Race Reports | Chasing the Run

12Jul/101

2010 Leadville Marathon

On Satruday July 3rd 2010 I ran the Leadville Marathon. I left for Leadville after work on Friday and arrived around 6:00pm. I spent some time exploring the area locating a few of the aid station spots for the Leadville Trail 100 that I'll be running in August. Once the sun went down I headed for Sugar Loafin' campground where I slept peacefully in the back of the 4Runner. I awoke around 6:30am, ate a small breakfast, and headed for downtown Leadville. I picked up my race packet and timing chip and waited for the race to start. The temperature was perfect. I debated on whether or not to bring my wind jacket and finally decided that is was better to be safe than sorry and tied the jacket around my waste.

The beginning of the race traveled through Leadville on paved roads. Next, the course went on a smooth dirt road before finally heading up a trail that was covered in grapefruit-sized rocks. I had to focus on my footing to make sure I didn't twist one of my already injured ankles.

The first 10 miles of the race was a combination of power-hiking steep inclines and trying to make up time by speedily descending the downhills. The majority of the trail was above treeline and the scenery was amazing. Around mile 10, everything changed. Mile 10 marked the beginning of the ascent up 13,000ft Mosquito Pass. I had never seen the trail before but I figured it would similar to Barr Trail up Pikes Peak on which it's easy to maintain a decent pace while hiking. The trail up Mosquito was another story. It was far steeper than even the steepest parts of Barr Trail and it was covered in rocks which demanded intense focus to ensure proper footing. In addition to all of that, the wind was blowing ridiculously hard--the temperature with the windchill had to be near freezing. I was so glad that I brought my jacket. I put it on and continued the climb. I finally arrived at the summit of the mountain, grabbed some water, and headed back down. I didn't want to spend any more time on the top than absolutely necessary. It was miserable up there.

As I began to descend the wind started blowing even harder. I turned my hat backwards to prevent it from being blown off and leaned into the wind as if I was performing a ski jump at the Olympics. The trip down the mountain was mentally draining as I had to be absolutely sure of each individual step to make ensure that I didn't catch a rock and tumble down the trail. One misstep would result in at least a broken bone.

Luckily the wind and rocky trail didn't last very long as the 3 mile descent went much faster than the brutal ascent. At this point my legs were pretty thrashed from the steep declines on super rocky trails. I struggled to power-hike the inclines and my knees screamed on any downhills.

I reached the aid station before the portion of the trail travels around Ball Mountain and drank some Coke. During my low point of the Sage Burner 50k the caffeine I got from some flat Pepsi worked wonders. I drank the Coke and walked slowly out of the aid station. Sure enough, the caffeine kicked in after a few minutes and I was able to run the amazing single track trail around Ball Mountain. The remaining part of the race was pretty much downhill and I was able to run the majority of it. I consciously walked the most rocky parts--at this point in my training I couldn't afford to re-sprain my ankle or get any other injury.

Once the race was on the pavement and there was only about 2 miles to the finish I started to push myself and passed a handful of people. My time wasn't spectacular (6:45). I was hoping to finish in the lower 6 hour range but considering how much I under-estimated the climb to the top of Mosquito Pass and the fact that I was still recovering from a small cold, I wasn't too upset with my overall race.

I laid in the back of the 4Runner eating and drinking for about an hour until I felt good enough to head over to the Leadville Hostel to take a $3.00 (well worth it) shower. I then headed to a Denver hotel as I flew out of DIA to California at 6:00am the next morning.

I was sure that my legs would be considerably sore following the race. However, I experienced almost zero soreness. I'm not sure if my recovery is getting much much better or if my immediate travel to sea level helped my legs recover faster than normal? Either way, it was nice to run such a difficult race without any soreness of any kind.

Next weekend we head up to Leadville again to get some training in on the actual 100 course. Should be a great time!!

I didn't bring my camera on this run so I didn't take any pics. here are some from various other websites to get an idea of the terrain that the race covered:

The climb up Mosquito Pass

Rocky trail coming down from Mosquito (not me in the pic)

Single track trail around Ball Mountain

Me just before the finish

Course

Elevation Profile

View from the back of the 4Runner where I chilled after the race.

Tagged as: leadville, lee, marathon, mosquito, nicholas, nick, pass, run, running, training 1 Comment

5Jun/100

Sage Burner 50K 2010

On May 29th I ran the Sage Burner 50k in Gunnison Colorado (50k is 31 miles, for you Imperialists out there).

I worked the previous week in LA, putting in 50 hours in 3.5 days (sometimes work is a marathon too). I flew into Colorado Springs around noon on Friday the 28th. I drove home from the airport, grabbed my running and camping gear, and headed for Gunnison. I arrived 4 hours later and picked up my race packet. After grabbing some dinner at Subway I drove over to the KOA campground where I got my camp site and got the

Truck ready for sleeping

back of the truck situated with everything I needed--sleeping bag, cooler, running gear, and Trail Runner Magazine to read. I didn't sleep very well that night--my sleep schedule was out of whack from the work week in LA. I was awake most of the night but woke up for good around 4:30am. I laid around, listened to my iPod, and mentally prepared for the race . I got my gear ready and headed for the race about 6:00am.

It was pleasantly warm at the start of the race which lead to my first big mistake. I was comfortable in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, which was great, but I had a temporary lapse in judgement when I though, "I don't want to wear a hat, that will make me too hot later."

The race began with some pretty steep climbs, I had read many previous race reports so I knew to not burn myself out in this section. I hiked most of the climbs and ran the descents. Things were great for the first half of the race. I was on pace for a 6 hour finish which would have lined up with my goals. Things were downhill (not literally) from there.

The forecast for the day called for clear skies and a high of 69 degrees--perfect running weather. However, the temperatures climbed well into the 70s (and it felt much much hotter than that). There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was seeping the energy out of my hatless head. Without something to block the sun and shade my face it was brutal. Luckily I at least had enough foresight to apply copious amounts of sunscreen (but even that didn't prevent me from getting sunburned).

This bring me to huge mistake #2: I relied on the race provided electrolyte beverage. Never Never do this unless you are absolutely sure that it works with your stomach during race conditions. The drink provided by the race was not tasty; and, halfway through a 50k race in the heat, it was completely unpalatable (at least for me, it may be delicious for others). I could have gotten past the taste alone but it also upset my stomach. That stomach discomfort combined with the mild dehydration that was starting to set in, made it impossible for me to consume any of the fuel that I had. So, there I was, a little less than 20 miles into a 31 mile race, heat blazing, unable to consume anything but water (I did have electrolyte capsules that I was taking). I questioned many times whether or not I was going to be able to finish the race at all, let alone within even my most conservative goals. I struggled on, dousing myself with cool water whenever I could (the heat took the cool out of any water about 5 minutes out of the aid station).

Around mile 22.5 I reached the "Elevator" climb (see elevation profile). This was defintiely my low-point for the race. I already felt like passing out and was questioning whether or not I could continue--looking at the climb that lay ahead of me crushed any motivation that I had left. On top of that, Search and Rescue was sitting there on their ATVs. "I could hop on the back of that ATV and be at my truck in minutes." I thought. I think the guy read my mind and offered, "Aid station right at the top of the climb man. You can make it." I can't thank that guy enough. Had he said "Are you ok? Do you need help?" I probably would have dropped right there. I employed a classic ultra-marathoning technique: break the race into small manageable portions. "I can at least make it to that aid station" I told myself over and over. For those of you in the Colorado Springs area that have done the Manitou Incline, the Elevator is similar to that (although it's an actual road, just straight up). Picture doing the incline after running 22 miles, while dehydrated, having not eaten anything for the past 3 hours or so....It wasn't easy. I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other, often having to take significant pauses before taking another step.

I did finally make it to the aid station where I plopped down in the limited shade provided by a 2' sage bush. The woman at the aid station saw that I was struggling. She grabbed my water bottle and asked my what I needed, "I little bit of electrolyte drink...then some water" (I knew I had to force down the drink regardless of the consequences, the consequences of not doing it would be much worse). I quickly drank what she brought me and she filled my bottle with water. I sipped that and, after a few minutes, returned to my feet. I made my way to the table to see what else they had to offer. The had small paper cups full of defizzed Pepsi. I'd heard that it worked wonders mid-race but I had never tried it. I try to avoid caffeine as it usually gives me stomach cramps. But, at this point, I had nothing to lose. I grabbed on of the cups and drank all of its contents. The aid station volunteer offered motivation "You'll do a 3 mile loop and then you'll return here...you can make it 3 miles....c'mon". I knew I could at least make it 3 miles, even if I had to walk the entire way.

I walked out of the aid station and, like clock-work, my stomach started cramping. I walked for a while. But, the cramps wore off and I started running; a shuffle at first but I was moving. Then, the caffeine kicked in and I was off. Moving at a pretty good pace I returned to the aid station. The volunteers offered words of encouragement "Great Job everybody!! Less than 4 miles to the finish!! Almost all downhill, seriously!" I later found out that the "less than 4 miles" and "almost all downhill" were both lies. There was about 7 miles left and there were still many considerable climbs left. However, I appreciate being lied to at that point, it motivated me to continue.

I dragged myself through the remaining 7 miles walking often, running when I could. I crossed the finish line in 7:25. Not even close to any of my goals, but I did finish.

I had a plan for the finish of the race. I was so hot the entire time that I was going to:

1. Get the chair and cooler out of my truck.

2. Set the cooler in front of the chair.

3. Take everything out of the cooler.

4. Remove my shoes, ankle brace, and socks.

5. Put my feet in the cooler.

I made my way to the truck. I got the cooler and chair out. I set the cooler in front of the chair and sat down...so far so good. I got my shoes off. I tried to pull the brace off of my ankle and my left calf clenched into a tight little ball. Calf cramps are excruciating in normal circumstances. Calf cramps at the end of a 31 mile race are by far the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life. I screamed at the top of my lungs and clutched my leg. A lady had been walking by at that very instant and she ran over to me "OH MY GOD! WHAT'S WRONG?!?! DO YOU NEED HELP?!?!" I was in so much pain that I couldn't even speak in full sentences or at full volume. I whispered while I massaged my leg, "calf cramp! calf cramp!" It finally released and I grabbed some electrolyte fluid from the cooler and drank as much as I could.

I put my feet in the cooler, took my shirt off and soaked it in the cold water, and put it over my head. Within a few seconds I was shivering. I knew it wasn't good to be shivering when the temperature was close to 80 degrees--I was cooling down way too fast. I grabbed what food and drink I needed and crawled into the back of the truck. There I lay for about an hour until I felt like moving again. I got my phone to let Lindsey know that I wasn't dead. Then I drove to the gym that was offering free showers for race participants. They were already closed--that's what I get for being so slow. I returned to the KOA and explained to them that I had stayed there the previous night and asked if I could take a shower before driving back to Colorado Springs. Luckily the attendant graciously allowed me to shower (I'm sure that the combination of sweat and dirt made me look like a coal miner after a day at work).

I made the drive back to Colorado Springs and, after telling Lindsey about the race and my week in LA, I crashed hard.

The course was completely fantastic! I loved every minute of it (well maybe not the Elevator). The scenery was amazing and I can see running this race every year.

Another note: My shoes. I had ordered a pair of Vasque Mindbenders a few weeks before the race. However, due to my travel and tapering, I only had 10 miles on them. I took a risk by running the race in them with so little mileage on them (usually I try to have at least 75 miles on a shoe before I race in them). I could've gotten severe blisters or worse. Much to my surprise the shoes were great!!! I had zero blisters, zero pain of any kind. Never once did I think about my shoes during the race (except to think "These are amazing!". I think I may have found THE shoe for me.

At first I was completely disappointed with my performance. But, later, I was able to take some positives from the race:

1. My legs held up amazingly well throughout the entire race. I'm getting much stronger than I was even a month ago.

2. My time was 45 minutes faster than my last 50k that was over similar terrain.

3. I had lows that were far lower than I'd ever experienced and I still finished the race. The lower the lows I can experience before the big show, the better off I'll be. (what's the "big show"? here's a peek, stay tuned...)

4. I recovered much faster than I ever have. The only thing on my entire body that was sore was the calf that cramped. I feel great about that.

5. Stomach issues can happen anytime to any person (elite or not). Yes, I acknowledge that mine were most likely caused by my own mistakes, but I will NEVER make those mistakes again.

Sage Burner 50k 2010 course

Sage Burner 50K 2010 Elevation Profile

Tagged as: 50k, burner, colorado, gunnison, marathon, mindbender, race, run, running, sage, ultra, vasque No Comments

2May/103

Collegiate Peaks Trail Run–Disappointment but Better Outlook for the Future

Yesterday I ran the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run in Buena Vista Colorado. I was hoping that this could be my first 50 miler but it just wasn't my day.

I woke up at about 5:15 a.m. (I didn't sleep very well the night before) and started getting ready for the race. The temperature when I woke up was 15 degrees--not fun. I sat in our rental cabin and contemplated what gear to wear.

Getting ready before the race

I knew that it would warm up quickly but decided that it was too cold to start without pants, gloves, and a light jacket. Lindsey and I made our way to the race HQ at the Buena Vista Community center. I used the bathroom and then took position at the starting line.

The race got underway and, like I predicted, the temperature quickly climbed. Within the first few miles I was too hot in my pants but I decided to wait until the first aid station to take them off. The beginning of the course was completely awesome. After a mile or two on the road we got onto the trail with some quick ups and downs. I was loving it. As planned, I took my pants off at the first aid station and felt much better in my shorts.

Collegiate Peaks - race morning

The miles clicked off and I was feeling great. The race director had informed us at the pre-race meeting that there was a water crossing around mile 10. Runners had found a way around the crossing through the trees a few yards down stream. We all funneled to this area which involved balancing on slick wet branches to the other side of the water. While walking on the branches my left foot slipped off and I tweaked my ankle (the same ankle I had sprained two weeks prior). Luckily, the water in the stream was so cold that my foot and ankle immediately went completely numb.

From looking at the elevation profile online I knew that there was two significant climbs throughout the race. I made it up the first climb and down the other side and was feeling really good. I was on pace to reach the 25 mile turn-around in about 4 hours which was much much better than I expected (and well under the 5:45 cut-off). Things got worse from there.

I reached the second climb that began around mile 14 and it was much more intense that I expected. I was reduced to walking for about 3 miles which tightened up my lower back, hamstrings, and calves. By the time I reached the top I was eager to run but my legs never fully loosened up and my right IT band started screaming (my legs overall had never fully recovered from an over-eager training run I did a week ago, which was a mistake on my part).

I was completely frustrated with my legs because this was the first time I had made it this far without any intestinal discomfort at all and I was mentally and aerobically in amazing shape. I wrestled with the decision to continue on for 50 miles or to call it quits at the 25 mile turn-around. I wavered back and forth as my legs continued to deteriorate and I hobbled the 7 miles to the community center. I felt that I could mentally finish the 50 miles but that my legs would force me to take 2-3 weeks, or more, off from serious training which I can't afford if I want to achieve my bigger running goals this year. I reluctantly decided that the best long-term decision was to stop at 25 miles. Anyone with any iota of competitive spirit can understand how tough that decision was. Even though I knew it was the best decision for the future, I was still utterly disappointed with myself.

Despite the disappointment, I learned a lot from the race:

Positively, I finished the 25 miles in 5:06 which wasn't too bad considering the altitude and elevation changes of the course (and I had been pacing myself for 50 miles from the beginning).

I finally found a combination of drink and gel that didn't upset my stomach during the race.

I learned that I definitely need to work on my leg strength to better handle the slow inclines and fast declines (and more technical sections of trail).

I also need to increase my weekly mileage which should be easier since this is the last week of the semester.

I'm still a little down for not finishing the 50 but, overall, I loved the course, I was mentally and aerobically perfect, and I'm looking forward to staying focused on my running goals.

Course Elevation Profile

Tagged as: buena, collegiate, colorado, lee, nicholas, peaks, run, running, trail, vista 3 Comments

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My name is Nicholas B. Lee. I'm a husband, entrepreneur, and ultra-runner currently residing in Colorado Springs, CO. This is my running blog...stay tuned

2010 Leadville Marathon

Sage Burner 50K 2010

Collegiate Peaks Trail Run–Disappointment but Better Outlook for the Future

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