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April 5, 2005

Holy Capitol 10,000 Batman!

My first real roadrace other than a one-miler I did as a kid was Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. There's nothing like a soggy tortilla shower, naked people, a 6-1/2 foot Madonna, frat boys pushing a keg in a wheelbarrow, and other assorted characters to keep you distracted while you run farther than you ever have before in one of the hilliest towns in the nation.

I think the Capitol 10,000 here in Austin used to be that way. When I ran it in 1997 for the first time (which coincidentally happened to be the morning after I first enjoyed the purple - Everclear - margaritas at Baby Acapulco just down the street from where Jenna got her MIP and I spent the night in a friend of a friend's two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on West 6th Street with approximately 8 other people) I think there were more costumes. I remember lots of women wearing bluebonnet dealy-boppers on their heads. I also remember W. the governor starting us off, and my sweaty palms and knotted stomach at the starting line after hearing the announcer, "Evil," warning us not to run if we had consumed any alcohol in the past 24 hours.

So our creative/crazy inflatable-Christmas-penguin-in-the-backyard friends organized for us to run in costume during the race on Sunday. Superheroes all. (Last year they all ran in prom garb. I joined them for the last quarter mile in an old bridesmaid's dress after having finished up my last 20-miler before Boston - NOT in a bridesmaid's dress.) Andy and I were Batman and Robin. My costume was easy, but Andy's required a lot more thought and creativity and he looked AWESOME. In a funny way, though. Gray running tights and shirt, blue calf-high dress socks, blue speedo over his tights, a mask, a blue plastic tablecloth cape and homemade ears. The speedo definitely took some nerve to wear. And no I did not wear Robin's little green spanky pants; I just wore green shorts.

It was incredibly fun to start in the back and run through the crowd with a near continuous stream of "It's Batman and Robin" exclamations behind us. The kids definitely dug us; Andy said a kid in the porta-potty line looked completely dumbfounded when he came out of the hut.

As much fun as we had, I still have one major gripe. It was perfect pr weather. Sure wish I'd had my pr legs on.

(By the way ... do I abuse the parenthetical? I hope not. But I can't help but use it.)

Posted by jenandmats at April 5, 2005 9:06 PM