Tahoe: The lead up to Western States 100

I got in my car somewhere around 530am to head to Birmingham Airport. I had about a 45 minute drive to do and needed to miss rush hour. The roads here in the UK are pretty much always a mess at this time of the day. After "trusting" my sat nav (British for GPS) I wound up taking the scenic way to the airport. No big deal really, just a tiny bit of added stress. I arrived with plenty of time, got parked, and walked on in.

British airports

The morning and initial flights were uneventful. I immediately switched my watch to California time and attempted to sleep. I pretty much meditated for 3 hours, then managed maybe a hour of sleep before my watch said 5am and I gave up really trying. Wide awake it was movie time! During the remainder of the flight to Newark I watched a couple action movies, something I never get to do anymore. We landed late and I had minimal time to get off, get organized, and then on my flight to Denver. 

I can't recall what mindless entertainment passed the time to Denver but what I do remember is how we were arriving at the last minute. Previous to arriving late I already only had about 40 minutes until my flight to Reno but as we touched down now I had maybe 15 until they stopped boarding! The captain made an announcement "we understand there are a few of you with close connections (NO SHIT!), if you are not one of these people please stay seated." Fortunately most people did as requested and let me by. As I stepped out the door I immediately began running. I stopped briefly to confirm the gate, got my bearings, and sprinted! 

I cursed DIA as I ran. This place is just as fucking huge as I remember it! I arrived at Gate B52 and ran towards B12. I was lucky that the lazy asses sitting still on the magic carpets, ALL FOUR I RAN ON, were few and far between! I literally arrived as they were closing the door! That was close. Some other dipshit commented how they had to run too - from the bar! I rolled my eyes. 

The flight to Reno was short and uneventful, I arrived shortly later than normal. I assumed my bag didn't make it. I saw my good friend Brendan's dad, Kevin, waiting on a bench. We greeted each other and were off to confirm my bag didn't make it. Kevin suggested I go directly to the baggage desk because they'll know for sure if it didn't make it saving time waiting for nothing at the carousel. Yep. Didn't make it. No big deal, not only did I have a set of running clothes and shoes in my carry on but I trusted the systems in place that it wasn't lost. After going through the motions the two women said my bag was on its way from SFO and should arrive tonight. Then a courier will bring it to me in Tahoe "tonight or tomorrow." Knowing Tahoe I assumed if it came tonight it's unlikely they'll find Brendan's house. Addresses are hidden, signs knocked down, roads unclear, and Internet directions are usually wrong.

sorry, no night photos of Tahoe City! - Commons Beach

We hit the road to Tahoe. Kevin, whom I'd met in the past, and I chatted the entire drive. He updated me on pretty much all the on-goings in Tahoe, with his son's Brendan and Patrick, the ginormous winter they had, etc. I arrived knowing pretty much everything I'd have asked anyway! In all honesty it was a great chat and nice to hear things were going so well with him and his family.

We pulled into the hidden access to the "Pink Palace," a typical Tahoe West Shore home: overgrown road in, dark because of no streetlights, driveway rammed with cars. Why the Pink Palace? Their house is painted a dark pink color. We got out and I was greeted by old and new friends relaxing in the cool mountain air on the deck that was dimly lit by white Christmas lights strung about, the noise of McKinney Creek sputtered in the background. Outside of hugs and happy faces an ice cold High Life was immediately cracked open for me, rather funny in this day and age of the craft brew! Friends don't forget!

West Shore the best shore

It had been an exhausting week for my hosts, my old friend Brendan and his wife Christin, as they had just finished their race, The Broken Arrow SkyRace, and were in the middle of Alpenglow Summer Mountain Fest, a week long festival of pretty much all free events geared toward outdoor beginners: yoga, stargazing, running, backpacking, hiking, etc.. After a beer or two and chowing down some excellent leftovers we were all soon in bed. 

Of course I slept like shit, awake from 2-4am. Around 3am I saw the lights of a car zip past the house, I saw a flashlight out the window scanning houses for possibly a house number.  It had to be my bag! I ran out front in my boxers chasing the van down, I yelled and he slammed his brakes on, I had probably scared the hell out of the guy jumping at his car from the pitch black! I cannot believe he found this place! I fell back asleep and woke at about 6. I kind of had already given up hope of starting fully rested, sleep-wise, a couple weeks ago already. The kids always challenge sleep and with such a short travel window I'd just have to deal with it.

The next few days leading up to the race were filled with catching up with friends, making new ones, attempting to over come jet lag, all while preparing for the Western States 100. My social life compared to the UK had exploded! I honestly can't count the amount of new people I met while in California. People from California, Colorado, New York, New Zealand, Montana, Australia, Ohio; the list goes on. Sure, just quick acquaintances but people I could and did talk to for hours on end. People who usually I could link to old friends in Colorado or the Nordic ski world, there was almost always some connection.  It was super fun to swap stories and experiences, and to give advice on where to go to those in transit traveling to other parts of the west.

Thursday night feast at the Pink Palace! 

Wednesday morning I went into town to check out the "new" Alpenglow Sports with Brendan, my close friend and "new" proprietor. "New" because I haven't been there in 7 years. It was unreal how much it had changed! The store had awesome product as always but had been significantly upgraded and expanded. He's been working his ass off with this place and the events surrounding it and it shows. Despite making it more visually appealing he's kept to the soul of the shop and focused greatly on the community around it providing events throughout the year: free winter and summer film series, speakers, winter and summer mountain festivals, company product demos, Broken Arrow SkyRace, the list goes on. It's great to see his success without much of an online presence. What he's doing is being seen as a great thing in the outdoor retail community as well, proven by the many industry awards and articles that I've seen. Just awesome. I sure wish I was still a part of this store, tough thing is the opportunity is there, I just live in the UK.

view from Lakeview Trail at Tahoe XC

The same morning my old friend Alex from Aspen arrived. He lives in Half Moon Bay, CA now and is a rep for a footwear company. We went out for a killer breakfast at The Log Cabin in King's Beach, a Bloody Mary took my coffee shakes away. Brendan had a pimp espresso machine that was all too convenient! After breakfast we went for a hike at Tahoe XC, the local Nordic center I used to drive snow cats at. We walked and chatted to the top of Lakeview trail. I was hoping to find my former employer's memorial, he sadly died a couple years back, but couldn't find it. It was possibly the huge amounts of snow from winter ruined it. I was kind of bummed but just walking the trails for a bit brought back good memories.

Alpenglow Mountain Fest beer run

That evening I jumped into the Salomon sponsored Alpenglow Mountain Fest beer run. Salomon had provided a boatload of trail shoes to demo and a group of people were hitting the trail for an easy 3 - 7 mile run. It was fun to run the trails in Tahoe. There's so much access even directly from town. I met some new people while chatting while we ran, did a little interpretation of the peaks and ski shots on the skyline to out of towners, and got in an easy 5 miles. Afterwards everyone met up at The River Grill for beers and apps where I met even more people! I felt home among people I had tons in common with. It was awesome and such a nice change! I even bumped into a guy I raced the Mt. Ashland Hill Climb Run with in 2006! Once "home" for the night Christin had once again cooked up a ton of killer food so we all hung out and socialized despite being exhausted. 

Thursday my parents arrived from a crazy drive from Minnesota via the Pacific Northwest. I hadn't seen them for about a year when I visited Minnesota with my wife and kids. I was very jealous of their road trip, I sure miss hours on end of driving exploring new places. We hung out at Alpenglow for a while, me dragging my feet on buying supplies for the race, and my mom shopping a bit herself. 

Alex and I hanging with my parents

Speaking of me dragging my feet. What did I actually need? Well the main thing I needed was a pair of shoes. The UK is always behind the US in cool shit it seems. Altra running shoes are my latest preference and have been difficult to come by until recently. Stock is still low and not all models available. I had one pair of Lone Peaks but wanted another. I couldn't get a second pair in the UK so before leaving I opted to buy a pair of Brooks PureGrit 5. I'd had good luck with all previous models except the 4, the reason I went with Altra, the Grit 4 were too narrow. The 5's seemed much better but I wasn't convinced. In Tahoe I ended up buying a pair of Lone Peaks from Alpenglow the day before the race! Some people think that's a cardinal sin, new shoes, never worn. I'm confident in my shoe fitting and my foot strike, both factors in foot problems. I think most folks got a kick out of my lack of planning and last minute purchases. Many people totally freak out about having everything measured, planned out, in place. I don't. My reasoning? Well, if you think about it there really isn't much you need beside shorts, socks, and shoes! Aid stations have food and water, I carry a tiny blister kit I've never needed, and always have a little BodyGlide for chafing. My preferences are always in flux so food intake is rarely a sure thing. Yes, a change of socks (or two) and shoes I plan ahead for and have available. Otherwise I feel being too precise planning ahead only causes stress; stress pre-planning, stress during the race if things change. Shit happens and you need to be able to and be ok with things changing. 

We're not in the UK anymore! - Bridgetender

After messing around Alpenglow my parents treated Alex and I to lunch at the Bridgetender. It was a beautifully sunny day and we sat outside along the Truckee River. Holy shit do I miss good weather. I forget how nice it gets in Tahoe! I could've sat outside all day visiting with my parents drinking beer as the green-blue frothing river rolled on by.

drinks at Jake's

That evening there was yet again another nightly feast at Brendan and Christin's. A ton of people from all over and different backgrounds meeting up enjoying great food and company. Most people would get stressed out having their house loaded up with people but my gracious hosts seemed to wholly embrace it. It was awesome and everything I miss about living in California. Good healthy eating and great people. Unfortunately I didn't take enough photos of people, kind of regret that!  

"close the door or he'll sleep on your head"

not in the UK

Christin's great grandpa's cast iron DIY grill! 

That night would be a packed house and driveway! The house was full and there would be five people sleeping in vans and trucks in the driveway! 

After all the festivities as things started to mellow out my good friend Nathan rolled in from Corvallis, Oregon. Nathan was like me, used to race bikes but job and family had limited time so started running. Of course trail running and ultra marathons were our main focus. He was deep into training for the Fatdog 120 in Canada so had pretty solid fitness. He'd been driving all day and I think was more excited than anyone, even me, to come help out at the race. I had gotten a ton of emails from him leading up to the day pertaining to heat training, tapering, food intake, course info, racing strategy, pacing, the list goes on! For those that read my blog leading up to the race my training had been extremely minimal during the final most important 9 weeks due to injury. I really had lost confidence in myself but one message from Nathan gave it all back: "Get to Foresthill in good shape and I'll get you to Auburn." I never really have had pacer before, I was in good hands. 

maxin' and relaxin' in the afternoon, Weston, Nathan, Alex

Friday, the day before the race. We all had a leisurely morning and then went up to Squaw Valley to check-in. The sun was hot as we waited in line. I don't really follow the elite runners much but it was cool to see them hanging out with everyone else. I recognized many faces from the Internet world. Nathan pointed people out to me throughout the check in process too. I went to all the "stations:" survey questions were taken, wristband attached, medical info confirmed, photo taken, swag accumulated. Then outside we checked in pacers. I had been planning only Nathan, but you can have I believe up to 4, figured just in case and added Weston, Alex, and planned on Patrick who would be arriving Friday night. We took some photos, chatted with Brendan who was helping out Altra Running at the expo, and then heading out to try to relax and get out of the sun.

just under 18 hours until the start, Nathan and I

We took Alex's van to a trailhead, pulled out the sun shade, made some sandwiches and chilled out for a while. Soon it was time for the mandatory pre-race meeting. Back up to Squaw we went. 

Alex is pretty proud of his van, bought it naked and dressed it up rather nicely all himself! 

turkey sandwiches make Nathan happy

The conference hall was packed solid. It was hot and sticky, uncomfortable. We grabbed some floor at the back. Overall I didn't find it very informative for the racers per safety etc. but more a welcome, a bunch of thank yous, and introduction of the elite runners and other people of note. One cool thing was that this year they had a wait list which was a first. 39 people who initially after the lottery were put on the wait list made it into the race due to people dropping out before the start. Probably mainly due to injury but I'd guess other situations occurred as well. Anyway, the 39th person is a cool story. I'm not exactly sure of the details but for some reason this guy I believe had trained for race, traveled from Vermont to California, hoping to run and initially wasn't going to be allowed to. I don't know if he was told he could or not but the dude was super upset.

Friday check in, no smiles

The race founder heard about this and decided to give up his place so this guy could run! The funny part is the why. Another first this year was drug testing. Never before had they tested for performance enhancing drugs. So, back to the why. The race founder said he's giving up his spot, which he is guaranteed every year for life, because he'd been smoking weed all week long and probably wouldn't pass the drug test! The guy from Vermont was in tears and elated he was going to run! Pretty cool story. 

Nathan gettin' logistical

So, out of the hot box and back to the Pink Palace for the evening and yet another feast! This one a tad bit earlier than the others since most of us would be up at 3:30am in order to get to the race start, check-in again, and line up for the 5am shotgun blast signifying the beginning of a long day.

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This whole week was such a blur my timeline is sure to be off a bit. Photos may be marginally out of order, possibly random! I really wish I'd taken more photos of people. Many of these folks I hadn't seen in over 7 years and who knows when I'll see them again. Leading up to my flight I hadn't been sleeping enough (kids!), throw in a 26 hour day of traveling, jet lag, and a sporadic schedule and the days all blend together! I'm still trying to recall much of the actual race. I'll be posting that in another blog post, mainly so it's not one huge read, and hopefully within a week of this post!