I can't believe I ran the whole thing!

Early yesterday morning, I ran in the Slacker Half Marathon Relay! I went into it expecting to run 4.4 miles, and with good reason. I read about the second leg of the race, which is 4.4 miles of paved road. I figured, OK, one other person runs 4.4 miles, and the other teammate runs 4.3.

Only that's not how it worked. I learned from some of my mom's coworkers that the first leg of the race (my leg!) had "rolling hills" and was 5.0 miles long. Holy crap! Sure enough, there were hills. And lots of little rocks to slip on. I took it really slow (and I'm so glad I did. Apparently, a lot of people twisted their ankles on the first 5 miles!). I stayed near the back of the pack for the most part and just kept going. I didn't know if my body would be able to stick it out for 5 miles. Gulp!

Before the first mile marker, I got a sharp pain in my side and my knees started to hurt. Not a good sign. I tried to breathe out longer than in (that sometimes helps me with that pain) but to no avail. Then I tried the opposite and tried to take long, deep breaths in. Still no worky. I ran with my arms bent above my head. Still, it didn't help! I told myself to run through the pain, and I kept moving. At the water station at mile two, I grabbed my water and decided to walk while drinking it. I walked probably a quarter mile, and my side felt better, so I ran again.

The run always seemed to be going uphill or down hill; it was very rare for it to be flat. It kept things interesting, and the views were amazing. I looked at the mountains ahead of me with their snow peaks, and I listed to the little waterfalls around me. It definitely kept me distracted and the run pretty much flew by. I eventually made it to mile 5. I sprinted when I saw the 5.0 mile marker sign. I did it! Only... my mom wasn't waiting there to take my timing chip. Holy crap, I had to keep going!

I freaked out that I'd passed her by. I decided to start walking again to save my stamina in case I had a lot farther to go. I walked about two tenths of a mile when I heard in the distance, "Beccckyyyy!" I took off running. I started to sprint (rather, as much of a sprint as I could muster after 5 miles), and I kept sprinting until I reached my mom. I'd just run 5.3 miles, my longest run ever! She took our timing chip and headed off to do her 4.4 miles. I felt great and didn't feel very tired at all. Hurray!

My 5.3 miles were completed in 1 hour 8 minutes, but it took me a full minute to arrive at the starting line once the clock started, so I'm claiming 1 hour 7 minutes. That's a 12.6 minute miles. While it's no 8 minute mile (like my mom's friend Kathy did for our last leg of the race!), I felt really good I could maintain that pace for such a long distance. I also now feel confident I could run a 10k!

...and even the full half marathon this January. Hurray!

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

A few weeks ago, I signed up to sit at the Starbucks Coffee Master table at the annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival. It runs all of Fourth of July weekend, and it's my job to work the tables and do coffee tastings and be open to questions about our coffees. I was certified as a Coffee Master in 2006, so I thought it would be a fun opportunity.

Today, during our district meeting, I learned from a man that Howard Schultz (our CEO) is going to be in town and stopping by our table! I'm nervous, and now I'm worried my coffee knowledge isn't extensive enough. Eek! Time to read up.

Slacker Half-Marathon Relay

Saturday morning is the Slacker Half Marathon relay in Georgetown! I'm pumped, but I'm also hoping I can make adequate time. My longest run is 4 miles, and this one will be 4.4 miles. Thankfully, it's downhill (hence the title, "Slacker"), but I'm also worried it'll cause more pain in my knees to run downhill. I guess we'll see!

Last week, I ran another 5k with my mom, the Summer Solstice run. I didn't do so well (just over 40 minutes). I knew after work that I'd be too tired to make good time, but it still felt discouraging.

Today, I was determined to run 3 miles. I went to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. Right before I started it up, the maintenance man from the apartment came by and told me he had a complaint earlier that the treadmill was acting funny. He said to let him know if it did anything weird.

I started it up and walked .05 miles to get my heartrate up, and then I started to run. After running a quarter mile at a good pace, it stopped. It went back to the main screen, saying, "Press start to begin."

Crappy. I went and let the maintenance guy know, and he's going to have to call it in.
I definitely need to get a good run in before Saturday, though! I guess I'll call my mom and see if she wants to run with me tomorrow.

I can't wait for Saturday! My dad, Andrew and Aminta are coming to cheer us on. I might bring Cactus (Phuong's fiance from Hong Kong) with, too, if he's up for it. He arrives today!

Hurray for Braces!

I have my first invisalign tray in! I put it in last night before bed, as recommended by my dentist. He suggested that putting it in at night can help with the pain. I'm not sure if that's what helped or not, but my teeth don't hurt at all! I actually worried for a bit that it wasn't working somehow because my mouth feels just fine.

The trays are surprisingly thin and completely clear, but they still feel a bit weird in the mouth. I can't bite down all the way with them in, so I've been keeping my mouth parted and open most of the time so it doesn't look like I have a mouth guard in. When I say words with the letter "S," there's a slight lisp, but other than that, you can't tell they're there at all.

The only downside so far is what a pain it is to take them out! They have to be removed for eating and drinking (except water). My weak little nails aren't strong enough to remove the liner (I bent them back three times and yelped in pain and began to worry I'd never get to eat again), so I had to resort to using tweezers. I also have to brush and floss before putting the trays back in, so I think I'm going to have to go out and get a travel toothbrush as well.

All in all, I'm very happy with my invisalign braces. They're completely clear, they don't hurt my mouth, and they're going to give me straight teeth by Christmas! Hurray.

Fun with Teeth

Today, I went to the dentist and got my first invisalign tray! I am so, so excited.

He put on three button "attachments" to my teeth. Basically, this means he glued on a button like piece to three of my teeth. This gives the invisalign trays something to push on for the teeth that need to be rotated. Plus, it helps hold the trays on.

The trays are surprisingly thin and extremely clear. They don't feel too tight, and they don't scratch my gums. Perfect!

My dentist recommended I wait until this evening to put my first trays in permanently. He said if I put them in after dinner & brushing and take an ibuprofin, my teeth pain should be minimal in the morning. We'll see!

Summer Solstice Run

My mom and I are running in the Summer Solstice Run at City Park tomorrow! It's an evening 5k run, and I'm nervous about running after standing on my feet for 8 hours at work. Well, worst case scenerio, I'll walk it! I'll just wait and see how my leg muscles feel.

Less than two weeks until our slacker half marathon relay!

Morning with Bailey

This morning, Andrew got up with the sun. I pretended it was still dark and burrowed under the pillows. Bailey stuck with me, and we snuggled for hours. When I finally stirred and made my way out of bed, she followed me into the computer room, where she proceded to replace me with her log.

It's quite cute, really.

Weekend at Mom & Dad's

Andrew spent the weekend camping and canoeing in Moab with his buddies. As of this moment, I'm sitting at my computer, waiting for him to come home (I can't wait! Thirty more minutes...).

While he was in Moab, I spent the weekend with Bailey at my parents' house. I did everything from run with my mom to shop to watching a movie with Aminta (The Strangers, uber creepy!) to playing Wii golf to teaching my dad how to play Mariokart. It was so much fun; the weekend went by in a blur. I can't believe 3 days off can go by so quickly!

My mom and dad bought me a cute little patio set for the balcony, and they also spoiled me by buying me a new pair of shoes, a dress, and a new wallet. So, yes, I was pampered and spoiled for the weekend.

As much fun as I had, I cannot wait for Andrew to get home. I decided to make breakfast burritos for dinner at the suggestion of some coworkers, which I've never had before. I think he'll like them! Only, I realize now, I never did buy salsa or anything. I wonder if that's OK? It'll be fake bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, and potatoes & onion. Good, yes? And I have Mariokart all set up and waiting. It'll be such a fun night! Mostly, I can't wait for the snuggling and hearing about his trip.

Why isn't it 8 o'clock yet?