Leadville Marathon Results

The official results are not yet posted....but...holy shit...a tough day at altitude!  Last year I finished in 5:38 and 83rd overall.  Today, well a little different results finishing at 6:00:53...unofficially...probably will be a little better than that, but doesn't matter.  In short, the course kicked my ass.  I have not trained at high altitude and it showed.  The remnants of my chest cold, clearly didn't help matters either.  The one bright spot was my ability to climb, via power hiking was excellent.  This will be a key asset at the UTMB race in late August.

The Clouds were a Blessing!

To score my 6 hour time I had to really bust my ass the last 6 miles.  I was aware of the time and my goal was to finish under 6 hours....close but no cigar.  I pushed really hard.  I got over heated at lower altitude (11,000 feet) and a little dizzy as well...thankfully nobody reads this otherwise I'd have a smarts comment.

Take aways from today:

1.  Switch to water in my camelback, no more hammer powders in my bladder.
2.  Pack saltine crackers and peanut butter sandwiches.
3.  Drink only water, but supplement with Gatorade bottles, that I'll have to pack and put in drop bags.
4.  Get my right camelback for UTMB
5.  Train at Leadville SR50 with items 1-4

Mosquito Pass Sucking Wind!

Hawaiian Ray, Tim, Loaf, Ken, Nancy, Marge, Andy and several other Leadville usuals all ran the marathon today.  It was great to see them all.  A tough group of athletes.  Anybody that can do ANY of the Leadville events is pretty special.  You simply cannot show up in Leadville and fake it.  You have to trained, experienced and have a positive attitude, otherwise that town's races will eat you alive.

Some stats and comments on the race:

1.  My average pace was about a 13:48 mile
2.  My HR averaged 130 BPM
3.  Entered the race well hydrated
4.  Loaded up on water and cola at aid stations post 10 miles, gave up on Heed/water mix
5.  Drank all but 5-6oz of my 64 oz bladder
6.  Took in 40 oz, guessing of water and cola
7.  Only ate one hammer gel and one shot block
8.  Mile 15-20 I suffered badly with stomach cramps and nausea, patience, cola, pretzels and water saved me :)

Ken, Nancy, Phil & Tim..........Cheers!

Overall I am pleased with today's race.  I suffered but was able to break it down and hopefully can remedy these issues in the SR 50.   As always it is one of life's simple pleasures to spend a day racing in a town with spectacular views and people.   Lot's of work to do to prepare for UTMB, can't lose focus on the "A" race for 2012.



Cheers!