Category: Leadville hints

Stuck on the dime…

Wandering around and making mistakes, I climb the plateau; having climbed the plateau, I go up the mountain. But now I have lost my way, and I am wandering around in the forest; without the Guru, I do not understand. ~ Sri Guru Granth Sahib

I feel a bit stuck. Seems like I am pounding it in the 10-12 mile range but then really lag on anything greater. I am still trying to figure out Leadville (which may be moot at this point) but I need to be able to feel relatively confident at 25-30 miles in order to think I have a shot at finishing the full 50. I would really like to give it a go as many of my other goals and aspirations for the year have not come to fruition but I am still just not sure at this point.

I headed back out yesterday and logged another solid 10 in about 1:50. Just about right on an 11-minute pace. Not too bad though I felt kinda crappy for about a third of the run. My stomach was giving me troubles. I think I need to eliminate the energy chunks from Whole Foods I have been testing. They just aren’t doing it for me. I just ran the standard 10-mile neighborhood loop with a couple of mods thrown in for interest. After trucking up Tin Can Alley and Funky Boss, I headed all the way up to the top and then burned a lap on Double-Down (a trail I put in a few years back) and then finished up on Tupperware. That trail has gotten pretty cool with someone constructing a tee-pee towards the finish you roll through. Fun to see other people out there getting creative.

Post-run I bailed on the soak and went for a dirt bike ride. Found a hook up from Magnolia to Flagstaff, which was pretty sweet and mapped a 30-miler from my house to Luke’s. May get brave and do that sometime later in the summer. Not soaking made me feel the run a little more than normal so I have just been kicking it thus far today though I am jonezing for a quick spin in the woods. Might go tick off 5 miles here before dinner.

I have been reading a bunch of Anton Krupicka’s old posts and man, that guy is really something. Apparently, he eats gels during his runs and fills his bottles (untreated) in streams along the way. I was wondering how the hell he covered so much ground with only a bottle or two and there’s the answer. I am sure he has built up a tolerance to all the creepy crawlies but damn… not sure I can commit to that strategy. Plus, I think I would get super sick of gels only. But who am I to judge… he’s the badass with all the wins and course records under his belt. He’s competing in the Western States this coming weekend. Hope he kills it.

So that is my story. Hope you had a great weekend.

~stubert.

[update] Couldn’t stand it any longer and went out for a short, fast 5-miler. 4.7 or so, just over 42 minutes.

Back in the saddle, again…


Oh no. The problem. The problem, Pansy! It’s started again! I must have fruit! ~ Vincent

Yesterday: Singlespeed Ride – Neighborhood trails, 1.5 hours
Today: Run – Hope Pass (North side), 3.5 hours
Tomorrow: Bike ride – Nederland trails, 3 hours

Well… the last two days have seen markedly different experiences. Yesterday’s ride was a blast. I felt strong the whole time and even discovered some singletrack to which I had previously not been privy. Good stuff. I headed up to the standard route but didn’t really want to swing down the flume on the rigid bike so I jammed down a trail I hooked up earlier this year and then started exploring. I tried a piece of singletrack I hadn’t gone up in years and happily discovered it to hook up with some roads northeast of my house. Blasted back down the the Beav’ and rode home in good spirits. Absolutely no pain in my lower extremities and power to spare.

Today’s adventure was less happy-inducing. I got up early to take care of stuff around the house then headed up to Leadville to run the last remaining segment of the course I have not yet seen, Hope Pass. This starts in Twin Lakes and heads up 3400 feet over the Pass and down a similar elevation to the ghost town of Winfield. My plan was to run about 7 miles up and over then back. I guess you know what they say about the best laid plans…

I arrived in Twin Lakes around 8:45 and headed out by 9:00. Route-finding was tricky, to say the least but I finally managed to get moving in the right direction and on-course, even. I had some problems crossing the river as it was running strongly and was murky from a recent storm but I managed to get across without dousing myself or my camera. I am guessing the crossing is only about a mile and a half or so along the route but it took me nearly an hour to finally reach the south bank. Ugh. This is why I have been reviewing all the parts of the course… so come go-time, I’ll be familiar with each section and the challenges therein.

After the river, I headed up, up, up. I felt okay, actually, mostly power-hiking up the well-traveled trail. There were other runners that I passed or who passed me heading the other direction. I definitely could have run some of this section but wanted to simulate race-pace so kept the uphills to a brisk hike. Around tree-line things took a turn for the worse when I experienced an excruciating jolt of pain in my left shin. The problem had come back with a vengeance. Worse than ever, actually. Nausea-inducing type pain. Not good times.

I stopped and stretched for a bit and then decided to see if this was an isolated incident (it wasn’t) then experimented with different techniques to try to deal with it. I was able to come up with a couple of tricks to keep going but this is not something I believe will work for 100+ miles. Eventually, I used my handkerchief to compress the area and that seemed to offer a bit of relief. I decided the full trip was a bad idea but wanted to “summit” at least so trudged on the additional 1000+ vertical feet to the top of the pass.

Upon turning around after a brief stop to get some food and change shirts, I couldn’t believe how painful the leg became. If I were the panicking type, I can assure you that things would have gotten silly. I limped down the top section then tried running a bit once the pitch became less steep. This seemed to work and I was able to keep a fairly steady pace back down Hope to the valley below. Once the trail leveled out, I alternated walking and running back to the river then back to Twin Lakes.

I have put in calls to Mark to see if he can squeeze me in next week and Ben, a friend of mine who is an experienced athlete and who has finished Leadville at least once to see what to try next. I am thinking this will involve switching all remaining training to the bike until the last week or so, when I may try a couple short runs. Not really sure right now the best course of action. I definitely also want to see if there are any tricks I can employ to help get me through the race (ice, compression, booze) and, at this point, am pretty much game for anything that might enable me to get through it. 27 days until the start. That should give me plenty of time to get this figured out.

I’ll post some photos in a bit. I only took a couple as the day was a bit gray and will get them posted ASAP.

Think shin-ey thoughts.

~stubert.

Edit: I spoke with Ben last night and he provided a different insight into my situation. With less than four weeks until the race, I really don’t have much more intense training to accomplish. His take on the situation is that I can jump on the bike, finish out the month with less abusive training that will maintain my current fitness levels and give my body a rest prior to the race. Going in refreshed and healthy is much more important than any incremental fitness gains I might achieve at this point. Great advice.

Leadville tip: Two tips, actually…

Tip 1: Many people take off their shoes while crossing the river. My experience is that with good socks, they dry quickly and there is no need to waste time swapping them out at this juncture. I plan to swap shoes at Winfield and then again after crossing back over in Twin Lakes.

Tip 2: Bug spray is most welcome during the first couple miles out of Twin Lakes. This marshy section is rife with mosquitoes and keeping them at bay is a good idea.

Heavy heart…

Mrrrrraaaaaaaaaannnnhhh. ~ Samantha

In order to avoid scaring any readers off with continued tales of woe (our beloved kitty, Samantha died yesterday), I will post a few things I learned during yesterday’s productive, 4+ hour altitude run.

The route I took started from my house and ran down the Beav to Coal Creek Canyon. I then headed east to 97 and up to Magnolia. East briefly on Mag to the Blue Dot trail head tail and backwards on the Dots to Ned. Ned to the High School trails, West Mag and a sneaky trail back to Rollinsville. From there, I pretty much bee-lined it back home. I spun my last mile in about 7 minutes. At least I had that to brighten my spirits. Not sure how far I ran in total but I was pleased with the effort.

Here are some tidbits:

  • Jackets with hoods are necessary. In the ever-changing weather of the Rockies in the Springtime, one needs proper protection. My hooded jacket, unfortunately, is still on its way. I should be able to test-drive it later this week.
  • Drinking is a good thing. No, I don’t mean lugging around bottles of fortified wine, but I do recommend creating a system that works for you to stay hydrated. Yesterday, like most, I ran with my trusty Shuffle, and made sure to drink at the end of each song (at least). This seemed to keep me very well hydrated throughout the run. Good stuff. I also experimented with soda and protein drinks. Both of which seemed to do the trick.
  • There’s no school like the old-school. I dipped into the bag of old tricks and went for the old-school solution of PB&Js for my main “meal”. Seemed to work well. I think this is a combination of my getting better used to eating on the go but regardless, I plan to add the old standard to my new regimen.
  • Eat, drink, eat, drink, repeat. I try to start eating no more than 20 minutes into my longer runs. This helps to get me in the habit of ingesting calories throughout my effort and starts replenishing energy reserves immediately. This also helps me to graze vs. trying to choke down a huge meal all at once. Thanks to Luke for the killer Gorp recipe: Almonds, Pecans, Chocolate-covered Espresso Beans, Dried Cranberries, Sunflower Seeds. Good stuff.

Other than those items, I can report that Blue Dot is almost completely clear as are the Highschool and West Mag trails. Gentlemen, start your bikes.

I am not sure what the plan for Monday entails. Probably a run but we’ll see.

~stubert

Big shoes…

Rub some dirt on it and get back in there. ~ Coach Sanders

Yesterday’s run was interesting. I definitely learned a few things:

  • Running in headwinds and rain takes it out of you
  • Sticky mud = very big shoes (I knew this already but it was reinforced nicely last night)
  • I need a new jacket – preferably one with a hood
  • I need to practice running at night – MUCH slower than in the daytime
  • I have a great crew

So after a few stumbles, Luke and I finally started running at 5:00. The first few miles were on pavement/bike paths and went quickly. Easy 10-minute pace. We ran on trails here as much as possible but had to spend a bit of time on the hard stuff, which is not really what either of us enjoy. Once we hit dirt, the wind kicked up and it started to rain. This would be the standard off and on for the remainder of our run.

Pete tried to hook up with us out by Boulder Res but we somehow missed him and just kept rolling. We had to walk anything remotely steep as the trails out this way are mostly clay and were pretty slick. We were getting tired from having Gene Simmons shoes and I was trying to stave off the fatigue by pounding yummy humus burritos Rage made.

Several miles later, after running down the Sanitas Valley Trail, we looked up ahead to see our favorite black-haired crew member trotting down the trail towards us. Brad had braved the crummy weather to come join us for a brief section of the run. We shuffled into Eben G. Fine Park and met up with Nichole and Pete just before dusk, roughly 30 minutes off pace but still feeling okay.

Nichole, Pete and Brad practiced crewing (Brad holds a mean apple if you are ever in the need of those services). After a quick shoe change, some dry clothes and refilling our food and water stocks, we were off into the night to run up the first part of Flagstaff on our way to the Mesa trail. This is where things started to fall apart a bit.

I could tell that Luke was not feeling particularly well on the climb up Flag. Usually he is the one pushing the pace but last night, he was experiencing some knee pain that was holding him back. I wasn’t feeling just red hot myself and we decided to take a short break once we got to the Ranger Station. At this point, Luke decided it would be best if he were to call in the cavalry to give his knees a much needed break. I wanted to push on a bit so that I could increase my longest distance and time active and headed out Mesa solo planning to catch the car at NCAR.

I was definitely a bit slower on this section than I had hoped. I also lost my ear buds somehow and, though I searched for several minutes, was unable to locate them in the dark. I must have stepped on them while putting on my jacket or something. So we can add that to the list of needs: New headphones. I finished up at NCAR about 4:45 after starting and estimate my total distance to be ~20 miles. Pete was gracious enough to come pick me up and Luke and Nichole donated a shower. I got home sometime around 11:30 after driving through a pretty good Spring snowstorm to roughly 6 inches on the ground. Spring in the Rockies… gotta love it.

So today, I plan to recuperate – watch some movies, maybe go for a short walk later and let Rage drive the car back and forth over my legs for awhile. Tomorrow I am cleaning cages at The House Rabbit Society in the morning and may do a short run in Boulder in the afternoon or perhaps skin up Eldora for a few turns. Comment if you would like to join me on either or if you have a preference.

~stubert