Say No To Snow 5K

So the first bad thing I did before this race was to stay up until the early hours of the morning talking with friends. I think I got about a total of 4 hours of sleep because I couldn't sleep in due to family responsibilities. But it was all worth it.

The second bad thing was something I couldn't control....cold and that WIND! Geez! I could hear the gusts upon awakening and seriously considered not running this race. But the director had sent me a personal invitation to this race because I fail to hear about it every year. So I thought I'd better show up. Besides everybody else was going to have to suffer the windiness too.

So I picked my daughter up from her slumber party with limited sleep and took her to my mom's which was on the way to this race. I arrived at the registration table about 10 a.m. The race didn't start until 11 so I thought I chat a while with some people I knew from past races that I hadn't seen in a while. One of them being this 46 yr. old that I know that ended up winning the race with a time of 18:41. The whole race he was only ahead of the 2nd place finisher by about 2 ft. Very close!!

I decided to cut my warmup short due to the cold so I didn't head out until 15 minutes before race time. There weren't any chips being used due to the small race stature(100).

The course was very flat. The first mile felt good, felt like I was in a breathing groove. I heard them yell out 7:15. Right before the turnaround, there were a couple of little hills. I wouldn't really call them hills, but I think some people must have felt them because I passed quite a few on them. I don't know what my other splits were because they didn't have any.

At one point about mile 2 I had just passed some man and I could hear him behind me. Then all of a sudden I could hear him behind me picking up the pace but not passing me. I'll be damned if anybody is going to draft off me, so I started moving towards the left of the road(the wind was at the face and side). I did this for a while until he passed me and much to my embarrassment, it wasn't the same guy. He had to think I was a drunk runner. lol

After I finished the race and grabbed my numbered popsicle stick that marks my placement, I went back to the registration table to give it to them to chart and went to a friend's house for a quick shower before the party in one hour. So I had no idea what my placement was at all.

I was pleasantly surprised at the finishing party where I got 1st place in my age group. Woo hoo! I heard later it pissed the second place finisher off who wins her age group every year(her hometown). I don't think she likes me showing up at the races anymore. :-) I see her quite frequently.

I found out later that my age group had the most participants in them (12). What is it with women my age running so much?

To my embarrassment, they had official podiums just like the Olympics and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners had their pictures taken on them.

Today, my mom told me to look at the paper and there was an article about the race. It seems I was also 3rd overall women's. First place women was 20:12 and second place was 20:54. I wasn't even close to that.

Official time: 23:15
17/100 overall
3/56 women
1/12 age group

Not bad for a race with lack of sleep I guess!

I like the 1st place medal, but I'm still waiting for money! lol

I just can't help it!

Okay, so I'm beginning to get fixated on one singer in particular, just like Bolder. Only my choice is MUCH cuter and sexier!

I just had to change my video back to Keith Urban.

Anybody have any problems with that? Ladies?

Woohoo...Friday is here!

After an endlessly long and tiring week, Friday is here! Even better I was able to catch up on my housecleaning today since I didn't "work" at the dental office. Now my house is spankin' clean and smells sooooo nice. I ran all my errands for the day/week, kids are gone for the night and I am planning on some takeout food and sitting back to vegging in front of a couple of movies. It's not something I normally do, but for some reason I'm really looking forward to it. Much needed I guess.

I'll be snuggling with my little "Chloe"(above, my mini-dachshund). She deserves that at the very least. Her poor owner forgot to get her more dog food yesterday and I had to feed her stuff from the fridge. I fed her eggs this morning and it just wasn't cutting it. As I walked out the door to run my errands, she was sitting at her food bowl giving me this look like, "Hey beeeotch, give me my frickin' food already." Now she is one happy camper with a fat tummy(but not as fat of a tummy as Jen's cat).

No running today due to a 5K tomorrow morning. Gotta rest these legs!

Now, what to eat tonight! Hmmmm!

I'm ready for spring!

This weekend was a tough one running-wise, but I got it all done anyway. Which was great because it was a very busy weekend.

Going out Saturday was tough. Wind chill was 6 below. I was supposed to run my 10 mile long run, but decided to keep it short at 4 miles. So in turn I ventured out Sunday for my 10. It went very well and it actually ended up being a balmy 17 degrees. Woohooo!!

How many days until spring?

Although I'd rather run in very cold weather than very hot, humid weather. At least with cold weather one can bundle up more. There are just so many clothes you can take off without calling attention to yourself. Although I'm sure my neighbors would really appreciate a streaker running through their neighborhood. :-)

Ice Ice Baby

No, not a Vanilla Ice song. I woke up this morning and decided I'd better not run. The ground was covered with ice and it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning. Such a weird sound on Feb. 16th in the midwest.

To top it all off, the ice covered my antenna, so I had no internet connection all day. No matter, I was going to work anyway.

Trouble is.....after I got to work, all my patients started calling in and cancelling. So I ended up going shopping instead for some odds and ends.

Hopefully, it won't get any worse. Nothing worse than sleet and ice.

Valentine 5K

Valentine 5K

Goal time: Beat 23 minutes. Best 5K time so far was 23:12, but that was on a course that was measured short. So actual 5K PR was 23:23.

Well, bad news when I woke up. We had about 3-4 inches of snow overnight. I can't say I was happy about that, but thought, if I can get there, I'm running it anyway.

So I went out and shoveled the driveway and got dressed and ready. I grabbed a banana and drove into town to buy some coffee. I was on my way for a 1 hr. and 15 minute drive to Madison.

As I travelled further north, I noticed less and less snow on the ground. First good sign....I liked that! By the time I got to Madison, there wasn't even any snow on the grass. Go figure!

I arrived fairly early(10ish) and since the registration didn't start until 9:30 the day of the race, I was one of the first ones because the race didn't start until 11. Another good sign for this race? My number was 23. For any of you basketball fans out there, you know who's number that was. I thought it was retired, but they gave it to ME!! heehee Michael Jordan, eat your heart out.....or run with me in spirit! :-)

I affixed my number on my shirt, used the restroom and climbed back into my van to listen to music until about 20 minutes before the start. Hopped out and ran a very slow one mile for a warm up and then stretched out. We all started to walk towards the finish which started on the running/bike path behind the university dorms. A little crowded for a start of a race, to say the least. I'm not sure how many people ran it but it couldn't have been much more than 100, if that.

My goal was to use doc's advice(even though I haven't incorporated his doctervals yet) and go out hard and just hang on for life.

First mile was on a slight decline, which meant an incline at the finish for this out and around course. After juggling around some people I settled into what I felt a pretty good clip, and hopefully a pace that I could keep up.

First mile split time was 7:04. Okay, alot faster than normal, but to be expected.

Started to really feel it between miles 1 and 2 and then another long hill right before the 2 mile point. Who said this was a flat, fast course? It wasn't that bad, but enough to slow me down a little. I was just trying to concentrate on form and pushup. Get those arms pumping!

Second mile split time was 7:44. Oops....starting to lose it...get it together Weebs! Think about that frickin' PR you want so bad. At this point I was playing a constant game of cat and mouse with a 20something guy messing with his headphones. He would fiddle with his headphones and slow down and I would pass him. He would look up and notice me passing him and speed up.
I was still passing a few but was actually sticking with a small group of people. I could see one young gal dressed in red ahead of me and we were running the same pace. I just couldn't reel her in.

At the 2.5 mile marker I decided to just let it hurt. I knew the hurt wouldn't last long. I had no idea what my time was at this point even though I had my Garmin on. I just didn't have the energy or want to use the energy to bother looking. By this time I had finished playing games with "headset man" and finished him off. Next up was the gal in red. I was gaining on her ever so slowly. Could I catch her within a half mile?

Coming up on her my third mile split was 7:35. Not as bad as the 7:44, but I guess I was still hanging on. With .1 miles to go and the finish line near, I gave it all I got....lungs were on fire...almost upon her. With about 25 yds to go....she gave it one last sprint...my legs just wouldn't go any faster than they already were. She just barely beat me. Last .1 split was 26 seconds.

Total time: 22:50!!!! I did it! I beat 23 minutes. Wooohoooo! I walked around trying to catch my breath...wanting to hurl so bad. I congratulated the "red" girl and told her she had a target on her back that I just couldn't catch. She told me this was her first race in a while. She looked like she could have kept going....damn young kids! heehee

Oh and "headset man"? He must have been right on my tail because right after we crossed the line, I slowed down and he happened to pass me before the chute narrowed and he got yelled at to stay in order. lol Priceless!

Jogged a slow mile after and back to the place where the food and drink was. I'm never hungry for anything after a 5K(except maybe a couple of orange slices) but would have liked some cold water...received warm water...blech!

I went back to my van to call a few people that wanted an update postrace and made my way home.

So now I'm just basking in my glory. This is the first time my lungs were so sore that I kept coughing afterwards to clear them. Very weird feeling. It was in the 30's and a beautiful day for a run, so it wasn't the cold that did it.

And now to take a little nap. I'm beat! Plus I gotta get ready to go dancin' tonight with my girlfriends!

New State Mottos

Disclaimer: These were not made up by me, but by other people. These are fictitious state mottos, but some really hit home.

Alabama: Keeping it in the family since 1819.

Alaska: We get to kill whales and you don't.

Arizona: Dehyrd-rific.

Arkansas: Literasy ain't everything!

California: Caution: Large Fake Breasts On Board!

Colorado: Too wimpy to cross the mountains, so we stopped here.

Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only the Kennedys Don't Own It Yet.

Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.

Florida: Senior Citizen Discounts Available.

Georgia: Confederate Money Welcome.

Hawaii: Come, Get Lai-ed.

Idaho: We Don't Care If You Spell Potato With an "E".

Illinois: Stop Pronoucing The "S", Or We're Gonna Kick Your Ass!

Indiana: Dan Quayle's Favorite Country!

Iowa: Our Trees Bend North Because Minnesota Sucks.

Kansas: Don't Blame Us, We Voted For Dole.

Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names.

Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign.

Maine: We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster.

Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It.

Massachusetts: Now with 30% fewer Kennedys!

Michigan: It's not just cold. It's ass-biting cold.

Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes...and 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes.

Mississippi: Come and Feel Better About Your Own State.

Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars Hard at Work.

Montana: It's Where You're Wanted.

Nebraska: You're Not in Kansas Anymore!

Nevada: Hookers and Poker!

New Hampshire: Go Away and Leave Us Alone!

New Jersey: You Want a ##$%## Motto? I Got Yer ##$%## Motto Right Here.

New Mexico: We Really Are One of the 50 States!

New York: You Have the Right to Remain Silent, You Have the Right to an Attorney...

North Carolina: Sure, we've got weird, blue-skinned, inbred mountain dwellers, but at least we don't still fly the confederate flag!

North Dakota: Um, We've Got, Um...Dinosaur Bones? Yeah, Dinosaur Bones!

Ohio: Home of Lake Erie and the Mistake by the Lake.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma: Named After an Indian Tribe We Slaughtered.

Oregon: Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner.

Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal.

Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY an Island.

South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender.

South Dakota: Hello? Can anyone hear me? Hey! Over here!

Tennessee: The Ejucashun State.

Texas: We Kill 'em So YOU Don't Have To.

Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus.

Vermont: We don't care who you marry, as long as we get the license fee.

Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs and Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?

Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds and Slackers!

West Virginia: Got Teeth?

Wisconsin: Cutting the Cheese Since 1848.

Wyoming: Why Are You Here?

If they only knew!

Another interesting day at work today. If these people only knew I really didn't know what I was doing half the time and just faking it.

The dentist was busy with another patient so he wanted me to work on this girl's new appliance. I know how to check the bite, but I had never actually fixed the problem on the appliance if it was off. So he points out that I needed to file down any high spots and he would come back if I needed any help. I thought, you poor, poor girl. You have no idea who is working on you. I was chuckling inside and thought, this could be interesting, since the doc knows that sharp appliances do not like me. Those sharp evil tools always seem to find a way of taking slices and chunks off my fingers and hands and I have the scars to prove it. But not this time.

I ended up getting the job done and sent the patient off with her none the wiser. I do have fun with some of these patients though. I can get them to talk and laugh, but I think they are a little intimidated by the dentist.

I think I'm getting too comfortable there though. Today I brought my new Keith Urban cd in to show the other assistant. Actually, I just brought it in so we could both drool while catching small, short glimpses of the cover. Good thing we wear masks, so the drool is caught right away! :-)

The dentist and wife/secretary have this thing about playing classical music without words(We have lots of Amish patients). At lunch, the hygienist will switch it over to some hoppin music and our game is to guess how long it will take the dentist's wife to change it. Too bad I'm not a gambling person, because I've been pretty darn close. So, nasty person that I am, I asked "Betty" if she wanted to listen to a little of it...if I dared. Her eyes got big and said sure...go for it. Well, I'm not that nasty, so I asked the wife if I could put it in just for a little bit and she actually said YES!! So I played it and the dentist actually knew one of his songs. Not bad!

Betty actually told me today that I am catching on quick to the quirks of both the dentist AND his wife. She can't believe it and said I remind her of her starting out. I guess I just feel comfortable enough and I just observe alot. I've had to...it's how I've picked things up.

Oh and yesterday we had an interesting case. For those of you who are squeamish....don't read this paragraph. We were extracting two teeth from this man who doesn't take care of his teeth. If they go bad he just gets them extracted. Ewww! After the teeth were extracted(those teeth sure do come out WAY too easy), the dentist saw that part of his jaw bone protrudes too much for a partial to fit so he proceeded to slice open the gums, flip the skin back and clipped and file the bone away. Now, mind you, the first time I was observing something such as this, I had to leave the room because I was about to pass out. I think it makes a difference being in the chair and assisting, because NONE of it bothered me. I thought for sure the clipping and crunching of the bone would have sent me into dreamland. I was very proud of myself.

It sure does remind me to take good care of my teeth anyway.

New favorite

Okay, so it's country but my new hottie is Keith Urban. I've liked some of his music recently, but when I bought his new cd and saw the cover...and the pictures inside....woohooo!

Basically, I like all kinds of music so you'll never know what type of music you'll find here.

I still haven't quite figured out how to organize my blog, but as long as I have him here, that's all that matters right now. heehee

Today's day

I have to share today's day at work. As some of you know, I've only been doing this dental assisting job for 5 weeks. There is so much to learn yet and get a handle on since I'm inexperienced and being trained on the job, that when I walked in and found the other assistant not there due to sickness I got a little nervous. Plus, on top of that because of personal issues here at home, I didn't get much sleep the night before. So I had brain fog to top it all off.

I panicked for nothing. EVERYTHING just clicked. I was even surprising the dentist with some of the things I was doing. I think I scared him! hehe I was even offering to help with things I hadn't done before and being successful to boot.

What a way to end a work day. My confidence was soaring!! I'm just so glad that I'm really catching on and able to help.

I was really dreading the day with the other assistant gone with her 16 yrs. experience, but it ended up being a great day!

First 4 mile race

This was the first 4 mile race I've ever done, so of course it was a guaranteed PR. But that didn't stop me from doing my best.

I wasn't all that sure what pace to try for, but I figured I would start out at a pace that I thought I could hold for a bit and then maybe pick up a bit at the end.

The temps were 25 degrees with the wind blowing like mad. The wind didn't really affect us too much on the course except for when we got out by the dam along the Mississippi River.

I passed quite a few people in the last 2 miles and not one passed me, so that was a nice surprise. There was this one real tiny gal wearing a pink hat and pink top and I kept getting closer and closer and I was about 5 feet behind her with about .1 miles to go and she had a kick to die for. I congratulated her at the finish. She beat me by 2 seconds. Grrrrr, next time!

My overall time was 30:30. I placed 3rd in my AG(got some hardware) out of 40. I place 12th out of 308 females and 94th out of a total of 572. At the 2 mile turnaround I only counted about 10 women ahead of me so I thought I may have a slight chance at placing in my age group.

Great food and party after. Especially the FREE golden beverages.

What a shitty, shitty week!

Among other events, I got a call from my lawyer on Wednesday that I needed to call him. It seems that my crackhead soon-to-be ex-husband is wanting to file bankruptcy...jointly!! I think not! I'm not the one carving up a boatload of debt since our separation. Our divorce was supposed to be final next Friday and NOW he brings this up.

After many phone calls later, and talking to the bankruptcy lawyer to find out what is going on, the lawyer said that it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point and he would advise not to just because of the situation. Long story short, my lawyer says that bankruptcy is not in the cards. I told him that I would rather go down in a sinking ship than file bankruptcy.

Btw, how does one incur a $7000 cc debt in 4 months without having any living expenses? Seems rather odd to me.

Thankfully, I still have my running to keep me sane! Grrrr!

I know tomorrow is another day and things will work out. I just wish I was rid of him already.

First 4 miler coming up!

Saturday I have a 4 mile race titled "The Brrrrry Scurry". I'm not really sure what my goal time should be since I've never run a 4 mile race before? If my goal 5K is under 24 minutes, then should my 4 mile goal be 31:30 or something close?

It should be very interesting. I have no idea what the course is like, but I'm hoping since it's in Iowa, it will be relatively flat.