Since I live right about half way between the start and finish of Ragnar SoCal (I live in Oceanside - the race started in Huntington Beach and finished in Mission Bay), Carrie suggested I ride the train up to her house in Orange on Thursday and then they could just drop me back at my car on the way back north after the race. She was so sweet to offer up her home (and one of her daughters' bed's for me to crash on) so I didn't have to head up super early Friday morning.
I finished packing, dropped the pup at a friend's house, and then made my way over to the train station. There was a Metrolink leaving from Oceanside at 3pm, which would get me to Orange right around 4 (the time we were planning on meeting to begin decorating the van) - PERFECT!
I LOVE the train! Sure there are a few stops along the way, but not having to deal with traffic, driving, parking, etc is WELL worth it (at least to me). The ticket was $12.75 and I'm sure I would have spent that in gas to get up and back (not to mention I would have had to drive home AFTER we had run all day AND night).
The train runs along the coast, so it is GORGEOUS! If you ever have the chance, I would highly recommend it! (Ryan used to work up in Irvine, so I would ride the train and meet him on Fridays after work so we could head over to Disneyland for a couple hours and watch the fireworks - it used to be a GREAT way to start the weekend!)
The view out my train window did NOT suck! |
Coming up to the San Clemente stop |
San Clemente Pier |
You can see Dana Point out in the distance |
Stopped at the San Clemente train depot, heading up to Orange |
Carrie and her 3 youngest grabbed me at the Orange station. We made our way back to her house and the other ladies on the team starting arriving shortly after. I knew Carrie, Elise and Casey already, but this was the first time meeting Allison and Kristen IRL (in real life). It was AWESOME that we could all be there to get the van ready for our voyage.
Carrie was a cheerleader in high school so was familiar with sign making ;) [Shhhhhhh don't tell anyone, but I was a cheerleader too ;)] She did a lot of the lay out and outlining and we would go back through and fill everything in.
Tracing Carrie's work is a lot easier than doing it myself ;) |
Process shot |
ULTRA BABY! Respect the GREEN BIBS! |
We also had SUPER HERO Rett Girl magnets on the van (but had to put them on AFTER we drove on the freeway because we didn't want them blowing off on the drive) |
We also had large magnets made for both sides of the van with all of our sponsors (BIG THANKS to ALL of them! And YES, of course we had a DONUT sponsor ;) )
New Balance provided the shoes, Spark Athletic provided the skirts, tanks, sweat suits, tattoos, visors and SO MUCH more, Reef provided the sandals for during non-running times, Skratch Labs provided the hydration, Pro Compression provided the socks, Headsweat is the maker of the visor, Girl Power 2 Cure provided the capes (and WHO we were helping to raise the money for), DK's Donuts provided the DONUTS, Momentum Jewelry provided the motivation wraps, Shower Pill provided the wipes, and Race4Rett provided tanks, cups, and tattoos. |
We also wrote each of the 182 names of the specific girls we would be running for on the back of the van. Yes, this was a race, yes, we wanted to do our best - but our MAIN FOCUS was these girls and bringing as much awareness to Rett Syndrome as possible so hopefully the cure is found SOONER rather than later. [We had folks come up to us throughout the weekend and say "My daughter's name is on your van" or "You are running for my cousin's friend". It was AMAZING to have that personal connection. Lots of them even came over and took pictures next to the van with their loved one's name!]
Obviously I am a bit bias, but our van had to be one of the best out there! I don't think they have awarded the "Best Van" yet, but we are crossing our fingers we are up in the top three!
After we finished decorating, we went to Lazy Dog for dinner. I had the Veggie Lavash Sandwich (with fries seeing as we were carb loading ;)) and it was DELISH! I didn't grab a picture, but trust me it was yummy (minus the cucumbers of course!).
With all of the running we were going to be doing over the course of the following 2 days, we called in a night and tried to get as much sleep as possible. Oh yeah, but before I went to bed I obviously had to "doll" up my New Balance Fresh Foam shoes (not sure if you can tell from the picture, but they even have SPARKLE in them!) and lay out a Flat Carlee ;)
Added Momentum Jewelry FootNotes, Reflective Lock Laces, and of course Sparkle Shwings! |
Flat Carlee includes my New Balance Fresh Foam shoes (which have Momentum Jewelry FootNotes, Reflective Lock Laces, and Sparkle Shwings), Purple Pro Compression Marathon Socks, Black Handful Sports Bra, Magenta Sparkle Athletic Skirt, and Gunmetal Sparkle Athletic Visor (with GP2C Flower attached). |
Now that our gear and van are ready, the next stop is the STARING LINE!
Have you ever run a relay race before?
5 comments:
I've never taken the train before, I will have to try it out. It looks as beautiful as the Amtrak to NYC.
Your van was awesome. It definitely stuck out which was great. Love that you took the time to write all the girls names down. That's such a great personal touch and shows you really care about the charity.
The train ride from LA-SD and back is one of my favorites EVER.
Loving your posts so far... can't wait for more! :)
Carlee...you rock! Thanks for mile 35 for Renee.
I love that you posted Madison's mile that she walked!! That is too awesome!! Thanks!!
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