Follow-up, catch up, and staying up.

First, the follow-up:

You remember when I went for my first mammogram the other day, right? Well, I got this little gem in the mailbox today. I really didn't feel like I had to worry about anything, but getting the confirmation is always nice and crossing anything off of the "things I should potentially be worried about" list is good.

So ladies, if you're over 40 and you haven't gone yet, DO IT. It's easy. It doesn't hurt. Just do it and get it over with so that you can cross it off of your list too. Please.

As for what's been going on for the past few days (since I haven't blogged in what seems like forever)....

I have this phobia of dentists. We've talked about it a little here and there on my facebook page. Anyway, I had my wisdom teeth pulled back in 1993, and I've been to the dentist once since then. If you do the math, that's once in 19 years.

Smart thing to do, right? Wrong.....

Years ago....probably 6ish or so....I broke a tooth. It has a filling in it, and a chunk of the tooth broke off. I went to a dentist to see what could be done with it, and since he wanted something like $600 to do a root canal and a crown, I didn't get it fixed. It didn't hurt, so I just didn't bother with it. Recently, it started to feel uncomfortable, and I realized that there was a crack in the other side of the same tooth. I figured out that I was going to have to do something about it, so I called and made an appointment with the local clinic, and the earliest that they could fit me in for an extraction was January 12.

Then it started to hurt. Like, really really bad. So I called another dentist who was recommended by a friend and he got me in immediately (yesterday) - come to find out that the tooth is abscessed and needs to be pulled. Like, NOW. (I still can't afford a root canal and all of that jazz.) But, I have to go to an oral surgeon to do that because it's an upper tooth and the roots go up into (or too close to) my sinus, and the roots are curved too much for him to do it. So Tuesday morning, I get to go deal with that, and until then I am on antibiotics and miserable - but, I had totally forgotten that I would have to be on antibiotics anyway because of my prosthetic hip. I don't remember the reasoning for that though....

So that's why I haven't been around much for the past few days. Fun, huh?

Poor tree....

And now, because I haven't been able to function, and because I opted to sleep for a couple of extra hours this morning after I took the kids to school, and because I had to go to basketball games this evening for close to 4 hours, I have a ton of things to do. There is so much laundry piled up in my laundry room that I'm almost afraid to walk in there, lunches need to be packed for tomorrow, the Christmas tree needs to be righted after it took a nasty spill last night and is now just propped up in the corner of the living room......so I guess it's a good thing that I got that couple of extra hours of sleep this morning.

Race Results

Well, we survived another one - barely!

It was cold and breezy when we started, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. It did warm up a bit, and I almost got a bit too hot during the last mile, but all in all it wasn't bad.

Some pre-race photos...

The pink earphones

Post-race. Kerry wasn't able to get Emily crossing the finish line because there were too many people in front of her.

Sarah was hurting...

Back off Camera Boy, I think I'm going to puke...
(For the record, I didn't. But I came close.)

Going to check on an injured Sarah

94 years old and with a walker - and she has done this race every single year. People stand around and wait for her to cross the finish line before they leave - even though it takes her over an hour to do it. Talk about an inspiration!

Tired and sore, but triumphant!

Daniel and The Dude

Sarah's been having some problems with her knees lately and so she was hurting pretty badly by the end of it. I took her over and got some ice from the EMS and we're going to give her a day or two of staying off of them before we panic. She's with her father for the rest of the weekend, so he'll keep an eye on her and we'll see what happens.

Now, for our times.

Sarah finished in 35:07 - not her best time, and she was disappointed, but she was hurting too.

Emily finished in 34:31 - I believe this is her best time so far.

Up until now, my best time was 40:14.9, which I did at the St. Patrick's Day 5K last month. I wasn't sure that I could beat that today, because I really didn't do what I needed to do to prepare. But, I pushed myself and ended up with a 39:04! So yes, I'm happy with it.

So next Saturday is the The JDRF Walk To Cure Diabetes and then Sunday is the half-marathon. Hopefully I can beat my time from the first half-marathon that I did, but again, with a race that long I'll just be happy to finish!

And again - I have to thank The Dude. I couldn't do these races without him. He has supported me in ways that no one has ever done before, and it means the world to me. Knowing that he is there at the finish line makes it so much easier to push myself to do better.

So thanks babe....I know you don't think it's a big deal, but it is to me. You're the best! ;)

Race Results

Everything actually went according to plan for a change. The girls and I made it to Wichita with plenty of time to spare - and considering the amount of traffic getting into this place, that was no small feat!

Here are a few highlights....

Some people wore costumes.

This was the extent of my costume.

So I guess you probably want results?

Sarah, being the speed demon that she is, finished in 29:06.7 and got 4th in her age group - just outside of the prize range. She's disappointed that she didn't get a prize, but I couldn't be prouder of her. This was her best time ever.

Emily also got her best time ever and finished in 35:00.6. She was 13th in the same age group as Sarah. I am so proud of her too!

Now for me....

My best time for a 5K up until now was 41:43. I had hoped to beat that on New Years, but only got a 42:29. I was tracking my progress on my phone as I ran, so I knew that I was keeping up a good pace. When I rounded the corner to the finish line and saw the timer, I literally sprinted like I have never sprinted before...

.......and I ended up with a 40:14.9 and couldn't be more stoked about it! I shaved almost a minute and a half off of my best time yet. Granted, I came in 53rd in my age group, but I know that I wasn't the last one!

I couldn't have done it without The Dude. He was able to stay here at the house with the boys so that the girls and I could go - otherwise, I would not have been able to run. He is still not feeling well and it took a lot out of him to do it for us. I can't thank him enough for his help and his support - he has been my biggest cheerleader for the past few months and it means the world to me.