Be-Well-Run Archives ~ TRAILMOMMA

July 4, 2015July 26, 2019

I LOVE OREGON

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.

We went back to Oregon in 2010 to run the Pac Crest Half and 10k and then again in 2012 to run the Pac Crest full marathon and Vans did the Duathlon.

2015 it was decided that we needed a return trip to Oregon. It had been too long.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Saturday morning I ran the marathon. You can read that race report and see photos here. While I was running the kids were having breakfast …..

AND getting into mischief….

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).

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 ... — What we call the Rainbow Bridge …

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.

We also went to downtown Bend and wandered around a bit … stopping at a few breweries of course.

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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.

The house was equipped with a bunch of board games so the kids loved playing those.

The adults found other games to entertain ourselves with …

Be-Well-Run and family brought their slack line which was a lot of fun but also caused a few tears.

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.

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.

But the excitement of waiting for them was slowly starting to wear off …

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?!”

Be-Well-Run came in shortly after that and was joined by her two girls as they crossed the finish line.

Immediately upon finishing, everyone headed over to the recovery tent and experimented with the compression boots!

Even 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.

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.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

July 24, 2014April 21, 2015

TAHOE RIM TRAIL 100 (CREW)

My good friend and running partner, Pigeon toed the line at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile endurance run last weekend. While the details of that race are not mine to tell, I can share with you what Be-Well-Run and I experienced from a crew’s perspective.

It all started when Be-Well-Run (BWR) arrived at my house from Canada last Thursday evening. She came to visit knowing that a large portion of our time would be spent heading to Tahoe to crew Pigeon (I do not think BWR minded in the slightest).

When I arrived home from work on Friday, we quickly packed the car with our gear, some food and hit the road. We immediately started listening to Ultrarunner Podcast, one of my favorite (LOCAL) podcasts. These interviews always get me excited to run trails.

Our first stop? Squaw Valley! Squaw Valley is the Trailmomma family’s home away from home. Near and dear to hearts, I wanted to show BWR where we spend most of our days/evenings when we are in Tahoe. As an added bonus, the Squaw Valley Wanderlust Festival was going on at the same time!

Hippies, tie-dye, malas, yoginis and vegans wereÂ everywhere! BWR and I were in total Wanderlust heaven. We were also starved when we got there so we grabbed a free SoDelicious Almond Milk Mocha Ice Cream Bar followed by some amazing local kombucha. That’s how we roll.

Soon it was time to hook up with Pigeon and Missouri at the condo. We caught up on events, introduced BWR and Missouri to each other and soon started discussing what was going to happen the next day when Pigeon started her race.

We also laughed endlessly about some of the adventures Pigeon and I have had on the trail together. BWR and Missouri sat there and listened to Pigeon and I laugh about who did what, who fell where, who got scared by turkeys (okay, we all know who that was) … and I realized, while finishingÂ the race was Pigeon’s goal, the journey to get thereÂ was probably my favorite part.

Pigeon went to bed early. She had a lot on her mind and an early wake up call. BWR and I sat up and just soaked in the fact that we were in Tahoe about to be part of Pigeon’s journey. I was also a little bit sad that I was going to miss the Peanut’s last home swim meet. She had been called to be an alternate on the relay team which for her, is a very big deal.

Still, I knew that I needed to go to bed and get a good night of sleep because BWR and I were going to wake up and hit the trails to see Pigeon pass through the 11 mile and 17 mile marker in the race.

With a restless night of sleep, I woke up completely energized and ready to show BWR the Tunnel Creek Trail that leads up to the TRT course. She has seen photos of this trail for the last few years on my blog but has never set foot on it until now.

Just three and half miles long (completely up hill) is all it takes to hit the Tunnel Creek aid-station at TRT. This aid-station is the 11 mile and 17 mile marker for all 3 events (50K, 50 mile and 100 mile). However, the 50 and 100 milers will pass through this aid-station numerous times on their journey.

BWR and I finally made it to the top and just in time as we saw Coach Nikon coming in at mile 11 and heading out on the Red House Loop.

I could tell BWR was pretty stoked. More and more runners were coming in and since it was so early in the race, most of them were happy and in good spirits. I tried taking a selfie of BWR and myself and before I knew what was happening, this super cute runner dude asked if he could jump into our selfie!

We’d see this guy a few more times throughout the race but he was never as smiley as he was in the above photo.

While sitting and waiting for Pigeon to come through, we saw quite a few runners come in. We would cheer and shout encouraging words. I even saw Boo come through! She was running the 50K race with zero training under her belt (and she placed in her age group too!).

Boo! FYI everyone, she is over 50. Rock on! — Boo! FYI everyone, she is 54 years young and rocks it!

Finally we saw Pigeon come through. We were not allowed in the aid-station so we had to sit tight and wait until she got what she needed and came out.

We knew that we’d see her again in less than two hours so BWR and I just hung out and cheered runners on totally loving every moment of it.

Eventually Pigeon came back through at mile 17.3 of the race and per the rules, she had to weigh herself to make sure her weight was stable.

BWR and I made sure she had all she needed and that she used the porta potty. We told her that we would see her at Diamond Peak (mile 30) next. Overall, she looked great. The only thing that I noticed (and no one else would have) was that she was walking back up towards Tunnel Creek after the Red House Loop whereas every single year past, she’s run that hill. Still, I just assumed she was pacing herself.

When Pigeon left, BWR and I took off down the trail back to the car. What was 3.5 miles up hill, was also 3.5 miles down hill. While I knew better than to bomb it, I couldn’t help myself or BWR’s excitement running down the hill towards the most beautiful views of the lake.

We got to our car and headed back to the condo for some food and quick cat nap. Soon it was time to pack the car and head to Diamond Peak (which was just up the road) with Missouri and all the gear in tow. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this little side story here.
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Missouri drove Pigeon’s car to the bottom of Diamond Peak. With the new crewing rules, parking was limited at the ski resort. We unloaded the gear onto a wagon and made our way up the huge hill towards the aid-station. A gentleman in a car stopped to tell us that there was tons of parking up the hill. Missouri didn’t want to have to unload the cart again and sort of dismissed it. Finally, after enough pestering, she agreed to let me move the car closer. So I hopped in, drove up quite a ways and then turned back down the hill and ran towards Missouri and BWR who were pushing this massive wagon of gear up the hill. We even PASSED the car and I pointed out the car’s new location. This small piece of information is significant, so remember it. 😉

We set up our mini aid-station at Diamond Peak and began socializing. I was sad to hear that Coach Nikon had dropped but he seemed okay with it. BWR got to see Gordy Ansleigh, the man behind the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. She may have stalked him just a bit.

Pigeon came into the aid-station right on target and the whole crew jumped into action.

I refilled her pack. Missouri got everything out that she needed. We all just jumped into doing whatever it was that she needed as fast as she needed it.

She had expressed some discomfort but she seemed so together mentally. This Pigeon was a whole new runner compared to the runner who came through this same aid-station in 2013.

Soon it was time for her take off up the massive Diamond Peak hill. One of my favorite photos is the one below. Pigeon had asked myself and Kuni to pace her in this race. Kuni had just run Hardrock a week prior and has tons of ultra experience under his belt. He was also Pigeon’s pacer during the American River 50 miler this year and brought her back to life. The following photo says a lot.

Pep talk or teacher talking to his student? Both.

Once Pigeon was gone we loaded up the cart again and headed to the car … which was dead. Yup. The battery in their car had died. The blame was put on me since I was the last one to touch the car and MAY have bumped the hazard lights (which were not on when we all walked by it earlier). My heart sank a little. I knew how much the car meant to Pigeon … I also knew that if she knew what happened, she would have flipped. 🙂

Luckily, Kuni came to our rescue again and gave us a jump start but the car would prove to be a problem all day and so we moved all the gear to my car …. (take note, again, this is important later on). 🙂

We had a few hours to kill so we went back to the house. We ate, we napped whatever it was and soon found ourselves getting back into (my) car and heading towards Spooner Lake where Pigeon would come through at mile 50 and also pick up Kuni as her pacer.

I am not sure why, but I never once looked up at the sky to see what the clouds or weather was doing. In hind sight, yea, we should have looked at the sky.

We arrived at Spooner Lake, parked the car and set up camp. Pigeon was predicted to come in at a certain time and we were there quite early which was fine, we were chatting it up with other runners and crews. Spooner Lake is a happening spot in this race as it is the finish line for the 50K and 50 Miler runners and the half way point for the 100 milers who were about to head out on a second loop.

I cannot recall how long we had been there but before we even realized, the sky had turned dark dark gray and we heard a roll or two of thunder. All of a sudden the sky opened up and the rain came down in buckets! Then it started hailing on us! Huge giant pieces of hail were pelting us left and right. Lightening was blasting all around us and seemed way too close for comfort. We got word that they had to evacuate one of the aid-stations out on the course.

All of a sudden I remember that we had MY car! I turned to Missouri and told her that I had a tarp in my car. I ran to the car in the storm. It was raining so hard that I even got a little turned around because I couldn’t see and the parking lot was quickly flooding!

I found the tarp and raced back to the crew. We used the tarp to cover ourselves as well as the gear of Pigeon and a few other runners that we knew. Now who saved the day huh? I went from the girl who killed the car to the girl who had a tarp in her car! Wait … why do I have a tarp in my car? (cough cough murderer?) 🙂

The weather was dumping on us. Runners were still coming through the aid-station completely soaked and shivering. All we kept thinking about was Pigeon and the fact that she was probably on Snow Valley, a peak so high up that she would have been in the thick of the storm.

BWR kinda loving the excitement ... for a bit. — BWR kinda loving the excitement … for a bit.

We must have stood there for what felt like days but in reality was only hours waiting and praying for Pigeon. We wanted her to come in so that #1 we’d know she was safe and #2 we could dry her up and get ourselves out of there and back to the condo where it was warm and dry.

She finally came in, almost 2 hours off her scheduled time. We knew the weather would slow her down (how could it not) but when she came in, I could see in her face that things were not well. Still, as a crew should, we jumped into gear and raced to get her warm broth to sip, some dry clothes to change into and a place to sit down.

Unfortunately Pigeon had to make a decision. She was about an hour and 45 minutes ahead of the cut off at this aid-station but her running ability was limited. She could chase the cut offs all night long or call it. She decided to call it. I could see the disappointment in her eyes. She apologized to us crew profusely and we just shushed her. We would have been by her side no matter what she decided. Nothing would have stopped us from being her crew. We were honored to part of her team. We would do it all again in a heart beat.

Pigeon's Crew (minus two) — Pigeon’s Crew (minus two)

So while the outcome is not what Pigeon envisioned for herself, she has many things in life to be grateful for and she knows this. She has an exciting future ahead both on the trails and off. I have no doubts that she will get a 100 miler under her belt and while it may not be TRT, it will happen. With every race she does, Pigeon gains so much knowledge. She matures before your eyes as a runner each and every time she toes the line.

I look forward to seeing her conquer her goals and she will conquer them. I have no doubts about it and when she does, she will have one kick a$$ crew behind her.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

July 6, 2014April 21, 2015

LOOK AT THE WILD ANIMALS!

Today Pigeon and I got together for our last run before she takes on the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile raceÂ (aka TRT) in two weeks.

We agreed (me, begrudgingly) to meet at 6:45 somewhere in the middle and carpool ourselves to ADO (Auburn Damn Overlook). It was the day after the Fourth of July! Granted, we (meaning me), did most of our celebrating early in the day and on the evening of the 3rd of July, but I wanted a few more minutes of sleep. Luckily, Pigeon let me sleep a few extra minutes and pushed our run back (she originally wanted to be IN Auburn and running right at 6:45 am).

When we got to Auburn, we hopped out of the car and pretty much just took off. I wore my Ultimate Direction Jenny Vesta because the past few weekends I have been testing out how I want to use it when I am pacing Pigeon in two weeks. I think I have decided on a plan of attack. I’ll use the hydration bladder and one bottle (jug) to allow myself some extra storage room.

Almost immediately into our run we hear something off to the side and not 5 feet from us are a couple of beautiful deer having some breakfast. I just knew it was going to be one of those days on the trail. The kind of day where it is just gorgeous out and I find myself smiling from ear to ear no matter what.

The first couple of miles Pigeon and I talked, a lot. We talked about the recent happenings in our lives and also about TRT and what lies ahead for her.

The trail was dry and very dusty. When we approached the first “stream” crossing waterfall or watering hole, (however you want to describe it), Pigeon immediately got down and doused her bandana to wear around her neck. Even at 7 am, the temps were getting pretty warm. This SHOULD have been an indication or warning to us that the day would be a hot one, but we both sort of just shook it off and kept running.

We ran down towards No Hands Bridge, across and up towards K2. I knew where we were going without even having to say it. I didn’t mind. There is a porta potty at the end of No Hands so I decided that was the perfect time for a quick break.

The climb up K2 felt pretty effortless for both of us. We’d climb, talk and stop on occasion but for the most part we hiked pretty solidly all the way up.

I was pretty excited that I was feeling really well. I had some tummy troubles in the beginning but I always have tummy troubles. Once that subsides, I am generally a happy camper.

Pigeon always tests me out on the trails. She’ll ask me ‘which way’ at every turn or corner. She knows that I am generally looking down (trying not to fall) instead of watching where we are running. I think I can safely say, that I can park at ADO and run to No Hands, across and up K2 and possibly even the full loop without getting lost.

Which is kind of funny because if I park at the Cool fire station and you ask me to run to No Hands, I’d probably get us lost. 🙂

As we were coming to the point in our run where we could go back down towards No Hands or go straight and head to the Cool fire station we decided to hit the fire station. In my head I was thinking porta potty.

When we reached the parking lot though we both took some fuel and just stood there. We emptied our trash in the bin and pretty much just turned around and headed back out on the trail. We knew there was fresh water at the fire house but neither one of us thought to stop and fill up our packs. We thought we’d be fine with what we had (aaaah, hind sight IS 20/20).

When we reached No Hands Bridge again, Pigeon turned to me in the dead sun and said, “So I completely underestimated how hot it would be today. I have very little water left. This is going to be a long hike back.” I also felt like I didn’t have much water in my pack, but I also hardly use my hydration bladder, normally relying on my water bottles up front.

It was warming up pretty intensely on our way back and the trail was getting pretty crowded with hikers, runners and horseback riders.

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Our pace was slowing considerably as we hiked more than we ran. At times, it felt like we were running from shaded section to shaded section. Finally, Pigeon tells me that her pack is completely empty. So I take off mine and I pull out my hydration bladder and realize that it was still pretty fully and I happily poured half of my water into her pack. Another runner was passing us as we were doing this and asked if we were good on water.

Off we went. This time, I knew that when we approached that waterfall, that I too was going to dunk my bandana in and rinse myself off a bit. I was sweating a lot. As we ran down the hill approaching the waterfall, we noticed that it was pretty crowded. It was full of hikers who clearly looked like they had taken on an adventure without realizing how hot it was outside. Many of them were sitting IN the waterfall.

Pigeon and I ran up, not really noticing too much and just squatted down in the water and took off our bandanas. We rinsed our faces, necks and arms. I looked up and I realized that everyone in the waterfall was glaring at us like we were some wild animals in a zoo who had approached them and were going about our natural course of wild life business.

I wanted to pull out my camera SO bad and take a photo but I didn’t. As we climbed out of the water and back onto the trail, quite a few more hikers were splattered around the trail. I turned to Pigeon and said, “Did you feel like you were an animal in the zoo back there with everyone sort of just staring at us as we cooled off?” She looked at me and busted up laughing, “Yes!” she said.

For the life of us, we couldn’t stop laughing about what had just transpired which for me, made the remaining sweltering miles, fly by a little faster.

When we finally reached the horse staging area, we decided to head straight for the canal. We were pretty overheated at this point and our nice little 15 mile run that should have taken us 3 hours or less, had taken us over 3.5 hours.

I have talked about the canal before but I am not sure I have ever posted a photo of it. To many non runners, this probably seems pretty gross …

For trail runners however, the canal is the perfect place to cool off during the hot summer months and in the cold winter months, it provides an amazing full body ice bath for recovery.

I am incredibly excited for TRT in two weeks. For starters, Be-Well-Run is flying all the way from Whistler Canada to help myself, Missouri and a few others crew for Pigeon. I love when she comes to visit. Second, just being in Tahoe for TRT is probably one of the most exciting times for a runner. I have crewed for Pigeon a few times (you can read about them by clicking here (2010) and here (2012)Â and here (2013)Â ). Â In 2011 I skipped but I had an excuse (Squeaker was only about a month old), but Pigeon ran the TRT 50K in 2011 as well, read about that here.

I truly believe Pigeon is ready. Not only is her training spot on, but her mind is in the game. Not that her mind wasn’t in the game before, but I think having experienced this race at the 100 mile distance once before, has put her in a whole new realm of readiness.

The support she has behind her as well, no matter the outcome, is beyond amazing. There is no denying the Pigeon that I met in 2010 is not the Pigeon I run and train with now just four years later. Some of that change comes from life experiences and some of it comes from her amazing and supportive wife Missouri. Most of it though, I think comes from Pigeon’s desire, drive, confidence and diligence in making sure she is 100% ready to conquer her goal. She is a goal driven runner. Someone I’d admire and feel lucky enough to call my running partner and friend.

TRT Redemption, my friend. Let’s go get it!

Happy Trails,

~Trailmomma

June 23, 2014April 21, 2015

CAN YOU TAKE SOMETHING FOR THAT?

Today, as they say in trail running was “epic.” Well, it was epic to me because I got to run in Tahoe on the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 course for the first time ever!

I went to great lengths to be able to run on a Sunday because the Peanut has swim meets on Saturdays now and it was well worth it. Pigeon had emailed that she wanted to run in Tahoe instead of at Michigan Bluff and I was all for it since I missed the TRT Training Runs that happened on Father’s Day weekend (really TRT people? Father’s Day!?).

The Peanut’s swim meet on Saturday was home and her team won (again). The Peanut did okay. She’s been struggling lately and we are trying to help her through it.

These swim meets last a long time sometimes and I was on my feet quite a bit during it helping get our family volunteer hours.

When Pigeon sent me the logistics for our run, I knew it was going to be a long day as we were meeting at 5 am to make the long drive to Tahoe.

Her wife Missouri chauffeured us all the way to Tahoe, stopping a few times to use a restroom. She brought us right to Diamond Peak where we started to unload. The temps that early in Tahoe were in the 40s and both of us were dressed in tank tops and shorts. Even though we were chilly, we knew it was going to be a super warm and sunny day on the trail.

Diamond Peak is a major hub in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 as the runners come through here twice, once at mile 30 and again at mile 80. It will be mile 80 that I will start my duties as pacer for Pigeon in her TRT 100 mile quest. It was fitting to have us start our run here today because I would get a good glimpse of my portion of the trail.

Now I have crewed at Tahoe Rim TrailÂ three times and I have read enough race reports from other runners that have mentioned the climb from Diamond Peak more than once. Words like “brutal” “so steep” “I hurled” have all been used to describe this climb.

Which, don’t get wrong, is pretty steep and quite sandy/gravely making getting a foot hold not quite so easy. We just power hiked our way up.

My thoughts were “this isn’t so bad” and “really? is this all that there is?” when we reached, what I thought was the top. Pigeon was a little unsure of which way to go so we wandered in a few different directions until she found the trail we needed.

Things changed. All of a Â sudden I knew what everyone was talking about.

Barely to the top here. — Barely to the top here but looking down.

It just went up and up and up. We had started at 7 am and it was still cool outside and a bit shady in some places. When Pigeon comes through here at mile 30 of TRT, it is almost 2 pm in the afternoon and scorching. There is no shade. There is no relief from the full sun pounding at you as you continue to make this climb.

Still at the top yet! — Still not at the top yet!

Lucky for us, it was still a bit cool outside, I was fresh but Pigeon had run mega miles this week and started out with some tired legs. Most of all, we had not seen each other in a bit so we had lots to talk about to occupy our climb.

Some not so happy flowers at ALMOST the top of the climb.

I realized I was taking a million photos at this point because Lake Tahoe was just growing in size behind us as we continued climbing. I have snowboarded at Diamond Peak before and it finally hit me when we got to the top, that this was the very run that we board down most of the time because it gives the most spectacular view of the lake.

It was neat being at the top because we found a nifty snowboard chair off to the side and since I have only ever been here before ON a snowboard, I found it appropriate and worthy of a photo.

Soon it was time to continue on though. My tummy had been rumbling since we started which wasn’t a good sign. I had to duck off the trail once already and I could feel another visit coming on soon. This is a popular mountain bike and trail runner trail so I knew we wouldn’t be alone out here.

I also knew from studying the race website that the distance from Diamond Peak to Tunnel Creek was only 5 miles. Pigeon had promised me 20 miles yet Missouri was picking us up at the bottom of Tunnel Creek in 5 hours. That meant, Pigeon and I were running past Tunnel towards Hobart which is exactly what I will be doing with her come race day.

At some point, we determined (well, Pigeon determined since my math sucks) exactly when we’d have to turn around and head back.

We just followed the very rocky terrain and kept a pretty good pace since it was runnable. You did have to watch your foot placement though as the rocks blend into the sandy ground. Throughout the day I would find myself clipping a toe on various rocks sticking up out of the ground. Pigeon clipped a few too but I definitely win the award for the day.

As we were running along, we ran into a guy who was training for the Tahoe Rim 50 mile race. He was fast and motoring along. We chatted a bit and then he was off telling us that he had a couple runners behind him.
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As Pigeon and I ran through what would be the Tunnel Creek aid-station we rounded the bend and followed the trail. We saw our runner guy up ahead just killing the switch backs. At one point, I thought he was turning around even though he said he was running all the way to Spooner Lake.

Turns out he ran up a side trail called the Sand Harbor View Point. I asked about it and he said we should do it because it is the most photographed section of all of Tahoe. Pigeon had done it the week prior and had debated whether or not to take me up but seeing how I was a photo-fiend on this run, she just had to take me.

So UP UP UP we climbed again. It definitely was a hike up but it was well worth it once we reached the overlook.

Sand Harbor is a great beach. We’ve been there before and we’ve brought Be-Well-Run and her family there as well just a few years ago. It was incredible to see it from that vantage point.

We stayed and fueled a bit here and Pigeon indulged me by taking all the million and two photos that I wanted.

But soon it was time to start moving again. She had been eating and fueling while I was taking all my photos so I had some catching up to do. I started to eat, drink and run at the same time but quickly came down with a painful side stitch that wouldn’t go away. I was also starting to trip on a few of the rocks here. My legs were apparently starting to feel tired.

Towards Hobart we ran along with all the mountain bikers also going in that direction. I am very impressed with those who mountain bike this section of trail. It is not easy to run let alone ride a bike.

I just kept following Pigeon trying not to fall but the views were so gorgeous at times that occasionally I would Â stub my toe on a rock making a loud thud which would make Pigeon turn around to see if I was okay.

On about the fourth toe stub, she finally said, “Can you take something for that please?” Like I had a headache or something and could magically take a pill to stop me from tripping. We started laughing. I took a salt tab just to appease her a bit but we kept on running towards Marlette Lake.

Marlette on the left and Tahoe on the right.

When we got to the section that overlooks Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe the winds really picked up. A few mountain bikers were also sitting here enjoying the views and taking some photos.

We had a few more miles to go before our turn around so we didn’t stay long at this point. It was a little too windy too.

The next section was very uphill with some more technical rocky stuff to try and not trip over. I was feeling okay, maybe a bit tired but just breathing the Tahoe air really made me happy. I have not been to Tahoe in quite a while, so I have been missing this and was happy to finally get a bit of Tahoe Love.

As you can see from the above photo, there is not much shade on these trails. You are pretty much in the sun. Some of the sections that I ran with Pigeon are also the sections I would do if I was going to do the Tahoe Rim 50K which is one of my bucket list races.

The run back was not that exciting, except for the fact that I finally bit it and actually fell. One too many stub my toe on a rock moments had me diving head first almost as if I was sliding into third base.

Pigeon busted up right there on the spot and pulled a total Trailmomma with “Can I get your photo? Wait. Are you okay?” I was fine. I just scraped up the palms of my hands and my right leg but it wasn’t too bad at all.

I just wanted to keep moving and Pigeon was happy that I was getting all these kinks out now and not on race day. She was sure to tell me that come race day if I fall, she will check to be sure that I didn’t hit my head on a rock or have any protruding bones but for the most part, she isn’t stopping.

It was a gorgeous day despite my fall and my tummy problems. It was exactly what I needed. It was nice to see the course and see the terrain. I know what is runnable and what might not be. No matter what it is hard to tell with Pigeon. When I pace her during the race, she will have 80 miles on her legs and in theory should be pretty tired. But I know her and I know her strength. Something tells me that I will be struggling to keep up with her on these last 20 miles of the race.

I am looking forward to the day. It will be EPIC for sure.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

April 30, 2014April 29, 2014

WHISTLER CANADA 2014

I know I am behind in quite a few posts but this one will explain why. Since the Peanut is in kindergarten now and was officially on “spring break,” we did the opposite of what everyone else in the world does during spring break … traveled somewhere cold.Â 🙂

Actually, the time was finally right for the Trailmomma family to go and visit Be-Well-RunÂ (BWR) and the BWR Family in Whistler, Canada!

This was our first international trip as a family and only Squeakerâ€™s second time on an airplane. The Peanut is a terrific travel companion but I have to say, Squeaker is giving her a run for her money.

I feel like we're on America's Most Wanted with this shot. — I feel like we’re on America’s Most Wanted with this shot.

Our trip began at 4 am when we had to leave our house and head to the airport. We boarded our first plane with no issues and landed in Vancouver around lunch time. We arrived groggy, hungry and a little disheveled. BWRâ€™s hubby (Bear) picked us up at the airport ready to take us back to their house in Whistler. He even had cookies in the car for the kids but the sugar was no match for their exhausted little bodies as they both fell asleep.

The BWR family lives in a condo just a short way from Whistler & Blackcomb mountains. They only have one car and two car seats and there were four adults and four kids so any mode of transportation made as a group, was by local bus.

Squeaker was in heaven. She could not wait to ride the bus every day. She was so excited she barely noticed the rain or snow that was happening almost every day we were there. Sheâ€™d throw on her rain boots and jacket and be at the door ready to walk to the bus (which was a decent walk for a 2 year oldâ€™s legs I might add).

We stayed for 4 full days with 2 days of travel. This post could go on for days if I shared all that we did so instead, Iâ€™ll share using photos. Enjoy!

When we arrived in Whistler, we quickly changed into warmer clothes and went for a walk.

(LtoR) Peanut, Monkey, Squeaker & Bundles had a dance party waiting for the dads to finish playing in the snow.

BWR and I had a nice beverage on the deck in the sun watching the kids dance.

BWR and I got a day on the mountain too but it wasn't super clear ... — BWR and I got a day on the mountain too but it wasn’t super clear …

We celebrated Easter (Squeaker was terrified of the bunny).

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