Running Lake Tahoe

At the end of September, I went to SG and ZE's wedding in South Lake Tahoe, California. It was a beautiful ceremony, right on the shores of Lake Tahoe.

When they sent out the weekend wedding events, they mentioned that the post-wedding brunch would be held right along the course of the Lake Tahoe Marathon. Needless to say, that peaked my interest.

The Lake Tahoe Marathon is not one race, it's actually a weekend long running and tri smorgasbord. They had a 20 miler, which was just one mile more than I needed to do for my marathon (that wasn't) training that weekend, so I signed up. It's a point-to-point race. So all the different races start at different points along this one course.

Getting home fairly early from the wedding reception, I laid everything out so I would be ready when I got up in 5 hours to go grab the 6 am shuttle.

I got to the shuttle location, which was really empty, with about 20 minutes to spare. It was really empty. I was basically in a parking lot. Something about it wasn't right. That's when I unclipped my bib to double check the time. That's when I saw I had the time right, but I was in the wrong location. I had 20 minutes to "travel just down the road," according to the hotel front desk.

Just down the road turned out to be about 4.5 miles away. I'm running down the street at 5:40 a.m., it's pitch black, and I'm hating myself for not checking. About 2 miles in I realize just down the road really isn't just down the road, and I will miss the shuttle.

I have about $10 on me, but I'm not seeing a cab. So I think, maybe I can get the half marathon shuttle or the 10k shuttle. About 1.5 miles away from the pick-up point, I finally flag down a cab. It's 6:15 am he drops me off just shy of the stop (he was on his way to another pickup). And I think to myself: do I try and talk myself into the half marathon or the 10k? The half marathon starts at 9:30am, the 10k at like 8am. (The 20 miler was supposed to start at 7am.) I have to check out by noon. I opt for the 10k and figure I will run the opposite direction for about 3 miles, run back and then start the 10k. I figure with the running to the start, it will get me to around 18-19 miles total.

So, I tell the guy at the shuttle drop-off site, he lets me on and I settle in for the 25 minute ride to the start. When I get to the start, just before mile marker 20, I take off in the opposite direction. The 10k starts at the crest of a major hill, so I head downhill. And all I can think about, besides how stupid I am, is how beautiful it is, and how it's still kind of dark.

At the bottom of the hill, people are setting up music and water stations, but I just chug along, enjoying the views, if not the altitude.  Then I start looking for port-a-potties. I hit mile marker 19 and then 18, as buses carrying half marathoners drive past. As I get towards mile 17,  I see a couple of other runners.  I figure they must be really fast marathoners. I go a little bit past that and start heading back the way I came.

The run helped calm me down a bit. As you can imagine, I was really kicking myself. It also didn't help that I didn't bring any water with me. (I figured I'd just use the water stops along the course.) By the time I got back to the water stop at the base of the hill, it was ready to go. I grabbed a water, listened to some music and then prepared for the hill. Hill is an understatement. Tahoe is surrounded by mountains, and this was running up a mountain. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the "hill"from miles 15 to just before 17, but it was larger than anything else I had run.

I had to stop and walk a bit, but when I got to the top, the 10k still hadn't started. There was a delay. So, what did I decide to do? I ran back down the hill. Here's a video of the band that was playing just past the base of the hill.


Anyway, by the time I got back to the top, the 10k had finally started and off I went. It was mostly downhill from there. I was sluggish for most of this run. I blame it on the altitude, but it was fun. There was some nice crowd support, and the scenery was beautiful, even when they had us on bike and walking trails.

When I got to the site S and Z's brunch party, I peeled off and chatted with the newly married couple, for about 15 mins. And then got back and finished the last mile and a half of the run.

When I got to the finish, they gave me the 20 miler finisher medal, even after I told the person that  I didn't start at the 20miler. I didn't have a chip or bib chip, and since it wasn't a competitive race,  I didn't think to find the timekeepers to let them know. (I got an email a couple of weeks later, someone challenging my "time" and I explained what happened to the organizer.)

All in all, the run is worth it just for the views. I had a great time in Lake Tahoe. Stayed at a really cute hotel, Basecamp.

 

They even had a fire at night, where you could roast marshmallows and make s'mores. I think it won my heart, right then and there. Would stay there again. (And interesting note, the guy who checked me in was running the full marathon!)

I even managed to get a short hike in at Van Sickle Bi-State park. Why is it a bi-state park? Because it straddles Nevada and California!

I have to stay I loved the way they marked the border between the two. The other thing I missed about the western part of the country, just how big everything is. Mountains, trees, even the pine cones!

All in all, it was a great weekend to be back in the Lake Tahoe area!