Another Halloween Costume Before & After!

Last night, I ran in the Screamtown 5k in Scranton, and wore my pirate costume from last year. I'd have frozen my tushie off running outside after dark in this year's costume! It was an un-timed fun run. They sent out about 10 of us in waves, along a dimly lit trail, with two "flags" each attached to our hips. There were zombies along the way who'd chase us and try to get our flags. If you came back with both flags, you got three entries into the raffle for prizes. One flag, two entries. No flags, one entry. And they were those fast 28 Days Later zombies, not the lumbering Walking Dead!

I almost came back with one flag. I ran carrying a dagger and musket, which in retrospect, might not have been that smart if police saw me running with a knife and gun, even plastic ones. But then my husband messed me up. After we started running, he walked about a quarter mile or so down the trail, to try to get pictures of runners getting ambushed by zombies. Most didn't turn out, though, because a combination of fast runners and nighttime made photography difficult. Until THIS KNUCKLEHEAD came along, and slowed down and turned to ham it up for the camera... and ran SMACK DAB into a zombie! The very last zombie, and I lost my last flag!

So much fun to see and hear other folks screaming and jumping when the zombies came after us. I have four older brothers. Nothing phases me. I probably broke the poor zombie's unbeating hearts when I didn't so much as flinch at them.

I my costume. It's mostly hand-made, even the hat. The shirts (I wore a different one this year) were leftovers from the 1990s when The Puffy Shirt was briefly in style. Yes, I wore those shirts, in public, in normal everyday life.

Last year:


This year! I can't get over how much smaller my waist is!


Side by side... I didn't wear my hair extensions for the run. I was sweaty enough without 'em!


Before the run...


Hamming it up for the camera at the end of the run...


I had an "AHA!" moment looking at the pictures last night. I sometimes get down because when I look in the mirror, I don't think I look much different. I don't think I need to lose any more weight, but I still think, "I lost 35 pounds... and I don't see any change!" But then I realized... it's because THIS is how I what my mental image of myself always was. My outside finally matches my inside!!!