Brian and Libby's Blog

T minus one day

Ok, so this whole race thing has plunged me into a completely unfamiliar world and I feel like I just moved to a new city and am starting my first day of junior high. I typically consider myself a pretty self-confident person. Not to say that I'm narcissistic or think I'm oh-so-fabulous, but I very rarely care what others' perceptions of me are. I used to think that was a good thing but now I'm starting to wonder if it's just a result of the fact that I'm usually in familiar settings with familiar people and don't have any reason to be self conscious. Let me explain.

As it turns out, finishing last is not my only fear for tomorrow morning. Yesterday, my running mentor informed me that it would be really chilly on Saturday morning, and that I should dress for rain, just in case. Dress for rain? I run on a treadmill at the Y. The temperature and, er, precipitation are pretty consistent in there (I think rain is bad for the flat screens). But I just said "oh yea, of course" and headed to Marshalls.

I've always avoided the "active" section of department stores. I just figured, why do I need to dress up to work out if I can wear my pajamas? And if I'm wearing my pajamas, why do I need to work out at all when they're so well-suited for laying on the couch? But in this section, they have an array of choices based on what types of workouts you do, what temperature it is, etc. There is this special stuff called "moisture-wicking" material that I have come to understand is a fancy way to say "wear this if you sweat profusely." I don't sweat profusely; in fact I hardly sweat at all, but I guess this moisture-whatever material is good for atmospheral moisture too. So I found some pants for a reasonable price and picked them up.

Then it dawned on me, they have shirts in this section too. Long sleeved, short sleeved, vests, jackets and tank tops. And they came in all of these different fancy materials too. And the questions started to bombard me...Do I need a special shirt too? What will all of the cool kids be wearing? Should I get long sleeved or short sleeved? What if I'm running and I get hot?What if I wear a dri-fit jacket but my number is on my stomach (as I was instructed it must be) and I can't unzip the dri-fit jacket to cool off and the excessive heat slows me down, AND I COME IN LAST PLACE?

Like I said, jr. high all over again. So here's the kicker. I grabbed like 12 items and headed for the dressing room (apparently you have to be in style to be a runner). As I put on the first pair of black moisture-wicking pants and accompanied them with a black dri-fit runners insulated long-sleeved shirt, I turned to look in the mirror and laughed out loud. It was like I was 13 again, playing dress up in the mirror, trying desperately to be someone I'm not (and, by the way, failing miserably). I should have taken a picture, because I looked hilarious.

I got the pants b/c they were actually quite nice. I got a jacket too but I will probably return it. I will probably wear a t-shirt. I have a lot of T-shirts which makes this option significantly less expensive than the $25 Nike dri-fit shirt. After much deliberation I don't think my choice of clothing will have a huge impact on my anticipated below-average finish tomorrow. I need to get back to basics and remember that the entire goal was to run the entire 5k without stopping to walk (a significant achievement for me!)...regardless of my time, regardless of coming in last, and regardless of whether I'm wearing cool runner's clothes or not.

posted by Libby @ 8:23 AM