Silver Rush 50

The Silver Rush 50 was an opportunity to get out to leadville and see how my legs and lungs hold up at altitude and how my current approach to training is panning out.

I found out a couple weeks before that Sara would be running this  one too.  We coordinated our travels and shared the rental car and camping expenses.  It was good to have a familiar face to share the experience with, as well as witness Sara's first attempt at 50.

We camped out about 7 miles from the start.  the night before there was a little rain but no wind, far better then my previous pre-race camp experience in south dakota.  We woke up 1 hour before the start and I had some yogurt and berries for breakfast.  Then we headed over to the race start finalized our preparation and were ready to run.  My garmin 910xt had gotten turned on in my pack and killed the battery so i was running sans gps on this go

I'd filled my nathan pack with 2 liters of water and 2 gels added to my water.  I anticipated that with my breakfast would get me through to the 1st aid station at what would turn out to be 7 miles (once again i went into this event with minimal knowledge of the logistics, other then we would climb above 12,000' a total of 4 times over the course of our roughly 50 mile journey).

we started at 6:01 am, with a scramble up the side of a short but steep hill - the first male and female to the top would each receive a coin which entitles them to an entry in august's Leadville 100.  I was quite content walking up the hill and allowing the strong runner to duke it out.  After getting to the top, we traversed a short ridge and then funneled down into some single track which carried on for a bit before opening up into a dirt road and some ski access roads.  my legs were exceptionally flat from the start.

1 of the gels i added to my water was a peppermint flavored gel, which seemed to work it's way down into the drinking tube at near full concentration.  this was far too sweet for my taste on the day.  So i would sparingly sip on water due to the taste.

most of the first section was spent climbing, the first aid station consisted of a table with a big water cooler and a bowl of goldfish crackers and a lady with a bag of what i thought were gels.  I grabbed two handfuls of goldfish crackers and was on my way.

i spent much of the 2nd section walking the climbs, once we got to the crest and started to descend slightly on a fire road.  i mustered a jog for much of the descent and the short climb up to the 2nd aid station.  i don't recall much of the options here, but think there was some fruit which i would likely have grabbed some of and pressed on through striking out for a bit of a descent and then another climb.

i ran pretty comfortably down and once the course turned up again, i was reduced to a walk again.  my legs were flat and my energy levels were dropping due to lack of nutrition.  the heat was getting to me, i got into the 3rd aid station and realized i needed to get food in me and gels in my nathan pack.  i added 4 to my water and 3 in my pack to between here and the turn around.  i had 2 sandwiches and some fruit, drank several cups of water and was on my way.

i was able to jog most of this section, walking the early climbs to let my body absorb the nutrition and catch up. the course turned down for a couple miles leading into the turnaround i mustered a comfortable jog and was holding consistent down into the turnaround.

i grabbed some more fruit restocked my gels and added 3 more gels to my water mixture and was on my way.  i ran into sara shortly after leaving the aid station.  she looked pretty fresh and in good spirits.  i wished her well and went on my way.

i was able to jog slowly up most of the climbs from here to the next aid station.  even when i was walking i was making pretty good time.  i was able to maintain for much of return trip.  had several cups of water and more food before restocking my gels and water mixture.  then was back on my way, jogging much of the descent and a good bit of the climb back into the aid station.  this is the 2nd to last aid station, i grab a couple bits of fruit, drink some and am on my way through.

the last of the tough climbs is just ahead, and this combined with the heat really slowed me.  i kept pressing on and eventually made it up to the top of the climb.  i was slow initially coming into the descent due to the rocky terrain and my legs being pretty beat up.  i eased back into the running and after a few miles got it in my head to press it into the finish.

i came into the final aid station feeling ambitious and looking to finish this strong.  the only roctane i found was chocolate cherry roctane (more of a dessert then sustenance during a run).  i grabbed a couple drank some water and had 1 gel at the station before heading back out.

much of the rest of the course was very runable, mainly dirt with some rocks.  at this time i was pressing hard.  it started to rain, a welcome reprieve from the sun, just enough of a rain to cool down and not enough to really make it too muddy.  i kept pressing and wondering how long can i sustain?  how much is left until the finish?

every turn i was hoping to see the the final climb up to the top of the opening hill.  i kept coming upon other runners and running out of ambition, but no final hill.  i choked down one of the roctanes and washed it down with the last of my water.   after about a mile i saw the last climb and i hiked it as quickly as i could muster. at the top i discovered the course looped around before coming down the hill.

i crossed the finish line and was pretty well spent from the final push.  i sat down briefly.  after a short rest i headed backwards on the course for a bit to see if i could come across sara, after about a mile i was tired and realized i wasn't up for hiking backwards on the course.  i went back to the finish area and grabbed some food.

i choked down what i could of a pulled pork sandwich, some coleslaw  and a fruit salad.  i waited around a bit before hiking backwards on the course again to see if i could find sara.  i ran into her on the top of the hill, we chatted a bit, and i left her to cross the finish the line.

all in all it was a good day i made some very rookie mistakes early on, and managed to turn things around and finish strong.