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Leadville Trail 100 - 2008
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This will be my second attempt at completing the Leadville Trail 100 to be held on August 16th and 17th in Leadville, CO. Last year I ran with a knee injury and gutted out 53 miles. This year I am well-trained, mentally tougher and injury free. I will post my results the day after the race. Training has gone great this year. Lot's of 20+ mile runs in and around my hometown of Avon, CO. which is about 35 miles from Leadville. I have spent the last 6 weeks training on the LT 100 course, mostly on Saturday's. This coming Saturday, 8/2 will be my last 10 mile training run from Twin Lakes to Halfmoon Campground. After that run it will be taper down to race day in 2 weeks. So far this year I have run 4 organized races:
Week of 8/3/08 - 8/9/08 Completed last training run for Leadville on Saturday. 10 miles from Halfmoon to Twin Lakes. Ran 5 miles in the dark Sunday night preparing my body for running late and in the dark. I will do one more 5 mile run on Tuesday followed by 3 mile runs Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday Sunday and Tuesday. Then it's a couple of 30 minutes walks and race day on the 16th. I hate the taper. Aches and pains show up in places where you havn't felt them all summer as the body heals itself. The mind trys to play mental games with you and doubt creeps in, but you just have to be confident in your training and don't do anything stupid. Race Week 8/10-8/16/08 Race week is here. Keys to success this week are sleep, rest and taking my supplements. The approach this year is to rest on Monday, very light 2 mile jog on Tuesday and maybe a 30 minute walk on Wednesday, then stay off the legs as much as possible on Thursday and Friday. We have to be in Leadville on Friday morning at 11 am to check in and attend the Pre-race briefing which is always very entertaining. Will be taking Race Day Boost from Hammer Nutrition on Tuesday thru Friday, 4 times per day. RDB helps with absorption of key nutrients in the body. I have used it before with good results. My next post will be the race re-cap next Monday. Changes this year with Training Approach and Nutrition I made some significant changes to my training this year and also regarding my nutrition. Last year I ran more miles and actually felt like I overtrained. I was a fairly inexperienced Ultra runner and ran a 50 mile training run 1 month before the LT 100. This turned out to be a huge mistake as I never recovered and went into the race feeling pretty sore. I knew early in the day that I was not going to finish. This year I did most of my really long runs in May through early July. The most significant change I have made is adding Hammer Nutrition Products to my training program. Hammer Nutrition has some incredible resources available to teach endurance athletes the proper way to fuel and hydrate for long distance events. If you have never used their products I encourage you to take a look at www.hammernutrition.com I will be using Perpeteum (Soy Protein) as my primary fuel source during this race and occasionaly change things up by taking a Hammer Gel (Complex Carbs) and a Hammer Bar for solid food. My plan is to take in 240 to 280 calories per hour with about 18-20oz. of water. I will also carry a bottle of Heed which is an electrolyte replacement drink and take 3- 4 Endurolytes per hour for Electrolyte replacement. Also, at the top of every hour I will be taking a Race Cap Supreme and an Anti Fatigue Cap which both help with reducing ammonia build-up that causes both fatigue and lactic acid.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008Leadville Trail 100 - 2008Well, this year's Leadville Trail 100 (2008) has come and gone. I am sorry to report that I did not finish again for the 2nd year in a row.
Race Report The weather was absolutely brutal, could not have been any worse. A freak early season winter like cold front came down straight from the north (Canadian) on Friday before the race. This front settled on the east-side of the Continental Divide and affected Leadville with cold temperatures and rain/sleet/hail on Friday night before the race. On Saturday we awoke to grey overcast skies, wet streets but fairly nice temperatures. It was not nearly as cold as I expected for the start. Leadville to Mayqueen I felt great on this stretch. Going into the race I was having some weird leg pains for two weeks that I learned from some experienced Ultra guys were pretty normal during a taper. The pains I was feeling were my legs revolting to a summer of high mileage and then a reduction in training for two weeks prior to the race. So, I was a little apprehensive at the start, not quite sure how I would feel, but everything was great to Mayqueen. My legs felt strong and I made it in 2:25, right on my scheduled pace. It did rain some along the way and the trail was quite soggy in spots, but no real issues. I pulled into the aid station with my buddy Jeff O'Reilly and met my wife outside the tent for a resupply of water, Heed, Hammer Bar, Gel and Perpeteum. Mayqueen to Fish Hatchery Just like last year this is where my day started to fall apart. Maybe someone experienced can help me figure this one out, but during all my training runs including 6 marathon distance and greater runs I had no issues with cramps. However, for the last two years I have cramped bad on race day? I am religious in taking my electrolyte caps every 15-20 minutes and in keeping myself hydrated. As I left the Mayqueen Aid station and headed up the Colorado Trail I experienced my 1st cramp in the right hamstring. This one was severe and I had to stop. I stretched and then bit open an Endurolyte Cap, let the powder sit under my tounge and then drank some Heed and water. The cramp got better within a few minutes but would bother me on and off over the next 30 miles. I thought I was hydrating and fueling well, drinking two hour bottles of Perpeteum, taking my Endurolytes on a 15-20 minute schedule, a Race Cap and Anti-fatigue Cap at the top of every hour and doing an occassional Hammer Gel and Bar for a change of pace. I managed a decent time up Sugarloaf as the rain/snow/sleet/hail/lighting/thunder pelted us. As I began my descent down Powerline I was running with another guy when suddenly there was an instantaneous flash of lighting and thunder that knocked both of us to the ground. Stunned, we got up and asked each other if we were ok. We were both fine and proceeded down Powerline to the Fish Hatchery Aid Station glad to be alive and still running. I made it to Fish Hatchery at 8:52 am - running time of 4:52 for 23.5 miles. Fish Hatchery to Halfmoon My overall goal was to get to Halfmoon by 10:15am. I alternated a run/walk strategy on this 7 mile stretch and made it to Treeline in 45 minutes where I got restocked with fuel and water. I did the same on the next three mile stretch to the Halfmoon Aid Station. I pulled into Halfmoon at 10:25 am, about 10 minutes behind schedule but still a decent time. Halfmoon to Twin Lakes This is my favorite section of the course. We run the Colorado Trail for most of the way before dumping out onto a jeep road that takes us into Twin Lakes. My goal was cover this 9 mile section in 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours. Once again, on and off cramps in the legs slowed me down. Really frustrating as my overall leg strength felt good today. Just don't understand why I only cramp on the day of a big race. Maybe it's a mental problem. I have to be a little crazy to run 100's...... Anyway's made it to Twin Lakes (39.5 miles) at 12:47pm, about 20 minutes behind where I needed to be. On and off rain pelted us during this section that got real heavy as I pulled out of the aid station. I departed for Hope Pass at 1:00pm with warm clothes, rain gear and plenty of fuel/supplies. Twin Lakes to Hope Pass I felt pretty good leaving Twin Lakes. My legs were a little sore in the quads but nothing out of the ordinary for 40 miles. My goal was to cover this 10.5 mile stretch to Winfield (50 mile turn-around point) in 3:45 hours to 4 hours. The trail was pretty sloppy going up Hope Pass. It was hard to make anytime on this section with the conditions. Of course, this section is always difficult even under the best conditions. The river crossing was easy and the cold water felt great on the legs. I made it to the Hopeless Aid Station at 3:00pm. I took a few minutes here to gather my wits before proceeding the next 1/2 mile to the Hope Pass Summit. I was right behind Ultra runner Rickie Redland climbing up to the summit. I thought if I could stay on her tail I would finish this race as she always crosses the line. When I got to the summit Rickie was already descending at a pretty fast pace. Unfortunately my quads were not happy on the downhill and I just could not run very fast. I tried my best to make up some time and hit the Winfield Road at 4:15 pm. I then had to negotiate the 3 mile uphill section to the Winfield Aid Station which I did in 45 minutes putting me in at 5:00pm. At Winfield they make you go through the medical tent before entering the aid tent. It was carnage in the medical tent with at least 10 runners on cots. A couple people had IV's in their arms, oxygen masks over the face, etc.. I was sore but otherwise feeling ok. I decided at this point I needed to take in some food. The Hammer routine was working ok but I really felt energy depleted so I ate a sandwich, watermelon, orange slices and grabbed some other goodies for the return trip. Winfield to Twin Lakes I departed Winfield at 5:15pm with my pacer and friend Suzi Apple. Suzi is a strong hiker and overall incredible person. Last year she did her best to get me over Hope Pass but I did not make it up the trail and turned around. This year I was determined to make it up and over and hopefully make the Twin Lake cutoff time. We were able to shuffle our way back down the road to the Sheep Gulch Trailhead for the climb up over Hope Pass. I actually made pretty decent time. Looking at my watch I realized I had about 4 hours to get in and out of Twin Lakes. I was going to be cutting it close. The climb up the Winfield side of Hope Pass is really steep for the 1st mile and then not too bad once you clear the trees. I just had no energy and the climb took for what seemed to be an eternity. I felt my race slipping away as I pulled into the Hopeless Aid Station for the second time at 7:55 pm. I can normally do this climb with fresh legs in about 1 hour 25 minutes. Today it took me 2 hours 45 minutes. Not good. Suzi pushed me as hard as she could down Hope Pass. It got dark and we had to put on our headlamps. The trail was still real greasy from the day's weather and we just could not make up any time. I crossed the river at 9:30pm and knew I was done with only 15 minutes to go until the time cutoff. Just as we got to Twin Lakes Village the skies opened up again with a torrential downpour, lightning and thunder. The aid station personnel cut off my wrist band at 9:50pm, 5 minutes past the time cutoff and at 60.5 miles. My race was officially over for 2008. Disappointed I met my wonderful wife and headed back to Leadville. After reflecting for a week I have decided to try it again next year but I am changing my strategy. I am going to run the Rocky Raccoon Hundred Miler on February 7th in Texas. When I look at the finishers list from last year I see quite a few people who finished this race and then completed Leadville. I think I need a confidence booster going in to Leadville and getting a 100 miler under my belt might be just the ticket. Stay tuned for more reports down the road.
History for Leadville Dan
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