So I did something...

Really stupid. I mean really stupid. I signed up for 50 mile, or 80 kilometer, race. Not sure if I will be able to pull that off. I haven't been running well at all. I have gotten some very slow marathon times and my slowest 5K to date just two weeks ago. So it may not happen, but I paid for it, so I want to do it.

I broke my retainer right before I left for South Africa and within 5 days my teeth shifted so much I have been back in braces for 3 weeks and have to go at least another 2 more. Huh? Is this right? I thought I was done with this a long time ago.

Sick

A website did a story about me running marathons on seven continents here. The girl who interviewed me was really sweet.

I have been sick from traveling since I got back from Cape Town. Saturday I was extremely sick with a terrible migraine. But I am getting better :)Despite my illness, I participated in a 5K race and did get my worst time. I blame sickness.

I broke my retainer hours before I was to get on a plane and in less than a week, my teeth shifted considerably, so I am back in Invisalign. I can't believe how fast my teeth changed. Within 15 minutes I was in pain. So I hope to have my straight teeth back soon.

Smile

This photo is the set up for my race this weekend. It is coming along! So nervous...but on to the good news!!

I have a lovely new smile thanks to my dentist. It should be a nice smile; it was dang expensive. But it was worth every penny.

I just got my braces off and love my straight teeth. I can't stop smiling. I do have a big plastic thing over them to hold them in place until I get a retainer (ick!).

But my teeth have never looked so good. Thank you dentist! I now have one new thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Wintertime

Diet Coke with swirls of snowflake designs on the can, pumpkin streusel muffins from a co-worker, a chilly morning, hot chocolate...these are a few of my favorite things.

The weather is chilly today, but temps will go back up by Monday to 90 F, but for now, I enjoyed the warm feel of my blankets when my alarm went off and the cold air surrounding my bed.

I get my brackets of my braces off in Nov. then I switch to an invisalign for a few weeks as my retainer is made. Happy day!

So now I finally had three good things happen to me: 1. an exciting race this past weekend. 2. the dentist saying to me "I think we're about done with those braces." 3. An old friend emailed me out of the blue, which was a pleasant and welcomed surprise.

My horoscope yesterday said "an overseas journey is going to begin." Hmm....I think I'll have to have another international trip to make this horoscope come true.

TGIF

I had a swim session today with my group and we got a workout. Luckily, the pool is now heated and feels warmer than it did during the summer. The temperatures quickly dropped from record-breaking heat two weeks ago during my triathlon to cool mornings. Yesterday I went out for a bike ride at 5:30am and actually came home to get a jacket. Nice that fall has finally descended upon us. Although, temperatures are going back up today through early next week. But that's okay, no more triple digit temps.

I can finally bike during the day and not be overwhelmed with heat.

This weekend I have a long bike ride of 4 hours, plus a 10K run immediately after. The next day I have a 20 mile run followed by a 1 hour swim. I am eating up the calories now.

My favorite things about autumn:
1. Halloween candy. I love pumpkin mellowcreams.
2. A break from heat. I love crisp mornings.
3. The fall menu at Starbucks: pumpkin scones with a non-fat tall chai. Yum.
4. The holidays are right around the corner.

And this year, fall means I'm halfway through my braces (I hope). They are to come off hopefully at the end of January if all goes well. I cannot wait for that day. My teeth have shifted to where I talk funny. I sound like I have a lisp. I can't make "f" sounds very well.

Sweet Dreams are Made of This--Who am I to Disagree?

Since being sick, I have had a myriad of strange dreams. I dreamt last night that I wanted to start dating again. In real life, I stopped a long time ago. But in my dream I wanted to go on a date and I kept finding these weird guys. One was a guy who I saw on an old episode of CSI who played a serial rapist and murderer. One guy was a 20 year old who was going through a divorce. I kept thinking, why would I want to go out with a 20 year old? Very odd and scary characters kept appearing and all were trying to go out with me. Maybe I just get these type of guys in my dreams and real life.

I also dreamt that I wanted to tell my mom to be supportive of my wearing braces and participating in triathlons, but I couldn't talk. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't say anything.

Perhaps my dreams mirror real life.

I went to track practice last night and then went weight lifting after. Haven't had much time to weight lift, so enjoyed it.

Working hard

I am hard at work with training. I just did a 15 mile run and then Friday before work I will do an 18 mile run and then Saturday I am doing a 2 hour bike ride followed by an open water swim. Sunday I do a 6 hour bike ride...6 hours is an awfully long time to be seated in a saddle. I truly am trying to dig deep to find the motivation for that...I can only listen to my iPod for so long before I get tired of the songs and the radio plays the Black Eyed Peas at least 6 times an hour. So I'll try. It's still very hot and training in heat is very hard on the body.

I have been contemplating a hair color change for a while. I've been blonde (fake blonde) for about 13 years now. I'm thinking of going brunette for a while. Chlorine makes the blonde just wash out anyway and it's expensive to up keep, although I've been doing it for so long. Might be fun to see what life is like on the other side. I really don't remember what it is like having dark hair. I have no one to impress, so if it doesn't work for me, it's not like it'll really matter. I haven't been very social lately. Just training, working in an office where I don't have much interaction with people, and watching television.

I am addicted to the Real Housewives of (fill in city) series. I also am loving the Rachel Zoe Project. I just like seeing all the beautiful fashion and dreaming of far away lands where I get to be dressed up and have people do my hair and makeup and look fabulous or "bananas," as Rachel would say. But no walking red carpets for me in Dior and Jimmy Choos high heels. Instead it is jogging paths in Under Armour and New Balance shoes. At least I'm more comfortable.

I am working on a positive outlook on life. So I am listing a few things that make me happy:
1. With my love of running, I can eat sweets and no guilty feeling comes.
2. I like being alone. Most people aren't introverted, so when they are alone, they hate it. I love it.
3. I will have straight teeth when these braces come off. I think that will be the happiest day of my life.

Braces

It has now been 1 month since I got my white braces put on my teeth. I got them tightened today. My bite is different and my teeth are now overlapping each other, but when I smile, it looks the same. Hopefully it is coming along. So for the next couple of days, it will be mushy food.

I was so good about my training last week. I was up between 4-5:30am to train every single day. This week...not so much. Been really tired lately and hungry. Need to snap out of it and get my rear on the saddle.

Training

I have been waking up early everyday this week to train. I won't get some extra zzz's till possibly Monday, but even then, not too much sleep. It's not bothering me though. I like the training.

I feel as though I am behind. I read some other people's blogs on training and it's so advanced. My training just got kicked up, but not to the level as others, so hope I am doing everything I need to do. But perhaps it is a good thing and I am not wearing myself out like others. Bike rides are longer and long runs are longer, but everything else during the weekdays is staying pretty stagnant in terms of the training program.

We'll see what happens. Hope no more accidents. Braces are still weird, but probably always will be a strange feel for the duration of wearing them. I feel like I have huge lips as they are forced out over the brackets.

Weekend

Patience is a virtue. It has now been two weeks since I got my braces and every morning I look into the mirror only to be greeted with the exact same smile I had before. I am someone who wants things immediately and changing my teeth apparently is not something that happens overnight.

This weekend I got back on the saddle so to speak. I finally got back biking after my accident that left me with a lifetime of scars and an embarrassment in front of two good looking men. But I completed a 50 mile ride and kept my wrist wrapped, so no pain. After that, I ran a slow and exhausting 6.5 miles in heat. But I finished.

The next day I met my training group for a 10 mile trail run. I love technical running. It is my favorite type of running, which is one of the reasons I love triathlons. There is no ability to zone out; your head is always thinking and it keeps me from feeling exhausted as easily as 10 miles of running in circles. Of the group I met, 4 of us were doing Ironman, so we all had a longer run. It was me and 3 guys. And you know what? For the first half I could hang with them. The 5 miles back they smoked me and I couldn't even see them they were so far ahead. I was a bit cautious coming back down the trail after my accident, however. I really was not looking for another round of stitches or blood trails.

I then swam with my group for an hour in a very cold pool, which makes no sense as it has been nearly 110 everyday.

Well, I am still hoping to do Ironman. We shall see. My fall made me lose a lot of training time and I'm not a good biker. So if another fall is in my future, Ironman may not come to fruition. But I'll keep my hopes up and send myself positive wishes that no more accidents will occur.

I also saw the movie Julie and Julia, which combines two of my favorite loves: writing and food. Cute movie! Wish I could say the same about the book.

Thinking of Food

I wish braces were like contacts, the moment they start to hurt, you can just take them out. But that would probably mean I'd have to wear them for longer. So I'll just suck it up and deal with it. I am missing food at this moment. I am hungry, but it's too painful to chew and enjoy the food. So what's the point in eating if you can't enjoy it? I tried a bagel last night and had to suck on it till it just dissolved in my mouth, which takes the fun out of eating.

Pain

I would like a doctor to write me out a prescription for pain killers. With my accident and braces, my whole body is one big painful mess. Although, for the first time today, my braces aren't killing me with agonizing pain. I hope it gets better to the point they feel invisible.

I went to the drug store last night and bought the gel you use on babies when they are teething. It said for ages 4 months and older, so I count. Unfortunately, it numbed me for 60 seconds, then the pain returned. My teeth are so sensitive I can't actually chew anything.

But my wrist is getting better. The arm brace has come off. Slowly and surely...

Braces are...

Braces are painful. They hurt more than my bike accident. Advil, Ibuprofen...nothing is working. They stop the pain from the accident, but my teeth feel just the same. My gums are bleeding and it is such a pain to eat. I'm having to mash everything up to the consistency of baby food.

I read the instructions the dentist gave me which stated that I shouldn't eat bagels, candy, whole fruit and raw vegetables. Those foods are pretty much my diet. I eat lots of fruit and now will have to cook my apples to mush before I can eat it. I better have a gorgeous smile when this is over because I miss bagels already.

Brace Face

Today I am dealing with stitches on my face, knee, an arm brace...and now braces on my teeth. I got white braces today. I'm sure this will put a damper on anything social I do, but really, from far away, you don't notice them. When I was driving back from my dentist appointment, I put on my sunglasses and in the rear view mirror, you couldn't tell I had braces. But they hurt like crazy and I can't eat. I tried to drink from a soda can and couldn't. So maybe it'll be soup and smoothies from a straw for the next few days as I adjust to the new metal in my mouth.

Still all banged up from the accident, but more range of motion in my wrist. Driving around with 1 arm all the time hasn't been hard, except for when I want to change the station. Thank heavens for automatic cars in times like these :)

Excessive heat today--115 and higher in some areas. Last night at 11pm, it was still over 100 degrees.