GYMPRESSIONS

With just one week to go till the Disney Princess Half Marathon, I needed to test drive my race day outfit.  Since it's Disney, many women run the race in costume.  As those who have attended my Halloween parties or my Barbie themed 30th (we share the same birthday!) can attest, I never turn down an opportunity to play dress-up.  I'll be running as Snow White.

I've never done a half before, so I didn't want to do anything too funky costume-wise; I decided to wear real running clothes.  Fortunately, Running Skirts has a line of princess skirts that are perfect for the Disney Princess half.  I'm pairing the yellow skirt with a blue mesh t-shirt that I'm customizing with adhesive felt to make it look like the top of Snow White's dress.  I've also got a red sweatband to wear in place of Snow White's bow, but honestly, I think I'm going to wear my running hat.  (It's blue, so it's pretty much goes.)  Maybe I'll stick a bow on it.

Now, it's one thing to dress like Snow White at the Magic Kingdom, and quite another to dress like Snow White in Central Park, particularly in the dead of winter.  I decided to take the slushy conditions as a sign and test my outfit indoors this weekend. 

The Equinox on 74th street has an odd configuration.  It's five stories, but only two are above-ground, the reception floor and a cardio machine/weight lifting floor upstairs.  There's a second cardio/weight area all the way in the basement.  Most days when I work out at 74th street, I fight the crowds to be on the top floor.  I've always thought of the basement as a sort of spillover space, a last resort on a super crowded day.  I certainly didn't expect it to be busy at 8am on a Sunday.  I opted for the basement this weekend because I didn't want to be seen in my princess garb.  As it turns out, a decent number of people prefer the more private, mellow coziness of the basement.  In fact, there's kind of a bottle-dweller anti-scene down there.  In any event, it suited my purposes; I didn't get as many looks as I thought I would. 

I learned two key things during my dress rehearsal.  1) I am buying some of that Body Glide that comes in the little packets because, like all shorts, the shorts under the skirt will ride up and that will get annoying approximately one hour in.  2) It's hot when you run in above-freezing temperatures!  My face was beet red after an hour running at room temperature. 

I've decided that I'm going to use my arm-band for my iPod and my water bottle with the hand-strap.  If the water bottle gets annoying, I'll toss it along the way.  It was cheap.  If the arm-band starts chaffing, I can hold it or switch arms.  Am I asking for trouble?  If anyone has any advice on this, please send it my way! 

-Gym Belle-