Post-Race Fun, Day 1

I need a bit of focused time to sit and process the whole Western States experience before I write a blog post about it. Given that we're still in Squaw on vacation for a few days, I am thinking it might be a weekend project! So with that I am going to skip over Saturday and Sunday and move on to our post-race festivities, because if I don't, I am going to get way behind! 😃

After finally feeling well enough to eat a real meal of a cobb-esque salad and a big slice of strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream on Sunday night, I fell into bed early, exhausted. I tossed and turned and woke up every few hours as is typical for me post-race but I did manage to sleep some and woke up around 6:00 am to bright sunshine.

The first few steps out of bed on Monday morning were incredibly creaky but as I moved around a bit throughout the morning, things loosened up a bit. Oh, don't get me wrong, I was sore and my feet were banged up and I hadn't yet tested myself on any stairs, so I didn't truly know the extent of the post-race feels but at least I could get up and walk around so I'm calling it a win! 😂😀

We had talked about a few possibilities for the day, but didn't make any decisions until after breakfast so that I could have a bit more of a sense of how I was feeling and what I might be up for! It was a beautiful day and I wanted us to get out to enjoy it, so I proposed that we hike up the Shirley Canyon Trail, which went right along Squaw Creek and had numerous waterfalls along the way. The trail went up to the top of Squaw, but it seemed like there would be enough to enjoy that we could just go as far as we wanted before turning around and not feel like we were missing out. It is obviously a popular destination as there were a lot of people on the trail by the time we got out there around 11:15 am! We were able to walk right down the street from the condo to the trailhead, which was an added bonus and made it an even easier choice for a walk!

Sam had a lot of energy and she and Ryan took off the trail at a much faster clip than Mom, Dad and I. I was happy to mosey along at a slower pace as I wanted some active recovery time but certainly didn't want to overdo it! The trail was well-traveled and with good reason. It was incredibly beautiful along the creek with gorgeous views up into the mountains! Lovely things to look at no matter where your eyes traveled, from the creek to the views to the wildflowers.

There were a few more technical sections with rocks to maneuver around but also some lovely dirt stretches through the trees that were easy hiking. My legs felt decent really, all things considered, although I was certainly less than nimble going downhill as my quads were still feeling fairly tender! Mom, Dad and I got in a bit more than 2 miles of walking while Sam and Ryan got up a bit further with about 2.3 miles traveled. It was the perfect way to get out and explore and get in some great rewards with an easy effort! (2.1 miles walked)

Sam leading the way

So many flowers! I think this is some kind of monkeyflower.

Beautiful blue sky

Purple larkspur

Mule's Ears

Wild phlox

The creek was roaring and the water was so clear. So pretty!

HUGE pinecones!

Snow plant! So cool. I saw this hint of red off in the woods amidst the greenery and wondered if it was a boundary marker or something. But no, upon closer inspection, it was this neat parasitic fungi in the indian pipe family, just bright red!!

After the hike, it was back to the room for a quick break then down to the village for lunch. So much quieter than over the weekend!! We had a good lunch at Coffee Bar then stopped at the yogurt place for dessert. Yum!

And of course, because we were on vacation and there was a pool to swim in, Sam spent about 1 1/2 hours playing in the water while we relaxed poolside. It felt good to sit for a bit 😃

We headed into Tahoe City for dinner at a thai place that looked rather sketchy on the outside but served up good, fresh, delicious fare. Yum! The wind was whipping and it was rather chilly, but we couldn't leave without walking for a bit along the pathway down at the edge of Lake Tahoe. Of course, there were a ton of stairs down from the road to the path itself, which was frankly slightly painful 😂 but well worth it! So beautiful! It was the perfect way to wrap up a good race-cation day!

Lake Tahoe view

Yes, I was sporting my buckle and finisher jacket 😃 Why not?!

Found a cool playground with a big bouldering rock to play on