I can't stop thinking about it...

Ok, where do I begin....? This weekend I introduced myself {for the second time} to the world of twitter and tweeting.  I followed 12 ladies {phenomenal runners and bloggers} who had sent in their applications and were selected to be a part of team AfterNuun DeLight for the 30th Anniversary of Hood-To-Coast. These ladies were my kind of girls....social media addicts...so I developed an instant connection with them. For 26 hours, my phone was "tweeting" non-stop {except during a chunk of time when they had no reception} with tweets about decorating vans, using the honey bucket at 3am, not being able to find a honey bucket so using nature, running at 3am with an arm full of glowstick bracelets, getting in an hour nap before their next leg, consuming excessive amounts of NUUN {which I will be trying on my 20 mile run this saturday}, and developing lifelong friendships in a 26 hour time frame with 11 {what started out to be} strangers...what could possibly be better???

Hollie, my partner in crime for the marathon, was lucky enough to run on a Hood-To-Coast team this year, so this morning while we were doing our speed work at the track, we rested a little bit too much in between so she could share her experience with me! I kept wanting MORE; it sounded amazing!

Over the last two days I have been reading the blog posts of AfterNuun Delight highlighting their Hood-To-Coast experience, reading the ins and outs of Hood-To-Coast and the application process, thinking of team names, envisioning our vans all decorated and possible outfits we could wear, sending texts and making calls to recruit possible teammates {right now I have people from Oregon, Idaho, and Missouri}, researching condos in Seaside for the after-party, making a mental note of "must-haves" for my Hood-To-Coast experience, and watching the trailer for the Hood-To-Coast documentary {which I will be ordering}.

Going back to my "glory days" on the swim team, there is something extra magical, and unique about a relay team.  Some of my greatest memories as a swimmer, and some of the closest bonds/friendships created, are from relays. My relay team {which consisted of Ashley Johnson, Megan Clark, Jennifer Adams, and myself} was the a force to be reckoned with, and we had a bond that was unbreakable.  The adrenaline of gathering before the race, cheering each other on before and after each leg, standing on the block preparing to go, and celebrating at the end as a TEAM, is an experience and dynamic that can only be created in a relay situation.

This is not "the" relay, but still a great one! 

I am beyond excited for the possibility of participating in Hood-to-Coast 2012 {its a lottery}....2 vans, 12 of my favorite people, 200 miles, 15,000 runners, more porta-potties than you can count, cowbells, clipboards & stopwatches, coordinated outfits, running with headlights and glowsticks, laughing, creating memories & tweeting for 30 hours.  On October 12th, I will be hand delivering my application to the post office in hopes of getting the opportunity to create the bond and memories that I have from the swim team days, with 12 of my favorite people as we do what we love best...RUN!!