By Lindsey Emery, Outside

It’s an all-too familiar scene: You’re 19 miles into a marathon, feeling good (ish), loose, physically and mentally strong, and then all of a sudden you hit mile 20, and everything starts to crumble. Your muscles ache, your head hurts, your feet throb, your stomach groans — you’re fatigued, and you’ve hit a giant wall. Now you just need to climb over it. No problem, as long as you’ve taught your body how to do that successfully.

“For many longer events (half-marathons, marathons, Ironmans, etc.), you can’t practice the full distance in training,” says Jeff Gaudette, head coach for RunnersConnect. “You need to train tired in order to simulate what the last 10K or so will feel like and to learn how to handle those specific demands during the race.”

Training tired can be tricky, though. There’s some evidence to suggest that it increases your risk of injury, notes physiologist Darren Paul, author of a recent injury prevention training article published in Aspetar Sports Medicine Journal. “Plus, energy levels are depleted and you become slower in your reaction and decision-making time, which will also likely impact your ability to perform.” Approach it properly, however, and it may make you a better athlete. “Training through this response results in better maintenance of strength and improved postural control.”

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On March 15, 2014,  Jeff Andrews experienced a snowboarding accident at Sugar Bowl Resort resulting in a C6 burst fracture with associated spinal cord injury and transverse process fractures at L1, L2, and L3. He suffers quadriplegia at the C5-C7 level. His goal is to become as independent as his condition will permit and return to the most active lifestyle possible.

The High Fives Foundation Empowerment program approved a $21,000 grant for the Truckee resident for nine months of specialized personal training at the CR Johnson Healing Center in Truckee.

A previous empowerment grant allowed Andrews to spend two months at Body Wellness Hawaii training in the Neurokinetic Pilates (NKP) method with Alejandra Monsalve. Throughout his Hawaii trip, Andrew’s friend and personal trainer Jack Powell attended every session and has incorporated the NKP method into his training philosophy.

High Fives Foundation is a Tahoe-based nonprofit supporting the dreams of mountain action sports athletes by raising injury prevention awareness while providing resources and inspiration to those who suffer life-altering injuries.

After the pros are done with the first leg of the Amgen Tour of California bike race in South Lake Tahoe, the masses may participate in a fund-raising ride for Ride 2 Recovery.

This nonprofit provides mental and physical rehabilitation programs for injured veterans through cycling. All proceeds support programs at military installations and VA hospitals around the country, and the purchase of bikes for participating veterans.

The Honor Ride Lake Tahoe is a 19-mile route that departs from Heavenly Mountain Resort’s California Base Lodge, goes along Pioneer Trail toward Meyers. It starts May 8at 11:30am.

The Honor Ride registration includes event shirt, finishing medal, lunch and staff support along route. Individual fee is $65 and day-of fee is $75. It is free to injured veterans. Go online to register.

By Gloria Liu, Bicycling

Trek is recalling all of its bikes that are equipped with disc brakes and a certain front quick release. The company is working with the CPSC on the recall, which affects up to 900,000 bikes from the 2000 to 2015 model years.

The bikes were sold for $480 to $1,650.

Trek knows of three crashes that have resulted from this issue, including one that resulted in quadriplegia.

The issue is with the quick-release used on these particular models.

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Alison Tetrick is eager to participate in next month’s races based in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Sam Wiebe

By Susan Wood

Move over boys.

Title IX aside, pro cyclist Alison Tetrick knows in order for women’s sports to receive the recognition the big boys get in their respective events, the girls need all the help they can get – sometimes from a few angels on the shoulders.

And so it goes with the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race, which will have two legs starting and ending at Heavenly Mountain Resort on May 8-9. Fourteen teams representing 84 of the top professional women cyclists are expected to roar from the California Base Lodge parking lot each day. The first stage goes around the lake and is 74.5 miles, the second goes into Meyers and is 49.7 miles. This is the largest women’s race ever in the United States.

An army of volunteers and spectators will be on hand.The receptiveness from the town and in particular Heavenly as a host is something Tetrick told Lake Tahoe News she immensely appreciates.

“That’s huge that they place such a high value on supporting women’s cycling. It’s exciting that Tahoe utilizes this race as well. It creates more fans and inspires other women riders as well. And Tahoe is all about recreation,” Tetrick, 30, said while on tour. “It’s nice to see the steady growth (in interest).”

Tetrick is an advisor to the Women’s Cycling Association. The pro cyclist of five years grew up in Redding, played tennis in college in Abilene, Texas, and became serious about cycling while living in Petaluma – where the rolling Wine Country hills beckon.

She’s inspired by her 84-year-old grandfather who still rides to this day in Evergreen, Colo.

“He’s a tough guy. I try to ride with him whenever I see him,” she said.

She has a message for young girls wanting to become something in the recreation world.

“Find what you’re most passionate about. Then, get out and active and meet your goals – whatever they are. And, be bold. You’ll be ahead of the game,” she said, adding, “Education is important” to getting the support they need.

That’s precisely why Heavenly wanted to take part, said John Wagnon, director of marketing of Vail Resorts’ three Tahoe properties. The longtime marketer, who served on the California Tourism Commission and now is on Nevada’s, understands the importance of promoting women’s sports and being the business to provide the kick-start in giving them a leg up where many companies have been noticeably absent in a man’s world.

“We want to support women’s pro sports. They struggle to get visitors and don’t get the level of sponsorships (the men do), but (women’s sports) are growing in popularity,” he said.

Granted, the sport is more commonplace and supported in Europe. But the prospect of growth in the United States through visibility is what the competitors and sponsors are seeking.

Wagnon recalled how South Shore executives reached out to the Amgen organizers many years ago. When the men’s race was scheduled through town in 2011, it got snowed out. Fingers are crossed that’s not a problem this year.

“After that, we remained in contact with the folks at Amgen and worked to continue efforts to get the race back. We were very interested,” Wagnon said, speaking on behalf of Heavenly and through conversations with Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority Executive Director Carol Chaplin.

“Seeing the athletes in our community builds the enthusiasm for hosting the event as well as the sport,” Chaplin said in a statement. She also mentioned this year’s signature sunny weather as “good for training” opposed to snow and rain hampering the event.

This time, the women are on center stage.

Motorists are advised to allow for extra time in getting around the South Shore on that Friday and Saturday. Riders will start from Heavenly at 11am Friday and finish about 2:15pm. The next day, they’ll begin the ride at 10:30am and end at approximately 12:30pm. A festival opens both days’ event at 10am.

“This is going to be awesome,” said Mike Frye, who runs LTVA events.

Frye noted he’s beyond excited about this event because of its importance to the women like Tetrick who have fought and clawed for recognition despite multiple wins.

Tetrick rides for Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies and an ambassador for Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer. Tetrick has represented the United States at the Pan American Games and around the world racing for the national team.

Tertrick received a bronze medal at the World Championships in the Team Time Trial for Astana BePink in 2014, and placed second at Chrono des Nations in 2012, 2013, and 2014. She won the overall at the Merco Cycling Classic and the Valley of the Sun Stage Race and won stages at the Sea Otter Cycling Classic, Nature Valley Grand Prix, Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and most recently at the Tour Femenino de San Luis in Argentina.

Not only does she spend countless hours training and racing, Tetrick is in graduate school for neuropsychology. She believes it is important to raise awareness of resources available for those affected by cancer and thinks teamwork is a necessity.

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Notes:

• There are two sites where people may stream the event live. Here is the first and the second.
• May 8, 11am start at Heavenly’s Cal Lodge.
• May 9, 10:30am start at Heavenly’s Cal Lodge.
• For more info, go online.

By Pamela Manson,  Salt Lake Tribune

Snowboarders in Utah are asking a federal appeals court to reverse the dismissal of their lawsuit that claims Alta Ski Resort is discriminating against them by banning snowboarding.

In an appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Wasatch Equality and four snowboarders say their suit extensively detailed the history and irrationality of Alta’s ban, which they allege is based on stereotypes that boarders are “undesirables.” They claim the dismissal of their suit at an early stage of litigation — less than a year after it was filed — was inappropriate.

The boarders filed suit in January 2014 against Alta and the U.S. Forest Service, arguing they were being irrationally discriminated against and deserved protection under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which historically has been used in cases involving discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation. The ban, the snowboarders said, had no place on public land.

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Roadside stations for inspections and decontaminations of motorized boats and watercraft in Lake Tahoe open in May.

The dates are:

Opening  May 1:
8:30am-5:30pm, seven days a week
Meyers: at the junction of highways 50 and 89
Spooner Summit: at the junction of highway 28 and 50 in Nevada
Alpine Meadows: Highway 89, off Alpine Meadows Road north of Tahoe City.

Opening May 21:
8:30am-5:30pm, Thursday-Sunday
Truckee-Tahoe Airport: Highway 267, off Airport Road

The Homewood inspection station is closed this season. The Northstar station has ben replaced with the Truckee Airport location.

All motorized boats and watercraft require inspection for aquatic invasive species (AIS) prior to launching into Lake Tahoe. Invasive species, such as quagga mussels, New Zealand mudsnails, and hydrilla, are known to multiply quickly and colonize underwater surfaces, including docks and piers, water supply and filtration systems, buoys, moored boats, and even the beautiful rocky shoreline. They destroy fish habitat, ruin boat engines, and can negatively impact water quality and the local economy, recreation, and ecosystem.

For more information, go online.

By Sage Sauerbrey, Moonshine Ink 

“Fish on!”

A fisherman yells out as Mike Wier, outreach coordinator for California Trout, hooks into a behemoth rainbow trout in a pool just above the Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City.

This 31-inch monster is one of roughly 40 trout that have become stranded in a short section of the Truckee River since Lake Tahoe dropped below its natural rim in August 2014. Community concern grew through the winter as the dissolved oxygen in the 75-foot stretch of water started to drop and the pool neared unlivable levels for the trapped trout.

“The habitat here is just becoming unsuitable for fish to live in, so either they die or we move them,” Trout Unlimited California field director David Lass said.

A collaborative effort between Trout Unlimited, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and California Trout brought 20 volunteers to Fanny Bridge the morning of April 21. The mission was to relocate the stranded trout to the cleaner waters of Lake Tahoe, but it also offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to fish for the prized trout.

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By Kathryn Reed

A multi-pronged approach is being taken to speed up the process of laying down the Greenway Bike Trail on the South Shore as well as improve other recreation amenities and the connection between areas.

California Tahoe Conservancy, the lead agency in the Meyers to Stateline trail, is working with South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Community College in a potential land swap that would have the government bodies owning more contiguous acreage and put a stream environmental zone into state ownership.

The college board on Tuesday night had a study session about possibly being a partner in applying for a state grant that could bring $2 million to town to help build a chunk of the bike path that follows the old Caltrans right-of-way that the Conservancy acquired in 2000. Also discussed was the future of the community ball field.

The Active Transportation Program (ATP) is a combo of state and federal dollars that the state is administering. To receive the grant it’s imperative to approach the proposal as a team and have a chunk of cash to assist with the project.

The Conservancy has $1 million to put toward the project beyond the work that will be done this summer. (The trail from Herbert Avenue to the edge of Bijou Meadow at Glenwood Way will break ground next month.)

The city and college would also each need to put in about $1 million. A commitment, though, from the electeds still needs to be obtained. The city and LTCC each has a subcommittee of two members working the trails issue as well as the community ball field.

Sue Rae Irelan, who has been spearheading the Greenway trail for the CTC for years, told the college board that even if the South Shore is awarded the grant, it’s possible to turn it down, so the college is not committed to spending money until it accepts the state money. The deadline to apply for the grant is late May.

At the April 21 meeting the college board was lukewarm in agreeing to pursue the conversation.

In Measure F, the voter approved facilities bond from 2014, there is money for trails. Any bond money must only be used for improvements on land the college owns. LTCC, with the multimillion-dollar donation for the university center, has even more cash for this bike project if the board decides it’s a worthy project.

The next phase of the Greenway – that the grant would help pay for – goes from Glenwood Way to Al Tahoe Boulevard. This brings the trail right to the college, to the community ball field and the path on Al Tahoe.

The city is contemplating going after a separate ATP grant to further the South Tahoe Middle School connectivity plan. This would provide a trail along Al Tahoe to Johnson Boulevard. This would hook up with the Greenway.

Part of all the discussion is the future of what is a community ball field that has become the more exclusive use of the college for its soccer program. The field was built with Measure S money, the recreation bond. Two other fields were supposed to have been built.

The college and city are talking about building another field adjacent to the current one as well as a smaller practice field. It’s estimated a second field, on land the city owns, would cost about $1 million.

It will be at the college board’s May meeting that a vote likely will be taken on whether to prepare a letter of support for the grant, whether to exchange property, allocate bond money to the bike trail project, and finalize plans for the future of the current ball field and construction of a new one.

CTC officials will be making a presentation to the City Council on May 5. At that same meeting the council is scheduled to hear about the grant proposal. The CTC board is likely to receive an update on the Greenway at its April 30 meeting.

On April 26 from 9am-2pm Alpenglow Sports and trail running brand Hoka One One will host a fun run and demo event in Tahoe City.

Known for the creation of the “maximalist” trail shoe category, Hoka One One will be on hand with demos. Since 2010, Hoka One One has been on a quest to bring groundbreaking and elevated benefits to all runners.

The demo event is free to all and runners are encouraged to take the demos to their favorite trailhead to test.

In conjunction with the demo, Alpenglow Sports will lead a community fun run on the Tahoe Rim Trail at 10am. The run will be mellow, 5-6 miles long, and possess plenty of fun, technical singletrack to try the shoes on. While the demo is free, a credit card and driver’s license are required to test equipment. Runners of all ages and ability levels are encouraged to attend.

Meet at Alpenglow Sports, 415 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City.