Tweet-book, Relay Style

With the advent of Twitter and Facebook, it has provided an interesting opportunity to catalog events. I decided to frequently tweet and (Facebook) update to create a mini-journal of what was happening during last weekend's 200 mile relay. Although, battery life and no reception caused some not to post (those will be indicated by "unpublished.") thank goodness for a "drafts" folder on the Twitter iPhone app. Enjoy!

Note: There are more Twitter posts (or tweets) because that platform seems to lend itself to constant updates, more so than FB. 

Twitter (Fri. 10:39 AM)
I'm hyper. Read: anxious for this weekend to start.

Twitter (Fri. 3:33 PM)
Vans are loaded. Making our way to Calistoga. Everyone is happy (for now).

Twitter (Fri. 5:51 PM)
Van 1 is lost already and we haven't even started the race.
Context: As we were driving, van 1 missed the exit off the freeway. Nothing like driving a few extra miles.

Twitter (Fri. 7:18 PM)
We're sitting next to a team that has run this thing 16 years in a row... this is our second. #TheyWin
Note: # is a hashtag, it's a way to search on twitter for people talking about the same thing. So if it says "I love food. #Cupcakes," it implies that the entire tweet is referring to cupcakes.

Twitter (Fri. 8:07 PM)
Lamb shank and a couple local brewed wheat ale adult beverages. #PreRaceDinner

Twitter (Fri. 8:50 PM)
Hanging out with a Hasher at a bar... Instant conversation.
Context: Larry, a fellow runner is a Hash House Harrier, so when Manny and I started a conversation with this guy, we brought Larry over so that they could talk "hash."

Twitter (Fri. 9:46 PM)
We just won a Casper doll from one of those claw games. #barGames
Context: There was one of those claw machines in the bar we were at and a bunch of us were trying to win a casper doll (I have no idea why). After we all failed, Marc stepped up and won the doll on his first try. Then grabbed three more prizes on his next three tries. 4 for 4. He is some kind of "claw" freak of nature.

Twitter (Fri. 10:51 PM)
Bar number 2... I don't think this is what they meant by relay. #BadPreRaceActivities
Context: We then proceeded to go to another bar, then back to the original bar. I don't think a three o'clock bed time and four bars is what we should do before a race. (Note: I was not drinking alot, I think I had 5 beers over a 7 hour period... that's all I will share.)

Twitter (Sat. 9:05 AM)
The Relay has begun... not for us tho, our team starts at 11.

Twitter (Sat. 9:38 AM)
Nothing like hearing team mates saying: "This isn't our van! This isn't our van!"
Context: With over 400 white vans driving around, it is bound to happen that someone tries to get into another team's van.

Twitter (Sat. 10:55 AM)
Weapons of Ass Destruction (another team's relay name).

Twitter (Sat. 10:56 AM)
Runners do it faster (another team's relay name).

Facebook (Sat. 11:10 AM)
The Relay has begun... our first Lusty Lad is off and running.
Context: First runners were off at 9. The remaining teams were staggered throughout the day. Sort of like corrals, but with 30 min breaks in-between.

Twitter (Sat. 12:36 PM) unpublished
Our van is broken. Unless it magically turned into a Prius.
Context: As we were pulling out of the parking lot to head towards the first van exchange, the van turned off. Literally, just shut down. Engine dead, power steering gone. Like someone just turned the car off in the street.

Facebook (Sat. 1:53 PM)
Our van is broken. DEAD! We've spent the last 2 hours getting a new one. Now we are heading to exchange point. We should make it just on time. FUN!!!!
Context: Luckily, Scott was behind us in and he was able to drive to Santa Rosa, pick up a second van and make it back to us, so we could continue.

Twitter (Sat. 2:54 PM)
At first van exchange point. Van has been decorated with washable crayons. It is getting extremely warm. #ToughRun

Twitter (Sat. 3:51 PM)
Kings of Leon on, water being thrown, must be relay time. #RunningInCotton #EqualsBadIdea
Context: Kings of Leon is great music to drive/run to. And running in cotton is always a bad idea (not our team, just commenting). And throwing water on runner seemed like a good idea, right Lori?

Facebook (Sat. 6:07 PM)
First leg done. 7.4 (moderate) miles at 8:40 pace. Ran by horses and through a vineyard, can't complain.
Splits: 9:22, 7:50, 8:32, 9:17, 9:29, 8:05, 8:28

Facebook — posted to Larry's Wall (Sat. 6:43 PM)
I'm on your iPad while you are climbing up a 1268 foot mountain...which one of us having more fun?

Twitter (Sat. 7:06 PM)
Benefits of running early? Being able to cheer on your team while drinking a Blue Moon. #YummyBeer.

Twitter (Sat. 7:55 PM)
Larry's run is done. He conquered over 1200 feet in a few miles, past cows, ran through swarms of flies & a total of 8.9 miles. That's Lusty!

Twitter (Sat. 9:50 PM)
Van 3 (formerly van 2) is finished with our first stretch. Now it's a trip back to city for some downtime.
Context: We started calling ourselves Van 3 since, it was our THIRD van. Makes sense.

Facebook (Sat. 9:59 PM)
First two stretches done. Total time on the books: 10.5 hours. Van 1 is off running again. We'll meet them at the GG bridge around 3am to start up again.

Twitter (Sat. 11:30 PM) unpublished
Time for rest... nope. Time to dance.
Context: Larry and I decided to go out to a local bar/club and have a beer and dance. Seems like a logical thing to do instead of sleeping.

Twitter (Sun. 2:24 AM) unpublished
Van 3 has started second trek. GG bridge crowd was enthusiastic despite the cold. #CoffeeHelps

Facebook (Sun. 4:54 AM)
Second leg done. 6 miles, all uphill. clocked 9:10s, gave someone water and someone else directions. I think that means I get a boy-scouts patch.
Splits: 8:07, 9:11, 8:42, 10:10, 9:59 — 90% uphill from 23' to 595'

Facebook (Sun. 5:03 AM)
Nothing like a 3 a.m. run uphill. Feeling sleepy. MUST. FIGHT. SLEEP.

Twitter (Sun. 5:09 AM)
Second leg done. Sorry for lack of recent updates. #NoReception #DeadBattery

Twitter (Sun. 5:54 AM)
Sleep is highly anticipated.

Twitter (Sun. 7:32 AM)
Van 3 has finished it's second voyage. Looking forward to a shower and sleep at casa de Brad.
Context: Our resting point between our 2nd and 3rd leg. Brad is amazing and helped us out tremendously for the second year in a row. Great food and was able to shower and rest for an hour.

Facebook (Sun. 2:12 PM)
Final leg done. 4.7 miles at 7:50 pace (fastest of the weekend) - although 99% downhill.
Context: Thought I ran it slower, but Garmin disagreed. My first sub 7-min mile since high school.
Splits: 6:33, 7:24, 8:26, 8:29, 8:28 (.7)

Facebook (Sun. 5:10 PM)
Done! 29 hours, 40 some minutes. Lori's Lusty Lads are indeed Lusty.

Actual time: 29 hours 53 min. 42 sec. — 98th place out of 211 teams.

There is alot of information and inside jokes missing from this mini-diary, but I try to keep my posts PG-13 rated, (which can be difficult). There will be more to follow about our journey, but thought I might share this first.

Here is the link to my Twitter account and Facebook page if you'd like to join in on the fun.