of windy bike rides in my future.) I still had a really successful run hitting intervals at 7:44, 7:38, 7:41, and 7:31 paces. I looked at the schedule for next week and there's one more 20 miler looming. It's almost time....

Foto Friday

This is a picture of the sun setting at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel.

Thursday Thoughts

Another one of the great Table Topics that we took from the wedding two weeks ago...

If you lived to be 100 would it be more important to have a sharp mind or a fit body?

Lady Bits, Revisited

Yep, I'm gonna talk about my lady bits again.

There's parts of me that are really excited to have signed up for Ironman. There are other parts of me that are screaming "What the hell are you doing?!" One part screaming are my lady bits. I'm not gonna lie...I really don't like riding a bike. Why? Because it's painful to me. Unlike most people, bike riding does not hurt my behind. To me it hurts my pelvic bone, way up front. My bike was fitted with my seat sitting way far forward so that I get most of my power while riding in aero. While this is good, it causes tremendous pressure where I don't really like it. And, I'm not sure I can stand a whole year of it.

So, I took some friend's advice and decided to try out a new bike seat. Dave and I have decided to demo the ISM Adamo racing seat. Dude, it looks so weird, but with it's shortened length and cut out, I think it will take pressure of my privates and Dave's as well. :) The demo has already been sent. I'm looking forward to trying it out and will report back with my findings.

The Way Back Machine--My First Marathon

This past weekend while running with Mary and Molly, I started thinking about my first marathon. Molly is training for her first one and it was fun to listen to her descriptions of training and reminisce. I remember training for my first marathon: how excited I was just to run 5 miles without stopping and how daggone tired I was all the time. I've always kept a journal about my running. Today I found my first marathon race report. It's short and sweet but I thought it would be funny to share.

Chicago Marathon 2001

It's over! Thank goodness. The day started really cold--only around 40 degrees. I decided to wear long sleeves and shorts. The start was quite warm because there were so many people standing around. Once the gun went off it took me 10 minutes to even get to the start line. The first half of the race went very well. It too me 6 miles to get back on a 9:55 pace and by 13 miles I was thee minutes ahead. However, starting at 13 my legs started to hurt and I began to feel tired. I took a PowerGel at the half way point. I don't really know if it helped. One of the women I came to Chicago with caught me at 13 and ran with me until the next water stop. I lost her there because I desperately needed a drink. Miles 13-18 were a blur. I do know during that time we ran through the slums and a Mexican village. Starting at 18 I had had enough. I walked several times between 18-24, including all water stops. I was so frustrated with myself that I would start crying and had to stop because I couldn't breathe. I also got choked up going through the tunnel because they were playing "Chariots of Fire." I ran all the way from 24 to the end. I didn't reach two of my goals: (1) don't walk and (2) finish in 4:20, but I am satisfied. I think I did pretty well. I am looking forward to a little break and then I will start running again. Halleluia, though, it's over.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

We're about one week away from my favorite time of the year: premiere week. That's right, I'm a TV junkie. As I've gotten older or maybe it's the quality of the shows, but each year I get less and less excited. There are several shows I'm looking forward to including Greek and Glee which have already started and I'm also looking forward to The Big Bang Theory. One new show I'm looking forward to is Community.

What shows are you looking forward to most this fall?

Even if Dave doesn't listen to me, somebody does

This past week I encountered something that shocked me. While walking from the gym to another part of the mall I saw a gentleman sneak between two Pepsi/Coke machines and light up a joint. How do I know? Dude, it smelled! I've been to enough rock concerts to know what marijuana smells like. Here's the real kicker...it was a guy who works at a restaurant at the mall whose uniform is obvious. There is an employee smoking area at the mall so the fact that he was "hiding" and smoking solidifies what I smelled. I was so appalled that I gave explicit details about what I had seen on my Facebook status.

This afternoon I got a Facebook e-mail from someone I didn't know. To my surprise it was from the manager at that restaurant who saw my status and wanted to assure me that they have a strict drug-free policy and once it is found out who was breaking this policy he/she would be fired. The manager asked me to follow through in the future if I see one of the employees breaking policy again.

What a fantastic manager to be on the internet searching to see what people are saying about their specific location. What a great way to improve performance and reputation at their facility. Social media at its finest. Or maybe it's worst?

Going Long

Today was a LONG run. There is only one place in Columbus to run long and that's the Olentangy Trail. When you run there on a Saturday it is crowded, like hundreds of runners. I started the run with my dad but soon found my friends Mary and Molly who are also running the Nike Women's Marathon. I ran with them for about 9 miles before I had to change zones. I felt bad that I had left my dad, but he was only running 12 and there were others he was running with. I was feeling good until about 17 miles when I had had enough. I sloughed through the final miles and completed 20 in just over three hours. This is the end of my three week build and I couldn't be happier to be done. My knees ache, my back is killing me, and I'm ready to sleep for days on end.

One more long run and then it's time for the marathon. Where the heck has the summer gone?

Long Road to Recovery

Yesterday was my two week check-up for my finger. And guess what? It's still broken. What I didn't know is that it's REALLY broken. I knew that it still hurt, that it was still swollen, that it was still bruised, but I didn't know the extent of the damage. You see, I broke off part of the bone right below the knuckle on the palm side of my finger. The piece is still attached closer to the base of my finger, but the rest is not going to reattach. And according to the doctor we cannot put a pin in it because the piece is too small and the bone would shatter and I guess removing the piece is also not an option. Instead it's going to be a LONG recovery that starting in two weeks will require hand rehab. Right now I can't bend my finger at all. It's going to take aggressive rehab to be able to use my finger again. What's worse, is that I go back to gymnastics in a week and right now I cannot do anything physical using my finger. It's all really frustrating. I wish they could just do the surgery and we could move on. For now, we're still heavily taped and still in pain.

Thursday Thoughts

At each table setting at the wedding last weekend, there were conversational cards called Table Topics. The questions were intriguing and made for perfect Thursday Thoughts. I took Dave and mine and I hope to pick up the box to have all the questions.

Which is more important: intelligence or common sense?

Big and Bold

A few years ago I put pen to paper and came up with my life list. The first item on that list--finish an Ironman. I watch it on TV every year and every year I say I'm going to do it but fear has kept me from signing up. I've completed two half Ironmans, have spectated two Ironmans, watched Dave go through all the training and successfully finish the race, and have seen many friends do it. Yet, I couldn't.

We have a bridal show this weekend and a big bridal show in a few months and our 2010 schedule is going to fill up quickly for the photo booth. I needed to put a racing schedule together this week for 2010. And it had to include an Ironman.

Dave and I met for lunch today and put together a pro and con list between Ironmans Arizona and Louisville. It came down to this--Arizona has the easier course and potentially better weather, but Louisville is only four hours from home which means my family and friends can come cheer me on. My aunt lives in Louisville so I'd have free lodging, I wouldn't have to buy airline tickets, and I wouldn't have to pay to transport my bike. My biggest expense would be the registration. Plus, one of my biggest fears of the race is the mass start and Louisville doesn't have a mass start. After talking to Coach the decision was made.

While shaking, feeling nauseous, and weeping like a little girl, I hit the submit button. Just like that I was registered for Ironman Louisville.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Last night my parents hosted a family meal. While at dessert my oldest niece, who is turning 8 this month, asked me when Uncle Dave and I were going to have kids. Immediately I turned to my family and asked them who prompted her to say that. After everyone skirted the issue I did not answer the question.

What I didn't know was earlier Dave was confronted with a very similar scenario. Dave was out playing with the kiddos when the oldest niece said to Dave "When are you and Aunt Meredith going to have kids?" Dave answered more politely than me just claiming he didn't know. Our oldest nephew, age 6, said "so when you guys want to have kids Meredith will be pregnant?" Dave said yes and then the niece said "I know why Meredith isn't getting pregnant." Dave was a little concerned by this comment. He was worried he was getting into a birds and bees conversation but instead she said, "it's because you guys run too much."

I'm starting to wonder what my mom and my sister are saying to everyone....

Must See TV

Besides running and triathlon, my favorite sport is actually tennis. I started playing tennis going into high school and that's when my serious love for it began. I watch it pretty much every time it is on TV and have even gone to a few tournaments including the Western and Southern Tournament in Cincinnati in 2007 and the US Open in 2005. This week, with the US Open going on, my TV has been on non-stop. And I have to tell you, it's been super-exciting. In general, I have been bored by tennis the last several years as I can't stand Roger Federer and think the Williams sisters are obnoxious. But this week with the emergence of Melanie Oudin has certainly brought a new level of excitement to tennis.

What you've never heard of Oudin? Neither has anyone else!

Melanie Oudin is a 17 year old from Marietta, Georgia who burst on the scene at Wimbledon by beating Jelena Jankovic, a recent former number 1. At the US Open, Oudin came in as the highest ranked American woman behind the Williams sisters at number 70. After this tournament she'll at least be in the top 50. She has beat 4 Russians to get into the women's quarterfinals including Pavlyuchenkova, Dementieva, Sharapova, and Petrova. The last three being ranked players. Dementieva was #4. The last three matches have gone to three sets as Oudin has lost the first set in each match.

This girl is amazing to watch. She's spirited, she has an amazing work ethic, and her game plan she follows to a "T". She plays again on Wednesday. Tune in if you get a chance.

Weekend Wedding

I am so glad to be home.

For the last five days we have been in Southern California being a part of a friend's wedding. A few months ago my friend got engaged and asked me to be a bridesmaid. Happily, I agreed. Then she told me it would be a destination wedding. First it was in Miami, then Cancun, then in their backyard (this one I was happy about--we live three miles from them), and finally they settled on Laguna Niguel, California. With all of these changes, I was still in.

As the months rolled by, there were a series of parties and get-togethers but because of my photo booth schedule, I was unable to attend any of them. And honestly I was conflicted about all of it. For her this was a second marriage. I wasn't sure what was protocol for a second wedding. If she was having a second baby, for instance, there would be no baby shower. But because I missed all of these events, I did not get to know any of her other friends, especially others in the wedding party.

This was a mistake. After we arrived in Laguna there were several events planned for the wedding party. First we spent a day at the beach together. They drank mixed drinks. I drank water. They wore their TINY bikinis, I wore my two-piece TYR. After the day at the beach, they all went to the bachelor/bachelorette parties. I went to bed early to get up to run in the morning (yeah, you read that right, Liz). The next day there was what we dubbed "the opening ceremony." A wine tasting with even more people in attendance. We got to meet some more friends of the family who we really grew to enjoy, yet I didn't spend any time with the other bridesmaids while they continued to become better friends. Finally it was Friday and time for the rehearsal and dinner. Dave and I were the first ones there. As more people continued to file in, we got lost in the shuttle. At one point I saw the bride pick up her phone and begin dialing. I said to Dave, I bet she's calling me. Sure enough she was, and yet I was not even 5 feet from her. I was truly feeling invisible this weekend. And the misery continued. As we walked out to the ceremony site, one of the girls said, "where's Meredith?" I was walking right behind them. They said I looked "different." Thanks for that compliment. At dinner I drank. How much? Too much. We made it home just in time for me to toss my cookies several times. I woke up Saturday dizzy, hungover, and still nauseous.

Finally it was Saturday. Time for the wedding. The wedding was at 6:00pm, but my day started at 9:45am. That's when the bridesmaids had to report for duty. And because I was the ugly duckling, I guess they designated me to go first. I had my makeup and hair done. At the end of it I looked like a movie star. Honestly. I was sitting on the couch when I noticed one of the girls staring at me. She looked at me, looked at the magazine, looked at me and said, "you look just like Zooey Deschanel" while showing me the cotton ad. Yep, that's what I was going for. For hours I sat with my hair and makeup done in silence. When I tried to join conversations, conversations would change. When I walked into a room, the other girls would disburse. I just wanted to go home. The wedding took all of 5 minutes. No lie. The reception was a huge dance party, something I do not partake in, but I didn't know how long my role of bridesmaid needed to continue. Finally at midnight I was tired and was ready to go home. I said my goodbyes and was happy to know I could go back to being myself.

There were good parts of this trip, though. I did all of my training while I was there, including a 15.35 mile run with jeff which may have been the easiest 15 miles I've run in a long time. Dave and I also had lunch with Marit and Nathaniel and really enjoyed hanging out with them. We met my aunt and uncle for coffee and breakfast, along with meeting some of their friends. My aunt and uncle are so cool and so were there friends. Definitely a highlight of my trip. Dave even got to go to the beach with them, while I was playing bridesmaid, and work on his body surfing.

And now a few pictures. Seriously, you will never see me looking this good again.





Guess which legs are mine?

The blog will be updatedtomorrow with a full rundown of the weekend wedding. Good night interweb.

Foto Friday

Thursday Thoughts

We're in SoCal right now and we're part of a weekend-long wedding event. Tonight is what we're dubbing the "opening ceremony," which involved a wine tasting and get-together to meet all the parties involved. The wine, cheese, and goodies were excellent.

Today's question, what is your favorite kind of wine?

Expedihuh?

Guess what? My finger is still broken, and so Dave has volunteered to take dictation tonight. (Hi everyone! - Dave)

Today was our day of travel: Columbus to Chicago, Chicago to Orange County. The flights were uneventful, but the adventure was about to begin. A week ago, another bridesmaid asked us to share a condo with her and her boyfriend. We contacted Expedia, but were unable to get a refund on our hotel room. Today, we showed up at our hotel to find out we had no reservation! Supposedly, Expedia never transmitted the information to the hotel. Although this wouldn't seem like a big deal, being a holiday weekend, the hotel was sold out on Saturday. We spent an hour on the phone with Expedia and negotiating with the hotel. Finally, the hotel, along with management and Expedia, kept our reservation and even upgraded us.

This is not the first time we've had trouble with online travel sites. We once went to King's Island, only to find out that our reservations were for the next weekend. Another time, we showed up to a hotel and found that our reservations were at the hotel across the street. (That one was our fault) But this one was kind of outrageous. They had already charged our credit card months ago, and never bothered to actually make the reservation. Expedia blamed it on the hotel, but the hotel said that they never received the fax from Expedia. We believed the hotel staff. Because we're here for a wedding and have many friends and family we could have crashed with, we kept our cool.

And grande margaritas didn't hurt either.

Yeah, I said before that I gave up drinking until my race, but I'm on vacation dammit. :)

Leaving, Again

2009 seems to be the year of travel. We've been to Chicago, North Carolina, Boston, Alabama, Yellowstone, Idaho, and tomorrow we leave for the OC. This is the closest to a "vacation" we're going to get this year. We didn't choose this one, though. Yep, we're going to Laguna Beach because I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding this weekend. OMG!

The week will be filled with "festivities". All of which I have to wear a dress for. Gah! (I'm sure pictures will be taken.) But, I'm still making time to do things I want to do. Because of my broken finger I can't play in the ocean or pool like I want to, however, I plan on at least sticking my toes in the ocean. My aunt and uncle live in the area and we're getting together for coffee (or in my case, hot chocolate). And finally, I've got a long run planned with my friend jeff and some of his running friends.

If anyone else wants to hook up out there, drop me a line. Our evenings are filled, but lunches or breakfasts are available.

August 2009 Totals

August was a pretty good month despite still being sick at the beginning of the month and tapering and recovering after my half marathon. September is looking to be a HUGE month!!!

Swim: 10,200 meters (won't be any swimming for a while--stupid finger!!!)
Bike: 54.99 miles (seriously, 0.1 miles?)
Run: 81.1 miles

The week has come to a great close

This week got off to a great start with a solid track workout and a tough swim, but took a turn when I fell and broke my finger. But, surprisingly, even with the accident I still managed to get in all my workouts. Today's workout was a descending two hour run. Dave joined me today on his bike and carried my water and even entertained me but finding a classic rock Pandora station on his iPhone. That's probably my least favorite type of music! After a horrible zone 3 run on Friday this run was 180 degrees the other direction. I hit all my zones and had great paces. The workout was exactly the way it was supposed to be. I ended the week with 29 miles which is a pretty good week for me.

Looking forward to next week...

Thursday Thoughts (on a Saturday)

I went to the local middle school/high school cross country race a few days ago. The Ohio High School Athletic Association has a rule where no athlete, regardless of sport, is allowed to wear any jewelry during competition. This includes earrings, hair pins, etc, and even includes the rubber bracelets like "Live Strong" bracelets. However, runners are allowed to wear watches. When I coached you weren't allowed to use them to pace like putting it on a beeping mode. But, I noticed in the race the other day that several runners were wearing Garmins?

So, is that cheating?

Foto Friday-More pictures of the finger

I tried my best to take pictures of my jacked-up finger. Surprisingly it doesn't look as bad today as we thought it would. Guess the ice yesterday helped keep the bruises away. But, you can kinda see the bruises and you can definitely see the swelling in these pictures.

Trippin'

I chose the wrong week to stop drinking.

This morning I headed out on my run. Not even a mile into it, I rolled my right ankle which caused me to fall on my left side. I did a little damage to my knee. This picture does not do all the cuts, scrapes, and bruises justice.



That wasn't the first part. When I fell I landed on my left hand smooshing my fingers straight back. Immediately I knew something was really wrong. My left ring finger was throbbing and REALLY painful. I took some deep breaths trying to keep myself from getting sick. I tried to jog home, but my fingers were throbbing so badly I couldn't. I got home, called the doctor and made an appointment for later in the day. My ring finger was swelling bigger by the minute and turning lovely shades of black and blue.

The doctor saw my knee first. "Oooh!", he said. "That looks bad." Then I showed him my finger. He sent me directly to X-ray. She didn't have a hard time figuring out what she was supposed to get film of. Then he showed me the pictures. Broken. Crap! I chipped part of the bone off in my knuckle. He put it in an ugly split. That's going to be lovely when I'm a bridesmaid next week. I go back in two weeks for more X-rays. And, there is no swimming for probably a month. At least I can run.



Thank goodness I don't wear my wedding rings when I run or else they would have been cut off today.

A Little Miscellany

A little bit of miscellany today....

• On my bike ride Sunday I forgot to wear my sunglasses. I didn't think this was a big deal. Up until this summer, I never wore sunglasses. However, I have had something in my eye since then and it is REALLY bothering me. No amount of eye drops or sleeping is helping.
• I went to the local middle school/high school cross country race this evening. The girls I used to coach are now seniors so this is kinda the last hurrah for me as far as knowing anyone participating. What was interesting to me is that I never heard any of those athletes breathing hard and it didn't seem like any of them were working very hard either. Is that what I look like when I'm running? I'd like to believe I'm hauling and working hard all the way to the finish.
• With only a few weeks until the marathon I've decided to give up the alcohol until after the race. Why? I don't know. I figure I'm investing a lot financially and hoping to do really well with a possible new PR so why sabotage it by not following through on all aspects of my training? This will be hard as I'm part of a weekend-long wedding next weekend in California and love me a good glass of wine.
• I've had headaches every day for weeks. When are those gonna go away?

Finally, if you are in the New Albany area come to the high school football game on Friday. Not only is it the alumni game, my dad is being inducted into the high school athletic hall of fame for his 20 years of time keeping volunteer service for football, basketball, and track. See you Friday!!

Come out of the closet

I think Dave is pregnant. He seems to be nesting. He came home from Yellowstone on Sunday and hasn't stopped working. That's so un-Dave like. He came home with a plan to redo our bedroom and make it more adult-like. Funny part is, I had thought of ways to improve our bedroom while he was on vacation. Right now it's just a catch-all for all our shit. Being that we have a first floor master, we should probably consider making it nicer. My thoughts are in my head knowing full well it's never going to get done. We have so many projects going on in the house and NONE of them are finished or may ever be finished.

Dave seems to be taking this seriously, though. His plan today, clean out the closet and figure out a way to put his dresser in there. Did I mention he also joined me for ice cream post-work, mowed the lawn, went to the grocery, and helped make dinner? I know! Serious nesting!

Unfortunately, this is what our closet looks like right now. And I'm guessing it's not going to get any better before bedtime, which means this is all the crap I'm going to trip over when I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.





I think it's time for Dave to sign up for another race.

The countdown has begun

It's seven weeks until the marathon and things are starting to ramp up. This week doesn't involve a whole lot of miles, but it does involve a lot of hard work. Today started with drills on the track. I coached track (distance) for six years and although I emphasized doing drills, I really didn't understand their importance until I started being coached. What people don't understand is that doing drills are just as effective as running miles and miles and can totally replace a workout of miles and miles. Coach emphasizes form because without good form you can't continue to get faster. Today I concentrated on form. I was sweating bullets, my heart rate was really high, yet in one hour I only ran a whopping 3.91 miles. However, I am as sore as I would have been had I been doing full out sprints over and over again. Today's workout wiped me out. I stretched, drank a recovery drink, and slept for two hours this afternoon. I was spent. And tomorrow, there will be another hard workout. There is a race on the horizon and it will be good.

Time for a Change?

I like to consider myself a purist when it comes to running. Most days I go out with only my shoes and a watch. Since I became a runner I have been faithful to one watch company, Timex, and have gone through many version including two heart rate monitors of the Timex Ironman series. I haven't been doing as much heart rate training this summer as last, but I noticed a few weeks ago that my heart rate chest strap was acting poorly. I got a new battery for the strap and inserted it on Saturday for a run. Usually it takes a few seconds for the watch to pick up the heart rate. I waited and waited and it never appeared. Crap! So in less than two years of owning this system, I will be sending it back to Timex for the second time.

I will admit, I own a Garmin 405 with a heart rate monitor. I can wear that, but unless I have a speed workout to do, I am not a fan of wearing the Garmin. I get distracted by all the features and knowing how fast or slow I am going.

Is there anything better out there? The reason I went with Timex is that it seemed reliable and it's affordable. I'm hesitant to go with Polar because it's soooo expensive and if I'm going to spend that amount of money I might as well go with all the features of the Garmin.

For now, I will stick with the Timex for whenever I'm just running with no heart rate or pace.

Getting it off my chest

Tonight I got a parking ticket, which really pisses me off because I paid to park tonight. I was parked in a lot where the numbers are painted on the lot and then you slip your money into the little keyhole. The thing was, the numbers were so faint that you couldn't see what your number was so I guess and I guessed wrong. So instead of the $3 I paid, I now owe $15 for guessing wrong. Argh! I'm calling on Monday and give those people a piece of my mind.

This was also capped off by finding out that I was supposed to be out of the building by 10:30, while I was loading my last load at 10:30. Did they not see I was working the entire time to get out of there as fast as I could?

I had a great night tonight at the wedding we did, why did it have to be ruined by these two, out-of-my-control, things?

Foto Friday

I have really enjoyed taking pictures for myself this summer and I've absolutely loving the Through the Viewfinder pictures. I recently got a few printed out and I think they look amazing!



And here's the newest one I took this week.

Thursday Thoughts

Thank you all for your opinions yesterday, but most of you chose wrong. :) Yes the Echos are more comfortable but I just can't part with $130 for a pair of shoes I'm not going to be wearing every day. The Echos looked great on the rack, but on my feet they kinda looked like witch shoes. So, I went with #1 from DSW.



Boy my calves look huge!!!

Now on with Thursday Thoughts. There hasn't been a whole lot of running/triathlon talk on the blog this week. Let's change that. As I alluded to earlier this week I'm taking steps to improve my diet to be able to train strong and not get sick as much. Today I got serious, or at least that's what Coach said, as I drank an Ensure with high protein after my run. And to my surprise it didn't suck.

What do you do, nutritionally, to aid with recovery?

Or for you non-runners/triathletes out there, what do you like to eat before or after a workout?

My Carrie Bradshaw Moment

There are some things going on in my life right now that I can't talk about publicly. They are causing me stress, though, and some days making it really hard to just make it through the day. Yesterday was one of those days. And with Dave being gone and unreachable yesterday was particularly hard. But my friends lifted me up and made nice offers to me and to that I say thank you.

I did do something nice for myself yesterday and that was shoe shop. Now I thought it was kinda funny because isn't that what women do when they get stressed and how funny would it be when I came home with a new pair of running shoes? But I didn't come home with a new pair of running shoes. Instead I came home with two pairs of heels that I just love. I am going to return one pair today and I've already made up my mind which pair I'm taking back.

I thought I'd get your opinion though about which one you like better. A little background...One pair is from DSW; the other pair from Nordstrom. One pair cost $134; the other cost $34. One is more comfortable than the other. Which one do you like better?

Shoegasm #1:

Shoegasm #2

Today is post 800 and I have something glorious to show all the ladies, but alas a friend has invited me over so I may not get to it tonight. Let's celebrate post #800!!!!

While the cat's away, Mer needs something to do

Dave went to Yellowstone with his Dad and brother on Friday and will not be back until this coming Sunday. This is the longest we've ever been apart and to top it all off, he doesn't have cell phone coverage as he is backpacking and camping and whatnot. This summer I've gotten kind of used to being alone during the day but I know some time between 5:00 and 6:00 that garage door is going to open and Dave will be home. Not so this week. And...I don't know what to do with myself!!! I'm on a recovery week so it's not like I have a whole lot of training to do. Yesterday I didn't leave the house until dinner because my sister invited me over. Otherwise I would have spent the whole day without saying a single word out loud. Today I left the house for a swim and to go to the post office. I didn't shower until noon. This could be the longest week of my life.

I need something to do. Any ideas?

Food for Thought

As much as I've struggled with motivation this summer, I still have this inner desire to kick some ass. Not doing as well as I wanted to yesterday in the race has only fueled this fire. I'm guessing Coach is going to love reading that!

By the way, I don't know what the women who were giving out the awards yesterday were thinking. According to the official race results I finished 2nd in my age group. And I'm guessing the women who finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overall were double-dipping because 1st and 2nd were in the 30-34 age group, which would have pushed me to 4th in the age group.

Back to the point at hand...there is one part of my training plans that I've never put any effort into: nutrition. I figured I could eat anything because I was burning the calories. I have maintained or lost weight and that has made me happy. What I have neglected to realize is that not only is food fuel, it's also super-important for recovery and to keep healthy. Here's the problem, I'm really picky about food and only like a handful of things. Those things do not include fruits and vegetables or anything that might be called whey protein. Today, though, I checked out a book from the library and plan on getting the supplemental cook book and really force myself to improve my diet.

I will say, when I went vegetarian for a month two years ago I never felt better, but I couldn't keep up that lifestyle. I will keep you all up to date on how this attempt go. This effort may be harder than any training plan I've ever tackled.

Lifeline of Ohio 1/2 Marathon 2009

I knew there would come a day when I wouldn't reach a new PR while working with Coach. Today was that day.

Being a marathoner, as I'm sure with all endurance sports, is weird. You train for months and months for one event, putting all eggs in one basket. My training for this half marathon was awesome. I put tons of energy and effort into my training, hitting paces I had never had before, and was ready to set a new PR. But three weeks ago I got sick and I'm still coughing a ton even though I feel pretty good. I missed some good training during that time and it was well know, though unspoken, that I wasn't 100% for this race. But due to my wedding schedule, this was really the only half marathon I could run. Plus with a price of $20 it couldn't be beat.

Dave used to never attend my races, but since I got him into triathlon last year he hasn't missed one of my races. I've gotten used to him being there. He's on vacation with his dad and brother right now so when I showed up at the race course this morning I was already feeling a little off. I wondered who was going to hold my racing shoes while I warmed up? Who would take pictures? Who would cheer me on? I wound up warming up in my racing flats and leaving everything else in my car. No pictures, sorry. And I was my own cheerleader by wearing my iPod for the first (and hopefully last) time in a race.

I started out just right in the first mile--7:13--but at the end of that mile I developed a stitch under my ribs that would not go away. It stayed around for 4 miles. I sped up; I slowed down; I changed my breathing patterns; I stretched my hands above my head; and finally I had to walk to finally get it gone. This was the first of many walks during the day.

Mile 2--7:22
Mile 3--7:33
Mile 4--7:48

By the end of mile 4 things were going so poorly that I actually thought about dropping out at the half way point. I thought about what I would say to Coach and Dave and knew that I could just slow down and gut it out. Plus, I missed the turn to get back to the beginning.

Mile 5--7:13
Mile 6--7:50

The race spotlighted organ and tissue donation and had a huge contingent of hundreds of people whose lives had been affected by donation. The race also featured a 5K in addition to the half marathon. Unlike most races that start the shorter race just a few minutes after the longer race, this race started the 5K 45 minutes after the half marathon. Here's the bad part: the half marathon is a two loop course that shares the course with the 5K. So, do the math...I came through the half way point around 45-50 minutes, which means I was right in the mix of all the 5K walkers. I weaved and got myself up to the sidewalk to avoid all the walkers. When the 5Kers got to their first water stop, around 7-1/2 miles for me, I ran smack into the back of some dude. I yelled at him to move. Come on! Finally I reached their turn-around and then I was all alone. There was no one behind me and no one in front of me. This is when things got dark.

Mile 7--7:31
Mile 8--7:51

My head kept yelling GO GO GO but my body just wouldn't move. People would catch me, pass me, and leave me in the dust. I did math in my head thinking I could go 8:00/miles and still make 1:40. I just wanted to be done. At the second turn I tried to count thinking I was in the top 10-15 women. Things got so bad I even walked at the 12 mile mark. Seriously, Meredith, there's one mile left.

Mile 9--7:57
Mile 10--8:25
Mile 11--7:44
Mile 12--8:15

Finally I made it up that last hill and chugged my way past the walkers again and up to the finish holding off the girl behind me.

Mile 13--8:15
Final time (unofficially)--1:41:51

According to my previous races, this is my third best time by one whole second. Up until this past February I would have been ecstatic with this time, but because I had worked so hard and knew I could get a new PR, I have to admit I'm disappointed. I know people would give their right arm for a 1:41 half marathon but I'm just not satisfied. After talking to Coach and realizing what I should have been able to run had I been healthy I was even more disappointed. The facts are the weather sucked (it was in the 70s with like 85% humidity--summer has finally come to the Midwest) and I just wasn't 100%. And those two combined to the perfect storm. Let's be honest I'm a much better runner than I was a year ago. Working with Coach and do all my training by myself has allowed me to focus fully on me and my goals. Had this race happened a few weeks early I would have crushed my PR. And that PR will come. Now it's time to look towards October and the Nike Women's Marathon.

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.