Early Morning Run In Leadville

It was a beautiful morning in Leadville. The temps were in the low 40's and the sun was up at around 5AM. Will, Nancy, Tim and I got started at about 5:05AM and began from the starting point, Harrison and 6th ave. It was a 13 mile run to the May Queen campground. 50% of the run was on roads or dirt trails that were pretty flat and easy. There were some small ascents and descents on the first 5-6 miles but nothing major. The second 6-7 miles were on trails that were for the most part friendly. The good news is that at 4AM when we begin on race day for the 1st hour we'll be running with head lamps but the sun will rise before we hit the more difficult trails - which really weren't all that bad. It took us 2.5 hours this am but we stopped to take pictures and walked a good portion. On race day this stretch can be done in under 2:15, keeping my heart rate at 125BPM or below.

From May Queen to Twin Lakes it's 26 miles and it was the training run that I did a few weeks ago, which took me 5:15. But I was pretty spent after completing that section of the course - lot's of hills. From Twin Lakes over Hope Pass to Winfield 1/2 way point is another 10 miles, 7 of which are ascending and descending the mountain. We'll all be training on this portion of the course tomorrow morning.

This evening we're all going on a night run, including Margaret a 14X finisher at Leadville and has won it outright a couple of times. She is 62 and tough as nails. The purpose of tonights run is to navigate the power line section of the course in the dark. A difficult section that we'll all be facing late in the evening on race day. It'll be my first night trail run so going to take it easy to get some experience. We'll only be running/hiking 10 miles this evening. The temps will get down into the 40's or lower at the higher elevations, but right now there is no rain in sight. Going to test out my new camelback water system this evening, excited about this device that carries 64 ounces of water. This should last me 2 hours during the race before I'm forced to refill. The good news about this device is that my hands will be free - to a) brace a fall or b) enable me to carry my trekking poles.

This afternoon after getting in a few hours of work at Provin grounds coffee house we all went to the rodeo. It was a red neck rodeo as usual. The highlight of the rodeo was watching the young kids 3-6 yrs old try to ride the sheep bare back. They are some brave and tough little monkeys.

Well gotta get ready to go on our night run. More to follow and with more pics tomorrow.

Cheers!