It was time for the annual Spooktacular 5k!  Last year, the boys and I dressed as pirates.  This year, D2 didn’t want to go to the run, so he hung out with his cousin.  Darin and I took some time to figure out what we were gonna be about a month ago.  We were trying to think of a couples costume where the guy was bald, because running in a wig just didn’t seem appealing to either of us.  We had narrowed it down to Gru from Despicable Me and the lipstick tazer lady (can’t remember her name) and Snow White and Dopey.  Why not prince Charming?  Well, he’s kinda lame and nothing beats that moment when Snow kisses Dopey on his bald head.  In the end, we decided on Snow White and Dopey.

I’m not the girliest of girls and was a little unsure I could pull off a run in a dress, let alone a tutu, but hey, it’s a Halloween run.  Don’t get me wrong, I see lots of ladies running in tutus and I think they are adorable, it has just never been me.  I decided that for Snow White, it was going to be a tutu.  I’ve done a few costume runs and for me, the costume has to start with a running outfit as a base.  I can’t stand that “costume” fabric used in most commercial costumes against my skin in general and definitely not in a run.  For my costume, I ordered an under armour tank that was moisture wicking and wore running shorts as my base.  I made all the elements like the shoulders and cape easily detachable should they feel like they were chafing or annoying me in any way.  Much to my surprise, I didn’t have to remove anything on the run.  For Darin’s costume, I ordered a brooks long sleeve tech shirt in a larger size than he needed to give that Dopey look.  He work a base layer of shorts and some large fisherman pants on top, which were also easily removable if they got in the way.  We added some accessories (also removable) and I sewed together a quick dwarf style hat.  Other than taking the hat off for a bit, he didn’t have to remove any parts of the costume either thankfully.

It was a rainy morning, but we took it all in stride.  It was a huge relief for me not to be worried about making a specific time or pace.  I just wanted to have a great time and enjoy all the costumes and a great run.  I told Darin we could just take it easy or run at whatever pace he wanted to run.  He said he wanted to try to run the entire thing, with no walk breaks.  He’s done great times with the walk/run method, but hadn’t really done one in which he never took a walk break, not even at the water station.  So, that became the goal of the run, to go at a comfortable enough pace that he could run the entire time without stopping. We set off among all the great costumes and people that always make this event a blast.

The run was great, we took it easy when needed and pushed a little here and there but with no goal in mind other than running and enjoying ourselves.  I pushed out of my comfort zone by shouting “great costume!” whenever I passed someone who really put thought and effort into theirs.  I also commented on the kids costumes, and loved seeing them smile when acknowledged.  It was a great run.  Darin accomplished his goal of running the whole thing in its entirety.  I accomplished my goal of not trying to worry about time and training and just have a good time.  I stopped to reflect on how thankful I am for those moments where the training is not priority, but feeling good, feeling loved and have a great time is.  And while life is no fairy tale, you can work hard to make your dreams come true!  Happy Halloween!!!