Trail Running Archives ~ Page 12 of 15 ~ TRAILMOMMA

October 28, 2014April 21, 2015

THAT DAM(N) RACE HALF MARATHON RACE REPORT

That Dam(n) Race Half Marathon and 10k race celebrated its third anniversary this past Sunday and I wasÂ FINALLY able to participate!Â 2012 was its inaugural year and I was all signed up to do the half and Vans was signed up to do the 10k but unfortunately, Squeaker fell ill right before the race and I stayed home snuggling her all day long. Vans went on to run the 10k and had an amazing race.

The second year, the entire family volunteered to help at the race but Vans was super sickÂ and it was quite cold so we didn’t stay long after the race. The girls and I had a blast though but I was due. I was due to finally run this race!

I registered pretty early for the race, determined to add it to my calendar. It did fall during a timeÂ in my training scheduleÂ where IÂ was supposed to do aÂ super long run but I tried to improvise. I reached out to my old Coach Nikon and to Pigeon to ask for their advice. Coach Nikon said I should do the race hard and then make up some of the miles before and after but he said that racing hard would be a great training run any day compared to a long slow day. Pigeon offered up running both Saturday AND Sunday. Well, as it turns out, due to a change in plans, I did end up running a little over 7 miles on Saturday and then did the race on Sunday. Boy did my legs feel it!

I left the house bright and early on Sunday because I wanted to get a close parking space. The fire-station at Cool is notoriously hard to park, particularly when a race is involved and I didn’t want to be a mile or two down the haulÂ road from the start/finish area. When I parked it was dark and I realized thatÂ I had left my headlamp at home. Luckily the iPhone has that handy dandy flashlight feature!

Stonegate Girl quickly found me and we left our carsÂ to get our packets. I saw Coach Nikon and the whole crew. It was nice to see everyone! I have missed my old trail people!

Stonegate Girl came and sat in my car with my seat warmers and we just talked until it was time to get ready for the pre-race briefing. Coach Nikon always puts on the best races. He had some neat raffle type gifts that he was handing out to everyone. I think everyone was smiling despite the chilly air and foggy skies.

Soon it was time to line up at the start. I still had my arm sleeves on and I wasn’t sure whether or not I would ever take them off it was that cold!

Coach Nikon blew his little horn and we were off and running. It took a bit for my legs to warm upÂ and catch on that I was running and in this race, the hills come pretty quick. It felt odd at first to be running up some of the hills we typically walk during our training runs but I wanted the race to feel hard so I could say we gave it a good effort.

Stonegate Girl stuck with me the entire time. It was hard letting people pass us from time to time but we were focused on the task at hand, just running and not getting ourselves injured.

Up and down this race goes. StonegateÂ Girl had never been on some of these trails and was totally blown away by the beauty of it all. It was then that I wished that I had brought my camera. Luckily Stonegate Girl had her phone and snapped this awesome shot.

Soon we approached the hill for which this race is named. That Dam(n) hill is brutal. Switch back after switch back you go. What a great training hill!

I was feeling pretty good minus my stomach. I have continued to battle stomach issues lately and it was just hovering below the surface on this run. I knew I would only be able to run for so long before I needed to find a place to duck off the trail. Unfortunately on this portion of the race, there are not many spots to do this!

The volunteers at the aid-stations were awesome. They cheered us on and wanted to know if we needed any water or fuel. I don’t think we stopped at one aid-station. We used our own water and our own fuel most of the race. Always good to practice using what you may use in a race down the road.

Stonegate girl and I finally came to a spot that allowed us to duck off the trail and take care of business. I hated stopping because I knew it was wasting time but I had no choice.

Once we were moving again we came upon a pond and StonegateÂ Girl was beside herself with the beauty of this race. It was super well marked too, no getting lost on this course!

Finally, we could hear the finish line and we could see the line of cars lining up and down the haul road. I was ready to be done. My legs were toast and it felt like I was running in quick sand at times. My legs were spent and so was my stomach (again).Â As we were approaching the finish line, I saw a sight for sore eyes … and I kind of teared up a bit.

My girls and Vans were waiting right at the entrance to the finish line! I was so happy to see them and they were wearing their big clunky rain boots because it was muddy out (great for mud, not for running!). 🙂

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Stonegate Girl and I post race — StonegateÂ Girl and I post race

My girls love this race and they LOVE Coach Nikon and his family. I think if the Peanut could, she’d go move in with Coach Nikon’s daughter Cheetah.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out at the race and just talking to old trail running friends. Peanut was put to work though. She had to earn those extra “finishers” cookies. 🙂

Helping Coach Nikon and Cheetah hand out awards!

Squeaker just follows along and was enjoying the pizza, cookies and music. I truly am so lucky to have such a great cheering section.

My cheering section waiting for me to finish!

This was a great race and I would really like to run it hard some day. I know what I need to work on though because twos daysÂ of running had my legs feeling pretty wobbly after the race. Luckily there was a massage tent which I took full advantage of! It really helped knock the kinks out of my legs. My recovery has been slower than normal lately and I truly believe my lack of stretching is to blame (I know, duh!). IÂ have been working on it! I also think a lack of quality strength training is hurting me as well.

I am looking forward to Coach Nikon’s other race,Â Miners Revenge in April. This is an amazing course and I am spoiled. Coach Nikon really puts on one of the best events in town. He is race directing his first 50K this February too! Check out this link to the Salmon Falls 50K! I am VERY tempted even though I swore up and down that eventually, I’d like to go back to doing shorter distances for a while. At least until my girls get a little older. I know I say this all the time, but it is hard being away from them for so long and ultras require time to train which of course I have been doing a terrible job of lately.

This Saturday will be two weeks until my 50K. After my runÂ this Saturday it will be taper time!! We have a busy weekend ahead which I hope to capture on cameraÂ this time around and blog about. There may be another race report coming your wayÂ involving the ENTIRE family so stay tuned (and cross your fingers). 🙂

Happy Trails & Happy Halloween!

~Trailmomma

October 22, 2014April 21, 2015

WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?

Time just seems to be flying by me lately. I swear that just yesterday it was the first of October and I was super excited for my favorite month and now, BOOM we have less than two weeks left! Halloween is just right around the corner. The girls couldn’t be more excited about it.

Of course the time is also flying whenÂ I look at my 50k training plan and see that we onlyÂ have three weeks or so until race day! Gulp.Â My training has been less thanÂ stellar compared to races past but I do what I can do, when I can do it, which seems to be my M.O. for most of my races.

I am so behind in so many other areas of my life right now, why not tack on lack of mileage for a 50k? My blog has been suffering lately,Â I am behind in my Rouxbe assignments and now add lack of training. Vans has been traveling lately for work so my time for other thingsÂ is limited but I have been enjoying my solo girl time with those two cuties above.

I did get in one last long run before Vans left on his trip. Last Sunday Burning Girl and I decided to do the route that we had done with Stonegate Girl just two weeks prior. I was pretty confident that I knew the way … famous last words.

My "P's" - Pearl Izumi & Picky Bars. — My “P’s” – Pearl Izumi & Picky Bars.

Burning Girl picked me up and we drove to the Auburn Damn Overlook. The sun was up so I wasn’t too worried about the dark and I wasn’t even worried about seeing a bear like last week. We were on the other side of ADO and for some reason, in my head, that means I am safe. I know, not the best theory but I am going with it.

Off we ran down the hill and onto the single track. It was pretty darn cold compared to just two weeks ago. We were just chatting it up and we realized that without Stonegate Girl, we had to do a lot of the talking. 🙂 Which of course means that I was not paying close attention to where we were running. Yes, I took us down a wrong turn. We realized it pretty early on but we just kept going with it. We knew that the river always had to be on our right to be going in the right direction.

Up. Down. Over boulders. Under logs. We did it all. Soon we popped out onto a section of the trail that did look very familiar to me. I felt like this was the “secret” trail that I had been on a few weeks ago when I ran with another group. However, all of a sudden, things stopped looking familiar and we came across quite a few forks in the trail or turns. We’d stop, look around and make the best decision of what WE thought looked right. 🙂 Burning Girl is so easy-going. She wasn’t worried one bit but I was getting a tad bit nervous and could hear PigeonÂ yelling at me in my head. 🙂 Soon we came across this interesting piece of BlairwitchÂ art.

Burning Girl thought this was pretty cool and so we stopped to take some photos. I felt very secluded but was hopeful that this trail would pop us back out onto the main trail where we needed to be.

We just kept running. I stopped talking and was being more aware of my surroundings. I didn’t like that some of the trail hadÂ a rock ledge above us. I always fear that something will be sitting on that ledge.

Finally however, we connected with the main trail and I was flabbergasted as to where I had made the wrong turn. We clearly came down to the river way too early and it bugged me. Burning Girl said to let it go, she loved the adventure.

I have to say, even when we were back on the normal trail, there has been lots of work lately on the trails, leaving them looking a bit unfamiliar at times. Still, now I know what I did wrong and I know where to turn next time. I swear.

The rest of the run was pretty fun. We ran into a LOT of other ultra runners out on the trail. On our route back we ran into numerous hikers and horses. So noÂ need to worry (Dad), we were never far from someone out there. All in all, we got 15 hard miles done in a decent time and then soaked our legs in the canal again (which was WAY colder this time around).

In some other exciting news my fabulous Great Aunt Debbie came for a visit! Technically she is Vans’s Aunt and the girls’ great aunt – is that right? But we all call her the Great Aunt Debbie. 🙂 She came down from Idaho and we have not seen her in quite some time.

Luckily Facebook allows her to keep tabs on us and the girls and she is always my number one reader and commenter on this blog (Hi Debbie!). I wanted to share that she has lost 25 pounds recently! She has done so by really cleaning up her diet and added more exercise!

She reaches out to me from time to time for nutritional advice. She’s always been plant-curious, meaning she’s been thinking and asking about plant-based living. She does eat some meat but she’s really increased the greens and added foods like quinoa to her repertoire. I was super excited for her visit because she always asks me for recipes for the meals that I post on my Trailmomma Facebook page.

AÂ lot of what I have been making lately is either part of my Plant-BasedÂ Rouxbe cooking assignments OR from my two new favorite books. Mostly, I have to say, they have been from my two favorite books (Prevent and ReverseÂ Heart Disease Cookbook and My Beef WithÂ Meat)Â … and I wanted to share those booksÂ with my Great Aunt Debbie so that she can learn more about living plant-based and why it truly is the best and healthiest way to live.

She was super stoked to get these and she’ s already made a few of the recipes and is sold! I am super-duperÂ happy. These books and their recipes are EASY. Really easy. I don’t have the time lately to prepare elaborate meals (although I do for my RouxbeÂ assignments) but I truly believe in the Esselstyn Family and their message about plant-based eating. It makes sense and for someone (like myself) who hasÂ aÂ high family history of heart-disease, it is a no-brainer.
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However, I do enjoy making some of the more elaborate meals that RouxbeÂ asks us to make. They are time-consuming though and I find that I can only make most of them on weekends. One dish at a time.

Home-made Veggie Broth used to make Cabbage Soup

The cabbage soup above was a shocker for many reasons. I had no idea it was THAT easy to make your own vegetable broth. Really, 90 minutes is all that it took (I did have an issue with throwing away all the veggies though). I also didn’t think I would like cabbage soup much but I was wrong. It was tasty! I made the above Esselstyn style – without any oils.

Cashew Bechemel aka Creamed Greens over Brown Jasmine Rice — Cashew bechamel aka Creamed Greens over Brown Jasmine Rice

I am not a cashew sauce fan. Mostly because I do not like the flavor and I do not like the amount of fat it can add to a dish, but in honor of my assignment, I made the above and I admit it was pretty darn tasty. It also makes A LOT of sauce … so I have been sharing it with friends.

Cauliflower Buffalo Wings - these were GOOD! — Cauliflower Buffalo Wings – these were GOOD!

Other than cooking when I canÂ andÂ running when I can, I still feel like life is flying by. I look at my girls and see how big they are getting. My blog happens when it happens. I’ve been reading a little more lately too, trying to find time to squeeze that in to let my brain rest at night (something I am not very good at doing). With Vans out-of-town, I have also been getting more sleep. Not every night butÂ most nights. Some nights, it is the usual, I am up late finishing laundry, packing lunches, prepping meals and trying to squeeze in a few Rouxbe assignments but I make sure to follow it with a night where I do not do that and instead I read in bed. No tv. It’s been really nice actually.

Stress can come in many forms. It doesn’t always come from work, it can come from the things you enjoy like cooking and blogging and worrying (about not running enough). So, I am trying hard to calm my mind. I even woke up early one morning and stretched. That was it. I did some core work but mostly, I stretched my achy muscles and it was wonderful.

I have a lot to be grateful for in this world. I have two beautiful girls, aÂ wonderful husband who supports my running as well asÂ otherÂ craziness and friends and family that I cherish more than anything. So for me, I plan to stay on this planet a long time and combat the genes that were given to me as best I can. Healthy eating, exercise and mindfulness is the name of my game.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

October 13, 2014April 29, 2019

TURTLES, DEER AND BEARS OH MY!

After last weekend’s difficult run in Auburn, I was ready and anxious to upÂ my miles. Training for this 50k has been more difficult than any other previous race that I have trained for. Although I have to say, even my prior CIM (California International Marathon) training sessions in the fall were getting harder and harder to squeeze in mostly because of family obligations. Now with the girls being more active and actually having games and events on the weekends, training is taking a back seat once again.

Luckily I am starting to realize my time limitations and have been making efforts to say “no” to things that would otherwise take up my time. My Rouxbe course is also getting a small bump lately. I am not behind in my assignments, but I am not as far ahead as I used to be and I also find myself doing multiple crash lessons one or two nights a week.

Sadly, this blog is also taking a hit from my limited time but luckily today I have a post! An exciting one at that! There will also be photos! It may also be a bit long so settle in.

Saturday was the usual in our house. Soccer game. Homework. Housework. Blah. One major thing did happen on Saturday afternoon that would set the tone for Sunday’s run. I was glutened. Now I have been glutenedÂ before and typically my reactions vary from mildly extreme to not so bad. Mostly, when you have Celiac Disease like I do, the damage is internal and if gluten is not avoided itÂ could produce serious life threatening issues. Well, I made myself a sandwich on Saturday with whatÂ I thought was gluten freeÂ bread. Bread that I have had a few times before although not recently. I am not a bread eaterÂ anymore and gluten free bread is expensive to purchase. I typically only buy it from an online dealer once in a while and I buy in bulk and freeze.

I had my sandwich and within two hours I was violently ill. I am talking seriously ill. I have not been that ill for many many years. Let’s put it this way, I do not throw up. Ever.Â I cannot even be around it when others do it, like myÂ kids or Pigeon when she has a tough ultra. Nope. I fear it and yet, I found myself hugging the garbage on Saturday afternoon for dear life. Not good.

Still, I was determined to get my run in on Sunday. So I let myself heal the rest of Saturday. I hydrated. I tried to take in food. I told myself if I can eat and hydrate enough Saturday evening that I could run. If I could not force myself to do those things, then I couldn’t run because you cannot run on zero fuel and be dehydrated.

Sunday morning I woke up and felt okay. I made sure I got enough rest the night before and while my stomach felt like I had been punched a million times, my energy was okay. I was able to consume some food and water which was also a good sign.

Pigeon and I drove to the Auburn Damn Overlook and waited for the sun to rise a bit before heading out. Pigeon planned our run. She wanted to take me on a different route, one that I have not been on in a very long time. She had run both Friday and Saturday so she was testing out her tired legs and I was just trying to get in 20 miles as best I could. Jumping from 15 miles the previous weekend to 20 miles the next is not the best training so don’t follow my lead here. 🙂

I shared with Pigeon at the start about what had transpired the day before with me and she was concerned and asked me if I was sure I could manage today’s run. I told her yes but that it may require a few stops along the way. I stop often no matter what so no big deal.

Our run started out along the canal. It was such a gorgeous morning. The air was cool but it was bound to warm up. The trail was empty minus some dog walkers. Pigeon and I just caught up on what has been going on in our lives the last month or so while we quick stepped around this very rocky technical trail.

As usual, Pigeon was testing out my memory asking me which way to go whenever we would hit an intersection or fork in the trail. Soon we came upon a parking lot and low and behold, it had a porta potty! I hollered that I was stopping. Pigeon asked for my camera … this would be a common theme throughout the day … her asking for MY camera.

Let's get Trailmomma in front of the porta potty! — Let’s get Trailmomma in front of the porta potty!

I told her that this was not exactly exciting blog worthy images but she insisted that I always take HER photo and now she wanted to take mine …. and boy did she!

After that little break, we continued on. The sun was mostly up and the sky was just full of amazing color. I wanted to stop and take a million photos but Pigeon assured me to just keep going and that I would have my chance soon enough.

The canal trail leads you along until you come to the top of Cardiac (hill). Going down Cardiac is tough enough but remember, what goes down must come up and I knew that this hill would be revisited later at the end of our run. Still, we were about to head down and follow that river you see inÂ the distanceÂ below.

Once we were at the base of the hill I knew exactly where I was. We were running the American River 50 course backwards. I haven’t done this since my group’s training days way back in 2010.

It is an amazing single track trail that just winds around and down and follows the American River. Occasionally it pops you out into a clearing with a view of the river. It is just gorgeous and this morning was no different.

Pigeon and were running and it was quiet. I would fill the silence once in a while but I was focusing mostly on my tummy and what was going on inside. I was drinking and fueling but it still felt like I was being punched in the gut.

As we rounded a corner, only about 5 miles into our run we both heard a loud SNAP of a tree branch and then a big THUD.Â We stopped. We both instantly knew that was NOT the sound of deer.

Just up the hill (and off the trail from us)Â was a mama bear and her cubs! Holy crap! I have never ever actually SEEN a bear while running. I have seen one across the river in Tahoe. I have seen some in photos but I have never EVER in all my years running, come across one on the trail. With no one else around … out in the middle of no where.

Both Pigeon and I have whistles on our hydration packs meant for such moments. Did we grab them? Nope. We both grabbed our cameras!!! I was already low and slowly walking backwards as the mama looked as if she was coming down onto the trail. She saw us and instead encouraged her cubs back up the hill. They were playing.

Pigeon asked me “Do you want to continue?” I kind of didn’t but once we saw the bear was moving away from us, I was thinking that maybe we could keep running but I was a little concerned about our return trip and any other animals we might find along the way. As it turns out, this was going to be one heck of a nature run for us!

Still shaken by the bear moment, I was on high alert after that. The good news was that it made me stop thinking about my stomach! I would run and just keep my eyes out looking all around me. On open trails like theÂ photo above, I would calm down a bit feeling safer.

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We were pretty quiet after seeing the bear. Both on hyper alert now,Â I quickly jumped when I saw 3 huge deer bounding up the trail off to our left. I called out to Pigeon about the deer but they were so fast she didn’t evenÂ see them.

We continued on our way and finally ran into 3 runners! I love when I see people on the trail. In my head, it lessens my chances of being eaten. 🙂

Avery’s Pond is aÂ funny inside joke between Pigeon and myself and when we reachedÂ it we both laughed. But the laughter was soon squashed by the site of a man wearing camouflage up ahead on the trail. We said hello and he responded but it gave me the shivers. I think it gave Pigeon the shivers too so we kind of high tailed it out of there trying to create some distance between us since he was hiking in our direction. Always run with someone. Never run alone.

Soon we reached our stopping turn around point.

I was happy to stop and fuel a bit. My tummy was definitely feeling a bit better (nothing like adrenaline to fix that). Pigeon was multi-tasking…

We fueled, hydrated and starting making our way back the way we came. The sun was out in full force now and it was getting hot fast.

We never saw our hiker on the return (thank goodness) and we did pass a solo woman running on the trail! What the heck lady??! Do not run alone and definitely do no run alone with headphones in!!! My biggest pet peeve right there.

When we got back to Avery’s Pond we were welcomed by 3 little turtles sunning themselves on a log in the middle of the lake! They were SO cute!!

These are the kinds of animals I don’t mind seeing! 🙂 Pigeon let me stop and take some photos and then we were off again. Our pace was perfect. Her legs were tired and I was starting to feel the effects of just having low energy due to my stomach but overall, my legs felt great.

Soon we rounded a corner and BAM! Three deer, a mom and two babies went bounding off the side of the trail! Geez! What a crazy run this has been! Our blood was pumping and we were just in awe of all that we had seen so far.

We soon approached the water tower and I was joking that I may have to scale the barbwireÂ fence to use the porta potty. Pigeon noticed that the gate was not actually locked!

No. NoÂ I did not dare. No breaking the law on this run and who wants to pee in a “high voltage” area!? 🙂 Back around the river we’d go. I was trying to rememberÂ these sections from AR50 but I think I mentally block out the last 10 miles of that race on purpose.

Finally we reached the base of Cardiac again and started our 3 mile climb. It was hot. Very hot and once again, Pigeon ran out of water so I shared what I had left in my pack with her. It was too warm and dry to climb without any water even though we only had 4 miles to go until we reached the Overlook.

The top of Cardiac was just as beautiful in the afternoon as it had been earlier that morning. What a glorious day! We didn’t see any other animals on our return after the deer, minus one suicide lizard that jumped in front of Pigeon causing her to leap and scream (hilarious). We did see LOTS of bear scat on the trail though …. they are out there. Always.

Back along the canal trail we ran both internally assessing how we were feeling. At one point, Pigeon let me take the lead and I could feel that I still had pep in my legs. They were strong after 20 miles. This just boosts my confidence level a bit. Slow and steady always finishes the race right? I don’t need to go breaking any records in my 50k next month, I just want to enjoy it and take a million photos! Typical Trailmomma.

When the canal trail popped us back out onto the road we saw the most amazing thing. I had heard some yelling and the next thing I knew I was telling Pigeon to look up!

There was something going on at the park near by and hundreds of white balloons were released into the sky! It was so pretty! What a finish to an absolutely amazing run! Pigeon and I just had smiles on our faces as we trudged up the hill back to the car.

We fueled, we went in the canal to ice our tired legs and we even washed off a bit as there was some poison oak out along the trail. When it was time to get in the car and head home I heard Pigeon curse. I hardly ever hear her curse.

She had dropped her car key and of course, it landed right smack in the middle under the car! I could not stop laughing. These things only seem to happen to us! 🙂

She was able to get the car key and we were on our way home. It was truly one of the most exciting runs in my running history.Â I am content not to top this … at least animal wise. No more bears please. As for Mountain Lions? If I see one of them while running, I can guarantee you I won’t need a porta potty.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

October 5, 2014April 21, 2015

LONG AND HARD

That is what Stonegate Girl said as we climbed to the top of the Auburn Damn Overlook on Sunday morning just finishing our run. It was quite fitting because thatÂ is pretty much how everyone feels after they run in Auburn (and up K2) for the very first time.

Our 50K training plan has taken a slight detour it seems lately. For various reasons, (illness, anniversaries, travel, work) all three of us missed our long run last weekend. All three of us are feeling the pressure to get some training miles in that actually count.

This weekend we had set aside time to head out to the bay area where our 50K is going to be (in November). Last weekend, while Vans and I were in Tahoe celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary, I decided I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from home another weekend. As much as I want to run in the bay area to see some of what we are up against, part of me actually likes the unknown.

So I texted Stonegate Girl and told her that I wanted to stay local. I said that I would take her and Burning Girl up to Auburn and we’d run this loop that I FINALLY have (or thought I had) memorized and down pat. Pigeon has taken me on this loop many times although she always throws in a curve ball to keep me on my toes. I was confident that I must have been paying attention for once! (go me!)

So bright and early (to beat the heat – yes, we STILL have heat) I picked the girls up and we were on our way. We arrived at ADO before 7 am, just as the sun was starting to rise. I showed them the rest rooms as I put on my gear. They wanted to wear their long sleeve shirts but I insisted they would regret it once we started moving. They listened and left them in the car and thanked me later. 🙂

Off we ran, chatting as usual. Every once in a while, we’d come to a clearing or spot that overlooks the river and they would just squeal with happiness. They were sold and in the zone already – loving every moment of the run.

When we made it to No Hands Bridge, some of us (me) took advantage of the porta potties. We all stopped to refuel … and for once, I wasn’t the only one taking photos of the awesome scenery surrounding us.

After No Hands I took them up and introduced them to K2. I’ve told them about K2 before and told them to take it easy as it is a long, LONG climb and when you think you are at the top, think again.

A few expletives left their lips a few times on that climb but they never stopped, they never wavered. They just kept hiking one foot in front of the other. Stonegate Girl did ask once if we’d reached the top and I sheepishly said, “I don’t think so,” knowing we had quite a bit more to climb.

Solid. Solid climbing is what K2 is and it can really put you in your place if you let it but it makes you stronger the more and more you climb it.

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We caught our breath a little at the top. I have been pretty sick the last week and I finally thought I had my lungs back but K2 was sure to put me in check a few times.

I took them to the Cool Fire Station and I showed them how they can refill their packs with water and how there were porta potties again. We all snacked and ate a little fuel because I think we were all feeling the climb and it was definitely getting warm fast.

We didn’t stay too long before we were off and running back down towards No Hands Bridge. I shared a few stories with them along the way and when we hit the down hill I told them this section rocks and to feel free to open it up if they wanted. Burning Girl was gone in a flash!

My ankle has been a little gun shy lately so I was trying to be mindful of where I put my feet but I did feel like we were running solid down the hill. We’d pass a few hikers and runners. It was a beautiful morning.

Back at No Hands we refueled again. The other side of No Hands was in pure open sun. The heat was upon us and it was barely even 10 am. I knew the run going back was not going to be pretty. I was starting to feel drained myself but I kept thinking it was my cold and lack of exercise.

Nope. Stonegate Girl mentioned that she was feeling sluggish too and losing steam fast. We’d walk and run as much as we could back towards the overlook.

We stopped in the waterfall again and drenched our bandanas. We said hi to hikers as they passed and then we came upon some horses. The trail was wide (fire road) but I noticed that Stonegate Girl and Burning Girl kept running. I called them to pull to the side and stop. I didn’t realize that neither one knew about trail etiquette when it came to horses. They’ve seen many mountain bikers on the trail, but not so many horses.

The way back is long and grueling but we managed. Stonegate Girl kept taking about soaking her legs because I told her that we could hit the canal after our run for a nice ice bath. For some reason, she thought the canal was the horse trough that we had passed at the start. I briefly thought about letting her go with that idea to see if she’d go in, but I was laughing too hard.

We finished in a smidge under 3.5 hours and had run about 15 miles. It was not what we had set out to do for the day but it was a solid run that gave the girls a sampling of some real hills, some elevation and some heat. It was a perfect day for everyone. Â We tested new gear, tried some fueling experimentation and just got our legs back after our unexpected break.

I am looking forward to next weekend’s run where I hope I get to run with Pigeon too. I may need to juggle my schedule a bit though as the calendar is filling up fast. Training for fall races is always tough for me but we are hoping to add an extra day in the week to the schedule to help out a bit. Fingers crossed.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

September 23, 2014April 21, 2015

EMERALD BAY (BAY TO BLISS) RACE REPORT

I finally have a race report to post about! Yea! No foodie posts today … this will be a race report for theÂ Big Blue Adventure Emerald Bay Trail Race (formerly known as Bay to Bliss).

I have been running this race since 2010. When I ran it in then, I was pregnant with Squeaker but did not know it. Those hidden hormones helped apparently as that was to date, my current PR for this race. It was also the day my family fell in love with this race and all it has to offer.

You can read my 2010 race report here.

You can read my 2011 race report here.

You can read my 2012 race report here.

In 2013 I was signed up for the race but decided to have ankle surgery about 3 weeks prior to the race. While I was able to run at 3 weeks (I ran and won a road race – read that report here), running on a technical trail like Emerald Bay was just not in the cards. The Race Director was awesome and granted me a transfer to the following year. You only get one. I was signed up for the 2014 race as early as I possibly could be and I couldn’t wait.

As the date approached, I was getting pretty excited but also nervous. I was nervous because we have been witnessing one of the biggest fires to hit the El Dorado County area in over 20 years. The King fire has been burning for over a week now and the smoke just fills the air every single day. We weren’t sure the race would even happen. TiggerT was supposed to do the race with me but she decided to heed her internal warning and stay home.

The other thing that made me a bit nervous was the fact that due to the fire (and road closure of highway 50) Vans and the girls would not be going. They love this race and I love that they come. Instead, they stayed home and went to the Peanut’s soccer game while I drove myself solo to Tahoe to meet up with Stonegate Jenn and her friends.

For her birthday weekend, Stonegate Jenn wanted a girls weekend and so there were 7 of us in a house and all 7 of us were signed up to do the race. Having to sleep in a new bed and do a whole different morning routine weighed heavily on my mind but at the same time, I thoroughly enjoyed the company of these girls.

From Left to Right: Silly Suzie, Mill Valley Anne, Salmon Falls Kristin, Me, Ironman April, Twin Karla and Stonegate Jenn

Race morning I woke up about 5:30 am. The race started at 9 am and we had agreed the night before that we’d leave the house at 7 am to do a car drop so we would not be stuck taking the shuttle as the race is a point to point. I wanted some down time. Some time to have my lemon water and some coffee and some quiet time to hopefully clear the old system since typically, my body takes a few days to get use to Tahoe altitude.

By the time everyone else woke up, the house was a buzz with excitement. The skies were a clear blue, not a smoke cloud in sight which was a relief as we really thought the fires would have put a damper on our race.

I ate my usual Picky Bar at the house, along with a coconut water to replenish what I lost via a glass (or two) of wine the night before.

Into the car we piled and off we drove to DL Bliss State Park, the finish line of the race. From there we stuffed ourselves into Twin Karla’s giant automobile and headed to Emerald Bay State Park which was packed. We were late getting there but in typical Tahoe fashion they were still having people sign up and sign in.

We picked up our packets, bibs and shirts and then Stonegate Jenn, Salmon Falls Kristin and I made our way down the hill to the starting area. The other girls were waiting for various people or using the porta potties, I can’t quite remember.

While at the start line we all chatted. It was not cold at all. We talked gear and shoes. I decided this year to carry a small handheld. I have never carried water for this race as it is only 7.5 miles but I recalled from 2012 that the dust was bad and the aid-stations were sparse. I decided to give it a shot. In hind sight, I am glad that I did.

The girls were standing off to the side which is odd to me. I am a “behind the starting line” kind of girl. I don’t get first in line, but I like to be near the front. When Todd the race director gave his speech, I slowly started inching my way to the starting area and the girls followed.

The start for this race is very informal. No timing mat (there is a mat at the finish) and no gun or horn. Basically it is a guy with an iPhone that says “ready, set go!” That’s about it.

Stonegate Jenn was next to me as we started running up the paved hill to the trail. This race starts ON a hill and goes up hill for almost half a mile. It isn’t easy to start that way, especially at altitude.

There wasn’t much talk between us, occasionally a few observations but we just huffed and puffed and kept moving determined not to walk. Finally we hit the trail and she asked me if I wanted to lead and for some reason, I said no.

She bounded down the few stairs and onto the single track and off we ran. People were passing us left and right and it was playing with my head. I wanted to go out fast. I wanted to run faster but Stonegate Jenn was keeping it nice and steady. I even commented to her that she was keeping me steady.

We did pick up the pace though and really started running once all the passers went by. She lead and I followed. Our breathing was quite labored as we were trying to find our “Tahoe lungs” as people call it. Finally at one point, Stonegate Jenn let me get in front and I led the way.

We passed two little kids who had been in front of us. I was impressed with their pace but internally I didn’t want to be beat by a couple of 10 year olds. 🙂

Finally at one point, Stonegate Jenn called from behind, “You go girl! I need a minute.” I said, “You ok?” and she said yes and I kept running. I figured she’d catch up shortly after doing whatever it was that she needed to do.

As it turns out, I never saw her again until the end of the race. I just kept pushing and pushing myself. I ran most of the ups and I would excel as fast as I could on the downs. The terrain is super technical and rocky and in various sections you find yourself climbing stairs, boulders and ducking under giant rocks to run/walk a ledge along the lake.

I recall miles 4.5 to 5.5 being the absolute worst. I had to walk the stone stairs. There is no way anyone could run those. They are just uneven and difficult. Once I started walking those, I felt like the walking never ended but then again, the hills never seemed to end either.

I remembered that I had found a Starburst candy in my car the day before and I had tucked it into my water bottle just in case I needed some kind of boost of sugar on the run. As it turns out, that little tiny candy saved my butt! I found it, opened it and just chewed. It took about 10 minutes for it to kick in but when it did, I totally felt like a new runner.
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I was running the hills again and flying the downs. I was stuck behind some girl who ran with headphones blasting on the most beautiful trail and it annoyed the crap out of me. Nature people! The views are amazing on this run and she ran with music blaring so loud we all could hear it.

You can see the smoke starting to creep in.

She was on my tail at one point and I finally let her pass. She was too close for comfort and all it would take is for her to wipe out and catch my legs in the process. She was that close.

At one point we were rounding a bend and I could see the finish line off in the distance. We were closer than I realized! I started to get excited. I had assumed at this point that I was nowhere near my PR and I was refusing to look at my watch. I generally don’t look at my watch during races.

The trail dumps us out onto a parking lot. This parking lot I know too well. From camping with friends to running this race so many times, I knew that I had some pavement, then quickly ducked back onto a tiny trail and then more pavement down hill and a sharp right turn onto the beach and down a flight of stairs to the finish.

When I hit the first piece of pavement, I told the guy in front of me that I was passing him and that it wasn’t him, it was me. 🙂 I had a PR to catch. Miss Music was still in front of me but when we got onto the trail, I squeezed right by her. She did NOT like that, I could tell.

I took off like I stole something sprinting down the hill and passed quite a few more runners. I could hear Miss Music trying to catch up. I made the right turn, gauged the stairs and instead of jumping off like I have in years past, I kind of took one step and then jumped onto the beach and right through the finish arch and directly into the water with a big sideways splash!

Some woman thought I was hurt and came running into the water after me. I had to laugh and tell her that, no, this is how you should finish a race that ends on a beach in front of the most beautiful lake in the world.

I finally looked at my watch. I had, according to my Garmin, gotten my PR but the real test would be the official results. Not long after I finished and caught my breath did Stonegate Jenn come bounding through the finish too looking strong.

Soon all the girls started coming in and we’d cheer and yell and take photos. We took off our shoes and just let our feet and knees soak in the water. The sun was hot and the day was gorgeous.

Finally I saw someone taping results to the finish arch and I ran over dying to know if I had gotten my PR. I left the girls and checked the list. Not only did I get my PR (by only ONE minute) I discovered that I had gotten 3rd place in my age group!!! Sweet!

My age group prize was a pint glass that says Tahoe Trail Series and 3rd place on it. I absolutely love it. 🙂 We hung out at the beach and participated in the raffle (no one won).

At one point they held a contest for the biggest splash into the lake. At first I was the only girl in the contest and then another girl joinedÂ at the last-minute. I did a cart-wheel into the lake which got me into the finals. I had to jump again. Long story short, myself and another person tied and we both won a free $50 credit towards any other Big Blue Adventure race – I could very well use it to enter the Emerald Bay Trail Race again next year if I wanted.

While I love this race, it does take a lot out of you. It is not an easy 7.5 miles. Next year I have a feeling Stonegate Jenn will be gunning for me. 🙂

While I was having a girls weekend in Tahoe, Vans and the girls were trying to survive at home. I think he managed just fine and luckily there was the final concert in the park finale to entertain everyone.

Now it is time to get serious in our training. Stonegate Jenn, Burning Girl and I have just over a month and a half until our tough 50k on Mt. Tam. My schedule this weekend is not exactly the “usual” but I am determined to find time to fit in some miles and cook a few plant-based meals. 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

Tag: Trail Running

THAT DAM(N) RACE HALF MARATHON RACE REPORT

WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?

TURTLES, DEER AND BEARS OH MY!

LONG AND HARD

EMERALD BAY (BAY TO BLISS) RACE REPORT

Â (edited to add: please excuse typos and grammar – I wrote this at 11 pm last night. )

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