Pulse Endurance Sports: Leadville Trail 100 Run

I spend much of the week leading up to this run debating if i should even try it. despite my repeated claims that this isn't that tough a course, on paper.

A huge thank you to all of you who helped me realize the hand was already dealt, i might as well play it. i did just that.

i woke up at 3am saturday, grabbed a quick breakfast. i looked at my freshy salomon kicks, and the merrel mix master's sitting next to them, and decided to walk sirius in the merrels, then change to my salomons for the run. Sirius and I went for a short walk (he would have his own endurance event, being stuck in the apartment for 15 or 16 hours), then grabbed the last of my stuff (all organized next to the door so i wouldn't forget anything).

I headed over to the start line, hoping to meet up with Rod or Paul from Geoff's camp. I got to the start line, made my way into the starting area, and looked around, but did not see either of them. I looked down . . . no way, i forgot to put the salomon shoes on. . . I still had on the merrel's, which are ok for shorter runs (meaning i've never run more than 10 - 15 miles in them, and was always happy to take them off when finished). it's 5 minutes until start, i can drive home and switch shoes, starting ~20 minutes behind everybody else . . .

the gun went off, and everyone started down 6th st. i followed, debating running by the apartment (just over 1 mile each way and switching my shoes). i though how nice it would be to have a crew, or someone that could help bale me out of my hole. I called Sara (she is living back in California), she didn't really have any immediate ideas (it was 3am her time, and she had been soundly sleeping). She suggested i ask a race volunteer to get me shoes. she would later text me 3 or 4 ideas (which i got this morning). i then emailed Rod, as he was out here crewing for a buddy of his, and decided to continue pressing on.

By now i was among the final half dozen runners working our way down the boulevard. i then thought i probably should have just pressed on to the first aid station (13 miles) in hopes of seeing paul or rod and asking them to help (or Paul's crew), if they had time.

it was kind of nice being in the back of the bus, there was some space to run (at least for a bit), the usual backup occurred around twin lakes. the only solution i'm able to come up for this is to run strong early and get onto the single track near the front.

i got into mayqeen (mile 13ish) grabbed some food, shed my jacket and was on my way out when i heard my name. It was Rod. i stopped by and explained my foolish mistake and he quickly ran through a series of options (asking what size shoe and type of i wear to see if he could find something that would work). i explained were i lived, were he could find the keys, and where the shoes were, and the small detail of Sirius. Rod was awesome, and said he would go by there once he had an opportunity and see what he could work out.

All there was left for me was to keep moving and see how things worked out. worst case, i had a spare pair of shoes at mile 40 for after the water crossing. the willingness displayed to help me sort out my oversight (a pretty big one) gave me a lot of strength, reverberating what i heard at ac100 a couple weeks ago: lot's of people really care for you and will go out of their way to help. Rod was already busy taking care of his buddy, to add this to his plate of tasks, was a bit selfish, and his graciousness in offering help was completely selfless. For this i am extremely grateful.

Now that i had relief from that issue, i was able to focus at the task at hand, running:

"We'll tell you when to start and we'll tell you when to stop. In between, don't think, just keep running." - Ken Chlouber

i came out of mayqueen and started working my way up the line of runners, in a bit of a panic that i was so far back so early (perhaps i had delusions of being a competitor at the front of the pack, i can't really say why, i just know i was working too hard to get around people). after several minutes of this, i felt a tug on my pack and turned to see paul. another friendly face. i popped into line with him and we chatted for the next several miles, working our way up sugarloaf together, and down a bit of the descent before i took off and wished Paul well.

Coming into the fish hatchery aid station (which really is outward bound now, they moved the aid station from the fish hatchery, down the road 1/2 mile or so to outward bound), Rod saw me and let me know he was too busy being blocked in and crewing, so did not have a chance to get my shoes, but he would try again.

i was feeling pretty comfortable, and seemed to be running well within myself through 23 miles and my legs felt pretty much like they did when i started: just kind of there, not fresh and poppy, not heavy and lethargic, just like a detached tool that i turned on or off. granted, i could not run fast, but today was not about running fast, it was about getting this done.

i kept pushing along and talked to several people along different stretches of the course. the inquiries about the rabbit would surface here and there:

is that your kids rabbit

nice bear

nice dog

it helped lighten the mood.

at twin lakes (mile 40), i swapped out my shoes and put on fresh socks. much better, but i had some concerns about going 60 miles in my asics. they proved to be inadequate at ac100 after 25 - 30 miles a couple weeks ago. though they were far better feeling than my merrels, so i'd wear them for a bit and see if Rod was able to work some sweet magic. alas, i would not see either rod or my cushy salomons the rest of the run. unfortunately his buddy wasn't able to complete the run. I grabbed some food and headed out, actually looking forward to going over hope pass.

i took it pretty conservatively just hiking comfortably to get over it and get out of winfield. I was able to make good time over, took 10 - 15 minutes to get some solid food in me and try to settle my stomach as well as rest my legs, just preparing for the return effort. I checked out of winfield at 12:30 race time (exactly 25 hour pace).

Somewhere in my head there was a small voice that kept saying, just do the same thing on the way back, and you can get a gold buckle. i honestly felt pretty good, and was pompous enough to humor the voice and entertain possibilities of it happening. i got back to the top of hope pass and into the aid station, looking forward to those magic mashed potatoes that helped settle my stomach and breath a bit of life into me last time through. they were just as good and effective this time.

before long i was cruising down towards twin lakes, remember last time i was here and intent upon making it to mile 60 before it was dark. I ran the descent very well, and smart, managing to stay within myself, picking pretty good lines through the little rock gardens and root sections, passing people pretty well. all this and i was able to save some legs for the remaining 40 miles.

This time at twin lakes, i changed my socks, and noticed the balls of both feet were thoroughly soaked and starting to blister. I thought it would be smart to get some tape on those so they don't make things any tougher than they are already going to be. i thought about it briefly, then put on clean dry socks and hoped it would magically fix itself. i continued to eat and relax for a bit (i had a 2 hour cushion before the cut and chose to enjoy it for just a little while. after 30 minutes, i grabbed my light several gels and was on my way.

i was hiking the ups a bit slower now, but making decent time on the descents, and feeling ok. my legs were definitely tired, but i could must a slow jog on the flats and a decent pace on the decents, so i did what i could. about 1 mile from halfpipe aid station, i ate my last gu and washed it down with a bit of water.

when i got into the halfpipe aid station, my first mission was to get some tums and some gels (they were getting tough to choke down and giving me a bit of indigestion, but were keeping me moving all right). Bad news, all out of gels, 7 miles to the next aid station, no gels = no bueno. ok, i'll grab a pb&j sandwich to take with me, eat a boiled potato (an entire potato, not just some pieces) and try to be like a camel.

fortunately Robert (a guy from fort collins, a little north of denver, i met at the marathon in june and spoke with at each of the races since) came in not too far behind, and gave me some gels, and offered full access to whatever i may need at the crew only aid station (an unofficial location where crew can set up aid for the runners) about 3 miles away. we walked that section at a pretty good rate and chatted a bit throughout.

once we got there, his crew pulled out the box of goodies, and i grabbed some salt tablets and 3 hammer gels and were on our way again. about 4 miles to outward bound aid station. about 1 mile prior to the outward bound aid station, i decided i needed to have my feet dealt with, as the only thing they were fixing was my ability to move forward, and that was more of an unfixing.

robert went over to his crew, i ducked into the med tent to have them do what they could for my feet. ej (one of robert's pacers popped in and asked if i needed anything, then came back with several gels and some food). As my feet were being finished up (some antiseptic and mole skin, essentially a cushioned form of tape, applied to the balls of both my feet), one of the medical staff brought me a cheeseburger, which i promptly put guacamole on and at a bit, got my shoes and socks back on, and off i went to see about catching up with robert for a little bit.

i caught back up to robert about a mile from the aid station, shortly before the climb up powerline, we walked together for another 1 - 1.5 miles before i got anxious and bid him well. I hiked up powerline at a pretty steady pace, definitely not fast, but not too slow.

The climb seemed to go much faster this week than it did during the mountain bike, maybe it's because it was dark and i couldn't see too far ahead. there were several spots that offered a great view of the moon (almost full). it looked like once I was at the top of sugarloaf, i'd be able to carve a hunk of cheese out and have a little picnic. Probably a good thing it wasn't close enough, and i forgot all about this by the time i got to the top.

there were several rocky sections, which my feet did not like, and i opted to walk through, gingerly picking out my next steps in an attempt to spare my feet some of the inevitable beating. When there were clear or relatively rock free sections, i slogged the best i could. I could look down and see some lights at different points along the descent, which gave me some perspective. before long, we dropped off the road back onto the single track which seemed to take much longer to get through this time.

After a little bit we came into mayqueen, somewhere between 4:40 and 4:45. my goal was to leave before 5 am, 5 hours for 13 miles should work. i grabbed some oatmeal, sipped on some water, another handful of tums, and laid down for 5 minutes or so. one of the volunteers promised to kick me out by 5am. i wound up leaving slightly before 5am and kept pressing the effort with fast walking and slow jogging.

This continued through the remainder of the trip around turquoise lake. as i approached tabor boat ramp, dawn was in full effect, the trail was light enough that i no longer needed my headlamp, and i was still making decent time. i fought down one more gel, and did a little math, close to 3 hours for 6 miles, should be good, just gotta keep moving.

so i pressed on, knowing i had between 3 and 3.5 miles of climb back into town. i did not want to miss this one. i chatted with a few people briefly on the way back down the dirt road, then was pleased to see the pavement by the golf course. 4 - 5 miles left, some of it will be rocky uneven, and unpleasant, but all of it is doable.

i pressed on making the turn to start my final climb back into town, and clumsily made my way through the rocky obstacles to the smoother dirt section. 2 miles of this, then 1 mile of real pavement. at this point pacers were making their way backwards on the course to greet and escort their runners to the finish. they would congratulate me: "nice work leadman, congratulations".

i graciously accepted the congratulations (or so i think i did), and reminded myself, almost, you still need to keep moving, you are not done yet, just a bit more. my eyes were tearing up just thinking about crossing the finish line and finally completing the adventure which, began several years ago. 2 dnfs, this course has been wreaking havoc on my psyche in some form or other for 2 years now, is it possible, am i really going to do this?

as i crested the next to last hill, i could see the finish line, people had lined the streets and were helping runners celebrate and urging them onward toward the red carpet. i was super emotional at this point, and i'm sure my eyes were tearing up heavily as i made my way the final 1/4 mile uphill to the finish. people congratulating me on my accomplishment.

i crossed the line in 28:35:01, no crew on site, no pacers on site, but deep down, i knew there were so many people out there willing me across that line, from my very first step. many of whom have been helping me prepare for this since before it was even a dream of mine. Josh Colley, the race director, whom Sara introduced me to earlier this year, congratulated me and gave me my finishers medal.

tears were welling up in my eyes, this is the most accomplished i've felt about anything i've done in the past. i don't know what it is about the days events that made it as such, i never really had a truly bad moment on course.

not once did i entertain the thought of not finishing, i just kept moving, doing what i could do at that time, correcting for the little issues, wet feet, upset stomach, tired legs, minor adjustments along the way, always remember there are so many people that have done so much for me and mean so much to me, that want this for me. all these thoughts helped push me through and get me across the finish.

thank you all.

a couple hours later i showed up to the awards ceremony to collect some more mementos:

another warm and comfy jacket (slightly different than the mtb one from last week):