Day 1 of the Tahoe 200 miler

I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I knew what I was signing up for but I didn't. I had no idea in this picture that the next couple days would be so hard. I live in San Diego so I don't really have a sense of elevation gain. This race has an Elevation Gain :  35,117 feet (10,704 meters) of ascent and 35,117 feet (10,704 meters) of descent.

I did not go into this alone my friend Robert and I hiked and ran the entire 200 miles together. We took care of each other and kept each other motivated. In the past when I run at events the days go by fast but not at Tahoe .The days went by slower and I think it was because you where always climbing and moving. I was always thinking about what do I need next. Do I have enough food to get me by and the water situation was a mess. I ended up eating 43 gels. The CHIA gels ended up being my favorite. They seem not give me tummy issues and they went down easier. It sounds like a-lot but when you know it works you just swallow. I ate bananas and ham and cheese sandwiches too. 

 It was also a big deal having a friend with you that reminded you its time for a gel. I wish I would of taken more cookies and just other food but I can't imagine carrying more stuff in my pack. It was so heavy on my back. As I sit here and write this my back hurts. 

The view where amazing. I loved being outside and it was a spiritual journey for sure.

The plan was day 1 Robert and I would cover 62 miles and the plan was that would take us 20 hours. As you know I am not a fast runner I am usually middle of the pack. Cuyamaca 100k took me 17 hours and in my brain that is a really hard race so the thought of it  taking me 3 more hours for 100k worried me. My thoughts kept coming back to how hard can this be...REALLY FUCKING HARD. At mile 6 we saw Cassie and Anthony they are crewing Robert and consequently me.  We got some water and kept moving then out of no where comes my dad just hiking along. He has a lot of energy and it was nice to see him smiling. Robert and I kept going and I saw about 30 runners in front of us. I asked Robert what was going on and it was really a surprise to see so many people lost. This is early in the game maybe mile 10 and there are no ribbons to be found. There are runners coming from all sides. Some ran east and west and till no ribbons so Robert takes out the GAIA app and we all fallow what it says. The problem was the worrying every step you take your worried its in the wrong direction and when your going 200 miles that is the one thing you don't need extra milage. Finally about an hour and a half later thanks to the  GIAI app we found a ribbon. We all clapped and it was the best feeling. I don't think they marked that area well. I don't believe that anyone would pull that many ribbons just to screw w us. Now we are back on track. The weather was nice and we just kept plugging along these insane hills.  The time passed and we found our  grove . Everyone had told me the first day would be the hardest. I was ready to work and I knew it would be a long day. I kept thinking how will I stay away and will taking a get every hour really work. It turns out that wheat kept me awake was the adrenaline. Just knowing I was doing this with Robert and that he was counting on me to keep pushing kept me pushing. It took us 20 hours to get 100k done. I think part of it was the altitude and the other half was the climbing.