Race Report: Lake Tahoe 70.3, Part I

The Best Prank Ever

I actually didn't register for Lake Tahoe 70.3. My coach did, and here's the back story:

I was hesitant to sign up for this race because
(1) Unpredictable condition: In 2013, it snowed on race day, and in 2014, the race was cancelled due to wild fire in the area. I wanted an insurance policy against snow, wildfire, and any other natural disasters.

(2) Course difficulty: All I can remember from friends who did 2013 IMLT was them talking about how tough the course was. I was super intimidated by the monstrous Brockway climb.

(3) High elevation: I have had high altitude sickness twice -- once at Peru and once at Everest Base Camp -- so I had convinced myself that I don't do well at high elevation.

A few weeks ago, we had a training weekend up at Tahoe to see how I fared. After the weekend, I was still on the fence for all the aforementioned reasons, so my coach registered for me with a $50 insurance/bet that I would cross the finish line. The bet started as something I randomly blurted out during a run, but I was fine with it because if it were up to me, I would've waited until race weekend to decide and paid more for on-site registration.

Here's the prank: In order for me to cross the finish line, it would mean that I would have to show up for the race, right? Since I wasn't able to spend the week acclimating to the altitude at Tahoe, I read that the second best option is to show up as late as possible prior to the race because it is the most taxing for the body to acclimate 24 to 48 hours after arriving at high elevation. Caitlin and I were going to start the 3-hour-ish drive from SF at 7am on Saturday, which should give me plenty of time to check in before athlete check-in ended at noon.

As we drove past Auburn, I realized that I had a few missed texts from last night. Mike and Justin, who were already at the Tahoe cabin, were wondering if I'm arriving Friday night or Saturday morning. By now, it was around 9am, so if I hadn't left SF, I wouldn't have been able to make it to athlete check-in in time. I asked Caitlin if I should pretend that I thought there was race day check-in and hadn't even packed yet, and she agreed.

Mike totally bought the story. He called the Ironman hot line to explain the situation and ask if someone else could pick up my package. He got an earful of "NO!" Then, he started devising a plan with Justin to get Lauren, Justin's fiancee, to pretend to be me. (Note: I'm yellow and she's not. It was never going to work.) After sufficient time, I finally fessed up and said, "See you within the hour!" When we arrived at the cabin and saw the reaction on their faces, I declared myself for pulling the "BEST PRANK EVER!"