3 weeks and counting........

After the 50 mile smack down that occurred, I regrouped and reassessed my game plan on race day in Leadville. Experiencing several meltdowns over a 12 hour period is difficult but rewarding on many different levels. If you've never hit the wall, it's difficult to truly understand the feeling when you actually break through the wall. On race day in three weeks, it's a good bet that I'll face the wall several times. The advantage that I have during this race is the fact that I will have both crew support as well as pacer from mile 50 to the finish. Below is a picture of Daley and Will on our training weekend on 7/23 as we traversed Hope Pass at 12,500 for the first time. They're both looking rather chipper.....the return over Hope Pass wasn't as pretty as everyone ran out of water, due to the sun/altitude and my pacers struggled to return to Twin Lakes through the river with temps at 40F....chilly, but felt REALLY GOOD!




We managed to get in 42 miles of 2.5 days in Leadville. It was a great training weekend. My race plan has been written and I will be sending it out to the crew and pacer this week. The weather was spectacular. On Friday evening we climbed up the Power Line to Hagerman and back. On Saturday we began at Twin Lakes and went to the Winfield Station side on Hope Pass and back. This was a long day....what should've taken 5.5 hours took 7 hours and change.....slept good! On Sunday we ran from Half Moon to about Twin Lakes...a good run out and a better run back. On Sunday afternoon we braved the traffic, which only took forever, to get back to Denver....checked in at the Embassy Suites....went out for a couple of beers and some great Sushi. Walked back to the hotel.....stopped at Dairy Queen....and hit the rack...after watching CSI for the first time.

Overall a great weekend...nursing a few minor tweeks ....but feeling good going into the TAPER......grrrr.


Cheers!

Leadville Silver Rush 50.....Wow!

Leading up to the SR50 my training is far ahead of last year at this point in the season. My endurance levels are exceptional as is my overall fitness. In 2010 I finished the SR 50 in 10:04, which should've been closer to a 9:40 as I took a wrong turn and ended up go a couple of miles out of my way. Yesterday, in finished at 6:15PM which was a 12 hours and 15 minutes, or 2:11:00 longer.

It was a beautiful morning with clear blue skies and temps in the low 50's. I should've taken precautions at this point but ignored the potential impacts of heat, sun and altitude combination. I was dressed in black shorts, black shirt and black visor.....real smart. The day before the race I rested well back at the hotel, stayed off of my feet, hydrated, ate a nice plate of plain spaghetti and got to bed early..this was actually smart. During the week before I stuck to light runs nothing major, other than 21 miles 7 days before the race, but I felt recovered from it, albeit a little tired entering the race...or more just a little wore out...but nothing too bad.

On race morning I got up at 4AM, showered and headed downstairs for a light breakfast at the Delaware Hotel. Tim joined me 15 minutes later and we made it the the race start at 5:45AM, in plenty of time to get our chips and say hello to our friends racing that day. When the gun went off at 6:00AM, Hawaiian Shirt Ray, sprinted up the hill as we hooted and hollered and cheered him on as a kid 10 years younger attempted to keep pace with him. Ray crushed him in this sprint up the hill to claim the lone silver dollar waiting at the top of the hill. To really understand just how difficult a task this is...imagine running up 10 flights of stairs (25 degree slope), without the stairs, but on loose rocks and gravel....oh and don't forget at 10,250 of altitude. Very very impressive.

So the race begins and the first several miles are very uneventful. Conversations are being carried on by many of the runners as the pace is a fast hike, slow jog as the first 10 miles are uphill....which means the last 10 miles are downhill...almost. I met OJ from Nashville a nice younger guy that is friends with Brian Waller and Greg Greenwell. We chatted for a few minutes and he dropped as his pace was faster than I had wanted to go out at.

Goals for the Day
1. Finish the race before the 14 HR cutoff
2. Do not get injured

Mission accomplished...well sort of....I did complete the race under the cutoff and I also did not sustain any physical injuries. I did however suffer significantly throughout the race from an overall electrolyte imbalance...which caused extreme nausea....elevated HR...inability to easily digest anything I consumed. Fortunately, nurse Nancy, passed me and diagnosed my condition in about 2 seconds and offered up some sodium tablets, which remedied my situation in about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, I only had enough sodium to last me till about mile 34...which meant another bonk on the horizon.

Nutrition
1. Packed 8 Shot Blocks...consumed 6
2. Packed 8 Hammer Gels....consumed 8 plus 2 Gu gels picked up at last aid station 7 miles from finish
3. 90oz of H2O with Gu Brew mix......big issue as the aid stations only had Herbalife to refill other than last aid station.
4. 2 slices of pizza, plain chees, which I was only able to eat one slice at the mid point turn around
5. Chips, 1/2 Chocolate Chip Cookie, bite of a banana, coke at all aid stations except #1, 1 slice of an orange and piece of watermellon with salt...yuk..but needed sodium bad at last aid station.

Overall assessment.....heat and altitude were an issue that I underestimated. Thought that I could get enough sodium from drinks and food so abandoned my endurolytes...big ass mistake!!! Should've recognized all of the symptoms...elevated HR and Nausea...sloshing stomach...meant electrolyte imbalance. Clothes that I had on exacerbated the heat factor...a rookie mistake and lack of respect for the sun....this will never happen again.

I will be downloading from my Garmin my HR over the 12:15 period of time...I know that it'll not be good. What will be good is that it was a good but painful learning experience.

More to follow.........

Silver Rush 50 Mile Mtn Bike....

Today the gun went off at 9AM MDT and about 500 Mtn bikers ran up the hill with their bikes, with their HR's most likely red lining.....It was a beautiful day for a race in Leadville. Throughout the day clouds rolled in but there was no rain, just cloud cover for the competitors. Hopefully we'll have the same weather for our 50 mile trail run....we'll see.

I took the day off from all exercise and just slept at the hotel, answered emails, got organized for work next week. Grabbed a dinner/lunch with Tim, Francisco, Hawaiian Ray and Scott at Zichetelli's, loading up on the carbs. Heading out to Mountain High Pizza's to grab a large cheese pizza. PLanning on packing up the pizza tomorrow for the run. It's a great food to chow down while running. Trying out Gu Brew tomorrow, which I'm hoping does the trick. No magnesium in Gu Brew, shot blocks or hammer gels. The race will have 7 aid stations that I will leverage tomorrow, but will have 75% of my needs in my camelback. So nutrition is pretty dialed in for tomorrow.

Physically I've gotten rest and stayed off of my feet today. My right foot is still giving me some troubles but I'm not expecting it to be a problem unless I step wrong on a rock or try to push it too hard. Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty good. Trying out the "new" Brooks trail running shoes.

We'll be getting up at 4:30AM MDT to grab breakfast at the Delaware hotel before heading down to the race start at 6:00AM MST. The first goal tomorrow is to simply finish, without any major injuries. Ideally I'd like to finish in under 10 hours, but more realistically it'll be closer to 11 hours.

Till then....Cheers!

Back in the Saddle........

Francisco and I made it back up to Leadville, preparing for the SR 50 mile trail run. While Francisco ran the trails I decided to hop on my Mtn bike and give it another go. This afternoon was the first time that I've been on that bike since my bad accident. While most of the ride today was on gravel roads, I did manage to ride up Sugar Loaf which is a very rocky trail. I was a nervous wreck going up and coming down. I need to build back my confidence on the bike so I can relax. What I did realize was that I need to spend a bunch of time in the saddle and work my core between now and the LT 100 Bike. I also need to spend time analyzing the course and how I will manage the time on race day. I feel pretty comfortable that I'll get my game on for race day without a major crash, I now just need to determine if I am going to be able to finish, as there is no sense in riding 12 hours and missing the cutoff and beating up my body and not be able to get the Leadman trophy.

Tomorrow Tim is arriving in Leadville around 6AM so he can get in a 20 mile run, which is crazy.....My plan is to bike Columbine which is a 5 mile ride straight up the mountain...then I plan on relaxing the rest of the day and staying off my feet to rest up for the SR 50.

Weather was great today, however, lots of storm clouds. Hopefully it'll cooperate for us on Sunday.....Hitting the rack.

Cheers!

White Ranch....Trail Run

Well I made it back to the scene of the accident this evening. Made it out to White Ranch at about 7:15PM today after going through the most hellacious hail storm, which I video taped while driving. The weather cleared up and Tim, Patrick(a Rochester native) and I hit the trails at White Ranch to get in a 6 mile run.

My right foot is still giving me some issues, but I'm thinking that it's becoming a bit of the pea under the mattress routine....in other words...it's in between my ears....not really but kind of. At about 4.6 miles into the run Tim took a very nasty fall on a down hill and actually smashed his face into some rocks and busted up both his upper and lower lips. Luckily hit didn't lose any teeth. Patrick and I both agreed that his face looked much better after the fall.

We took the run pretty easily finishing 6 miles in about 1:15 minutes. My endurance levels feel great at 6,500 feet of altitude. The only issue that I'm wrestling with is my right foot...which I will keep a careful eye on.

Gotta give it up to the USA Women's Soccer team for CRUSHING France today and will take on Japan in the World Cup finals on Sunday at 12 MST....which is a huge bummer given the fact that I'll be about 3 hours or so from finishing when they start. So Jackson is going to text me updates.

Francisco will be arriving on Friday am and we'll head on up to Leadville.....

That's all I have for now....Cheers!

Preparing for the Silver Rush 50 Trail Run

I boarded the 6:50AM flight from Nashville to Denver today after a long weekend in upstate NY with the Family. I'm not certain which is harder work.......but glad to be back at altitude so I don't lose the acclimation that I have earned over the last month training out here in Denver, its foothills and Leadville.

I left the office at about 7:15PM and walked back to the hotel and headed straight for the work out room where I got in 3.5 miles on the treadmill at a 8:30/Mile average pace and my HR was around 120....which is good. I managed to stretch the calves, quads, IT bands, hamstrings and achilles during and post run. Overall felt good. Didn't have any issues with my right arch and think that 2 days off did it good.

Post work out I had a very nice salmon salad dinner at the hotel and 2 Blue Moons. Back at the room and calling it a night. Tired after a long day. The US Women's Soccer Team plays France at 10AM tomorrow and I'm very excited to have a tv in my office to get updates on the score. Tomorrow evening planning on getting in a 5 mile run with Tim on the trails....hopefully the weather will cooperate. Right now we're having a major thunderstorm in Denver, while it is pouring down rain and 51F in Leadville, which may make for a sloppy, chilly run on Sunday....bummer.

Anyways, getting 8 hours of sleep tonight.

Cheers!

Wedding Bells in Upstate NY

This past Thursday we made the trek up to Buffalo NY via SWA for Tim's wedding on Keuka Lake. Before going to the wedding we hit Niagara Falls, the Maid of the Mist and Darien Lake amusement park. On Friday evening we arrived at the Esperanza Mansion and was greeted by TIm and most of the wedding party, playing beer pong outside of our hotel room. I learned how to play beer pong and with a perfect record of 2-0 decided to quick while I was ahead and get some rest. The plan for the morning was to rise at 4:45AM to get in a 4 hour run around a portion of Keuka Lake.



The morning temps were in the high 50's low 60's...perfect for running. The sun officially rises at 5:54AM, but it was light out when I hit the road at 5AM. I made my way down the a route that led me to Keuka College and then down along the shoreline. At this hour of the morning the only thing up and about were the nocturnal animals...raccoons and deer. The run was very relaxing, but a bit punishing on the legs as most of the run was on pavement or on the dirt and gravel on the side of the road.

The total run was 21 miles and I must admit that it really beat my legs up. They felt like two pieces of lead. Not certain if that was from the pounding of the pavement and not being on trails, lack of nutrition or just still not being fully recovered from the Leadville marathon. In any event it was a challenge.

Later that day Timmy got married at 4:30PM overlooking Keuka Lake from the Esperanza Mansion. A beautiful day, ceremony and reception that followed. Got to bed around 11:30PM that night and then headed off to Rochester NY to see our good friends, the Baiocchi's. We had a fabulous time with them on Sunday and was able to catch up over a few beers, wine and some out of this world Sherry........mmmmm!

Was a little slow getting getting up this am and my joints were aching, not certain if it was the Sherry, Darien Lake, the 21 mile run the day before or the combination of all three. So I popped 2 Alleve and felt good the rest of the day. No work outs on Sunday or Monday but plan on getting in 5 miles tomorrow after I get back to Denver....on the treadmill... a nice soft surface. This weekend is the 50 mile Silver Rush and I need to take it easy going into the event to make certain that I finish it and stay in contention for the Leadman.....

Gotta get up at the crack.....cheers!

The Incline.......

After the marathon last Saturday, I took Sunday off and resumed training on Monday with a 1 hour 20 mile bike ride. It was a partly sunny day with temps in the high 80's. The idea with the bike ride was twofold (i) low impact work out on the right foot and (ii) get time in the saddle and start thinking about doing the bike portion of the Leadman. After my nasty fall I had swore off bikes and as usual, time makes the memory fade. As I hit 40MPH + it really made me think about just how dangerous the bike is......

Today I got up at the crack to catch my flight to Denver. Had a productive day and decided to hop in the car and drive down to Manitou Springs to tackle the infamous "Incline". It's a straight ascent up the mountain that peaks around 9,000FT + on a series of railroad ties. Instead of committing suicide and descending the stairs, I made the intelligent decision to hit the trails that switched backed down the mountain side.

The total loop was just shy of 3.5 Miles at took 1:11 on the first loop and 1:07 on the 2nd loop....yep a negative split. I did the incline in 40 minutes on the first loop and 40 minutes on the second loop, and made up time on the descent as I had some young runner thinking he was going to pass me.....not today slappy. Overall felt pretty good other than my right arch, which is giving me issues....nothing serious, but just nagging right now. Gotta catch these issues early and pay attention to them so that they don't turn into something more significant.



At the top of the photo is a false summit, when actually it's only 2/3 of the way up the mountain....my average HR was north of 130, I'm guessing. There were quite a few tourists trying to climb this bad boy. It was a great training day, which was about 2:18 minutes and 7 miles. Yes, that's right only 7 miles and it took me 2:18......it's a tough hill to climb....but i'll be thankful come August....

Cheers!!

Leadville Marathon Results.......

After picking up Daley and Tim we headed west on Friday afternoon, attempting to beat the July 4th weekend traffic to the Rockies. We were able to avoid much of the traffic but it was still crowded on the highways, turning a 1:45 drive into 2:20 to Leadville. We registered and then checked into the hotel, chilled out for a while and then headed out to grab a beer and a bite to eat. The local italian restaurant was packed so we put our name on the list and headed over to the Silver Dollar Saloon to swirl back a coupe PBR's....and in the process losing my damn car keys. Yep, that's right...lost my car keys, in Leadville. We managed to catch a ride back to the Silver King Hotel, which was about a mile up the road from the restaurant helpers. Never ended up finding them.....

On Saturday morning Daley & I woke up to the sound of an explosion, only to find out that it was Tim on the growler preparing for the race...actually several explosions. We left the hotel and walked to the race start about a mile from the hotel and arrive at 7:40, checked in...got a new bib # as mine was safely locked in the Jeep... The owner of LifeTime Fitness gave a short pep talk to all of the Leadman competitors just before Ken raised his rifle into the air began the race with a bang! Below is Daley and for a pre race pic..




The course has about 6,000 feet of elevation gain/loss over 26.2 miles on very rocky trails. We started off walking uphill, which got the HR up and the blood pumping right away. We ran the down hills and flats and were disciplined about walking every uphill, which always pays dividends later in the race. The race had both the Heavy Half Marathoners as well as the full Marathoners, so the trails were crowded on the way out and the for few miles of the way back, then it was pretty sparse. The weather was 70F and nothing but sun and lot's of it. Below is a pic as we were out of Leadville on our way up the trails looking over a mining




Mile 13 was at the top of Mosquito Pass at 13,180 feet as noted in the pic below with that stud ultra runner. It was a very tough hike to the top of the pass and the trail was very very very rocky, making the descent treacherous as Daley would find out :) aka The Honey Badger wannabe.... I was able to make it to the top of the pass at 3 hours and 8 minutes, with the goal of running the next 13.1 miles in under 2 hours...wishful thinking. Not having run the course I was under the impression (from Tim!!!) that it was "all down hill" after Mosquito Pass, that turned out not to be the case as there was still plenty of uphills to traverse. I managed to run a negative split with a 2:30 on the return....which I had to push. I heated up in the last few miles and got a little light headed....but was in pretty good shape compared to the Young Bull who ended up with a bout of altitude sickness, but still managed to finish the course in 5:59...a nice sub six performance for the sea side boy. Tim was able to best his prior year's performance with a 5:52 by 20 minutes....that deserves an attaboy!



Overall it was a good race and by far the hardest damn marathon in the USA. We (Tim and I) grabbed two scoops of ice cream before walking back to the hotel with the Rookie, aka the Young Bull aka the Honey Badger wannabe, to meet our driver to take us back down the mountain to the airport to catch our flights. With no shower I boarded the SWA flight back to Nasvegas and the humidity....It's good to be home. I grabbed a couple of slices of cold pizz out of the fridge a coors light and a bag of ice and off to bed I went...with Oliver and Francis.

The first race of the Leadman series is over....mulling over my chances of successfully completing the 100 mile bike....hmmm...very very tempting...with the jury still out...I'll just continue to train hard.


Cheers!!

A week of rest before the Leadville Marathon

I took most of the week to stretch, ice and heal up from last weekend's training in Leadville. I developed a slight issue with my right shin as well as the tendon on the front of my right foot along with my arch on the right foot. Went back to Dr Stark and he gave me some good stretches and advice on how to resolve my issues.

Yesterday went to the gym and put in about 1.5 miles on the treadmill and felt really good. Stretched the IT band, calfs, shins, arches and achilles as well as getting in a solid core work out. This am I got in a great massage before picking up Daley at the airport and finishing up a few items at the office then headed up to Leadville. Registered for the marathon in the am bib#428 and going to get some rest. Had a carb loading lunch and will have a light dinner with pasta and hydrate.

The race begins at 8AM and I hope to finish in under 5 hours....which will be tough but think doable. Not having run this course before can't be certain just what I'll be facing. Post race hopping SWA back to Nashville for the holiday weekend with the family.....Which I'm really looking forward to....till then...eat, hydrate, rest and run!

Cheers!!