I spent the last week of training dividing my time between Donner Lake and Lake Tahoe, doing all kinds of exciting things other than blogging.  I took a vacation with my family and from myself.  Although I moved and ran and rested, for a few days marathon training did not consume me.  I believe I needed a physical and mental break both to refuel for the remainder of this journey, and to be able to fully appreciate all that is right in front of me.

Camp Mom- Triathlon Training finally came to fruition!  My campers did an amazing job completing their first races, especially considering the altitude of the course.  I shed more than a few tears while cheering and completely lost it when they each crossed the finish line.  Luckily, I prefer wearing very large sunglasses and was able to keep embarrassment to a minimum.  

CMB competed in a Half-Ironman Triathlon, not his first race of this distance but a new experience in intensity.  While my man swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles and ran 13.1 miles (beginning at 6,000 feet of elevation and gaining 6,000 more feet on the bike)- the kids and I frolicked and sunned ourselves on the Donner Lake beach.  As the transition zone was conveniently located near our blanket, we made frequent trips over to wait and cheer.  One of my favorite games to play while I hang out is, Guess the Athlete’s Age.  I watch, take a stab in the dark and see how close I’ve come once I catch a glimpse of the right calf muscles.  It’s actually a lot more entertaining than it sounds and from the looks of the triathletes when they’re finished, probably much more fun than racing.                 

We spent a lovely day on the Truckee River with some pals from home who were also vacationing close by.  Although I sat on my butt for most of the trip, I did exert myself by wrestling an oar away from one of the children and paddling the boat through (class 1) rapids- with help. Whew!

The highlight of training on vacation was a family bike ride/run.  The four of us began at Squaw Valley, the kids on bikes CMB and I on foot.  We followed a path from this former Winter Olympic site out along the Truckee River and back to Squaw.  We happened upon an empty soccer field where I tried to engage the gang in a session of  Mom’s Vacation Bootcamp.  Unfortunately, there were not any takers for my high/low plank challenge (besides me), but CMB was more than happy to snap my picture when I collapsed.   

Speaking of CMB, I was happy to celebrate that we are now of the same decade his 40th Birthday!  Although I’m technically only 2 1/2 years his senior, CMB enjoys exaggerating the slight gap in our ages for half of the year.  Throw in the fact that I crossed the point of no return a couple of years ago, someone might have you think that I’m a total cradle-robber.  But since I have a fantastic sense of humor, I can laugh it off and finally rub it in.

In between beach visits, we took an awesome hike along the Spur View Trail, off the Tahoe Rim Trail.  The hike was a 1.5 mile gradual climb to incredible rock outcroppings and an equally impressive view of Lake Tahoe.

We were all in fairly good spirits and even tolerated posing for some photos along the way.

In the end, the general consensus was that the return trip, being a descent, was way better.  No surprise there- running downhill is the best.