It's been an interesting week. Last Thursday I had the privilege of getting braces. This has been something I've been waiting to do for two decades, so I'm both happy and relieved that they're finally on. However, when it comes to eating, it's pretty restricting. Pastas, rice and soft food dishes are what I'm limited to at the moment. It also throws a bit of a wrench into my hydration/energy boosts during my long runs. Normally, I use Gatorade or eLoad, but because they are pretty sugary, I have to really watch my intake. Not to mention, the GU gels are very sticky and syrupy and will bury their way between the braces and my teeth. It's not like I'm going to carry a toothbrush on my runs. Would look a little awkward flossing half way through a race, anyway. On the upside, I've been finding my water intake throughout the day has increased and I've been snacking a lot less. Only because I'm too lazy to brush every 15 minutes. Braces are indeed, a great way to be forced to diet!
Yesterday, I went for an easy 10k run and tried a new route. It was beautiful out and everyone I ran by seemed to be smiling and in a cheerful mood. It's amazing how sunshine can lift so many spirits. However, when I was heading back, it happened... figured it would only be a matter of time... a bug flew in my mouth and got stuck in my braces! Yuck! So there I was running with my finger in my mouth, picking out bug guts! So now, I either have to run with my mouth closed which will be hard as I'm a heavy "panter", or I need to just resolve myself to the fact my metal mouth resembles a truck bull bar and bugs are going to die there. Fabulous! lol
Tomorrow, I'll be doing my very first 5 Peaks trail race up at Whistler and I'm very excited about it! I'm always nervous the day before a race and in order to get rid of those "butterflies", I will usually do an easy run or a workout the day before. So this morning at the crack of dawn, I headed out for a light 5k around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it a kilometer and I fell like some sort of broken rag doll and busted up my knees and legs in the process! After I let out a very loud expletive, I gathered my damaged self and hobbled my way home hoping like heck that no one saw me. Seeing as it was 6:30am, not a lot of people were out, which was a good thing. Of course, I've since been R.I.C.E.'ing my wounds, but I'm so mad that I could have let this happen - and the day before a race! I must have been still half asleep and should have just stayed in bed for another hour. The last thing I need right now is a leg brace, too! Anyway, it wouldn't have been so bad but I also decided to stay out in the sun for a little too long yesterday without sunscreen and got burned pretty good as well. So I'm suffering right now but I have no one to blame but myself. Which definitely stinks because I'd prefer to to blame other people. lol. So it looks like I'll be stuck going slow in the race tomorrow. Luckily, I signed up for the Sport course (shorter distance) instead of the longer one. I'm not looking forward to seeing how my knees feel in the morning but I can't wait to check out the beautiful scenery! Wish me luck! :-)
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