Missy's Random Musings: Shaking my bonbon for a cure

Last Saturday was our city's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K. My first year participating in this event was in 2010 - in fact, it was my first ever 5K. I love this event because of the festivities that go along with the race, the camaraderie you feel, and (of course) the significance behind the event.

This year's race was even more special to me. I got to be in a flash mob!

I love being the center of attention. But, only in a good way... Not in the "oh shit, I just peed my pants in public and now everyone's pointing and laughing at me" way. Only in the "hey, everyone, look how awesome I am. You know you wanna be me" way. So, when I was told about this opportunity to be in the flash mob, I didn't hesitate to sign-up. I had always wanted to participate in one and here was my chance. The group was made up of instructors and students from a class called Sh'Bam, which is held at some of our local YMCAs.

We got to perform twice. Every year, about an hour or so before the race actually starts, a breakfast is held for survivors of breast cancer. The breakfast is held in this big open field where race sponsors set up their tents/booths and where a stage is set up for the bands that play throughout the morning. Our first act happened at the survivor breakfast tent. The second performance happened at the start line - about 40 minutes before the race actually started.

There were about 30 dancers in all. As is the norm with flash mobs, we were broken into smaller groups so that one group would begin dancing and then one by one, each of the other groups joined in on our cues. We were all wearing cover-ups over our "special" t-shirts and we removed those cover-ups when it was our group's turn to begin dancing.

After our second performance was over, we were surprised with one more event. About 15-20 minutes before the race starts, a little aerobic warm-up is done for the crowd. This year's warm-up was being held by an instructor of some Zumba classes. After seeing the Sh'Bammers, the instructor asked us to come to the very front and help lead the crowd in the warm-up. YAY! More spotlight time for me.

I had such a blast being in the flash mob. It was a fun experience and I'm glad I got to do it. I can't wait for the next time. To finish this post, here are a few pictures of the awesome-ness.