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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Work and Illness...Running Dressed as a Toilet

Yes sometimes work and running collide and sometimes that means you end up running 4 miles dressed as a running toilet, or that might just happen to me.  Last Saturday Metro Atlanta Utilities were out celebrating the beginning of USEPA WaterSense Program's Fix a Leak Week.  We hosted 660 runners at the Water Drop Dash 5K and Kid's 1 mile Fun Run.  The weather was beautiful and I was dressed as a running toilet, and yes I ran both races like that.  I have to first mention that in my professional life I would not be described as whimsical.  In fact when I walked out after running Volunteer Registration and got in my costume you could feel the eye of every colleague I work with around the region.  You could not hear a peep.  I don't know what they thought  I would do.  I mean I could not even lift my arms.

One brave soul broke the ice.

My Friend Laura from The Chattahoochee River Keeper. 

After that first request for pics we were off to the races!  My friend from Gainesville Utilities was dressed as the Conservation Crusader and we headed out to lead pre-race warm ups that we had written out to clever water facts and tips.  Then it was time to run.  I have to say I was apprehensive about whether I could run both races in the costume.  Thanks to Hubby's artistic work securing the costume, which was a little too big for me, previous owner was a little bigger, it was pretty stable.  It was also hot.  The hardest part is the arm holes are cut so low I had no arm swing and I am not used to being so wide so I kept hitting folks I passed, costume is mostly foam so no injuries.  I will say everyone was so excited about the running toilet and had a great time.  It is sometimes fun to throw caution and your career to the wind, and do something outside the box.  After making it through the 5K in 30 minute, probably my slowest 5K in 2 years, but as a fellow runner pointed out my PR as a Running Toilet, it was Kids Fun Run time.  This was great I was out front of the kids and I took off really fast so they could Chase Down Leaks.  Of course after the initial couple hundred yards I gradually slowed down so everyone could catch me.  We all win at Water Drop Dash, especially water.

We end the event with a family water festival and awards. It was a huge success.  It was our second year.  We doubled our participants.  It was great fun.  I will say organizing and managing a race is so much more stress than just showing up to run, so thank volunteers and race coordinators.  Oh yeah I also might have forgotten to mention I also did all of this with Bronchitis and a Sinus infection that then took me out of running commission for the rest of the week, which was crazy busy at work and found me begging for Friday. A testament to good drugs and mind over matter!

This weekend marked the first painful runs I have done since Water Drop Dash.  I am so out of shape! I miss being able to breathe.  More on that later.  Hope everyone is having a great day! Hopefully thing are slowing down or returning to normal.  I hope to get back to regular blogging.

Lately I am grateful for Respiratory Rescue Tea and good cough medicine!



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