 |
| No, that's not what I...I didn't mean....SHADDUP! |
I'd been looking forward to this trip basically all year. My brother had signed up for Ironman Tahoe and my friend Erin Miller had signed up for the Bear 100 trail race in Utah/Idaho the following weekend. I was being entrusted to help crew and pace Erin for what looked to be one of the most epic races around. I was excited to see my brother become an Ironman and I was excited to get some play time and some long runs at altitude...Tahoe is at 6000 ft and the Bear course ranges from 4000 to 9000.
Giddy up,
motherfuckers!
I had to work 4 shifts in a row before my trip, but I soldiered through, packed up, and made my early morning flight with the help of a ride to the airport from trusty ol' Delaware. I arrived in San Francisco and we immediately packed the cars for the drive up to Lake Tahoe. I had intended to catch up on sleep during this drive, but it ended up being a nice opportunity to get acquainted with my brother's new ladyfriend, Megan. After being together only a handful of months, I'm still not quite sure how he managed to cajole her into playing sherpa for his first Ironman, but kudos to them both!
We had a few days to kill before the race, so I made sure to enjoy everything Tahoe had to offer me. On the first morning, I joined my brother and a training buddy for a brief swim in the lake. I couldn't even begin to describe how beautiful it was, so I'm not gonna bother.
That afternoon found me joining Megan for a run on the race course. Myself because I needed a buncha miles that week, and her because she is training for her first full marathon. Her IT band had been giving her troubles lately and started to really bother her a few miles in, so we cut a 10 miler short to about 6.
The following day, after researching a bit on the Tahoe Rim Trail, I struck out on my own for a long run. The Tahoe Rim Trail is a single continuous trail loop that circles Lake Tahoe and is 165 miles long! I can't imagine I'd ever get bored if I lived out here! Anyways, I chose a 14 mile out-and-back from Brockman Summit to Watson Lake. It was possibly the most serene I've felt since the Perry 50k.
After a mentally relaxing/physically exhausting weekend in Tahoe, we drove back to San Francisco. A few days of R+R in "the city" and then I woke up early, walked to the BART, and caught a flight to Salt Lake City, where "Major Mudbabe" Erin Miller was waiting to pick me up(I believe her rank has increased, but Major Mudbabe has a better ring to it). Erin is a logistics officer in the army and had prepared some incredibly detailed maps, flowcharts, and topographical analysis of the Bear 100 course for use by those of us who were crewing and pacing that weekend. Once in the car, I immediately began studying up on the maps to orient myself to the task at hand. These maps were LEGIT! And they were in a pretty pink binder, which I believe was the most important detail.
The task at hand...I had come prepared to crew for Erin and Hayley, with the help of Erica and Sophia, as well as pace Erin for roughly 30 miles of her race. Certain circumstances intervened which slightly complicated the issue. Sophia, needing redemption from a DNF earlier this year, had signed up to race, leaving Erica and I to crew and pace three runners. Sure...no problem. But THEN...a week prior, Erica had biffed hardcore on a trail run and had torn her knee asunder. So she was perhaps questionable to pace as well. No worries...we soldiered on.
Everyone arrived, pre-race briefings were attended, drop bags were packed and dropped off, racers were checked in, crotch butter was discussed at length. I had to make the point that it's not technically for your "crotch"...it's more for your taint...your perineum...your grundle. Thus I henceforth dubbed it "grundle butter". If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're winning the game. You know...the game where you win by not having THAT mental image.
Notwithstanding how nervous Erin, Hayley and Sophia might have been for their 100 miles of mountains, ice, snow, bears(?), and what have you...I was incredibly nervous about my responsibilities for the weekend.
I had never crewed for an ultra before, let alone a 100 miler. I had never paced anybody for a race longer than a half marathon. I felt very inexperienced and very unaccomplished, and mostly I worried that I just plain didn't know what the hell I was doing. Luckily, I'd have Erica, a well-seasoned ultra crew member, to guide me and show me which way was up. And as far as pacing, I knew Erin was a tough-as-nails, low-maintenance runner, and all signs pointed to the fact that she probably didn't even NEED me there. So that settled my nerves a bit.
The layout of the course allowed for crew access at mile 60 and mile 75, so Erin tentatively requested that I pace her starting at 75, but possibly at 60 if things weren't going so well. We all knew she was going to kill it though.
As I am outlining the story of this race in my mind, I am realizing exactly how MUCH I want to say about it. I am also realizing that cramming it all into a single post is going to result in my official attempt at The Great American Novel. So, to spare my 10 readers from having to block off an hour of their day to wade through it, I've decided to break it up some.
Continue reading about...THE RACE!
We had a few days to kill before the race, so I made sure to enjoy everything Tahoe had to offer me. On the first morning, I joined my brother and a training buddy for a brief swim in the lake. I couldn't even begin to describe how beautiful it was, so I'm not gonna bother.
 |
| That'll do... |
That afternoon found me joining Megan for a run on the race course. Myself because I needed a buncha miles that week, and her because she is training for her first full marathon. Her IT band had been giving her troubles lately and started to really bother her a few miles in, so we cut a 10 miler short to about 6.
The following day, after researching a bit on the Tahoe Rim Trail, I struck out on my own for a long run. The Tahoe Rim Trail is a single continuous trail loop that circles Lake Tahoe and is 165 miles long! I can't imagine I'd ever get bored if I lived out here! Anyways, I chose a 14 mile out-and-back from Brockman Summit to Watson Lake. It was possibly the most serene I've felt since the Perry 50k.
 |
| Miles from my troubles... |
The following day, I met up with an ultrarunner friend of Chris's and ran most of the Escarpment. This was a trail that started at Squaw Valley, the ski resort we were staying in, as well as the epicenter for the Ironman race that weekend. I also discovered that the Escarpment is the first portion of the Western States 100 course and it basically goes straight-the-fuck up a ski slope! We got off course a bit and only ended up running 4.5 miles instead of the intended 10, but it's probably better because it was cold, rainy, and a snowstorm/thunderstorm ended up rolling in! It was still some excellent hill and altitude training!
 |
| From the top |
 |
| From the bottom |
The following day was the race itself, which you can read all about in this interview, but suffice to say that my brother is a complete badass and I'm so very proud of him!
After a mentally relaxing/physically exhausting weekend in Tahoe, we drove back to San Francisco. A few days of R+R in "the city" and then I woke up early, walked to the BART, and caught a flight to Salt Lake City, where "Major Mudbabe" Erin Miller was waiting to pick me up(I believe her rank has increased, but Major Mudbabe has a better ring to it). Erin is a logistics officer in the army and had prepared some incredibly detailed maps, flowcharts, and topographical analysis of the Bear 100 course for use by those of us who were crewing and pacing that weekend. Once in the car, I immediately began studying up on the maps to orient myself to the task at hand. These maps were LEGIT! And they were in a pretty pink binder, which I believe was the most important detail.
The task at hand...I had come prepared to crew for Erin and Hayley, with the help of Erica and Sophia, as well as pace Erin for roughly 30 miles of her race. Certain circumstances intervened which slightly complicated the issue. Sophia, needing redemption from a DNF earlier this year, had signed up to race, leaving Erica and I to crew and pace three runners. Sure...no problem. But THEN...a week prior, Erica had biffed hardcore on a trail run and had torn her knee asunder. So she was perhaps questionable to pace as well. No worries...we soldiered on.
Everyone arrived, pre-race briefings were attended, drop bags were packed and dropped off, racers were checked in, crotch butter was discussed at length. I had to make the point that it's not technically for your "crotch"...it's more for your taint...your perineum...your grundle. Thus I henceforth dubbed it "grundle butter". If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're winning the game. You know...the game where you win by not having THAT mental image.
Notwithstanding how nervous Erin, Hayley and Sophia might have been for their 100 miles of mountains, ice, snow, bears(?), and what have you...I was incredibly nervous about my responsibilities for the weekend.
I had never crewed for an ultra before, let alone a 100 miler. I had never paced anybody for a race longer than a half marathon. I felt very inexperienced and very unaccomplished, and mostly I worried that I just plain didn't know what the hell I was doing. Luckily, I'd have Erica, a well-seasoned ultra crew member, to guide me and show me which way was up. And as far as pacing, I knew Erin was a tough-as-nails, low-maintenance runner, and all signs pointed to the fact that she probably didn't even NEED me there. So that settled my nerves a bit.
The layout of the course allowed for crew access at mile 60 and mile 75, so Erin tentatively requested that I pace her starting at 75, but possibly at 60 if things weren't going so well. We all knew she was going to kill it though.
As I am outlining the story of this race in my mind, I am realizing exactly how MUCH I want to say about it. I am also realizing that cramming it all into a single post is going to result in my official attempt at The Great American Novel. So, to spare my 10 readers from having to block off an hour of their day to wade through it, I've decided to break it up some.
Continue reading about...THE RACE!
Can't wait to read about the race!!!
ReplyDeleteYou and Mark Twain done good on this one!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for more!!
ReplyDelete