Tahoe Marathon weekend

This past weekend I had the opportunity to run 2/3 of the Tahoe trifecta, three half marathons back to back, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Due to time constraints, I only ran the Sat. and Sun. legs of the race. The marathon weekend is a four day celebration of all things racing in South Lake Tahoe the last weekend of September. There are multiple marathons and half marathons, SUP races in the lake, a 72 mile loop bike race around the lake, and a couple of Ultra runs, 172 miles and other crazy amounts. In addition, there are pasta feeds, beach parties, Expo sales, and just great weather. None of this comes cheap, including the hotel stays. My whole family drove down from the Bay Area to participate, but not everyone could afford the race fees. 10 of us crammed into a cabin rental 6 miles outside of town, and slept in a hamester pile. Six of us ended up racing various races, including as pirates, running with a borrowed Tahoe marathon expo shirt and no bib number.

As to the two half marathons, I got horrible cramps 3 hours before the run start Saturday morning. I popped 4 Motrins and sucked it up, getting out into the 40d morning at 6 am. Very cold and frosty moring for the all-Nevada East shore side of the race. Regardless of the cramps and cold, three of us ran a good race. I, the human metrinome, ran 2:30 on the dot. The Sunday leg of the trifecta was better. The start was by Meeks Beach on the California side, at 9:30 am. The sun was out and the moring warm. My cramps were long gone and my pirate brother kept me laughing with Gangnan-style dancing. This half was a much hillier, and much more dramatic run. This run was also supported with water stations almost every mile, set up by local children's clubs. This run was a party. My time was 2:40, but I felt that was good due to the hills and the tired legs.

Lake Tahoe Marathon

http://www.laketahoemarathon.com/indexframes.html I am leaving tomorrow for the Lake Tahoe Marathon! I will be running a half marathon Saturday, and then another half marathon Sunday - back to back fun! My brother Carl will be biking around the lake - 72 miles of fun on a cycle. And my sister in law Andrea will be running one of the half marathons with me. Total family fun time!

Mt. Whitney photos

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Location:California, USA

Bodie, CA

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Location:Bodie, CA, USA

Mono Pass

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Location:Inyo national forest, CA USA

Mt Whitney packing list

I am preparing to hike to the top of Mt Whitney next week with three of my brothers. Mt Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (wikipedia). To climb Mt Whitney you must enter a lottery to receive a permit. This limits the number of hikers that can enter the park and use the trails. This protects the integrity of the wilderness and registers hikers with the forest service for their own safety. We won a two day pass, so we plan on hiking halfway up on the first night and hit the peak in the morning of the second day.

With that in mind, we don't need much in the way of gear. However, the three of us are notorious over-packers. Here is a list of my intended gear:

1. Backpack
2. Sleeping bag
3. Sleeping pad (a luxury item, but I am old and need comfort)
4. One man bivouac tent (because I do not want to sleep with stink, farty brothers) (you fart alot at elevation due to compression on the body from elevation)
5. Bear box
6. Hiking boots
7. Camp sandals
8. Matches
9. Pocket rocket and gas
10. Map
11. Copy of permit
12. Trek pole (cause I'm old)
13. Socks (I hate wearing socks, but I'll make an exception)
14. Liquor
15. Water bottle and bladder
16. Spork, cup, and tea kettle
17. Duct tape
18. Tooth brush and paste
19. Bug spray and sunscreen
20. Knife
21. Small towel
22. Headlamp
23. iodine tablets
24. Gloves
25. Some clothes

My brothers are supposed to carry the food. And I got a lightweight hammer. And the park service gives us supplies for waste management. You got to pack your poop out!

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Location:Pierce St,Albany,United States

Mt Whitney prep

"I pay the Homer tax. Let the bears pay the bear tax."
- Homer Simpson




One of our 2 bear barrels. The bears will have to play the bear barrel polka to get at our food.

"We're here, we're queer, and we don't want any more bears!"
- Homer Simpson

"Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun!"
- Beer Barrel Polka


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Location:Albany, CA