Foto Friday

This is January?

Thursday Thoughts

This weekend is the biggest weekend of the year for my business: the Columbus Bride Show. We probably book nearly half of our year's business on this one bridal show alone. And this year we are going in with the highest number of dates booked already for the year which makes me even more excited. 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for weddings!

I attend over 40 weddings a year and each one is special. After seeing all these weddings I often wonder what I would differently knowing what I do now about weddings and the wedding industry.

So my question is, what would you do differently if you were to get married again (or if you're not married what would your wedding look like)? What would you add that would make your wedding unique? What you not change anything?

Books Read in 2011

I like to read. I'm not a voracious reader, but I like to read. Each year I set a standard to read 12 books (one per month-as the library allows you to check them out for only 4 weeks). With training for ironman again in 2011, I came up a little short of 12 books, but still did much better than last year, finishing the year with 11 books read. And they were...

1. Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer. I knew Kathrine Switzer was important but I had no idea HOW important she was for women's distance running. This book was inspiring.

2. 50/50 by Dean Karnazes. And on the other end of the spectrum is Dean Karnazes. I don't know what it is about him, but he bothers me. Gets under my skin. I think he's arrogant and I found this book to be arrogant.

3. The Lost Symbol by Dan Browne. I love me some Robert Langdon adventures. I wish there was another one to read.

4. Beautiful Boy by David Scheff. I had been eying this book for a long time and I'm so glad I read it. I found it to be insightful and wondered how my parents and Dave have felt dealing with my depression, mood swings, and self violence.

5. Something Borrowed by Rachel Giffin. I want this four weeks of my life back.

6. Tweak by Nic Scheff. This is the son's account of his drug addiction from "Beautiful Boy". I'm not sure how I felt about this one. Some parts I identified with but there were certainly other times where it felt hard to root for him.

7. The Long Run by Matt Long. Wow! WOW!!!

8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This was easily my favorite book I read in 2011. My sister, who is not the reader of the family, devoured the book in just a few days so I knew I had to read it. And I FLOVED it! I then saw the movie and loved it too even though it left a lot of the details out. I was so glad I read the book in conjunction with seeing the movie as I feel like I got the rest of the story. Loved it!!!

9. Bossy Pants by Tina Fey. Ms. Fey, you are so funny.

10. You Are an Ironman by Jacques Steinberg. I read this between my failed attempt at Cedar Point and my non-attempt at Beach2Battleship. I don't know. I think I was just over ironman at this point.

11. You Had Me at Woof by Julie Klam. My dog Sloopy has been the best thing that has happened to me in a long time and seeing the cover of this book with it's cute little doggy made me want to read it. Unfortunately, the book was not as good as it's cover art. It was just okay. I expected a lot better.

I've already started my reading adventures for 2012...

12 for 2012

I'm one of those people that loves the new year. It's a chance to start over, to set new goals, to restart. Unfortunately, the last few months have been really rough on me and I can easily say that I'm at the lowest point that I've ever been. I'm really struggling and although I'm in therapy and working through it, no day is easy. As the calendar changed this weekend, nothing really changed for me. I'm facing a year of uncertainty with nothing really to look forward to. That being said, I wanted to establish 12 goals for myself that, although they're not the goals that I've gone after in the past, they're unique and something to focus on.

Here's what I came up with (in no particular order):

1. Three hanging pull ups
2. 100 pushups (girl style)
3. Stay on the balance board on a smooth surface for more than 5 minutes
4. At least 3 squats at 135 pounds (Dave said this goal is soft)
5. Be able to bench press 100 pounds at least once
6. Be able to touch my nose to my legs in a pike position
7. 3 hanging V-ups
8. Run streak for one month
9. Do 12 races
10. Do at least one item on the Life List or contribute to items on the Life List
11. Read 12 books
12. Set a PR

December and 2011 Totals

I decided I don't really want to do an end-of-year wrap up. Sure there was major disappointment in 2011 but I don't want to dwell in it. Despite not finishing ironman again, I had successes this year including a new PR in the half ironman distance and winning my first triathlon. 2012 is a new chapter and it will be different and most importantly, FUN. I have done the hard-core racing thing. I have won races, set PRs and ran my dream races. 2012 I'm going to let my legs guide me through adventures at whatever speed they want to travel. I'm excited to be entering a new era without a map to follow.

December totals:

Run - 60.6 miles
Other - 1 hour (yoga)

2011 totals:

Swim - 193,625 meters

Bike - 2921.68 miles

Run - 935.25 miles

Other - 14.5 hours

River Run 5K

Let me preface this race report by saying the 5K is not really my race. I tend to get faster the longer the distance. There's not a huge difference in my paces between the 5K and the marathon. On top of all that, I have been sicksicksick this week with a terrible cold and as late as yesterday I was not sure I was even going to do this race. Nonetheless, I woke up feeling well enough to give it a try and knew it would be far from my best performance.

No, I'm too sick to run!!

And it was.

Perking up

This was a small race, about 400 people, so I started just a few rows back. I took off at a pace I thought would be okay and hit the one mile mark at 7:45. Yeesh!!! Where has my speed gone??? But I was hacking and coughing and snorting with each step. I was okay with how slow the pace was going. I hit the two mike mark at 8:07. Oh my stars!!! I am so far out of race shape it's not even funny. Finally I was in the last mile and I was just getting by. I finished the race in 25:02 (watch time) which is about 4 minutes slower than my PR.





Here's the cool parts of the race.

Because it was so small, I walked away with third in my age group, which I think nets me a gift certificate to the local running store. I'll be checking into that tomorrow. And they also had a contest with the race director of the Columbus Marathon, Darris Blackford, where he started as the very lasts person and whomever he passed would be entered into a drawing after the race for one of 20 free race entries. He passed all but 15 people and blew by me in the first mile. I haven't heard anything but fingers are crossed.

My Letter to Columbus Racing Companies

Dear Columbus Race Companies,

This weekend I have signed up to run Run CBus's River Run 5K. Originally I had wanted to run the First on the First 5K, but the price was $35 ($40 by the time I decided to sign up), which goes against my rules of paying more than $10 per mile. The River Run was $25 which is still outrageous but at least doable. Both these races had good swag. The River Run has a long sleeve tech shirt, which they did not have available when I picked up my packet, a finisher's mug, chip timing, and refreshments at the finish. The First on the First run had a long sleeve tech shirt, chip timing, medals for all finishers, and a meal at the finish.

Here's my complaint...I don't need all that swag. And I think a lot of "regular" runners would agree with me. I would love to go back to having cotton shirts or an option for no shirts at all. I can't even close my drawers because of all the shirts and most of them don't fit anyway. And, why do I need chip timing for a 5K? If I want to bust out a PR, shouldn't I line up closer to the front? A mug or a medal for all finishers? It's a 5K not a marathon.

I want the race companies to go back to the basics. I want my 5Ks to cost no more than $15. And really, I only want to pay $10. I hope you will take my suggestions into consideration.

Sincerely,

Meredith

My Midlife Crisis

My therapist says I need to be more real and authentic, especially in my public life. So here it is...

I'm going through a midlife crisis.

There's a lot to plays into this but this post is going to focus on the external: I am super self-conscious and generally loathe my appearance. Recently I went back to work. And once again I'm working in retail at a highly stylish company filled with young, attractive people. Although I am really enjoying my work and love the people I'm working with, being in my mid-30s there makes me feel like a dinosaur and I think I'm trying to overcompensate.

I mentioned on a Facebook post a few days ago that I was interested in going blonde and piercing my nose. My aunt said I was going through a midlife crisis. Another really good friend of mine said I needed to stop working with the youngin's. What I really need to do is be comfortable with myself. Instead I did this:



Yep, I went blonde. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's shockingly blonde and not natural looking whatsoever. I kinda hate it. People are gonna stare and it's made me feel even more self conscious.

But I now have a plan for my 2012 resolution...

**Update**
The next day my hair was still hideous and I was still hating the color. I immediately called the salon, made an appointment for a re-do, and got my hair colored back to it's "natural" color. Of course, it's not all that natural looking now. It's a little bit warmer than my natural color with a touch of red to it, but it's WAY better than the "blonde".

Week in Review

After my sub-par week of running last week, I decided to get back on the running band wagon this week. And I kicked it off by officially changing my marathon status to half marathon for Houston. Relief!

Monday - 3 easy miles with Dave. He's getting over a cold and he just wanted to get through the run without feeling awful.

Tuesday - Yoga. Yes you read that right. I actually really liked this class. It wasn't really traditional yoga in the sense where your arms shake and you hold poses forever. It was more like an hour of stretching and I felt really relaxed afterward. Good thing, because I had to spend the rest of the evening with my entire family. :)

Wednesday - 5 miles with the 3 middle miles at a sub 8:30 pace.

Thursday - off

Friday - off

Saturday - Easy 5 miles with Dave. No watch, no heart rate monitor.

Sunday - 11 miles at an 8:45 pace.

The plan for Sunday was actually 15 miles working our way down to an 8:30 pace. The day started rough. I have a hard time on Sundays because I ALWAYS wake up with a headache (I can't oversleep or else it gives me headaches), so I just wasn't feeling well from the start. Then I had to wait over an hour for Dave to wake up. In addition, he didn't have his Garmin or iPod charged and plugged them in before we were to leave. I threw my Garmin at him, told him I'd figure out the distance, and just left. The first mile I did by myself, then I waited for him to catch up. Then he pushed the pace to wear I wasn't comfortable and it was all downhill from there. Here's the problem:

I have monsters in my belly.

Okay, maybe not monsters, but I have an ulcer. I don't think I've talked about this yet on the blog. Five years ago I started developing some pain in my lower chest. I was tested out the yin yang for everything. I had an asthma test, I had an EKG, I had a CT scan, and finally they concluded nothing. The pain persisted but was manageable. Last year as I was training for IM Louisville the pains came back and became a constant burn. I saw the doctor again and he said it was an ulcer. He prescribed me prescription-strength Prevacid which worked really well. As the training ramped up for my ironman this year, my stomach started to bother me again. I went back to using Prevacid and was also using Zantac around my meals and it wasn't doing anything. Between my botched Beach2Battleship non-attempt and up until about 2 weeks ago, I was in agony. I was sick every night. I didn't want to eat dinner because I knew I'd be sick. I went to the doctor again and this time I was prescribed Nexium and also was referred to a sports psychologist.

Where the heck is this story leading?

Because of the hole in my stomach, the foods I love to eat are now no-nos. But, I'm having a hard time giving them up. One of my favorites is my homemade spaghetti sauce. Not only is it spicy, but tomatoes are really bad for ulcers since they're acidic. Of course, we had spaghetti for dinner on Saturday night. Not only did I have a headache when I woke up Sunday morning, but my stomach was on fire. And I'm discovering that the quicker I run, the more my stomach bothers me. It's been so frustrating as my body is telling me I can run those 8 min/miles that I want to be running, but my stomach is only letting me run 9:00s. ARGH!

Hopefully with the therapy and the Nexium, I will get back to being the person I want/need to be. For now, I'm dealing.

2012 Schedule

I know I said I would not set a race schedule for 2012. And although this might look like a schedule, it's really not. I am currently, not working with a coach, I'm making no "A" races, and I'm just gonna go with the flow. I will not wrap my life around training and racing this year. So here's what I'm thinking about for 2012:

January :

1/1 - First on the First 5k

1/15 - Houston half marathon

February:

2/12 - Columbus Winter Run 15 miler

2/26 - Last Chance for Boston marathon relay (with Dave)

March: ?

April: ?

May:

5/5 - Capital City Half Marathon

5/28 - Dave and Meredith's running adventure

June:

6/2 - Greenswell Aquathlon (1 mile swim/5k run)

6/16-17 - Relay Around Columbus

July:

TBD - Lakeside to Kelly's Island Swim (2 mile and 4 mile swims)

7/14 - Greenswell Aquathlon (1 miles swim/5k run)

7/28 - Aquathlon National Championship

August: ?

September: ?

October:

10/21 - Des Moines half or full marathon

November: ?

December: ?

Miscellany for Thursday

Gosh, there's just not much to talk about in the winter months. So, here's a few somethings that have been on the brain.

• I switched to the half marathon in Houston. Yes I've been doing the long runs in the marathon training and I enjoy the distance training, but my heart wasn't in the marathon. Frankly, it's not much in the half marathon either but I think the half will suit me much better right now. I think I am going to continue to keep the super-longs run though just so I can have someone to run with.
  
• I am excited to see that Greenswell has added two aquathlons to the schedule next year. I'm in!
• I have only asked for $$$$ for Christmas this year. I started a new job in September that has required me to completely redo my entire wardrobe. I get a fat discount and I've been using it, but I'm still looking to get a few more outfits.
• I am looking for the perfect red lipstick. Here's what I'm looking for: prefer it to be long-wearing, cannot fade to pink, must be a blue-base (ladies, you know what I'm talking about), prefer it to be shiny or a gloss to a matte lipcolor. Any suggestions?
• I'm also looking for the perfect daytime lip color. Nothing in the pink family, but something with just enough color that it looks like you're wearing a little something. Suggestions?
• Feeling great about myself, huh? (sacrasm, see previous two bullet points)
• Are you digging the new look of Facebook Timeline? I think it looks a lot like MySpace, which I'm way too old for, but otherwise I think it's pretty rad.
• Dave and I are planning an epic weekend trip this spring. It's going to be amazeballs!

What else? What's on your mind? What am I missing?

Weekly Update

I only ran two days this week for a total of 9.6 miles. Dave was sick and I didn't have anyone to run with. Mostly, I just wasn't feeling it.

Right now I kind of feel like a speck of dust just floating in space. I'm unmotivated, I'm unhappy, and I'm lost. For 11 years I've out together my goals and set out a plan and now I've got nothing. I don't know what to do with myself. I so badly want to pick out some races and look toward 2012 but I can't and I shouldn't.

Like everyone else yesterday, I watched the NBC broadcast of the Ironman world championships. For the first time in a long time it did nothing for me. I didn't cry. I wasn't motivated. In fact, I was a little bit bored by it and if anything, angered by it. I'm so sick of watching it and everyone else around me and making it look so easy. I'm so effing sick of the ironman! And yet this morning I said in my head, "give it one more year. Give it another try".

I'm not going to. I'm not ready. If I tried again now it would be for all the wrong reasons and would probably end with the same results because I'd be doing it for all the wrong reasons. But I need a plan of some kind, even if it's small. Right now I'm just a speck of dust floating in space.

Year of Awesome #4 - Save a Horse, Ride a Bull?

This Year of Awesome moment (and yes, it's just a moment) happened on accident. We were working the photo booth for one of our favorite charities, A Kid Again, this past Saturday. Their holiday party broke down into age groups and we were stationed in the Teen Room. In the teen room were us, an obstacle course, Wiis and Xbox Kinnects, arts and crafts, and a mechanical bull.

Confession: As I've gotten older things have become more difficult, I've developed some fears, and things aren't as much fun as they used to be. For example, those who know me well, know that I'm scared to death of roller coasters. This hasn't always been the case. I used to love roller coasters, especially wooden ones. Now not only do they scare me, they hurt me and make me sick.

Like I said, there was a mechanical bull stationed right next to us at this Christmas party. Dave was really pushing me to do it, but I worried about falling or being sick or making a fool out of myself. But I promised myself that the Year of Awesome was all about getting out of my normal rut and trying new things.

So here it is, evidence I tried this. Needless to say, I will not be making an appearance at the rodeo any time soon.

And oh, how much I love Justin Beieber (sarcasm implied).

November Totals

Ahhhh, back to running and nothing else. And November was a great month because for some crazy, global warming reason, I was able to do most of my runs, especially my long runs, in shorts and t-shirts. Love! And I'm following a three-day-a-week plan which means my world no longer revolves around training. (Of course, I've gained three pounds this month so maybe I ought to pay a little more attention.) It also means there are no easy runs either. For the first week of November I did nothing. Not a thing. The second and most of the third week I was training for the half marathon. The rest of the month was spent training for the marathon, although I still haven't made a decision. What? I have until January 6th! :)

Running - 82.02 miles

Weight Lifting - 1.5 hours (one hour of weight lifting, one hour of core work)

I'm going to be close to hitting 1000 miles of running for 2011. We'll see what December brings...

Year of Awesome #3

So, the Year of Awesome is kind of a cop-out as it's something we do frequently, but only when it's not wedding season, which is only like 3 months a year. Last week we went to the movies and saw The Muppets. And we went to a matinee which means we were the only people at the movie without kids in tow.

Dave and I are big Muppet fans. We grew up on the Muppets. My days were spent with Sesame Street, The Muppets, and Fraggle Rock. I loved Jim Henson. I had a picture of him on my walls. I cried when he died. So when we found out there was a new Muppet movie coming out we squeeled with delight.

It didn't disappoint either. If you got kids or even if you don't, you have got to go see The Muppets. Awesome!

What should be our next "Year of Awesome" activity?

Houston Long Run #1

Since I can't make a decision between the full and half marathons in Houston, I've continued to train for the marathon merely for the face I want someone to run with and Dave's training for the full.

This weekend marked our first of three 20 milers. (I actually think there was a fourth but that was before I started training.) Our plan called for race pace plus thirty seconds which would have had us somewhere in the 8:48-8:55 range. But, Dave just wanted to get through it so I set my watch to pace us between a 9:00 and 9:15. I told him I was going to start slow and work my way into that pace. A scant two miles into the run I was already feeling bad and wanting to turn around. Dave did too, yet we knew that the weather was going to be bad later in the weekend so we really needed to continue with this run. Silently, we continued on. Eight miles into the run we were still pacing over a 9:30. I was comfortable and Dave was silent. When I trained with Andrea, we used to talk and talk and talk for an entire 20 mile run. I'm learning with Dave, he likes to do his own thing and not talk. Thank goodness I've become accustomed to wearing my iPod or else it would be a lonely run even with him there.

About nine miles into the run I went through my usual low point. Most people encounter these walls late in their runs or bikes. I always find them to be earlier, like 10 miles of a run or 40 miles of a bike. By mile 12, though, I was in the zone. Dave was continuing to be silent but I could tell he was suffering. Our pace hadn't moved much. We were now averaging under a 9:30. The per mile pace was picking up but we were not where we had hoped. With six miles to go we took a pit stop and I wasn't sure Dave was going to start again. He wasn't having fun. I made sure he was right with me. I was feeling fine and I knew I could pull him through this run.

Finally we made it back to our neighborhood with just under 3 miles to go. There would be running around through the neighborhood. Not something I particularly like to do, but I knew the 20 miles was within reach and I was willing to do it. I was picking up pace (Dave told me I was turning 8:20s) and I made sure Dave was right on my hip. If it's his goal to run this time, I'm gonna make sure he can achieve it. Suddenly he was cramping and we had to stop with just two miles to go. No, we are not going to stop! He stretched it out and we were off again. The longest and quietest two miles ever. I could hear him moaning and it was rough. Finally we hit the 20 mile mark in 3:06:xx for an overall pace of 9:19.

Sure we were short of our pace goal, but the first twenty miler is all about getting it done. We have two more to hit our pace goals and next time we're going to do it differently. Twenty miles at one pace is hard to digest. But twenty miles broken into 6-8 mile segments at increasing pace is easier to wrap my head around. Plus, it's the way I like to run. I still haven't made a decision about the race. A lot of it depends on my stomach (I've been battling an ulcer now for quite a while and the last four weeks I've been sicksicksick) and my shin which is bothering me. The journey continues...

Flying Feather 4 Miler 2011

Physically, I'm coming along just fine. I'm getting my speed back. I'm enjoying running. Mentally, ironman has effed me up badly. Honestly, I'm scared to race. Not even race, just participate in a race. I am so scared of what might happen that I don't even want to try. Even this silly four mile race I was scared to do. I woke up this morning feeling ill and tried to talk my way out of it. Didn't work.

Dave and I were lined up next to the 32:00 pace group. Yes, this race had pace groups. Good grief. I didn't think I wanted to run this fast but I knew if you didn't line up a little faster, you were going to have to work your way through the crowds. Dad was lined up behind us around the 36:00 pace group. We started out and I started conservatively. I am not a big fan of shorter races (anything shorter than 10 miles) because it doesn't give me enough time to work into my pace. I'm a 'start-slow-finish-fast' kind of runner. Quickly I was being passed left and right. And soon by the 34:00 pace group. Wow! Really? I'm sucking this badly. That's when my stomach dropped, I felt terrible, and just wanted to quit. I'm so tired of this. But looking ahead I saw the 32:00 and 34:00 pace group were right next to each other so something wasn't right. I didn't see the 1 mile mark and therefore, didn't look at my watch so I had no idea how fast or how slow I was going.

As timed moved on, however, I started to get more comfortable and the pace was picking up. I arrived at the two mile mark, checked my watch and I was at 16:40ish. I was still behind the 34:00 pace group so something wasn't right. Obviously, they were pacing too quickly. I continued to gain speed and by the three mile mark I was right with the 34:00 pace group and my watch said 24:40ish - still ahead of a 34:00. I was still feeling great, the breathing was controlled, so I decided to pick up speed again. I got ahead of the 34:00 group and was gaining on the 32:00 pace group although I never caught them. Finally it was over in 32:12. So again, the 32:00 group was pacing fast too.

You know, an 8:03 pace is not where I want to be, but having had the mental struggles and the lack of speed training, I've had, I'll take the 8:03. This race was a victory of me. I'm proud of myself for overcoming my fear and racing the way I like to race. I really do not like the shorter races, but maybe doing more of them will help with my confidence and speed. Onward and upward...

Yes I am wearing capris (or as I like to call them, knickers). Leave me alone!!! :)

Update: My official time was 32:11 and wouldn't you know my dad finished one spot behind me at 32:12. Sandbagger! (Him, not me.)

Weekly Update

You know, I obviously knew I had a good base going into running training, but I had no idea that things would come back as quickly as they would. While I was flying through a run this week I thought, maybe I'll just stick with the marathon instead of switching to the half. Let's back up...

Monday we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday so there was no working out.

Tuesday we had basketball tickets. Again, no working out.

Wednesday was track day. This week's workout was:
1 mile at 7:02
2 miles at 7:35 pace
2 X 800 at 3:23
warm-up/cool-down/rest intervals

Difficult to follow as (a) it was dark outside and (b) I was wearing gloves.

I hit the first mile spot-on: 7:00. The next two miles were 7:24, 7:26. Then I did the 800s. I did the first one in 3:26 and was NOT very happy I did not my interval. So I blasted the second one to a 3:19. Overall, the run was 7 miles.

Thursday we went to the gym and did "Core" class. This was one of the hardest classes I've ever attended. It was a half hour of abs and nothing else.

Friday I was too sore to do anything. I couldn't cough, couldn't laugh. My abs were killing me.

Saturday I ran with the training group. I did a quick 7 miles: 58:45, 8:24 pace.

After the run on Saturday I was feeling pretty confident with the way things were going so I thought, maybe I would give the full marathon a try. I know I said I wouldn't train for another race for at least a year, but following the "Run Less, Run Faster" program is a lot less of a commitment than Ironman training. Plus, Dave's training for the marathon and because he's gotten faster we can now run together. For the first time in three years I would have a training partner.

Sunday: the full marathon program called for 18 miles at an 8:48. Sure, I hadn't done anything of that length since August, but hey, why not? So we set out and within a few miles were right on pace. That fun was short lived as I was struggling around mile 8 and threw myself a little pity party. This pity party continued for the next two miles. But then I got into the groove and was feeling great. As the miles ticked off, Dave kept saying, we're running too fast, but he never asked me to slow down either. Finally we reached an intersection where I needed to decide if I was going to try to finish the 18 miles or split off from Dave, run to my parents' house, and do about 15 miles. I knew I could finish the 18 miles, but I also hadn't run that far in several months. I didn't want to risk injury this early in the training. I also knew that running 15 miles set me up for the marathon or the half marathon, whichever I decide to do at Houston. So, I turned from Dave and finished the 15 miles at an overall pace of 8:43. Woop!

Will I run the marathon? I don't know. I have until January 6th to decide (and pay a fee). Here's what I know:

• Can I run a PR marathon? No.
• Can I qualify for Boston? Probably not. Plus, I'm totally screwed by the age group as I will be 34 for two years. In 2012 Boston is on my 34th birthday and in 2013 it is before my birthday, hence I will be 34 for two years of the race.
• Can I run a good marathon and be happy with my performance? You know, I'm not sure I can answer that. Honestly, I always want to do my best. But will I be happy just doing the half marathon? I don't know the answer to that either. For now, I think I'm going to switch over to the marathon training program and see how it goes.

The Year of Awesome #2

Number two for the 'Year of Awesome' was attend a sporting event. I'm sure this will happen more than once as Dave and I are sports fanatics. Last night was a great event as we had tickets to the Ohio State-Florida men's basketball game. We have been attending the OSU women's games for years as my aunt and uncle have season tickets and they give them to us, but this was the first time in a quite a while that I attended a men's basketball game. OSU is currently ranked #3 and this was one of our big games of the year. And it didn't disappoint. Even though we had nose bleed seats, we still had a great view and it was a great game. Go Bucks!

The Year of Awesome

Having spent two years training for Ironman and 8 years before that training for marathons, I'm pretty burnt out. I promised myself and the husband that I would not "train" for the next year. I would not create a race schedule. I would do races for fun, run with people, and just relax. Now that I have a lot more time, Dave and I decided to call this our "Year of Awesome!" The plan: do something each week that gets us out of the house, is unique, could scare us, and generally is awesome.

We kicked off our Year of Awesome with our personal hero of awesome, Bert Kreisher. Who? One of our favorite shows is on the Travel Channel, Bert the Conquerer. In it, Bert travels around the country competing and completing unique tasks like jumping off a building in Vegas, bungee jumping at a mall in Canada, competing in the wife carrying contest, etc.


Two weeks ago I was walking through the mall and saw Bert's name was on the marquee for the local comedy club. I didn't even hesitate; I bought tickets on the spot. The show was raunchyraunchyraunchy but soooo funny. And now the year of awesome ball has started to roll...

We've started to create a list of things to do. Some things include:

1. Go to the comedy club. Check!
2. Go bowling.
3. See a play.
4. Go to a shooting range.
5. See a movie.
6. Go snowtubing.
Etc....

What would be on your list of awesome? What should we add to our list?