In case you were wondering

Walking around and chasing two sprinting kids at the Zoo and then calling lunch a Clif Bar before your long run does not make for a happy last 3.5 miles.

I felt SO! AWESOME! for the first 9 miles and then DIEDIEDIE the last 3.5 or so were rather humbling.  I collapsed in a heap on the floor and was too tired to move or even protest the 467,406,195th episode of Diego playing.

But--the good news is that I managed 12.5 miles with an average pace of 8:46.  I was pretty consistent in the laps, too, even though the last few really sucked.  So if we're trying to do those 45-60 seconds slower than race pace, we're good.  I really felt like I was going easy, too, which is pretty awesome.

I am curious to see where I am on the scale because I can definitely tell my clothes are looser.  I'm wondering if I'm down to "fighting weight" yet.  I might check this week if I'm feeling really daring.

Speaking of daring, our school is doing a fundraiser for the superawesome charity, Girls With Sole.  It's founded by an amazingly inspiring woman named Liz who is pretty much the most positive person I've met.  So when our school signed up to do a class fundraiser contest, I was all, HECK YEAH!  But the trouble is that our kids have been donated-to-death this year with several contests and donations were slow.  So, a colleague of mine decided to up the ante:  if a class can raise at least $100, then she will wear her old skool prom dress ALL DAY.

Of course, my kids came to me asking--nay, DEMANDING--that I participate, too.  Um.  Yeah.  I guess so.  Even though I love calling attention to myself about as much as I enjoy country music and gouging my eyes out with spoons.

So, of course, one class has already hit $50!  Which is great.  Except that it means that I might actually have to do this.

In case you're wondering, it was 1995, blue sequins, ridiculously tacky, and according to Jackson, makes me look like a mermaid.

The bright side?  All these intervals and race pace runs have--wait for it--made this dress TOO BIG. It's seriously too freaking big!  Which is beyond awesome, because it's supposed to be tight and if I had to wear it as intended there ain't no way I was going to do this.

So, it looks like I'll be the 1995 tacky mermaid in room 221 sometime soon.  All in the name of a good charity, at least!

Less than 3 weeks until race day--gulp!  Giddyup.