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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Come on, look at that! SO amazing up there. Truly the most beautiful place in the world.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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 ….
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 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.
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!!!
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!
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.
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. 🙂
They also enjoyed some art time on the patio. They had a great time with dad.
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. 🙂
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) 🙂
