Race Day

Hopped up on meds and ready to run @ 6:15 AM

I finished my 2nd Half Marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who donated, encouraged, or shared their testimony with me about how cancer has affected their life.

For the first time ever I was able to sport a cute little loc puff ponytail. I was quite excited about this as it meant my hair would be pulled back and I could sport my freebie hat that also had a pocket on the front. I got my hair caught in the velcro strap a few times while I was adjusting it, but no major damage was done.

You know I was looking for some locs whenever I was in the race, right? As soon as I jumped in the corral I saw a lady with the prettiest locs. I thought they were sister locs, but she told me they were very small traditional ones that she maintained by palmrolling. WOW! I also saw a few heads full of locs as I trudged on in the race. I think my count was up to 4. I was tempted to increase my pace to talk to one lady, but I didn't fancy having much chit chat while I tackled 13.1 miles.

I didn't bring my camera on the course and was feeling too ill to pose for many pictures after the race. I did, however manage to document a bit of the experience. So, enjoy my race recap video.

Loc Enemies

Lint, smoke, and velcro are the enemies! I don't like them one bit.

I've been battling lint for the last few weeks. Nothing major, but I must remember to wrap my hair up when I'm lounging under fuzzy blankets and laying on the carpet. I should probably invest in some microfiber towels as well to keep lint at bay when drying my hair. I pluck out what I can see in the front, but I have this ridiculous(?) fear of having a head full of lint because of what I can't see in the back. I wonder if I can hire a lintpicker? LOL!

Nitpicking monkeys from gawker.com

I'm also very sensitive to smells. So it should come as no surprise that I like my locs to smell refreshing and clean -whatever that means. Smoke, be it from cigarettes, hookah, incense, grilling or frying food, stays in my hair. Now that it's getting warmer, I have no problem washing or rinsing my hair more often to combat this. During the winter, however, this was a problem because I didn't like leaving the house with wet hair. Wet hair + cold temperatures = frozen hair & frozen Timah. No fun! If you ever want to piss me off or make me want to karate chop you in the throat, blow your funky cigar in my freshly washed locs.

Evil cigar smoker from Dailycamera.com

Lastly, I think it's important for me to reiterate that velcro is not your friend. I'd read this on NP before, but I had no idea how painful this could really be. My winter coat has velcro on the collar. Getting my locs caught in that makes me cringe. Ahhhhh! When I hear that crackling sound as I pull my hair out of it, I often think "This can NOT be good." My hair bounces back, but I'd rather not be bothered with the trauma. Good thing it's getting warmer and the coat has been put to rest for the season.