unflattering pictures...

if you've run any organized race, you know that there are cameras everywhere.  whether it be hired, professional photographers or your random cell phone users looking to capture something crazy to post to social media.  it is kind of hard to escape the cameras.  i remember the first 5k i ran, seattle's st. patty's day dash with my girlfriends.  we had trained and trained and were concentrating hard on running our best.  we hardly paid attention to the photographers lining the streets of the race. when we scanned the posted pictures there were more than a couple of unflattering photos of us.  we vowed to pay attention the following year and "pose" so we would have a picture worth keeping or at the very least post to social media.

when i ran the half marathon a couple of weekends, i remembered to be on the lookout for the photographer.  i had seen him prior to starting the race taking pictures of all the groups of women who were running together.  there was a group supporting their favorite football teams, there was a group with all matching outfits, there was a group running in support of a family member, etc.  i was running by myself so i didn't make the cut, but that was okay i knew who to look for.

early on in the race, i saw him up ahead.  i made sure when i ran past him i gave him a two thumbs, my regular toothy smile and made sure i wasn't making a poop face. for some reason when i run, i scrunch my face up like i'm pushing, but i'm not, just concentrating.  i saw the same guy at the half way point and again somewhere on the way back.

a week later and the photos are finally posted.  i found myself in the pre-race group shot.  it wasn't super hard, i knew i was right up front behind the row of kneeling ladies

so i eagerly scrolled through the rest of them looking for my two thumbs up shot.  i knew that would be the one that would get picked for adding to the photo book of the race, but i couldn't find it anywhere.  so i went back through the photos and finally found myself.  i couldn't believe it, i look certifiably crazy.  in the picture, i'm coming into the finish line.  i don't recall seeing the photographer guy anywhere, but clearly he was there lurking on the sidelines waiting to capture the most unflattering picture he could possibly take.

i've shared the picture with my family and they died laughing.  i couldn't possibly have posted this picture single-y on my facebook page, but i'm swallowing my pride and sharing it now.  i really hope i didn't look like this the entire time and i'm thinking i would rather look like i'm going number two than this...