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Leadville in all it's Explosive Glory

Published by
Maximus   Aug 26th 2016, 6:37pm
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This is a tough post to write for many reasons. First, it could be really, really long. I mean, I was on the road for 5 weeks with a lot happening between those five weeks. Two weeks of Steens Mountain Running Camp, a couple days at the Outdoor Retailer Show, and two weeks of mountain enjoyment in Colorado spending nights in the trunk of my Civic and a few days at Transrockies Run before Leadville.

Second, Leadville didn’t go all that well and while I’m over it already, know what I did wrong (I think), and realize that’s it’s something that will be hard to train for in the future, I still don’t need to recount it again in writing.

Third, I’m sitting on a hard stool in a coffee shop (I should probably move to the couch to my left).

Let’s start with Leadville and get it out of the way, and we’ll skip right to the juicy bits.

I blew up! That’s what happened. You knew that though. Why’d I blow up and what happened after that. You might be saying, well yeah dummy, you go out at record pace and that’s what happens. Sort of. The pace wasn’t the issue. My HR was low, I was comfortable. It was actually lower than when I ran Western two years ago. What I underestimated, though, was going up over Hope Pass to 12,6000000ft twice. I’ve done it once at a time during Transrockies several times but never twice. That was my mistake I’ve concluded. Pretty simple. I was under course record pace at Twin Lakes outbound, then over course record pace at Twin Lakes inbound. I lost considerable time trying to take it slow over the pass but it was still detrimental to my finishing ability. 

Before I Blew Up - Credit: Leadville Race Series

After I Blew Up - Credit: Leadville Race Series

 

I started to know I was about to have issues at 76mi Outward Bound aid station. Things just started to hurt. I made it around the road to Powerline hoping I was going to hike that, cruise down to Mayqueen aid station, then jog the last 13mi in. But, when I got to Powerline it was over. My body had given up. Everything felt bad and hurt. It was a weird feeling not even being able to jog it in though, and surprising. It wasn’t nutrition, I wasn’t bonking, my stomach was good, and I wasn’t cramping either. My legs and body just hurt. Weird right?! I blame altitude or maybe a combo of altitude, Hope X 2, and pace.

Credit: Robbie Lawless

 

And that’s that. Ian passed me in my lowest state while I was literally lying on the side of the road over Hagerman Pass. Walking up was sloooooow. Walking the flats and downs were fine. I took a pit stop at the top of Hagerman at Space Camp and was offered any number of different illegal substances (and some legal). I did have a beer though, and began the long walk in to Mayqueen.

At Mayqueen I think my crew was happy to see I was still alive. I took a few minutes there to regroup and told them I was going to walk it in. I really wanted that belt buckle and everyone I asked said I had to finish. I think the kicker was my Facebook post from the night before:

 

Ken Clouber said its gonna hurt and I can't quit. "We're so unfamiliar with quitting around here we're not even sure how the word is spelled! Two t's?"-Ken Clouber 


Loved that quote today. 

 

Dang it! Doomed myself from dropping before it even started. I really wanted to drop at Mayqueen. Or rather, I really didn’t want to walk 13mi back to Leadville.

 

I left the aid station at 8pm. Three hours and fifty minutes later I walked over the finish line in Leadville. Still in 9th place and under 20 hrs. It was hard enough to walk that three miles from the finish I had to let Joe, my pacer, know that conversation would have to cease because I needed to concentrate on walking if we were going to make it in 20hrs. It was that bad.

 

Credit: Robbie Lawless

 

Like any failure, I can take away a lot of learnings from this race. That’s the key right? You learn from your failures and as it’s always been for me, Ultrarunning has been the best and most prolific teacher I’ve ever had in the sport of running.

 

Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be back to Leadville. Part of me wants to because I know I can do better, but to do better will take special training at altitude and on mountains similar to Hope. I just don’t know if I can pull that off with a commitment to family and to running. We’ll have to see if the stars align. I’m even on a teetering fence about doing 100s. They’re rough. I like the idea of running that far but it doesn’t allow me to race as much as I like to. On the other hand, I’m learning a lot and know that I could improve a lot if I continue in them as I have at 50km, 50 miles and 100km before this. Will I run another one? Yeah, I know I will.

 

Spending 5 weeks on the road was hard for me and for the family. Being away from them isn’t easy but I can say that I still enjoyed every minute of the trip. From solitude in the mountains of Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon to hanging out with some of the most interesting people of all time. There was the Navy Seal that opened a tri shop to the guy that lost 180lbs and is running his first half marathon to the woman that isn’t a fast runner but got 2nd (overall) in her first 100miler just because she’s an inspiring tough SOB that wouldn’t quit. People of any part of the sport, fast or slow, long or short, are what are truly inspiring to me. Hearing their stories are way better motivation than knowing that Zach Miller is going to crush me in my next 50 miler. (it’s inspiring too, just different I think).

 

One of the highlights of the trip was the two days in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada. A little known range that pops up out of the desert like a huge ship sailing the sandy seas it’s full of wildness, granite, beauty, and a severe lack of people. And it’s got one of the most perfect FKT lines I’ve ever seen that no one really knows about. I mean, some people do but it’s not iconic like the R2R2R or Teton Traverse…yet.

 

Transrockies stole my heart once again (the Rockies stole my lungs). It’s just such an incredible experience. It’s like wrapping up everything I really like; cool people, mountains, runners, food, and running, into one neat little package. I’ve said it before but I think this is my favorite race experience. It’s so great that the people you run with during the day hang out all night and get to know each other over the campfire, then you get to do it all again the  next day on another incredibly scenic track through the mountains. What more could you ask for…oh, a shot of whiskey at an aid station? Sure, we thought of that too. I hung out all day on day 3 to help lubricate the last 3 miles to the finish line with a great Canadian beverage. I may have had a few too (but they were small).

 

I can’t imagine what Leadville would be like during the winter months. The weeks I was there were nuts in town, with a line out the door of the best coffee shop in town (City on the Hill) for like three or four hours at a time. Once all the spandex and short shorts headed out of town though, it was dead. I’m sure you get some tourists from Denver during the weekends but weekdays in Leadville are slow. It’s a great little town though with everything you really need, coffee, donuts, smoothies, and breakfast burritos. Oh, and don’t forget Bill Dooper. The man, the myth, the legend. Always nice to see a friendly face when you’re in Leadville, and no man is as supportive towards runners as Bill.

 

There’s a lot more that I haven’t gotten too because I don’t want to bore you to death but you can check all the local social media channels for updates and a record of how the trip went down. There’s so much to do in 5 weeks.

 

A huge thanks to my family for allowing me to even be able to do something like this. It was a big sacrifice and a lot of extra work for my wife with two wild kids.

 

Also, thanks to my crew and pacers during the race. They all had to endure a lot with a four hour walk to the finish line. I tried to make it easy on them. And Melody didn’t even get her run in for the day because I decided to walk it in. Sorry. Mike, Joe, Cazzy, Steve, and Melody. Thanks.

 

And for those that got me to do Leadville in the first place and got me to the race: Salomon Running and GU Energy Labs. Thanks.

 

And to those that keep me going during such a long race: Salomon, Swiftwick, GU, and Flora. Thanks.

 

 

Packing list during the race:

Salomon Proto Shoes

Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra Shoes

Salomon S-Lab Shorts and Jersey

Swiftwick Aspire One Socks

Straw Cowboy Hat

Suunto Ambit3 Peak Watch

Salomon Sensifit Waist Belt

GU Roctane Blue Pom Gels – lots

GU Roctane Summit Tea Drink Mix – new flavor!

GU Roctane Electrolyte Tabs

Rudy Project Glasses

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2 comment(s)
Alida22
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Jasondtaylor
It'll be great to see you back home. Thanks for the honest and most excellent post. These are the things that shape us.
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