Sunday, August 21, 2011

24:11 Leadville

Missed my stated 24 hour goal (and Brownie's time by a half hour), but still had a fun race. My fault for too aggressive of a plan in the lower 20's when I had no business doing so, especially for a mountain/altitude/Leadville first-timer, trying to get impressive results. I had a great run for 60 miles, then early leg pain caught up to me, subjecting poor Slush to a night-time hike around endless Turquoise Lake while gobs of people passed us. Should have backed off like many experience runners have said and run a first 60+ miles that felt very easy, and I know better! Lots of things went well, especially the crew and pacers and numerous friends on and along the course, and nutrition/gear/stomach/head all felt fine all day (more than any 50M)

But, for those unfamiliar with these races, the "award" is a belt buckle for finishing. There is often a more strict cutoff for a "big buckle." In Leadville, the cutoff for "La Plata Grande" is 25 Hours. I certainly wanted to earn this and was excited to do so -- the 24 hour number I came up with was only because it's a more "natural" number and would end the suffering earlier. Once I knew 22, 23, and 24 hours were out of reach, I focused on being conservative enough not to get injured and to get the big buckle.

So, overall it was a blast and I really enjoyed the Leadville experience more than I thought. It was also very difficult and satisfying to finish this race. Tedious report and pictures forthcoming.

12 comments:

  1. Way to go! Still a great finish even though things could have gone better. Very impressive. And... you did break 24:12!

    Look forward to the so-called "tedium" later :)

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  2. 4:32 am; did you post this from the medical tent? It was an honor and a pleasure to bring you home last night!

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  3. Fantastic run, Mike!
    Can't wait to hear the details..
    I knew you would do well!
    John

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  4. Congrats on the big buckle! Well done! You're 20:XX or even better will come.

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  5. Mike - THE BIG BUCKLE!! Awesome! Stoked for you. Now if you only had a little less mile speed! ;)

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  6. Congrats Mike! You looked strong out there! I tried getting a couple shots of you as you came through the aid stations, but you were going so fast I barely had time to get the camera out. Think I managed 1 shot of you coming into Fish Hatchery.

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  7. Way to go Mike! As another first timer out there, I think you ran solid race. There's no way to make it any easier and it sounds like you managed all the pieces very well. I really enjoyed meeting you and hope our paths cross again.

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  8. Heckuva race. Congrats! It was great being out there with you. I learned a lot just by watching you.

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  9. Thanks everyone!
    @Ean: Sorry I didn't get to see more of you guys, but you were all great support for all of the FC runner!
    @Woody: Perfect first 100 for you, wow! Congratulations!
    @Kieran: Thanks so much for everything, I'm sure you learned just as much or more by watching other runners on various parts of the course, but you kept me eating/drinking/moving well over Hope Pass and that was awesome! You should be ready to sign up for it!

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  10. @Rob: By lower 20's, I was thinking just under 22, which was too aggressive. As you saw at Pikes, picking a pace is a tricky business! A smarter race would have preserved my running legs more for the final stretch, but I can't complain with the fun I had.

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  11. Congrats on getting the big buckle! I also completely failed at getting any photos of you. I just have some blurry images of you blowing through Twin Lakes.

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  12. The Buckle is all that matters! You can whittle down the time in the years ahead. Great job!

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