My Running History - Part 2
(Part1)
August, 2010 rolls around and it's time to pace my friend at the Leadville Trail 100 Run. And I was nervous. The way it works is runners complete the first 50 miles by themselves and then they are able to pick up pacers who will run alongside them and carry stuff, encourage, set pace, etc. for the last 50 miles (One pacer at a time but you can split that last 50 miles into many pacers). My friend had 4 pacers, including me, and I was scheduled to run 10 miles with him between mile 76 and 86 over a very steep climb.
We were staying at Copper Mtn resort about 30 minutes away from Leadville and since the race started at 4:00AM we all got up around 2:30 or so to get down to the start line. Watching the start of the Leadville 100 is a thrilling experience. There were around 650 runners that day (a little over 300 would finish) and every one of them had a headlamp on so that as the race director blasted off his shotgun signaling 'GO' all you could see for a full mile down the road as they headed out was just a wave of bobbing headlamps. For myself as a non-runner, at the time, it was exciting to watch.
(By the way you can read his race report in 3 parts if you're interested: Part1, Part2, Part3)
The first aid station is 13 miles down the trail so the crew, including myself, headed over there to be ready for my friend to come through the aid station. The aid station is at a campground called MayQueen which is at the western tip of Turquoise Lake outside Leadville. It is a gorgeous place. Very woodsy and scenic. As we stood there in the cold (it was near freezing; in August no less) and watched the runners come through something spiritual started happening. It was incredibly inspiring to watch these folks coming through the aid station. Everyone was pumped, exhilarated, energetic. Each runner would come through and their crew would grab them and hand them whatever they needed, then they'd head through the aid station tent to grab anything else and then they were on their way again to the next aid station (which is another 10 miles away over a mountainous pass).
I knew right then I wanted to get back into running. And I knew right then that I didn't want to 'waste' my time just running 5k's or 10k's like I had done in high school and college. I didn't even want to 'waste' time running marathons. I wanted to run ultramarathons. For those unaware, an ultramarathon is basically anything over a marathon (26.2 miles) distance. Generally, the distances for ultras are 50k (31 miles) and up. The most popular ones are at the 100 mile distance. The Western States 100 trail run in California is probably the most popular race of them all. The Leadville Trail 100 run is considered one of the more difficult at the 100 mile distance because of some insane climbs and the altitude. The lowest elevation point is 9,200 feet and it peaks out at 12,600 feet at the top of Hope Pass. Incidentally, the background picture for this blog that you see is taken from the top of Hope Pass on a training run I did last summer.
Back to the Leadville race for my friend. He ended up not finishing that day. At one point he had taken the wrong trail where it wasn't marked well and had gotten off course enough that he woudn't have been able to make the cutoff times for the next aid station. That's right, not only do you have to worry about trying to slog through 100 miles but you have to do it within 30 hours and each aid station has a certain time where you need to be there or you're out of the race.
That day is when my new running career began. While I wasn't able to pace for my friend at the race I set my own goal that day to one day finish the Leadville Trail 100. The following week I started on a training program and the first Saturday back from the race I ran 10 miles. I was incredibly sore the next few days but it was a good sore. Remember, I had done nothing for years and years and was not in the right shape to be running 10 miles.
In December I signed up for the Leadville Trail 100 for 2011.
The following April, 2011 I ran my first ultra at the Cheyenne Mountain 50k on a cold, sometimes snowy, spring day. I finished in 6:35 having never even run more than 20 miles before that point. I remember looking down at my watch at the 26.2 mark and thought to myself 'I just ran my first marathon'; and I still had 5 more miles to go.
Two weeks later I ran the Greenland Trail 50k on a hot, windy May day. Finished in a time of 5:40. In June I ran my first 50 miler at the Northfork 50 mile race. That was tough but I was able to finish.
In August, 2011 I ran in the Leadville Trail 100. I was pumped, confident, and eager to make it to the finish line. I got to the top of Hope Pass (45 miles) and made the mistake of sitting down at the aid station (which is called the Hopeless aid station by the way). I was feeling incredibly nauseous and light-headed. One of the medical staff came over and asked me some questions about how I was feeling and long story short they ended up having me lie down in a med tent and put an IV in me. Once they do that I'm automatically cut from the race. My race was finished. 2 hours later I got up from the tent and had to hoof it 5 miles back to the nearest town (Twin Lakes) so my crew could pick me up.
I was deflated and frustrated. My first DNF (Did Not Finish). It was somewhat to be expected. I was very inexperienced at this distance having only trained for a year and I was not able to get a handle on my nutritional intake.
I got in the crew vehicle and told the guys that I was done with ultras. Of course, even on the 20 minute drive back to the house we were staying at I started to formulate plans about what I would do differently. And by the time I reached the house I was all pumped about the following year and trying it again.
Stay tuned for Part 3 (so much for being brief)...
No comments:
Post a Comment