Hood To Coast

Last weekend I did the Hood to Coast relay race, 197 miles from Mt Hood to Seaside Oregon by the ocean. I was in van one this time, when I did it in 2004 I was in van 2. With van one we started at Timberline lodge on Mt Hood at around 6000 feet. I had leg 4 which was down in the town of Rhododendron. It was still light out when I took off for my leg (top picture). It was slightly downhill, so I bumbed the heartrate up to 85-90% and soared along for 7.2 miles at an 8:06 pace just as the sun was going down. We had the special Headhunter Adventure van for the first six legs and then van 2 took it. It is decked out with headhunter pictures and tiki torches and skulls and speakers and a PA system and neon lights underneath. We had AC/DC playing on the speakers, the green neon on underneath and when we pulled into the Sandy Fred Meyer store which is the first van switch stop, flashbulbs galore started going off. We felt like rock stars arriving, people came over to get pictures and pose by the van.
We moved all our stuff to the plain van which is much more comfortable and went to OMSI by the river downtown to try and sleep, but I just rolled around because I-5 was right overhead and it was loud. For my second leg it was out by the town of St Helens on Highway 30 and it was 2 or 3 in the morning. It was only 3.5 miles so I tried to keep the same exertion level and heart rate as the first leg without getting nauseous from using a flashlight to run with. I tried turning it off, but worried about turning an ankle, so I ran with the light moving around. Looked up sometimes to see a beautiful star display. Finished the 3.5 miles in an 8:19 pace and that includes about 20-30 seconds waiting at a stop light with a volunteer before I could cross. Instead of trying to sleep, some of us went to a school and took a shower and had a breakfast made by a booster club. Then sat at the van switch place and napped for about 40 minutes. It had a huge porta-pottie double line. The further out in the country, the fewer porta-potties it seemed.
For my third and final leg it was a rolling 4+ miles and I took off and got the heartrate to the same place as the other legs and just cruised. In 2004 I had two road kills (passing people) the whole 3 legs. This year I had 6 the first leg and 5 the second leg and then on the third leg I had 12! People were tired I think, because I passed four on one hill. One of the four was a pretty girl in a plaid skirt, so I said "nice skirt", she thanked me and said good running. About 100 yards from the finish I saw a really pretty girl (black shorts girl in the middle picture which is at the start) about 50 yards ahead and thought "I can pass her", so I kicked it in and passed her right before the end. Came in at an 8:30 pace with small hills- very pleased with my running in this event and the fact that I could keep the same effort level in each leg.
Then to Seaside and after a shower at the school, to the beach party. The girls team had already finished and were at the beach in the beer garden so we joined them. Most of the guys went back to a team member's mom's house for home cooked food. I stayed and drank with the girls and had an expensive vendor's salad. I don't usually drink, but after 5 beers I was feeling pretty good. By then 6 of us went to a bar in Seaside for another beer and some food. As soon as we sat down the girl from leg 3 that I had passed came over and sat next to me and said "Jeff?" I put my arm around her and said "yes" (on my 6th beer, ok). She said in a stern voice "you know you passed me right at the end, I'm mad at you". Blew me away- how did she know my name? Found out her name was Erin and she had 2 road kills that leg and I told her that by passing her it gave me 12 so I had to. Later I found out that she was in the bathroom line with one of the guys on the team and he told her my name because he remembered me passing her. After that 3 of the girls and I walked back to the mom's house we were staying at and I ended up on a cot in the dining room.
The next day we went to awards and we took the Headhunter Adventure van which won best van decoration. In downtown Seaside coach Denise asked if anyone wanted to ride on top, so 4 of us went on the roof and rode through town while Denise was on the PA system. After awards the girl who did the Windy Ridge ride with us in July came over and wished me good luck on my Ironman and I wished her good luck in Ironman Wisconsin in 2 weeks. She said "remember, it's about the journey and the wonderful friends and memories you've made along the way". Couldn't have said it better- It has been an amazing year! Back in May while riding in the van up to the Grand Columbian training ride, my ex- training partner and I were talking about the best years of our lives and for her it was when she was 19. I thought about it and said "47" (my current age), she said she didn't believe me, but it's true this is the year- this is the time- this is the journey! Hopefully there will be better and more later, but so far- this is my time to shine.

Anyway, as we were leaving awards after buying fudge, a policeman stopped us and said no music or using the PA system, luckily no one was on the roof. People drove by yelling encouragement to us while he had us stopped. Then to Norma's for chowder and fish.
This week on Wednesday the weekend caught up with me and I slept through a swim and only woke up just in time to go to work after 13 hours or so of sleep. First time I've missed a workout with people waiting for me.
Two weeks until the gun goes off- I'm terrified, pumped, and numb all at the same time!