Burnt Out But Still Volunteering

Wow. I've been really absent from this whole blogging thing. I'm going to try and get better at that.

Relay for Life season has begun. And I did something crazy this year. I actually volunteered myself to be the Survivor Event Chair. What was I thinking?! Oh right, I didn't want Michele (our event chair) to have to do everything. We're all burnt out from doing this for so long but a few of us have stepped up to keep it going. I swear, if we didn't, our Relay this year probably wouldn't exist. Leo and Carole have been the event chairs the last few years and when they stepped down, no one wanted to take it on - they were that awesome; big shoes to fill. But Michele stepped up to the plate. Go gurl!!

So this year's theme is Wish Upon A Cure. If you can't tell, it's a Disney theme. This opens up the campsite options really wide. My team has decided on turning our campsite into Andy's Toy box (from Toy Story). It's actually a neat idea. We can build a border around our site to look like a toy box and then fill it with all things Disney. Everything we love about Disney, etc. And on the bottom of our shoes, we will have a piece of tape that says Andy on it, kinda like in the movie. Not sure if everyone wants to dress up as characters, but I won't stop them. I love costumes anyways!

So this Survivor Chair position - I've been trying to figure out what it means for Relay other than planning a survivor event before Relay weekend and manning the survivor tent on the actual event. Apparently I need to plan the opening ceremonies for survivors and make a speech. Awesome. I hate public speaking. Michele hates it worse than me and she now wants me to be the speaker for the whole event. Ha! We'll see about that. Though I guess it's not the worst thing in the world.
Michele doesn't want to do butterflies or doves this year. We started brainstorming ideas and I suggested bubbles. Giant bubble machines to fill the stage and engulf the survivors. In my head it looks really awesome. Kinda like this:

But I fear it might turn out like this:

We'd need bubble machines, not foam ones. That, I feel, would get everyone wet, and I'm pretty sure the survivors wouldn't like that. Especially if it's not hot outside. So the search begins...

Wanted: A Day of Ridiculousness

This weekend's event couldn't have been more crazy. My friends, S & J, and I did something impulsive and signed up for the Bubble Run 5K a few days before the event. S needed some ridiculousness in her life right now, so I agreed to do it with her and J said "I can't think of two other ladies I'd rather do this ridiculous event with." And so it happened.

S, me and J before the bubbles

I think that if they has for feedback, we all would agree that starting a 5K at 9am on a blistering 90 degree day is NOT ideal. Granted, we didn't have to wake up super early, but still, I would have preferred it to start at least an hour earlier. Of course, we loaded up on sunscreen. Standing in the sun for an hour (with no trace of shade) before the run is definitely the way to get burnt. Luckily we were smart.

It was very exciting once it actually started. Crossing the start line looked a little like this.

A bubble-y start

Normally I don't like to get my clothes wet if I'm not wearing a swimsuit, but this was a god-send. Walking through the wall of bubbles was so refreshing. I really wanted to just turn around and stand underneath the bubble machine. But that would cause a traffic jam and I'd probably get pushed.

There were more of these bubble stations (pink, green, blue, yellow) strategically placed throughout the 5K. Pink was the first and we came out with it all over our clothes, body and hair. It was awesome.

Me and J with pink shoes!

This definitely wasn't a competitive race as there were no timing chips, but I saw it as a race to what little shade there was on the course. "Let's run to the shade," I suggested. And then we walked slowly in that before braving the sun again.

Green wall of foam

If you were wondering what it looked like walking through the bubbles, now you know. And then you come out with it all over, which is pretty cool (pun intended).

J is a little green

You would think that they'd have more than one water station for races that are on super hot days, but it's hard to predict what the weather will be like when you're in the planning stages. A lot of people were pouring the water on their heads to cool off. I just drank 2 cups. I'll just run to the next bubble station. Blue.

I think the best part about this one was that I got to see parents push their kids in strollers through the foam. They came out with a stroller full of bubbles, no children in sight. This one woman had to shovel out the bubbles to free her kid!

Lost baby

Found baby!

Surprisingly, the kid wasn't crying. I think he actually enjoyed it.

And then there was yellow. So many people had been going through there, the bubble wall was non-existent. There was a pile of bubble, but the wind was pushing it out of the machine to the right, so unless you wanted to wait for people to walk through that side... 

Mellow Yellow

but somehow we managed to still come out with yellow on us, if only on the feet.
 

S has yellow feet

Crossing the finish line, we entered into a bubble foamy awesomeness party. Which is where we hung out for a while to cool off from the sweltering heat.

S and me cooling off

Me and J standing in the bubble wall

drowning in bubbles

Best bubble bath ever!

Even though my feet were swimming in my shoes, my clothes sopping wet, and my body dyed with color, the question I ask myself is, would I do this 5K again? For sure.

A hot mess, but loving it!