All dolled up and 26.2 miles to go!

I'll admit it, I sometimes judge people by their running clothes. Now don't get me wrong, I am so excited when I see people out running, and I never judge them by their pace, or what their form looks like, or whether or not they want to say "hi" to me as we pass, no...that's all good. But I do often times look at someone and envy their cute running skirt, or covet their fancy florescent shoes. On the flip side, I often see people running in cotton T-shirts and think..."good lord, what is this 1979?!?" This week I even saw a woman wearing...wait for it...JEAN SHORTS! Yes, there was a woman out on the trails on Wednesday, one of the hottest days of the week, wearing jorts, while running. And she wasn't running for the bus or to catch up with a friend, she was legitimately out for a run. She was also sporting one of my other running-don'ts...the long, free flowing hair. I mean, my hair barely brushes my chin and I have to pull it back, I just don't get how she was managing with a thick mane of curly hair swinging willy-nilly behind her. I was so sweaty, my SWEAT was sticking to my neck, I couldn't imagine having hair out there in the mix too!

Eventually I got over it, I mean, to each her own. Besides, I am certainly not some fashion plate sporting the latest get ups from Lulu, Lucy, or any of those other fancy-pants places. Trust me, I am intimately familiar with the entire line of active wear from both Target and Walmart, and it's not bad! Sure, it might not hold up as long as the name brand stuff, but it wicks, it breathes, and it doesn't require me to get a second mortgage on my house to buy it. And really, who cares what your running clothes look like? You are going to be sweaty and disgusting at the end of your run anyway, so what does it matter if your headband perfectly matches the stripe down the side of your tights? If it's clean, dry and weather-appropriate, I'm wearing it, end of story.

That said, I have been finding myself completely and totally obsessed with my outfit for the marathon. I don't know why, but for some reason I have it in my head that how I look that day is going to have an effect on the race. I have no idea if it's going to be cold, hot, rainy...snowy...but I don't care, I just want to look cute. Maybe it's because over the four or five (six) hours it's going to take me to finish this thing, thousands of people are going to see me...which is dumb because it's not like any of them are going to be looking at me in particular. Or maybe it's because I am sure I will look so horrific when it's over that at least my clothes should look good. I don't know, but it had become all consuming, until last week. Last week I attended the Another Mother Runner party and I saw this:

It's like the heavens opened up and rained clarity down on me. Yes, I am a Badass Mother Runner, and I MUST wear this shirt for the marathon. And no matter if it is hot, snowy, or raining cats and dogs, I will be at the start line in my totally awesome shirt, staring down those 26.2 miles daring them to beat me. Then, when I cross that finish line in 2,431st place, I will kneel down, rip that thing off and celebrate like like I just won the world cup, because that's what badasses do! And seriously at that point, I won't give a rip about what I'm wearing...just get me to the after party stat!

After the race I will undoubtedly go back to not caring what I look like while I'm running as long as my hair is pulled back and there is no cotton touching my skin. But until then, I am on a quest to find a matching headband and socks, and nothing can stop me until I do!