Another weekend, another race! 🙂 Actually, the race I ran this past weekend is one of my absolute favorites. Big Blue Adventure’s Emerald Bay Trail Run (formerly called Bay to Bliss) has a huge place in my heart. In our house, we call it, Squeaker’s Race.
3 month old Squeaker circa 2011
When I first ran this race in 2010, I was pregnant with Squeaker but did not know it (hence our name for it).
My Peanut in 2010 – little did she know she’d be a big sister here
When I ran it in 2011, Squeaker was 3 months old. In 2012, she was 15 months old … and already getting into mischief.
Double Trouble in 2012
2013 I skipped the race as I had ankle surgery a few weeks prior. 2014 I came back with some girlfriends, scored a PR, a 3rd place age group award and a free entry into the 2015 race.
While 2014 was a great day spent with friends, I missed my family. This race is all about my family. They know this race inside and out and they LOVE the beach finish.
2015 same double trouble
This year, I had low expectations for my performance. Having just run the Headlands Marathon the week before, my legs were not in Tahoe racing shape.
When we took off running UP the paved hill to the trail head, my body was thinking, “Why?!”
Hey family!
But then I see my family cheering for me at the trail head and I remember why I do this race.
It is gorgeous. It is only a 12K race but the views of Emerald Bay are beyond anything you will ever see. It is also technical and every year, without fail, I see someone fall and usually fall hard.
On Saturday, I told myself to run as many of the ups as I could muster but that when it came to the spots with stairs (yes stairs), I could walk. Any downhill though had to be run. Hard.
I honestly didn’t think anything about my pace. I refused to look at my watch as I didn’t want to be disappointed. I also let quite a few male runners pass as I was tired of being their leader (I was also losing steam).
Finally I came to the spot where I could see the beach and finish area. I knew I was close. When the race dumps you out onto the pavement is where I always start my sprint. You get thrown back onto a small trail section and then end on a steep paved downhill.
I rounded the corner and saw my family. Vans was right there yelling “PR! PR! GO GO GO!” Huh?! What did he say? Did he say PR? That’s when I looked at the race clock and realized “Holy crap, I am super close to losing a PR!?” So I flew as fast as my tired legs could muster!
PR PR PR GO GO GORUN RUN JUMP RUN RUNWhew! I did it! I got a 1 minute PR!
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I was pretty excited as I was not expecting that at all. Keep in mind, this is a small SMALL race with a low number of participants but to me, it is huge because it is our race.
I also scored 2nd place in my Age Group and won another pint glass! Score!
While waiting for the awards, the girls played in the sand, Vans had a free Sierra Nevada (the real reason he loves that I do this race) and I just enjoyed the amazing views of Lake Tahoe.
I know I didn’t go into a huge detailed recap of this race but if you are interested in reading my previous race reports (that DO tell more about the course/race) you can do so by clicking on these links:
Otherwise, you’ll just have to deal with me reminiscing through some old photos of our time at this race. 🙂
Down the Stairs in 2010 – totally clueless that I was pregnant – and clearly not understanding how to run down stairs!Down the stairs in 2011 – the Peanut was waiting for me!2012 the girls watching me….Vans missed the stair shot 🙂2015 Getting fancy2011 my own cheering section2011 – Just me and my girls!2015 – Just me and my CRAZY girls
Man, just looking at these old photos melts my heart. My kids have practically grown up on this beach watching this race unfold. When I crossed the finish line this year, I told Vans that next year, 2016, it may be time for him to run this course. He deserves to see what I see on these trails. He needs to run our family race and then who knows, if I get my wish come true, maybe all four of us will run this together some day.
At the beginning of August I had gone on a trail run with some trail friends. One of them mentioned that the Headlands Hundred race had other distances besides the hundred miler. In fact, they have a 75 mile race, a 50 mile race AND a marathon. My friend was doing the marathon. It got my brain thinking (which is trouble, I know).
Even though I have been road training lately, I really miss the trails from time to time. Trails just provide a sense of adventure, some recovery for your body and ultimately, depending on the distances (and how you run them), are way easier.
So when I got home I looked up the race and started planning. I texted Stonegate to see if she was game for this. She had been mentioning that she wanted to get something on calendar recently so why not?
Turns out she was and the rest was history. For the month of August, I continued on my road CIM training way, barely stepping foot on the  trails for more than a few miles. I knew from the get-go this marathon would be just a fun adventure on the trails for me. As it turns out, Stonegate didn’t do much training either! HA!
I am used to spontaneously running marathons on a whim with little to no training. She is not. She got her first dose of it this weekend and rocked it.
Stonegate and I arriving at the start – when the sun was up
In typical Trailmomma and Stonegate style, we worried about the parking situation at the start. So, we were pretty much like the third car in the lot when we arrived at 5:45 am in the pitch blackness. We sat and waited a bit before heading down to get our race bibs and check in.
The start/finish area was insane. It was literally just steps from the ocean.
Start/Finish and drop bag area during pre race talksAND there’s the ocean…
I got to see so many people I knew at the start. I had a few friends doing the 50 mile distance and throughout the course we would pass each other and give support.
The ultra distances started 5 minutes ahead of us and we also had to run an extra 1.2 miles around the parking area before hitting the trails to make up some distance. It was fun cheering on the ultra peeps as they took off.
Stonegate noticed her fashionable outfit as we were waiting…
As we were standing there, Stonegate noticed that her outfit some what clashed in terms of patterns and colors. haha I thought she looked great.
Almost GO time!
Finally we were off and running. Like I said above, we had to run a little ways up the road/path and then turn around before hitting the trail and then … it was instant climbing.
900 feet straight up. Some people ran more people hiked. We did a combination of both and then eventually settled into a good hike.
That’s the trail we hiked/ran but this isn’t the top yet…
The views were amazing. I kept pulling out my phone to take photos realizing we were not even at the top of the first mountain yet.
Time for some stairs! There always stairs on these bay area trails!Nothing but up for a long long way…can you see the people up above?.
Finally we made it to the top and we weren’t the only ones in awe stopping to take photos.
We’re above the fog
From the beginning, Stonegate and I decided this race was all about adventure and fun. We planned to stick together and enjoy the day.
Our smiles were ear to ear all.day.longYou can see the trails below we took to get here. From this point, the trail was runnable for a while – as in down hill
Literally the course went up and down up and down. Very little flat sections.
Elevation Map
Stonegate and I would just and run and talk and talk. At one point I met a girl named Paulette who is from my Oiselle racing team! It was so nice to meet her and chat for a bit. She’s running her first 50k in October.
Look at all the trails down there!
At one point I realized we were not nearly as far into the race as I had thought and that I probably should start fueling and hydrating a little better. I was thoroughly engaged in the views that I was neglecting what I needed to do. Even though we weren’t “racing” it is important with all these intense climbs, to continue fueling well.
I took a page from Pigeon‘s playbook and brought some of the Peanut’s apple sauces from Costco with me. However, I threw them into the freezer the night before and put them in my pack frozen.
Get these at Costco – then freeze
I pulled one out afraid it would be warm and it wasn’t! It was fully defrosted but still amazingly cold. I downed one instantly and I have to say, I REALLY liked this. A lot. Normally this kind of texture is not my thing … but these were great. They have 45 calories, about 8 grams of sugar and 12 grams of carbs. They are kind of like Gu (with about half the calories so keep that in mind) but they offer a great rush of sugar before you have to begin any kind of climb. They are also very easy on the stomach.
Happy Trailmomma – you can see my apple sauce in my pocket haha
After running up and around this crazy foggy mountain with amazing views of the ocean below … we entered what we called the rain forest!
This is insanely beautiful!
It was actually dripping some drops on us at times. We couldn’t help but squeal at the insanity of how beautiful this course was.
Just keep running up that hill into the fog and the unknown!
There were times when we felt like we were on the edge of a cliff. Like above, there is nothing to the right of that trail except down down down.
You done taking so many photos?! haha
I must mention that the wind on the these precarious trails was definitely starting to pick up. Poor Stonegate’s nose started to run from time to time … I just happened to take a selfie and accidentally caught her in full blow … it was pretty hilarious.
Oops! hahaha
And when I say the wind picked up … I am talking about 30 mph winds while we were trying to run on this cliff that was open on both sides! In a few spots there was little guide rope that I think was there to prevent people from literally blowing off the mountain.
Hard to tell but Stonegate is doing her best to standstill so that I could get a photo to show how crazy the wind was at times. She had to remove her visor and carry it.
Finally we get dumped onto some pavement right in the middle of a crazy tourist attraction. I am talking hundreds of people standing there watching you come out of this trail wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts while they are bundled head to toe because they are about to go across the Golden Gate Bridge.
We have to run down this long long LONG road that basically has us run UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge. YES! The freaking Golden Gate!? It was crazy.
I mean, really?! Look at that!
I kept taking a bunch of photos and Stonegate kept telling me that there would be better views … so down we ran. There was an aid-station at the bottom, this would be mile 19 of the race.
Stonegate seemed pretty anxious to get to the aid-station. She wanted to get some fuel in her fast. I just kept telling people, “LOOK! Look at that view!!” 🙂 I was beside myself. I kept thinking Vans would absolutely love this and I also kept thinking, “Um, the further we go down means the harder the up later.”
We passed Oiselle teammate Erin here as well. She was out crewing her boyfriend Seth. Erin is also an insanely talented runner. She’s also incredibly sweet. Even though she was out crewing for Seth, we got to see her at every aid-station and it really gave us a boost of energy. We’d stop and chat with her for a bit at every aid-station, clearly not rushing through the race. 🙂 Seth and I used to work together many years ago (pre-Squeaker) and he now owns The Ranch Athletics in Loomis. This was his first 50 and he was battling some hurdles but looked great every time I saw him. Another bonus to this course is that I got to see him and give him a high-five a few times throughout the race. He looked good each time!
Stonegate and I got our fill at this aid-station and then made the grueling hike back under the bridge and back up to the trail head. It didn’t seem to take that long to get back up as it had to get down to the bottom.
Now, now we were on our way home. 7 miles to go until the finish! But first we had to go back through that crazy windy section again.
Another bonus in this race is that the 50 milers when they go out on their second loop of the same course, they do it in reverse, so we get to see all the front runners coming in. Everyone was so supportive and nice. We only had 7 miles to go and they were on mile 32 out of 50 (I think I did that math right … haha).
Back through the crazy rain forest!
The return, once you go back up a few of the big hills, is mostly downhill to the finish.
Stonegate and I just ran and ran and ran. All the runners coming in the opposite way would cheer for us and us for them. We’d pass quite a few runners too and we’d always give them some encouragement. I was feeling good and excited to get to the finish but I still felt strong, which was a great feeling to have.
The last mile is along the coastline. It is flat and on a nice little trail with the ocean to our left and a road to our right. Along this route we saw Seth heading out on his second loop and he looked great and was smiling. Erin was running with him too.
The ending was sort of anti-climatic though, no big hoopla going on. No one really announcing your name which is fine, because really, there were 3 other races still going on.
We crossed the finish line and received all our awesome schwag and our medal. We grabbed a few things to eat, said hello to a  few people. Chatted with Erin again thanking her and her friend Monica profusely for being such an unexpected shining light on our day.
We did it! We finished! By the ocean no less!
Overall it was a great day. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I felt great, I fueled well. I really enjoyed the frozen apple sauce packets. The company with Stonegate was fantastic. We laughed, we joked and we had a great time.
I also got to meet and see a few of my new Oiselle Volee team mates!
Me, Paulette and Erin – Oiselle Volee!
After the race, Stonegate and I returned to Mill Valley’s house where we were spoiled with a shower and a nice hot lunch. We are truly lucky to have Mill Valley be so gracious as to let us crash at her house the night before the race and to let us shower before our long drive home.
When I got home, I celebrated with an old marathon tradition of mine … champagne!
Cheers! Love the mini bottles!
This race was my 10th marathon. I had not planned for it to be that way. CIM in December was supposed to be my big day (and it still will be I hope) but it was nice to have my 10th be on these amazing trails.
It was a memorable day for sure. I won’t forget my 10th marathon now. Fun, adventure, laughter and views that could blow the mind?! What more could a girl ask for?
My favorite photo of the day.
Thanks Stonegate for joining me! This may be one of those races we run again … it was that fun. 🙂
With school starting in two weeksĂ‚Â for the Peanut, in a last minute decision (more or less) Vans and I decided we wanted to take one more family getaway. We originally had planned that Sunriver, Oregon would be our only family vacation this year, but we managed to squeeze in one more weekend (truly a weekend) getaway and it wasn’t easy.
One random day while driving around to one of our various swim team events, Vans mentioned Santa Cruz. I did a quick google on my phone and found a trail race the very same weekend he was considering! His response, “Well, we have to go now. You can run and I will ride.”
So, a few more days of finding hotels that fit our needs and dates … we were set. Another Run-cation (as Vans likes to call them) was in the books!
We left on Saturday (not as early as we would have liked which would have been a better idea) and sat in the massive amount of traffic that is the bay area. I was “scolded” (in a humorous way) by a friend for the fact that my girls have never seen or been in the ocean (Peanut has seen the ocean but probably doesn’t remember it).
What can I say? We are Tahoe people through and through. Our girls have been in Lake Tahoe more times than I can count and built many a sand castle on the golden beaches of Lake Tahoe but the bay area? Ugh, sorry, I just cannot stand the drive that way as it is NEVER free from traffic.
So we left Saturday morning and was hit immediately with bumper to bumper traffic getting into Santa Cruz. What should have been a 3 hour drive was slowly turning into 4+ hours. We made some diversions along some local streets but in the end we arrived way later than we had anticipated.
The Beach!
But, we made it and hit Davenport Beach which is a nice quiet, semi secluded beach up Highway 1. Although we were all fully dressed and not in swim suits, the kids were free to do what they liked. The Peanut, albeit a little bit naive about the ocean, loved every minute of it. Squeaker? Not so much. She hated the cold and the noise. The ironic part is that the Peanut (a notoriously terrible sleeper as an infant) was put to bed with wave sounds whereas Squeaker who was always a great sleeper, was not… guess who was afraid of waves!? 🙂
Still, it was so amazing to see their excitement even if they complained about the seaweed. Tahoe doesn’t have seaweed. 🙂
We checked into our hotel and then departed looking for a place to eat for dinner. I had done a little Trailmomma #plantstrong research before we left home finding a few places that we could visit. The first was the Saturn Cafe which came about because it was closest and we saw it while driving around.
Basically picture a real diner but made entirely vegan and almost 100% gluten free. That was this place. While not 100% healthy (anything fried, is not healthy) it was pretty incredible.
The Peanut and her camera skills
Unfortunately, with a race looming early the next morning, I couldn’t go too crazy with all the plant based foods (I have a sensitive tummy) so I kept it low(er) key by sampling a lot.
Sunday morning came faster than I anticipated and so I woke up and snuck away to the lobby with my gluten free oatmeal in search of some hot water. I managed to make a good breakfast. Soon we were on our way to the starting area.
An important item to note here is that Vans’s phone died and I wasn’t about to leave him with the girls and no phone while I was off running in a race for a few hours. I gave him my phone which is why this race report has limited photos. HOWEVER, I want to return to this race because the photos would have been amazing. 🙂
This would be the second Inside Trail Race that I have done. The first was the Mt. Tam 50K last November. In typical Inside Trail fashion, the course markings were definitely something you can’t ignore. Once again, I printed the course map and threw it in my pack. I know better with these guys. 🙂
There was a 10k option, half marathon option and 30k option. I signed up to do the 30k. The first few miles of this race were up hill in sand. Not just sand, but deep beach sand where you sink about 3 inches and slide back a few as well. By mid race, my calves were screaming at me but I was loving every minute of it.
Within the first 4 miles you are also crossing the San Lorenzo River which was about knee high for me. The race director had said in years past, the river was well over his waist!
I started out with a fairly fast pack and was not thinking too much about pacing or anything. I was just happy to be running on new to me trails. Some people may think I am nuts for finding these races and running them solo, but I love it. It really just sets your mind up for something and it is up to you to conquer it. You also really take in your surroundings this way. I kind of love it. 🙂
At mile 2.5 I happened to run past a porta potty that wasn’t intended for the race (I think it was for some workers actually) but I took advantage of it and then lost my spot. When I emerged from the porta potty, I was stuck in a conga line. Oh well. I passed when I could and eventually found myself spaced out from other runners.
Along the way I had helped two men find their way. They didn’t have a map on them and I guess did not listen to the pre-race talk as they had no idea which ribbons to follow at one point. I told the Half Marathoner that he had to follow the pink ribbons only and if he sees orange ribbons, he has gone the wrong way. The other guy was running the 30k like me. I helped him a few other times along the way when the paths were some what confusing. Ironically, this will come back to me later in the race.
A 30K is just a smidgen over 18 miles and so they only had 3 aid-stations on the course, one of which you passed twice. They are very efficient with the way they set up these races and have the course. I relied a little too heavily on the idea that the aid-stations would have something for me to eat and therefore I didn’t bring too much in the way of my own fuel. That was not a well planned out idea as the aid-stations didn’t have any gluten free options for me. They had sugary items but no gluten free salty items and the items that I brought with me, were sugary in nature as well. Oh well. I made due and continued on my way never staying long at any of the aid-stations.
Vans and the girls were wandering around the grounds
At the second aid-station I caught up to the woman who had been in front of me. She seemed extra paranoid that I had caught her. We talked briefly and then I started out on the trail before her. She was very quick to follow and then she started up a conversation with me up a hill.
As she was talking we noticed a group of mountain bikers. Between the mountain bikers and her talking, we missed our turn and realized it about a mile later, that we were going backwards around the loop that we needed to run. The girl panicked big time and started running away. I kept telling her that I had a map and we could figure it out. Then we ran into another girl who was also going the wrong way … she too was kind of freaking out. I was calm as can be and was intent on figuring out how to get back to where we needed to be in order to do the correct loops.
Both of these girls would not listen to me and took off back towards the finish. In the end, they skipped a whole loop of the course (about 4 to 5 miles worth) and I betcha anything, are the two girls listed on the finish list in my age group as 3rd and 4th place. Karma was not good to me there. I had been helping other runners all day and then got myself lost! ha! Oh well. I was smiling the entire time.
I did the right loop and tried to make up time. I did as I eventually caught up to the guy who had been running behind me the entire day. He laughed that I got lost (he was the guy I had helped earlier).
The way back was fun. It was SO humid outside that I even contemplated taking off my shirt and I NEVER do that. The river felt amazing when I had to go through it a second time.
Eventually I realized that I must have been close to the finish. Luckily, we avoided the sandy section on our return. Soon enough, I saw Vans and heard the girls! They were on the trail cheering me on.
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I finished in just over 3.5 hours which I was okay with considering I ran an extra mile or so when I got lost and spent all that time trying to figure out the course (and porta potty stop). It was fun and I would totally do this race again.
My Medal was stolen by Squeaker
Vans and the girls had a blast exploring Henry Cowell State Park while I was off running. They have some amazing red woods here and the girls were just in awe over them.
Big Tree!
Post race we wandered the grounds as a family which was good and bad. Good as I enjoyed seeing everything, bad as I didn’t take enough time to stretch post race but the walking felt great.
The rest of the weekend we spent doing all kinds of fun things. We hit the Santa Cruz Boardwalk which was a blast. The Peanut is like me and likes rides a lot, especially somewhat scary ones. 🙂
Our view from the Ferris Wheel – amazing
Squeaker was able to ride her first ever ferris wheel AND she went on a (small) roller coaster – not sure how she feels about that now (she was a little freaked during).
On the roller coaster!Strange creatures roam the Santa Cruz Boardwalk
On Monday, before leaving town, we had a few other things that we needed to get done. One of them was for Vans to visit the Derby Skate Park in Santa Cruz.
Found it!
This park was odd (to me) and full of local kids who were chatting it up with Vans. It was funny. Post skate park, we had to find the Santa Cruz bike shop hub …
Found it!The girls liked it
Then it was time for more strange plant-based eateries for lunch … the girls and Vans were not a fan of Dharmas. It definitely takes some getting used to.
The Peanut is drinking a mint chocolate coconut vegan smoothie that she actually liked
After lunch, we headed to Capitola Beach for one more jaunt into the ocean. This time we all put on swim suits and went in. Well, everyone except Squeaker. She was content to play in the sand the entire time.
Over all, it was a great short trip. The traffic in both directions was incredibly terrible reminding us why we never head to the bay area. We are mountain people at heart and luckily, the traffic to Tahoe is usually manageable. Still, our last vacation before school starts was a success. The girls had fun and were happy to get home to our two new fur babies.
Jersey & Reagan
TiggerT was a great auntie cat sitter for us. The kittens were in great hands the entire time.
Not sure when my next blog post will happen. I have to figure out this blog transfer stuff and fast. I am also doing some traveling to the east coast next week for something I am crazy excited for. I was hoping to do a whole blog post related to it so I better figure out this blog transfer thing and fast!
This past weekend we celebrated Squeaker’s fourth birthday, the Peanut had a swim meet and I was lucky enough to run 28 glorious miles in Tahoe. Talk about a jam-packed weekend!
The temps were rising to 100+ degrees near our house and for the swim meet on Saturday. That meant Tahoe was going to be pretty darn warm too.
The Tahoe Rim Trail Training Runs are usually held every year on Father’s Day weekend. This was the first weekend that I can recall where the run was NOT on Father’s Day weekend which is why I was the second person to sign up when they opened registration! I was that excited. I’ve run some of this course before, a few times, but I have never done the organized training run (FYI I am not running any of the TRT races).
Pigeon had signed up to run both Saturday and Sunday since she is attempting her third Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler. I convinced her to stay up there at least Saturday into Sunday so that she could not back out of Day 2 on the trail. Due to my schedule, I was only able to sign up for Day 2 which was fine since that is the section of the course I will be pacing her. I’ve seen and run up Diamond Peak and into Tunnel Creek before (my other pacing section) so the trail into Snow Valley would be new territory for me.
I drove up to South Lake Tahoe on Saturday evening after a long hot day in the sun at the swim meet. When I arrived, Pigeon had just finished and recovered from 25 miles on another section of the TRT. We chatted a bit and I got to play with their baby a little but we were all pretty tired and went to bed very early. It was nice going to bed way earlier than I would have if I was home.
So fair warning, I took about a million photos on this run. There was nothing too ground breaking or eventful during the run so most of this post will be the amazing beauty that is Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Rim Trail.
We drove to a parking lot outside of Spooner Lake (not the actual start/finish area of the race). We arrived close to 6:30 as Pigeon wanted to get an early start on the trail since we knew the temperature was going rise and fast.
We checked in. We said hi to Stonegate and Burning Girl and their friend Truckee and then were off. Pigeon knows these trails pretty well and the course wasn’t marked as well as most training runs so my faith was all in her as she led me down the trail.
First little bridge approaching Spooner Lake
Pigeon was visibly tired the first few miles (understandably so with 25 miles on her legs already) but I too was slowly adjusting to the altitude and the fact that my legs were not getting into the groove yet.
Stopping to take a gel and enjoy the morning glow
These first few miles are nothing but an uphill after uphill. I have heard rumors about the massive conga lines at the TRT 55K start and now I can see why. The trail is single track involves a very slow steady climb UP.
But the trails are amazing. It was still cool enough that we were able to climb and not feel the effects of the heat just yet but you could tell it was coming.
Pigeon shared a little bit about her run from the previous day, including going about a mile out of her way by missing a turn.
The first aid-station was going to be at Hobart. I had no idea how far that was and I wasn’t too worried as my pack was pretty jam full with lots of various things from home.
We were alone out on the trail for a quite a while but slowly we started hearing voices. Julie Fingar ran by us and then a few other ‘faster’ runners.
We approached a pretty lookout and stopped to take photos.
And fuel some moreThis was out on the trail and made me smile
As we were finishing up our photo session, Stonegate and the gang came running in. I told them there were some pretty cool look out spots up around the corner as I know they like to take a ton of photos too.
Pigeon and I took off and soon reached the Hobart aid-station which Pigeon informed me is NOT where it will be located come race day. Good to know. They had moved the aid-station farther up the trail so as to help direct people up Snow Valley as the turn is not exactly clear if you were on your own.
Truckee, Stonegate and Burning Girl
The girls came in just as we were about to leave the aid-station. They looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The next aid-station was at Tunnel Creek and I have run this section before. It was nice to see it from another direction. I don’t recall if I ate much at the Hobart aid-station. I had packed a potato with salt which I knew I was munching on most of the time along with a few jelly-beans (I love that sugar rush at times). I also had packed an apple sauce packet, a gluten-free peanut butter and honey sandwich and a whole fruit chia seed bar.
As you can see from the photos, the trail is pretty exposed to the sun and the sun wasn’t even nearly as strong as it was going to be yet. You run towards Lake Tahoe with Marlene Lake right next to it. If the altitude wasn’t taking your breath away, the views surely will.
Marlene Lake with Lake Tahoe behind it
Come on, look at that! SO amazing up there. Truly the most beautiful place in the world.
Uphill running in the sun
Once you get closer to Tunnel Creek, the trail gets a little more technical with some boulders and stuff to dance around.
I was looking forward to getting to Tunnel Creek. Pigeon was growing pretty quiet at times and I knew she was tired but she kept moving and I kept seeing her eat. At the aid-stations she would down chocolate milk so I know she had some calories in her but she was probably pretty dehydrated from the previous day and in a deficit to begin with.
Tunnel Creek Aid-Station!
I know this aid-station well. I hike to here every year to watch Pigeon (and friends) come in and out. This aid-station rocks because you get to hit it twice (or more depending on the race distance). It was here that I saw the Kettle Brand Sea Salt potato chips on the table. I dug in for a few handfuls. I also finished my baked potato here as well. I was craving some salt I guess.
We spent a lot of time at this aid-station. I was just listening to the conversations around me. Pigeon was fixing her shoe. We had planned on running the 6 mile Red House Loop here. Pigeon had run it yesterday and it was grueling. I have never run it before and am dying to see it but I was content to skip it when I saw the look on Pigeon’s face. She wasn’t into an extra 6 miles that would take us close to 2 hours to complete.
I have a marathon in less than 2 weeks so fine by me to skip that extra mileage. Pigeon kept asking me if it was okay that we skip it. She knew I wanted to run it. I kept saying it was FINE. Really. I was anxious to get back home earlier than normal too even though I was having a blast out there and the heat was really starting to hit. I love heat running but Pigeon does not. So, instead I told her that we could skip Red House if she agreed to run more than hike on our way back. She held onto that promise big time.
On our way out of the aid-station we saw Stonegate and the crew coming in. Burning Girl was all smiles, the other two looked like they could not wait to hit the aid-station. It was getting warm.
More boulders to climb
Pigeon definitely held onto her word and ran quite a bit more on the way back. Some times I would let her get way ahead and I would stop to take a bunch of photos and then run real hard to catch up to her. My legs were tired but I was still having a blast.
We stopped a few more times to take some photos again. Different angles and views than we saw on the way in. We also passed a few runners on their way into Tunnel Creek.
Soon we found ourselves on the stretch of trail that leads you back to Hobart aid-station. This stretch is very exposed and a bit windy at times.
No shade. Nadda.Still no shade. Ouch.But you have killer views!
We just kept plugging away in the heat. I took a few salts on this stretch and it really helped give me something extra. I was drinking and didn’t feel thirsty or dehydrated but I could probably always drink more.
Is that shade!?Oh no, just kidding. No shade.
I was anxious to get to Hobart again because I knew that we’d be going up Snow Valley on our return and that is a section I have never seen. It is also a section that again, has very little shade.
It does however, have PURPLE ROCKS! Yes, purple rocks and my girls love collecting rocks so I was sure to grab two and throw them into my pack to bring home.
Purple Rocks!
Pigeon explained to me as we ran that Snow Valley is where she got stuck last year during her 100 miler when that massive thunder and lightning storm came. It brought hail and massive streaks of lightning. She was here when that storm hit ….
Here. In the middle of no where with no where to hide!? Crazy!!!
I told her that I would have laid down flat in the trail and cried my eyes out. How she managed that one is beyond me. She is one tough cookie.
At some point along this stretch, Pigeon had to find a pit stop so I climbed my way up to some high peak and took a bunch of photos. 🙂
The trail ahead on the right is where we were goingMy favorite from the day
The decent up Snow Valley was about three miles up and then about 7 miles down according to Pigeon into Spooner and where we would finish.
The decent down Snow Valley involved a lot of running. Our pace was pretty good but Pigeon was growing quiet again. At one point we had a little “discussion” about mileage. She clearly did not like what my Garmin was reading and pretty much declared my GPS wrong. I wasn’t about to argue with her because sometimes, they are wrong … but the four miles we “only” had left were probably the four longest miles I have ever run.
At one point I felt something “fly” into my neck scarf that I had around my neck (full of ice). I yelled to Pigeon to stop as I thought it was a bee. Then I felt something bite me on my neck, not quite a sting, but a real bite. Pigeon came over to take a look and saw the bug. She said it as round black and flat with red markings on it but not a spider … awesome. The bite location stung and itched simultaneously for a while and then stopped. Nothing seems to be there now so that was pretty random. We just kept running after that.
Pigeon kept mumbling something about a “picket fence” and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what she was talking about but then when we came up along side a fence and I realized she what she was looking for all this time … this was where we turned to finally get back to our cars and the finish area.
Finish area with fresh made smoothies in hand!
So I have a lot to say about this training run. First and foremost, it only cost me $20 to sign up. The mileage options were 28 and 35. There were two full aid stations out there, three if you count the amazing one at the finish location.
The finish area was the best. Not only did they have a massive spread of food (NOT your standard junk food either) they had a blend and were making coconut water, apple juice, mango and strawberry smoothies on the spot!!!
Check out that spread and that is only half of it!
They had a BBQ with black bean burgers and veggie burgers grilling away. They had GLUTEN FREE BREAD for the burgers and they even had gluten-free sandwiches a the aid-stations!
Gluten Free Bread!
I didn’t have any of the gluten-free sandwiches they offered mostly because I am afraid of contamination and I didn’t have the burgers at the finish either because normally they are either not vegan or gluten-free or both AND I don’t like sharing the grill with real burgers. Hey, what can I say …. I like things the way I like things.
But still, these options are HUGE for a race. I am seeing more and more options like these at the end of my races. One of the awesome parts about living and racing in California I guess. 🙂
Pigeon and I cleaned up and loaded the car. We saw Stonegate and crew come in (they took a “different” route to get to the aid-station haha) so we said a quick hello and then were on our way.
When I got home the girls were happy, the house was clean and everyone was enjoying the pool. We also acquired a new pool toy compliments of Grandma.
Turtle!
The turtle was a birthday gift from Grandma and family and it has made its way into the pool (and stayed there).
I know Vans had his hands full with the girls for a day and aĂ‚Â half but he did just great. I know Squeaker isn’t the easiest to work with sometimes but then again, neither is Vans. 🙂
This photo can say a million things
They also enjoyed some art time on the patio. They had a great time with dad.
Art time!
Some day, I would love for Vans to join me on this running adventure. For $20 and these amazing views of Lake Tahoe with, did I forget to mention, FREE BEER at the finish?! That is right up his alley, minus the running part and the heat. 🙂
Tahoe Brew!
Overall it was a great day. We ran 28 miles at some crazy elevation. That was my last long run before my marathon in two weeks which is also at elevation (but just a mere 4200 ft haha). I hope that next year the training run is again, not on Father’s Day weekend. 🙂 The volunteers at this run were amazing too. I have to mention how awesome they were out there. If it was hot for us, it was hot for them and they had to lug all that food and water out there and they always had a smile on their face for us. Thank you!!!
I look forward to coming back in July to cheer on Stonegate, Burning Girl and Truckee as they conquer the 55K and to crew Pigeon again as she toes the line for the TRT 100 mile race. She has no weights on her shoulders this year, only the chance to finally put this course where it belongs, behind her. I have no doubts that she can.
Happy Trails!
~Trailmomma
(please excuse the typos and grammar, this was not proof read) 🙂
This past Saturday was my favorite day of the year. Day one of the Western States Training weekend. More than any race, I love this day. 32 miles on a beautiful amazing course with a couple hundred of the coolest people on Earth.
This year, the price rose significantly but if some of the money goes towards trail maintenance, I am okay with that. This trail has it all: huge climbs, massive descents, water crossings, breath taking views and apparently weather patterns that will totally surprise you.
As is tradition, Pigeon and I signed up and planned our day together. I think we have mastered some parts of this run but I still think the day can unfold entirely different than you may have visioned. This trail can do that to you.
I, for one, didn’t know quite what to expect. Let’s be honest, since AR50 I have not been running very much. I had one 14 miler in Auburn about two or three weeks ago and that’s been about it in terms of “long” distance running. To say I went into this completely untrained is an understatement. Yes I have some miles under my belt, but AR50 was early in April and it is now late May. Luckily my body remembers what to do AND even more important, Pigeon was just off her 100K at Quicksilver two weeks prior and was running on some tired legs (though she still rocked it).
As the week wore on, I was slowly getting excited and very nervous. Pigeon knows that I love this day and she was trying to be super excited for me but I think she could tell via my texts that my mind has been elsewhere lately.
2010 Selfie – hahaha2014 – getting better at the selfie!2015 Selfie
Just like last year, Pigeon and I met in Forresthill and checked in for the run. We then got a ride to Robinson Flat where we quickly realized the fog was making things really difficult to see and the rain was starting to come down pretty hard. Oh yea, and it was 40 degrees.
I had not planned on rain. The forecast that I saw didn’t say a thing about rain so I was wearing a tank top and shorts and brought no form of long sleeves what so ever. Thankfully, Pigeon had an extra pair of arm sleeves with her so she wore those and she gave me her long sleeve shirt. I would have been fine running in the 40 degree rain without anything but I was DEFINITELY more comfortable with a shirt.
We used the restrooms at the start and then quickly started running. Running = warmth so we ran. It was hard at first as this section is pretty rocky and your body is still trying to figure out what it is you want it to do.
I did not take many photos in the beginning of the run as I only had my phone and I wasn’t about to pull my phone out in the rain.
Pigeon and I had a lot to catch up on. She told me all about her 100k. I am so proud of her. She worked really hard for that race and I feel like now, she can go into Tahoe with a weight off her back (more or less) and perhaps enjoy the day a little bit more.
We were not the only ones who ditched the bus option and caught rides to Robinson Flat. What is cool about that is you get to see some awesome runners fly by you. Somewhere in these early miles Stephanie Howe ran by us. She won The Western States 100 Mile race last year. They look so effortless when they run but at the same time, they are super nice and say “hi” as they pass.
So it pretty much rained for four hours straight. It would lighten up at times and then come down hard again. My tummy needed some adjustment so unfortunately I had to stop once or twice but the fog makes for great camouflage! 🙂
When we hit the first aid-station, the rain was just sprinkling. Some awesome volunteers where manning the station and had huge smiles on their faces. These people are great. Pigeon came right in and asked for duct tape?! I had no clue what she needed it for but apparently her head had shrunk okay, maybe her visor got stretched out, so she used duct tape to try and make it fit a little better on her head. 🙂
I checked out what was on the table. My tummy was still uneasy. We chatted with the volunteers for a bit while Pigeon was adjusting her visor and then we were off and running.
Crazy thick fog
The wet conditions and fog made the trail seem different to me so it was kind of like seeing things for the first time. Most of the time, this run is on the warmer side which can be a recipe for disaster later in the day. Not today, today it was cool and damp.
We played tag with a group of other women who were running either before us or after us all day long. For the most part, we were always ahead of them.
Soon we were starting to descend down to Swinging Bridge. This is a long brutal descent that really makes you start begging for an uphill but never fear as Devil’s Thumb is what you have to climb in order to get out and that is a doozy but I secretly love Devil’s Thumb. 🙂
We crossed swinging bridge and downed some calories for our climb. Last year the bridge had been burned in a fire and so we had to cross through the river in order to get across which meant we were soaking wet on a very hot and brutal climb. In fact, this was the first time ever that I have climbed Devil’s Thumb and not had it be scorching hot the whole way.
There were a few people climbing the thumb at the same time. Pigeon was in front. I tend to not like people on my heels so I usually step aside and let them pass even if it means I may catch them later, I just prefer not to have someone right behind me.
Eventually, Pigeon pulled off to the side too to adjust her arm sleeves I think and I just went in front of her. There were a couple of crazy athletes who RAN up the thumb. Man, that just blows me away. One foot in front of the other I just climbed strong and steady. I turned around to say something to Pigeon and realized she was no where behind me.
I kept climbing knowing that there was a switchback turn coming up and that I could maybe see her better. Sure enough, the switch back came and I stopped to see if I could see her. I did. I called down “Are you alright?” “I’m good!” she said. So I followed with “Do you have enough water?” 🙂 Pigeon has been known to run out of water on this climb from time to time. “Yes,” she called and apparently the guy behind me laughed at us. Just looking out for my runner.
Onward I went. Joe McCladdie was at the top taking photos. He always makes me laugh. He is always in a spot that is notoriously difficult but since he is there you HAVE to smile and there is no better way to climb a beast than with a smile. Thanks Joe!
I finally reached the top of Devil’s Thumb and I waited for Pigeon. I downed some of the Oatmeal Banana Cookies that I made while waiting. That climb really gave me an appetite and also evened out the stomach issues I had been having.
Finally Pigeon reached the top and we took off running except that while I had been standing there I had become really cold from the damp weather. I had put my long sleeve back on but my legs were stiff as boards when we started running. I must have looked hilarious.
We reached the aid-station that was at the water pump and this is where I had my first potato chip. Not sure why I grabbed one. My hand sort of gravitated to the bowl but oh my word if that wasn’t the most amazing thing ever at that moment. I had only a few and then I tried to have some of the fuel that I brought with me. Funny how I don’t eat potato chips regularly but out in the woods in the middle of no where, they looked divine.
Onward we ran. At this point, the rain had stopped for good and the sun was trying to poke out from behind some clouds. It was also getting humid. I must have taken that shirt off and on about a hundred times in addition to pulling up the sleeves and then pulling them down again.The reasons of erectile dysfunction may be of cialis 10mg no utilization. So your partner and you have come to a conclusion whether Vitamins can really replace oral ED medication like icks.org lowest price levitra and Tadalis. cheap canadian viagra The medication basically inhibits the PDE5 enzyme from operating, thus allowing more blood to flow through to the penis. It was so unknown that it was called Kenpo Karate so it could be identified with the art of Karate. commander viagra
After that aid-station you descend down into El Dorado Canyon which is a pretty steep down as well. It was here that my right knee started to yell at me a bit. Okay, maybe yell is too mild, scream bloody murder might be better. My knees just cannot handle downhills, steep downs and this one is notorious for making my knee hurt.
There were times when I had to hobble a bit near the bottom but I finally made it. I need to work on my hip flexors and IT band a bit more – oh and not jump into a 32 mile run on a whim. 🙂
Next up is the climb to Michigan Bluff. This is a good 2.5 mile climb and again, I have only ever done this climb in brutally hot weather. Today it was cool and there was as light breeze. Wow does that make a difference.
Pigeon had to use nature’s restroom so I told her I would start off walking up the hill a bit. Not wanting to get too far in front of her I stopped and took some photos.
No where to go but up
Trail Selfie – I look all alone but there were lots of people out there
Once Pigeon caught up to me I saw she had found a bunch of friends that we know. So we all hiked the climb together just chatting and catching up on some things. Eventually though, we all spread out again.
I had some people on my heels and I was feeling too crowded so I let them pass. It was here that I saw a woman behind me further down on the switchback. I looked and thought to myself, “I know her!” But I wasn’t 100% sure.
Finally at one point, she was close enough for me to get a good look and sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed. It was Pam Smith, 2013 Western States winner and one of my favorite bloggers. I adore Pam not only because she is a kick butt runner, but also because she is a full time working mom of two kids and has an active spouse to boot. I can totally relate to that. While her kids are quite a few years older than mine, she gets it and understand the hardship of being a mom and wanting/needing that time to run crazy races.
I turned and asked her if her name was Pam and she said yes and that started what was to be one of my favorite highlights on this years Western States Training Run day. We chatted the whole way up to Michigan Bluff. She was pretty honest with me. She asked me if I was running states and I said no and that I was pacing a friend at TRT100 and that I have two young kids so I can’t really envision WS100 in my near future … Pam said, “Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it only gets harder as they get older. I thought it would be easier but it isn’t.” HA! While I kind of knew that, it was funny to hear it from another hard working running mom.
Pam gets it. She wakes at an ungodly hour to get speed workouts and runs in as do I. She has to split her weekends with her husband so he can get runs in while simultaneously tackling kids sporting activities.
She was so nice, so down to earth. I really enjoyed our little chat while we were climbing up to Michigan Bluff.
The top of Michigan Bluff
When you get to the top of Michigan Bluff you have to walk down a fire road to get to the aid-station. Pam kept walking and while I wanted to keep chatting with her, I didn’t want to ditch Pigeon either so I stopped to wait for her.
When she got to the top, she had made a friend too. Her friend is doing her first Western States this year. I told Pigeon about my little hike with Pam Smith and Pigeon had no clue who Pam was but her friend did and was like, “Oh my gosh! I saw that! That’s so cool!” 🙂
We made it the aid-station and again, those darn potato chips really looked amazing. I saw Pam talking to some people and grabbing some fuel and then she was off. I never saw her again.
Pigeon and I ate and walked out of the aid-station happy. We were joking about all sorts of things. There were a lot of funny incidents on this run that I can’t remember. This is what happens when I don’t blog for a while and then have multiple posts to catch up on, I forget things. 🙂
I do know that before we started the run, Pigeon sprayed my legs with bug spray as we had remembered that last year the mosquitoes were relentless. Well, as it turns out, we forgot to spray our arms. My arms and back (remember I was wearing a tank top) are covered in about 20 mosquito bites! Grrrrr the ones on the back are the worst. Next year I am wearing one of those repellent bracelets.
There is one more descent after Michigan Bluff before you climb the paved road to Forresthill. That down hill trail again aggravated my knee something terrible but the minute we hit an uphill, all the pain goes away.
Pigeon and I hiked the hill back to Forresthill Road and then ran the road to the school. We had the wrist bands cut off made our way to my car to change before BOOM thunder was heard off in the distance and some rain started sprinkling again. Whew, we made it out of there just in time. I would not want to be out running in a thunder storm.
Once again, this run proved to be the highlight of my year. Yes I could have gone into it a little more prepared but I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately and have not had any time to get long runs in. That will change as I have a marathon coming up as well as pacing duties at Tahoe Rim Trail in July. It is good to know what my body can handle though.
Next year’s WS Training Run may be a whole different kind of run. Quite a few people that we know have qualified for the 2016 Western States so I foresee a big run next year hopefully filled with a lot of locals (lottery permitting).
For more of our WS Training Run stories go to the following links:
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