Why Hood to Coast?!?

Come on. We are sick of seeing you talk about some stupid race on Facebook and your blog. Pick a new subject. Write more about your baby. We all liked that. We don't care about running. We don't read these posts.

Well.... HTC is pretty much the only thing on my mind, so we are going to have another post about it! This time... WHY. Why am I obsessing? Why is it MY Boston Marathon? Why are vans sold out nearly a year in advance for this weekend? Why would anyone want to run nearly 200 miles with 11 strangers and live in a vehicle and not be able to shower or get real sleep?

Let's try to tackle this!

Good bye Boston, Hello HTC!!

Why am I obsessing? Because this is MY Boston. Huh? I will clearly NEVER qualify for the Boston Marathon. 1. I'm not competitive enough to even race against a clock for 26.2 miles. 2. Even if I was, this body does not go at crazy fast speeds for that long. 3. Thus, qualifying for that race will never happen so I don't even fantasize about it. Besides, if you've been following along you should know I set a PR crossing the Boston Marathon's finish line already! Sure, it was a 5K, but I don't care. It felt awesome. Anyway.... runners dream of Boston. I'm not unrealistic, so instead I've had a fantasy race since I started running. I'd heard people talk about it, I bought the documentary. All I have wanted since I became a runner was to be lucky enough to get on a team for Hood to Coast!

Why is it a fantasy? Why haven't I done it before? For comparison, the Ragnar relay I just did had 517 teams finish the relay and teams could register for quite a long time before it closed. Hood to Coast (per Wikipedia) has 1,050 teams. It fills on Opening Day! And it has to be done by a lottery. This the THE Mother of all Relays. We all want to do it! Supply and demand! I always hoped to someday be able to do it. I never expected a team to need to replace a runner with only a month to go and that I would be the lucky person asked to fill in. Heck yes I will do that!! Thank you, Sara! And this might be the only time I ever get to do it, so you can be sure I'm obsessed and will go big or go home. Well, I'm not going home until I cross that finish line... so GO BIG I will!

And this is why vans are sold out. Supply and demand. Trivia for you. ... you cannot rent a van right now. They are all gone. You have to go down to Redding, California or up to Tacoma, Washington if you want to get a van for your team. One place in the Portland area is booked, but has a lottery going for any unplanned openings for a rental. You want one? No matter what type you get it will cost you a flat rate of $500 per day now. Fact.  So book your vans early is the lesson here!

Watch this. Seriously. Check out this trailer. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched this entire documentary and fantasized. This is my runner porn, if you will!

But WHY?? Why do you runners need this race in your life??

I can't even explain. 

Views like this while running? Yes, please!

For my first leg I will be running downhill for 1700+ feet. Sounds fun, right?!? Yes! But also challenging. Look at my past relays and race history in general. Do I ever go easy if I can help it?? No. I love the physical challenge. I love the mental challenge. A relay is effing hard. Period. You can be in great shape, but remember: you are awake for two days, you are living in a van possibly with strangers, you aren't eating and drinking as you normally would. None of this is normal. You are pushed to extremes. You are going to have an incredible time laughing with people. You will make new friends. You will have to find a way to vent and express frustration without it affecting the team. (Texting people you are sitting by is always an option! Been there, done that.) You were have a race hangover. (My last one was about 2 weeks long. I'm not even kidding.)

And this is fun? YES!

I still laugh when telling people about how in our tired, delirious state our van was certain we were seeing TJ, our tall, male, white team member running down a hill.... and it turns out it was a shorter, slightly chubby, older African American WOMAN. So yeah - this is what your mind is like near the end. Tabitha gave the cashier all of her money and said to take what he needed to pay for her shirt. Brains stop working. And it makes for the best stories! I can tell you that I have zero negative memories from Ragnar 2016... and I went in not knowing one single person. Since then Tabitha and I started the Eugene 1/2 marathon together and I will be handing off to her during Hood to Coast this month. You just never know what will develop from time spent in a van!

And you get bragging rights. I've done 600ish miles now in relays. Seriously. Yeah, I can say that. 

So now HTC is near. It is THIS month!!! My packing list is basically complete. I have things already on the packing table downstairs. I've been doing test runs in outfits for the race - night clothes for the night legs, clothes for the heat, new shoes, new headlamp, etc. I've got a route plotted out to give me a slow uphill climb and the ability to work on running a steep downhill for a long time as I prepare to run down Mount Hood. I'm giving this my all for my team and for myself!

Am I making desserts to give each van to enjoy during the race? Yeah, you bet your ass I am. And I am planning on documenting this for you -- the reader of my blog, and the people that don't really "get it." I plan on having multiple devices capturing video and photos. If all goes well I will be able to compile this together and share what could very well be an epic once in a lifetime event! I'm sad that it is over and it hasn't even started yet!

So forgive me for my obnoxiousness..... but I'M SO EXCITED!!

(This trailer is awesome!!)

Lady Storm Squad... thank you for making me part of your team! I already have such a great vibe and we haven't even met yet. I cannot wait to do this with you!