6th Annual Fallen Heroes 5k Race Report

When I found this race on Active, I didn’t immediately sign up for it. I wanted to see if A (a.k.a. The Kiddo) wanted to run it with me.  Over the course of a week, I asked her a few times and she was always positive that she wanted to run it with me, so I signed her up.

A week before the race, she finally got around to telling me that she no longer wanted to do it.  I was ticked off, but soon found out why – that weekend was her BFFs slumber party and she wanted to go do that instead.  I was still ticked off, and told her that she owed me $25 for the race, but gladly let her go off to the slumber party (you don’t turn down baby-free weekends! Even if said “baby” is old enough to be in high school).

I contacted Active to see if there was a way to defer until next year or to apply the race fee to another race, but they told me that I needed to contact the event director directly.  I contacted him, and after a few emails back and forth, he told me that I could have a free entry next year, so I get to run this race again next year, for ‘free’!  Pretty nice of him to work with me like that (though, if he would have balked at it, I would dropped it – it IS for the Fisher House, after all!)

When race day got here, it was cloudy, cold and looked like it was going to rain. I ended up in a black tee, Purple Haze over black tights (calf sleeves underneath), purple Bondi and cute braids.  Hindsight being what it is, I sure wish I had worn long sleeves! It was cold today.

I arrived at the starting line, early as usual, and began to unpack my race stuff. I’d already had some Protein Ovaltine at home, and ate a cheese stick on the way here, so all I needed to do was chug a PowerAde.

After that, I headed across the parking lot to pick up my packet. Holy moly, it was cold. AND it was starting to rain….. Oh, joy.

I hauled ass back to my car and hopped in, warming up with the heater.  

The first thing I did was take the cheap quarter-zip fleece (that I had the forethought to bring with me) and put it on. It wasn't much, and it certainly wasn't waterproof, but it was better than a thin tech tee.

I started pulling things out of my packet, and was glad that I also remembered to bring extra safety pins – there was a pile of them at the pick-up table, but I totally forgot to grab them, and I would rather use my extras than go back out in the cold before the race began!

I pulled out the tee-shirt to check it out, and I’m confused – what is up with the frog skeleton? Does this symbolize something? Is it a vet in-joke? I don’t know….

We also got a menu for Tijuana Flats, RoadID coupons and a free 7-day gym pass to Bailey’s Gym (never heard of it). 

I went ahead and pinned my bib to my skirt and stuck my Run for Boston bib to my back (on my Tech tee, not the fleece one), took two hits from the inhaler, steeled myself for the cold and got out of the car. There’s no going back now!

And of course – no sooner did I step out of the car, did the sky open up and begin to pour!  I headed over to the side of the parking lot where the potties were and stood in line for a few minutes before it was my turn.

Okay, so they were nice potties – they had hand sanitizer in them, but, well…. They also had these.

Who puts pictures of kittens in port-a-potties?

 I think the frog liked it, at least (it was probably warmer in here!)

As I exited the pottie, the Color Guard was presenting colors and it was time for the National Anthem. It can rain all it wants. I stopped in my tracks, put my hand over my heart and saluted my flag.

We all had about 5 minutes to stand around in the parking garage before it was time to line up at the starting line.

We all took off in the rain, and yay - I remembered to actually start my Garmin this time!  However, my iPod does not seem to be working….  I had it going with my Nike app and the Interval Timer, but I can’t hear either one of them, nor my music.  I fiddle around with the iPod, even turning it off and on again, until I finally realize what the problem is – the earbud that I’m using (I one-bud it) is dead! I switch to the other ear bud and all is well (although a little mono).  Of course, all the fiddling around screwed me up and I forgot to turn both the intervals and Nike back on! Grrrr… I will get the hang of this one day, I swear!

Ugh, it’s still raining, and still cold.  It’s not taking very long for my cheap fleece pullover to become soaked. This was a bad idea.

I was so happy to see Mile 1, and a water stop as well!  Not just water, but Gatorade, albeit the yucky yellow kind. I thanked my volunteers and kept on going. The rain was starting to let up, but it wasn’t getting much warmer out there.  I’ve gotten so wet at this point, the fleece is actually dripping! 

At the back of the pack, as usual, you start to see some of the same people over and over. This might happen at the front of the pack, too, but I’ve never been in that situation, so I can’t say for sure…. Anyway, I tried my best to do intervals, but every time I started walking, I would get passed by this tiny 6-year old who was skipping! SKIPPING! Like she was out for a day in the park. I don’t know why this bugged me so much, but it did and I was bound and determined to stay ahead of her at the finish line.

Mile 2 came quickly, with more Gatorade. And more rain. And more skipping…

I came around the last leg of the route and the turn to the finish line was in sight, and the Playlist Gods gave me “He’s a Pirate” from Pirates of the Caribbean. One of my favorite power songs, I pulled a run out of my ass and finished strong!  I quickly turned off the Garmin (before I forgot!) and checked my time – 47:11!!  

I think this is my fastest 5k to date, PR baby!! I’ll have to check the official results for my time, maybe I got lucky and scored a Sub-47 finish?? (As of 7/15/2013, I’ve not seen any official results posted anywhere…)

Afterwards, I got my obligatory finish line photo, as well as one that showed my Run for Boston bib.  It didn’t stay totally perfect, but it lasted the whole race, so I was happy for that.

I headed back to the car real quick, and took off the disgusting drippy fleece and switched out for my nice warm Columbia jacket, and grabbed my big golf umbrella too, since it was raining again.

The awards and raffle were both moved into the parking garage, so I ended up not needing the umbrella.  Before the awards, however, we all gathered under the huge flag for a group photo.  As we were doing that, one of the race guys said that they had 2 more runners coming in (by this time, is was more than an hour since the race began), so the entire group of us who had been taking the photo became the runners’ cheering section, and it was amazing to see them come in, so proud of themselves (one of them actually slipped on the pavement and rolled with it before crossing the finish line – she was fine, but probably embarrassed!)

Once the group photo was taken, the awards were given out and all the raffle prizes were collected, it was finally time to take off.  I had a massage scheduled after this (I’d originally thought that it would be an AWESOME idea to have a massage right after a race, but I hadn't counted on the rain and cold…)

In the car, I couldn't get warm, even with the heater going full blast. When I got to the corner of 6^th and 16^th, I caught a red light, so I whipped off my wet race top and put on the race tee-shirt that was warm and dry. I still had on wet bra, wet tights, wet sparkle, wet shoes and wet socks, but the shirt helped a bit.

Poor Amaree didn't know what to do with me! After our chat (we always chat about my weeks beforehand so she knows what part of me to work on), once I was on the table, she needed to turn on the heating pad AND layer me with about 5 blankets, and it still wasn't really the best session – she said that she was pretty much spending all of her time warming me up, rather than actually doing any massage. So, lesson learned – no massages after a race, just to be on the safe side.

I was smart enough to bring dry clothes with me so that I didn't have to put on my wet race clothes again, and headed home.  Once home, I put on fleece lounge pants and a fleece jammie top, turned on the little heater in my office and made myself a big cup of hot chocolate.  I think it took about 3 hours before I was finally able to say that I was WARM!

Note to self – buy a rain jacket!  This is now the second race I've run in the rain, and while running in the rain can be fun, it can also make you way too cold!

Three Generations Hit Disney World

Early in the year, my mom started asking questions about Disney. When’s a good time to go. How much are annual passes. Things like that. Turned out that she and my aunt (her sister) were planning a Saturday trip.  I don’t want to say we weaseled our way into their day, but we did get invited, so we all ended up heading to Disney on Saturday.

We planned on meeting them there, so we grabbed our donuts (we got a whole dozen, but that is WAY too many for the drive down, FYI!) and got to the TTC around 9.

Finally got a photo of the Other Mickey - we never walk on the left sidewalk

Our first stop was to renew our Annual Passes, which took forever. The CM we got was very slow!  Finally, after a bajillion texts from mom (she was texting quicker than I could reply!), we met them near the ferry docks and there were hugs all around! We haven’t seen Aunt L since her 60^th birthday in (I think) 2009. 

This is how much I love my family - it is so crowded today!

We got our obligatory Castle Shot and made our way first to Buzz Lightyear. 

My head is so shiny sun bounces off of it...

Aunt L has been to Disney a lot, with her grand-kids, but this was the first time she’d been as a ‘Grown Up’, so she was wanting to really show off Disney to Mom. 

Being a group of 5 makes rides hard sometimes. On Buzz, Mom and Aunt L rode together, and I think the three of us all rode solo.

Sisters united in defeating the Evil Emperor Zurg!

Our next stop was the Carousel of Progress, one of my faves.  Mom hasn’t been to Disney since *I* was a kid, so it was fun for ME to watch her experience Disney as a ‘Grown Up” too!

After CoP, we all rode on the People Mover. Mom commented on how you can’t really see Space Mountain anymore. Hubby and I pointed out the new work on New Fantasyland and the special ‘back walkway’ behind Tomorrowland to Storybook Circus.

By the time we got off of the People Mover, it was close to lunch time, so we headed to Columbia Harbor House. Aunt L’s favorite (after Cosmic Ray’s) and, as I learned, MY favorite since the first time I came here (who knew?).  Aunt L and the Kiddo grabbed a table upstairs while the rest of us ordered lunch.  I got a large ice water as well.

Eating was great – I really miss Aunt L, and we really need to get together more often! One thing that was really funny was teaching Aunt L that ice water was free. She seemed to be so amazed at the fact that there was something FREE!

After lunch, it was “let our meal settle” time, so we rode the Haunted Mansion. I rode with Aunt L again, and she said that, out of all her nieces and nephews, she was surprised that *I* was the one who loved Disney. She asked why, and I told her it was because I loved the Magic of it all, how it made me feel. I love the secrets, the behind the scenes knowledge and tricks Disney uses to create everything. I love the music and the dancing and all the wonderful photographic opportunities. I just love it.

Mom had mentioned that she wanted to ride Big Thunder while she was here. Aunt L didn’t, but we made our way over to the Mountain to pick up some FastPasses anyway.

We walked over to New Fantasyland next, hoping that we would be able to tour Be our Guest. Unfortunately, it was already closed for lunch, and they were setting up for dinner, so they weren’t letting anyone in. 

We headed to The Little Mermaid instead, riding that before deciding to head back to Fantasyland for some ice cream (Aunt L and Mom like food even more than I do, I think!)

When we left New Fantasyland, we looked like all 3 of us were together, but apparently I was mistaken and I left Hubby at Gaston’s!  He called my cell, frantic to find us (really?) and then was angry that I made a mistake and left him. Really, bro? Next time, I’ll do it on purpose! Not really…

Aunt L and Mom had already found Storybook Sweets and were eating their ice cream while we waited for him, then it was off to Peter Pan, and then Enchanted Tales with Belle.

(I have to point out, that by now, you see that they have a very inefficient touring strategy! We walked back and forth all day with them J )

Anyway, after Belle, we headed to Dumbo and Mom sat this one out – she gets sick on spinny rides (more so than me!).  I sat with Aunt L and Hubby rode with the Kiddo.  I don’t remember a single thing from that ride, except for the fact that it was two of the most memorable minutes of my life with Aunt L because we had so much fun! I remember laughing a lot, and smiling, but lord only knows what made us that way!

Night was quickly descending on the Magic Kingdom, so we made our way to Frontierland for a spot to watch the MSEP. (I think at some point after Dumbo we ate dinner at Cosmic Rays, but I can’t remember) Mom had been getting tired back during Ice Cream time, but she kept soldiering on, and I figured this would be a good way for her to relax for a bit.

We took up a spot outside the Diamond Horseshoe and while we waited, I walked over to one of the Glow Stuff vendors to see if they had any bubble guns.  Clover, our cat, LOVES bubbles, and I thought that getting a gun would be easier on my lungs than just a bottle of bubbles! Unfortunately, they didn’t have any in stock, but he was able to tell me that the gun was $18.

Finally, MSEP came through and I think I had more fun watching Mom and Aunt L – they were clapping, smiling and bouncing around to the music like little girls.

We waited for the crowds to disperse and I asked if they wanted to see Wishes, and they said sure, so we parked it again, near The Crystal Palace and watched the Castle Show as well as the fireworks. 

Sadly, our night had come to an end, and we all piled onto the ferry back to the TTC and went our separate ways.  It was great to visit with family, and definitely shouldn’t be so few and far between!

We piled into the car, and – as we always do, ti seems – we got lost on the way home.  We have to remember that we need to leave property via Coronado Springs!

I think we finally got home around 1:30 a.m. or so – I was sleepy and ready to crash!

There's Extractions on the Right

The cost of all these crowns seemed crazy high to me, and I pulled a copy of my Schedule of Benefits (or whatever it’s called) and double-checked prices.  Blue Cross said that my crown should cost $280, not $1,097.  Why were they charging me $800 more (per tooth!) – were these crowns made out of unicorn horn? 

I got to the dentist’s office a bit early so that I could ask someone about my treatment plan and it turns out that Dr. Brown was basically trying to give me the “super-duper glow in the dark unicorn-horn” crowns, instead of the basic “yes they are a crown” crowns. I told him that I wanted the regular crowns because I wanted to take care of this now, rather than have to wait until I could afford the unicorn crowns.  They revamped my treatment plan, and the regular crowns brought the cost down to about $6000.

However, because revamping the treatment plan took so logn, it was almost 4pm before we got ready to pull some teeth. We ended up only doing 2 on the right. 

He numbed me up good, and went to it. I’d come prepared with sunglasses and my iPod. I cranked the tunes, shut my eyes and tried not to envision what they were doing in my mouth. 

It only took about 20 minutes I think and I was done. After he left, I snapped a photo of what he'd yanked out of me. Yeah, I'm gross.

He gave me a prescription for Lortab, I made an appointment for April 22^nd for the other two extractions, and I headed to the pharmacy to fill my prescription.

Now home, we all did “own thing” for dinner, since I couldn’t really eat anything.  I attempted to eat a Snack Pack (pudding cup), and it was one of the weirdest feelings I’ve ever felt in my life!  Half of my mouth could feel all the goopy, sloppy, slippery pudding, and I could feel nothing in the other half. I feared that the pudding would fall out of my mouth, but it never did.  I don’t think I got feeling back in my mouth until bedtime!

I did end up going to work the next day, though everyone said I was crazy. I felt pretty good – a little pain, but nothing that an Advil couldn’t handle. I had soup and more pudding for lunch.

Lazy goes to the dentist

I’ve always had bad teeth, as long as I can remember. I had my first root canal at age 12, after cracking a tooth on a Big Bob’s Candy Cane stick.  I remember that it was done in three parts, and my dad joked that it was my Christmas gift for the year, because it was so expensive.  

I didn’t like going to the dentist, because those bad teeth, no matter how well I brushed and rinsed, always got cavities, and my dentist wasn’t all that generous with the Novocain.  I had a mouth full of metal before I turned 15.

As an adult, I didn’t have dental insurance, so I stopped going to the dentist. I had toothaches, my teeth were in horrible condition, but it was all manageable until one day, I was in the most horrible pain. I couldn’t tell what was going on, but it looked like my gum was coming up through my tooth (not around my tooth or behind my tooth) and it hurt to be awake, much less talk or eat.  I went to a dentist (I don’t remember which one) and they told me that I needed a root canal on that tooth.  I was referred to Dr. Goldfaden in town and went to see him. He told me that a root canal would run around $500. At this point, in pain and out of money, I broke down crying in his dental chair. I didn’t have any money and I hurt really bad. He told me that if I went to Shands (now UFHealth) Dental Clinic, one of the students could pull the tooth at no charge.

I went to Shands and had the tooth pulled, and I don’t’ remember if they ever told me that I needed to eventually get a crown or some sort of spacer put in. If they did tell me, I forgot about it.

Fast forward to 2005. By this time, Depo has leeched a lot of calcium from my system, and a lot of shifting has happened as well, due to that missing tooth, and I’ve cracked a lot of teeth.  One day in the spring of 2005, I bit down on a cookie and broke part of my two front teeth.  By this time, however, I was working at a company with great dental insurance, so I went and ended up getting multi-surface fillings on my front FOUR teeth.  The dentist worked up a treatment plan for me (at the cost of over $5k) and I went on my merry way. I did fully intend to go back for more work, but before I could do that, the dentist closed her Gainesville office and moved to Ocala. That was too inconvenient for me to deal with, so I threw my treatment plan away and stopped going to the dentist again.

Between 2005 and 2013, my teeth kept getting worse. More pieces falling out – I found some, but probably most of them were just swallowed. Some pieces were stuck in my jaw and I decided to wiggle them out like they were baby teeth, rather than deal with the dentist.  I knew I NEEDED to go to the dentist, but I just couldn’t handle it.

Early February, 2013, I was munching on some chips, and I felt the filling in between two of my front teeth wiggle.  It was still there, but I knew that it would fall out soon. I ignored it, hoping that I could get through PHM, then come back and fix it.

I DID manage to get through PHM before it fell out, but just barely. I bit wrong at dinner one night at Electric Umbrella and I felt it move again. I tried really hard to just get through the trip with it intact.  It stayed in.

On Easter Sunday, we went to Golden Corral with my mother.  We were having a wonderful time until a fork ran into my front teeth.  I saw something fly and I just knew that my whole tooth had fallen out.  I prayed that my tooth had not landed anywhere that Mom could see.  Luckily it was under my plate, and after Mom went back to the buffet for something, I headed to the bathroom to survey the damage. It wasn’t too bad – not my whole tooth - but it was noticeable. If mom noticed it (I’m sure she did), she was kind enough not to say anything.  Later that night, the remaining part of the filling fell out. I now had a huge gap between my front teeth. 

Since I work for the County now, I have really good dental insurance, so I called Coast Dental, which is my provider, and set up an appointment. 

I made the hygienist aware that I have a dental phobia, and she was very accommodating to that fear. I had my x-rays done, and then put into the Evil Chair of Dental Doom.  Dr. Brown came in, all 25 years old, and showed me the horrendous x-rays of my mouth.  We talked about why I was there, and he said that the dentist who put those fillings in my teeth should never have done that – I should have been crowned instead – and that I was lucky to have gotten 8 years out of them. 

He worked up a treatment plan for me, and went over it with me. I needed to have 4 teeth pulled. I needed 6 crowns. I needed 3 fillings. Nothing was said about bridges or partials to fill in all my empty spots.  The cost of this treatment plan was over $10,000.  I about lost my shit, ya’ll.  Just to get my front teeth fixed would cost almost $4,000.   The cheapest part of my plan was getting the teeth pulled.  I set up an appointment for that procedure and headed home.