Happy Costumes!

I absolutely love Halloween ... mainly because it involves costumes. 

This year I had three costumes.

Black Swan-inspired ballerina

First up: a costume for an art show. I always feel some pressure at this event to not be something funny (my specialty) and be something more ... um, arty? 

I had big hopes and dreams for this costume, but they died when I saw it all together.

 
Hamburglar

Next up: a work Halloween party. We made this costume decision solely because we were Zorros the year before, and it was an easy switch (our work department kind of has a thing about dressing up as a group; try it — it's fun). 

Group costume #1 (only two participants, but this costume is
my favorite)

People realized the fun they were missing out on and joined our farm

Fun and easy costume encourages participation

Really simple conversion from fun and easy
costume doesn't encourage participation,
apparently

Mr. Potato Head

Final event: the Halloween Halfathon. It was a long thought process to come up with something that I felt was wearable while running 13.1 miles. 

I had Mr. Potato Head in mind for a regular costume, but thought I could modify it for running. It worked! 

This was extremely non-irritating (exactly what I going for), easy to make (another bonus), and I thought it turned out great.

 

Do you dress up for Halloween (or Halloween parties)? What is your favorite costume? Have you ever dressed up as a group? Have you dressed up for a race? Did it require a long thought process to determine what you'd be (and if it would be comfortable)? Happy Halloween!

Combining two favorite things: costumes and running

I love costumes.

Any chance I have to dress up, I'll do it. This makes Halloween a pretty ideal time for me. Other times, people look at me strangely. I'm used to this, though.

But, I've never run a race in costume. So when I signed up for the Halloween Halfathon this summer, my mind started turning.

Could I run in a costume I already had?

I took into account heat and annoyance factors.

That ruled out Elvis, sadly. Elvis is my ultimate favorite costume, but it is HOT. I thought of ways to modify it, but it's just not exactly what I wanted. 

Zorro would be fun with the cape. But, I worried it could get annoying. Plus, is it really Zorro without the hat? Nope. Zorro is out.

Face paint and hair spray color are out, so there went the witch and zombie prom girl. 

I wasn't really a fan of the lady bug. Plus, I'm not really sure where all the parts are for it. The lady bug is out.

I'm not running in overalls, so no farmer. Plus, I don't have a cow. 

That left my most recent costume, Black Swan-inspired ballerina, and the duck. I didn't like the ballerina costume, so that was out (I do plan on running in the tutu some day, though). So, down to the duck.

I thought and thought about the duck. I wore orange shorts with orange tights underneath for the legs. I never run in shorts or tights (I'm a capris girl). This concerned me. 

But, the rest could be modified for running. Just a hat and a shirt. Not bad, right? But I just couldn't figure out the legs. As much as I love dressing up, I didn't want to compromise my running. So, I finally ruled the duck out, too. It might be a possibility for a 5K, but 13.1 miles is a long way to be annoyed or be hot (I manage to get plenty sweaty on my own). 

 What does that mean? New costume! Yay!

Well, yay until that at almost one week out, I still can't find a key component. Eeek!

So far, this is all of the costume I have.

Yes, those are six sheets of felt. No, those won't cover me.

I'm hoping the component I ordered off the internet will get here in time and will work. Otherwise, I'm in trouble.