A brand NEW running costume!!

One of my very best friends, Megan Duwell (you may also know her as the recent Silver Medalist at the 2011 NACAC XC Championships!) told me a funny story one time about how someone in her family referred to her competition uniform as her running "costume." I don't know why, but that story always cracked me up because it made it sound like an outfit she would don on the way out to fight crime (or perhaps trick or treat), rather than a piece of equipment one wears to represent a team...

That was then.

On a seemingly unrelated (but will quickly become related!) note, I got a call yesterday afternoon from the front desk of my apartment building that a package had arrived for me. I wasn't expecting anything, so of course I booked it downstairs to figure out what this surprise package was! I opened the box on the way back upstairs in the elevator, and what I saw made me believe that there truly IS such a thing as a running costume.

Asics had sent me my new uniform/warm-up gear for the 2011 season, and the very first thing that came to mind was: WHOAH! I'm gonna look like a SUPER HERO! Yes, I am serious.

This is now.

The colors are so super-hero-esque: a brilliant bright red top and a shiny black bottom with my Asics logo printed for all the world to see across my waist like a super hero belt. And maybe it was just my imagination running wild, but when I was finally stowing away my new items into my drawer (after I had tried everything on, pranced around like Wonder Woman, and took some pictures...), I almost felt the urge to check over my shoulder, to make sure no one was watching... because as any good super hero knows, you have to protect your true identity. Ha!

All joking aside, I am truly pumped about this new "face" to my racing for the coming outdoor season. I was content with my third place finish at the USA Indoor Championships a little over a week ago, but in hindsight I felt like I wasn't courageous enough during the race. I think I could have performed even better if I had used what I believe I am capable of to set my pace, rather than allowing what I've heard about my fellow competitors, and my memories of how I had competed earlier in the season to limit me from achieving new heights.

So, with a new uniform (or shall I say, RUNNING COSTUME?) comes a new ATTITUDE.  I am Heather Rae  Kampf, and I am a super hero. I want to take an active approach to races this year. Rather than just letting a race happen to me, I want to be the one making it happen. I want to follow the command of our Lord and BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. I want to do more than just hope for great things, I am going to expect them.

All it needed was a cape... :)

Or perhaps some comic book effects...(yes, I obviously have way too  much time on my hands!)