Tahoe Rim Trail 2013

Tahoe Rim Trail 50K

July 20, 2013

On the Plane. Travelling to my first out of state trail race. So exciting!!!

It all begins at Spooner Lake. 

Waiting for Race to Start

I had to wait for mile 5 and mile 10 to open my first two gels. Special gels because they included a laminated inspirational message from two of my Best Running Friends. Isn't that the greatest idea ever???

Running up hill after Hobart. 

When you run up hill you get rewarded with spectacular views from the top!

I had to stop and admire such views!

The scenery was everything that others had said...sometimes people work up your expectations too high and you are disappointed. I don't think that anyone could say too much good about the scenery at TRT. 

Trying to remember where I took this. I think I was climbing out of Red House Loop. The heat had started to set in. 

I think I saw this view on the way to Snow Valley Peak. 

On the way to Snow Valley. 

I did it! This is my shiny plaque. 

I think the pictures are the big deal about TRT. They show what kind of day I had! But if you want to go on, you can read my blah blah blah about how I got to TRT. All the gory details are more for me than anything. I have to do a brain dump to get closure.

I can’t believe this race has come and gone. It has been on my bucket list for a bunch of years. I first became aware of it through Scott Dunlap’s blog. His pictures and description made it sound like a must-do. Then Julie-Anne Cox told me a couple of years ago that someone she knew was doing the race. Mary Knott. This is how I met Mary. I had to approach her and ask her about her experience with this incredible race. At the time I was flirting with becoming a trail runner. As soon as I introduced myself to Mary, she gave me the jumpstart that I needed. She immediately invited me out to run with her on trail. She introduced me to local trail running options. Aravaipa. Now I’ve been running trail pretty regularly for 2 years. So I feel like this race had a pretty big impact on me before I ever ran it.

I will admit right off that my training did not go very well. I had a leg injury to deal with, and then just 2 weeks before the race I found myself in an Urgent Care, hardly able to even walk…with a different health issue. From early May until the race in late July, I had to cut out the bulk of my running. I tried to stay in some amount of shape with my cross training. Cycling and swimming. I still tried to get a long run in on the weekend. Sometimes I could. A few times I couldn’t. And if I did, it took a whole week before I could run again.

Doctors must hate runners. In the Urgent Care I told the doctor that I needed to run 32 miles in 2 weeks. For runners, our health issues take precedence. Because we have an upcoming race. Fix ME,….NOW, because my race is all important!

By race day I felt okay. Not all better, but okay. However I didn’t feel like pushing things. I decided to participate in the race. I couldn’t miss out on the scenery, or the event. But I knew that I shouldn’t race for time. My body and I have a deal. I very rarely “lay it all on the line”. I try to be mostly good to my body, and most of the time my body is good to me.

On race morning TRT provided a bus from the Carson City Plaza Hotel, where we were staying, to the race. As I got off the bus in the dark I saw Emily Harrison and congratulated her on her recent top 10 performance at Western States. She was here to pace Ian Torrence on the hundred mile distance. Then it was down the hill to the tents and two times through the porto potty line. Then it was time to start. I tried to get up closer to the front of the pack. Mary had warned me that it would be hard to pass people in the first 6 miles to Hobart. The crowd got thick and I couldn’t get up past the middle of the crowd. It was indeed hard to pass anyone on this single track with thick foliage to either side. The group went out very conservatively and immediately started walking all the up hill. I’m all for conservative start, but my phone told me it would be 63 to 102 degrees. I figured it would be better for me to go out a little harder than usual to get done before the sun was on me. But it was too late. I was caught there in a 12-13 minute mile pace.

I was loving the trail surface. We just kept climbing up switch backs. I passed a few people whenever the trail would open up the tiniest bit. I was at Hobart before I knew it. I wanted to keep going, to get a little farther ahead in the line up. But decided I better fill my water bottle. The volunteers filled me up quickly and I was on my way again.

A little climbing after Hobart and then we got to a beautiful view of the lakes below. I took my phone camera out and snapped a few pics. When I decided not to have a fast race, I committed to taking home some good pictures. I loved when it was time to take a gel- I do it every 5 miles – because I started with the special gels that Cynthia and Karen prepared for me. They wrapped these gels with an inspirational quote. So my first 2 gels had a message to give me some mental strength.

It was 5 more miles to Tunnel Creek. This was the main aid station. From here we went on the Red House loop and then the 50 milers would also make an out and back to Diamond Peak. TC was an amazing aid station. With big tents set up. A medical tent with stretchers, and camp chairs to relax in. The tables were full of all kinds of goodies. I went with icy coke and salty ruffles potatoe chips. This was my staple for the day. And it tasted good every time! I saw that they even had a box full of spirits toward the back of their tent. Who is drinking hard alcohol out on the trail??? It’s hard enough for me to judge my feet as I jump rocks and other obstacles. Doing it intoxicated sounds very challenging!

Then I took off to conquer red house loop. They call this loop “The taste of hell”. Someone later told me that this was a good year on Red House Loop…that it is more hellish down there on swampier years. There were a couple of water crossings, but I got through without my shoes getting soaked. Just a little wet. It feels a little jungly on RHL, and there is a mile and a half steep down hill. The kind of down hill that I know I will suffer for later in the race. The kind that messes with your insides. I tried a technique that I saw someone using at McDowell Mtn Frenzy- I ran a zig zag down the hill. It adds extra mileage, but it did feel more gentle than tearing straight down the hill. I did enjoy RHL. There is something about it…haven’t really figured out yet what the appeal is, but I did enjoy it. It just feels different I guess.

Then back to TC aid station. I filled up my race cup (recyclable to use the whole race) with icy coke and sat down for a few minutes to clean up my stuff. I threw out my first 3 gel wrappers and got the last 3 gels out of the back of my pack to put in the front of my pack. I felt like I was kind of half done with the race. My watch was telling me that I had 18.5 miles at 12:20 pace. Then my watch died right before I left TC. This is when it started to get hot out. I left TC walking. I needed a little time for my tummy to settle from the fruit and chips I had taken in. I decided that I’d rather walk than linger longer at the aid station. Hopefully I would feel better soon and get the second wind that I sometimes get late in a race.

But I didn’t really get that second wind. It just got harder and hotter. I did okay for the 5 miles back to Hobart. I made some friends. I chatted with some people around me. I mostly ran with some walking breaks.

From Hobart over to Snow Valley was only 3 miles, but it felt like it was all up hill. This is the point that you reach 9,000 feet elevation! But you are rewarded your efforts with a beautiful view up top. And at Snow Valley Aid they made me a tasty ensure smoothie. The cute boy scouts greeted me by name and gave me a citrus powerbar brand gel that went down really well. They had a bucket of icy cold water and a sponge. Squeezing that sponge on my neck felt amazing.

After this I only had 7 miles to go, but my second wind was nowhere to be found. I was still enjoying the scenery. And looking back it’s hard to remember why I was suffering. I wasn’t on the brink of puking or anything. I just didn’t feel like running. I think it was the heat….? I chose to run in the sunny sections and walk in the shady sections. I wanted to maximize my enjoyment of the shade. I knew that if my training had been better that I would be giving myself some major pep talks….”you trained for this, you can do this, you do this!” but I could not muster up any such self talk. My self talk was instead…”look at the trees! Enjoy the forest! Take your time!”

Of course when I saw race results later I was like “couldn’t I have just enjoyed the scenery while traveling a tiny bit faster???” but it’s hard to remember how you felt in the moment. All you can do is use it to prepare for your next race.

There was a mini aid station with water and some gel just a mile and a half from the end. A woman yelled out “Girls rule!!!” as I approached. Soon after this aid station I could hear the chearing from the finish line. This perked me up quite a bit and I started to move better. It became apparent though, that even though I just had to circle the side of Spooner Lake, even though I could hear the cheering, it was still farther away than it seemed. It’s a good trick. I was able to run it in under 8 hours.

At the finish they gave me a plaque and made me a big fat burrito with Chipotle Chicken, rice and beans. It looked so yummy but I was only able to eat a few bites.

Looking back on the race I think my lead up nutrition was good. I think I did pretty well at consuming calories during the race. I stayed on top of my electrolytes and when Id feel a twinge of leg cramping Id pop some salt tabs and be fine. I think I did okay. I just needed more confidance, which would’ve come from better training, and maybe some heat training. Does heat training work??? I suppose it probably does.

I already long to go back and experience the course again. What an amazing race. The location is just amazing. The trails and the layout are amazing. The volunteer crews are amazing. The scenery is amazing. It is incredible and magic. There are many races on my bucket list, but I must do this one again someday.