Every Race is an Adventure!

I didn't run today. I was up early loading vehicles and beginning our trip to Lake Tahoe for the week.

This was my first morning running at Lake Tahoe. We were on the west side of the lake just south of Tahoe City in an area aptly named Pineland. We stayed in a very comfortable two story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath cabin on Ward Creek with a balcony, large deck and hot tub surrounded by giant pine trees. It was beautiful.

The weather was nearly perfect every day (a ltitle hot one day), and never more perfect than in the mornings for my runs. On this first run I ran the 3/4 mile down to the bike path along the lake and headed north to downtown Tahoe City. I was only planning on 6 miles but it was so beautiful I wandered farther than planned and ended up with 8 miles. I stopped at the marina to ask about boat rentals (we went out on the lake for a fun couple of hours later in the day), stopped on a pier to look at the gorgeous lake, and wandered some dirt paths through a camping area.

I ran at "tour" pace and averaged 8:59/mi for the run. I felt pretty good about that considering I was starting at 6500 ft instead of my normal 4800 ft. This run also had lots of rolling hills, with about 2000 ft of ascent and descent mixed in, a lot of it at the beginning and end. Our cabin was at about 6500 ft with the lake at about 6200 ft. I had to push hard the last 3/4 mile uphill to keep the average under 9:00/mi.

This was my second morning run at Lake Tahoe. Today I ran east down to the bike path and then south along the lake. One of my goals was to find a good rocky beach area for rock skipping. I did, and we went there later and had a great time. Morning runs on vacations are great times for getting acquainted with the area.

Again I was planning on a 6 mile run and ended up running farther, this time 8.25 miles. I maintained my tradition of trying to cheerfully greet every runner/biker/walker/person I passed during my run. I found the locals and the tourists very friendly. I even received cheerful greetings when I ran past a few different groups of construction workers. I can't imagine much better running than along beautiful Lake Tahoe on a beautiful morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it and even took my hat off once while running and prayed to thank Heavenly Father for the great blessing.

I ran at "touring" pace (about 9:00/mi) again. It was comfortable but not easy. I was winded and pushing, not coasting. I'm not sure if it was the elevation, the rolling hills, or my imagination, but it felt just a tiny bit harder to run at Tahoe than in Orem. I tried to stay under 9:00/mi for this run like yesterday, pushing hard up the last 3/4 mile, but I didn't quite make it, averaging 9:01/mi.

This was my third and final run at Lake Tahoe. Today I decided to head west up Ward Valley. I immediately questioned my decision as I steadily climbed from the start for a total of a little over 3 miles to just over 7000 ft. The total ascent was about 1800 ft. I almost made it above the tree line, but today I stuck to about 6 miles instead of pushing to 8 like the two previous mornings. I think my average pace up of about 11:20/mi had something to do with that decision.

I managed mile splits of 7:25, 7:12, and 7:50 on the way back down, averaging 9:21/mi overall for 6.4 miles. I ended up not regretting my decision to run up the valley. In my three days of running in Tahoe I explored north, south, and west of our cabin (the lake was east) and it was all absolutely beautiful.

We had an awesome trip to Lake Tahoe. All nine of us (parents, 6 kids, 1 fiance) got along well, we all enjoyed most everything we did, and everything went smoothly...most of the time. It's odd, but a line from Ursula's song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in the Little Mermaid (one of many songs listened to on the very long drive home) sums up the trip for me, "Yes, I've had the odd complaint. But on the whole I've been a saint". We had a couple of car issues, some tired and hungry kids now and then, and some annoying sunburn (thankfully not me) but overall it was a nearly perfect trip. I feel blessed and grateful for the opportunity.

No run today. Up early to pack, clean and load for the return trip from Tahoe.

We drove through Carson City and stopped in Virginia City on our way home. We really enjoyed Virginia City and stayed there longer than planned. We ended up not getting home until about 1:30am this morning. I did get to sleep for an hour or so just before SLC. My 17 year old daughter Brittany took a turn at the wheel as Karen and I were both pretty sleepy. All of our other drivers were in the other car. I woke up to Brittany merging from I80 to I15 in a pouring rain. She couldn't see the lines on the road and was just following our other car up ahead. She was nervous but did great, especially considering she's never driven on the Salt Lake freeways before.

After unloading the vehicles, checking on the dog, etc. I didn't get to bed until about 3:00am. I set my alarm for 5:00am and told myself I'd decide then whether or not I would get up to run with the guys at 5:30am. To my great surprise, and Karen's, and Larry, too I think, I did get up and ran 12 miles up Provo Canyon with Larry and Kent, from the mouth to Vivian and back.

It was overcast and seemed very humid to me. My shirt got very wet and felt heavy. I was content to just run easy, and averaged 9:04/mi for the 12.1 miles. I did push the two miles from Nunns to Timpanogos on the way back down. I ran the first mile in 7:11. My Garmin told me I ran 6:27/mi for the second mile, but I'm not sure I trust it. I sure didn't feel like I was running that much faster than the first mile.

After the run I showered then went back to bed about 8:30am and slept until after noon. I still feel a little tired, but I think I've managed to repair our recliner (fingers crossed). My goal for the rest of the day is simply to get unpacked and get rested and ready for tomorrow, Sunday, the day of rest, which is normally busy for me from early morning until mid-afternoon. I'm not complaining. Our wonderful trip to Tahoe is already abundant payment from God for whatever small service I can give back to Him. He's a very generous partner.