HTC18: My 2nd Run aka When The Winners Smoked Us

Decked out in head to toe neon I was more than ready for my second run (leg 14) of Hood to Coast! I was already very familiar with this section since I travel it often to visit family and I ran a lot of it during the Portland Marathon. So I had no concerns. This was going to be another standard run for me, which I think I like since I didn't want any extra race nerves hitting me during Hood to Coast.

The sun would most likely be setting during this run, so I was required to run in my reflective vest with a headlamp, and flashing lights on the front and back of me. Add that to my neon and there is no way you wouldn't see me coming! As a matter of fact, during my run I encountered a motorcycle officer watching for speeding drivers and he even paused to compliment me on my outfit! I've been accused of dressing to get attention. I really don't. Hood to Coast recommended bright colors for my last two runs, so that's what I did. And the rest I just wear because I like it and its fun. Why be boring? I am not the best runner, so I may as well have some fun with my race attire!

Alright, so around 7pm Friday night I was at the exchange point waiting to see Renee come into view. I had enough time to go potty, get my bib on, a signal on my Garmin and my music going, and then she was there! She's seriously so sweet, I loved our hand-offs. I grabbed the slap bracelet and took off with a smile and bounce in my step. And apparently my boobs got massive....

It was crazy how great I felt. Like my first run, I went for a while before encountering other runners. Naturally they did start showing up and passing me, but not for quite a while. It was very strange when I had to make 2 turns to get through a rather major intersection and ALL traffic was stopped just for ME. I felt rude making everybody wait, but let me tell you it kept me moving quickly!

After this intersection was my first incline of the entire race, as I went on a bridge over the train tracks. I was pleasantly surprised at how I flew up that mini hill. Sadly this was the last time I would have that light feeling in my step. After rounding a corner and getting onto the main highway path my ankle gave out. It had been tender prior to starting the run but I was being optimistic that I'd be okay. It wasn't feeling great, but it wasn't incapacitating me either. But then came the IT band issues.

In 2011 the Eugene Half Marathon destroyed my IT Band on Amazon Parkway. To this day I always run Amazon Parkway with caution - or avoid the race altogether if it takes me on that path. And to this day I still have IT Band issues if I get a path with a lot of slant to it. Well, the majority of my second run had that slant that makes my leg scream. How embarrassing that the one time I stop to try to stretch out my ankle and leg and that is the moment my teammates drove by!! Seriously?!? I swear I wasn't slacking!!!

The rest of my run I would push until I just couldn't take the pain and had to take a walk break. My hamstring would occasionally seize up on me as well, but fortunately never a full blown cramp. If you drove down the highway during this time and saw the neon girl running with a limp, yeah that was me! BUT did I let it get me down? Heck no. I constantly reminded myself how lucky I was to even be participating, so I kept my spirits up and continued to do the best I could. At one point I was getting passed by a much faster guy. He could have ignored me. He didn't. He actually paused, turned around and fist bumped me while telling me I've got this. WHAT?!? That was so rad! So rad that I snapped a photo to help me remember.

I continued trying to find a flat surface, occasionally running in dirt all the way off the side of the road. Nothing really helped, but I tried. I was lucky and since this run was over 6 miles I actually had a water station on the course. What a setting ... right at the St John's bridge. Time for a water in a picturesque setting selfie? Yes. Yes, it was!

I think passing the bridge and hitting new territory was the mental boost I needed. Maybe there was magic in the water. My leg was still hurting, but somehow I managed to suck it up and get through it better than I had been.

I was running by bars with their doors open. Did I look in and fantasize about grabbing a drink? Heck yes I did! I also kept watching the vans passing me. I had been keeping an eye on Heart 'N Sole, as well as watching for the Bowerman team, Dead Jocks and Toyo University who came over from Tokyo. They were projected to win and run at a wicked fast pace. Toyo started hours after we did. I mean a ridiculous amount of hours later. And it was during this run that they caught up to us and passed us. They had a pretty sweet, large van. Lucky. I guess that's what being an elite team gets you. And they DID come in to win, with Bowerman coming in second. 

Pain aside, I was really proud of how I ran this leg. It hurt and I still pushed. I never wanted to cry. I never let my mind get frustrated. I focused on the positive and kept my body moving, surprising myself at times at how well I was doing even though I was gimpy. Heck, I even got my first road kills of the race during this leg. Not only did I get road kills I did some while going uphill and they never caught up to me again!

*Road kill -- when you pass someone on the course. Usually I'm being killed, so to get some kills of my own is pretty darn exciting and fun!

This hand-off was confusing. It was hard to see Dustin with all of the headlamps aiming at my eyes. Once we did hand off I had no idea where to go. I was told to stand in a spot, but never got the word that I could cross the street and meet my teammate waiting for me. I'm sure it made sense to volunteers, but to a person that had been up since 1:50am and been going non-stop, it was confusing.

All in all it was pretty darn awesome! I didn't feel like I let the team down, which is always an ego booster! I love that feeling of joining back up with the team, getting in the van and still smiling!

HTC18: My 1st Run Down A Mountain

What. A. Run.

I can't count how many runs I've done in my life. But I CAN say this was my most favorite run of them all! I didn't want it to end!

Before we even got to the start line I was officially ready to run. My toes were lubed, compression socks on, some water in my body. Normally I'd get very nervous before a run, but this time I was completely at ease and so excited! We made our way down the hill, cheering on Renee as she tackled the first major decline down Mount Hood. Soon we were at Government Camp for the first exchange. Oh man, it was cold! I grabbed my Chawel (seriously, relay runners, GET THESE!!), wrapped up and set off to wait for Renee to come into view. I was shivering so much! Once we saw her I ditched the blanket, put my headphones in place and jumped into the exchange chute to have our first of 3 hand offs together. How cute is it that we totally matched and didn't even plan it?!? Sole Sisters I tell ya! Normally I'd just get the slap bracelet and take off. But I was so excited to see Renee and how awesome she did that I had to pause, grab her arm, welcome her back and congratulate her! And from there I was off!!

CUTEST start of a run. Oh my gosh. Such a tiny little place with so much character. I was going to just make a mental note of it, but who are we kidding ... I reached into my belt and grabbed my phone. *I only very briefly stopped once per run for an actual stationary photo. I've mastered photos while running. You just aim and click and hope for the best!* Not only did I get photos, I got video! That was an experiment. We'll see how it worked later.

This run was entirely downhill. I LOVE downhill! I just relax my body and mind and fly. It is so much fun. I'm going to declare this my running specialty!

Everyone had me worried about this run. I didn't ever even worry about the second two runs I had to do because they were standard for me. But I have never run 1700+ feel downhill all at once. Your quads are going to kill you. Your shins will hurt. Shin splints! You're going to lose a toenail. All of these things I was told prior to leaving for Hood to Coast. I even did a training run on a hill in town that ended up being steeper than this leg. And you know what DIDN'T happen during Hood to Coast? ... My quads didn't hurt, my shins were fine, no shin splints, all toenails are perfect - even the polish! Seriously, give me downhill all day any day and I'm gonna rock it!

Being early in the race I was running with very minimal people around me. I got passed a few times, but I didn't even care. I was running Hood to Coast! Nothing was going to bring me down. I was doing it! My face had a huge smile plastered on it the entire time. It was a total high. My legs felt awesome, the temperature was perfect for me, the runners and volunteers I encountered were friendly, the adrenaline was running high! As I worked my way down the mountain I saw other teams showing up in their decorated vans on their way up to the start line. What a rush!

It was crazy. I started basically at the height of trees. I got photos looking down over everything. By the time I was nearing the end I was looking up! I don't think I even realized just how much I had traveled. I was always taking in the scenery and making memories, so the distance seriously flew by. I was excited to see the runaway truck exit just because it was something we had noticed during training and I figured that meant stuff was getting steep! As I was running by I then realized WHAT IF??!! WHAT IF a truck is coming and NEEDS that ramp and I'm in the way?? I hauled ass to get by!! And let me tell you, vehicles DO go fast down that hill. I worried a few times that one team van was going to rear end another because of the speed I'd see them travelling at before slamming on their brakes. Fortunately I always felt safe though while I really hugged the far right shoulder as far over as I could get!

I was stunned when I came around a corner and saw the 1 mile to go sign. Stunned... and sad. I didn't want it to end! That was legit my fastest running mile ever in my life, too! Each mile got faster and faster. Before I knew it I was seeing vans parked along the road and volunteers directing runners to turn to the right. Maybe it isn't done. Maybe I get to run more on a side road. Ha, keep dreaming, Ronda. That was the end. I rounded the corner and saw the exchange chute with Dustin waiting for me with her big smile! I handed off, wished her well and then just spent time in complete awe of what I just experienced. I can't even imagine a better way to start off a crazy 199 mile adventure! This was hands down THE run of my life... until next year! ;)

HTC18: We're Kind of A Big Deal

Upon arriving at Mount Hood we quickly said good bye to our life as non-celebrities. Prior to our rise to fame we were at least able to get in and out of the bathroom at Timberline Lodge and do A LOT of official HTC merch shopping. But all too soon it was time to get Renee, our first runner, ready to start our epic 199 mile journey!

It was cold, not gonna lie. So cold. 41º to be exact. And so very windy. The wind was what was killing me, not the temperature. I ended up buying a beanie and wearing it over my bandana, and threw on my cheap little gloves I tossed in my bag at the last minute. Good choice! When you see the following video, however, you'll notice the absence of my purse and beanie. Did I think ahead about what I would look like as I was becoming famous? I guess so. Had I had a couple of more seconds I'd have even refreshed my lipstick, but alas I did not.

We had a final full group selfie before Renee ran to the start line. As she was stepping away a report came rushing up to us asking if we had a few seconds for a quick interview. Uh, YEAH! We aren't going to turn that down! We told him our 6th member was starting in only a couple of minutes so he raced down to the cameraman and immediately they began filming. And here you go (we start around the 1:30 mark). Stay until after our interview for his final comments on yours truly!

So who exactly are we? The LADY STORM SQUAD!! Let's get to know Van 1!

Runner 1: RENEE - my sole sister! I've used her personal shower, pet her cat, played with her dogs... we are just meant to be friends. Heck, at the beach we looked down and even had matching toenail polish. PLUS we are both Bravo TV watchers. Cleary this was a friendship that was just waiting to be discovered!

Runners 1 and 2

Runner 2: RONDA - that's me! It's my blog, but I feel awkward writing about myself. I assigned myself to be the group documentarian. GoPro, Drone video, TWO phones to capture photos and video. I did some running, too! I've learned I REALLY love running downhill  and it is my forte. Everyone told me it would hurt and to be careful. Psh, I flew down that hill pain free and could have kept going. I want to do it again!!

Runner 3

Runner 3: DUSTIN - the newbie. I WAS the new one on the team, then poor Tabitha had her ACL problem and Dustin jumped on board at the very last minute to help fill our team. At every handoff she was there waiting with a big smile on her face, and I loved it! I enjoyed my runs so much, so then to see that vibe continuing on really made this feel like a special experience for me. So thank you, Dustin!

Runner 4: COURTNEY- she is so dang funny!!! Let's just say we had a private bonding moment early on in the race and I knew we were going to have a great time together during this race and more after. I felt like she was always making the team laugh. Every team needs a Courtney! But she's ours! We aren't sharing!!

Runner 4

Runner 5

Runner 5: SABRINA - no, we aren't spraying our hair blue! Kudos to her for her efforts to get us to change our hair color, maybe next year. Sabrina is so dang animated and not shy at all. That is awesome! When I feel quiet or too shy to do something, I know she'd be the one to take the lead. Wait until you see her and the toilet paper!

Runner 6: SARA - oh Captain, my captain. This was our second relay together, her first as a Captain ... and she was so dang awesome at it!! Her knowledge of the course helped us out immensely. If we didn't have her we might still be in some of those long van lines trying to get to our runner. And talk about a powerhouse runner. Hills? Uphills to her are like downhills to me. I'm pretty sure at one point she was flying! We couldn't have done any of this without her! THANK YOU!!!!!

Our Captain - Runner 6

To wrap up the start area.... so much shopping! I won't even tell you how much I gathered in my shopping bagSSSS. One cool thing I picked up was a book about Hood to Coast, which was autographed by the author specifically to me! I look forward to a day when I can have some quiet time to start reading it.

Along with shopping was the check-in process, which Sara took care of for our team. I appreciate that since all I cared about was the bathroom and shopping. Did I mentioned I wanted to shop? During my many trips between our van and the start area I spotted a team van that gave me all the feels. Excited, stalkerish, inspired .... it was the van of Heart 'N Sole - one of the teams spotlighted in the Hood to Coast documentary I have been telling you all to go watch. From this point on I was on high alert, always paying attention to that van and spotting the runners at our hand-offs. We will revisit this later!

The cool thing about Hood to Coast is how small the start groups are. Teams set out every 15 minutes, and it felt like each group was ample size, yet small enough to see your runner. I will show you that now!

Next time we meet I will be running down the mountain!

HTC18: How Do I Even Put It Into Words?

It is possible there will be 25 posts about Hood to Coast ... or only 4 (one per leg I ran plus this 1). I feel like I have so much to say that I don't even know WHAT or HOW to say it. It probably wouldn't be a surprise if I told you I just sit and start writing and whatever comes out is what is published. I rarely even re-read what I've written before posting it. Isn't that terrible?!? Well for this one I even considered making an outline! Yeah, like I'm back in college and creating an outline for a paper.

Hood to Coast was just THAT incredible! So awesome I'm speechless yet full of words at the same time.

I wasn't supposed to be on this team. During Ragnar in July I was telling the teammates about Hood to Coast and how it is my dream to run it someday but the odds on ever getting to do it were slim. A week later when Sara, our Captain, asked me if I wanted to join the team I freaked the heck out. I was immediately out of my chair jumping up and down and squealing. I'm not even exaggerating. I could barely form words when talking to my mom and husband about it, making sure everybody was on board with watching my baby for me so I could go run. And from that moment on my life has been focused on HTC!!

Tabitha, my teammate from 2017 Ragnar, was supposed to be on this team and got hurt with I think just a couple of weeks to go, so sadly she had to be replaced. I met Sara on that same Ragnar team in 2017, but she was in Van 2 so we didn't get to interact much. Side trivia for you: I was washing my hair in the hotel after the race and heard a knock on the door. I jumped out, and greeted Sara to our room while covered in soap and a little hotel towel. Aww, relay life! So aside from that, I really didn't know anyone on the team yet again. But this group gave me such a good vibe. Before I even met them I just had this feeling that we were all going to get along so well. I don't even know what it was that gave me this feeling, but it was strong... and it was right!! This is THE team that I've been waiting for I guess! I have liked all of my teams, don't get me wrong, but there was just something about this group. Maybe it is because everybody seemed to arrive to the pre-race BBQ in a Jeep?? Ha, maybe not. But maybe!

Thursday afternoon I arrived in Tillamook (whoa, that town... it smells... of cow... manure... a lot.) and met most of the team at our van decorating party and BBQ. I never felt out of place! Hallelujah! I'm pretty shy, believe it or not, in big groups - but when I was one on one with people I felt totally at ease. I realized I am always this way in relays. I think in the van I'm pretty quiet, but once I am out moving around I feel relaxed and can be more free. And heck, let me do some power arches for attractive running males and I might accidentally almost give a few butt slaps here and there.... I didn't slap any of my teammates’ butts that night, FYI.

Eventually our BBQ came to an end and I was heading to another runner's home. And I almost moved in! I've never stayed in a camper/trailer/RV/I-don't-know-the-difference-or-right-word, and for this being a first time it was wonderful! It even smelled new!! Renee and her husband were so gracious and let us stay there so we couldn't be sleeping in our car somewhere along the road. The bed was so comfy. And their shower? Holy canoli, it was magical!! I didn't think Shawn would ever come to bed because he was already forming a bromance with Renee's husband outside while I was busy petting the adorable dogs. For a night before a relay when you notoriously aren't able to sleep, thanks to Renee I slept pretty alright, maybe even 2 hours of legit sleep!

Two hours is "pretty alright"? Well.... when your alarm is set for 1:50am so you can rendezvous with the team, yep, 2 hours is good! Around 2:15am we were all loaded up and heading to Courtney's house for the official rendezvous and game of Tetris where we try to fit all of our stuff in a 7 passenger SUV. It was tough, but we did it! And by 3:01am we were officially on the road to Timberline Lodge and the beautiful reveal of Mount Hood as the sun was starting to rise.

Shortly after this we all became famous... but you can read about that next time!

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!