Hood to Coast: Team Yazoo runs 24:05 hotrollers included

Hello Friends

I have been gone for four days whole days. I have not seen a television, though I have had minimal access to a computer. In my absence we have lost DJ AM, and had some lovely weather has come through Tennessee. I have run Hood to Coast and had a really lovely time.

If I may refresh you, Hood to Coast is a race where you run three legs of a 197 mile relay race, which you are trying to complete in more or less 24ish hours to be competitive. It involves 12 runners, each runner running three legs. The runners are divided into two 6 person vans. Runner one starts at the top of Mount Hood and runs until they meet the second runner at a relay exchange, and then to the third runner and so on until you meet the sixth runner. During all runs the van is following along picking up the runner who is finishing and dropping the runner who is starting. Now, when the 6th van runner (me!!!) finishes, she hands off the baton to the first runner in van two (leg 7) and they start their legs in the same manner as van one, while van one gets some rest time. When van 2 finishes their runs, they must be met at the right time by van 1 to start the whole process over and so on until the last runner on van two crosses the finish line on the beach 197 miles later.

I ran legs 6, 18, and 30. Leg 6 was an almost eight mile leg that involved a good bit of uphill. I began running it at approximately 9:30ish at night and ran-sub seven minute miles (thank you very much). At about 1:00ish AM, my turn came around again for leg 18 and I ran a little over four miles through a particularly smelly patch of the Portland area. The course was quite hilly and uneven. My time dropped to slightly less than eight minute miles and it was not my most favored athletic moment. Following this run, I slept in the van until I woke up (several blissful hours later) to take a shift at keeping our heroic driver awake as we drove. I ran my final downhill leg 30 of 5 miles at around 12:00ish PM in the afternoon. I maintained 7:15 miles and was pretty proud of this considering the degree of my soreness.

After this, we packed up the van and headed to the beach to check into our beach houses and shower up before we met van 2 on the beach for the dramatic finish of the last of our runners. Our final time was 24:05, which is quite fast. We had group pictures made, and then moved on to let everyone else get ready for an amazing dinner at our beach house.

OK, all that explaining behind, let me tell you some quirks (to state it kindly) about traveling in a cheap rental minivan with me for 24 hours:

1. OH, honey, I OVERPACK. It is like a disease. I swear I showed up for a three evening excursion looking like Mariah Cary about to head out on a world tour. Make up, hot rollers, 6 sports bras, two pairs of running shoes, three possible jacket options, I don't even want to know how many bathing suits, swim caps, goggles, cowboy pajamas. Athletic options, casual options, my peeper sleepers, my monogramed fleece blanket, a towel dress, a sleeping bag, two novels, the September issue of Vogue, a book of New York Times cross word puzzles, and the kitchen sink. You name it, I brought it, just in case. It is a sickness. I arrived to live in a minivan for 24 hours with 5 other people and that much luggage. I need an intervention and a lesson in basic human consideration. That's all there is to it. If you invite me on a trip, you sit me down and monitor my packing, lest you have to ride on the roof of our rented car like a teen wolf to accommodate my luggage.
2. I am a sleeper. I like myself a good eight to nine hours each night. At Hood to Coast the idea is that you man up and stay up. You cheer on your teammates while they run at off hours of the night and you offer everyone the back seat to stretch out and catch some zzzzzs in shifts. You take turns, unless you are like me and you crawl into the back seat with your peeper sleepers and your monogrammed fleece blanket and your sleeping bag with the intention of a one hour cat nap only to wake up approximately 6 hours later as fresh as a daisy. I got better sleep in the back seat of that mini van than I did before I had a baby and my husband was out of town, and I had the whole king-sized bed to myself. I met the red rimmed eyes of my fellow team mates with guilt, yes, but also the realization that for me, it was officially the best Hood to Coast ever.
3. Nerd Alert: I have a love affair with crossword puzzle books. I have a vision of myself winning the New York Times Crossword Puzzle contest. I can get sucked into a Will Shortz crossword puzzle and lose myself in a word like "curmudgeon" that has fallen out of vogue, or looking up obscure actors that are desperately placed when there is a need for low-frequency letters. Beware of me on a trip; I am the girl who will try to interest you in helping me with all the sports clues and try to entertain you with anecdotes from Wordplay, the brilliant documentary about New York Times crossword puzzling. I might hound you about finding out the monetary currency of Saudi Arabia (the Riyal!!!!). Back slowly away, when I begin speaking of my frustration with clues that do not specify one or two word answers, because at this point I have lost all social reference points.

These three things are pretty damning, friends. Do you want me to go on your next vacation? Think about it long and hard. I would encourage you to help me pack, think about the sleep situation, and hide the crossword puzzle books. I am out there and I am vain, selfish, and nerdy, oh so nerdy. Think about it now, once you have asked me, there is no turning back.