Birthdays, Shot Bloks and Breast Exams

Damn, this is a busy time of year. Forget work and school, it's all the freaking birthdays!! Between Jan. 28 and Mar. 4, my mom, dad, brother, husband, sister-in-law, father-in-law and 3 close friends ALL have birthdays! Don't get me wrong, I love them all and I don't need to be convinced to celebrate, but it just gets exhausting. So, for me, spending gobs of money and eating a ton of rich food does not end after the holidays. I just get about a month off before the REAL most wonderful time of the year. Fitting in our never-ending kitchen renovation AND sticking to my running schedule has been a real challenge these past few weeks, but I'm almost out of the woods. After this Thursday, I will have three glorious birthday-free months..... with only two baby showers.... so far.

Ok, new topic, no more whining. My best latest running discovery has to be Clif Shot Bloks. Particularly the 'margarita with sodium' flavor. One of my Facebook friends recommended them to me and I am absolutely certain they were the only thing that allowed me to complete the 14 mile run last Saturday. I ate one cube about every 20-30 minutes (as I watched TWO complete movies) and by golly, I made it through. I was more than a little sore for the next two days, but that's beside the point. Margarita Shot Bloks rule!

So, I guess that leaves the breast exam. Yeah. Two days after my last race, I had my 'annual', during which my doctor found a small, hard reason to refer me for a mammogram and ultrasound. As you can guess, I freaked out for the following week and a half, right up to my appointment with the radiologist last Thursday. My poor husband, the only person I really told, was also extremely worried and incredibly sweet, buying me flowers and offering to go with me. In the end, they found absolutely nothing. Hallelujah. Turns out it was dense tissue (insert 'dense' jokes here). Four days later, I can already laugh about it - though I was absolutely, completely terrified - particularly the fact that, in addition to envisioning wigs and a prosthesis, I was trying to figure out if I could delay surgery or chemo or whatever until AFTER the marathon. Is that not insane? Well, whatever. I'm healthy. I may be dense, but I can run really, really far.

Oh, and for any 'mature' ladies that may be reading this - mammograms? Jeeezus, painful!! I totally get it now. The tech said to me on my way out, "we'll see you next year!" Uh, doubtful. Think I'll be waiting until the 35 mark on that one. But, thanks.