Day 2 (3 hours 45 minutes)

Flash! They have ski resorts around here! It's hilly. And, the running vocabulary is different - for instance - "flat" is the equivalent to, say ...Exposition Blvd, and "gently rolling hills" is like Scenic Dr. Maybe the guys who were yelling at me yesterday were right - I'm an idiot. But I'm also a humble idiot. The race makes you humble.

Anyway, I can't seem to sleep very well at altitude. But I'm not tired at all. Five hours sleep both nights and no need for a nap. Weird.

I woke up this morning and rolled out of bed and ...ooouch! Super sore! Not my calves ...but man-oh-man, my quads were totally wrecked. The upside to this was that nothing else hurt a bit, not my knees, ankles, nothing.

At 6:45, we drove about 13 miles in the other direction (to where day 1 had ended). On the way over, I ate a whole bag of Lemon Powergel Gel Blasts for breakfast. Very tasty. The temperature was warmer. Good when standing around, but not so good a few miles into the race. Most runners looked at least a little bit hobbled. No shotgun blast this time. At 7:45, I think someone just said GO! The first several miles were downhill. In no time, I had a dozen people in front of me. I got the terrible feeling that I'd shot my wad on the first day and everybody else knew better. But when things leveled off, I caught five or six ...but then we went down another steep hill and they all caught me again. So it was back and forth for six miles.

I was running much slower, but there were hardly another big trucks and fewer cars and it was incredibly beautiful. Incredible! But super sunny! I shed my gloves, my Decker top-shirt and eventually took off my gold and navy Gazelle singlet and gave it to Leticia ...who was a great crew.

At the halfway point, some guy hollered "way to save it for tomorrow!" (Huh?) I wasn't saving anything. I was going slow because I was slow. I felt heavy at mile 16 or so, but fairly strong. Sore, but strong. Leticia brought out a whole bag of Gels and Carbo-beans and gum and I probably wasted a full minute trying to decide what sounded good. Hmmm...

At mile 22, the "fairly challenging hill" that the race folks told us about turned out to be Mt Bonnell. I walked about half of it, but actually caught a guy who was slumped over trying to get his breath. After the 23 mile mark, I started to feel a second wind coming on. It was downhill again, but I was so tired of uphills, that it felt fine just to take little steps and let the momentum do the work. I caught several more runners who were walking or shuffling. I think the 70 degree temps favored the Texan. The last three miles took me about 25 minutes. It felt much faster. I was really pleased with the 3:45. I think I was fifth overall, but I don't really know because we dashed right down to the beach so I could soak. The water was colder than yesterday for some reason. I sat down up to my belly and every time a boat made waves that splashed up on my chest, I whimpered.

Tomorrow is the regular Tahoe marathon. I think this will make a huge difference. We drove the course on the way back from the end of the day 2 race. It doesn't really get any easier, but it's almost over. I'm hoping that I'm tired enough to sleep tonight.

Day 1 (3 hours 34 minutes)

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. Texas time and had trouble getting back to sleep. A packed runner bus took off from the Horizon casino at 6:15. Leticia and I, along with a caravan of other vehicles followed the bus to the staring line 13 miles away. It was dark, but not dark enough that I couldn't see how hilly the course was. I hadn't counted on it being quite this challenging. I took Meredith's advice and ate a pack of carbo beans and drank a carbohydrate drink on the drive up. The weather was cool (44 degrees) and sunny but there was no wind.

I was surprised at how tough all the other runners looked. It was a far cry from the typical marathon bunch. A shotgun blast got the race started and we all dashed down a hill that was much too steep for my tastes. As a result, runners were passing me left and right. I remembered that I'd said I'd walk down steep hills, but since we were only two minutes into the race, I decided to shuffle instead. After a mile or so, I settled in with two Mormon college guys from BYU. Adam and Daniel were running their first marathon which absolutely shocked me until I found out that they were only running one, not all three races. They were extremely polite and oddly enough, were tossing out hip-hop lyrics regularly as we ran along. I'd lose them briefly when I'd spot Leticia and then catch up and then lose them again when I walked up the steeper hills. They drank little and ate nothing. I, on the other hand, got a series of hand-offs from Leticia, and managed to take in plenty of carbs and electrolytes. We counted three support tables offering cups of water. That's it.

After coming off the mountain, we were in the midst of the South Tahoe business district. The course was not coned off and we had to stop at red lights. We ran through parking lots, dodged dog walkers and jumped curbs. At the halfway point, our time was roughly 1:39:30. Too fast. We'd already caught a handful of other runners. I kept waiting for the serious runners to pass us, but not a one did.

After we left the business district, the roads got scary. We were on a narrow highway, with car and 18-wheelers flying by at 70 miles an hour. We ran into traffic, and there was lots of it. A massive road rally in Reno added thousands of motorcycles to the mix. At times, there was no more than 12 inches of road to run on.

Adam and I lost Daniel at about 18 miles. I lost Adam at 23. The last three miles were almost entirely uphill. At one point, a boat on a trailer swung wide across the white line. Four times, I had to stop and press myself sideways against the highway guard rail as large trucks flew by. Amazing. There were no spectators expect for the support crews, but I had a dozen people scream at me from the highway called me a "fucking idiot", a "fucking dumb ass" and a "dumb fuck". Nice. More than one diver told me to "get the fuck off the road". It was clearly not apparent that there was a race going on. I just looked like a complete idiot running on a busy highway.

The temp had climbed to 70 degrees, but I was too focused on the cars and trucks to notice. I tried to look into every eye to make sure they saw me. The altitude made my legs feel very heavy. The Garmin finally said 25 miles (the course was not marked). I overran the turn-off by about 100 yards. I was already pissed. This didn't help. I finished, had my time recorded and we drove back without eating or drinking; just left. The last three miles took me 32 minutes. Adam was about 20 minutes behind. He must have walked in after we split up.

As we were driving back into South Tahoe, Leticia spotted a young guy who looked like he was about to fall over. It was Daniel. We turned around and offered him some Powerade. Although he'd turned it down several times along the way, he drank all we had left, turned and gravely trudged up the hill.

Despite a crappy time, I finished Day one in fourth place. There was a super-fast guy who showed up specifically to set the three-day record. He was shooting for 2:45, but walked up the hill and finished in around 3:00. Supposedly, he doesn't expect to run tomorrow. One other guy who finished ahead of me hurt his heel. After soaking twice in the 55 degree lake, I feel okay. Not good, but okay.

Tomorrow, the route is supposed to be much safer and much easier (although their idea of easy may differ from my idea of easy). I won't run this thing again, and wouldn't recommend it, but I'm looking forward to getting day two behind me.

Week 19 (27.8) - 5 days to ...gulp!

The collapsing financial markets have turned my world upside-down. I'll spare the ugly details. But, I was hugely surprised at how the stress manifested itself in a whole series of aches and pains - neck, back, knees, ankles...

So, after the Lehman and Merrill news (and a harrowing driving lesson with Amanda in which she got the brake and gas mixed up while backing out of the driveway) I hobbled through 5.2 miles on Monday in a woeful 45 minutes (don't bother with the math, it's slow) and with AIG about to crash and the Reserve Fund "breaking the buck", I jogged the same route in just over 42 minutes the next day. On Wednesday, I quit after 3.8 agonizing miles in the neighborhood and walked slowly back to the house. Thursday, Floyd Watson and I had a long talk about the markets and life and by Friday (thanks in part to Paulson and Bernanke's proposed bailout - don't blame these two guys, they just put out the fire) I was feeling loose enough to do 5.2 in 38:35 (felt much faster than this). I've been guessing on the actual mileage ever since my Garmin crapped out two months ago, but just bought a new 301 for $115 on E-bay.

Saturday, I did 8.4, running part of the way with Peter Gallimore and the Black Shorts . That night, Greg Thomas hosted a little Salmon grill "good luck Tahoe" get-together. Mike and Roger gave me a survival gift pack that included Red Bull, Twinkies, a first-aid kit, a gel toe protector, NBA head and wrist bands, Advil, an LCD cap light, a Ben Gay patch, Cottenelle fresh wipes and sanitary toilet seat covers. Thanks again guys. Although the Twinkies have a 40-year shelf life, I enjoyed them with a glass of cold milk while watching the Cardinal/Redskin game. It had been at least 30 years since I last ate this particular golden snack cake with cream filling.

I started a list of things to bring. So far, I have -

1) Sunglasses
2) Electrolytes
3) Band aids
4) My new water bottle (I've never ran with one of these things)
5) Camera
6) Funnel
7) Nail clippers
8) Body-glide
9) NBA wrist and head-bands
10) Advil
11) Laptop
12) "the Stick"
13) Water shoes
14) Sunscreen
15) Carbo-Pro powder
16) Chargers for cell and blackberry
17) Gloves
18) Ear muffs
19) Bathing suit
20) Ben Gay heat patch
21) Gel toe protector
22) Cottonelle wipes

Leticia and I doubled-checked hotel (3-Peaks $79 per night), rental car (Advantage $32 per day for a Malibu or similar) and air (Southwest into Reno - repaid rewards). I still need to cancel the Statesman, find someone to look in on Jack the cat and get a replacement for my Friday meals route. We won't get into Nevada until Thursday night - probably not the greatest idea in the world, but time is tight. A bonus is that the new seasons of "Grey's Anatomy" and "the Office" start Thursday and "the Amazing Race" starts on Sunday night. Although Leticia plans to try the mountain zip-line, I'm thinking TV might have extra appeal this weekend.

I may jog around the block later tonight to work off the Twinkies, but another week of low miles was okay with me. All-in-all, I'm feeling much better than when the week started. I plan on running something up-tempo on Monday (maybe a few 800's) and then five or six miles on Tuesday and a few more on Thursday morning before we fly west.

The first race starts Friday at 7:15 Pacific time. The weather at the start is expected to be near freezing, but sunny and dry. The highlight of the first day is an 800-foot climb in the last four miles. Crap.

Week 18 (30.6) - Holding On

Only 30 miles this week. And 4 days off. I'm not too happy. This wasn't in the plan, but I've decided that a light week this close to the Triple is probably more positive than negative. I need to get to the starting line injury-free. My tooth is fine after a trip to the Endodontist, but I've been feeling a little "twinge" behind my left knee and the ankle pain is back. Nothing major. Just reason for caution.

On a positive note, on the three days that I did lace-up my shoes, I ate sports beans or a gel before the run and did just fine. On Saturday, I doubled the amount of carbs and felt a noticable boost. We ran for two hours and seven minutes at roughly a 7:45 pace. The muscles felt fine, but my joints felt banged up. For whatever reason, I've abandoned ice baths and am paying for it. Tahoe's 55 degree water temps should remedy this. I expect to spend lots of time standing in the cold water.

Russ Secker, who ran across France a couple of summers ago and will be doing his "Triple" as a single 78.6 mile run, met with the few brave Tahoe souls Saturday at Progress Coffee and gave us a detailed description of the courses. The thing that struck me was how hilly it's supposed to be around the lake. Russ figured that walking up the bigger hills would save the legs. The problem with this idea is that I'd already planned to walk down the big hills. (Sounds like I could be doing quite a bit of walking.)

Russ figured that the altitude, which has always been at the back of my mind, is only a problem when running up hills (...and I also assume when running too fast). Mad dog wrote that you can't simulate altitude, but I don't think this is true. I think that anytime you're running hard enough that you're in oxygen debt, you're by proxy training for altitude. And all the heat of the 2008 summer has put my heart through the paces.

The first race is now 12 days away. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a new pair of shoes. I have one pair of Mizuno Wave Runners with about 50 miles on them, but no other shoe with less than 300. I've been thinking about buying a Nike+ shoe and a Sport Band. Since my Garmin 301 crapped out, I have to guess on mileage. Since miles aren't marked on the first two Tahoe courses, I'd have to run by feel alone. I'd rather have some idea about how many miles are ahead of me. There's a 14-day weather forecast online and if it holds out, we can expect 37 degrees at the start. Last year, there was ice on the road during the Sunday race. It's a fine line - 37 is good / ice is bad, but either beats the heat of the past Texas summer.

Week 17 (61.3) - Running on Empty

I skipped Monday, felt terrible, and decided I could use a day off. My tooth was killing me. I’d been gobbling Advil, but was still waking up in pain several times a night. Tuesday morning, I drug myself out the door and when I got to Barton, Roger was already there with a plan to do 1200s. Since I had no plan of my own, I agreed, mentally unprepared. I still managed 4x1200 in 4:27, 4:22, 4:22 and 4:22 ...but it wasn’t easy. I had to push all the way. That afternoon, I saw my Dentist, who took x-rays, wrote a prescription for Amoxicillin and Vicodin and referred me to a specialist. Apparently, I had an infection in a tooth that I’d already had a root canal in.

Wednesday, I was in Phoenix all day and then had our fantasy football draft that night. The "Phonies" drafted third and took Westbrook in the first round, but there was no time for a run. Thursday, it was a surprising 72 degrees, so Roger and I ran a brisk tempo. I probably averaged somewhere under 6:30, although he pretty much crushed me. By Thursday, I’d either caught a full-fledged summer cold or the high mold count got my nose running non-stop and now I had a headache to match my throbbing tooth. Friday morning, I pushed myself around the lake at a pedestrian pace. It was discouraging and a little unnerving since the first race was now 21 days out. Right then, I decided that I’d better schedule an appointment with Meredith Terranova to map out a fueling plan for the Triple and hopefully figure out what I’m doing wrong in my training.

I was dreading Saturday’s long run. Somehow, I’d gotten in the habit of running at least two hours and forty minutes and intended log that amount at least one more time, but since I’d taken a sinus pill and was still on a steady dose of Advil, I felt worn out before we left the parking lot. To make things worse, Patrick Hall and Greg Thomas both showed up along with Roger, Mike and Peter. The cool weather gave everybody a boost, so we were soon flying with me huffing and puffing and bring up the rear. About an hour and forty-five minutes into the run, I was hopelessly behind the pack but was actually grateful to suffer solo. I did several loops around the park to bring the tally to 2:40:05, paid my $3 late fee to soak 15 minutes in Barton, choked down an Endurox R4, took a 30 minute nap at Leticia’s, and did non-stop errands until it was time to see Meredith. At 2:00, I ate my first meal, a McDonald’s grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo.

Meredith asked me what I typical eat before a training run (nothing). She asked whether I take electrolyte tablets (no, but sometimes I intend to) and what I eat and drink during my training runs (nothing during runs under 10 miles, but one or two gels and 12 ounces of a carbohydrate(16g)/protein(6g)mix on long runs). She also asked what I eat after long runs and when (it isn’t unusual to wait until noon before having a first bite). Apparently, on my “two-forty” runs, I should be taking in 120 grams of carbohydrates, but on a good day I probably get half that. Anyway, this all worked well for me when I did 40 mile weeks, but it all falls apart at 70+, so here’s my new plan so I don’t totally run myself into the ground –

Eat something before every run – Jelly beans in the car on the way to the workout or a gel with water. Meredith let me try some Carbo-Pro (a tasteless high (38g) carbohydrate powder), Ultragen (a 60g/20g carb/protein recovery powder that Paul swears by), four Thermolytes and a small Mountain Dew (for quick energy jumpstart). So, I plan on having a carbo drink on every single run, taking a Thermolyte (or the Hammer e-tabs that I have, but never remember to take) several times on my long runs and drinking an Ultragen immediately after any run over …90 minutes. Plus, I need to eat and eat, so Leticia and I bought cracked wheat bread, almond butter, bananas and honey at Central Market.

On Sunday, I woke up to the alarm at 6:00 but felt congested and achy, so I took two Advil and went back to sleep for another hour, got up and drank some coffee, and eventually felt like I could run at least 5 in the neighborhood. Since I told Meredith that I’d test out our new plan, I ate a small pack of Mountain Berry jelly beans, took a Thermolyte tablet, gulped a couple swigs of Mountain Dew and mixed up the Carbo-Pro with a bit of my regular grape powder. After running a hilly 5.3 mile neighborhood loop in 41:22 (my PR on this course is 32:15), I swooped into the garage and drank a third of the grape mixture, ran another 1.5 miles, back into the garage for another sip, another 1.5 miles, back to finish off the fuel and another 1.5, plus a quick half mile because I was felling much better. The Ultragen (punch flavor) was quite tasty and made me feel good …maybe because I ate and drank everything I’d intended. That night, after eating pasta and wheat bread and bananas and bagel chips and almonds and almond butter and a plum, I ran the 5.3 loop again in 38:02. This felt great, although my muscles were screaming the last couple of miles.

So, I’m less than three weeks out. Yikes. My last long run will be Saturday. I have a heavy travel week, but with luck, my tooth will be fixed on Monday. I’m not worried about light mileage from here out. Besides the Saturday long run, I plan on peppering in some intervals. I can use the confidence.

But the Phonies are in excellent shape, beating the "Security Geeks" 101 to 56 in week 1.

Week 16 (68.6) - 25 days to go

It's funny how quickly the running mind set changes. I averaged more than 73 miles per week in August, finished with 327 total and felt disappointed; disappointed because I felt sluggish and bored on Sunday. Before I started training for Tahoe, I'd have called anyone crazy who did 300 in the August heat. Especially me. I hate long runs.

So, with less than four weeks to go, I just need to hold on. I wrote some Ultra Marathon expert named "Mad Dog Mike" for advice. He wrote back, but since he didn't confirm what I think I know, I'm not putting much stock in his words. Here's the transcript (Mad Mike is in Parenthesis) -

(Dear Scott: Thanks for writing. How did you hear about The Mad Dog? Did you read my recent article in "Marathon and Beyond" magazine?)

Me: I've had a hard time finding forum threads on running the Triple, (No loss: message boards are generally fonts of misinformation), so I've been training without a net for the September races. (Ha, ha! That shows you are brave...important for being an ultra-runner. It is also important to be a little crazy.)

I'm not sure that I have a specific question so much as looking for advice. (Oh-que-doke.)

I'm a 46-year old, 2:50 - 2:55 marathoner. (Nice and fast. Congratulations. Have you done some 2:50 marathons recently?)

I've worked my way up from 120 mile months in the spring to 250, 270 and 325 the past three. (That's pretty high mileage in my opinion.)

No pain at all. (That's a relief!!!!)''

Actually feeling strong. (Very important. Now the trick is to not leave it all on the training trail, and still feel strong and pain-free at the start of the race.)

I haven't run at altitude, (Only running at altitude will prepare you for running at altitude. There are no tricks, other than using an altitude simulator, that will help prepare you), but I've been training in heat and 95% humidity. (That's nice, providing you plan to race under those sorts of conditions. However, if you believe training in heat and humidity will help, then continue to do so...the mind can be magical.)

I'd thought I run the day 1 marathon around 3:25, (Yes, you must run the first day very easy.)soak in the lake for half an hour (Immediately following the race, get in the COLD lake with a two litre bottle of full-sugar coke and food. Stay in the water until you have finished the coke and the food and or your legs have turned blue. Take at least one more soak later in the day. Do the same after days two and three as well.) and try to get enough carbs down (Other than your carb intake immediately following the run, your meals should be high in protein and reasonably high in fat. Do not take in excessive amounts of carbohydrates.) so that I don't hit the wall at the halfway point. (Hitting the wall is the result of poor pacing.If you pace correctly, you will have plenty of stored glycogen to burn intramuscular fat: and intramuscular fat is what will power your muscles.From now until a couple of days before the race, do all your runs before eating, and eat nothing during the runs. Nothing! You may sip a diluted sports drink, but that's it! This will help training your body to quickly switch to fat metabolism. Stay completely away from concentrated carbs, like gooz and jells. Eat and drink immediately following your workouts...no delay.)

My best guess is that I should be able to ratchet down several minutes each successive day. (Play it as you go along, and save your major effort for the final 13.1 miles on day three.)

I don't take food well on the day of the race, but have no problem with sports drinks (Take a diluted sports drink.Several members of The Mad Dog Training Team have had good luck with the drinks "Accelerade" and "Succeed, which each contain a little protein.) and gels. (Stay completely away from concentrated carbs like gooz, jells and candy bars.They can cause GI upsets, nausea, diarrhea, cramps and sometimes vomiting. They prevent or delay the switch to fat metabolism, impede the body's ability to absorb water, and provide no benefits.Any thoughts? (The Mad Dog always has something to say.)

I know this is vague, (No, your questions were good, and went right to the essentials. I am sending you, as attachments, some back issues of the run-newsletter that I hope you enjoy and find useful. After you read them, please write me again.Dr. (Mad Dog Mike) Schreiber, Online Marathon/Ultra/Trail Coach and Fitness Guru http://us.mc317.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=training2run@yahoo.com

Kind regards,
Scott McIntyre

I plan on running one more set of back-to-back long runs Saturday (Sept 6) and Sunday and then do one more 18 to 21 miler on Sept 13. Unlike training for a normal marathon, I plan on doing a big taper, maybe 50, 35 and 10 (short week) the last three weeks. That means that the upcoming week is the last serious one. Yahoo!!