Meredith-ology

Opening Statement:
If you read Jamoosh's blog, you've already seen his completed survey. He suggested everyone answer the same questions and post it to our respective blogs. I've outgrown the days of doing email surveys...and definitely would never fill one of these out on Facebook, but I do think it's nice to learn more about a "running blogger" besides the obvious:
1. They run.
2. They blog.

So, here's some info on me.

FOODOLOGY

What is your salad dressing of choice?

Let me put it this way: Panera Greek Salad Dressing and Newman's Own Oil and Vinegar are good enough that I've put them on more than just salad. I like vinaigrettes and ranch a lot, but am not picky. I TRY to use low-fat dressings rather than cancel out my healthy food choice to eat a salad. IMO, a 22g of fat burger trumps 22g of fat ranch dressing.

What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Speaking of burgers, IN-N-OUT!!!! Though, we don't have that on the east coast :(
If we're defining fast food as restaurants with a drive through I stick to: McDonald's, Wendy's, and Taco Bell. The only time I ever crave Chick-fil-a is on Sundays. FAIL.

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Probably Uncle Julio's. (That link is worth clicking on.) And, I make a point to try new sushi restaurants. That's not a specific place, but I'd say I go out to eat for sushi more often than any other type of cuisine.

On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
20%

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Chocolate. I pretty much have a piece of chocolate every day.

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
I like any topping but anchovies. Mushrooms are absolutely fine if combined with another topping, but I would not order a plain mushroom pizza.

What do you like to put on your toast?
Jelly.
Or Peanut Butter.
Or if I'm feeling kid-like, butter and cinnamon sugar.
And let's not forget dipping plain toast into eggs over easy. Yum.

What is your favorite type of gum?
Orbit!

TECHNOLOGY

Number of contacts in your cell phone?
I lost all of my contacts a week ago when my phone died. I had hundreds . Right now I have 47. I still need to add my sister and future roommates back...

Number of contacts in your email address book?
I don't use this feature. Gmail [aka. the greatest thing EVER] remembers contacts when I start typing the first letter of a name/email.

What is your wallpaper on your computer?
I'm currently using my laptop from Freshman year of college...um...Rhododendron. It's a Windows wallpaper (red flowers).

How many televisions are in your house?
Not sure, I'm about to move...to a house with an in-home movie theatre :)

BIOLOGY
Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right

What’s your best feature?
I get the most compliments on my hair.

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
My wisdom teeth.

Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
Sight. 20/20 Vision. (Knock on wood).

When was the last time you had a cavity?
A few years ago.

What is the heaviest item you lifted last?
Cases of drinks at work.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
By anesthesia.

BULL[CRAP]OLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No.

Is love for real?
Yes.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I don't think I would change my name. I'm quite happy with it.

What color do you think looks best on you?
Blue. It brings out my eyes ;)

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
How do you do this by mistake?

Have you ever saved someone’s life?
Yes, I performed rescues the summer I lifeguarded in a water park.

Has someone ever saved yours?
My dad caught me when I started to roll down a mountain overlook as a young child. I have no recollection of this; guess I got the running gene from him.

DAREOLOGY
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
"We're going streaking!"

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
Hell no.

Would you never blog again for $50,000?
Where can I pick up this check?! Plus it doesn't say anything about reading blogs!

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
No, though I witnessed a guy do it at a party in California for (maybe) $20. Not sure he collected it all.
Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
I'm going to agree with Jamoosh, "I don’t think this is actually possible. There are too many TVs in public places."

CURRENTOLOGY
Missing someone?
Yep. [Sigh.] Too many of my friends/family members don't live in NOVA.

Mood?
Relaxed. (I'm blogging.)

Listening to?
Let's see what I get on iTunes party shuffle... DMB Up and Away.

Watching?
I'll probably catch up on The Bachelorette after this.

Worrying about?
Well, I wasn't worrying about anything until I read this question.

RANDOMOLOGY

First place you went this morning?
Harris Teeter.

What can you not wait to do?
I'm very excited for the Fourth of July. I have friends coming into town, am going to a Nats game, and throwing a pool party/cookout :)

What’s the last movie you saw?
Toy Story 3. IT'S SO GOOD!

Do you smile often?
A lot!

Are you a friendly person?
Yes!

Now that the survey's done what are you going to do?
Veg/Pack

Listening to: Next song that came up on Party Shuffle, Minority--Green Day

Closing Argument: Let others know a little more about yourself, repost this as your name followed by “ology” (with your own answers of course)…or not.

Tre-aaad-mill LOVE

[Sing to the tune of California Love.]

2Pac. So great. I'm adding California Love and Life Goes On to my running iTunes tab pronto. California Love is good for anytime... I've warmed up to Life Goes On more times than I can count. Such truth.

Yesterday, after a week of outside runs I went for a 7 mile run on the treadmill. I know a lot of people hate it, but I LOVE the treadmill. I like that I can watch the World Cup while working out. It's so much easier running on a flat surface in air conditioning. All the stats I could ever want are flashing in front of me during my workout. I'll even admit that I'm entertained by the cursor moving around the "track." (This isn't the exact treadmill I use, but close enough.)

Long runs outside get pretty boring for me without a running partner. Even with my iPod after 3 miles I just feel really alone. I think it helps me tremendously to be surrounded by people working out in the gym. Usually at least one person I know will ask me how my run went. It's a lot harder to throw the towel in early if you know that's going to happen.

The 7 miles on the treadmill were a lot easier than 3 outside in the heat. I ran 7 miles in 1:07:05 at an average pace of 9:35 min/mi. (The treadmill cuts off at an hour. Adding my two times up I got 1:06:50, but I think I lost about 15 seconds taking a drink of Powerade after an hour.) The 10k split was 59:39. That's the first time I've completed a 10k under an hour. It's definitely cool to know I did it, but at the same time I don't feel any different. Aren't you supposed to feel different when you check off a goal? I know for a fact every mile was sub 10 minutes. Maybe I'll feel different once I do this with a chip time. Who knows when that will be.

I have a little over 2 months until the VB Rock n' Roll Half. I think I will continue with the short outside runs and long runs on the treadmill for the next month. Once I'm back up to 10 miles, I'll go on a long run outside at 7 AM and see how that feels. I don't like getting up early to run unless it's for a race, so I'm going to do as little of this as possible. I'm hoping that by running shorter distances in hotter conditions, I'll trick myself into thinking its comfortable outside at 7AM.

One more thing: K'NAAN's Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix) is a FABULOUS song to run to. I downloaded it because I saw it on the Top 100 List on iTunes. Yesterday I think I repeated it about 3 times. I love the drum beats and the "Forever Young" parts!

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT

Summer is hands down without a doubt my favorite season. I don't mind being hot. A good sweat is good for the soul. And there is just so much you can do involving WATER. I've always enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that comes with a run in the heat.

HOWEVER, I've never trained for a long race in the summer, and wow is this pushing me. I'm in dire need of a long run. 7 miles is going to happen very soon on a treadmill, just so I can have the peace of mind that's where I'm at.

In the past week, every run I've done has been outside.
3ish miles Friday
3 miles Sunday
2ish miles Wednesday
and
2 miles Today (Thursday).

Life's been really hectic. My brother graduated from High School. My uncle was visiting from California. Work, work, work plus other random stresses/commitments led to no long run since the six miler post. I'm okay with this. June has been a "run for fun" month for me....which I think I needed to have between recovering from an injury and a true training schedule. This past week I did my best to get out there in the heat and get my body acclimated.
Friiiiiday afternoon... I drove to Richmond for my brother's graduation. I was really hungry when I hit the road and craving something cheesy. I caved at the sight of The Golden Arches for a Double Cheeseburger + Hi-C Orange Drink. Not sure why I was craving a beverage I used to order when I was five. I knew I was planning on running, figured this could be a bad decision, but thought "maybe it's the fries that lead to stomach pains" and didn't order those.

Friday as I set out on a 3 mile loop at my parents house around 6:00 P.M. I learned "NO, it's not the fries." I took a walk break at the top of the big hill at the two mile mark. And another before I made it back to their house. I'm of the belief that something is better than nothing, but I also freaked out that I couldn't complete this 3 mile run without walking and that I gave into a stomach ache due to poor food choices.

Sunday evening I went for the same run at 8:00 P.M. without any problems. I'm HOPING that the temperature of my half marathon on Labor Day will be more comparable to a run at 8:00 P.M. than a run earlier in the day. I told myself to take this run at a comfortable pace with completion being the only goal. I later learned my pace was 10 min/mi. I was thrilled to learn my "taking it easy pace" was right at 10 min/mi.

Yesterday I just didn't feel like running. I think I would have been fine if I had had time to go to the gym to run on a flat treadmill in air conditioning, but I had little-to-no motivation to run around my neighborhood in heat/humidity with hills. I ran about a mile loop then took a Powerade break. Because I knew I probably wouldn't make it more than another mile without stopping, I decided to do a "mile time trial" for kicks/punishment.

I felt like I was going at a good speed. This isn't a flat route. At the half way point my watch said 4:22. When I arrived back at my house and saw that my watch said 8:59 I dropped an F-Bomb. It was just one of those days.
[Even if you hate country you HAVE to watch this video to the 1:00 min mark!]



"Why couldn't I have at least finished in 8:44?!" was my only thought. Today I checked my route on "Map My Run" because I knew it was "about a mile." Turns out the one mile time trial I did was actually 1.14 miles. When I put my time and distance into the pace calculator website I use, I learned my pace was 7:52 min/mi!!!!

My gut reaction:
"Holyyy crap." Followed by: "That can't be right." But after doing some mental math...I think it is. It's only 8 seconds short of 8 minutes. I had absolutely no clue I could run that fast, and I think I'll soon be going to a local track to test my one mile time for realzies.

Today I ran 2 miles at a pace somewhere between 9:30 and 9:45 min/mi. I guess this is about what I've been doing on the treadmill, I'm just shocked I'm able to maintain the same pace outside with hills and HOT HOT HOT conditions such as these:

Sunday, June 20-- High: 93 Low:76
Monday, June 21-- High: 92 Low: 75
Tues, June 22-- High: 96 Low: 73
Wed, June 23-- High: 96 Low: 74
Thurs, June 24-- High:100 Low: 79


This is pretty awesome. I want one.

It's a Summer Thing!

A couple weeks ago I posted some new running iTunes recommendations. Thing is, a TON more music comes out in the summer than at any other time of the year. I already have a LIST of songs I'd recommend that got left out two weeks ago. I think a lot of these could double as additions to a BBQ playlist.

So "Here's to you, Here's to me May we never disagree Lets raise a glass to days gone by Here's to life Here's to life..."

Enjoy ya'll.

It's a Summer Thing--Troy Olson
Mmm...this isn't a power song, but will be going on my next long run playlist. It's chill which I need at the beginning of my long runs. And the lyrics are pretty awesome. See above quote.

California Gurls-- Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dog
This is going to be one of the biggest songs of the summer, and really THE reason I felt compelled to post a new list of running songs. I hadn't heard it when I wrote my last music post. This is everything I could ever want in a running [and summer] song.

Alejandro-- Lady Gaga
At first I wasn't sure what I thought about this single...but now I love it. I've had a great time dancing to it more than once. I'm not 100% sure what it's about (this tends to be common for me with Lady Gaga songs)...I think she had a thing with a Spanish boy and now its over....if she's singing about strangers at a bar I could relate. Just sayin'.

Magic-- B.o.B. ft. Weezer
B.o.B. is SO freakin' good. Everything I hear by him, I seem to LOVE. And yay for something new by Weezer. This is upbeat and fast paced!

My First Kiss-- 3OH!3 ft. Ke$ha
High energy. Slightly offensive. That's typical for 3OH!3 and Ke$ha r1ght?

Somebody to Love-- Justin Bieber ft. Usher
Featuring USHER. Enough said. This actually isn't my favorite JB song, but it always seems to help me push through a run.

Can't Be Tamed-- Miley Cyrus
There will never be another Party in the USA, but it's Miley, so I downloaded it. I heard after her latest album she wants to concentrate on acting. Lame.

Kissin U-- Miranda Cosgrove
Just in case JB and Miley weren't young enough music for you, I'll admit iRun to iCarly. The last time I was riding in the car with one of my best friends she disclosed that she runs to this song. Her friend riding in the back seat said she does too. They are the ones who got me hooked.

If We Ever Meet Again--Timbaland ft. Katy Perry
I had heard this when I wrote my last post, I just forgot to mention it.

Billionaire--Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars
In my opinion money does NOT buy happiness. But I LOVEEEE this song!!! It's hilarious. My favorite parts:
1) "Pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt. Adopt a bunch of babies that ain't never had shit."
2) "Give away a few Mercedes like here lady have this."
3) I’d probably visit where Katrina hit And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did
4) "Whatup Oprah." (Second time he sings "Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen.)

I Made It-- Kevin Rudolph
Again, IMO, money=meh. But this is a pretty good analogy to how you feel with any accomplishment. And hey-- if you cross a finish line--guess what, you made it :)

Ridin Solo-- Jason Derulo
"I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine, I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky" LOVE it. Haven't we all gone on a solo long run? Builds character.

Haven't Met You Yet-- Michael Buble
Despite that I feel like I need jazz hands when I hear this song, it's positive! I still don't really understand how this is a pop song. It's not. It's so not. But it's good.

Now for some others I run to frequently that I've just never mentioned...

Shout-- Wedding Crashers Sound Track
Whenever it shuffles into my running playlist I instantly get a burst of energy. Waiting for the "Shout!" parts is a nice distraction. It's pretty hard not throwing my hands up obnoxiously throughout the run. Sometimes I will at a low level. I just can't help it. Wedding Crashers is one of my favorite movies. One of the greatest compliments I've received is being told I look like Isla Fisher by two separate people!

Yeah!-- Usher ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris
Old School. Oh wait that's another Will Ferrill/Vince Vaughn movie I love ;) This shuffled onto my playlist when I did my first comeback five miler. I decided right then and there that it's fabulous to run to.

Love in this Club-- Usher
This is a classic. How can you not love this song? I may have been to an apartment dance party where every time Usher said "in this club" everyone sang "on this rug." For this reason, this song still CRACKS ME UP a year later.

Kiss a Girl-- Keith Urban
This also shuffled into my playlist on my comeback five miler. Don't think I had ran to it before that night, but I've ran to it since!

Summertime-- New Kids on the Block
This is a summer playlist after all right? "I like this part"= Best part of the whole song. I don't think New Kids had much of a comeback, but at least this song happened.

Summertime-- Kenny Chesney
I swear I really do run to this. I'm not just listing them because they fit the theme. Summer's my favorite season though.

Summer Nights-- Rascal Flatts
One more ;)

Like a Prayer-- Madonna
Not the gLee version. Although that's good too. And what made me realize I needed to add the original to my iTunes.

Do Da Stanky Leg-- Them G Spot Boyz
I have really eclectic taste. For the length of time it plays I'm thinking about the funny times I've had going out with friends and not the amount of pain I may be in on a run.

Chattahoochie-- Alan Jackson
I've witnessed some of my guy friends sing this in Karaeoke. I really only listen to this song in the summer, but thinking about them singing it ALSO distracts me from my run.

Good Girls Go Bad-- Cobra Starship
There It Go (The Whistle Song)-- Juelz Santana
Back that Azz Up-- Juevenille
My Humps-- Black Eyed Peas
Disco Inferno-- 50 Cent
P.I.M.P.-- 50 Cent
Just a Lil Bit-- 50 Cent
I'm not even going to try to be cute about the fact that I run to these songs. I love Hip Hop. I love Country. I love Pop. I mix things up. I thought it made since to cluster the dirty songs together.

Hope this helps for anyone in need of some new [summer] running music! As always I'm adding these songs to the Running iTunes link at the top of my blog.

6 Miles: Good to See You Again!

Tonight I ran 6 miles on the treadmill in 58:28. That averages out to a pace of 9:44 per mile. But that's not what I did. I ran the first 3 miles at a pace of 10 min/mi. Mile 4 was 9:50 min/mi. Mile 5 was 9:40 min/mi. And Mile 6 started at 9:30 min/mi....and got increasingly faster with each lap. If I felt like running a 10k I probably could have finished in under an hour. I didn't feel like it tonight though.

Geez Louise was the gym humid. It actually was hotter inside the gym than it was outside. The thing I'm most concerned about with the Rock n' Roll half is the weather, so I figured I might as well get used to running in humidity. I'm kind of mad at myself for turning the treadmill fan on low for Mile 5. I could barely feel it, but I feel like that's "cheating." It's not like I'm going to have a fan for this race.


In other running news...
I ran 3 miles on Saturday in 27:37. Average Pace: 9:12 min/mi.
And on Thursday I ran 2 miles in 17:29. Average Pace: 8:44 min/mi. Then an additional mile in 8:34.

Tonight I think I was less concerned with my time (as long as it was less than an hour) and more focused on running 6 miles without stopping. My goal is to work back up to 10 and 11 mile runs. Then start trying to shave minutes off my times. I might actually cut my weekly mileage down a bit from the last time I trained, and just make sure that every run I do has a purpose. Aka: I'm pushing myself harder. I don't want to run a single mile slower than 10 min/mi anymore. So far it's working.

My friend who has finished a half in 1:58:something wants me to run the Rock 'n Roll half with her. [Can we say "yikes?!"]. I have another friend who has done a half in 2:02 who might run with us. That is if she doesn't run a full marathon two weeks later ;)

I still don't know how fast I could run a half because I had to go and get hurt after/during the Shamrock. My guess would be currently it's somewhere between 2:15-2:19. My goal for 2010 is 2:10 or less...

This 2 hours and under talk might be a pipe dream for 2010. Basically, I have two months worth of pent of aggression that I didn't get to run out and I'm STILL working to get this out of my system. It's going to take a while. Until that point it's as if every run I go on, the beginning is just killing time until I get to the point where I can push myself HARD.

That's why I'm running. For the last mile. When I can give it all I've got.

If you guys haven't checked out Jamoosh's blog yet, one question: WHY?!
I've listed it to the right under "Blogs I Read Frequently."

Speaking of the Last Mile. My keychain came in the mail yesterday that I won from Jamoosh's Last Mile Lounge giveaway. He blogs about beers that the sole thought of will get you through the last mile. He also brews some of his own beer. Hence the "Last Mile Brewing."

I like his blog because running is supposed to be fun. And Jamoosh clearly gets that.

"Life is short... running makes it seem longer." ;)
- Baron Hansen

Sharks and Minnows

Adam (The Boring Runner) tagged me with The Versatile Blogger Award. Whether he actually thought I deserved it or was running out of contacts who haven't done this yet, I do not know.

However, Thank You.
Because Memorial Day kicked off the unofficial start to summer, rather than play plain old virtual tag, I'm going to play virtual Sharks and Minnows.
I'm obviously the shark.
And the little Minnows I caught include:

Lauren [Bananas and Toast]
Christy [It Just Looks Like Slow Motion]
Allyson [So You Think You Can Run? One Way to Find Out]
Anton [Running on Blisters]
Not Just a Pretty Face
JF [Daily Trainings]
Melissa [Crazy or Determined] <-- When you come back from the blogging break ;) I'm pretty sure none of you have received this award yet. I like your blogs...and I'd love to hear 7 Random Things about you. That's the acceptance speech you're supposed to give when you receive the Versatile Blogger Award.

So without further ado, 7 Random Things about me:

1) I attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA and majored in Business Management... What I'm about to be doing career-wise with my life...should be kept on the hush for the time being. [Sorry]. I'll summarize with chasing dreams. And it couldn't be more different than IT consulting! (This photo is with my Grandad. One of my favorite people in the world. He's also hilarious!)



2) I have a younger sister, Laura, who is 22. And a younger brother, John, who is 18. Laura just graduated from Asbury College in Kentucky. She's going to be an Art Teacher. John will be attending The University of Virginia in the Fall. Wa-hoo-wa!



3) Summer is HANDS DOWN my favorite season. I love everything about it. Warm Weather. The Beach. The Pool. Water Parks. Amusement Parks. Long days. Cookouts. Fireflies. Sno Cones. Baseball games. Fireworks. Ice Cream. Concerts. Flip flops. Camping. The Fourth of July. You get the idea.
Here I am at Kings Dominion with one of my best friends from college, Erica.



4) The Office is my favorite show on television...so that made it even cooler when I met Pam (Jenna Fischer) outside the Today Show in 2007. I often use this as my "fun fact about myself" in ice breaker games.


5) I really like College Football...I managed to sneak into OU v. Texas Tech in 2008 when I was in Oklahoma for work. It was The Game of The Week and had record attendance. NBD. I went to the game with my friend Ashley from middle school. She was living in Tulsa at the time.


6) I met Fonzie (Henry Winkler) in the DFW airport in 2008. A March snow storm canceled a ton of flights...his was cancelled too! He told me I had beautiful hair and to have a safe flight!
7) I was on TRL/the screen in Times Square in 2007. Ciara was the guest host...and a show clip I was in was shown on the screen in Times Square. I guess you could say that's my claim to fame!

Running updates:
4 mile run last week in 37:16 (9:19/mi)
Outside 2 miler around my parents neighborhood on Memorial Day
4 mile run today in 38:05 (9:31/mi). Happy National Running Day!