Summer Summary

It's raining in Truckee!! Hallelujah. (Okay, it was raining when I started this post. That was last weekend. But the sentiment is the same.)

I'm not just grateful for rain because of this insidious drought, but also because of that nasty King Fire. The smoke in Tahoe has been stifling the last two weeks, and folks down the hill have had to evacuate. 

Fall feels a bit in the air, and with that happy fact, I am reminded to make my usual summer wrap-up post. I may be a complete bloggging slacker, but at least I have my traditions.

Unfortunately, the short summary for this summer goes like this:

It was completely shitty.

An accurate and succinct summary, if a bit lacking on details. But truthfully, I'm tired of giving the details. 

Last weekend, my husband and I visited with some friends we hadn't seen in four or five months. I came straight out and told the wife in the couple that I was tired of updating people on the upsetting events of my life, so could we just skip the "What's been happening in your life?" question? 

She replied, "Let's just talk about trail running!"

Now that is a good friend.

So for this post, I'm going to skip all the shitty parts. I can't ignore them, but I guess I don't have to relive them here. Instead, I thought I would take this opportunity to focus on all the awesome parts of this summer.

Because you know what? Even among all the challenges - the feelings of betrayal, the injustices, the immense grief - there were still some pretty awesome things that happened this summer. Reminding myself of these things is one good way of dealing with the challenges - keeping perspective, and realizing that even a shit sandwich doesn't taste as bad when you're sitting by a mountain lake with a cocktail in hand. (Okay, I'm sorry, I will stop swearing now. Terribly embarrassing, my crassness.)

So. Awesome parts of this summer, in chronological order:



Hangin' at Western States


For the first time in several years, I was neither volunteer, runner, nor pacer. I thoroughly enjoyed geeking out as a fan.

Gary Gellin nears the top of the Escarpment.

And the finish line especially. Always a social, and very emotional place to spend time.

The Trent girls await the leader at Placer High.

See what I mean about emotions? (Pictured: Rob Krar)

More emotions! Yay! (Pictured: Max King)

Fourth of July!

The fourth is always awesome in Truckee, and this year was no different. Good friends, perfect weather, parades, swimming, barbecues, bike rides, tubing down the river. Fun!

The Dream Team at the Truckee Parade.

Family Visits

Fishing day with the boys!

Game time: "I am a Pig." "I am a Camel." (Not the most flattering pic, but certainly the funniest!)

TRT 50K

Due to the fact that I spent most of June and the first part of July injured, I dropped down from the 50M distance I'd signed up for and ran the 50K (actually 55K) at TRT for the first time since 2003. Oh wow! I think I like the 50K. No Diamond Peak climb, and it's over so fast! Plus, I won. Total bonus.

And I will tell you that staying up all night to volunteer at the Tunnel Creek AS is much easier with only 55K on your legs vs. 50M. Just as much fun though!

Pre-race with the RD

TRT 173

It seems like a lot of my adventures involve the Tahoe Rim Trail, but this one was truly unique. Five runners, four days, and 173 miles of jaw-dropping scenery. 

I don't want to say too much about this one, since I SWEAR I AM GOING TO WRITE A REAL POST ABOUT IT. I promise. I am.

But the summary is that it kind of turned out to be the gem of the summer. Two of our really big challenges were already upon me and my husband, and a third was just hitting the fan when this adventure began. I didn't know if I should even be out there on the trail for so many reasons, but it turned out to be the best decision I could have made.

I am massively grateful for the friends who put in all of the work to plan this adventure and who turned out to be amazing people with whom to share the trail!

173 Miles that looked something like this

Triumphant at the end of our journey: Me, Chris, Tyler, Curt, and Joe. (And Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.)

A New Kitchen

This is another one that I am not going to give all the details on because I really want to do a full post with before and after pictures. There was quite a process, and it looks amazing, but of course, it's still not done. (Started in April, why would we be done by October?) As soon as the back splash and trim are in, there will be lots of pictures! Pinky swear.

Here's Andrew on concrete day. This doesn't show you anything about our kitchen, does it? But just wait until you see the killer concrete counter tops he made me!!

Other Adventures

Of course there were plenty of beautiful trail miles shared with friends, (several times getting caught out in hail and lightning), and other "daily" adventures. In completely non-chronological order:


Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite with Jamie:

Jamie

Happy in the mountains

Alpine lake in the Hoover Wilderness

Running near home:

Castle Peak, Donner Summit

Desolation Wilderness with Betsy

Aloha Lake/Desolation Wilderness with Jamie and Caren

Jason's wedding with the college track crew (no running involved).

I know this was mostly a post in pictures. I don't have a lot of words these days. Honestly though, I'm hoping to find some. I miss writing.

Last summer, my sister declared it to be The Summer of Joy. We did so many wonderful things with family, knowing that with my mom's ALS diagnosis, it would be the last summer with her in good health. It truly was wonderful - three full months of family time up and down the coast.

This one was declared The Summer of Sadness. Aptly named, and thankfully in the rearview mirror.

My sister has already declared next summer to be The Summer of Healing. I'm assuming that means more family trips, and I'm all for that! In fact, I'm pretty much ready for summer right now.