It's Gonna Be Interesting....

So Wasatch Back starts today. My team actually started about 15 minutes ago. I have a couple of hours before it's my turn to run so I came home to do a few things and make sure the kids were settled.

I know two other gals on this team that I'm with this year, they've both run this thing in the past but everyone else in our van is a first-timer. There's nothing wrong with that, only their expectations and imaginations are no where near accurate. The gal that brought the van advertised it as a 9-passenger van. So I'm thinking it's gonna be great, plenty of room to spread out, because there's nothing grosser than sitting shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip next to others who are just as sweaty and stinky as you. (I'm speaking from experience.)

So we meet up with the other members of our van early this morning to load our gear. To my disgust, the 9-passenger van has been converted to a 5-passenger van. Umm...there's six people that need places to sit. I guess the owner figured we could seat four in the backseat, forget about seat belts. In the cargo area are these large leather mattress things. They were intended to be used to just relax and stretch out on. What first-timers don't realize is that once you get on the road, you have no need, or even a desire for "comforts" like that. Never mind the obscene amount of space they require.

I'm kind of starting to panic as I realize how cramped and miserable the next 36 hours are going to be. So, of course, I make a comment. I innocently (innocently?) asked about the number of seat belts which lead to a group discussion on safety and how we could be disqualified if we don't meet the requirements. In the end the van owner went home, dropped the leather mattresses and put the extra seat back where it should have been in the first place. I'm a little concerned her feelings may have been hurt but I'll thank myself for my lack of compassion a few hours from now.

I hope I survive. I hope the van makes it to Park City and back, it's kinda old and looks as though it's seen better days.

On a sweeter note, last night Damon was trying to figure out where I was going to be for two days. He asked if I was going to sleep in a hotel. I told him no. Then he asked if I was coming home to sleep. I said no and he asked where I would sleep. I told him I'd sleep outside in a parking lot somewhere (actually, I won't sleep at all). At that point be became concerned about mosquitoes. I assured him I would be fine. And then Brooklyn tells me to take a tent, which I'm not doing.

So, I hope I survive the mosquitoes and a night without a tent.