It has been a while since my last post. I feel like I say that all the time and maybe I do. Sorry about that. I know consistency on this blog isn’t my strongest asset. Most of the time it is due to the insanity that is sometimes my life but this time around, it stems mostly from me taking a step down. Backing away from some things and focusing on other things.
In all honesty, after all the pain I’ve endured just trying to keep this blog afloat, I seriously have been contemplating not having one. I know I will miss it and I know others will as well. I still haven’t figured out the problem with whoever is hosting my blog vs where my domain lives now. Apparently I need to do some kind of switch-a-rue with my “stuff” but I can’t figure it out and don’t have the patience (and time) to try and I don’t have the money to have someone else do it for me (sigh – woe is me right?).
What I have been toying with lately though is “vlogging” which is basically a VIDEO blog instead of a words and photo blog. I follow a few vloggers and I admire their ability to put it all out there. I’ve often toyed with doing one of these since they popped online quite a few years ago but I just never felt I was “vlog” worthy (I still don’t but I want to for other reasons – see below).
What mostly intrigues me about vlogging is the video editing process which is a small passion hobby that I have. Actually, that is what I was doing during most of my “away” time, editing a video or two from our trip to Oregon.
I’ve also been cooking. Or meal prepping. Okay, both. I’ve just felt the need to make sure we have healthy food. We ate well in Oregon so it wasn’t like I over indulged at all.
Edamme Pasta with a Red Pepper Basil Pesto
My pressure cooker has been on my counter almost consistently since we’ve been home. I’ve made and froze beans of various kinds and portions. I’ve also made potatoes which turn themselves magically into amazing little wedges.
Mmmm potatoes!
I’ve also “deactivated” my account from Facebook. I’ve ignored Facebook for a while. I’ve also tried the “only logging in once a day” method and “only posting on weekends” trick but last week, I pulled the plug and deactivated myself. My intention was only to do it temporarily. Although, I have a big weekend ahead so I may have to reactivate my account in order to keep people posted on my adventures in Tahoe (pssst, Tahoe Rim Trail 100 is this weekend in case you were wondering – yes, I am crewing Pigeon again woot woot!)
There is nothing wrong with Facebook and I can’t say I was obsessed with it. I just, needed a break. I am already “online” via this blog, via instagram and who knows what else since I put myself “out-there” on the world wide web that I just really needed to take a step back. Facebook houses a lot of drama. It is also a great communication tool but that darn drama and the games people play, just made me need a break. If it wasn’t for family missing out on seeing my girls and me seeing what is happening with Dylan, I’d probably sign off for good.
In the meantime, I’ve been doing other things! Adult drivers ed courses may also be patented to prevent sales of similar drugs where the patent may only djpaulkom.tv order viagra online extend for five or tens years or have no restrictions of generic sales at all. You can take this medicine with online viagra djpaulkom.tv or without food. The professionals use them cialis 100mg pills simply as “cues” in order to enhance an individual’s sexual desire. The most simple things in life are djpaulkom.tv levitra prescription perfect.
Okay, so I really was just goofing around but secretly I’d love to be able to have the ability to skateboard. 🙂
Vans in action.
Instead, I watched Vans skate with some friends one weekend. I love watching him skate and I love that photo above because his shadow reminds me of Peter Pan when he was chasing his shadow and made his way into Wendy’s room.
I have also been reading more which I started on vacation and realized I missed too much. So, I have made a point to try and read at least a few pages of a book daily.
All of this (reading, cooking, editing videos, kids, running, work) has made very little time for me to blog or figure out my blogging issues.
Don’t worry though, I will be back soon enough I am sure. Like I said above, Tahoe Rim Trail is this weekend so I will be out there with my camera taking race photos, crewing for Pigeon, supporting Stonegate and Burning Girl if I can and just enjoying myself in the amazing mountain air that is Lake Tahoe.
Happy Trails!
~Trailmomma
***PS: I am conducting an experiment and not TOUCHING my photos above. If they are sideways (like the one of me skating appears sideways on my PC) then I am waiting to see if blogger/whoeveritis – changes the orientation if viewed from a mobile device.***Â
This will be the conclusion to my Oregon blog posts. Do you see what happens when I take a million and two photos? We get a three part blog series! Consider yourself lucky (or unlucky) or as we say in my house, “You take what you get and you don’t throw a fit!” 🙂
Part one and part two of Oregon can be read HERE and HERE. And, if you are reading these posts on your mobile devices, I am fully aware that my photos are sideways or upside down. Not sure what is going on there but they are right side up on my computer so …. oh well.
So I left off on Sunday where Vans and Be-Well-Run had run a 10k and later that evening, Vans and JD had done some mountain biking to check out the trails near our house and the kids ran around hot tubbing a lot.
Monday the men woke up bright and early (truly early for Vans) and hopped on the Deschutes River Trail for a mountain biking adventure. They were biking to Bend (which is about a 15-20 minute drive from Sunriver) where I was supposed to go and pick them up. Distance wise, it is about about 15 miles or so for biking but they explored a bit and managed to find about 38 miles worth of mountain biking trails before finding me and my girls in the Old Mill District.
While we were there, I had done a little research and discovered that we were not that far from the Picky Bars Headquarters! I am a huge Picky Bar fan. I always have been since finding gluten free bars used to be struggle for me back in the day. When I stopped working at various running stores, I became a Picky Club Member and have enjoyed my monthly shipments delivered right to my door. I use them for pre-race fuel and even sometimes mid-race fuel. I even got Stonegate into them and she too now is a Picky Club member.
Picky Bars was started by three amazing athletes (Jesse Thomas – Triathlete, Lauren Fleshman – pro-runner and Steph Rothstein – pro-marathoner). Steph Rothstein has Celiac like myself and I like knowing that because I am super picky about cross contamination and I trust their process.
Anyway, back to Monday. JD and Vans insisted that since I was SO close, that I had to swing by and check the place out. I follow Picky Bars on Instagram and I had a general idea of what their headquarters looked like.
We found it and I hopped out of the car with good intentions of just getting a photo in front of their building. Instead, I got a little curious ….
Let me just see if the door is open ….
Low and behold the door was open and there was no turning back. All four Picky workers turned and looked at me and all I could manage was, “Hi!! I am clubber and I had to come by and see the place for myself!” I was a total dork but I didn’t care. They were SUPER nice. I recognized Sarah from OUAL and she is super sweet (and tall) in person as she seems online. She welcomed me inside and suggested we take a photo. Luckily Vans followed me inside too and was able to snap the pic.
The awesomely nice Picky Crew!
Thanks again Picky Crew for letting me crash your Monday with a random out of the blue unannounced stop!
Ah, Fudge Nuts! = Best Flava
On a complete and total high from seeing Picky Bars Headquarters, we headed back to the house where I changed into some running clothes and decided to battle the heat of the afternoon for a trail run.
The Fam dropping me off at the trail head! See ya!
The rest of group wanted to head to the lake for a swim (why not, it was a million degrees outside) so I was solo on my run. I had my phone and I knew where to meet them … but this trail was so unbelievable that I had to stop and take about a million photos (of course, right!).
It was HOT! But a nice trail.
I’d run for a while, but slow because I was totally soaking up the area around me. I remembered that I had my phone with self-timer and tried my best at taking some cheesy trail selfies!
Not bad for my first one huh?
I knew the Deschutes River was to my left and that the highway was to my right so there wasn’t too much risk of me getting myself lost. The lava rocks along the river were pretty awesome.
Lava!
I was in total trail heaven. It was a beautiful day and my legs, although tired from the marathon, were enjoying the soft trail dirt.
TOYOTA?! No, just a dork on the trail
Eventually I came to a spot where I could see the actual river. I knew the views would only get better so I kept running.
The Deschutes River and a trail dork
I had good cell reception and was receiving texts from Vans telling me about how far down the river they were. I’d run into them shortly.
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Some of these photos I had to climb off the trail and onto some rocks just to take them. It was totally worth risking my neck on some precarious rocks.
More Lava Rocks!
When I came to the parking lot my family was there and Vans informed me that I just had to keep going on the trail until I reached the waterfalls. I had only ran about 2.5 miles and was thoroughly enjoying myself and I didn’t want to stop so I welcomed the opportunity to keep going.
Bridge over the Deschutes
I crossed that bridge, waved to the family who was splashing in the river and kept going. This section of the trail was more like a fire road and was actually quite populated with hikers.
No shade either.
The river now was on my right and who knows what was on my left. The water under that bridge was flowing pretty strong. Definite rapids ahead.
I just kept running until I saw the signs for the “waterfalls” … which in reality are just crazy beautiful rapids.
Gorgeous!
I was in total heaven. I kept thinking, there has to be a place where I could take a #lifepoints photos for the Picky Bars “get on a wrapper” contest. 🙂
Nope, not it.
I clearly need to work on my “jump face” … obviously I cannot manage too many things at once here. Timer? Check. Jump on cue? Check. Make a normal face? Um, nope, can’t do it.
Once I hit the rapids overlook, I turned and ran back to the family. Overall the mileage came out to about 5 miles which was absolutely perfect for my tired legs and eager to trail run in Oregon mind.
Cooling off in the river finally.
I took a nice little walk into the river to wash of the trail dust and just cool my tired legs. While I was in the water (and Vans was trying to take the photo with some actual sunlight on my face), Be-Well-Run yelled out “JC PENNY POSE!”
I delivered on cue!
If you are a long time reader of my blog, you’ll understand this reference and joke. If you are not, then well, you may have to go back to my posts in 2010 to understand. 🙂 My friends and I had a bit of an obsession with pretending we were JC Penny Catalog (remember when there were such things as catalogs?) models.
That pretty much sums up the whole trip. We enjoyed a nice clean out the fridge dinner that evening. Everyone was pretty tired from the day. We went on another family bike ride to a park for the kids which included more ice cream.
Tuesday morning it was pack up and ship out – we headed back to California with its massive heat wave.
Seriously, that says 114!
On our long drive home we stopped at a few places along the way to get the girls out of the car for a nice leg stretch and bathroom break.
Old Tractor Place
Overall, I think Sunriver 2015 was a success. It was full of challenges, excitement, trail running and Picky Bar crashing. The kids had a blast being all together and hot tubbing, biking, swimming in the river and playing games. Next time we go, I may forget the marathon and just decide to follow that trail all the way to Bend for a nice long trail run and have the boys come and get ME. 🙂
As I wrote in my Pac Crest Marathon Race Report, we vacationed in Oregon this year. One of my loyal readers (yo Padre!) commented that he loves the fact that we ran a race AND vacationed at the same time as a family. We’ve been doing that for as long as I can remember, definitely since the Peanut has been born.
Our first ever trip to Oregon was to Portland in October of 2009. Vans and I flew up there with the Peanut who was about 18 months old. I ran the Run Like Hell Half Marathon and he and the Peanut did the 5k race in the jogger.
2015 it was decided that we needed a return trip to Oregon. It had been too long.
Car packed and ready to go!
We left on a Thursday afternoon with the intentions of driving straight to Ashland. I have wanted to stop in Ashland on our way but we never managed to make it work, this year we did and both Vans and I are glad that we stopped.
I hate stopping at rest-stops as they have crazy pigeons and seagulls that attack you
Ashland reminded me very much like downtown Berkley in California but with a more mountain-ish look and feel.
Window shopping in Ashland
Our first item of business was to stop at the Rogue Valley Runner’s store which is owned and operated by Hal Koerner. I’ve been a “fan” of Hal’s for a long time and was super excited to see his store. I knew he wouldn’t be there as Western States was happening this same weekend and I knew he would be down helping with that race.
Me geeking out in front of the store
Thanks to social media, Hal recommended that when we come to Ashland, that we check out Standing Stone Brewing Company. Vans is always down with checking out a brewery so we headed there for dinner.
Taste Testing
The girls loved it because Standing Stone provided cool little chalk boards with colored chalk for them play with at the table.
I had a blackberry cider which was really good and an amazing gluten free vegan tempeh skewer dinner. Another highlight was that I spotted Jenn Shelton having a beer at the bar. That was pretty cool. I can’t recognize celebrities to save my life, but ultra runners? Sure can!
After Ashland, we drove to Medford where our hotel was located. Medford was interesting. We would have preferred to have stayed in Ashland and explored more but unfortunately there was a softball camp and a Shakespeare Festival happening all at the same time and so there were no hotels available.
Friday morning we woke up and drove the remaining 3.5 hours to Sunriver. We decided to pass Sunriver and head to Bend to stop at Trader Joes and grab the food we’d need for the next few days. Be-Well-Run and her family were not expected to arrive until later in the day.
When everyone had arrive and unpacked we hit the race expo to pick up packets. Be-Well-Run signed herself up for the 10k and her kids for the kids fun run. Their races would be on Sunday morning. Pac Crest does a great job spreading out all the events so that almost everyone in the family can do something while being available to watch other family members race as well.
When the marathon was over, we had lunch and then went for a bike ride all around Sunriver in search of a pool to swim in. Yes. I ran a marathon and then went biking. I figured it would help the legs (ha ha).
Squeaker had a cool ride
We couldn’t find a pool and instead found a spot where the kids could dunk their feet and jump into the Deschutes River. It was cold.
During our trip, we also took some time to visit Bend a few times which is absolutely gorgeous.
What we call the Rainbow Bridge …Watching paddle boards and tubing
While in Bend, Squeaker had her first ever “real” ice cream cone. The kind where you have to lick and turn, lick and turn to ensure you don’t have a huge mess. She did great but man was she in heaven with that cone! Her facial expressions had us laughing so hard.
Yum Ice Cream!
We also went to downtown Bend and wandered around a bit … stopping at a few breweries of course.
Bend Brewing Company
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We also had a lot of fun just hanging out at the house too in the evenings. The dads went on a night mountain biking ride one night to check out the trail situation.
Night Riders!
The house was equipped with a bunch of board games so the kids loved playing those.
Twister anyone?
The adults found other games to entertain ourselves with …
Ping!Pong!
Be-Well-Run and family brought their slack line which was a lot of fun but also caused a few tears.
Slack LiningBroom Sticks to help balance
I cooked up a storm as I brought my instant pot so I was content in the kitchen all weekend making everyone try my random dishes.
Sunday was a big day as Vans and Be-Well-Run had their 10k race. So we all loaded into one car (four adults four kids) and drove to the start of the race. JD and I would be in charge of the kids while the other two raced.
Racers are Ready!
It was another incredibly hot day. Muggy and hot actually. Vans hasn’t been running much and Be-Well-Run said she hasn’t really either. Both were just going out there to have some fun and give it a shot.
While they were off running, JD and I tried to entertain the kids with bounce houses and rock climbing.
Peanut loved itMonkey did too
But the excitement of waiting for them was slowly starting to wear off …
Are they here yet?
Finally Vans came running into the finish line area, about the time I suspected he would (49-50 minutes). The first words out of his mouth where, “You are freaking crazy! That was SO hard. You are crazy. How did you run 26 miles?!”
He was happy to be done
Be-Well-Run came in shortly after that and was joined by her two girls as they crossed the finish line.
Finish!
Immediately upon finishing, everyone headed over to the recovery tent and experimented with the compression boots!
Be-Well-Run was a fanVans was a little unsureEven I gave it a shot the day after my race
Of course post recovery, everyone had to enjoy their free Deschutes beer in the Bier Garten.
Free!Woo Hoo!Thank you Deschutes!
So Saturday and Sunday of our trip was clearly jam packed with all things active and fun. I am going to cut this post off now and leave you in suspense for just one more that will be filled with amazing photos, a cool surprise and the conclusion of our vacation.
Have you ever said something along the lines of, “If I say I want to do this next time, remind me that I said I would never do it again.” Those were the thoughts that were going through my head the first few miles of the Pacific Crest Marathon last Saturday.
I ran this same marathon in 2012. You can read that race report here. I even re-read my race report before we left on vacation and recalled that it was a tough race mentally because it is two loops of a half-marathon course. You basically run right past the finish line and back out for another 13.1 miles. Also, because this race is in Oregon, specifically Sunriver, Oregon, one has no idea what the weather will be like. In 2012 when I ran the full marathon, it was 40 degrees at the start and it hailed. In 2010 when I ran the half, it was warm but not miserable.
This year the weather would be a force to be reckoned with and the nemesis in every runner’s side. I knew this when we left California as the temps were slowly rising towards 100 degrees. The weather in Sunriver was predicted to be in the high 90s or low 100s.
Mt. Shasta
We stopped in Ashland, Oregon on Thursday. I have always wanted to visit Ashland as I hear it is an ultra runner’s dream. We stopped at Hal Koerner’s store, Rogue Valley Runners and did a little shopping and photo op’ing.
RVR Store!
We also stopped and had dinner at Standing Stone Brewing Company, a recommendation from Hal himself (thank you social media) and I saw Jenn Shelton sitting at the bar having a beer.
Pre-race hydrating
We spent the night in Medford (interesting) and then drove to Sunriver on Friday morning. In the past, I felt that if I didn’t have enough time to acclimate to the elevation, then it was better to get there and just run the race right away. Sunriver is at 4200 ft above sea level. That’s a significant difference compared to my usual 768 ft.
We were vacationing with Be-Well-Run and her family again. In years past, we all participated in some kind of event since Sunriver hosts the Pacific Crest Sports Weekend Festival. This year however, only Vans and I had signed up for events (the marathon for myself and the 10k for Vans). Be-Well-Run signed up for the 10k at packet pick-up which was a nice surprise.
Expo Shopping
Walking around the expo I wasn’t really nervous. I kept telling Vans that I was more disappointed because I really wanted to do well and try and break my previous time at this race, but based on the way I was feeling … I just knew it wasn’t in the cards. I was tired, my legs were toast and I had a bunch of internal things going on that proved to be just really bad timing on my body’s part. Finishing became my goal. Or perhaps, this is just a “training run” for my pacing duties at Tahoe Rim Trail in two weeks? That is what I kept telling myself anyway.
Race morning I woke up and got myself dressed. It was warm already. Luckily, in preparation I made sure to bring a bandanna with me. This bandanna has saved me at many an ultra so I figured I would carry it with me (more on this later).
I had a Picky Bar breakfast and then sat with my legs up a wall trying to move the circulation around a bit. My legs just felt stiff and tired and sluggish. Riding in a car for hours on end will do that I suppose. I tried to just relax. I tried foam rolling too. My right hamstring has been bugging me for a while. I can’t quite pinpoint what triggers it or what caused it, but I know when I think about it, it tightens up.
Soon it was time to head to the start. The thing about this marathon is that even though it is a Boston qualifying race, there is never that many people running it (in fact, I just looked, there were 73 people who ran). I think I finally understand why now.
The race started on time and we were off and running. It goes up hill at first and we were to expect aid-stations and porta potties every mile (not necessarily at each mile marker). I decided not to carry any water with me based on there being water so frequently.
Within the first few miles I just knew my legs were not working. They didn’t seem connected to my body at all. My pace was hovering around 8:50 which was surprising to me since I felt like I was a slug on the sidewalk.
After I passed mile 2 I saw some friendly faces. I put on my best smile and waved.
The kid posse
I just assumed that I would slowly begin to bounce back to normal and eventually get into a groove. Somewhere around mile 6 or 7 though, my paced started slowing and the heat started coming on strong. My 8:50s started hovering around 9 and then 9:10 … and then 9:15.
The last time I ran this, I only allowed myself walking breaks on the second loop and only when I was going through an aid-station. This year, the walking started early. “Oh, is that an aid-station I see way up there? Okay, that means I can walk now.”
That’s kinda how it went for a while. Part of the course goes past the Sunriver Airport where there is absolutely positively zero shade cover. Not that there was a ton on the other parts of the course but at least there we had some cloud cover … the airport seemed to make the clouds disappear.
The aid-stations were great. They had water and I was enjoying the mental break of knowing they were coming every mile. There was a bit of a mind game for a while as they were not at the mile markers but in-between.
Somewhere around mile 9 or so I started thinking, “There is no way in hell I am going to finish this race. Forget this. If the family is at the half-way point, I am stopping. Who cares if my first ever DNF is on a road marathon!? This is insane!”
Mile 10: “You can’t quit. You can’t! You’ve run 8 other marathons before this. You’ve run ultras for goodness sake! How can you possibly quit!?”
Mile 11: “Yup, you can quit. This is the pits. Can you feel this heat? It has to be 100 degrees outside!” (it was 97).
Mile 12: “Ugh, more rolling hills? What the hell? Why? This is ridiculous. Look! Those people are walking. You can walk too. Almost to the half way point. Almost to the point where you are going to quit!”
Mile 13: “Why the heck do they have to add a .1 to a freaking half marathon?! Why can’t it just stop at 13?! Okay, there is the finish shoot, where is my family?”
Course marshal: “Half marathoner’s go right, marathoner’s go left for your second loop!”
Me (in my head): “But, but …. I don’t WANT to do a second loop! Where are they? Where is my family? They have to be here. Sure they didn’t say they would be here but they have to know I am dying right?”
Off I go … on my second loop. They had no water at the finish area. The last water station was at mile 12. The next one wouldn’t be until almost mile 15 or 16 … in 97 degrees and in my completely fragile emotional state, that seemed like 115 miles to me. I think I started hallucinating. As far as low price levitra the race is concerned, that is ultimately our call. Hence it is strictly next rx generic viagra recommended to get a physician’s prescription. Moreover, their volatility enhances the chance of an active digestive system viagra 20mg for slowing down its absorption in the body. Never combine these medicines with smoking, levitra 10mg alcohol, caffeinated drinks, grapefruit or grape as it may hamper their effectiveness. Save me!
I had been running with a salt tab in my hand since mile 13. All I wanted was a cup of water so that I could take my salt tab. I saw my family ahead of me. I started walking and blabbering about “no water, where is the water?” and “if you were at the half way point, I’d be done. I can’t do this. This is so hard.” I stole my 7 year old’s water bottle and I took my salt tab.
Be-Well-Run rode her bike up ahead to the aid-station and I think informed them that I was coming and desperately needed water. A nice volunteer ran up to me, “Are you Pam?” Me: “Yes, I am.” Nice volunteer: “Okay, you can do this, you can make this. Here is some water. Is this your first marathon?” Me (oh dear lord, it looks like I am dying doing my first marathon): “Um, no, more like my 9th.”
Vans told me how hot it was (gee, I hadn’t noticed) and informed me that I was moving pretty slow (ya think?). He said, “See you at the finish?” and I think I said, “Sure, but we’re looking at a 5 hour marathon here. I see a lot of walking in my future.” He assured me that I only had about 6 miles to go. I don’t know if he was trying to mess with my math challenged dehydrated brain or what, but I kind of believed him until I got a little further and realized I had like 10 more miles, not 6. Thanks honey. 🙂
I am not sure when, but they had run out of ICE on the course so all the water we had to drink was WARM. Ugh. Around mile 10 however, they had buckets of cold water (guess that is where all the ice went) and I started using my bandanna. I’d soak it in a nice ice-cold bucket and then wipe my face and wrap it around my neck. My saving grace. That bandanna makes the world a better place.
The rest of the course was a ghost town. There were one or two guys who I had been playing leap-frog with. I had to use a porta potty twice so they’d get ahead of me but I’d eventually catch up and pass. At about mile 18, I started feeling way better.
When I reached the airport (mile 20) there was a kid manning the aid-station. I asked where his water bucket went and he said it was gone but that he had ice. ICE? What?! I had him fill my bandanna (sorry other runners). I carried that bandanna full of ice the rest of the race cooling my neck and face.
Where is she? This is taking a really long time Dad.
I wasn’t running 100% of the time, but I was running more than I had before. I had passed those two guys for good and a girl (who didn’t enjoy that). When I saw the 21 mile marker, I knew I could finish. Walk run walk run. Run run run run. Walk. Run.
Here I come! Told ya it was a ghost town of a race.
When I saw the finish shoot, I tried so hard to gather up enough energy to just keep running. I saw and heard my family cheering my name. That gave me a nice boost.
Smile and it doesn’t hurt right?In my head I am thinking “oh thank goodness!”My girls joining me for the final few steps.
When I crossed that finish line I was filled with a bunch of emotions. There was a lot of “Oh thank goodness you are done,” but there was also the, “Holy crap, you did it!? You stuck it out!”
This is me telling Be-Well-Run “holy crap that was hot”This is, “NEVER LET ME DO THIS RACE AGAIN!”
I was stoked that I had finished, shocked at my terrible time (4 hrs 40 minutes) and desperately searching for one thing ….
Yes! This is so nice in so many ways.
Post race massage by this guy … he was blown away by my right hamstring. I was too to be honest. It didn’t feel great but after he dug his elbow in it a few million times, it felt a lot better.
Upon completion of your race (any races in Sunriver), you get a free Deschutes Beer. Of course, being gluten free, I cannot drink beer but Vans was not about to let this opportunity pass so he rushed me over to the Bier Garten.
Free Beer!
We hung around the race for a little bit but the kids were toast. My long marathon had taken up most of the day and everyone wanted to get moving on our vacation. So we left.
So bored that balancing rocks on her head was more exciting than waiting for me.
Overall, I wasn’t too sore from the race. My quads were pretty tight the following day but I didn’t stretch nor did I foam roll or anything (I know, I know, bad!).
In the end, I am proud of myself for sticking it out and not quitting. On the other hand, this is fueling me towards some serious marathon training for CIM in December. I am due. I want to get back to my sub 4 hour marathon time.
I say it all the time, but for me, road running is harder than trail running. They are both very different in so many ways. I am faster on the road but the endurance for running continuously isn’t there. I’ve been so mentally trained to be conservative on the trail because usually, you are out there for the long haul. You have fuel. You have aid-stations that are like a giant smorgasbord of everything you can imagine. When I passed my first aid-station in Sunriver my heart sank a little bit. Water?! Just water?? 🙂
I know that no matter what, I can manage the distance but I am getting tired of just “managing” … I want to do better. So, we shall see. I have some pacing duties to attend to in a few weeks and then, who knows, maybe I will start migrating to the pavement again. CIM training IS just right around the corner. 😉
Just because. 🙂
Stay tuned for another post. I have a million photos and a few more stories to share about our vacation that involve more running but since this post is already almost as long as my last marathon time (har har), I figure I should end it here. 🙂
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 a 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) 🙂
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