HTC13

20 miles –2 vans - 2 days – 2 hours of sleep

198 miles total


HTC13

If you don't know what Hood To Coast is all about you can go here to get a small piece of why it makes my heart start racing http://www.hoodtocoast.com/hood-to-coast-movie.  It's like nothing I've ever done in my life.  I hated parts of it, but for the most part I LOVED it.  Being with others that get it and accomplish it with you is amazing! 

I’ve been asked, what do you think is harder; running a full half or running the relay? Definitely the relay! The half you can run it all, walk through some water stations, and get it finished – all together – 1 shot – 13.1 miles. The relay? More than 5 or 6 miles at a time, sit down, walk around, don’t sleep, get out, run, sit down, walk around, get out, run again. I really don’t know how I made it through that 2nd leg. The funny thing is, I felt good the next day on 2 hours of sleep. I was able to equal my 1st run, but I did run out of gas. And I wasn’t about to eat anymore sports beans. Let’s back it up though because there is a lot more to tell.

First, I was an emotional wreck because of some good ole’ PMS. I couldn’t let my mind think too deeply or my eyes would well up and blind me. Wyatt told me the morning of my flight out that he hoped my plane wouldn’t crash because then he wouldn’t have a mom. That about did me in. I tried to choke out consulting things to say, but that didn’t go so well. Dale told me to make sure the pilot of my flight wasn't Denzel.  Thank God for that man's humor.  I love him. 

I took my time on my run before I left for the plane.  I watched the sun come up because often times I am too early to see it and had some time with Maddox.  But onto the relay because this is bound to be a ridiculously long post. 

I was leg 6.  I had 4 other girls in my van and one guy.  Lucky him, right?!  It was great. He was great.  He had a teenage daughter and had been married for 20 some years, so he knew what he was getting into.  He took leg 5, which I think was the hardest leg of the entire relay.  It was a tough one. 

So leg 6 was categorized as hard, 6.75 miles in 51:12, 13 kills.  I ran around noon.  I was up for anything and I was wanting to get my pace around 8 mins per mile.  I trained for this, but I didn't kill myself.  Last year I got too serious about training for races and ended up hating running at the end of the season.  I wasn't about to make the same mistake this year, so I did what I could and I wasn't too hard on myself as I was training.  Here we go...

Mile 1 - 7:31
Mile 2 - 7:27
Mile 3 - 8:07
Mile 4 - 8:08
Mile 5 - 7:30
Mile 6 - 7:25

I felt amazing.  Like everything came together perfectly.  I went ahead and turned my app to just let me know the miles.  I'm so glad I did.  I felt fast and good.  And for me, this is good.  Probably the most consistently paced run I've had.  Believe it or not I can't remember much of the route except for going under some ridiculously loud power lines and wondering if I was going to get electrocute.  I do remember a girl taking off at the start and wanting to stay with her, but she was just too fast.  I thought she was gone for good.  It took me 5 miles to get her, but I got her back!  I was so stinking happy about that. 

Back to the house for a shower and snack.  If I would have been smarter a nap would have been in order.  This is about the time the stomach cramps started.  They were just awesome.  It started as menstrual/dehydrated cramping.  It got worse. 

We met the guys van and started our second round.  It was getting late by the time my turn came around.  I started my leg around midnight.  I was exhausted but my legs felt good.  My stomach still didn't.
Leg 18 was another hard one, 5:23 miles in 46:30, 16 kills.  This one didn't go as well as I had hoped.  I had a hard time finding my pace at the beginning and it was really dark.  About 1.5 miles in I sprained my ankle.  A nice loud pop and the feeling of my ankle bone hitting the pavement.  There was a girl right behind me who was great and made sure I was ok.  I wasn't quitting 1.5 miles in in the middle of no where.  So I went on.  My opposite quad started hurting because I was compensating.  I told myself I'd better knock it off or I'd be in a world of hurt and do more damage to the rest of me.  So I straightened up and ran normal.  Soon it started to feel better and after awhile I could forget about it.  

Mile 1 - 8:25

Mile 2 - 8:29
Mile 3 - 7:57
Mile 4 - 8:28
Mile 5 - 7:30
Mile 6 - 9:15

I wanted this run OVER!  This one was probably one of my worst.  I couldn't tell where I was going, how many hills were ahead of me, how much longer I had, etc.  Then the rain started.  That actually felt pretty good, but dang, I wanted it over.  Finally I got to the exchange.  Found one of our guys and walked to the car.  At that time I had to break the news about my ankle and I started to realize how much it actually was hurting me.  The bad thing is the leg right before mine our guy did the exact same thing to his ankle.  I think his was a little worse though.  Thankfully we had a dr on our team and he taped me right up.  I didn't take that thing off until I was completely done and I think that is what saved me.

Once I was done we headed to the next major exchange and to catch some sleep.  The traffic was ridiculous.  We got there around 3 and had to be up around 5.  2 hours of sleep in the tent city from Dick's did me well.  My stomach was still cramping at times though.

My 3rd leg started around 11 the next morning.  We were in to some really pretty runs.  And everyone was feeling a bit better and ready to be done.

Leg 3, moderate, 11 kills?, 5.35 miles in 41:00.  I was ready to go after cheering on some TROOPERS getting up that 3 mile hill on the leg before me.  Wow!  Beautiful, but wow, hard. I knew I had some traveling to do before I got a big downhill.  I love downhills because everyone always brakes and tries to slow down.  I let it fly!  This was an absolutely amazing run.  BEAUTIFUL!!!  Surrounded by trees, running along the road and hearing the beautiful and wide creeks down below, some bright sun that kept saying hi between the trees.  Just beautiful.  I ran with a girl from WA for a bit and we chatted and then I was ready to go.  My GPS was a little off so don't fully believe these splits, but it is all I have to go from.
Mile 1 - 4:37

Mile 2 - 5:05
Mile 3 - 4:18
Mile 4 - 5:12
Mile 5 - 7:10
Mile 6 - 7:31

Ha!  I wish!  I was flying down that hill, but not that fast.  I had to recalibrate my app at the end because it had me at 4 miles way too fast, which screwed me, kind of.  I thought I had hit 4 miles when I was still going down the hill and was in heaven because the exchange should have been right around the corner once I reached the bottom.  Not so much!!  I got down there and just reached the 4 mile mark.  I had a ways to go and no more downhill, gut check!!!  About this time the cars started lining up from the exchange zones backup.  That was good because I had a lot of pressure not to walk when I really wanted to.  The end got hard and I about started yelling where the heck is the exchange zone, but I couldn't talk.  At one time an elite type runner came running by and commented on my pace.  That made me feel good because I wasn't at my fastest at that point.  My ankle felt good, surprisingly and I passed on the offer of relief.  If they would have been able to catch up to me further down the road I might have taken them up on it.  I finally made it in only to find our guys weren't there for the exchange.  We made it work.  I was done!  I did it!  It was hard and amazing and sucked and was so much fun.
I'm going to quit talking now and show you all some pics.  Let me know what questions you have.  I would totally do it again!!

Me and Maddox - quality time before I left

I just got to meet Carissa and we got a HUGE taste of Portland culture taking the Max.  Wow!  This girl rocks, btw!!!

The girls.  Molly is the one that had me come and I couldn't thank her and her husband enough.  They are amazing!!! 

On the way to the top of Mt.Hood.

There it is!

Jamie - leg 1, Me - leg 6, Molly - leg 4, Jeannine - leg 2, Carissa - leg 3

Our whole team!  Dave is the guy in black in the front - our leg 5 hero

Beautiful start!!!

Our team and our "van" 

How we made things more interesting when waiting in traffic.

The morning after my ankle sprain getting ready for round 3 on 2 hours of sleep

Early morning alarm

The Superheros!  These guys were AWESOME!  I think they were the big hit this year.

The trees... so pretty

We saw a lot, but not enough of these things!

This was on the leg 5 hill.  Torture.  We made up cheers and yelled for everyone!   So fun!!!

The houses around Seaside - Love them!

The finish line from our room.  We had an amazing spot and some amazing volunteers.  VIP treatment, I tell you!

So cold, but felt so good!

And I got to finally meet Kristen in person.  Such a doll!  So fun and funny!  She liked my "accent" whatever!!  What a blessing!

The girls and Canon Beach.  Do the rocks in the background look familiar?  (Goonies)

I want one of these houses

Sunset on the beach

Smores on the beach

HEY YOU GUUUYYYYSSSS

He really is a dr!

The place was full of flowers and just so stinking pretty!

And this is what my ankle looks like now.  Fatty!

Just a bonus - I got my journey tank.  That group is so amazing and so supportive!!!  They sent me lots of love! 

That's it.  Hopefully you got that I loved it!  Gotta run!