brought to you by the letter's O and L, and by the number 1

As many of you know, I'm running in the Hood to Coast relay, the largest relay run in the country - 197 or so miles, from Mt. Hood down to the ocean. It happens August 24th and 25th. Twelve of us mamas cram into two vans and each run a leg of the relay. Each leg consists of three parts. (The park, above, is the one I write about all the time. It's a block from our house and it's where I train every day.)

I'm starting to get thrilled. I like to be part of something so much bigger than myself, a force of such numbers (12,000 runners in this race), and a challenge where we all suffer and we all have such grueling fun. I've always  liked being part of the human race. Whereas Martin's dream as a kid was to fly all alone to Planet Z (farther away than any other planet, you see), my dream was to live in a house on the boardwalk, so I could see everyone I know walk by at night. The grueling fun part came much much later. I hated running when I was a kid, and was chubby for some time. I never would have imagined myself loving getting sweaty and dirty and worn out so utterly thoroughly. Pushing myself? Nah.

But now I love it like I love to breathe. I've done two Cycle Oregons (one while unknowingly pregnant!), one Portland Marathon, a large number of dragon boat races in Canada and the US, and now my second Hood to Coast with the urbanmamas team.

All that said, I was getting deeply worried about completing my assigned leg this year.

Most of the three parts of Leg 7 were described by the HTC people as "rolling hills." This is sort of like saying the Cookie Monster likes cookies. These rolling hills are the kind that go up and up and up, then plunge with breathtaking commitment, then rise up again so that even our Miata, a bona fide racing car, was struggling at the top of one of them when Martin and I went to scope out the course. On the second part of Leg 7, after those rolling hills, the steady ascent began for a couple miles that seemed okay but like they just weren't going to feel good, not at all. I knew I could finish it all, but it was going to hurt in a non-fun way.

All year I'd hoped to do Leg 1. Leg 1 is the shortest of the HTC relay, but it's no stroll. Leg 1 is legendary for the stunningly steep downhill that comprises its first portion (descending off Mt. Hood), covering a 2000-foot drop in 6 miles, then making a short but brutal uphill dash and a flat finish that, after all that downhill, feels like running with a full dishwasher strapped to each foot.

This seemed exciting and preferable to me. 

But Sarah got first pick on Leg 1, because she  had a baby, like 3 weeks ago, and so I couldn't exactly grumble. Except a miracle happened. When Sarah started running at 2 weeks post-partum she felt great. She was hitting her 9-minute miles with glee. And she decided the vast downhill of Leg 1, followed by the flatness of its other two portions, were a) going to hurt her injured coccyx, and b)  be boring. Whoopee! I want the boring Leg! And so I got it. She traded with me, because she prefers "terrain." Hee hee.

So next week's race will be brought to you by the number 1 - Leg 1. Now, rather than mentally training for something I feared I would hate, I'm gleefully getting ready to dash down this mountain, doing squats and as much downhill running as I can in a week and a half. I'm going to keep my stride small, try to stay perpendicular to the mountain, and stay loose. I'll have ice ready for right after I stretch. Any other ideas?

Next week's race is also brought to you by the letters O and L, because our team has two real live, honest to God sponsors:  Oregonlive and Larabar. I feel like a famous athlete. And I feel so thankful for them, I wanted to mention them here. I can tell you with great certainty that the Cherry Pie Larabar is delicious. I think it will speed my intra-Leg recovery.

Comments

[Dawn]

Hi there - I'm almost two years late ... but I just spotted your artist scarf and absolutely love it! Can you still purchase the yarn you used? I only see sock yarn on the Blue Moom website. Which now makes me want to make this even more!!!

[Jess]

Ooohhh... nothing better than a Lara Bar!

[larissa]

Dawn, Yes, I think you can still get the "Periwinkle" yarn from Blue Moon. I would email them, asking for Kaci or Tina. They have a lot more, and different, yarns in their warehouse than are on their website. They may have some to sell.

[chrispy]

I agree with you Leg one seems more fun. My husband has run this race twice. This year is his third time. He keeps telling me that I should run it with him. If I ever do I will run leg one, the downhill and then the lovely run through waterfront and well I forget the last leg (I was a little sleep deprived). In my husbands group I would get first dibs cuz I am a girl.

[bottleman]

A dishwasher strapped to each foot? You may just have invented the newest fitness craze.

[Dawn]

Larabars are the Bomb!! I love them so so much. It's great to have sponsors

[Shetha]

Yay! I'm so lucky -- I get to receive the baton from you not once, not twice, but THREE times!!! Sad that Sarah moved to 7 but so happy to have you in our van. I'm getting very excited too!!!

[Beaweezil]

Helloooo! I'm a long time lurker stepping up to tell you I made your handle baby hat. What fun! Thanks for a great pattern and good luck in your race.

http://matchfactory.blogspot.com/

[Michael Cade]

Hi, I'm a sports reporter in Gresham, Ore., looking to feature some interesting runners in an upcoming story for The Gresham Outlook and Sandy Post newspapers.

I would love to chat with you if you have a moment. Feel free to drop me an e-mail at mcade@sandypost.com and perhaps we can exchange additional contact info.

Thanks!
Michael Cade

[Sarah]

Hi there
I came across your page today and was inspired to get my running shoes back on after a 3 week break. I noticed that you were looking for some tips on things to do post race to aid in the recovery process. I am a swedish massage therapist in Scotland and I regularly work with endurance athletes taking part in charity races and iron-man events. One of the best things you can do for your muscles post race is to have a quick 5/10 minutes massage. Nothing technical or deep but a quick rub down to get the toxins and lactic acid moving away from the site will reduce the soreness after. If I lived in your area I would volunteer to bring along our troop of therapists to help out!!
I hope the tip helps and I wish you the best of luck in the race!

Sarah

[Jordan shoes]

I have the same feeling as you, so good. however, if you add some explanation below the pictures, it's better. by Jordan