When In Tahoe, It's OK To ... Relax! Even Running A Marathon!

You would think that after learning you gained entry to the 2014 Boston Marathon three days earlier - on your birthday, no less - you'd be revved up to aim for a personal best at any distance, even at altitude.

Our Kate Looney shares though a few lessons from the race that ... wasn't a race!

This past weekend, Bob and I headed out to the Lake Tahoe area to run in the Lake Tahoe Marathon as part of our 10th anniversary trip.  It’s been awhile since I’ve traveled to an area so stunningly beautiful that I started pricing real estate within the first few days of arriving.   (As a side note, alas, Tahoe is not Texas when it comes to affordability.  Surprise, surprise!)

We knew going in to this race that is was going to be for “fun” and not for time.  A starting elevation of 6400’ that hits 6800’ over a few very steep, long climbs was not going to set up particularly well for us flatlanders (unfortunately, Flintridge would not cut it for hill training).

Our non-running friends laughed, and probably thought us a bit crazy for running a marathon distance for fun.  Insert “loony” joke here.

Kate and Bob Looney representing Volte at the Lake Tahoe Marathon
(Photo courtesy of Captivation Photos)

Here are a few of my takeaways from this “fun” experience:

Relaxing instead of racing:  Part of why I enjoy running is the challenge of pushing a new limit, but over time I know I go through periods where that competitiveness steals my joy of running just for the sake of running.  I wasn’t nervous the night before thinking of splits or hitting a certain time or what I needed to run to do well in my age group.

Focusing more on my fellow runners:  We chatted with many folks along the course and met people from all over the United States and a few from overseas as well.  Everyone knew it would be a tough course and so we cheered each other on while climbing the Hill from Hell, which went on FOREVER, and congratulated each other after finishing our climbs.  We ran for a while with a kind gentleman from the LA area who probably had a very different worldview than we have, but it didn’t matter, we were just runners together trying to overcome the distance and enjoy it along the way.

Chatting with the volunteers:  It was a tough course for spectating because of the limited space along the road, but the aid stations were well-stocked and full of enthusiastic folks from Boy Scouts to a Halloween orchestra to a Stomp-style drumming band.  We took full advantage and walked through each one.   I waited on Bob to make a pit stop after we finished a long climb and chatted with a nice gal and her daughters from the Tahoe area for a few minutes who were super encouraging to a Houstonian totally out of place in the elevation and hills!

Appreciating the “little” things:  The gorgeous sunrise.  Giant pinecones.  Running along a stunning lake.   Beautiful towering trees.  Pretzels that never tasted so good at mile 18.  Bob slowing down for me after I took off too fast on a big hill (doh!!).  The kind lady with the stick roller at mile 24 who saw Bob was badly cramping and offered to let him use it.  And of course, the gorgeous views.

Stopping to take photos:  How many opportunities will I ever take to do THAT again?  Not many.

Realizing competitiveness is good, just not ALL of the time:  Ok, so I just talked about relaxing, which I DID do … for the most part.  If I’m honest though, there were many points along the way I just wanted to go, go, go. Funny how that happens when you’re getting passed, right? But, in holding back for this race, it just fueled the fire to run hard now for Houston and allowed me to get back in to that competitive-mindset for this next training phase without feeling burnt out.

We really enjoyed the Tahoe area and I hope to get back out there for another, perhaps longer, race in the future.

Run on runners!