Miss Congeniality? Maybe. Miss Photogenic? Never!

Ever notice how some people always look good in pictures? I mean regular people...not photoshopped, over-made-up supermodels or movie stars. Some people even look good in their race photos! I am not one of these people. While I've never looked as bad as some people do when they're racing, this weekend finally yielded race photos where I don't look scared sh!tless or like I'm about to puke...

The only thing I'm really not loving about these pictures (other than the fact that black is not appearing to be very slimming) is the bizarre underarm fat undulation thing going on... see it? I know you didn't necessarily see it until just now when I pointed it out, but now you do, right? I am posting three nearly identical pictures so that you can see it. I think it's a carry-over from the armpit vagina thing I had going on before. I thought it was the scar from my lung surgery, but that's on the other side. 

Fat undulation... 's'what it is.

I could bring the elbows in a little tighter, but I've got a good 'ZoneFace' going on there. And my BICBands headband did an amazing job of keeping the Einstein hair at bay ;-)  I do wish they'd gotten a good shot of how my foot hits the pavement so I could verify my new footstrike (or not), but they didn't. My feet look to be doing a little splay action as they push off and then draw through, but things look pretty good for coming into the finish.

And here are the frightening images of races gone by for the sake of comparison...

Looking miserable last fall in Long Beach...

How can we only be 6 miles into this thing? 

see?... scared shitless.

And then there was Vegas...

early on in the race...

ooooo...cleavage :)

...and will ya look at the bottom of that shoe? 

Example: lost art of slamming all of one's body weight into the heel-most edge of one's running shoe.

I really want you to see the bottom of my shoe!

And though I look like I'm about to puke, I totally chicked the guy in the red shirt.

I think it's a guy.

And see that chick in the orange behind me on the left? here's a story I forgot from that race...

She was super pissed at me. I was running behind her starting right after the Incident at Denny's. I paced off of her while I got my post-evacuatory bearings. At one water stop (or rather, nastyass bacterial refueling stop) we were side by side and I said something really obnoxious but not intending to be...something like "I'm planning on sucking the life out of you by letting you drag my depleted, sorry ass all the rest of the way in this stupid, god-forsaken race." I didn't use those exact words, but it must've been something similar because she glared real live daggers at me. And then about three miles later I had myself pulled together...right about here where this picture was taken...and I smoked her ass. Well, I passed her anyway. I guess a 9-minute mile pace isn't really capable of 'smoking' someone's ass.

This is my "You finished up at Denny's. There's nothing left in there. It is all in your imagination. There is no possible way there is anything left in your system. You do not need to stop for any reason. Keep running. Do not pick up those quarters you are looking at in the street or whatever it is down there that is so freaking interesting...and how can you not see that HAI-YA karate kick thing you're doing, you heel-striking hip-injurer, you?" face. In case you couldn't tell.

Do you take good race photos? Are you photogenic in non-athletic situations?

– I am quite possibly one of the least photogenic people ever...when sporty or regular. But I think that the photos look like I do in real life...so yeah...kind of a bummer. Especially when you have an awesome photographer for a husband. 

Do you wear make-up when you race and/or work out?

– Hahahahahahhahahaha! Unless you count cherry Chapstick as make-up, I never wear make-up. Ever. I don't even know what to do with it :P

Headband Review Video and Giveaway

Over the past several months, I've come to be in possession of three different kinds of headbands...

• Sandra at Absolutely Narcissism felt embarrassed sorry for me after I posted my crazed Einstein hair look and sent me a Lululemon headband to help tame the insane mane,
• Megan gave away SparklySoul headbands on her blog WatchMeGoRun a few months ago, and I won the giveaway, and
• I met Sandy who makes BIC Bands when I was in Las Vegas to visit Denny's during the RockNRoll Half-Marathon and she asked if I'd like to try out her wares...of course I said "YES!" as it was the very first time someone has offered me something super cool to try out! Thanks so much, Sandy :)

Today I present them to you in my Headband Review Video...omg... super lame... but I know y'all have been missing my lovely voice and wrinkly hands... here's two minutes of viewing and listening pleasure...

(FYI... there is an audio issue halfway into the video...I'm trying to fix it so don't rag on me)

Okay, the audio isn't working for me. If it's working for you...AWESOME. If not, I go on to say that all three headbands worked well...except for that speed issue with the first one. If I had to pick one of the three I couldn't do it because I liked them all equally well. The determining factor would be price and stylistic preference, and I was too lazy to find the prices before I made the video. So that's what I said.

I'm such a dork.

Now up for grabs is the awesome, no-slip, black sparkly BIC Bands headband pictured below. Enter to win one to try out for yourself!

If you'd like to enter this giveaway simply tell me so in a comment below :) You could be nice and "like" Sandy's BIC Bands FB page or follow my blog somehow, but none of that is mandatory. Do leave a comment, though, if you want to enter... telepathic entries will not be accepted. 


Entries close Friday January 20th at midnight. Winner announced Saturday. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

This message is from Giraffy, author of 365 Days of Awesome and mom to 5-year old Gabby (who has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia):

Hey, runner friends. Need a headband? BIC Bands will be donating a portion of their January and February proceeds to PCRF's Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon | 10K | 5K | 1K: Reaching for the Cure, benefiting kids like MY DAUGHTER who have cancer. Shop shop shop!

So even if you don't win the giveaway, you could buy one of these fabulous, no-slip, super cute headbands and know that you are contributing to an amazing cause.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Disclaimer: I received the BIC Bands headbands for personal use, review and giveaway from Sandy of BIC Bands. 

Starring: Nose

Yes, I have awesome hair. That fact is indisputable. My hair will one day be super famous, and you can say you knew it when. But like most people with awesome hair, there are days when I wish I had different hair. The grass is always greener... or the hair less wacked-out... or something...

Did you know that I also have a love/hate thing with my nose?  I always have. It surely does its job well in that I have a great sense of smell. This quality I usually love...delicious baked goods, the earth after a good rain, blooming flowers that are not corpse lilies... dog crap and loaded diapers... not so much :P

But I have never been particularly fond of how it looks. I think it is just too big for my pinhead and too pointy for its own good. It sticks out so far that I whack it on things... like doorways... from time to time.

It didn't help that I was teased mercilessly about it in grade school. (Pokeynose... dumbass couldn't even say 'Pinocchio' right). Kids are brutal. My own kids have even made comments about it. Sheesh. Hold your "oh, it's not so bad" comments... please. Even though you might mean them, you don't live with this beast. I appreciate your efforts to see past it, but it's okay. Really.

Anyway...

Who'd've thunk my nose would be featured in a movie? Yeah... I know! I still can't believe it! 

I don't know how many of you took the time to click the Nuun HTC video link I posted a few weeks ago, but since I know it was so much work and might have maxed out the number of windows open on your screen at that given moment, I've embedded it for your viewing pleasure... and I am directing you to the most important scenes... Nose being of primary importance and Nuun Platuun a close second :) I do need to point these things out because they are not super easy to find in and amongst all the sparkle ;-) I kid you... I'm a kidder :P  Okay... enough emoticons... here's the video...

Nuun | Hood to Coast from eric becker on Vimeo.

The parts you want to pay especially close attention to are as follows (times aren't necessarily exact):

• 0:53.... Cupcake's famous "Good job, girl!" 
• 1:17.... Super Kim and her winning smile :)
• 1:27.... THTH Susan (that stands for 'too hot to handle') who just ran a 3:18 marathon(!!!) stripping down to her super sexy shortshorts.
• 1:34.... Nose's DEBUT!!!! Looking sharp ;-)
• 1:57.... Nose's key scene... cut down by the director so you can't see her full range of abilities...
• 1:59.... Tonia, who is an awesome spokesperson and still questioning the whereabouts of our trophies.
• 2:06.... Cupcake again... giving her often-imitated 'thumbs up'!
• 2:11.... Blonde Ponytail, unfortunately obscured in the only shadow she experienced during that hot, hot leg so you cannot see how fabulously her awesome Moving Comfort Juno bra supports her... remember Boobs I Follow?
• 2:52.... Nose participates in a high-five with Megan from AfterNuun Delight... their team's Glamour Leg runner.
• 2:58.... Nose assists in a comforting, motherly kiss and hug for Megan. Nose knows how hard it was. Love you, Megan :)

I didn't mention everyone by name because this post really was all about Nose. But so that no one's feelings are hurt...and in the name of good teamsmanship... I will snag a corner of Nose's marquee and praise the rest... in order of legs run that would be: Tricia, Caitlin, Kerrie, our Faster Bunny, Lisa, and Harmony. Click on the words "AfterNuun Delight" here or above to get names and links for all those awesomely sparkly women :) 

That's enough... Nose is getting cranky about having to share the limelight.

********************

Pretty stellar how I calm my nerves, eh? Distraction, distraction, distraction...

********************

Thursday, October 6 is Taking It On's birthday or bloggiversary (how do you spell that anyway? anyone actually know?). ONE whole year. Wooo hoooo! What better way to celebrate than by helping Lucky Number 13 win an actual real contest with an actual real prize? Yeah! It's taking place today... on TIO's birthday and it will be here! There is some extremely talented competition and I could definitely use your help in getting the popular vote :)

Smokin' Hot

The

was recently presented to me by Selena, 

who blogs extremely candidly about motherhood over at 

Because Motherhood Sucks.

She has placed the requirement of sharing 7 deep things about myself as one of the conditions of claiming my award. We all know I love to share... and going deep connotes oversharing... so you know I'm in :)

Here goes...

1. Let's cut to the chase and pull out the big guns...

I have a gigantic tonsil. It is like a golf ball deep in the back of my throat. HUGE. Just on the left. I'd post a picture but you would all throw up.

2. After winning the most amazing race of my entire life... beyond exciting... took "thrilling" to a whole new level... we were awarded these really weird hats...

I'm pretending this is also my Vecchio Venerdì photo for last week.

They were blue and green and considered very special by the Canadians. I lost mine before we even left Canada. I have no idea where it went. (maybe I left it on the dock) A very memorable memento and it is just gone. I do still have the medal, though :)

3. I wish I had a good and fun and affectionate relationship with my own mom, but I don't. I know she would like this, too. But... she doesn't understand me and has a very 'down' view on a lot of things. I find myself not sharing things with her because coping with her 'process' takes over the share. Consequently, she doesn't know very much about me... which I am sure contributes to her not understanding me. This strained relationship leaves me with many doubts about my own parenting skills.

In fact, I was truly scared to have my daughters.

4. It is really hard to live in a house I do not like. I like the fact that the neighborhood is safe for the kids and for running/biking at night and not getting broken into... but the house itself... blah. And in all honestly, except for the safety factor and being right near the water... well, it is a slippery slope I am going down by even bringing this up. I cannot stand this house and if I think about it, I get really depressed about it. So I focus on the safety and the cleanliness of the neighborhood and the happiness that exists within its wals and not the layout, construction ...

or pink carpet.

5. Even though I tend to be able to separate my current athletic self

from my past athletic self,

sometimes the passage of time hits me like a ton of bricks and I get super bummed... so bummed that I want to curl up in a ball and cry and just give up completely. This usually passes pretty quickly, but when I am in it I am overwhelmed and useless.

6. When I think back on how I handled some things in the past, I am flattened by feelings of guilt and stupidity. This is all in relation to a very particular and related set of situations. And even though making those different choices would mean not having married my husband or having my children, sometimes I wish fervently that I had gone the other way with regard to this. Therapy has helped lessen the frequency and strength of these feelings.

7. I can make a joke about anything... even when it's really inappropriate. This is a problem and not a gift :( ....  Nonetheless, I keep on trying to force that square peg into that round hole... 'cuz that's how I roll :)

The other condition of claiming this award is passing it along to 7 other bloggers. I just nailed so many bloggers with that Q & A thing, so I feel a little awkward hitting up 7 more people... but I'm doing it anyway ;-)

• Ashley who keeps two blogs... Introverted Mama and Mama 365
• Shannon of Shanimal's Crackers
• Katherine, with her brand-new baby, over at An Irish-Italian Blessing
• kjharper from Better After 30 who is expecting her second baby!
• Mara, the mom of a Big Happy Family
• Jennifer at Chase-ing the Dream
• Becky who blogs about her beautiful family and illustrates this with her amazing photographs at Rub Some Dirt On It

And I am getting really close to 400 followers. Woo hooo. That's a big deal, right?

When I hit 404, I am going to have a giveaway... it'll be a good one... you could win your very own copy of the Hood to Coast Movie. Even if you aren't a runner, this is a very interesting, engaging and entertaining film (clicking the title takes you to the L.A. Times review). It'll practically make your body levitate off the couch and propel itself without forethought out the door and down the road to fitness and fun!

Sound good?

Weekend run: what worked... and what didn't.

It has been a rough road getting back on track. Paris was such a great diversion. I walked about a million kilometers in those two weeks but didn't run a lick. Then I returned all refreshed and reinvigorated and ready to ... take it on!  lol  get it?

I had those two awesome runs that week after we returned. I was all lined up to get my longie on ... but family scheduling and my DIY nose job put if off by a day. And then my personal middle-of-the-night maiming really did me in. The bruise finally did turn a very gross and visible green... you can kind of make it out in one of the pictures below ;-)

Over a week went by between runs again. You know, I have this thing... this race thing coming up next week? I probably should try running again before that happens... don'tcha think? Yeah, me, too.

In my new running shoes and some of my husband's running shorts (because it was kind of hot out for a change... it being the afternoon and all and not the darkness of night), I set off to run 7 miles. I had no time in mind. I had no need for speed. I seriously just wanted to finish it in one piece. What I really wanted was a Perrier with lemon and a burger and fries... but that was not amongst the choices.

I'd like to start with what worked... because there's less of that and we can get it over with fast.

1.  Little pink iPod.

LOVE.

About two miles in to it, I wanted to puke. A half a mile later, I almost did puke. I stopped at a bathroom... I found a clean, serviceable, FLUSH toilet public bathroom with toilet paper (!) on my regular route... and I never knew about it before!

Getting going again after my little pee-break made me want to puke more. 

Right when I really and truly did think I was going to vomit, Sheryl Crow told me that all I wanna do is have some fun...

I sang that song out loud like I was on freakin' Broadway! What a dork!

And I sing like crap.

But the iPod kept me from hearing myself :P

2.  New shoes.

They are different from my last ones, which were discontinued... of course.
Feel a little flatter and roomier and sort of like they make me over-pronate.... which I don't normally do. But my feet and legs felt pretty okay even after the 7-mile shock to their systems, so I'm thinking they're working.

Moving on now to what didn't work...

1.  The poodle-skirt-like shorts.

WTH? Whose size-small-shorts-wearing legs need this much fullness in their running shorts?

Though the liner was super comfy, the silky, slinky, voluminous fabric kept wedging up in my crotch.

I will not be wearing these shorts again.

2.  The hair.

I thought the hair was working.

I thought this because when I saw my shadow, I kept thinking

"WOW! That is some serious Einstein hair!"

and laughing.

It kind of took my mind off of how totally and utterly miserable I was.

This first picture is me thinking that the hair was working...

And this close-up is after I've realized how it soooo isn't.

Everyone on the trail and in our development who saw me (all 10 total) probably thought I was some sort of escaped lunatic ... or Einstein's granddaughter.

3. The underarm vagina thing.

Not working.

My sweet husband pointed this out to me...

"Hey, babe... want me to take a picture of that?"

Sure, honey. Go for it.

How do I get rid of this without losing so much weight that I look like a strung-out junkie chick?

I don't think it's possible. Did you see how skinny my legs are already?

Now it's your turn:

Did you exercise this weekend? Did you lounge in bed? Did you do something else? What? And most importantly, was it fun?

****************************

If you enjoyed this post, please remember to head on over to Free Fringes' Lovelinks on October 6 to vote for my blog to win ad space on The Bloggess sidebar for a month. It's quick and painless, requires no joining or info-sharing, just click the link and then click my star... mere seconds :) Thursday's the day! Thirteen other truly talented bloggers are all vying for the spot... check them out, too! Thanks so so so much for all of your support in getting this far :)