Major Decision

I don't know if all of y'all are aware of what a BIG DEAL Halloween is to me. It might be easiest to show how seriously serious I am about the date with pictures:

2003 -- This picture was taken before the costume was finished. If you had seen me out that night, you would have been treated to a massive knife in my chest, with lots of blood. That went over big.

*

2004 -- Champagne. It's hard to see all the brilliance of the costume here. I have a cork on a necklace, and my boa has small champagne flutes hanging from it. There's also an abundance of glitter and celebratory remnants in my hair.

*

2005 -- Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe. See? Now you love Halloween, too.

*

I tell you this to help you understand what a major, major sacrifice it was for me to agree to do the Marine Corps Marathon, which is on the Sunday before Halloween. All the events I will want to attend would be the night before my favorite night of the year, and I would miss it all. Or so I thought.

The Nike Women's Marathon is the week before, in San Francisco. So, I will share with you my internal struggle deciding which race to run. Anti-MCM arguments are orange, pro-MCM arguments are green.

Marine Corps vs. Nike Women's

1. MCM will ruin Halloween, 2006. It is has been noted that "it's only one year." Well, how about I take your raison d'etre away for one year, eh? That's right, no Trekky convention 2006 for you. How does it feel?
2. NWM is really, really hilly. I am excited to be running a marathon, but I'm not sure making it harder is a good idea. To me, hills sound like a very bad thing.
3. I would have a much bigger cheering section here in DC. The idea of having people I know all along the route sounds really motivating. What could be more motivating than the prospect of humiliation?
4. San Francisco would be really fun. I've heard that it is a totally different experience to travel with the program. We'd be a crew. It would be special and heartwarming, yadda yadda.

5. Nike Women's requires far more fundraising -- another $1,600, to be exact, because TNT covers all of your expenses, like flying there and sleeping indoors and stuff. I think I could do it, but I don't love the idea of it hanging over my head. (To preserve the NWM option, I have boosted my fundraising goal on the other page. I can bring it back down if I decide to go with the Marine Corps Option)
6. Nike Women's is likely to be chilly – I like the sound of that.
7. Ok, I’m not going to lie. The fact that you get a Tiffany necklace at the finish is, well, let’s call it icing on the cake. And sometimes, it kinda seems like the whole cake. It’s just so dang cute! Am I made of stone?

Anyway, I think I have to decide by June 30. Maybe I'll flip a coin. Feel free to weigh in on this in the comments section.