Dressed To Ransack Whoville.

The other night was the Trail of Lights Run is Austin.  I signed up and made it an event for the Triathlon Meetup a while back.  As the holidays (and by default, the run) have gotten closer, my Bah Humbug factor has increased exponentially.  This has been due in part to my decision to not go home for the holidays.  Bah Humbug becomes a proper attitude for staving off any nostalgia based regret over that decision.  The rest of it, I think, might be the result of an emotionally draining fall season, a body that has been fickle at best, not to mention the copious volumes of allergy producing matter that the local juniper trees are currently spewing into the air.

Finished product.  If only I had a Grinch mask and some green tights!

So, I decided at the last minute to dress up... as Santa.  This wasn't going to be a race that I had anything riding on.  It didn't matter how hard I ran, my current fitness guaranteed I wasn't going to set any PR's.  So it was the perfect opportunity to dress up.  I dug out an old red jersey that was far too big for me.  I went to Michael's Arts & Crafts and found some fleecy trim, a Santa hat, and some other odds and ends.  I took this home and set about crafting my costume.

Did I mention that I do not "do" domestication?

I didn't even have any thread.  Minor detail.  I tried the yarn I use for braiding but it was too thick to go through the material.  Hmmmmm...... what to do... what to do.

I dug around in the camper for ideas until I came across the solution.  DENTAL FLOSS!!!!  I had enough dental floss to get the job done and it's minty freshness couldn't be a bad thing!  Mad stitching ensued and before I knew it, Santa was born, Grinch-style, and ready to run!!

I feel like my fingertips are in mortal danger!

I got to the event and met up with a few others.  The run used to be used by this group as the unofficial red speedo run.  With one very brave exception, the rest of us chose costumes over old school!  The honks and shouts of encouragement as the four of us walked through the streets of downtown Austin were, well... mostly for him.  HO HO SPEEDO!!

Four different ways to Ho Ho Ho!!

As it was, I was glad I made the choice to dress up.  The course, while fun to run, included parts that were very dark and with sketchy footing.  It was not a good course to be channeling Dasher.  The costume guaranteed that the mood stayed light and my expectations stayed appropriate.  In all, it was a lot of fun.  And it did a fantastic job of reducing the Bah Humbug factor to a mere scowl before my first cup of coffee.

The Trail of Lights below the city skyline.