Why Ben?

My perfect, can-do-no-wrong, ray of sunshine has now hit the one-week mark of waking up at approximately 5am. Today it was actually 4:30. I'm not sure what is going on with him, but I am going crazy. Seriously, delirious from the lack of sleep.

Nevermind that I haven't worked out since HTC and can't get back into the groove b/c morning was my time to do so (in truth this isn't all Ben's fault but I had really committed to getting back into my routine this week).

And of course he is delightful, inspite of the early hour (it's still dark out for crying out loud). When I get down there he is smiling and laughing. But as the days go on I find I'm too tired to even talk to him. Ugh. What is going on Ben??

HTC more highlights

There are some really great shots from the race...here are a few more of the group off the course. Our full team out to dinner before the start; Ade and Gaston; Blaine and Courtney; Carrie, Courtney and me; me can Carrie.

HTC highlight photos

A few highlights from the race: me geared up befor my night leg; carrie bringing it home big on her last leg; hubby and Courtney at their transition going into the night; carrie and blaine at transition; and hubby, ade and gaston with our team time sheet.

One more set coming through...

HTC-complete! Wow, amazing. Team members each had best runs ever. Awesome experience. Beautiful course. Cool people. Can't wait to do it again. Congrats all!

I'm finished!! Ended with 8:15s, so excited to be finished. Carrie up next, Chris brings the team across finish line in couple hours. And then beer and beach!

Just (foolishly) ate giant bfast before running again. Slept on ground for 30 min. Last leg. On deck.

V2L2: complete. Everyone had amazing second legs, surreal in dark, lite rain, unpaved roads. Getting ready for final rest period before knocking out 3rd legs!

Subway and one hour nap on floor of gym and we're on course again. Gaston out, me next. Very dark. Pretty much crazy sleep deprived. But still fun.

V1L1: complete. Getting dark. Everyone is hungry & tired. Driving to next major transition w/goal of some grub and shut eye. Leg 2 is my killer. Wish me luck!

HTC - 1st leg done, 4.55 in 38 min. Will be my fastest leg, so fun to get one under my belt. And I got 7 "roadkills" - people passed!

Just drove Gaston's "Hard" course, holy s*#$ we are toast. Toast. Thank God my first leg is "easy"

Gaston out on the course. I'm next up. So excited!! More to come.

On way to exchange point. Still need provisions. Lot of logistics, lot of cooks-i'm hangin back, excited to channel energy on course. Perf weather.

HTC - 10 days out

You may recall my previous post on Hood To Coast, now just 10 days out. A race I've always wanted to do and the perfect motivation for getting back in shape.

With the start line looming I find myself pondering the logic of this commitment. Have I been running? Yes. Have I adequately trained for this race? Absolutely not. Perhaps a 10K would have been a more appropriate goal, especially given the reality of only having 45 min tops (at 5:30am) to squeeze in a daily run.

We pulled out the course map Sunday night and found ourselves in hysterics over how unprepared we will be. To shed some light on the situation, I've included the elevation chart below for my second of three legs here:

Would there have been any way to train for this nearly six mile, 1300 foot ascent in Chicago? Unlikely. My run on Monday night included a couple bridges in the hopes that it will give me a little extra confidence when I'm running up this hill (would 'mountain' be more appropriate?). In the middle of the night (remember this is a relay over 36 hours). Course notes on this portion are as follows: "No provisions available. Cell phone communication unlikely from legs #20-32. A bandana or scarf is recommended to ease breathing due to dust on gravel road."

I can only hope I find this as hysterical next Friday night when I'm gasping for air, begging my quads to deliver the performance of a lifetime, and wondering why I left my baby for this punishment.

Ah, the joys of running :)

Mother of All Relay Races

Years ago I heard about Hood to Coast, the "Mother of all Relay" races from a fellow runner.

Teams run 195 miles from the top of Mt. Hood (OR) to the coastal town of Seaside. It takes place over 36 hrs (I think), involves two vans, 12 runners and a heck of a lot of coordination.

It is reportedly one of the hardest races to get into b/c the field is limited and if your team ran the previous year you have first right of refusal. I put it on my list immediately and have talked about it with anyone who will listen for the last 10 years.

Somehow, I'm not even really sure how at this point, we got in the race this year. We received word late last fall and it seemed perfect. It would scare me into getting back into shape post baby and be the "forced" first trip away from Ben. Left to my own devices after he was born, I knew it would be 2020 before I willingly left the little guy.

While medically cleared to work out in late April, I quickly realized having permission to run and time to run are two different things entirely. Slowly, I am working running back into my regular routine. And the good news is, with little certainly on when I'll get my next run in, I make the most of every outing. No more slacking, skipping the extra mile, etc.

I downloaded the training manual this week and need to get busy figuring out how to participate and not embarrass myself and my team. Did I mention people running this race (that I've talked to anyway) are typically logging a 6:30 per mile pace? That isn't going to be me.

I'm pretty excited. It's in August, so there is plenty of time to train (famous last words). And I'm going to do this in place of the marathon this year. Hubby, sis, Gaston and three other Chicagoans make up our van. The rest of the team are friends of friends.

Did I mention the race starts at the top of Mt. Hood? At the lodge where the Shining was filmed. And you basically run up and down hills the whole way, beginning at an elevation of 6000 feet?

Crazy by all accounts.