A Bit of a Hood to Coast Recap

I seriously have no idea what I'm doing right now. Y'see, I reverted a bit back to my chaos mode after getting back from Hood to Coast and-

Oh yes! Hood To Coast!

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see that I actually used my Twitter to comment along the way. One of the other members of the team is a Journalism professor, and he talked about many people use Twitter during the HTC for updates. It ended up being really useful! For instance, there was a fire at one of the areas and because of Twitter I knew about it early on.

As for the race itself... Well, it's hard to describe. The whole thing is like a mix of a road trip and a race. Okay, I guess that's obvious but it's the only way I know how to describe it. The time went by in weird ways. For instance, when you drove to each stop it felt like no time at all. However by the time your van is done with their first legs, it's already been five or so hours. On the other hand, naps that went for a half hour felt like three hours of sleep.

It's crazy, but the things that seemed really funny or seemed terrible are already disappearing. What I mean is  it's hard to find an example of a specific moment that made the whole thing good. Still, it was good.
Although it was pretty funny when Rob almost spit on another runner on accident who snuck up on him. Or when a deer crossed the road, giving us a different type of "roadkill". Do either of those sound that funny to you? I doubt it. But here I am, telling you they were some of the funny things.
It was nice to be on a team that has done it a lot, because they can handle emergencies. Our emergency? Van two broke down. Scary, right? But they figured it out quickly and efficiently.

Would I do it again? Right now, I'm not sure. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. My sister is already WAY on board to do it again. I'd like to do leg one myself. Hmm. Maybe that means I do want to do it again.
I really want to watch the movie now.

As you know, I'm already getting ready for the next adventure. I fly tomorrow! Crazy. I keep on worrying about forgetting something, or losing myself, or I dunno, but right now there's not much I can do. Just getting my last appointments done. About an hour ago I had a dentist appointment. I have a cavity. Oh really, the gaping hole in my tooth is a cavity? I had no idea. Right after I come back I have to fill it. Joy.

For now, I don't know what else to say. I was a bit nervous about posting HTC stuff simply because I don't have all of the pictures yet. I know, I said I would take a lot but it's a lot harder to get picture than you would think. Most of my pictures are of my other teammates handing off the slapbraclet on the first leg.

Our Van! 

The mountain didn't even look real. It was crazy.

The start line!

I'll add more when I get them.
What's the strangest race/event you've ever been a part of?

Is This Seriously My Life?

Currently looking at schedule/upcoming events, and all I can think is, "Holy crap. Is this seriously my life right now?" 

Let's take a look at that schedule, shall we? Tomorrow I start the Hood to Coast. That continues into Saturday afternoon/evening, with a beach celebration that night. Sunday we do a team breakfast, then it's back home to a going away BBQ for me. That seems weird. A BBQ for me? Anywho, next is Monday. Monday is free, Tuesday is filled with last minute appointments, and Wednesday I'm flying to Europe. 

Seriously. How did I get blessed with this right now? Because everything in my future sounds freaking amazing. 

Usually I'd be freaking out, thinking about all the things that could go wrong. I'm going to miss my flight, I'm going to injury myself and not be able to finish my legs of the H2C, I'm going to get lost in Europe, I'm going to owe my parents so much money after this trip, I'm going to- Every freakout. Every problem I could face. The weird thing is... I'm living in the moment instead. I think I've spent enough of this summer worrying about everything in the future that it has finally worn my worrying out. My sister's whining about her life might have made me realize how ridiculous I sound as well. Whining about being weight is stupid when you just ate junk food. I should know, I've been doing the exact thing all summer. Speaking of, even though I'm a TEENY bit heavier than when I started college (nowhere near Freshman 15), I've been a lot more accepting of my body lately. I lost a lot of weight when marathon training. It happens when you're not eating enough for running 15 mile long runs. Plus, I'm nowhere NEAR overweight in the slightest. So... I need to CTFD. Which I have.

Sometimes you just need to stop the freakouts. Look at what's happening and see the positives. It reminds me of something I read in one of Rick Steves' travel books. I'm not sure the exact wording, but he was talking about travel journaling. Rick explains the difference between writing a positive journal entry versus a negative one and he explains by describing the same day in two different ways. When he wrote the positive entry it made a HUGE difference. Now I'm looking at the positives. Plus I'm finally living in the moment for once.

Speaking of the H2C, I've been "tapering". Kinda. I ran two days ago, but I don't think I want to run today. My arches feel a tad twinge-y, so I don't want to risk any type of injury. As far as running multiple runs in one day goes, I can do it. I know I can. Y'see, last Thursday I decided to test this out partially because I told my sister I would run with her in the evening. I ran 6 miles in the morning. I then ran 5 miles that night. The next morning, I ran three. By the time I finished that three miler, my exhaustion could only be explained with "My soul is tired." Honestly, that was the only way I knew how to describe it. Still, that proved to me that I can do this. (Although this is probably why my legs have felt pretty tired this week, and why I've been taking it kind of easy.)

And yes, I'll be sure to take a boat load of pictures. I'm so excited! I've got chills.

When do you start looking at the positives? Closer to the deadline or a long time from the deadline? (I know, that could be worded better but bear with me.)

Responsible? I Doubt It.

Man, the days are just zooming by now. Summer always seems to go in the same pattern: June is pretty fast, July drags along, and August flies by. Does everyone feel like that, or is it just me? Then again, I still get summer break, so there's that.

Since I haven't been writing much this summer (five post for August?!), I haven't looked at my comments much. Haven't needed to. Well, I only get about a comment a post, so there's that too. I'm rambling, I know.  Probably why I should be writing more this summer. I do try to blog to practice my writing...
Geez, I'm rambling AGAIN. Oy.

The point is I was reading my comments, and I came across this:

You're  so responsible. But seriously. Life coach material.

I shook my head, chuckling. She's kidding, right? Me? Responsible? Yeah right.
I've actually been told a couple times in my life I'm responsible, but I don't believe it ever. I'm neurotic but not responsible. This has been especially true this summer, where I've been extremely lazy. Whenever I think of responsible people, I think of those who have solid jobs every summer. I think of productive people. I think of people who aren't going to be up to their necks in student loans once school is over. There are quite a few things that make me feel irresponsible, but that's a big one. 

Having no job and staying at home has kind of reverted me back to my high school self. I've whined like a teenager to my mom, been stubborn, and given me the maturity of a younger me. Not good. I'm not saying it's my being at home's fault (thought it sounds exactly like that), I'm just saying I'm not able to handle it yet maturity wise. If I'm going back to my high school maturity at home, there's no way I can see myself as responsible. Does that make sense? Probably not. 

Responsible? I don't know about that. Neurotic? For sure. 

Speaking of neurotic, I packed my bag for my trip again. I know it's ridiculous, but I've also been taking a few things out here and there. My bag is stuffed, and I haven't even gotten my unmentionables in yet. Ridiculous. I'll talk more about packing later, but for now I've got to get going. Ta!

What comment do people give to you that you never believe?

Travel Fears

As I type this, I look down at my hands and see paint splatters everywhere. Man I'm bad at getting this stuff off.

Computer update is my computer is working okay again... for now. I burned all the newly purchased music and now must move onto backing up documents, photos, and other things I'd like to keep. I think I just have to keep it cool and not do a lot of things at once.

My departure date is coming closer and closer, and I think I'm finally figuring stuff out. Sorta. Because I'm getting there before the program starts, I hoped to do a bit of travel. For the longest time, I was too freaked out to actually book anyplace to stay because I might not want to stay there. What if it was sketchy? What if I get attacked? Every fear flowed out of my imagination. However with a push from my mom I finally got to booking some stuff. Huzzah!

What's left to do before I go now? Get my absentee ballot. Move some money to different accounts. Then... I don't know. I think that's it. I keep having nightmares about things going wrong. Well, maybe nightmares is a strong word. Still, it's little what-ifs that worry me.

My biggest travel fear is forgetting something at home or somewhere I can't get it back. This seems to be a strange fear, considering I pack pretty light compared to many people. Hmm. Maybe that's why I'm always nervous, because I usually do forget something. Ah well.
Okay, I have bigger travel fears than that, but that's the small picture fear I have. Don't worry, not all of my nervousness about traveling is as materialistic.

What's your biggest travel fear?

Random Thoughts and Tech Trouble

Yesterday while on a run, I thought about my stride. I was clomping like a Clydesdale, but I've always been quite heavy on my feet. Then I thought about overweight runners.
Y'see, you may not know this but I believe it's overweight or obese runners are sometimes classified as Clydesdales. Which is really an asshole name if you think about it. I had no idea about the name until I read something about it in a Runner's World issue. I don't think the name is used much anymore, but I have no idea. Really, it's ridiculous and rude. I know of larger runners who are light on their feet, and look at me! I'm not big, but I stomp like crazy. So, yeah. Random thoughts.

I wish that I had a device that could record my thoughts. Perhaps a SD card of some sorts, that would save thoughts of the day. When removing the card, the thoughts wouldn't disappear from my brain, I would just have an extra copy. I could upload the to my computer, do some editing, and then have clever things written up all of the time. I think about this because whenever I think of anything clever, I never have paper. Later when I do, I forgot what I was talking about.

Goodness, from all of the stuff up there I probably sound like I'm on something. I assure you, I'm not. I guess I just have a hard time concentrating when there's background noise. Also, I'm not really sure how to ever start these posts.

For the last few days, we've been painting the house. I've been covered in paint from head to toe, scrubbing it off every night. Has it been too hot to paint? Probably. However, when my mom gets a project in her head, she needs to follow through with it. Almost done though.

As the end of August approaches, I realize there are a lot of things I need to get done. Because my brain does not want to comprehend this, it shuts down and I become a useless sack. Oh lord. However (geez I'm using that word to much) due to certain computer issues, I think I'm going get myself more on track to be productive. Computer issues? Yes. My laptop has been randomly been shutting off lately, and today it did it twice while plugged in. That's a first, and I'm freaked out. It's been getting really really hot for no reason. My sister had to buy a new computer at the same age my computer is now. Same thing was happening to hers. No. No no no no no no. I used my money for upcoming travel, I have none left. I can't help but be freaking out a tad.

Welp, that's about it on my mind recently. Ayup.

What random thoughts have you been having lately?

Social Interaction

The other day was one of those days where I biked into town. A lovely, casual little biking excursion. It seems the only way I'm able to convince myself to bike is if I have errands, but it always turns out nice. It's an adventure.

One of the nice things about biking is that you're able to speak yet at the same time the interaction can only be brief. You can smile at people, say hello... except most of the time I just bike by. At the beginning of the ride, I just biked past whoever I passed, no matter what. That made me wonder something: Why are we so afraid of what strangers think of us? So I decided to smile at other people I passed. For the most part however, the smile was not returned. Huh. There were the few other people that gave me the nod though. You know the "respect" nod.

My whole idea of social interaction continued as I unlocked my bike outside of the library. While I was doing that, a guy walks past me. He greets me with a hello, and I nervously say hello back. Then he asks how I am, I tell him, and he wanders off. After hearing him speak, I could tell he might of had a mental disability but it made me think. Why are we so afraid of a casual greeting from a stranger? I instantly knew why though. It's because almost every time we're greeted, we're about to be sold something. Whether it be an actual product, or someone trying to get into our pants, a greeting is almost never just a greeting. How sad is that?

Then again, this might just be personal experience. This may also be my social awkwardness, but that's a story for another day.

I've been having trouble getting posts written, have you been able to tell? Thought you might. It's not so much for the lack of ideas, rather it's more that I can't concentrate on writing. All summer, I haven't really sat at a desk when using my computer, so it's harder for me to actually think writing when I'm not at a desk.

We've been painting the house for the last few days, and the main experience that I've learned from this summer is that I'm pretty sure I never want a big house. Ever. Way too much maintenance.

How do you interact with strangers? Are you friendly or do you keep to yourself?

Running and Running Movies

It's amazing how when you're not on a schedule you tend to forget things quite easily. Like blogging, for instance. I think, "Oh, it's only been a day or two since my last blog" when in reality it's been almost a week. Goodness. We move on.

What's been up in my life? Well, I got some exciting news: I've got a spot in the Hood to Coast!! I'm so excited! If you don't know what the Hood to Coast is, it's a relay that happens in Oregon. There's even a movie about it. (Which I have yet to see.) You usually have to apply with a team a year in advance, and even then it's up to lottery. However, a spot opened up on my sister's team and I was asked if I wanted to join! As you can tell, I'm pumped. Tomorrow I'm going to start practicing doing more than one run in a day by splitting my four miler in half, separating it by an hour or so. Hooray!

I've caught up on some Olympics, adventured around with my grandma, and gotten nervous about time going  by so fast.

Today, I watched a few movies. Some classic, and one not so classic. My dad and I get a little too enthusiastic when it comes to 49 cent rental Sundays, especially since you only have one day to watch them. Anywho, one of the movies that I watched wasn't a rental but something that came on the TV after I had finished another one.

The movie was called Run Fatboy Run with Simon Pegg. The plot was about a loser-y guy who had given up on everything he'd ever done. His girl who got away gets together with this perfect guy who runs marathons for charity and is just amazing all around. Pegg decides that he's going to run the marathon too. It's a story about not taking the easy way out, all that jazz. The point is it struck my fancy because of the mentioning of marathons obviously.
I always like when the longer running events are mentioned in movies. I'm not saying that short distances don't take dedication, it's just that long distances take so much more mental power than other races. They don't tend to be spotlighted though. However all that said, there were some things that irked me.
For example, how many weeks he had until the marathon. 3.
Training with no running experience for a marathon in three weeks?

HA!
HA HA!

Yeah fucking right. Even if you walked the whole thing (which he does a lot of), there's no way you could do that if you're in no condition at all. Your legs would collapse from under you.

Still, it did get some things right. Like the wall I suppose.
I still like the mention of a marathon though in movies.

After watching it, I wondered if Simon Pegg had ran a marathon perhaps inspired by the film. No, he hadn't but I wished he had. "C'mon, you should do a marathon if you were in a movie about doing a marathon," I thought. Then I instantly thought of how ridiculous that thought process was.
Why do we want stars to do the things they do onscreen? I know I'm not the only one who has wished for a star to do the things they've done onscreen. On the other hand, we're not watching Hunger Games and thinking, "Man, I wish Jennifer Lawrence would participate in a battle to the death with other young people." See? That's just ridiculous. I think it might just be because I think doing a marathon is an awesome thing to do, and I like when actors give me other reasons to like them. Dunno.

So, those are the thoughts of the evening. Ayup.

What running movies do you find interesting? Do you tend to have assumed personalities with actors based on the type of roles they play?

Looking at the Good and The Bad

I'm at a conflict with my body recently. There are things that I love, but others? Not so much. Welcome to life, am I right?

First of all, let's start with the positives. Mainly, the fact that I'm not as white as the winter snow anymore. Yeah, I've got some color.
Being tan is something I'm conflicted with. I don't like the idea of tanning beds and I get nervous about melanoma. I've got a lot of moles. However, looking like a ghost is not cute. Remember when it was attractive to be pale because that meant you didn't have to work outside? Of course you don't, no one living now was alive when that was true. But I like to think of how things change in the sense of beauty over time. Seriously, even if you look at clothes from the 90s there are things that shouldn't have existed.

Like these. Gyah.

Despite my worries and hatred of sunscreen, I've managed to get in about a half hour each day at least of sitting in the sun getting some vitamin D. Plus, when I went biking the other day I made sure to be sunscreen-ed up. (Trust me, it's an accomplishment.)

Speaking of biking, did you see those quads of those olympic bikers? Geezo! Even if you have seen them, here they are again.
Wowza.

Remember that time I said I was going to get fit and stuff? Yeah, that kind of backfired. My weight has been slowly creeping up, not down. It's just frustrating because I'm constantly hungry. I dunno. Have I been doing ab work? Yes, but I don't have enough muscle there to be responsible for the creeping up weight. Am I overweight by any means? No. Sometimes you're just frustrated with that stuff, ya know? Whatever, stupid dribble.

The other thing I'm feeling good about are my legs. They have been looking fantastic! The muscles may not be as big as when I was training for the marathon, but they just look good. In other news, I am extremely impatient as of late. Waiting for something in the mail can make you crazy. Pish.

What part of your body have you been feeling good about lately?