Category: TRAIL RUNNING

As I said in my last post, I was headed up to Tahoe this past weekend to crew and pace Pigeon in her third attempt at the brutal, unrelenting Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile race.

This race is not an easy race no matter what distance you choose. Whether you are running the 55k, the 50 mile or the 100 mile, this course can really throw all the elements at you in one day.

Last year Pigeon suffered through massive rain, hail, thunder and lightning while running on top of one of the highest peaks in the Lake Tahoe area. There are miles upon miles of exposed open trail covered in lung choking dust and the smallest particles of gravel you have ever seen.

In short, this weekend is a tough weekend all around both for the runner and the crew. So sit back, and enjoy the recap. As usual, it’s long. ☺

Friday after work, I drove up to Tahoe. I stopped at Squaw Valley for the annual Wanderlust Festival. I love stopping here to walk around, stretch my legs, use the bathrooms and of course, check out all the freebies they have to offer! I also scored a snack since I had skipped lunch that day in exchange for driving.

Pigeon and Missouri secured a condo again this year near Diamond Peak Ski Resort which proves to be the best way to go about handling this race, especially for the crew and most definitely for a crew with a 6 month old!

That’s right, Missouri and I were going to crew Pigeon while also trying to entertain little JCM who is super in love with his mama and only his mama right now. Let’s just say, Missouri put in double duty this weekend big time.

Friday night we discussed plans, routes and expectations for the weekend. Pigeon seemed way more relaxed and calm than she has years prior. She ran and completed Quicksilver in May so she has her qualifier for Western States 2016 which meant the pressure was off so to speak for this race. Her only goal was to finish.

We all went to bed early knowing that we all had different jobs in the morning. Pigeon and Missouri had to head to the starting line which is at Spooner Lake (near South Shore) and I was going to wake up a bit later and head to Tunnel Creek so that I could catch Pigeon coming through the aid-station at miles 12 and 17. The race started at 5 am and Pigeon and had all her predicted times written out for us. I wanted to be at Tunnel Creek with plenty of time to see her come through.

To be honest, I was a tad bit nervous in how the weekend would play out. What Pigeon doesn’t know (and still doesn’t actually) is that a week ago to the day, I had teeny tiny accident at home that has since caused me some pain. I slipped while removing the solar cover off the pool and cracked my tailbone against the side of the cement pool. Yup. As far as I know, nothing is broken. What I do know is that I can’t really sit well on hard surfaces and it hurts to sneeze but running? Well, I kept up with my mid-week short runs the week before Tahoe and while not exactly stellar, things are slowly getting better. I was just concerned mostly about falling while running with Pigeon because we have a rule if I fall while pacing her …. She will only stop if she sees protruding bone or if I hit my head (we never actually clarified that second part but I’d like to hope that she’d stop for that too – haha).

As I climbed up Tunnel Creek things felt okay. It’s a long uphill climb with a few flat sections. My goal was to just go easy and run when I could. However, the “problem” with this trail is that it is so darn beautiful. Seriously, it is begging you to stop and take photographs.

When I had left my car and started my assent, it was rather warm. Years past I have always carried a jacket and never ever used it. This year, I left the jacket in the car. HUGE mistake. Huge.

Of course I was warm hiking but the minute I got to the top of Tunnel Creek where the volunteers were still setting up the aid-station, the wind came and the cold. Bitter, bitter cold. I immediately started shivering.

“Crap! Why didn’t I bring my jacket? I can’t hike back down I’ll miss her coming through!” Just as I was sitting there battling myself, a nice older gentleman came over and asked me if I wanted a coat. I felt terrible, I said no immediately. I told him to save it for his volunteers (there were tons of other people freezing too who actually belonged up there). He asked me THREE times if I was sure.

Then, I remembered I had my 99 cent poncho that I purchased at Target in my hydration pack in case it rained. This thing is thinner than a garbage bag but at least it would protect a little against the wind (I was wearing shorts and a tank top mind you). I threw on my bright red poncho an sat there shivering on a rock watching the clock willing it to move faster so that at least I’d have a reason to get up and move around.

The next thing that I knew, that same man came over with a blanket for me. He took it out of the bag and simply said, “Just leave it over there when you leave.” Seriously the SWEETEST! Turns out he was the head medical guy at this aid-station and I am forever indebted to his kindness.

Almost on cue, Pigeon came running into Tunnel Creek. She looked good. I can’t assist her at this aid-station, so I had to watch from the outside until she came outside the ropes. She said she felt good. She looked good. Serious.

She took off on the Red House Loop (6 miles) and I figured that I would see her in about 90 minutes or so. In the meantime, I saw Stonegate and Burning Girl who were running their first Tahoe 55k come through. They came running into the aid-station and I gave them big old cheer. They looked good and were smiling which made me smile more. We chatted on the trail for a bit and they too took off on the Red House Loop – one of the volunteers standing there said, “So you’re done chatting now? Ready to run?” as they left! Hahaha ☺

When Pigeon came back up the hill I had run down to meet her. She looked okay. She was still serious. Not much smiling going on with her. She was focused. She didn’t look like she was in any discomfort so that was good.

When she took off towards Diamond Peak I returned my borrowed blanket and took off down the hill. I hated that I would miss Stonegate and Burning Girl as they returned through Tunnel Creek but the time frame was too short for me to get down the hill, get back to the condo, eat, change and load the car for Diamond Peak (mile 30).

Maybe if I didn’t stop to take 503 photos on my way down I would have had more time (haha) … I am telling you, I LOVE this stinking road up to Tunnel Creek. ☺

I literally made it back to the condo in time to change out of my sweaty clothes, grab something to eat to bring with us and helped Missouri load the car with all the gear we’d need for Pigeon at Diamond Peak.

The parking at Diamond is a pain in the butt and this year we had the gear wagon and JCM and his stroller and gear. So I pulled the wagon which was packed full with chairs, coolers, umbrellas etc up the dirt ski run to the back of Diamond Peak while Missouri pushed the stroller.

We immediately set up camp in the shade (score) and then I moved to the front to wait for Pigeon to come through. The temps were starting to rise now. I was no longer cold. It was hot.

It seemed liked forever, but still close to her predicted time, Pigeon came into Diamond Peak. She looked good. She ate solid food, she smiled – nothing seemed to be bugging her. Seeing JCM brought a good smile to her face.

We refilled her pack, made her eat, she put on more sunscreen and without much time wasted, she started her climb up the ski run of Diamond Peak.

I helped Missouri reload the wagon. Vans and the girls came up that afternoon and so I stayed at Diamond Peak with them while Missouri brought JCM back to the condo for a much needed nap.

The period between seeing Pigeon at 30 miles and then again at 50 miles is pretty long so this is an ideal time for the crew to catch up on sleep and eat. I had lunch with my family and the new all returned to condo where I took a quick 30 minute nap on the couch.

Vans and the girls said goodbye. I was so happy they came to see me. They were bummed they had missed Pigeon coming into Diamond Peak by only a few minutes but they were still in awe of the craziness that was happening around them.

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Around 5 pm, Missouri and I loaded the car again complete with JCM and made our way to Spooner Lake in South Shore where Dasie and Kuni (crew #2) would also be waiting for us. Kuni was scheduled to pace Pigeon from the 50 mile marker to the 80 mile marker where I would then take over and bring her into the finish.

We found them almost immediately when we entered Spooner Recreation Area. State Parks changed the way they handled the race this year in regards to parking and I have to say, I kind of liked it! There was not as much parking but it wasn’t a pain to try and get in the gates.

We made our way to the aid-station, debated on a location for our set up and then just sat and waited. It was getting chilly out but at least it wasn’t raining like last year.

Again, not far off schedule, Pigeon came into the aid-station. She immediately said she needed to have her feet taped by the medical volunteers as she was starting to get blisters.

While Kuni was helping with that, the aid-station allowed one additional crew member into the area to help. I took over being the liaison between Pigeon and Kuni who were sitting in the medical tent to Dasie, Missouri and JCM who were outside aid-station with all the gear.

Pigeon changed her socks and her shorts here. She was able to eat another turkey and avocado sandwich which was a good sign. If you can still eat solid foods after 50 miles, that’s a bonus.

She didn’t spend too much time here. The majority of the time was just taping her feet. Other runners had spent way more time in the aid-station in comparison.

Soon they were running all “head-lamped” down the trail! She was on her way and she looked strong. We wouldn’t see her again until the next morning at Diamond Peak (mile 80). I got excited. Things were looking good!

Missouri, JCM and I made our way back to North Shore to the condo. JCM had about had it for the day and I was starving and in need of a shower, bad. I wanted to eat, shower and get to bed as I knew that I’d have to get up early to begin my pacing duties.

I woke up at 11 pm freaking out that I had overslept and missed everything. I laughed and then went back to bed. I finally woke up at 3 am, packed my car for good (Missouri had to check out that morning) and made my way to Diamond Peak.

This aid-station moves inside at night due to the noise factor and the complaining neighbors. Inside the ski resort there were bodies spread out everywhere. Crew members napping, runners laying on cots who were exhausted. It was complete organized chaos.

I found some friends, chatted for a bit and then scored a corner when they left to set up camp for us. Then, we sat and waited. I had checked online before leaving the condo to see what Pigeon’s check in times were at the other aid-stations during the night.

When I saw that she had checked out of Tunnel Creek at 3 am, I knew something must have been wrong. I was hoping it was the timing situation. Per Pigeon’s calculations, she should have been out of Tunnel earlier than 3 am.

Pigeon had been 10 to 15 minutes off her schedule (roughly) all day. Sometimes she’d hit the mark and others just be 10 minutes off so we were not too worried when 15 minutes went by and she had not come in yet. Then, Dasie’s phone rang.

I won’t lie. My heart jumped into my chest. I thought, “Holy crap! Here we go! I am going to finally be able to get to run with her! Yes! She is going to do this!” Then I realized the conversation was taking much longer than a “She’s almost there” message … Kuni is not a man of many words, and he was talking to Dasie a lot.

Something was happening with Pigeon’s feet. It was bad. We had to pack up. Pigeon wanted the car moved up the road into the neighborhood. That meant unpacking the aid-station we had set up, loading up JCM and his stuff and having Missouri race down to the lower lot to get the car so that we could load everything back into it.

I ended up pushing the stroller and pulling the full wagon out of Diamond Peak by myself to get to the upper parking lot where Missouri was trying to bring the car.

I then hopped into Dasie’s car while Missouri loaded JCM and we drove up the road to find where the trail touches the road. I hopped out of the car and decided that I would just run onto the course until I came to them. I wore my sweatshirt so that I could give it to Pigeon.

So many runners were coming down. Some in great spirits. Some not so much. I saw this one guy who when coming at me, he looked like an angel with wings! For a minute, I thought I was seeing things and I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough to take a photo from the front. As it turns out, he had a space blanket under his pack …

Up and up and up I ran and hiked. I kept sending texts to Missouri telling her how far up I had to go and that I had not reached them yet. I also kept an eye on the clock. If Pigeon was only walking, there is no way she’d make the 7:35 am cut off at Diamond Peak not to mention the fact that if she did, she’d be racing cut offs all day long.

Finally about a mile and a half from where Dasie had dropped me off, I saw them. Pigeon’s face was crestfallen. She just looked defeated and angry and of course, sad. Kuni filled me in on her feet and how massively huge the many blisters were that she had and what had transpired during the night.

She could barely move her feet and the trail ahead wasn’t easy. There were many obstacles to maneuver over.

I tried to joke a little here and there. Kuni did too. She would smile every so often but you could tell in her heart, she was done but that it was eating her alive that all except for her feet, she felt fine. She felt strong. She was trained.

We had a mile and a half to the car. I didn’t want to tell her that because when you are in that much pain, a mile and a half seems like another 100 miles. Step by step we all made our way down the hill. I was texting Missouri as we’d go, filling her in every time we’d make it a half mile or so.

We finally got to the car and Pigeon just got inside. That was it. She was done. We all drove back to Diamond Peak as we had to officially declare her as “dropped” and she wanted her feet to be seen by medical to see if anything could be done.

She had made it 80 freaking miles! Her longest distance covered yet. She got to see the sun rise, set and rise again! If it wasn’t for her darn feet, she would have finished.

As it turns out, medical wouldn’t even touch her feet. They advised her to keep the shoes and tape on for as long as she could and then soak in Epsom salts a few times a day to avoid infections. Unfortunately, she had to check out of the condo and drive two hours home before she could soak anything.

It was heart breaking to watch her drop again especially knowing how in shape and how well-trained and prepared she was for this race. The temperature was on her side most of the day (not too hot) and it never rained. She fueled herself well all day long. She had juice in the legs still but unfortunately, her feet looked as if they had been through the meat grinder.

The guy with medical suggested she invest in some gators for Tahoe running and after our training run a few weeks ago, I can 100% agree with his suggestion. The gravel and sand on these Tahoe trails is so fine and there is so much of it, that you are just covered in it head to toe, literally. The dust gets in your lungs and the gravel in your shoes and under your shoe liners until it shreds your toes and socks to pieces. Gators for Tahoe I think are a must have. This is definitely food for thought for me if and when I run this race someday.

I wish I could have ended on a happier note, I know Pigeon does too but it isn’t for lack of trying. I am so dang proud of her. I really am. She is the most determined and focused runner I know which is why when outside factors determine your outcome, it makes it harder to swallow.

Rest up Pigeon! Let those feet and legs heal. Tahoe will always be there. It isn’t going anywhere. Dig deep within yourself and be confident and proud. You are a wise runner and soon, you’ll have bigger trails to conquer and I hope that I can be by your side then too. Thanks for allowing me on your journey. JCM has one badass mama (two actually, cause Missouri is pretty darn badass herself to handle crewing and a baby). ☺

Finally, a special shout out to Vans. He came up to support me even though I was crewing and not running. He brought the girls which made me smile. I love involving them in this stuff and explaining that it isn’t always about running the race – you have to crew, volunteer and support the race too.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

***PS: I am fully aware that if you are viewing this on a mobile device that the photos are sideways or upside down. For an OPTIMAL viewing experience, please read from your PC or computer as I believe the photos will be upright. I apologize for the inconvenience. This is still a work in progress.***