High Heeled Run (aka Miss Piggy goes to Annapolis)

I added in an extra fun run in November because a high heel run is something I have wanted to do. Luckily, they seem to pop up a lot in October and November with October being Breast Cancer awareness month and high heel runs generally raise funds to support organizations working to fight breast cancer.

Healing in Heels Dash for Breast Cancer was on November 11 at the Annapolis Towne Centre. The race was an up and back on one side of the boulevard. By the time I got to the turn around, I was done with running in heels! 550 doesn't seem so far until you're about 200 in and wondering why this was a good idea. Haha. It is much more difficult to run in heels then I thought it would be. Yes, I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't think about how off all the running mechanics would be. The Dad and the kids came to watch (and enjoy some post race food) and the Dad told me the two first place finishers (both guys...yup) had definitely practiced how to run in heels. They apparently had better form then the rest of us. Haha.

Bad form, great fun!

There was a costume contest associated with the run and the winner received a year supply of Saucony shoes (four pairs!) So I decided to run as Miss Piggy. She's always so classy in her heels.

Got Squeezed?

To keep with the year theme of raising support and awareness from the Colon Cancer Alliance, I added a decal to the back of my shirt also. During the month of October, the CCA promotes "Screen THIS too!"

Piggy and Barbie

Sadly, I didn't even come in second in the costume contest! I knew there would be at least one guy in drag in the top two, but I didn't count on Barbie showing up in her box to run. Nice Job! Barbie won. As it turned out, Barbie in a Box is the director of Breast Cancer Center at Anne Arundel Medical Center which was the beneficiary of the race.

As we finished the race, Save the Coconuts had a few fun items for racers: a shot glass and a treat.

Yup.

This race had the best post-race food of any race yet! A few of the restaurants in the Towne Centre were out with food samples for the racers and spectators. While listening to the live band, Gordon Biersch provided beer to those with a race number (the Dad drank mine,) Cadillac Ranch had some delicious sliders, Philly & Flash offered up some amazing loaded fries, and Paladar served creamy coconut flan and thick hot chocolate. And of course there was water for everyone. So filling we almost didn't need to go to dinner! It also looked like there were a few boxes of "usual" post race food that they didn't need since the restaurants really provided a great spread!

Things I learned/relearned from a High Heel Race:

1. Don't run in heels without practice unless being chased by something/ someone or one of the kids is about to fall off something way to high.
2. Feather boas are a very popular accessory at this race. Boas and tall socks.
3. I really enjoy dressing up for a race! This was so much fun. But it is hard to see over that nose and impossible to eat or drink with it on! I'm taking suggestions for next year. Any ideas???
4. Having spectators you know (husband and kids) makes the race even more fun. I love to hear them cheering on the side. And then the "Mom, you weren't very fast" at the finish is always nice too. Haha.
5. Post-race food will make me sign up to run in heels again!

We had told the kids we would eat out at a restaurant after the race, so we moseyed up to Cadillac Ranch for dinner. I still had most of my costume on and was recognized but some other spectators who cheered a bit. Now that was nice!

I also ran this race as part of the Virtual Run for Sandy Relief. A couple of bloggers put together a Virtual Run for the month of November to help raise funds for the Red Cross to aid with Sandy Relief in New Jersey and New York. According to an email at the beginning of December, the effort raised $1,426! Awesome!!