Dim Sum and Long Runs: Race-Day Nails

Ladies (and gentlemen I suppose), as you well know, if you race like a lady, you race faster. That is, if you have pretty hair, a cute outfit and are generally looking fab, you will beat the boys. I know this for a fact.
And so part of my pre-race ritual has become to get Race-Day Nails (I'm trying to turn this into a proper noun). That is, pre-race, I get a very specific manicure with nail art (so very Hong Kong.)
I must tell you ladies, this is a trend that is spreading. So far, I have convinced one other friend as to the merit of this. This weekend, my awesome friend Rachel from HK Adventure Baby will be racing the North Face 100 in Australia. Can you believe that? It's crazy, but amazing and inspiring! So last week we went and got a fabulous mani / pedi - her's complete with lightning bolts and leopard print. It doesn't get much more awesome than that.

Here are some of the amazing nail art I've been getting lately, in preparation for races.
Without bragging, lets just say there has been a direct correlation between my running times and the fabulousness of my manicure.

See evidence below:
1. Standard Chartered 1/2 Marathon

My nails in preparation for this year's Standard Chartered 1/2 marathon. You can read about my results here. Winning nails!

2. Sha Tin Riverside 10km classic.

I forgot to take a photo, but I had a perfectly manicured hot-pink left hand (to match my new pink ring and new pink hair... yes, my hair was pink!) and a perfectly manicured purple right hand. I took two minutes off my PB. Read about it here.

3. Hong Kong Track and Field Series Round Two Wan Chai.

This was the first time I had raced on the track. I did the 10 000m and 5000m and was very happy with my times and how I ran. Much better than expected!

For these track races, I got lightening bolts in my club colours. I'm sure this was the main reason for my success.

4. Sarnico-Lovere 25km Race.

I ran 1.34 for this 25km race. Much faster than I dreamed I ever could. I also had stitches in my knee and and a cold for the race, so my time was even more unexpected.

Once again I put my performance down to my pretty nails.