I am here to glean every life lesson, put it to use and reap the abundance of benefits. Life is about learning for me. Diving deeper into myself, reaching beyond myself, observing others and improving as a human.
After Big Sur I wasn't sure what I had left for another weekend of racing, but Tim made an enticing offer to join him and his energy and enthusiasm is hard to refuse. First on the docket, a 72 mile bike race around Lake Tahoe. Needless to say I was apprehensive, I've not been riding much this year and hadn't completed a training ride over 50 miles in over a year. In expressing my hesitation and angst, Tim calmly instilled confidence in me like a warm blanket. We awoke at 4am on Saturday to get situated and hit the road, the race would start at 7am. Whizzing up highway 50 to South Lake Tahoe, I took some liberties regarding traffic laws and we arrived with less than 10 minutes to the start. We discharged from the car and separately set about preparing our machines and selves for the assault. There were few words exchanged and in minutes we both looked up at one another and saw we were ready to go; locked the car, jumped on the bikes and high-tailed it to the road just as the gun went off. As we rolled out in front of the race, I almost got clipped my the lead motorcycle, Tim led the way and we did a U-turn and joined the front of the pack with hearts racing. After a couple of miles we were settling into the peloton and relaxed. Tim is an experienced and successful racer, he passed on words of advice as I nervously tried to steady my machine and keep a line without crashing at 30 mph. I knew on the first hill he'd be gone with the lead group and I just needed to find some folks to work with the rest of the way around the lake. Sure enough as we approached the first major climb to Emerald Bay, Tim started positioning himself in the front and they all pulled away as if the rest of us were standing still. I hoped to see him at the finish.
I managed to hook up with an abnormally large chase group, which was good since that offered more riders to take "pulls" at the front of our rag tag bunch. I took my fair share of time at the front, particularly on the hills early on. We found comfort together, spurring each other on, thanking each other for pulling at the front and made our way to the final climb where we totally disintegrated and a pack became triples and pairs. As I rolled up to the finish line, there was Tim, all smiles, congratulating me on completing the endeavor. He finished 9th overall, almost breaking the 3 hour mark by less 30 seconds and claimed 3rd in his age group. An astounding feat in a very competitive field. He believed in me and I was grateful to carry that knowledge with me, especially in the beginning as I thought about turning around after 20 miles. His faith in me spurred me on to the finish line. I love that about Tim, he has the ability to help you believe in yourself, even when you may have doubts.We closed off the day and headed back to Sacramento for some respite with Alicia and Brynn only to do it all again on Sunday morning albeit a bit later, since the half marathon didn't start until almost 10:30a. We arrived with plenty of time to hang out at a Starbucks and juice up on plenty of caffeine, made arrangements to meet Marv and Ann at the end and then realized we did actually need to take a bus to the start since the road was closed. Luckily the buses were running late. The course was from Rubicon to Pope Beach. The gun sounded and we were off again. It was a slightly overcast and cool day, which we didn't mind and found a comfortable pace. We were out front and feeling good. The first hill was dubbed "the hill of hell" and oh did it live up to it's billing. I was grateful though for all the hill training earlier in the year for Leadville, nothing seemed to compare to climbing Hope Pass in either direction, so I was comfortable and in my element, eased by the knowledge this was only 13.1 miles. Up and the down and then up again to the final ascent out of Emerald Bay and then all down and flat into Pope. We took 1st and 3rd in our age group and I pulled in at 4th overall. Again, the cold lake water provided much needed relief for our muscles.
Ironically, 10 years ago I rode around Lake Tahoe on my own, it was fitting to return this year and do it again. I am rediscovering myself through reliving experiences from my past. But I have new perspective and depth. It feels good. I am grateful for Tim showing me I had more to give and believing in me to finish the race, thanks Tim! I had a great time hanging out with Alicia and Brynn as well, it made me appreciate Annie and how much I was missing her.Annie returned today from her trip, we were both happy to be back together and are getting excited to return to Boulder and check on the house.
"A man of courage is also full of faith." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero
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