Just Another Manic Wednesday

Well, the tweet basically sums up my Wednesday.

I knew going in that I had a slim, outside chance of being chosen for Nuun's all-female, all-blogger Hood to Coast -- the mother of all relays -- team.  After all, this blog was dormant for a year, only to be revived again as I moved out west...and then pretty silent afterward.  And, well, the topics on here aren't exactly focused, either.  Then there was the whole running thing, which has been on hiatus as well.  Finally, my readers are more of the lurking type, rather than the chirpy commenting type, which makes sense because I know who you are, and half of you can't tell me what your real jobs are, anyway.

Na-nuun, Na-nuun (with apologies to Mork)

nuun, oh how I <3 thee!

My relationship with nuun began in the summer of 2008.  It's a convoluted story that involves getting hit by a car while training for the Army 10-Miler and the inaugural Ragnar Relay in DC, a really crappy primary care physician who informed me over voice mail after I'd just seen him once that I had diabetes (a misdiagnosis), and so many fasting blood draws that the eyes of my elbows were bruised for most of September.  In short, I needed a sugar-free electrolyte replacement drink and found nuun. 

Since my 2008 ATM and Ragnar debut, I burned out on running, utterly flailed at my next ATM a year later (although I greatly appreciated the random hot guy who cheered me on over the interminable 14th Street Bridge), and just plain old re-sold my entry last year.  Granted, I was living in Seattle in October 2010.  Now, I'm registered for the 2011 race, but I'm completely and utterly out of running shape.

To wit: yesterday's early morning easy run was kind of brutal.  My legs were dead from too much yoga on Monday.  It was 78˚F when I set out and the relative humidity was 79%.  It was only 6:45a.m.  In May.  How on earth would I manage doing speedwork in August?? 

And then, the part that most confounds me about myself is that I was intrigued by an invitation that nuun extended via Facebook to women bloggers (hey, that's me!  if you count sporadic posts....) to apply to be a part of its Hood to Coast team this August.  Didn't running both Ragnar and the ATM within a week of each other already turn me off from running for over 2 years?  And aren't I out of shape?  On the other hand, I'd be a lot more diligent with training if there was something external keeping me accountable.

So, those little gears in my head are already spinning, and my poor wimpy quads are quaking -- why are they always the last to know what's going on?  Stepping off a cross country flight, meeting 11 other women (hello, estrogen!), and then spending the next 24 hours either running or in a van with 5 of them is a pretty intriguing mental, physical and social challenge.  Mt. Hood?  Never seen it up close.  Oregon coast?  Nope, not that, either.  Could this be the year?  Pick me!  Pick me!