10 things learned at Hood to Coast….

I will have a very long race report (most likely posted in three parts). But for everyone wondering how it went—it is difficult to describe such an incredible weekend (but, of course, I’ll do my best). I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity and honored to be included with some amazing women. As I am crafting my race report, I wanted to post some things I learned this weekend.

#10—Running 7 miles in 90 degree weather is not so much fun (but it was HOOD TO COAST and my dad saw me run it, so it was worth it in the end). 


#9—Running in the middle of the night is a great way to clear your head.


#8—Six women in a van for 36 hours don’t stink as much as you would think (even after running their brains out).


#7—One hour of sleep outside on a tarp can be better than four hours of sleep in a hotel and can even be “magical.”

#6—You can “race” three times in a 24 hour period, running pretty much as fast as you can, and live to tell about it.


#5—There are zombies in Mist, Oregon.


#4—In a race situation like this, you are always looking for something…clothing, cell phone service, keys, teammates… 

#3—These bloggers are as cool in real life as they seem online (some even moreso).


#2—Nuun is more than a fantastic product, it is a great company with some of the best employees around.


and the #1 thing learned this weekend—Hood to Coast is everything I thought it would be and would do it again in a heartbeat.  (*hint, hint )

I am tired and sore, but super happy.  I am now back to the real world.  Happy Running...

Last minute preparations…

I think I am all packed for Hood to Coast.  I leave in the this morning*.  In the meantime I am trying to get stuff ready for the kids to go to school (it starts tomorrow today), take my daughter to dance class and soccer practice and clean the house (sorry, Honey…it might be a bit of a disaster for your weekend alone with the kids). But, of course I have to take a break to blog about my clothes for this weekend’s epic run. 

I am running three legs.  The first is in the heat of the day, the second in the middle of the night and the third in late morning near the coast.  I have three outfits planned. As you know (unless you have been under a rock), I am running on team Nuun Platuun. and we have a military theme.  We are “hard corps.”  LOL.  Our tag line was inspired by a line from the movie Platoon,  “free your mind and your feet will follow.”  Costumes came naturally…we went with camouflage. 

Leg 1—pink tank, camouflage running skirt.  It will be hot during this leg (probably around 80-85 degrees), so I am also going to wear my iFitness Hydration Belt.**

Leg 2—olive green tank, Lucy capris, arm warmers. If it is really cold (I don’t think it will be—it is supposed to be in the 60’s) I will wear my Sugoi Versa Jacket. I’ll also be wearing a camouflage hat.  My husband (who is a military buff and loves camouflage) teased me because it isn’t a “real” camo hat.  According to him, it is “redneck” camo (hunting camouflage).  Oh well…I’m wearing it at night.

Leg 3—short sleeve camo top, black booty shorts. I bought this shirt online specifically for this race from Bravada with no intentions of wearing it again.  However, it is one of the most comfortable and flattering shirts I have worn.  I’ll let you know how it does during a run, but I am pretty sure I’ll be wearing it again.

I also have an assortment of bandanas, ribbons etc. matching the Nuun Platuun theme. As I mentioned earlier, my husband loves camouflage.  So we already had some things here.  We even have a diaper bag that I am going to use as my personal bag!

Other than my personal items, Nuun is providing just about everything we need (food, first aid, and hydration of course!!).  Other things I am bringing:

• Garmin
• iPod and speaker for the van (not to run with—headphones are a no-no due to safety)
• open toed sandals so I can wear recovery socks.
• Recovery Socks
• a big sweatshirt (I get cold after a run, even if it is super hot)
• sweatpants
• my husband’s Fuzzy Duds soft fleecy shorts (in camo of course)
• A travel pillow
• Zip Fizz and Luna Bars (my essential running food)
• A small gift for a gift exchange among the team.  How fun is that??

I hope I am ready.  I have a feeling I have forgotten some things.  But I think I’ll be that girl on the van who borrows everyone else’s stuff.  I hope they know that they are my new best friends!***

Remember to follow along on Twitter: @ministryofnuun, @nuunplatuun and @afternuundelite using hashtag #htcrelay. Also, the Nuun Facebook page will be posting updates all weekend.

I hope you all have fantastic weekends!

Happy Running…

*I wrote this post yesterday and am finishing up and posting this morning before I wake my kids up for the first day of school.

**I’ll be doing a review on this belt after the race. Stay tuned, there might be something in it for you!

***Tricia has already told me I could use her dry shampoo.  I am sure there will be more…she is WAY more prepared than I am.

Taper for Hood to Coast? NOT!

I know that some of my teammates might be taking it easy this weekend in preparation for some tough runs later this week. No easy run for me--I had a twenty mile run on my schedule.

I am training for my sixth marathon. One thing that doesn’t change is that twenty miles is still a very long way. It may sound crazy, but it is those super long runs that fill me with dread and terror I like the best. I get pretty impressed with myself.  In fact, last night at a family get-together, I heard myself say, “more pasta? why yes…because I am running twenty miles tomorrow” and “oh, no salad for me, I am running twenty miles so I don’t need the extra roughage.”  TMI?  Probably, but runners get it.* By the end of the night, everyone knew I had twenty miles on the schedule.  It is not like it is the first time, but damn it…it is impressive and I wanted my loved ones to know. Does anyone else feel like telling everyone when you run a significant amount of miles?

I was concerned this week when our schedule was turning out that I couldn’t run with the group for the long run. I have done plenty of long runs by myself. In fact, I have trained for two marathons pretty much on my own.  But I have been spoiled this year and rarely run by myself. I put a plea out to my facebook friends for someone to run at least part of my run with me.  The thought of running 3+ hours on my own was a bit overwhelming.  One of my friends, Angela, made a comment that if I didn’t live so far away, she would join me for 10 miles.  Ummm…I am totally willing to drive a half hour to run with a friend.  Ironically, Angela and I have never run together.  She and I are colleagues through Body Back. She told me she was nervous that she would slow me down.  When I heard about her 3:51 marathon and 1:41 half marathon I thought I would slow her down.  It didn’t take long before we were running, talking and going at a perfect pace for both of us!**

Before I knew it, we had chatted away the entire ten mile loop.  Isn’t that the best thing about good running friends?  A long run doesn’t seem so long anymore.  And had she been ready for it, I think we could have run the second loop without having much of a lull in conversation.  It was a great start to my long run.

After saying goodbye, I headed off to run the same loop again. We were at Newport’s Back Bay, which I always love. I didn’t notice the scenery much the first time since we were chatting so I turned my music on and really enjoyed the route.  It wasn't as fun as the first half, but I was feeling great!

Around mile 14, my IT band started bugging me.  I stopped at miles 15 and 18 to stretch.  It helped, but the pain was a good reminder that I need to roll my IT band every day. 

The last few miles were getting painful.  Between IT/knee discomfort and the regular hip-to-toe pain that comes with a really long run, I was ready to be done.  I wanted to see if I could kick up my pace again. I sped up for the last mile.  It felt like sprinting, but I was able to run mile 20 at a 8:32 pace!!  That is 10 seconds or so faster than my marathon goal pace. I am not sure if I could keep that up for a long time, but at least I knew I had it in me.

I finished. I was done. My legs hurt all over, but I was pretty happy with myself. Once again, I had that familiar desire to stop a random stranger and tell them I just ran twenty miles.  I didn’t, but I wanted to.  Oh…and I ran it about 30 seconds faster than marathon pace. I’m a happy girl.



So now that my first twenty miler is in the can for this training cycle, I will be back to my regularly scheduled obsessing about Hood to Coast.  Did I mention that it is in five days??

Happy Running...


*And even without the extra “roughage” I still had to stop at a bathroom!  Ugh…more TMI.
**We ran just over 9 minute miles, which is a bit faster than I had planned, but it did wonders for my confidence.

8 more days….

There are eight more days until my daughter starts kindergarten. She is so excited she can hardly stand it.  Big brother is happy to have his sister at school with him. That is a big milestone in our lives as I will have both my kids in school full time. Then the pressure starts to get this business really off the ground!

Oh yeah…something else is happening in 10 days.     I AM FLYING TO SEATTLE TO START MY HOOD TO COAST  ADVENTURE!!!

Here is a little more about the race (and my leg in particular), for those of you who aren’t familiar with HTC or long distance relays in general.

What is Hood to Coast? It is a 200-mile relay that is run by teams of 12. It starts at Mt. Hood, the tallest mountain in Oregon, to Seaside on the Pacific Ocean.

Known as "The Mother of All Relays", HTC is the largest relay in the world, hosting a capped team limit for the past 20 years, and has filled on "Opening Day" of registration for the past 13 years!HTC is also the longest running relay event in Oregon, and hosts the largest beach party on the west coast!

Here is the timeline for the weekend:

Thursday, August 25—After dropping my baby off at kindergarten, I head to the airport and fly to Seattle (Nuun headquarters) to meet the teams (Nuun Platuun and AfterNuun Delight). There will be van decorating, pizza eating and general revelry.

Friday, August 26—Four vans of excited and nervous women will take off first thing to drive down to Mt. Hood (just east of Portland).  Our vans will be festooned with quotes and decorations supporting our respective themes.  I am guessing that there might be some interesting looks along the freeway on the way to Portland and maybe a few honks.

The teams are all given start times ranging from early in the morning to early evening. to keep the course and exchange points free of too much congestion.

“The race start times begin at 3:30am Friday at the Timberline Day Lodge and continue in waves every 15 minutes throughout the day until 6:15pm. Each wave has 20-25 teams.”

Our start time is 12:30 p.m. I am excited that both teams are starting together!

I am in Van 1.  Starting us off is Major Miles.  She has the honor of running the leg with the steepest downhill grade.  It is notorious for being incredibly difficult. I wanted this leg at first, but then when I thought about my marathon five weeks later, I decided that a quad-busting, toenail destroying, knee-shredding 2000 foot drop over five miles would not be the smartest choice.  Yeah for Tricia taking one for our team!

*Leg 2 belongs to Captain Cupcake. Then Captain Phoenix, our team captain.  She is followed by Captain Obvious and Captain Underpants.  I am the final runner in van 1.

My first chance to run will happen around 4:25 p.m. **  Leg 6 is rated as “Hard” by the Hood to Coast folks.  It is my longest leg, 6.75 miles.

It is described as “challenging uphills and gradual downhills along Highway 26 on paved shoulder.”  Actually, running along highway 26 gives me more anxiety than any other part of the race. I grew up in this area and drove to Sandy and Mt. Hood often along Highway 26. It is not a lonely highway.  It is a major thoroughfare—the only road from Portland to the mountain and the small towns in between. I know that giant trucks will speed by, scaring the crap out of me and blowing all sorts of road dust my way.  On the bright side, it will bring back some great memories of driving up to the mountain to go skiing as a kid.  I will be running by several well-know local landmarks.   

                      

After my leg, our van is done for a while. I am hoping that we will stop somewhere for some real food.  The van will be fully stocked with all sorts of snacks, but at some point in a 24 hour period, hot food will be a welcome treat.

Our van will be back at it around 10 p.m.. Now we are on to some of the toughest legs for the mere fact that they are done in the middle of the night. I am thrilled, however, that our van’s dark legs are late night rather than early morning.  Our best chance to catch some z’s will be after these overnight legs.

My next leg will be leg 18, which is 5.23 miles long. It is described as “flat and gradual uphill terrain on hwy and paved back country roads.” It is also rated “hard.”  Hmmm…”back country roads” at 2 a.m.??  Yikes!  Maybe I should add my pepper spray to the list of things to pack.  I will be wearing a light on the front, a light on the back, as well as a reflective vest.  What will the coyotes be wearing??

Saturday, August 27-- Our van will be “off duty” again from around 3 a.m. (when I finish running) until about 7:45 a.m.   This might be our only chance for some shut-eye.

Our final legs get us closer to the beach. My last leg is my easiest leg (woo hoo!).  Leg 30 is rated “moderate” and is 5.35 miles long.  It is described as “gradual uphill and steep downhill on winding narrow back road with minimum shoulder.” This time, I am really looking forward to being on a country road. It will be around 11:40 a.m. so darkness won’t be a factor.  In fact, it should be a lovely time of day!

Then van 1 is DONE.  We get to head to Seaside to wait for our team!!  I am excited for that part of the day.  I have two friends from high school who are running HTC and they are both in van 1 for their teams. We are planning on toasting our success with a well-deserved beer.

The final runner for Nuun Platuun, Commando, should be approaching the beach around 5 p.m.  Tradition says that all twelve runners join her and cross the finish line together.  I am sure that will be quite a moment.  I can’t wait. Then HTC hosts a huge beach party with food and music….and probably more beer.

Sunday, August 27-- We will make our way back to Seattle in our vans.  Some of the team is staying over Sunday night.  I need to get home. I fly out of Seattle Sunday evening. I will have missed pickup for the first two days of school and I want to be there to start my kids' first full week of the school year.

This adventure will be documented by twenty fabulous bloggers who are very social media savvy.  We will all be tweeting and posting to facebook along the way. If you would like to follow along on our adventure, check out our Facebook Page as well as our Twitter accounts: @nuunplatuun and @afternuundelite.

Thanks for reading and supporting me on this adventure!  This is a pretty long preview of my race.  I can’t imagine how long the actual race report is going to be!  It will all start a week from tomorrow.   EXCITING!!

What part of a race like this would you look forward to the most?  What would you be dreading?


Happy Running…

*I am not going to go through each leg in detail in this post.  I might, at some point, describe each leg, but that would make this post very, very long.
**There is a spreadsheet that takes difficulty of legs and runner 10K times and predicts the length of each leg.  They have been perfecting it for years and apparently, it is pretty accurate.

Over-scheduled??

I don’t know, but I’m excited for everything on the horizon. It feels good to be already registered for five events in the upcoming months. I have never been pre-registered for so many things. I usually procrastinate, making my entry fees more expensive.  This time, I took advantage of early-bird specials, coupon codes etc.

In just over two weeks I am running Hood to Coast with a GREAT team of women.  I am so excited, I can hardly stand it. Preparations are in full force.  Get ready for some fun blog posts afterwards and there are sure to be LOTS of pictures.  Go Nuun Platuun!

Shortly after that, I head off to St. George, Utah.  I have heard nothing but wonderful things about this marathon. I have seen it listed several times as a favorite race among runners who have run a lot of them. Runners run this race over and over again. It is fast and beautiful and I can’t wait.

In November, I am running the Santa Barbara Half Marathon. There are at least five of us going and we’re making it a girls’ weekend. The race is on Saturday, so we’ll stay Saturday night and really enjoy ourselves. My friend Jen is running her first half.  She recently lost 40 pounds, so the half marathon is a great way to celebrate her new body!

In January I am running the inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon.  This is a women’s race (although I know at least one man who is running it—woo hoo, Matthew!) I am going to don my fairy wings and have a wonderful time.  My friend, Janet, is coming down and staying with me and it should be a fun weekend.

Finally, I am registered for the inaugural Hollywood Half Marathon in April.  It is a week before my 45th birthday, so I want to live it up in Hollywood.  They advertise limos taking runners from finish line to the expo/celebration as well as a red carpet.

So with all that, my running budget is maxed out! However…that does not preclude me from running a race that is FREE (and only minutes from my house). That leads me to the point of this post. iFitness (one of my favorite products*) is giving away a free entry to the Disneyland Half Marathon next month.  I need your help to win it.  I get entries for every five people who “like” them on Facebook or “follow” them on Twitter.  I need your help and here’s how:

Go to the iFitness Facebook Page and like them.  Tell them that Lisa Roehm-Gensel sent you.

Follow @iFitnessRunning on Twitter and tweet “@momtomarathon sent me to @iFitnessRunning #runDisney #Free entry”

Thank you so much for your help!

Happy Running…

*I will be reviewing one or more of their products in the next several weeks. There may even be something in it for you.  hint, hint.. 

Q & A—part 3

Margot asked: What is one running goal you most want to achieve? I REALLY want to qualify for Boston. Because of my advanced age, my qualifying time is much more achievable than for younger women.  I tried for my “perfect storm” in October of 2010, but had a bad race.  I am trying again this October.  My goal for last year is the same—sub 3:50.  I will be moving up in age groups soon and even with the new Boston qualifying times, a 3:50 would give me a five minute buffer.

In addition, I will run a 50K one of these days.  I had planned to run one last summer, but I had budget and scheduling issues.

Jess asked: What do you look forward to most following a hard training run? It is usually something cold and sweet.  I LOVE Otter Pops right after a run (I have packed them in a cooler for the group before) or an ice cold Pepsi.

Favorite running outfit? I don’t really have one favorite outfit.  I am pretty cheap when it comes to running clothes and my outfits are a collection of clearance items, gifts and C9 from Target. Half the time I wear race shirts and whatever shorts are clean.  After participating and teaching Body Back, I am in probably the best shape of my life. I am getting more and more comfortable showing my shape.  I just started rockin’ the booty shorts and love how comfy they are. My current favorite has been my Roadrunner Velocity Compression Shorts and my Roadrunner Every Day Tank in neon yellow/green.  However, I am beginning to think that my cammo Running Skirt with pink Roadrunner tank might become my favorite.
Favorite mileage? The half marathon is my favorite. I am even a Half Fanatic(#1205)! It is long enough to be an accomplishment, but not so long that it overtakes your training. My running fitness goal has been to be in half marathon shape no matter what I am training for, which means running at least 8-10 miles on the weekend.  This has come in handy as I have been able to do several last minute half marathons over the past year or so. For random runs, I still like the longer distances. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like I get into much of a groove until mile 7 or 8. It seems like most of my bad runs are under six miles.

Tricia asked the all-important question: What's your favorite kind of beer? Maybe I should have included this with the Hood to Coast-related questions. I have already told Tricia that I would buy her a beer for sending me my running skirt. Hopefully, this question means that I have a teammate who likes beer.   Having my roots in Oregon, I am a fan of micro brewery craft beers. Everywhere you look in Oregon, there is a small brewery with yummy beer. My taste in beer depends on my mood.  I usually like Irish red ale, since they rarely have a distinct hops flavor (I’m not a big fan of “hoppy” beer).  Sometimes, especially in the summer, I like the fruit or wheat or Belgian White beer.  I have never been a fan of strong porters, IPA’s or stouts (although there is an oatmeal stout that I had once that was pretty good.)  hee hee….more info on my beer tastes than you expected, eh?

Lindsay asked: what is your ideal number of blog posts per week? (for you to write, or what you think others should post max)  I have no idea what ideal is, but I sometimes struggle to do one per week, which is far from ideal.  I would love to post 3-4 times a week.  I take a long time to compose blog posts, so I just don’t have time to do that.  I feel that posting every day is a bit of overkill and I have a hard time following anyone that posts that often. 

How many now-real-life friends have you met through blogging? (real life as in met up with).  I am a big fan of meeting people on the internet.  I have met five people I got to know from blogs.  I have met Alice, Penny, Alissa, Jill, Aron, Irene and LB.  LB and I met accidentally at the beach one day. I have also met Danica a couple of times.  Does talking on the phone count as real life friend? Terri and I have spoken to on the phone, texted etc and interact on Facebook regularly.  Before I ever knew what blogging was, I was involved in a couple online message board communities. I have friends who I consider very close that I met while trying to get pregnant nine years ago with my first child as well as a couple I met while pregnant with my second. I no longer participate in message boards, but we all stay well connected through Facebook.  I am sure after Hood to Coast, I will be able to update that list.  I am already becoming friends with a few of my teammates.

Ideal place to go on vacation? I love the Caribbean. The water is warm and crystal clear and the weather is balmy. I want to repeat the best vacation I ever had, which was chartering a sailboat called Cat Maudy. The captain and his wife spoiled my husband and I to a fantastic week of sailing around the Virgin Islands.  It was incredibly relaxing, and we could snorkel, swim, explore as much as we wanted. We met with them at the beginning of our voyage and decided on the itinerary and they knew our likes and dislikes in terms of food, drink etc.  We didn’t have to make another decision for the rest of the week.  It was incredible.

What activity would you do (money is not an issue).  I would have to say travel. Almost everything on my “bucket list” have to do with things in other parts of the world. I want to hike the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. I want to do a trek in the Himalayas. I want to cycle through Europe. I want to go to the Olympics and the World Cup (wherever they might be). I would also like to run along the Great Wall of China (that marathon/half marathon looks awesome!)

Did you enjoy high school? I did. I participated in a lot of things in high school (student government, speech team, drama club, newspaper), yet had plenty of time to hang out with friends.  However, I am not a “glory days” kind of gal.  I don’t look back at high school with melancholy thinking about the “best days of my life.” I grew a lot in high school and enjoyed it, but would not want to go back.  Ever.

Thanks for playing!  I hope you were able to learn a little bit about me.

Happy Running…

Q & A—part 2

This is the continuation of my answers to the Q & A post.  Thanks for some great questions!
XLMIC asked: How would you describe your sense of humor? I am not particularly funny, but I can definitely laugh at myself. I suppose I have a bit of a dry sense of humor, enjoying mild sarcasm and humor you have to think about.  I don’t usually enjoy laughing at someone else’s expense, which is why laughing at myself makes it all more fun.

Are you reluctant to speak up when something is bothering you? I really don’t like confrontation, so I guess I am reluctant in speaking up.  I often let things roll off my back, rather than make an issue about it. Luckily, I get over things very quickly.  “Grudge” is not in my repertoire.

What is your best "mom" quality" Your best "wife" quality? My best “mom” quality is probably the fact that I don’t hover.  I let my kids discover the world for themselves. For example, I let them (ages 5 and 7) walk the dog down the street by themselves or climb trees.  Some parents might look at me at the park and say that I am not “parenting” enough. I disagree.  I know exactly where my kids are, I am there to kiss their owies (without babying them), and I stop them before they do something imminently dangerous (running with a sharp stick etc.).  The result of this parenting style? Two very independent and confident children.
As a wife, I also do not “hover.” I give my husband the freedom to do the things he wants and try to be as supportive as possible.  For example—guy’s weekend in Vegas?  sure.  Hockey on the weekends? sure. In return, he is happy when I go out for my runs.  My version of Vegas? St. George with my running group in October and then Santa Barbara with friends to run the half marathon in November.  We love hanging out with each other, but don’t smother. We definitely support each other. We agreed when we first got married that our marriage would not be 50-50, but rather 100-100—with both of us giving 100%.

Do you like pantyhose? No, no, no.  I wore panty hose for close to twenty years in my professional life.  My work environment was relatively formal and suits were required.  I even wore panty hose while I was nine months pregnant in Palm Springs in the summer.PURE.TORTURE.  Never again, if I can help it.

Christy asked:  What is your favorite cuss word? I know this is boring, but I don’t have much of a potty mouth.  I have tried, but it just doesn’t fit me. While I have been known to let out an occasional “shit”, you are more likely to hear me say, “oh dear” or something equally as mundane.

What is the best thing to put on ice cream? I really like ice cream on its own.  My favorite flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough, which doesn’t need anything added.When we do frozen yogurt, I prefer fruit and granola.


What is your favorite song to sing in the shower? I usually just sing whatever is going through my head, which is probably something off Kidz Bop*, the music of choice of my children.

Flying or invisibility? Definitely flying.  No question.
Fair Weather Runner asked: What's your guilty pleasure? I am embarrassed to admit that I am a sucker for reality television.  But I only really like competition shows, none of those Housewife things.  I would love to say that we don’t own a television and read every night after dinner.  However, that is not the case. I love everything from Top Chef to the Bachelorette to Amazing Race. Watching things like American Idol and Survivor is our down time, and we often watch it as a couple or even as a family. My kids’ favorite show is Wipeout.  So, yup…definitely a guilty pleasure. Did I mention that we love our DVR?

I have a few more questions to answer, so stay tuned!!  Thanks again for playing along!

Happy Running…

*Kidz Bop takes popular music and makes it kid-friendly.  Most of the songs are sung by teens and they often change the lyrics to by more appropriate for the younger set.  

Some Nuun news…

First, Captain Obvious (aka Kerrie) from Nuun Platuun came up with an awesome logo for our team.  I am getting SO excited!

Second, our team captain along with a member of After Nuun Delight (Jocelyn) are going to be in New York for the Today Show tomorrow morning.  They will be handing out Nuun bottles and single servings.  They are hoping to get on the show to promote our teams!  How cool is that?  Tune in to see if you see a glimpse of one of our logos.*

Third, another “Delighter”, Mel Tall Mom has put together an awesome post that includes the bios of all twenty-four members of the two Nuun Hood to Coast teams.  Check it out Here.

Last, but not least, Nuun Platuun member XLMIC is approaching 400 followers.  When she reaches 404, she will be giving away a copy of the Hood to Coast movie!  If you haven't seen it, you should.  It is an inspiring documentary about the race that I will be doing in twenty-three days.  Go on over and check out her blog!



Don’t forget the wonderfully awesome discount that Nuun is giving to team readers.  You can get 25% off Nuun by using code NUUNPLATUUN at checkout.  Try some of the new flavors!

Part 2 of my Q & A will be up later today or tomorrow.  

Happy Running…

*Did I mention how cool the After-Nuun Delight logo is?  Check it out!

Q & A-- part 1 (regarding Hood to Coast)

Thank you for your questions.  I have a lot to work with! Many of you were kind enough to ask multiple questions, so I will break it up into more than one post. If you want to join the party and ask a question, it is not too late to post here.

Since a lot of the questions were from my Hood to Coast teammates, I’ll start with the ones relating to Hood to Coast.

XLMIC asked, “What do you think will present the biggest challenge for YOU at HTC? For the group?”

I think the biggest challenge for me as well as the group is dealing with lack of sleep.  Several of us are mothers, so we are used to strange sleep patterns, but my kids started sleeping through the night a few years ago, so I am not as used to it as some people are. I will bring plenty of Zip Fizz to keep me caffeinated. I know it will be interesting, to say the least.

I also worry a bit about the food thing [see next question]. I can go longer without sleep than I can without food, but I have a feeling food will be easier to come by.


Margot wrote, “What are you going to eat at HTC?”
I’ll eat whatever is available.  I will be sure to bring a stash of Luna Bars.  I really can’t live without those.  Other than that, I am open.to whatever is available. I like snacking on things like nuts and chips.  I love cheese, but I’m not sure how much cheese I’ll want.



I wonder how my tummy will hold up.  Normally, I can eat just about anything, but not necessarily before running.  I do tend to get tummy issues while running.  I hope there are plenty of porta potties, because when I have to go, I have to GO.  And using the bushes is grounds for disqualification.  So I will pass on the veggies etc.

Tricia asked,“When you get tired do you get grumpy or silly?” (I know this question isn’t specifically related to HTC, but since Tricia is in my van, I am sure she wants to know what she is in store for).  I get a little of both.  I notice that my fuse gets a bit shorter when I am tired.  I am more likely to snap at my kids (no…I am not the mother of the year).  Sibling squabbles tend to set me off when I am tired, as well as the dumb driver who cuts me off in traffic. I have also been known to go into giggle fits when I am tired. I am actually looking forward to a giggle fit or two during the Hood to Coast weekend.
She also wanted to know, “How are you flying with a sleeping bag?”   She knows that this is a question I have been wondering since being notified of my spot on the team.  I still don’t know how I am going to fly with a sleeping bag.  Mine is pretty bulky and I didn’t want to bring a huge duffel bag or suitcase (our space on the van is limited).  Any suggestions on how to fly with a sleeping bag?  Do I check the sleeping bag as luggage and put my clothes in a carry-on?


I will continue with the questions soon.


Happy Running…

What is Nuun, you ask?

I found out recently that not everyone knows what Nuun is. I keep talking about Nuun and Team Nuun, assuming that everyone is familiar with the product. Even as a runner, I had heard of it and even tried it once or twice, but never really looked into what it is.  I am now hooked, especially after trying all the new flavors.  Thanks to fellow Nuun Hood to Coast teammate (from AfterNuun Delight) Dorothy for this post on her blog Mile Posts.

What Is Nuun? Hydration On The Go

Drop a Nuun tab into 16 ounces of water and in less than two minutes you have a complex electrolyte blend designed to keep you optimally hydrated with no sugars and no mess.

Nuun is formulated to contain no sugars or carbohydrates so you can solve your electrolyte requirements independent of energy needs. Simply, Nuun believes you are best to manage your energy. eat what you want: gels, bars, fruit, brownies....let Nuun take care of the electrolytes and hydration.

Nuun contains sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium to maximize hydration and prevent cramping. It has been chosen for years by top athletes and tested at the toughest events and in the harshest conditions on earth.

Nuun is purposefully developed with a light refreshing taste that's not overwhelming when you're on-the-go. With so many flavors to choose from, there is a Nuun for every taste. My current favorite is strawberry lemonade.


Nuun is truly portable and ready when you are. There is no need to search out a premixed sports drink. just drop one Nuun tab in 16 ounces of water and you are good to go. The tough water resistant tube is perfect for your hand, pocket or hydration pack.

Nuun, cares about the environment and encourage everyone to (re)use their own bottle. Each tube of Nuun makes twelve 16-ounce drinks. That's millions of disposable bottles kept out of landfills every year.

Have you tried Nuun?  What is your favorite flavor?  What flavors would you like to see Nuun come out with?


Get yourself some Nuun for 25% off! Use coupon code "nuunplatuun" at checkout!!