Tan 20 Miler

My skin has always tanned easily. I remember coming back from Christmas and Spring Breaks in grade school and having the teacher ask where I went for the holiday. I would always reply, “Grandma’s house, in Wisconsin”. They always assumed that I had gone somewhere warm and tropical, when the farthest south I had gone was to Wausau. I was always the darkest of all my friends. I nearly changed race each summer, my hair sunning itself blonde and my skin darkening. I rarely burn, and when I do, it never is bad enough to peel or hurt, it just turns a little pinker.

Glancing at the forecast as I chose my outfit for the 20 mile run in Redding, I knew I was in for some really sexy tan lines. I slathered up my neck, ears, and left arm (the only part that burns, forever sensitive to the sun after radiation), my burn prone areas. I searched online for a Dairy Queen. It was going to be a Blizzard day. Once I completed all my race day rituals, I was ready. Matt watched me with quiet curiosity. He believes in not having rituals, so changes in his routine don’t throw him off. By 8am and 60F under partly cloudy skies, we were off. Our hotel was half a mile from the Sacramento River Trail, so we ran to the connecting park and hid a Gatorade in the bushes. The first five miles were slightly chilly in my sleeveless racing top, but were tolerable. Nearly every mile, we sucked down some water from Matt’s CamelBak. The trail snaked around through several parks and on both sides of the river. We crossed Redding’s famed Sundial Bridge.



The clouds disappeared. As we returned to our starting point, near mile 6, we grabbed the Gatorade, sucked some of it down and hid it behind a tree. Miles 6-10 were gradually uphill with some even steeper spots mixed in as we climbed toward Keswick Dam. The clouds had completely disappeared and revealed the snow-capped Trinity Mountains in the distance. It was one of those perfect weather days. After the cloudy winter, it felt especially nice to have the sun beat down on me. I spent the next several miles daydreaming about having this path at home. It would be a lot more fun to train on this trail everyday!! I made up my mind that I would run the Redding Marathon on this trail next January.



As we crossed a long foot bridge, I sucked down the first of my GU packets and a whole ton more water. It sloshed around in my stomach with each stride. I was sweating at such a rapid rate that I had to keep on drinking, or I’d become faint. We headed south on the opposite side of the river. Small patches of shade dotted the path with chilly oases. By mile 12, I needed another GU. And Mile 14, with a hint of dried sweat salt…yum! Nothing seemed to make a difference for my energy level. We turned around and headed back to the dam and over the bridge to return the way we came. It was nice to have the last five miles be a slight downhill slope, but at around mile 16, we sucked up watery bubbles and then air from the Camelbak. Out of water. Somehow we miscalculated our turn around spot and came to our starting park, 2 miles too early. This ended up being a good thing, since our Gatorade was still waiting for us in the shade. We emptied the bottle and continued on. We crossed the Sundial Bridge again for the third time. The temperature had climbed to 70F and people were everywhere. They looked at our sweat-stained and salty faces with odd interest. We must look really awful, I thought. My muscles began to cry out as they stiffened. My feet begged for me to stop. As we crossed Sundial Bridge the fourth and final time, my feet were happy for the softer surface. They almost bounced with excitement. We returned for the final mile, uphill, to the pavement. My previous 20 milers reduced me to a walk break nearly every mile, so I bargained with myself as I created a new strategy : keep on running, but slow it down as much as I needed. I think I’m going to need this strategy in Green Bay, I always walk too much of the final 6.2 miles. It was a struggle to keep myself slow and steady, but it worked out. I picked up the pace for the last half mile, just because I was ready to get out of the heat and sunshine (who thought I’d ever say that?). We finished at around 11am, with 3:07 for the total time. I’m happy with that time. It is three minutes faster than the previous 20 miler (with a 30mph headwind for half of it). Come to think of it all of my 20’s have had challenging aspects :
1. Michigan in January. 20F with a 15mph wind.
2. Right before a powerful front came through : 40 mph headwind for 10 miles
3. Another powerful weather front : 30 mph headwind for 10 miles
4. and this one, 20 miles, in the heat (warmer than I’m used to).

I hope this isn’t a sign of what the race will be like!!!



As I stretched in the comfortable shade of the hotel room, Matt pointed out how salty my shirt had become. Fabulous. In the shower, I was amazed that I had no chafing spots. Usually as salt washes across the raw skin, I scream in pain. I definitely have found my racing outfit!! If it can hold up in the heat (and extra sweat!), it’s a keeper!! I couldn’t help but laugh at myself in the mirror. Really noticeable tan lines stared back at me. I even got a tan line from the Garmin on my wrist. Immediately after the shower I addressed my dehydration issues. Butterscotch colored pee. I sucked down three bottles of water and felt better.



We headed to the pool with our lunches. Matt brought a sandwich and I had cheese and crackers with salami. As I iced my ITBS knee, I wrote my Race Rituals post. After lunch, Matt and I headed to Dairy Queen (forgot to take the photo, I was too excited for the Blizzard!!). Then we did some shopping in the AC. Several different store clerks commented on my tan. I told them that we were from cloudy Eureka and that I had gotten the tan in one day. All the while, my still pale-but-slightly-pink Husband rolls his eyes in jealousy. Matt only gets burned and more freckled.

That night, we had burgers at Red Robin and took a walk near the Sundial Bridge.

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There’s a lot of information about damage the sun’s radiation does to skin. For as many sources that say that any amount of tan is damage and horrible for the skin, there’s an equal amount that say that a “base” tan is helpful to prevent burns. So who is right? Everyone agrees that limiting sun exposure is wise,and enjoying it in the morning or evening hours when the sun isn’t as strong, but the agreement ends there. Who is more at risk of skin cancer : my husband is pale and freckled and burns easily, or myself, whom never burns but tans very easily?



I wish I had that answer.