Sorry, I Can't Blog Right Now. I'm Busy Running Hood To Coast!

What?  You didn't know I was running a 200 mile relay this weekend?  Have you been living under a rock or do you not read every post I write?  If you're on Facebook you have no excuse not to know - 90% of my updates have been HTC related since the end of June! 

Anywho.  

Hood To Coast starts on Friday!  Guess it's finally real since my stuff is all packed up and ready to go.  I'm not sure if I'll even have time to think once things are underway.  Luckily both Nuun teams - After-Nuun Delight and Nuun Platuun - have the same, non-cringe-inducing start time of 12:30pm (it's a staggered start from 3:30am - 6:15pm).  We received our detailed itinerary and, while most things are looked after, there are things expected of us.  Yes, we need to bring our own general supplies and such stuff, but we need to make Nuun look good too.  As Ambassadors we'll be responsible for promoting Nuun and educating other runners about their product.  It's actually quite a big responsibility if you think about it!*

Obviously I will be incommunicado over the next few days.  I don't have a fancy, or even not-so-fancy, smartphone.  And even if I did I would have such a huge long distance/roaming charge that it wouldn't be worth my while.  Here are a bunch of ways to follow along: 

Facebook: Nuun

Twitter: @ministryofnuun  and #nuun

The whole team on Facebook: Bloggers Spreading the Nuun Love Hood to Coast

After-Nuun Delight Twitter: @AfterNUUNDelite

Nuun Platuun Twitter: @NuunPlatuun

For official HTC updates:

Facebook: Hood & Portland To Coast Relays 

Twitter: @HTCRelay and #HTCRelay

To specifically follow me you can check at approximately the following times:

12:30pm (Leg 1)

9:30pm-ish (Leg 2) Based on HTC predictor. 

6:40am-ish (Leg 3) Based on HTC predictor. 

Check back often and look for references to #alanna (for all you Twitter-illiterates like me you can type that into the search) - that's me!  




* Hopefully some of you have learned something new in the last couple of months too...

Wordless Wednesday: 1 More Day!!!

Pretty!

I bought running clothes.  Colin bought a new car.  That's a pretty fair trade in our house.

My Husband Loves Me...

...so much that when I told him in a quiet mumble how much I spent on running clothes all I got was an exasperated "Alanna," a sigh and an eye-roll.  Best husband ever!  

Seriously, though, this is all necessary.  Just ask any of my regular running partners.  They're sick to death of seeing me in the same stuff.  The following represent why I'm willing to stick with a job in retail.  I certainly wouldn't have gotten it all if I'd had to pay full price.  This isn't to brag that I get sweet deals.  I'm just really excited that I've finally gotten new clothes after about 2 years!

1. Champion T-Back Sports Bra:

Necessary because I currently only have an oft-washed much too old Lululemon one right now.  And awesome because it's sized like a real bra.  

2.  Nike Dedication Long Bra II:

You can't see it very well, but the back is entirely mesh.  This has been on my list for a while.  Why, yes, I do make up wish lists while I'm working.

3. Diadora Fitness V-Neck: 

Fits well enough and cost about $7.  Score!

4. Diadora Short Sleeve Technical T-Shirt:

Even cheaper than the v-neck!

5. Adidas Response 3/4 Tight:

Another wish list item.  Super comfy (re: tight enough at the bottom) and have mesh panels at the waist and on the backs of the knees.  These will probably become my go-to pants for fall.

6.  Diadora Reversible Yoga Pants:

Something comfy for the van.  Also potentially part of our team "uniform" to go with our hoodies.

7.  Under Armour HeatGear Lo Cut Socks:

Not exactly the Injinjis I'm used to, but I paid the same price for 4 pairs as I would for one of those...  They'll do for the relay!

Team Nuun Tuesday Thursday

Okay, so life got in the way the other day.  Spud had a playdate in the morning and the mail I was waiting for finally arrived in the afternoon, so we got to trek all the way to Colin's work (thanks, Mum!) to deliver it to him.  I didn't even log onto the computer until after 9pm.  I may have lost out on a ticket to Pearl Jam because of it - please cross your fingers and toes that I didn't because I love them - but not getting around to being online once in a while isn't really a bad thing...

So on to Team Nuun whatever-day-it-happens-to-be.  Fun and exciting things all around.  It's hard to believe that it's only 8 days until race start!  It does not seem like it's been 2 months since I found out that I made the team.  Now I feel like I have to pack a million things into too short a period of time!  I have runs to do, things to pack, things to buy, etc., etc., etc.

∗ Here's what makes it more real:

We have a logo!  Aw, crap, I'm running from a mountain to the ocean.  And not like here where it's a 10 minute drive.  200 miles.  Really?!?  I begged and pleaded to do this?  Sorry, my head just barfed that out through my hands.  No worries - it'll be fine!  

∗ There are (almost) a million-and-one ways to follow us during the relay!  We have a dedicated Facebook page, individual Facebook pages (yes, I did jump on that bandwagon - come join the 11 other people who "like" me), twitter and, of course, our regular blogs.  

Follow along!

My fb page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Running-42km/264470343579390 (I won't actually be updating next week because a) my phone isn't capable and b) even if it was I'd have a monstrous roaming bill when I got home).
Our unified fb page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloggers-spreading-the-Nuun-Love-Hood-to-Coast-2011/135670549857284
Nuun's fb page: https://www.facebook.com/nuunhydration
Nuun's twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ministryofnuun
After-Nuun Delight twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AfterNUUNDelite
Nuun Platuun twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NuunPlatuun

∗ We got our itinerary recently and it looks like we'll be having so much fun.  Mainly because we aren't the ones planning it!  It is amazing how much work has gone into this as well as how much Nuun is willing to provide for us.  Other than bringing along specific foods (if we want/need them) and personal items we really do pretty much only have to get ourselves to Seattle.  I thought that I was going to have to go out and find ice packs, but even those are on the list.  

∗ Hood To Coast released the shirt design today.  How awesome is this?

I'm really hoping that it's red not orange otherwise I'll probably look like death wearing it.  I know I'll wear this one til it's worn out, though, even if I look bad.

∗ Members of my team have totally gone above and beyond in terms of getting us free stuff.  I feel bad that I have zero connections...  I'm going to have to have a post solely dedicated to the amazingly generous vendors once the relay is over!  And, believe me, it's going to be long!

∗ I went out and bought new running stuff today!  I might have to talk Colin into letting me keep it all, but everything really is necessary.  Especially considering it's recommended to have new outfits for each leg and I have enough for about 1-1/2.  Thank goodness I work in retail and can get a discount on this stuff!

∗ Only one more downhill training run!  I'll probably run the same route as last Friday.  Need to focus on my form and think of being, as one friend recommended, "light on my feet."  I guess technically I'm tapering!

Monday Musings

Lack of imagination, creativity and concentration gets you bullet points once again.  Here are the random thoughts that need to escape from my brain:

Ø Less than 2 weeks until Hood to Coast!  Lots to talk about tomorrow for my Team Nuun Tuesday post, but it's insane how fast the time's gone by.  
   
Ø I did my first downhill run on Friday.  Originally I was supposed to run a route with a friend that would have been pretty much identical to HTC, but the timing just didn't work out and we didn't want to be running it as it was getting dark.  Between traffic, no sidewalks, and possible animal encounters it was probably for the best.  Instead I did a solo run that, in part, saw me do 5km/3.1mi with a 1000ft elevation loss which is about half of what I'm expecting.  I tried really hard to focus on technique and think I did fairly well.  That said, however, I'm still feeling it now.  The hunt for appropriate ice packs is on!

Ø Colin went out for his usual long run yesterday and remembered something cool about his bear-encounter a couple of weeks prior.  There's a section that he had to run through where the bears' route went from tall grass, into a ditch, across the road, and then into the blueberry fields.  When he was running he was actually going through the wet bear footprints!  When I said that's why we need a little camera to run with he mentioned (wisely) that the last thing he would be doing would be stopping there! 

Ø I've discovered that waiting for something in the mail is like the old idiom "a watched pot never boils."  I'm quite certain that what we're waiting for will arrive when I go out which, of course, means that I can't pick it up until after 1pm the next day.  It's driving us nuts!  

Ø We're signing Spud up for playschool this fall!  That means that I'll get 2 days a week where I can do whatever I please for 2-1/2 hours.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the mum that shows up before and after class in her running attire and will have to endure strange looks from other parents.  Maybe I'll have to make sure that I run at the start and have time to shower before pick up.  I don't want to be the smelly mum...

Ø Colin and Spud went to the local airshow this past weekend while I was at work.  It's a family tradition to spend a long, hot day around noisy airplanes and this year's show didn't fail.  Not only were there the requisite planes in the air and on display, but there were also booths set up by local companies and law enforcement.  Here's the reason that prisoners should always be handcuffed:

Post-Dash Drive: Whistler - Home

Since I'm still working on my recap for Warrior Dash here are some pictures of the drive home.  I'm so blessed that all this is within a 2-1/2 hour drive from my house...

Black Tusk, Garibaldi Provincial Park
(my first hike ever with Colin was here - 8hrs and 32kms)

Mount Tantalus

  

Salish Sea, Squamish
(there were lots of kiteboarders here due to high winds off The Spit - can you find one?)

Stawamus Chief Provincial Park
(popular with climbers - left side - and hikers - right side)

   

Shannon Falls Provincial Park

  

Anvil Island

Sea to Sky Highway
(looking back toward Squamish)

I tried to get a great shot of Vancouver from the highway coming into town, but between the trees and the smog it wasn't worth it...  Here's what it would have looked like if I could have gotten the shot: