13 July 2013
This year, I dedicated more vacation to staying in Leadville, partly because I am making it a tradition to do these races annually and also because I actually thought ahead enough to get the hostel reserved far enough in advance to ensure that I have a place to stay (and at a reasonable cost).
So this year, I arrived Thursday night in Leadville. Up to this point I really believed I was in better shape than last year, I felt like I had more long term endurance, and best yet, I thought I could suffer at a new level… All of which I thought would net me an estimated 30 min PR.
I suppose it’s possible all that is true, but being at altitude 31 hours before the race started, seems to have nullified any increased fitness I may have thought I had… Conventional wisdom says to go to altitude as close to the race as possible, or give yourself several weeks to acclimate. I never doubted this wisdom, but can now confirm it’s true.
So here’s how the weekend went:
At the start line, my heart rate was ranging from 98-102, last year it was 106, that seemed like a real good indicator. Once the race started though I knew I was in trouble ¾ the way up Dutch Henri ski hill, (which you hike/run) my HR was pegged and I was out of oxygen, this was not good. For the next hour I rode an ok pace, but I knew it was slower than last year… Something wasn’t right, there is really only two options: I didn’t have my legs up to speed yet after taking a rest week last week, and/or the altitude was kicking my ass. I’m sure it was both.
As the race progressed, I never really did get tired, in fact, around halfway I felt like I was riding stronger. The main indicator besides feeling better is that I was now passing people, unlike the first half where I was constantly getting passed. This is the opposite of last year, where I started faster but got slower as the day went on. The fact that I rode a stronger second half is actually a really good sign.
So overall I achieved a new PR, 6 min faster than last year, definitely not as good as I wanted to do, but I’ll take it. The finisher medal is really cool this year too, the back has a bottle opener built in to it, but IMO it doesn’t open any good beer as the New Belgium products I like are not twist caps, no matter, I really wouldn’t use it as a bottle opener anyway. I was actually glad not to get the Silver bracelet, instead they handed out a coffee mug, which is nothing all that great, but better than the useless bracelet. Some people were irritated by not getting the bracelet, I suppose if you had a shelf full of them you wouldn’t like the change, but, they are hard to display, and I don’t miss them, even if they were tradition.
Next up, after the race was over was the lottery for a 100mtb spot. This year Silver Rush is the only qualifier I have on my schedule, unlike last year where I nearly did them all… So, I had my finger’s crossed as it was my only chance to avoid the general lottery in January. After the lottery slots were awarded to the guys that won them, the random draw was up. Looking around, I noticed not that many people were standing around waiting for the drawing. After name after name was called and very few were claiming the coins, the promoter finally had a show of hands for how many people were waiting, there was approximately 59 people waiting for 60 coins, we were all in! Awesome! my 2014 entry is in the books and I have another cool coin!
The next morning I woke up at 4am to volunteer for the 50 run. At 4am I helped with late packet pick up, after that I was off to my main job for the day which was traffic control at 5th and Jeep road, which is where the runners take a right turn onto the private land. 9 hrs might seem like a long time to stand on a gravel road, but it went fast and was a lot of fun. Primarily, I got to cheer every runner as they headed outbound and then again inbound. It was really an awesome thing to see these ultra-endurance runner’s in action. I’ve certainly done longer bike rides, but I can’t hardly imagine running that long… Majority of my time was taken up cheering the runners (there was actually nothing to do for traffic, the jerks were a few locals that didn’t care, and no one else needed instructions to slow down…
In the few moments of down time I had, I invented a game throwing rocks at a piece of metal in the ditch, I also explored the opposite side of the road as it appeared to be an old mining site, where I FOUND GOLD! OK, so it was pyrite, aka “Fool’s Gold,” but it was an interesting find. Additionally, I ran up and down the trail a few times, just to feel the thrill of being a trail runner, I’m definitely not in shape for running. Also, I checked out a hidden cooler, which did have drugs in it, (as was suspected by a fellow runner), but I’m fairly certain they were legal supplements, one pill had TEVA on it, which seems like a shoe company to me… A cooler hidden in the trees is not particularly legal, but the race director didn’t seem to care when I mentioned it…
After all this I was cashed in. A couple big days in the mountains and it’s back to Nebraska for some post vacation depression… or wait a minute, I mean “The Good Life
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