Crazy Legs 2012 version

I am getting ready to head downtown for the start of the 2012 Crazy Legs run.  The forecast called for 40 degrees, wind and rain . . . but at least for now, as of 9:00 the rain has stopped.  I debated all morning whether to run or not . . . a few of my friends decided not to, so I am on my own and the easy decision would be to not run.  But that is NOT what I decided.  Jamie from Running Diva Mom, HERE, posted on facebook that she would be there . . .  and that was just the inspiration that I needed to say . . . Yup, I will be running Crazy Legs this morning.

I have been going back and forth about clothes . . . in the end I decided on Lucy knee shorts and warm long sleeve shirt with high collar, gloves and my Nike rain jacket . . . and of course a hat. Hoping that the shirt and jacket will be offset with the shorts in keeping me "just right".  We will see.

Back for a race update later.

I decided to park at work and walk / run up to the Square for the start of the race.  I stopped into the office to use the bathroom and quickly questioned my clothes choice because it had started to rain again . . . but stuck with it.  I got up to the race start  with about 3 minutes to spare . . . I really could have waited longer, since I was in wave ee.  Anyway, I stood on the sideline of the start and hopped around a little to stay warm the rain stopped for the most part which was a welcome event.  Finally I got it the corral and started to move the start line.  There were a group of UW Hockey players high fiving everyone and next up were the UW Basketball players . . . I high fived Mike Brueswitz, which did take a little hop by me to get to his hand!  He is 6'6".  UW Band played and 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 and we were off.  I actually felt pretty good the whole race.  I didn't go out too fast, which is always a problem with me.  The course heads up Wisconsin ave to the lake and then down fraternity row until you get to Bascom Hill . . . what can I say, there are few races in Madison that don't include the trudge up Bascom Hill, which houses the original buildings of UW Madison.  Remember we are in Wisconsin and there are no mountains, but this little hill on campus is an elevation climb of 850 ft and after a rather long downhill you are ready to run!  ;-)

I made it up in pretty good shape and felt pretty good.  Somewhere after that I took my jacket off and stuffed my gloves in my jacket pocket.  No stopping for water because I brought my handheld.

Once you are past mile 4 - it is a rush to head to Camp Randall and plan for the run through the tunnel onto the field.  I was at a pretty comfortable tempo until about 1/2 mile and then I picked up the speed.

My finish time was 46:28 with the following splits:
Mile 1 - 9:11
Mile 2 - 9:24
Mile 3 - 9:26
Mile 4 - 9:22
Mile 5 - 9:01
little extra - .44

I am a happy camper!

I pretty much headed directly out of the stadium and headed back to my car, running a nice and slow 2.5 miles at a 10:28 pace.

As we always say - you are never disappointed when you decide to run!  As I mentioned I could have easily not run this race this morning . . . but knowing that Jamie was out there too, made it a easier decision and I am soooooo glad I did.

Enjoy every moment!

Biking to New Glarus

We have organized a bike ride to New Glarus today with the New Glarus Brewery being the final destination.  There are 8 of us and I am hoping that the sun starts doing its primary purpose . . .  warm things up.  It is currently 30 and I have to say that is a little to chilly for biking!  But we are leaving at 10 and by then it is suppose to be 45 - which is still chilly - but doesn't compare to 30.  I will be updating my post later today with some photo's and story.

The last time I biked to New Glarus my husband and son were along and about 10 miles from Madison, my husband clipped my rear tire and flew off his bike - breaking his collar bone!  Hopefully nothing that exciting will be happening today.  Biking - drinking some good beer at the New Glarus Brewery and eating!

To be continued . . . .

We had a great bike ride.  44 miles round trip.  beer, subs and a little more beer!  

We made it to New Glarus and stopped at the local Subway before we road up to the brewery.  

Enjoying the food and beer at the New Glarus Brewery!

The gang!

Beautiful copper kettles . . . full of beer . . . just waitng and waiting!

Exiting the tunnel!  

This was the first 40+ mile ride this year and it felt great!  Hoping that this is a good sign - and many more bike rides will be coming!  

invisalign update

Oh the things that we do!    

I am wearing invisalign braces to align my upper
right incisor . . . of course the trays will straighten all of my teeth - but
that single tooth is my main concern.  

I got my trays on March 7.  I wore the first set of trays for the first month to get use to them.  At times they were bothersome . . . at times they didn't cause any issues.  They were easy to put in and remove and I really didn't think much of them.  I was scheduled for my second ortho appointment on April 4.  At this appointment I got buttons (nubs) attached to 11 of my teeth.  The trays have space built into them for the buttons and will allow the trays to better grip my teeth.  The process of attaching the nubs was harmless, until the Orthodontist had to "grind" off some of the residual material.  Ouchy ouchy!  He got too close to my gum line and boy oh boy did that hurt.  

Once the buttons were smoothed off a bit . . . trust me these little things are almost like fangs or daggers in my mouth . . . I then re-inserted my trays.  Holy smokes this was like night and day.  There was a huge difference between wearing the trays without the buttons and with the buttons.  The trays IMMEDIATELY pulled on my teeth and felt very different than they had when I walked into the office.  I was sent on my merry way with my complete set of invisalign trays and 11 buttons attached to my teeth.  I was told to keep the first trays in for another week and then I could move onto tray number 2.  So two days ago I switched to my second set of trays.  It was exciting . . . in a simple way . . . but it did mean that I was on my invisalign journey.  My teeth are still a little sore.  I especially notice it when I pull them out and eat something.  Tonight we had cream of Broccoli soup with a nice loaf of Italian bread . . . I really noticed my sore teeth when I bit into the bread!  I will wear this and each subsequent set of trays for three weeks.  

He also suggests that I wear each set of trays for 3 weeks instead of the
standard 2 week period.  This is to acknowledge the difficulty in getting
22 hours of wear per day.  At first glace 22 hours doesn't seem that
impossible.  Simply remove them for a couple of hours to allow for eating,
right!

So here is my average schedule of NOT wearing the trays

take them out for breakfast - 30 minutes - brush teeth
sometimes I drink coffee at work, I am a sipper . . . not a guzzler - 60
minutes - brush teeth
lunch - 40 minutes - brush teeth
afternoon snack - 15 minutes - brush teeth
dinner - 40 minutes - brush teeth
drink a glass of wine in the evening - 60 minutes - brush teeth

So on average the trays are out of my mouth for a little over 4 hours a
day . . . so I am clearly not getting to the recommended time of 22 hours
per day.
Here is both a before picture and a current picture for comparison purposes.

Before the trays

After 1month - not much difference - but I can feel that the incisor has started to turn - it isn't really detectable in the picture, but I can feel it with my tongue.

buttons on 11 of my teeth

Pros, Cons and Observations of Wearing invisalign

Con - brushing my teeth at least 6 times a day

Con - the feeling that I have too much saliva in my mouth
Con - the feeling that I don't have enough saliva in my mouth
Con - I am not flossing as much as I use to


Pro - I brush my teeth more ofter
Pro - I will eventualy have straighter teeth
Pro - I will not see my Orthodontist more than my Oncologoist . . .


Observation - people don't notice that I am wearing trays, because they are not "normally" in your space
Ovservation - Efferdent is the best way to clean the trays.  

Heading out for an hour run this morning!  Enjoy the weekend!

Sounds of morning

I had a beautiful quick run this morning with Sophie - I had wanted to run 4 miles but pressed the snooze button and only able to squeak in 2 miles.  But boy was it beautiful.  40 degrees - clear blue sky - no wind and the sounds of morning.

Chirping of sparrows
Robins singing
cooing of the mourning dove
geese honking
cardinals calling
trumpeting of sand hill cranes
the distance siren of a emergency vehicle
a dog barking (not Sophie)
the rhythmic fall of my feet on the ground!

Peace
Enjoy every moment!

Knee issues

In January while skiing in Colorado I hurt my knee. Initially the ER
doctor thought that I might have torn my ACL or MCL, so my skiing ended
almost before it started. I was bummed . . . but honestly more concerned
about the impact a knee injury might have on my running. To put it into
perspective - I really love to ski, but only do that for 1 or 2 weeks out
of the year . . . I run 52 weeks out of the year and would have hated to
see a skiing injury sideline me for long.

When I got back from Colorado I when to an orthopedic Dr. through my health
provider, it was actually the same Dr. that I saw when I had a stress
fracture in my toe a couple of years ago. He assured me that I had not
torn my ACL or MCL based on moving, pulling and reviewing my leg. We did
not do an MRI, instead he sent me on my way and said to take it easy, but
that I could slowly reintroduce walking and running. I was very happy.

That injury occurred on January 15 and I have been back to running and
biking just like nothing had happened, except that my knee is now hurting.
I could always feel pressure on my left knee, but there was really no pain,
except when I would knee down or come down into a complete squatting
position, like when you are trying to find the tupperware lid that is in
the back of the bottom kitchen cabinet. Well I still can't get down into a
complete squatting position.


I liked this picture a lot better than weight lifters. I can't get into
that pose with my left knee on the ground. I can get there if my left knee
is in the upper position . . . sort of. FYI - I use to play tennis and
would love to do so again . . . but I must find the time.

Since last week, I also have some discomfort while sleeping.

So today at lunch I did the next best thing to going to the Dr. I bought
new running shoes. ;-)

Same brand - Nike Air Pegasus.


I have been wearing these for 20 years . . . I have tried other shoes over
the years, but always end up going back to these.

I ran on Saturday and noticed a little pain in my shins . . . that is
always my tell-tail sign that I need new shoes. So I will try my new shoes
tomorrow morning and see how my knee feels.

I also took Sunday and today off - no running - no biking, just a walk with
the dog.

Enjoy


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