A Bunch of Lollygaggers

It was around Mile 11 when I heard myself say - to myself - because I was all alone again at that point, "Running is fucking bullshit. We are officially DONE with the running."

It was Leg #4 of the Lake Tahoe Relay. I had just seen my teammates around Mile 10.5-ish. And I had just twisted my ankle in a pot hole. I had just fallen to the ground, then tried to stand up, and then saw stars and blackness cloud my vision. From standing up too fast. Or from needing water. Or from running too much. Or from all three. I had just started to whimper to my roommate, JWC, that I didn't know how I was going to keep going for two more miles. I had taken her hand in mine, and squeezed it with all the energy I had at that moment.

"Nic, you are doing SOOO great. I will walk it with you, if you want. You're almost done!" (JWC has the most calming, reassuring voice.) "No, I just need to calm down. I need to just get a grip, and calm down. I'll... I'll be fine. See you in a couple of miles," I said, as I took off again. Up yet another hill. It was absolutely GORGEOUS. But it wasn't pretty.

The seven of us, plus our driver, were up by 6:00 a.m. feasting on peanut butter and bananas on wheat toast plus sides of oatmeal. We piled into our very own Silver Bullet (the minivan rental) and headed to the race start. 100 teams gathered around the 2006 DeCelle Memorial Start/Finish line.

At 7:00 a.m. JT ("Double Booked!") was off on Leg #1 as the team piled into Silver Bullet to get coffee and cheer on JT around Mile 3. JT was great. We had only picked him up off a UC Berkeley Hiking Message board on Friday night when one of our runners had to bail. He didn't know anyone else who was going to be on the trip and he came anyway, because he had never seen Lake Tahoe and was moving to Ithaca, NY in a few short weeks. What a great way to see Lake Tahoe for the first time!

JT ran a great leg and put A Bunch of Lollygaggers off to a great start. TN ("Photoshop!) picked up where JT left off to begin Leg #2 - Zephyr Cove. TN is likely the best runner of the crew - ran a 3:45 this year at Big Sur - his first marathon ever! - so he agreed to run one of the hardest legs of the race. It was only 8.2 miles, but it ascended 800 feet. TN didn't disappoint, averaging 8:30/miles MAX. At elevation, nonetheless, all after barely running for 5 weeks to overcome a sprained ankle. TN is my hero.

After making it to the top of the hill, it was time for roommie JWC ("Snorting is HOT!") to run Leg #3 - Spooner Summit. 10.3 miles of mostly downhill, this leg was gorgeous, but warm. JWC was a little nervous because she didn't spend much time training. But I'm so impressed! She also averaged slightly over 8:30s during her leg, even hopping the guard rail to run some trails in a construction zone!

Up next was Leg #4 - Highway 28 & Lakeshore. A 12.3 mile stretch along the intersection of Highway 28 and Lakeshore Drive, though Incline Village. Rolling hills and HOT weather. TN waited with me at the start as the rest of the team drove the Silver Bullet to pick up others who stayed back to pass JWC water at her 8 Mile mark. I was nervous before my leg began. I hadn't run more than the two blocks from my apartment to my car to make sure I wasn't in a Street Cleaning Zone Friday morning. My legs weren't 100% and I wasn't supposed to run this leg, but with the last minute changes to A Bunch of Lollygaggers, I sucked it up.

I got off to a good start, taking the slight incline in stride (haha) and enjoying the downhills. I focused my efforts on breathing deeply and running slowly. I used to think running the hills of San Francisco was tough, but running at 6300 feet above sea level really puts the Presidio hills into perspective. I was breathing deeply, but oxygen just wasn't getting into my lungs, much less my bloodstream. I rememberd TN telling me it would take a couple miles to get used to the air, though, so I remained calm. I passed a runner and tried to just enjoy the pace. It was difficult. Luckily, enjoying the scenery was much easier.

Pre-race, I hadn't spent much time reviewing my route. Nor have I spent any time in Lake Tahoe. So it was difficult to run this course. I tried to treat it like a recovery run, and just take things easily and slowly, but it's so hard to hold back during a race. I saw the team around two miles into my leg, drank some water, and absorbed as many "YOU LOOK GOOD!"s from the Lollygaggers as possible. It was time to enjoy the last (small) flat stretch I'd see for a while.

The climb started at Mile 4, 6325 feet above sea level. Now, I thought my big hill was at the end of my leg because when I checked the route map, I kind of reversed the directions in my head. The map was laid out West to East insted of East to West, and I thought the upgrade at Mile 4 was just a small one. So I pushed, telling myself the faster I got up this hill the sooner I'd be able to enjoy the descent back to the bottom. Only problem was that the little hill I thought I was running was the main (BIG) hill of my leg. It was torture. My hamstrings, which hadn't hurt me at all since San Diego, were aching. And I was nervous that I was going to cramp up, so I was afraid to walk.

I thought I had slowed my pace, but by the time I saw the Lollygaggers again at Mile 6.2, I learned that I had been running for 54 minutes. And I had already gone up and over the worst incline of my leg. But 6.2 was only my halfway point - I still had a ways to go. So after sucking down some Gu from KT - who encouraged me by saying I had really put some distance between myself and the teams behind us - I was off again, enjoying the flat road, the mountains ahead, and the beautiful lake to my right.

I saw everyone again around Mile 8. I was tired, and much to my dismay, I still wasn't breathing as well as I would have like to have been breathing. Given that I was 8 miles into my leg and that I still had 4.3 more miles to go. But I kept going, and I actually got to RUN across the California state line from the Nevada side of the lake back into California. An amazing moment for me...

I was feeling great for the next two miles. But as I again approached the Lollygaggers for my final water stop, I twisted my ankle. I fell down to the ground, then tried to stand up, but did so a little too quickly. I saw stars. And fog. And little birdies. I sat down to let the haze subside, drank some water, and tried to walk it off. The pain in my ankle had left, but the dizziness hadn't, and I wasn't sure how I was going to keep going. I did NOT want to run feeling like this.

So I started to cry. And as I've explained before, one cannot run, cry, and breathe at the same time. One HAS to pick two of the three. I held JWC's hand, because for a brief moment, I had decided to pick crying and breathing. When that wasn't getting me anywhere, though, I knew I had to pick running and breating, as running and crying would not allow me to breathe at all, and it was too gorgeous of a day to give up breathing. I inhaled - as much as I could so that I could grab onto as much oxygen as possible - and I let go of JWC's hand. I planted one foot in front of the other, and I didn't stop.

I told myself I could stop running forever after this race was done. I told myself that I could take yoga and spinning. That I could lie on my couch and watch television. That I could drink copious amounts of red wine... But that I had to finish this leg. For my team and for myself. And so I again climbed a hill. Which I promptly ran back down. The Lollygaggers, fearing my emotional state at mile 10.5, had stopped again at mile 11.5. Upon seeing them, my spirits soared. I danced by, gave thumbs up, took some water, and thanked JWC for making the extra stop. One last, "YOU LOOK GOOD!" and I was off again with barely a mile to go.

The next time I saw JWC my heart almost sank. I though I only had a mile to go? Why was she standing on the road again? "The finish is just ahead!" She yelled and smiled and pointed to KT, who was waiting for me at the pass-off. At that moment, I did see the flags. So I started to sprint. I heard the crowd say, "WOW, look how fast she's going!" and I sprinted harder. I slapped KT's hand one hour and 50 minutes after I started my leg. 12.3 miles with a 200 ft hill done at 6300 feet of elevation, at 8:57 average pace.

I was so happy to be done. But there wasn't much time to Lollygag. KT ("Dosen't everyone get turned on by efficiency?") didn't have an easy leg, either. Leg #5 - Cedar Flats was anything but flat. The hill started right away, which made KT a little cranky. "I can't believe you're trying to give me water on a HILL!" Uh, sorry, KT. We just thought you'd be thirsty... But she did a great job. Finishing her 10.5 miles in about 9:00 minute/mile pace, too. Breezing into the pass-off to tap KR ("Hot Legs") and send him off on Leg #6 - Homewood Ski.

Poor, KR. Leg #6 didn't look THAT bad on the map. Oh, but it was bad. Because it was really hot by the time we had reached this part of the map. And while everyone else had some really bad uphills, we also had some really sweet downhills. Not Leg #6. Leg #6 was relentless. But KR pressed through. While the Lollygaggers played Catch Phrase on the side of the road, KR climbed hill after hill. We fed him water, Gatorade, and Gu. We danced for him. And we cheered. And finally, after one hour and fourty five minutes, KR tapped EC ("I like large men and swords") to bring us home.

Leg #7 - Emerald Bay was without a doubt the most scenic leg of the race. Through the Bliss Park chain control zone. With the gentle rolling hills to finish, save one minor uphill struggle. In fact, the view from Leg #7 was so inspiring that even our driver, AH, who had carted us all over Lake Tahoe in the Silver Bullet all day, decided to stretch his legs and join in for some of the run. EC was smokin' fast throughout this leg, even through the Heart of the Forest Renaissance Fair. But I guess that if I saw a bunch of large men carrying swords in the forest in Lake Tahoe, I'd also run like the wind. No matter how tired I was!

We cheered EC on at miles 3, 6, and 9 of his leg, before heading back to the finish line to await for his return. Tired after a long day, we staggered from the Silver Bullet to the finish chute. It was 6:55 PM. Ten hours and 55 minutes after we started. Oh, EC! Hurry up! We can break 11 hours! We only had to endure the suspense for a few minutes, as EC turned the final corner to sprint through the Finish Line at 6:58 PM. Meaning that yes, even A Bunch of Lollygaggers can run 72 miles around Lake Tahoe, at 6300 feet or more above sea level, in under 11 hours. That's 9:08 minutes/mile, on average - enough for finishing in the top 50! (I think #45...)

Of course, now that it's over, I can't wait to race again. Which means that I am NOT "done" with running. If anything, I am more geared up to start training again. And I mean REALLY training. Up hills. And at elevation. With weights. And in pools. And on bikes. And on trails. And obviously, on long stretches of open road. Where I can think and push and breathe and soar and smile and sprint and run far and away and into the great, wide, open. How else can we expect to break ten hours next year?

Don't delay - LOLLYGAG!