Yes, it's real, as real as any piece of paper

Today I got my bib and timing chip for the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon in San Francisco on 2/7. I signed up for the race in October after running for about a month, and have since been on a training program (which I created) to get prepared. Committing to the race definitely helped to keep me motivated. After all, it cost me $40. Man, that's like, ten cups of Starbucks joe. And I intend to get my money's worth!

Just to be clear, the bib is made of a fairly tough-to-rip paper material. I'm sure a good chunk of the $40 went into manufacturing it and making sure there's one less excuse for backing out of the race. The timing chip is a plastic band with some kind of high-techy-looking thingy in the back. My artist brain began the shut down sequence the moment I laid eyes on it. 

I'm fairly certain that I will finish the race. I ran 11 miles today without collapsing into a pile and with a *ahem* reasonable pace (for a first-timer). I'm more concerned about injuring or embarrassing myself by tripping and landing on my face. A running friend warned me to watch out for potholes on the course in the Golden Gate Park.

Anyhow, here is to an injury-free race and a nice photo-op for my blog. :-)