LT100 - Again!

I just met Bryan a week before the race. He was confident, stoic, but I could see that this was going to be something more than a race. Leadman was no joke.

The event, consisting of 5 events (10k, marathon, 50 miler, 100 miler cycle, 100 miler run) takes place over the course of the summer in Leadville, Colorado, just a 2 hour drive up from my apartment in Denver. Bryan was taking it on at the ripe age of 29 - I knew this time well. Having just turned 30 last month, the importance of squeezing out every last bit of the year felt familiar to me. Jumping at the opportunity to get into something different I packed up our car with Cheddar in tow and headed up to Oak Creek, 20 miles outside of Steamboat Springs.

I was immediately crushed by plunging into the Oak Creek Reservoir, a spectacular body of water engulfed by gentle peaks and the scenic green hills known to the area. With the swim portion starting immediately at 7am, the sun rose directly to the east blinding every stroke up out fo the water facing that side of the reservoir for half of the swim. The 64F water stung, and once again I knew what it was like to jump into a cold body of water, and try to swim a mile. On a borrowed, wetsuit that quite didn’t fit right, I moved throughout the reservoir and finally moved onwards to the bike.

I was fried. I had been running my ass off this season, but hardly shed time to swim or bike. I suffered.

A mid-pack finish was good for me, topping off the run with a 7 minute mile on steep trail, heat on full blast. Thankful for the support from Emma, I made it through this thing.

I picked Bryan up at mile 60 - Twin Lakes aid station. The small village that turns into a bustling city of crew, pacers, volunteers, staffers, servers, bartenders, drunks, super fans, and everything in between for a day. I choose this segment as it was where I dropped last year during my attempt at Leadville. I had just come off a 3 week trip in Kenya, exhausted, and without proper training. My kick came early on, and my legs told me after Hope Pass it wasn’t in the cards. The closure I had been seeking for a year finally came lastnight.

He looked good, and was determined. Pacing someone you barely know is kind of strange, but we embraced it, and Bryan welcomed me as one of his own. We moved seamlessly through the night, 9:23pm start, crusing through Elbert Mini-Aid Station, crossing the major stream sections, and finally dropping into the pipline. Half-pipe aid station provided broth and cookies. I made Bryan sit down and sip some ramen. It came natural, and I turned around to see him laughing, joking, meeting a Canadian runner who had saw him earlier in the morning. This was energy, this was important.

Moving through the pipeline line up, we felt the energy of the fans and folks with there trucks pulled up, middle of the night, stoking the runners. We finally picked it up and rolled down into the Outward Bound Aid Station where I dropped him off with his next pacer, Justin. 15 miles later, I had my workout in for the day.

I was so, so stoked to pace for someone else. It was my first opportunity after running 8 ultra’s of my own. Last weekend was another success - volunteering at the Cirque Series at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort - damn, those guys were fast.

What a wild ride, I’ll be back to finish this race some day myself.