Dentistry Meets Marathoning

Wow, the two things I'm most interested in on a daily basis, dentistry AND marathoning. In one? How?

Well, it all started when a friend of mine in the dental industry (uber Prosthodontist from Florida, I will leave him nameless until his big announcement next month) emailed several people (including me) a continuing education article that he contributed to that will be published next month in a professional dental magazine.

The focus of the supplement was a new category of dental products:

Performance Enhancing Mouthwear

You're probably wondering what that is, and I was too! Basically its an oral appliance that enhances human performance, decreases stress, and improves strength. As I read more about this, I thought, "I want one of these to help with my running!" Luckily I am shamelessly never afraid to ask for someone to give me something, and as luck would have it my dental friend was willing to have a complimentary guard made for me. Score!

I went in for my 6-month exam at my dentist's this past Tuesday and had impressions made while I was there. On Wednesday I FedEx'ed the impressions to the Bite Tech lab, and on Friday a package arrived for me at work containing my new mouthwear. Wow that was fast! It felt like my birthday all over again! I love it when my birthday lasts all month. :o)

Edge Sports Performance Mouthwear

Two Mouthwear Styles Included

When I opened the package and saw the two cases inside, I assumed one was for upper and one was for lower, especially since they looked a bit different. One had full coverage of the lingual and buccal (tongue/cheek) surfaces of the teeth and the other was missing the center lingual portion. It turns out they are both lower appliances and I'm assuming that the one with the missing central lingual area is designed for occasions where you want to be able to engage in a conversation without lisping like Cindy from the Brady Bunch. This version is the one that I decided to try out for my morning run today.

I put it in and it felt similar to the night guard I wear to sleep. I noticed when I tried to bite down though that its wedge shape kept my mouth "open" a bit differently. As far as running goes the angle and opening was perfect for mouth breathing while running. (I'm guilty of being a chronic mouth breather! Years of growing up with allergies have created that bad habit. I kind of huff and puff like a choo-choo train. Oh well...)

Close-up Of the Mouthwear

Anyways, I did a quick 3 mile run and felt great during the run, but it was hard to discern if there was a marked improvement from the appliance on such a short workout. I think the best test of this new piece of gear will be my next track workout on Tuesday and my subsequent long runs coming up in the next several weeks as I start to ramp my mileage back up to prepare for the Marine Corps Marathon.

Do I Look Faster Yet?

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
(If it works for him it should work for me right?)

A random but cool thing that was also include with my mouthwear was a "Dream Capsule". The box included a small metal tin with a capsule on a chain and the following instructions: "Write your dream, wear your dream, live your dream." I thought that this was a pretty neat little extra to include with the package, so I of course wrote down my dream! (Well, my running dream.) I wrote it down on the slip of paper that was included, rolled it up, and sealed it in my mini capsule. Hopefully in the next few years it will come true.

Dream Capsule

Anyways, if you want to find out more about this cool new dental and sports innovation, you can find out more on the Edge Sports website: http://www.edgesports.com.

Thanks again Dr. B for hooking me up!

Next Up: Marine Corps Marathon

It has now been almost two weeks since my last marathon. Aside from a few spots on my feet (gotta love blood blisters) I think I'm 100% recovered. I actually felt fine by the third day after the race and David and I went on a run on the fourth day and I've run a few times since then. I've done mostly easy 3 mile runs which are a nice break .... but I can't seem to remember to eat less now that I'm not logging 35 miles of running a week so I'm anxious to get back on a training program before I turn into a chubbster. Oink!

So the next marathon coming up for me is the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25, 2009 in Arlington, VA. I am extremely excited for this race since I will be running it with David and it will be his first full marathon! I've gotten him and a couple others to train for a half before, but he will be the first person I've been able to encourage to do a full. I'm so excited! Did I mention that already? :o) This race is extremely popular and sells out within the first week that registration is open. We registered on the first day that you could and I heard that by the second day the race was already 70% full! It then sold out a few days after. Whew, glad we made the cut!

I put together a training schedule on Tuesday that David and I are going to follow based on a combination of Hal Higdon's Intermediate II http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/inter2.html and Advanced II http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/advanced2/advancedII.htm schedules. It's a fairly challenging schedule with three 20-mile training runs.

We've decided to log our miles online at www.dailymile.com.

http://www.dailymile.com/challenges/52-david-vs-monika-marine-corps-marathon

You will notice my dailymile widgets over on the right side of my blog which will show a countdown to the race along with my recent training progress. Our schedule has us start training on Monday June 22nd! (Somewhat inconvenient for me since I will be in France that week, but I'll find a way to get my runs in.)

Our goal is to finish in 3 hours and 50 minutes! Stay tuned for updates on our 18 weeks of

training!

A Week of K.A. in CA

Over the past week I have enjoyed the company of David and his brother Ken here in sunny San Diego! This was Ken's first visit to California so we tried to pack it with as many exciting activities as possible, the most exciting one of course being my marathon. ;o)

Ken arrived late Saturday evening before my marathon. David and I picked him up from the airport and quickly whisked him off to Little Italy in San Diego for a nice carbo-loading pre-marathon meal. It was getting late and I was tired and hungry and needed to get to bed early, so we were basically looking for any restaurant that would seat us immediately. After four unsuccessful attempts, we finally found a winner! The name of the place? Hmm, I can't remember, but I'd go there again if I could find it. Dinner was great and I felt that I had succeeded in consuming my body weight in bread and pasta. Hey - I *had* to carbo load! It wasn't just because I wanted to!

The Allen Boys' 1st San Diego Photo

After dinner we all headed to bed early, and then the next day was consumed with the marathon. (Please see previous blog entry for details on that great event!)

The next stop on our So Cal tour for Ken was a trip to LA.

The plan: to walk around Venice Beach to check out the freaks, have lunch, go see the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and to then go to Universal Studios.

The reality: a walk around Venice Beach, an overpriced and poorly made lunch, a walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and then the long drive back to SD to enjoy a home cooked meal by yours truly. We ran out of time for Universal Studios and due to the cost of the ticket it wasn't really worth going just for a couple hours. Sorry Ken! Next visit I promise!

Allen Boys at Venice Beach

David & Monika at the Chinese Mann Theater

Almost forgot! While we were walking down the Walk of Fame we noticed that the movie "The Proposal" was having its premier across the street! We were in the area for about an hour but not long enough to catch a glimpse of Sandra Bullock and my future husband Ryan Reynolds. Oh well!

The Proposal Premier Near Hollywood & Highland

During the next few days of the week (while I was at work) the boys entertained themselves during the day and I tried to have something planned for the evening. On Tuesday night we went to the Padres/Phillies game at Petco Park. Sadly for my Padres (well, not that I'm really a Padres fan) the game was a total spanking and they lost 0-8 against the Phillies. It was still a pretty good game though and we had good seats, good concessions, and good company.

Ken & David Oozing Enthusiasm at the Padres Game

The next night (or did I miss a night? Maybe it was Thursday night..?) we went over to Coronado Island after I got off work and took the dogs with us to let them explore a new area.

As we walked around the beach we noticed that there was a dog beach at the end of the path by the military base. It was an unfenced area and I (of course) was extremely nervous to allow my crazy furballs to run free for their first time in an open area. They rarely leave my side in the fenced in dog park I normally take them to, but I was still paranoid of the "what if" factor posed by having no fence around the place. David talked me into giving the girls some freedom .... so the leashes and harnesses came off! And then .... disaster struck!!! No, I'm kidding. David was right, nothing bad happened. The girls loved running around in the sand and were bouncing around all over the place and never strayed too far from our side. Big sigh of relief!

Mika & Kona Chasing David Down the Beach

Ken Ignoring the Beautiful Beach & Texting - Tsk Tsk!

On Friday the So Cal tour was about to end and was going to switch to the Nor Cal tour. Friday morning we left San Diego around 9:30am, only 1/2 hour behind schedule. Pretty good for Monika time! For the first time in a while I decided to leave the dogs behind even though we would be driving and they could have come in the car with us. We had a lot going on Saturday and Sunday and they would have ended up being home alone anyways, so they got to stay behind with their favorite pet sitter Jodie. They told me upon our return that they had a great weekend and got to spend much more time at the dog park than they get to when I take them. ;o)

We took the long way up to San Francisco via the 101 instead of the 5 and stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch. It was fun to show the boys around my old alma matter and I was really excited to have lunch at my favorite eatery in Isla Vista - Silvergreens!! I think David and Ken thought I was being silly about making such a big deal about having lunch at Silvergreens, but I recieved a flurry of emails, texts, and facebook replies about Silvergreens (vs Freebirds - next time Freebirds!) after telling my fellow Gauchos that we were stopping in IV for lunch.

To answer everyones questions - Silvergreens is bigger now, has an expanded menu, but still has our staple favorites the Chicken Ranch sandwich, Thanksgiving Turkey sandwich, and the El Capitan salad. Oh Silvergreens! I miss you!

I forgot to take pictures while we were there (I was too overcome with excitement about lunch!) but we had a nice view of the main street and watched all of the Gauchos bike by to and from school. After leaving SB we hopped back on the 101 and headed North to make it to San Francisco by dinner time. We made it into town around 8:30pm and went to my favorite Japanese restaurant - Kitaro's! Mmm... fast service, great prices, and great food! (As I re-read this post to proof it, I noticed a food theme in my blog. Are you thinking I'm a pig? So I like to eat!! I run alot, don't judge me!)

The next morning it was Birthday BBQ preparation time! My dad and I share the same birthday (June 10th!) and were having a joint birthday celebration in Golden Gate park. To get ready we needed to hit Costco, the grocery store, set-up the site, pick up my dad, and make this all happen in the two hours we had left after waking up and having breakfast. It didn't quite happen as planned or as scheduled, but in the end everything worked out. Whew! For being such an organized person I felt like a flustered mess all morning!

The BBQ spot at Speedway Meadows was a little hard to find and not marked by name, so a number of people showed up late after circling the park lost and confused for a while. Luckily everyone managed to find us in the end! We also got really lucky with the weather! There was rain all over California earlier in the week and the early forecasts were showing showers for Saturday. Noooo! As the week progressed though the forecast for Saturday went from showers, to mostly cloudy, to partially cloudy, and then finally on the morning of Saturday we saw sunshine! By late Saturday afternoon we had full sunshine. Yipee! This was great for the BBQ .... but unfortunate for Ken's sensitive East Coast skin. Not everyone can bronze like sugar melting in a pan the way I do. ;o)

Another Smiling Portrait of the Allen Boys

Well, One Allen Always Smiles With ME

After moving to Arizona back in 2002 my visits home to SF were few and far between. Whenever I did finally make it home, it was always hard to find the time in a two-day period to catch up with everyone. Since moving to San Diego early last year I've been able to come home a lot more often since SF is "only" a 500 mile drive away, but I still haven't been able to keep up with all of my friends the way I've wanted to. Luckily for this weekend I was able to see friends from high school, college, and beyond!

Lowell Girls Class of '94 (&Logan - future Lowellite!)

More Lowell Girls & Wee Ones

I was also very excited that Tamara (my friend from my first job out of college at Silma) and her beautiful daughter were able to make it up to the city! I don't want to age us by counting how many years it has been since we worked together and last saw each other, but its been a while! Tamara also ran the Rock 'n' Roll marathon last weekend for Team in Training and not only completed her first full marathon, but raised a ton of money while training for it! Go Tamara! She also already has her sight set on her next race. I love it! Another marathon adictee!

Silmite Alumni

UCSB Girls - Go Gauchos!

Gaucho Girls in the Sun (And David's Legs)

One of the great things about sharing my birthday with my father is that I get to hear each year how I'm "the best birthday gift a father could have". I mean really, who can tire of hearing that? :o) My dad took on Master Griller duties this past weekend in the park and guess what his reward was? His name with mine on a Hello Kitty cake! I'm sure it was his first (and favorite) Hello Kitty cake after all of these birthdays. My first HK cake too actually! Thanks Christina!

Me & My Dad (And our cake!)

Hello Kitty Birthday Cake

Did you notice that Hello Kitty is actually a marathon runner? She's busting through the finish line, barely breaking a sweat. Must be that cute sweatband she's wearing!

After the BBQ we went back to Christina's to rest for a bit and then guess what we did? We ate again! What else would we do? Are you scrolling back up to pictures of me now to see if I've gained 10 lbs since you last saw me? haha. David, Ken and I met Jenny for some yummy Thai food and then went to a strange bear lodge for drinks. A discussion ensued at one point about the validity of the jackelope race. Is it real or not? Huh Jenny? Can't say the energy level was too high among the group after a long day in the sun so we didn't exactly close the place down.

The next morning was another sunny day and the last few things on the list were: a run in Golden Gate Park, a quick (and I mean QUICK!) tour of San Francisco for Ken, and then the A's/Orioles game with my dad.

We only had an hour to cram in all that is wonderful about San Francisco (totally not enough time!), so I made the executive decision to cut the tour down to two notable San Francisco locations: the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard street.

David & Ken "Smiling" at the Golden Gate Bridge

David Cracking a Smile for Me

After seeing GG Bridge and then driving down Lombard Street, we went to pick up my dad to go to the A's/Orioles game at the Oakland Collesium. The drive should have only taken about 20 minutes, but for some reason there was really bad Bay Bridge traffic and it took us almost 1 1/2 hours! Ahh! I turned the game on in my car and we listened to the innings tick away as part of the fastest game in history! So frustrating! By the time we got to the game there were only two innings left. The good part: parking was free, easy, and we had great seats. The bad part? Did I mention we just drove for an hour and a half only to see 30 minutes of the game in person? Oh well...

Oakland ended up winning 3-0 and all three runs were made in the first inning, so all we really missed out on were 6 innings of strikes anyways. Yeah, I'm going to keep telling myself that. :o( Boo.

Support for the A's, Orioles, & Red Sox - Wait, Red Sox?

The baseball game was basically the end of the fun for the weekend. We dropped Ken off at the airport, dropped my dad off at home, and then David and I hit the road to drive back down to San Diego.

Overall it was a great weekend and I had a lot of fun. Hopefully Ken did too! California Rules!

Marathon #10 - Check!

Wow, so where to start? Yesterday it was sprinkling in San Diego all day. It almost never rains in San Diego! I think it actually rains more in Phoenix in a year's time than it does here due to the monsoon season. While it wasn't actually "raining" and was just sprinkling, being out in even sprinkles while running for hours would have resulted in me being a miserable, soaking mess. Luckily this morning the mist had stopped and it was cool and cloudy and perfect weather for a marathon.

David and I walked (yes, walked!! yay!) to the start line from my apartment. Part of being in the Foot Locker Challenge included VIP access to everything so we got to hang out in a VIP start area before the race. That was pretty awesome. They had their own tables, refreshments, food, porta potties, and bag check. After getting there I met up with the rest of the team and we met our bike escort who would meet us at mile 3 and stay with the group until the halfway mark, and would then follow the leader to the finish.

We were told that we were going to be starting in corral 2 which put us really close to the start. That was pretty neat since the elite runners were within distance! The only problem with that though was that we were then starting off with the second fastest pack of runners.

David (official Team Monika race photographer) got a picture of Ryan Hall and Josh Cox at the start line.

We started off the race at a pretty quick pace (normal, due to excitement) but kept that pace for several miles. As we passed through mile 3 and then 5 I realized that we had been running a sub 8:00 pace the whole time. Yikes! Way too fast! I started getting worried because I like to conserve energy and was afraid I'd burn out in the end of we kept it up. We lost one of our team members by mile 2, and honestly by mile 5 I thought about dropping back as well to save my energy. I wanted to stick with the pack though through the halfway point (13.1 miles) as planned though so I gave it all I could to stay with the group. We slowed down a bit by the time we got to the only real hill in the race which was Highway 163 which goes up through Balboa Park. It was about a 3 mile stretch with a gradual incline, and I made even more of an effort to stay with the group because David was positioned at mile 9 for a photo opp.

Well, sidebar for David's story. I had given him a map of the course and times that I would be in different places. He joined me at the start and was then going to run back to my apartment (about a mile with a cut through pass) and see us go by at mile 2. I never saw him at mile 2 and figured he just couldn't get there in time since we got there in 15 minutes versus the 18 I told him he'd probably have. Well... it turns out he actually went to the 9 mile spot by accident instead. After waiting around for 20 minutes (completely alone on the side of the freeway) he finally realized that he was in the wrong spot and no one would be coming by for a while. Around 45 minutes into the race the elite pack finally came through and he got a great video of that.

Another half hour after that my group came by and he got a nice action shot.

From that point David went back to get Kenny and the two of them headed off to the finish line to wait for me. I stuck with my group for a few more miles until we got to 13.1 and then one of the guys just took off like a rocket with the bike escort in tow. The other girl pulled ahead too, so the remaining guy and I stuck together. The amazing thing is that we crossed the 13.1 mark at 1:48:32. That is the fastest half marathon I have ever run! David and I ran a half marathon in February and our time then was 1:56, with my best time before that being 1:54. In retrospect, now I feel like if I can run a 1:48 half marathon and then run another 13.1 miles.. there is no reason I shouldn't be running a 1:45 half marathon on its own! But back to the race. So about 2 miles after we split off from the front two the other guy started falling back so I was then on my own. And then .. the muscle cramps started kicking in. O... M... G...

I used to get toe cramps all the time in gymnastics and I've gotten ab cramps before during an ab workout, but nothing could have prepared me for the pain of my (abnormally huge) quad muscles starting to cramp. I didn't know what to do and kept pushing on until the pain got unbearable. I then tried to switch up my gait a bit to see if that helped, and them my calves cramped. I started to freak out mentally at this point because I still had 10 miles to go! I went over to the side of the road to try to stretch my quad by bending my leg back at the knee. That totally didn't work since that isn't ever enough to stretch my quad normally. So, I decided to squat down instead. That totally did the trick! As soon as I squatted down both muscles relaxed. I stayed down for about 15 seconds and then got up and started running again.

I was so relieved to find that I was back to normal! For about a mile... before it started all over again. To make a long story short, I had to go through cycles of running through immense quad pain until I couldn't take it anymore, stop and squat for a while, then get back up and start running again. This made the last 10 miles of the marathon the most miserable 10 miles I have ever run in my life!!! It was a total physical and mental struggle that I wasn't at all prepared for. I went from running with the 3:40 group (Boston qualifying time!) until mile 16 to running and stopping and running and stopping while tons of people passed me. At certain points I wasn't even sure I'd even be able to finish! But, I couldn't let that happen and kept pushing on mile after mile.

When I entered the Marine Base that we finished on I was so relieved. When I saw mile 25 I was even more relieved than before. And when I passed mile 26, I realized the end was near. I was becoming so discouraged in the last few miles that I had stopped looking at my watch and was just trying to finish regardless of the time. When I got to mile 26 I finally looked at my watch and realized that although I wasn't going to beat 4 hours, I was totally going to be finishing within the minute after 4:00. As I approached the finish line I kept searching the crowd for David's red hat, and finally saw him standing almost literally under/to the right of the finish line.

Big smile for David and Kenny and then I crossed the finish line in 4:00:32. My best time to date! My best time before this was 4:03 at this same race back in 2007. Okay so I didn't finish today in 3:59 and change, but 4:00 and 32 seconds is just fine in my book! Especially considering what I went through during the last 10 miles.

After crossing the finish line I met up with David and Kenny over at the VIP finish area. That was probably the best part of the VIP package! They had a full buffet of food laid out, all you could drink Miller Light (not that I would ever want one after a race), tables, a first aid station, gear pick-up, and porta potties. All of the elite racers were hanging out there along with a bunch of other VIPs. I totally wonder what other ways people get to be VIPs? Its so cool! I wish I could be part of that for every marathon!

Here are Kenny and David proudly wearing their VIP passes.

So while I was there I saw two of my other teammates. Turns out the other girl Lauren came in first, becoming the first female to win this competition! She crossed at 3:45 and was followed by the guy who rocketed off who ended up finishing at 3:48. She says she finally caught up to him at mile 25 and overtook him from there. I came in 3rd at 4:00 and the other two guys came in at 4:19 and 4:20.

Here is the press release announcing the results. Pretty cool! My second press release that doesn't involve the mention of dental products!

http://www.rnrmarathon.com/press/San_Diego_Woman_Takes_2009_Foot_Locker_County_Challenge_Title.html

Here is Elvis presenting Lauren with her Tiffany's trophy!

We also got a group photo with our bike escort who was a really nice guy.

And of course, here is David - president of my marathon support club.

After hanging out for about an hour and a half and sampling the buffet and socializing, we headed back to the car. On the mile long walk out (just what I needed) we were surprised to see Ryan Hall was signing autographs by a Nissan booth near the exit! We saw him briefly in the VIP area, but before I could go embarrass myself and be a dork asking for a picture with him, he took off. Now we know why! David and I quickly jumped into line for an autograph while Kenny was left wondering "who is that guy??"

David and I both got autographs and got a picture with Ryan Hall, 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials winner and US Half Marathon record holder. Wow! Running geeks! He was very nice and friendly too and asked us about the race and what we'd be running next.

After the race I went back to shower and we went for my favorite post-marathon meal - Mexican! Better yet, we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Chevy's!

I'm fairly sore right now and anticipate that tomorrow will be somewhat miserable considering what I pushed my legs through. The pain will only be temporary though and in the end it was a great race and totally worth it. I feel so lucky to have been able to be a part of the Foot Locker Challenge team, and feel like being on the team helped me get to a 4:00 finish (even if we went to fast in the beginning and I cramped the whole rest of the way)! David and Kenny were also such great race support and I'm so glad they were here to share the day with me!

If I blog tomorrow it will probably only say "wow, ouch". Haha!

Marathon Press Conference

This morning there was a press conference for the marathon that was held right before the start of the expo opening. My Foot Locker teammates and I were told to arrive around 10:15am to receive our goodies and gear. The press conference was on the roof patio of the convention center. The morning was a usual Southern California morning, low 60's, overcast, and a bit misty. I mention this because I was not too pleased to realize that the hour I spent curling and spraying and curling my hair was all going to go to waste. Within five minutes of being out in the mist my hair returned to its happy, natural, flat and limp state. Oh well.

The goodies and gear that we got were incredible! We received a striped Foot Locker singlet (running tank), running shorts, warm-up pants, a windbreaker, a running hat, and a pair of New Balance running shoes! Score!

On top of that we also received a VIP package which included an invite to a VIP dinner tonight (I passed, I had a massage scheduled), access to the VIP lounge during the expo today and tomorrow, access to a VIP area at the start line, VIP gear check, access to a VIP finish area, a VIP parking spot at the finish line (BEST PART), and access to the VIP area at the after party concert. Hmm.. could I have squeezed VIP into that paragraph one more time? Basically exclusive areas and less lines. I'm all about that!

We then went over logistics for race day. The only piece of gear we have to wear is the singlet. Everything else is optional. I have a feeling each of us will probably only wear that. The shorts were really on the skimpy side and it didn't seem like any of us wanted to be a team of cheeky zebras. We meet at the VIP area by 6:15am (race starts at 6:30am) on Sunday and meet our bike escort. (SO COOL! You probably don't appreciate that unless you're a runner too. Usually only special participants get an escort. Leaders in the male, female elite category, leader in the local category, wheelchair participants, etc.) The bike escort will stay with us for the first 13.1 miles where we stick together, and will then follow me - I mean the leader from that point forward.

Soon after discussing all of this, the press and elite athletes started to arrive. Oh yeah, and then randomly - some members of the kitchen staff wheeled a cart of like 50 turkeys by. WTH?

So the press conference started and the director of PR welcomed everyone, went over some general information for the race, and then introduced us, the 2009 Foot Locker Challenge team! Whoo hoo!

Originally there were six of us selected but somehow we seemed to have lost a member. When we were all emailing each other to set up a training run time, one of the guys that lived far north stopped replying and the final guy was traveling, so only four of us ran together. The guy who was out of town was here today, but the other was mysteriously gone! I wonder if he dropped out? It seems unfair if he did since his spot could have gone to someone else who would have really enjoyed being a part of this.

After each of us was introduced they then started introducing the elite athletes. OMG they were all so tiny! The two women had to be around 5'0" 80 lbs? (Far right.) The men weren't much bigger. I'd say 5'5" - 5'10" weighing between 110-140 lbs? Suddenly I felt like an ogre!

Each of the elite runners had some type of impressive win or record behind them. There were a few previous race winners and a few record holders. The most notable being the course (not world.. sorry David for the mistext, I was too excited!) record holder. His record is 2:08:33. Just to do the math for you that is an average of a 4:54 pace. Yes, he ran a sub 5 minute mile for 26.2 miles. WOW. After the press conference we got to take a publicity photo with him. Who knows, maybe we'll make the event brochure next year? :o) Notice how he is shorter than me. I'm wearing heels so he is probably actually my height. I'm 5'5". And from the looks of him I probably have 30 pounds on him. Depressing.

But back to the press conference. The next person up after the elite athletes was Tom Bedford. He is the reason that elite runners Josh HOT, I mean Josh Cox and Ryan Hall will be running the race. They are pacing him, a mere mortal, to a 2:25 finish in order to raise money for a charity.

His quest for this finish time started in a pub bet, as all heroic athletic endeavors should of course. Information about his charity and efforts can be found here http://entoto.org/, quite a neat story. Just to do the math for you once again, a 2:25 finish is a 5:32 mile. For 26.2 miles. Sheesh. In his last race he came close finishing in 2:33. That is really not too shabby. Lance Armstrong (an amazing, amazing athlete) recently finished in 2:46:43. In his first attempt he finished in 2:59. So this guy Tom Bedford has already beat Lance Armstrong in his first marathon, and is on track to beat him by another TWENTY minutes in his second marathon.

Please, a moment of silence for this amazing man!

Anyways, after the press conference we all went down and got our race numbers and race shirt and the rest minus me went into the expo to check out all of the booths. Sadly, I had to rush back to work for a meeting and couldn't look around. Not to worry though, I'll be back tomorrow to check things out with David.

So it is now the night before, the night before the marathon. I'm excited about the race after today's event, I'm nice and loose thanks to tonight's deep tissue massage, and I'm ready for a somewhat big day tomorrow (Allen brothers arriving and going the marathon expo) and then the real big day on Sunday!

You Know You're a Nerd When....

... you are walking your dogs in the park and you whip out your Blackberry and check Twitter via Twitterberry and see a tweet from Elite Racing that gets you so excited that you then call your special someone to share the following news which is blurted out something like:

"OMG, I was just checking Twitter on my Blackberry and Elite Racing retweeted that Josh Cox tweeted that he and Ryan Hall who also tweets will be pacing some dude for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon!"

What I saw to spawn such excitement looked like this:

To translate this to those of you who are not obsessed with running, Josh Cox is an elite marathon runner, 50K American record holder, Power Bar athlete, and former contestant/stud from "The Bachelor".

Ryan Hall is another elite runner who won the marathon in the 2008 Olympic Trials, came in 10th at the Beijing Olympics, holds the American record for the half marathon, and came in 3rd at the Boston Marathon last month.

These are big shot runners, and they're pacing a guy named Tom Bedford at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon to support him in finishing the race in 2:25 (geez that's fast) to support the Entoto Foundation. More information: http://entoto.org/.

The reason that I am so excited about this, is that I'm hoping that they will be at the press conference on Friday and that I'll get a chance to meet them! (And take a cheesy smiley Japanese girl picture with them!) I know, who cares about the charity and why this guy is doing it and why these elite runners are helping him, its all about me getting a chance to meet some famous runners! Hey, at least I'm honest.

The press conference starts at 11am this Friday. Stay tuned!