leadville 100 recap

the short recap is that i had my first ever dnf (did nothing fatal or did not finish) last weekend. i dropped at 61 miles after missing the time cutoff. i left everything i had on the course and while i'm disappointed in not finishing, i'm glad i got to race, make a bunch of new friends and i'm excited to go back next year.

now for the longer version of the recap. have you ever had one of those races when you're standing at the starting line feeling prepared but having this lingering feeling that something is just not quite right? well, saturday was one of those days for me. i was already having digestive problems before the race started, but i chalked that up to nerves, ate breakfast and headed to the start/finish line with tom, one of the other austin racers, and my crew jack and michael.

tom and i before the start

the start of the race was very exciting. there were almost 600 runners this year, and all the pacers, crews, friends and families were there to cheer everyone on. ultras are funny because the gun goes off and we immediately start running slowly. i settled in with fred and cyndy, then thought better of it and slowed down. about 30 minutes or so in, i grabbed my gel flask and tried to get some gel and water down. it was pretty much all downhill (figuratively, of course) from here.

within a couple miles, my stomach swelled up like a balloon and was hard to the touch. oh yeah, i thought, more stomach issues. shortly thereafter, i rolled my right ankle, the one that had been bugging me for the last couple weeks. dave happened to be right behind me at that point and said as he watched my ankle roll, he got a little scared. it didn't hurt though, so i just kept running. a little while later, i rolled it again. great. meanwhile, i'm not drinking much and not really eating either because my stomach is still not happy. ever the optimist, i decide, well, at least i'm getting all the ankle rolling and stomach discomfort out of the way in the first 13 miles!

i get to the first aid station at ~2:16 and jack and michael are there to take my hydration pack and reload me with water, gels and shot blocks. i ditch my headlamp but keep my jacket and gloves. its warm, but the sun is still not fully up yet. i head back out on the trail for the first climb of the day and intentionally back off the pace as i suspect the first 13 miles were a little too fast.

going up the backside of sugarloaf with the sun still rising

when i get onto hagerman pass road, i decide to walk. in training camp one of the race veterans told me there was no need to, so i apply the advice. joseph runs up beside me half a mile later and slows down to chat for a few minutes than takes off. the road is only a mile long before we begin the climb up the backside of sugar loaf. i'm still trying to get in calories. my shot blocks are hard from the cold and i'm just trying to take in what i can. the first of many bathroom breaks happens somewhere near the top. at this point, i'm thinking maybe my stomach issues weren't just nerves.

once we get to the top of sugar loaf, the fun part begins. we get to run down powerline. when i was out in leadville in june, i realized very quickly that i needed to learn how to run downhill better, so i spent time working on this and running on technical trails the past couple months. as we begin our descent, i fall into a rhythm and bound side to side across the jeep tracks avoiding rocks and bumps in the road. and then something amazing happens. i start passing people...on a downhill. this just doesn't happen in my life, and it gives me a bit of a boost and helps me temporarily forget my stomach and inability to eat.

looking down powerline

at the bottom of powerline, we make a hard right onto the road and head into the fish hatchery aid station at mile 23. michael and jack are there again. they grab my pack and hand me sunscreen and some mango juice. i tell them i need salt. my hands are swollen from the electrolyte imbalance and my ring is stuck on my hand. they run off to take care of my pack and i head to the aid station checkin...and i make my second bathroom stop of the morning. at least i'm still moving. i take my jacket and gloves off, get my newly reloaded pack back on and head out onto the road.

flat section heading towards half moon

its hot. we're at 10,200 ft elevation, running on the road, completely exposed and its just hot. this is not normal. i alternate walking and running, sipping at my water and again trying to get in a gel when i can. i come through the treeline/powerline crew access point, and brad asks if i need anything. he helps get my salt pills from my pack and takes my rain jacket, which is clearly unuseful at this point because its so dang sunny and warm.

i get into the half moon aid station a couple miles later and refill my pack with water, though i haven't had a ton to drink. i grab a small piece of potato, dip it in salt and scarf it down wondering if it'll make my stomach more upset or not. before leaving the aid station, i find myself making a pit stop again.

the half moon aid station was not the real half moon aid station. there was a military helicopter crash a couple days before the race and they had to reroute the course around the area. as a result, none of us saw this section of the course before the race. i headed out of half moon walking. shortly thereafter i realized that though mentally i didn't feel like running, my legs actually did ok with it. my stomach on the other hand wasn't particularly thrilled. to please both my legs and my stomach, i alternated between walking and running this section. more quickly than i expected, we started descending.

the descent into twin lakes is long, but the views are pretty cool. i caught up to a group of people and cruised behind them for a bit until the trail turned into a road at which point, i picked up the pace and cruised quickly downhill passing people (again!). this again gave me a bit of a boost.

looking out on twin lakes before the descent into the aid station

i came into the aid station feeling pretty good. i'd just run/walked 39.5 miles, but my legs were feeling good. that and i was still flying high from my apparently vastly improved ability to run downhill. jack and michael loaded up my pack while i applied more sunscreen and tried to get as many calories into me as i could.

the next section of the course was the infamous double crossing of hope pass . the twin lakes aid station is at 9200 ft elevation. the top of hope pass is at 12600 ft elevation. so suffice it to say, there's a bit of an uphill shortly upon leaving the twin lakes aid station.

view of the trail leading to the stream crossing and the trail head to go up hope pass

from twin lakes, we skirted across a flat section, waded a glacial stream (which felt amazing) and then headed up a small section of jeep road to the trailhead. i started climbing at a slow but steady pace. less than a mile up the trail, i had to stop because i started getting the nauseous feeling again. i tried to take in some gel and water, but it didn't seem to help. i struggled up the mountain to the hopeless pass aid station, where i got to see the llamas!

the llamas at hopeless pass aid station

the hopeless pass aid station is located just below the summit on the twin lakes side of the pass. i was feeling pretty tired and weak when i got there and i sat down for the first time all day and munched on a few saltine crackers. people were running around up there in tank tops and shorts and it was probably about 70 degrees, which is significantly warmer than it ever gets up there. it was hot. i was feeling the affects of the altitude more than i ever have in training for this race or when skiing or cycling at that and higher elevations. i left the aid station knowing that i needed to keep moving so i could get out of the altitude, and i struggled the rest of the way up to the top.

i didn't even pause to take a picture at the top. i just started immediately downhill. my legs didn't want to run very much and my stomach was just plain ticked off at me every time i tried to pick up the pace, so i walked. part of the way down i hear tom's voice call out from behind me that i better watch out because he's about to catch me. he slows down and asks how i'm doing. he tells me to take some salt and get some water in and not to worry because i'm just in a temporary low spot then he continues on his way. i pop a couple of sodium pills and drink some water and continue walking forward. about 15 minutes later, my world comes back to life and i start running again. the salt seems to have settled my stomach and i start passing people while i'm running downhill. when i get closer to the bottom, i see fred heading back uphill with his pacer and he's looking strong.

i get to the bottom of the hill and turn onto the road to head to winfield. someone i had just passed catches up to me and we power walk and chat the rest of the way to the aid station. this section of the course is kind of neat because you get to see who is ahead of you and cheer people on. even coming down hope pass is neat. with every person you pass, you say, great job! and they cheer you on too. in no other race that i've been in have competitors encouraged each other this much. its invigorating.

i get into the winfield aid station about 13 hours or so into the run. jack and michael take my pack to refill it and i head to the first medical check of the race. they put me on the scale, and the number that pops up is a little disturbing. my weight has dropped about 5 lbs. this is not good. if you lose 3 - 5% of your body weight, they make you stop and eat and drink to get your weight back up. if you lose 7% or more, they cut your wristband off and you're done. its for your own good, obviously, but no one wants it to happen to them. i've lost about 4%. while this is a bummer, i'm not surprised given how little i've eaten and drank all day.

i sit down in the food tent and jack and michael bring me miso soup (740mg of sodium per serving! and, i've decided, race food from heaven) and try and get me to eat and drink. my stomach is still not pleased and i'm in the bathroom again. eventually i decide its time to leave the aid station. because winfield is 50 miles into the race, we're allowed to have a pacer with us now, and michael puts his pack on and heads out on the road back to the trailhead with me.

at this point, the food and salt have had a chance to work their magic and i'm feeling a little better. we run a little bit but mostly power walk back to the trailhead and begin the climb back up hope pass.

i start the climb feeling good. my legs are actually feeling amazing given that i've already covered 52 miles and haven't had that many calories. however, the lack of calories begins to take its toll and i experience what i feel can best be described as system fatigue. i'm not out of breath, but i feel so tired i just have to keep stopping to rest. michael tries to get me to drink water and eat. he even takes my hydration pack from me and carries it (pacers are allowed to do that in this race). we're getting passed by tons of people. its frustrating.

we fall in near a guy named john and his pacer. they're about my age and john doesn't look much better than i. we struggle on together. at one point john makes a comment about naming this little expedition operation s**t storm takes hope pass (john and his pacer are both in the air force). i start laughing and ask if michael and i can join. the four of us struggle up the mountain cracking jokes about how we're stopping to throw people off our plan. john's pacer yells up to me at one point that he keeps seeing black every time he looks over at us. i was wearing black tri shorts and i kept stopping and bending over to help my head stop spinning and make the nausea go away. i shout back down that i just wanted him to be able to check out my rear and was trying to give him ample opportunity. everyone starts laughing.

shortly thereafter john and his pacer pass us and we don't see them again that i recall. as his pacer (i don't know his name), passes me, he pats me on the back and says, girls rule, keep it up. i'm not sure why, but this kind of made my day. i hope those guys were able to make the cutoffs and finish.

a little while later, we get above treeline. the sun is starting to set and the view to the south is amazing. the clouds are moving in though and it looks like its going to storm. we put on our windbreakers, which makes it instantly warmer. at some point i have to stop again to find a tree. michael manages to get me to eat a couple gels. eventually we get higher and i'm able to walk continuously. it was actually easier to fall in behind michael and just watch his feet and try to match mine to his. i'm not sure if this was because it was less steep, but i guess it doesn't really matter because i kept moving.

view of the mountains to the south as we're heading up hope pass inbound

we crested hope pass, and while michael paused to take in the view i decided to start heading down. almost immediately my left hip flexor froze. i was trying to stride down the trail, but my left leg hurt so bad i couldn't. i was wincing in pain. i had to turn sideways to step down. it hurt so bad. and it was getting colder and dark now too.

we got to the hopeless pass aid station and i sat down. michael grabbed me mashed potatoes and i ate them while i sat there. and then i asked for seconds. maybe its because i'm irish, i don't know, but they worked. i got up and stepped out of the tent. we hadn't been expecting to have to descend hope pass in the dark, so michael only had one headlamp. i put it on and he said he'd follow close behind me.

i headed towards the trail. my hip flexor hurt. it was dark. it was cold. i felt weak. my eyes welled up with tears. my voice waivered, and i told michael that at this point, i didn't care if i couldn't go beyond the next aid station. he didn't want to hear any of that so he told me to start moving. i had realized that we were close to the cutoff and with my hip flexor feeling the way it was and my general inability to eat all day, i suspected that we wouldn't make it. and if we did, i really didn't know how i would keep going, though i knew i would have to. the tears lasted only for a split second. i knew they wouldn't help. i knew i'd reached a low point in the race and that it would go away. we started downhill.

we trapsed along in the dark. occasionally my hip would loosen up for a second or two, but most of the time i'd have to turn sideways to step down steep steps or rocks. we'd pass through sections of the trail and i'd inform michael that we were presently going through the first or second or third field, that soon the stream would be to our left. i knew the trail, even in the dark. it was kind of cool. michael later told me the silence around us was a little unsettling. i never noticed. maybe its because i've spent so much time on trails lately, or maybe i was just so absorbed in my own thoughts i didn't notice. we talked most of the way down. it was good because it kept me distracted from thinking about my hip.

eventually we reached the trailhead and headed onto the jeep trail. a little while later we lost the trail at a big mud puddle. we heard a couple voices coming from behind us and decided to wait. two guys, clearly old friends, came towards us and together we found the trail. those guys were a hoot. one was doing the triple crown (hardrock, leadville and western states), but as he was about to dnf leadville, he knew his wife was going to give him a hard time. his buddy kept laying into him and telling him that the two of them were going to lose special racing privileges. you had to be there, but they had michael and i laughing.

a little after 11p, we made it into the twin lakes aid station (race time, ~19:15). they put me on a scale and informed me that my weight was fine, which was amusing as i was wearing more clothing and had just done the stream crossing again so my shoes probably weighed a few pounds each. at least i hadn't lost too much more. then they cut my wrist band off. we had arrived at the aid station close to an hour and a half after the time cutoff. i wasn't allowed to go any further, and i was okay with that. having eaten maybe 3000 calories, dealt with nauseous, digestive problems and the like all day, i was just glad (and maybe a little surprised) to have made it 61 miles.

jack and brad had apparently come up the trail looking for us, wondering if we were lost because it had taken us so long. in training in june, i had run (unaggressively) from twin lakes to winfield AND back (the double hope pass crossing) in 6:40, at which point dan commented that i looked like i hadn't done anything. today, it had taken about 6 hours just to go from winfield to twin lakes, and i was just happy to have finished the double crossing and still be smiling (and standing). i had done that last 6 hours on 4 gels and two small cups of mashed potatoes. that is just not adequate.

michael and jack brought me back to the house. i had to lift my left leg to get it into the car and again when i tried to walk up the hill to the house. i seriously considered having jack carry me up, but my pride wouldn't let me. i showered, drank some miso soup and went to bed. i couldn't lay on my left side because it made my hip flexor hurt. i could barely roll over even. my appetite wouldn't return for almost 24 hours.

michael came and picked me up the next morning to bring me to the finish line so i could see everyone (he and jack slept for only a few hours and then went back out to help the other austin people). tom, luigi, joseph, fred, cyndy, donna and dave all finished. congrats to all! jack (not my pacer) also dropped after missing a time cutoff. he'd struggled with stomach issues all day as well.

someone asked me after the fact if the race was hard. physically it was definitely hard. i've never felt that nauseous for so long while trying to move. mentally though, while it was challenging, i don't think it even comes close to the last 15 days of the ride last summer. what did surprise me though was that i never had the sustained high i normally get on really long runs. i wasn't unhappy, but i wasn't soaring either. that tells me something was clearly up (in addition to all the other evidence).

i have no regrets from the race this year. i felt like i did the best i could with the cards that i'd been dealt for the day. more importantly though, i met a bunch of very cool people in the process of getting ready for and then actually doing the race. i look forward to more runs, bikes, swims and of course, socializing in the future, and i'm definitely looking forward to trying it again next year.

today is the first day of classes at ut for the 2009-2010 school year, so its now back to the grind. however, i can say with confidence that i had an absolutely fantastic summer. thank you to everyone who took part in the adventures!