My head is spinning. My anxiety is in over-drive. I'm trying to fit it all in before I take off on an airplane to Seattle for Hood to Coast on Wednesday. Between finalizing schedules, making sure the house is stocked with meals (because I'm pretty sure my husband and kids just might live on pizza/beer for 5 days, if I don't stock up) pick-ups and what kid is going where...
I have to pack. And boy do I have to pack!
I've never done a relay so here is me taking a guess at what I am supposed to bring. Let's hope I have it all. I'm bringing one large bag (my Ogio should be big enough) to hold all my clothes since we have various things on our agenda that require a "non sweaty stinky relay" attire. And I am also bringing my new Apera Active Pack, pink of course! I plan to leave the big suitcase at Nuun headquarters and just bring the pink backpack in the van since space is limited.
Here's what is coming with me on the relay:
- Shoes (2 running pairs, flip flops,)
- 3 run outfits packed in large Ziploc bags The bags not only hold your running gear nice and neat but they also serve as a way to get rid of the stinky sweaty ones. Just zip the stinky clothes up and tuck those away. I'll be sure and warn my family when I return home to step away from the laundry room! I also threw in a couple extra bags in case not everything fit. It's important to keep the nasty clothes away from the clean ones. The run outfits of course must all be color-coordinated with our team: Team Nuun Energy Wild Berry. So you'll see a lot of blue and hot pink on me during the race. I'm most excited to wear the two-tone glitter skirt that Katie from Chase this Skirt custom made for all the Nuun ladies.
- Phone, charger, iPad and portable charger Notice that this is the third most important item? I mean I'm a blogger what did you expect? I'd probably forgo eating just to save space for my phone, charger and iPad! Not really but you get the point. The portable charger is a small little charger that I picked up from Target. It gives you extra battery life when you don't have access to a plug or the van outlets are all being used. Our van is filled with awesome bloggers and social media fanatics, so I can imagine we will be competing for outlet space!
- Cold weather run gear Sure it's 135 degrees in Arizona right now but Oregon gets chilly. And I'll be running a nighttime leg so I want to be warm. The gloves might be a little much but you just never know.
- Emergency rain poncho Again it's Oregon so it could rain during one of my legs. And with my luck it would be all three.
- Headlamp The first item I bought when I found out I made the Nuun Hood to Coast team a pink (of course) headlamp. It was sort of my "yay this is really happening" present to myself. It seemed like so long ago I talked about using the red light feature on it but now I'm getting ready to use it for real. I don't plan to turn the red light on.
- Travel pillow, sleeping bag or blanket I'm not sure how much actual sleeping I will be doing but I am bringing a sleeping bag. It will be nice if we get a chance to stretch out somewhere and even just a hour or two is better than nothing.
- Comfy clothes I plan on bringing a set of comfortable clothes to snooze in. I'm pretty sure I will want to change out of my sweaty run clothes (if not my vanmates will make me).
It will be tough to cram all this in to one backpack but I have to remember that van space is limited. Is there anything important I am missing? Leave me a note below if you can think of anything!
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