Alternatively........

SO - it looks like I have been selected as one of five alternates for nuun's Hood to Coast 2011 Relay Team! YAY!

After seeing some of the other applications out floating around on the interwebs, I was floored. The creativity put into some of those was just amazing. There were lots of silly ones, several touching ones, and some that even made you go "huh?" But it was very cool to see so many ladies going out on a limb to try and secure a place on the team.

To see the full list of selected ladies (including my own name in lights), check out the nuun blog HERE.

In my role as alternate, I will step in (Miss America first runner up style) shall one of the other ladies not be able to fulfill her role. A lot can change between now and August, so who knows what will happen.

As you may have or have not noticed, I'm not a huge plugger of products here on the site. The reason I got excited about nuun was because it is a product I use on a constant basis. I love it and recommend it to people all the time. I don't do giveaways for every product that emails me (and I have received a few) because I just won't do it unless I really believe in what they're doing. In this case, I am happy to plug nuun all they want!

Thanks to everyone for your support, and send good vibes that maybe I still have a chance to run!!!

New shoes

Happy *almost* Friday, everyone! For some reason, this week is feeling extremely long to me. I am not quite sure why that is. I do know I am looking forward to the weekend VERY much, hence that may be part of the reason why Friday at 5:01pm just won't get here soon enough.

Why am I so pumped for the weekend? Well.....yesterday, The Murph (my bike is Murphy - I call it 'The Murph'...my husband thinks it's a veiled RoboCop reference, but it actually refers to Murphy Brown, my childhood hero), got NEW SHOES. The stock tires on my bike were 28mm heavily treaded tires. While this has worked okay starting out, I've now got my SPD pedals on full time, and I would like to start picking up the speed a bit on my rides. Enter the brand new 23mm Continental Ultra Gatorskin tires. These bad boys are supposed to be great for training and racing - and they are supported with Kevlar, making them as close to indestructible as you can possibly get for a bike tire. I absolutely cannot wait to get them out on the road. Let's just say that I will be doing that A LOT this weekend!!

It looks like I also have a run and one or two OWSs planned for the weekend as well. The husband is going to be in Florida for a few days, so this gives me prime opportunity to do lots and lots of training without feeling bad that I'm leaving him at home. I will feel bad for Miss Betsy, the world's cutest puppy, though. I plan to watch many a Netflix movie with her though - I promise.

I know I have mentioned a couple times that I have started using my SPD pedals. This transition has actually been a bit anticlimactic. I thought it would be this huge ordeal to overcome, but in reality it hasn't been at all. Yes, stopping and starting is still a bit scary. But I've allowed myself to fall a couple times and still have the bruises to prove it. I survived all the falls and am assuming I will survive most of the ones that will happen in the future, too. The whole process seems much less scary now - and I am very happy with this.

Was your transition to clipless pedals pretty seamless, too?

PS - The entry deadline for the nuun HTC relay team was yesterday. Now, we wait. The team will be announced on June 22. Please send some good vibes my way! And if you aren't already, go "Like" nuun on Facebook and if you feel so inclined you can say something nice in my favor on their page. No pressure - really. Just if you want to :-)

YOU should apply too!!!

First of all, thank you all so much for the super sweet comments on yesterday's post. I so appreciate hearing that my actions have helped others - it keeps me honest and keeps me moving forward when I just want to quit. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I love you guys!

And I thought this was obvious in yesterday's post, but if you want to run HTC with Team Nuun, you should put an entry out there, too! Go! Go do it!!!!!

Pass the Baton - I want to run HTC with Team Nuun!!!!

Nuun is putting together an ALL BLOGGER, ALL FEMALE team for this year's Hood to Coast relay. Twelve women. 200 miles. Two days. SIGN ME UP. My entry for the contest is below. I'd like you to be part of my entry, too, so please comment on how the blogging community has helped you achieve your goals. Guys, I know this is a bit heavy on the "girl power," but without my dude support system, I wouldn't have accomplished as much as I have today. Without futher ado - my entry to be considered for the 2011 Nuun team.

To whom it may concern:

I would like to be considered for the Nuun Female Blogger Hood to Coast Team for 2011. When I heard about the opportunity to apply, my first reaction was to think “Geez, that sounds way too scary.” Then I realized that that very same thought is what got me started running, what got me into triathlon, and what keeps me out on the road/trails every day. Scaring myself tends to be the way I keep a smile on my face and a skip in my step…

I started running in 2004. I was recruited to run on a Susan Komen Race for the Cure team by the realtor I bought my house from – Lista Yarbrough. Lista and I became friends through the home buying process, and I was consistently in awe of her upbeat demeanor and unfaltering positive world view. The idea of running three whole miles seemed near impossible at the time. The day I closed on my first home was Lista’s last day of chemo. Only five years older than me, Lista was fighting breast cancer and winning. You never would have known she was in for the fight of her life – she always looked full of energy and talked about every day with promise and a sparkle in her eye. I was positively in awe of her. My fear of a 5K was nothing compared to what she was dealing with on a daily basis.

Lista (#50, pink bib) at the 2004 Komen race with several teammates.

I trained for and ran my first 5K that year thanks to Lista’s encouragement. It was truly an amazing feeling to look a fear right in the face and conquer it. I would love to say that from that moment on I kept running and never looked back. It wasn’t like that at all actually. My marriage fell apart shortly after, and I found myself a bit lost. I took refuge in being a wild and crazy gal not focused too much on health.

Thanks to a wonderful woman, Lauren, that I met through my graduate school program, I was re-introduced to running. Lauren is one of the people who finds refuge in running. It is her therapy, her soul-cleanser – her way to make the world a calm place. If she couldn't run, it ruined her day. She encouraged me to get back out there. And I did. But I was slow, and I was self conscious. I didn't actually run WITH Lauren for a couple of years. Again, I was just plain scared.

Lauren’s consistent encouragement reminded me of the power of women’s friendship for all things in life – exercise, wellness, relationships - you name it. She was there with me in my first half marathon, my second half marathon, and as my Maid of Honor when I married my wonderful husband. We don’t live in the same state now, but our bond of friendship will never be broken. We’re “Sole Sisters” and I will be forever grateful for what our friendship has done for me in all areas of my life. She gave me the courage to open up my heart and face the opportunities presented by friendship and sisterhood.

(L to R) Lauren, Meredith and me at the NC Half Marathon 2009 (our first half!)

Lista, who first inspired me to start running, lost her fight with breast cancer in January 2008. Every time a run gets “too hard,” I think of Lista and her fight. I think of how she inspired people and what she had to endure the five years of her treatment, and I am grateful for her being a part of my life.

It is in the spirit of women’s friendship and conquering those occasional fears in life that fuel my desire to take part in this amazing team endeavor. The blogging community has been positively integral in keeping me going with my training in running and triathlon as my life has changed and taken me across the country to face new challenges.

I met Becky, Darrah and Laura online almost ten years ago. They are three of the best friends I've ever had, and this August we'll all race a triathlon together!

I consistently work to conquer my fears of open water swims, runs in 100 degree temps, SPD pedals, lake monsters, etc. Having Nuun in my water bottle ensures I maintain full confidence about my hydration needs so I can fully concentrate on my performance and busting through obstacles as they appear. My training bag always contains a container of Nuun (strawberry lemonade, please!) – it’s a must have for me!

Darrah and I at the 2011 Kansas Half Marathon - Darrah's first!
(and check out the Strawberry Lemonade Nuun in my fuel belt!!!)

To be able to share an experience like HTC with women from all across the country would be a huge honor. The power of women’s friendship (online via a blog or in person) enables us to overcome so many fears and obstacles every day, and I would love to do this race in tribute to the women who have encouraged me in every step I’ve taken. We’re supposed to do something every day that scares the crap out of us, right? I think HTC will work just fine to accomplish that for a couple of days…….

Who has encouraged you in your journey?