So there I was last Monday, a super-sized bag of Skittles in hand, reading my e-mail. It’d been hard watching all the running at Western States from the sidelines. I didn’t think it was particularly hard at the time. Crewing with Brian and Chris was great. But after I’d bought and eaten two face-sized cookies at the airport on the way home, I realized it had been hard. Personal insight and revelation through junk food. So anyway, the Skittles and I were working through my issues when I saw an e-mail from New Balance in my inbox. Hmmm.
Liza we’d like to get some photos of you this week in the new MT110s.
What!?! I just ate a big bag of Skittles! Face-sized cookies! (I’ll spare you the other Western States indulgences.) Photos this week?
I put down the empty bag of Skittles and started doing sit-ups and plucking my eyebrows.
But wait, there’s more…
New Balance said they’d send a race kit to wear in the photos. I imagined a singlet and shorts. Yes?
Oh no. This is what was in the tiny mailing envelope that was delivered this morning.

Lord in Heaven!! This is not something you spring on a 39 year-old woman.
None-the-less, from 5 to 8pm I ran back and forth in this outfit in front of two hardworking photographers.
Here is the gear they needed to get a good shot.

The photographers were wonderfully kind and it was only necessary to eat half a bag of potato chips and drink two beers afterwards.
In point of fact, I also wore two other outfits with a bit more material for the pictures. I made the change squatting behind a live oak on the Recharge Trail in Government Canyon. It was 97 degrees and I almost dislocated my shoulder trying to get the sports bra off. So which photos will NB use? Guess we’ll all see. Asa’s babysitter did say: “You don’t even look like a mom!” when she saw me in the racing two piece. So there’s that.
Truly, though, the whole thing was very exciting — and entirely surreal. Thanks for the adventure New Balance. And wait until y’all see the shoes. The shiny silver ones say “Field Tested in Bandera, TX” on the inside. All moms will run faster wearing them.