Lake Tahoe Marathon v2.2010

I significantly remember the drive home from the LTM last year.

I looked Chris dead in the eyes and said...."I won't be doing that again."
Enough time had elapsed since making that statement that I must have forgotten....at least a little what that race was like. Don't get me wrong, it has to be one of the single most beautiful places to run, but hills....oh the hills....I guess it's fair to say mountains....

Early in the race, trying to stay off the concrete to give the legs some respite and save some juice for the fun to come up ahead....

Plodding along. Chris was able to see me many times in the early miles. You never realize how uplifting it is to see a familiar face as you battle the miles.
Coming in at the finish. Struggling at this point, but emotional knowing I overcame an injury and was going to FINISH!

RACE REPORT

Starting this race I had a few goals and really tried to remember to treat this as a training run above all. My first goal was to improve on my hydration and replenishing. My second goal was, of course, to finish. Deep down I secretly longed for the elusive "Top 25" finish.

Chris drove me to the starting ling in Tahoe City, it involved us driving the course in reverse in the dark. We saw a few of the 72 milers running....suddenly 26.2 didn't seem so bad.

We were able to stay warm in the car and headed down to the starting area about 7:30 am. The sun was already warming the morning air and I figured I had dressed fairly well remembering being hot last year. I said goodbye to Chris and planned to maybe see him once or twice on the way. The bagpiper played a joyful tune, but it always sparks my emotions and I felt my hear flutter a bit at the start as I waved one last goodbye to Chris as we started for south shore.

In the early miles my focus was to stay slower than I would normally and concentrate on form.

My game plan was:

Every hour I would take 2 Endurolyte tabs

Every .5 hour in between I would take a GU

I would drink my HEED when I felt I needed to

I would take water cups, sip once or twice and use the rest on my body to keep my core cool

Everything was going as planned. I was able to take the hydration and replenishing on time, but I could not get the last GU down. I will have to try and switch to something else for the HK 50K. I am not sure what just yet, but I just couldn't stomach the GU.

I got to see Chris several times and our last visit was about mile 10. I knew it would be a long and hard 10 miles until he would run me in for the last 10K around mile 20.

On the approach to the Hill from Hell I was off about .5 mile on where I remembered it starting, which actually did not hurt my replenishing schedule. I asked myself to not stop running no matter what on the hill. Yes, I slowed to a shuffle, but it still allowed me to catch and pass several walkers. I distinctly remember a few gals passing me on the hill....I thought to myself how strong they were and was a little let down that it was them passing by me.

However, it did not take long for me to catch them both. They had both spent too much on the hill and lost their surge and me, the shuffling neon girl passed them by...never to see them again.

I was proud of this and it did prove to me the old saying "slow and steady wins the race".

Once I completed the Hill from Hell I knew the battle was not over. There is a second climb up to the top of Emerald Bay which is not as steep but is a long rise. Not to mention your legs are furious with you at this point. I walked once during this portion, just to slow my breathing and take in some more capsules. I knew it would not be too long until I saw Chris again.

Low and behold as I came down the pin-turns I saw him....on foot and ready to get me in to the finish. We ran fairly strong for a little while with my adrenaline pumped to see him. However, after the downhills the flats hit exceptionally hard on the legs. I slowed to a shuffle and a brisk walk a few times and was pleased that no marathoners were passing me.

I was let down by my performance here as I figured I had saved enough on the hills, but alas it is humbling to see many walkers at this phase. I tried, unsuccessfully to get down the last GU, but my stomach was not having it. I stuck to water and my HEED and pushed on to the end. I knew a 4 hour or under finish was not in the cards, which I really didn't mind on such a rough course.

Upon reaching the finish line I was handed a blue slip with #16 on it and told,
"Congratulations you are in the Top 25 female finishers"

I told the nice lady she had just made my day.

After a little more hydration Chris and I made our way down to the lake for an impromptu ice bath which I am starting to think is a very smart choice with this training plan.

After a soak I walked about 1/2 mile to the car, drank my protein drink (grabbed a $1 beer too) and changed to head back in to see my in-laws finish their first half-marathon. They came last year to watch Chris and I and decided they wanted to take home a medal this year. They did great and it was really exciting to see them finish and achieve their goal from last year.

Last year I barely made it back to the car with leg soreness, this year I probably walked a mile or more after the race without much trouble. I am hoping my intake of hydration and food made the difference. I know I was not aptly trained. My longest training run was 18 miles before yesterday. By no means would that follow a normal marathon training logic, so I am pleased my legs got it done with 8 miles of unknown territory since April 19th of this year.

I will be doing a massage tonight in hopes of chasing the rest of the lactic acid out of my system and have spent ample time on the foam roller on both quads and my ITB.

Hopefully my body bounces back for the coming weeks....

6 weeks and I will tackle my next challenge.....