I was asked by a friend if I'd take part in a fundraising effort for the local LGBQT youth group. It's a standard "sign up sponsors, go running" thing... ...except the race is only three blocks long. And you have to run it in heels. I decided "What the hell" and signed up. And no, I've never worn heels in my life. And although many people go all out and do the race in drag, I decided to go the other way. I decided I'm going to do the race in full indoor lacrosse gear. And heels. I have a Mammoth jersey with my name on it, and shorts, but I don't own a stick or helmet. At first, I figured "Oh, I can borrow those from one of my lacrosse playing friends." But then I thought "Well, it won't be a Mammoth helmet." So I decided to contact the team. I've chatted with the general manager of the team a few times after games, so I figured there was a chance he'd remember who I was. I sent him a short e-mail asking if I could borrow a Mammoth helmet and stick for the event. He wrote back. Within five minutes. Saying "I love it. We'd be happy to help. I'm forwarding your e-mail on to the equipment manager." The equipment manager wrote back within ten minutes. "Here's my number. Call me up and we'll make this happen." So two things. First - never underestimate how much support there is out there. A professional sports franchise isn't a place one would expect to see a lot of support for an endeavor like this. But this team leapt at the chance to help out. Secondly - look for me to be dressed like this late next month. But in heels. Lex
Haha, very much win. Never tried running in heels. Takes quite a while to even learn how to walk in. Be careful so you don't twist an ankle!
That would be something to see. Too bad I don't live in Colorado. Haha, I would have totally done it.
That sounds quite fun, running in heels shouldn't be too hard because I would assume that you would basically be running on the balls of your feet.
But only a small part of you foot touches the ground when you're wearing heels. In addition high heeled shoes have a smoother and harder sole. The net result is that you have very little friction ... or traction. It is very easy to slip. Also just walking on the ball of your foot is the completely wrong way to walk in high heels.
The race was this morning. Let me tell you how it went. First off, I didn't show up in costume. I put it on there in the parking lot next to the starting line. The team not only loaned me a stick and helmet, but a full set of pads as well. I think I probably looked a bit out-of-place (even among the tutus) as I suited up in lacrosse gear...and then slipped on the heels, which I had found at the thrift store for $4. Before the race, we heard a few young spoken-word artists from the center. All were good, and the last (who did an interactive piece called "I AM the SHIT!") was excellent, and got us all fired up. The race was held along the sidewalk, and we had to line up single-file. And I ended up at the very back. I was cool with that. I had planned on pretty much "shuffle-walking" this entire race, so as to save my ankles. Then we started. And somehow, I immediately fell into a perfect "shuffle-run". I ended up passing most of the competitors. I grabbed a cup of water from the watering station, but then I realized there was no way to drink it with my helmet on, so I dropped it and kept going. There was a "fix a flat" station halfway along, where you could swap your heels for flip-flops. I said "Fuck it" and kept right on running. I ended up in seventh place. Which wasn't bad in the slightest. Even better, at the afterparty, I was told I had come in FIRST for most money raised! There ended up being a huge prize pack for it, with gift certificates to local businesses, and a case of energy drinks, and stuff like that. That was pretty nice, but I'm just happy to contribute. I only have a passable photo from the event right now (and you can't even see the heels!). So I'll wait until the official race pictures are posted, and then put one in my gallery. Lex
