The Race (not quite on topic, so pass if not interested!)

[Guest guest]

Carol,

wow... the race was so amazing!!! Thanks for the well-wishes. It's

one of those things that began as a personal challenge I had forced

upon myself (actually New Year's Resolution #3), but when I turned

the corner and saw the starting line - and the 27 THOUSAND people

lined up - I could have started crying right then and there! I'm

hooked - on the cause, the running, and the unity! It was chilly and

rainy, but I never really noticed. I decided to find a person with a

dog and pace myself with them - and in my desperation on a personal

level, I happened to pick a cute boy with a boxer... unfortunately,

the cute boy was a good 8 inches taller than me and all legs! I had

to rethink my strategy, and fell back to pace with a fire

department! LOL... there seems to be a trend!

I had my picture taken at a drug company booth there - it's really

scary! Even though I can now chuckle at my teeth, it's still a shock

every time I see them... especially because every time I do, they

seem to be in a different place! LOL I had stopped " running " once I

got my braces on... they were just so painful I couldn't imagine

doing anything else (did I mention I'm a HUGE baby?). Since I had

only just started running, I wasn't sure I could handle doing a

5k... Now the pain isn't there quite so bad (or maybe I'm just

accustomed to it), and I've discovered that if I smear lip balm (I

love Aquaphor) on my braces, the insides of my lips won't stick to

them while I run and things start drying out. Anyway, I'm

babbling... still on a high!

Thanks again!

Kate

> > Hi all! I just posted a picture, but I don't know if I still

need

> to

> > remove something to keep from clogging up the storage space? (I

> > remember someone " yelling " at us about that ;0)

> >

> > It's funny how perspectives are changed by decisions we make...

> > Someone in my class took this picture last spring, at our class

> party

> > after our last final of first year... She had to hound me to take

> it,

> > because, like most of the rest of us, I was too embarrassed to

show

> > my smile. (Not to mention I had just spend the last 36 hours

holed

> > up in a study room to prepare for that last final and felt

gross!)

> > Today I accidentally ran across this picture, which I had

*hidden*

> > from view since it was taken, and all I CAN do is SMILE! The

> > embarrassment is no longer there even though it's probably the

> least

> > flattering of my wretchedly crooked teeth, but the fact that I

now

> > have braces, and will NEVER look like that again, makes me want

to

> > show it to the world! So, anywho... there's the absolute

> > most " Before " picture! Right now I have pink bands on in honor

of

> > tomorrow's Race for the Cure (my first ever run outside - off the

> > hamster wheel - let alone in a " race " !)

> >

> > So, anyway, there's my picture! More to come... once I figure

out

> if

> > I need to do anything else after putting it in a file folder!

> >

> > Kate