Journey FROM Leadville - Byrne - September 8, 2012

Note the change in the title of this blog entry :o)

When I started this blog on January 2, 2012 I knew that the "Journey to Leadville" would end on August 18th because we had reached our destination. I never really thought about what would happen once Leadville was 'over' - I thought that perhaps my blog would be history.

The more I thought about it, it seemed fitting to think of Leadville, not as a destination but rather as an awesome highlight of my life, which it certainly has been. So I want to introduce you to the "revised" title of this blog "Journey from Leadville". I do not plan to run the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run in the future but this race will always have a special place in my heart and I would love to be involved with it in the future as a pacer, crew person, supporter and advisor/coach to others who wish to run this race, and there might even be some other ways to staying involved.

The best way i can honor Leadville is to use it as a catalyst to make other positive things happen in my life and in the lives of others - I fully intend to do that! Today was the first day that I have run since Leadville (3 weeks ago!). I've played quite a bit of basketball since I returned from Colorado and did a set of stairs this past week at the stadium but have not felt the need or desire to jump back into running.

My buddy Rick left town on Friday as the Fighting Bees had a football game today in Ft. Wayne, IN - Bees won 15-14! Rick is a linebacker coach for St. Ambrose University - the players are very fortunate to have him as a mentor and coach. It was kind of weird to not be running with Rick as we've been nearly inseparable for the past 12 months in terms of running and workouts.

I did, however, have the distinct pleasure of running 10 miles with Jen Paul, the Quad City celebrity super-stud woman runner - the video map of our run is listed below for your viewing pleasure :o)

I love running with Jen but it was probably not the choice most people would make when going out for their first run in 3 weeks! This woman runs fast! We ran at a 7:15 pace for 10 miles. Depending on one's running ability, this may not seem to be a big deal. Given my ability and fitness level, this was extremely challenging! Normally I think an 8:00 mile pace is fast so the 7:15 pace was awesome for me. Jen is running the Quad City 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks and is aiming to run 13.1 miles at a 6:05 pace so today was probably not that difficult for her. I looked over at her a couple of times and caught her yawning - just kidding! I think it was a good tune up run for her as she begins to taper for her upcoming race.

Jen Paul and me at the end of our 10 mile run - great morning for a run!

I have had the privilege of meeting and running with some very cool people over the last 12 months - people that I never would have met if it weren't for running. As a matter of fact, I can't think of a single person that I have run with that I have disliked or wished I had not met. This reason alone should convince everybody to take up running as one of their modes of exercising - seriously. Jen certainly epitomizes the feeling I have toward members of the running community. It isn't easy to describe but she exudes so many wonderful qualities that I wish everyone in the world possessed. Jen is kind, encouraging, positive, humble, talented, hard working, loyal, compassionate, and makes other people feel very important. She is highly successful in her personal, athletic, and professional life and is admired by everyone I know who has met her or heard about her. Ironically though, it is she who makes others feel like they are highly successful. I would love it if this world had millions of people like her :o)

I promised that I would write more about Leadville and I already know that I don't have time tonight to write everything that I want to. I'll offer a condensed version of content that may surface later and will certainly be in the book that I WILL publish! Since I last blogged on August 10th I'll do my best to cover the highlights of the past 4 weeks.

From the 3-8 days before our race Rick and I ran some trails on the course and did a few climbs up the mountains on the course either by ourselves or with friends Jay, Melissa, and Christian. All of these workouts did not seem to be strenuous or difficult. We usually ran or climbed between 1 - 2 1/2 hours and it was the only exercise we did that day so we didn't feel particularly taxed. Others had advised us to rest, rest and rest some more but we felt like we were already resting a bunch. We were sleeping in until we wanted to wake up and were doing quite a bit of lounging around when we weren't working out.

Beginning Thursday, we were done exercising - all we did was eat, sleep, drink, strategize, and sit around waiting for the race. Our friends began to trickle into Colorado during the week leading up to the race and it was a lot of fun having them arrive and reveling in the excitement they brought with them.

The pre-race pasta dinner on Thursday night was not what I thought or hoped it would be. The meal was fine but the 6th Street Gym, where the dinner was held, was not well attended and pretty unexciting. There seemed to be much more buzz and excitement when I attended it 7 years ago. Since the race was purchased from the local founders by the Lifetime Fitness organization, many people feel as though the race has lost its local charm. We also completed our medical check in and registered for the race. Later that night Doug Himmelman, Melissa Dawson and John Lawler arrived at the condominium.

Rick arrived 7 days before the race and Jay Gates showed up on the Monday before the race. Our friend and fellow runner Christian Robbins came up on Tuesday. Gordon Staley, Larry Ratigan, Mike Cavins, and Todd Hornbuckle made it to Denver on Wednesday to take in a tour of the Coors facility (and sample some beverages) and attend a Rockies baseball game. They arrived in Coppermountain on Friday morning and made it to the pre-race meeting. 

On Friday morning we went to the mandatory pre-race meeting and it felt very similar to the pre-race meeting from 7 years ago. The gym was packed (standing room only) and you could feel the energy and excitement in the air! The motivational speech was given by Ken Chlouber's son, Cole as Ken was attending the funeral of his brother. Cole did a great job and it was really cool to hear his dad's voice and many of his dad's words from a similar speech I heard 7 years prior. Following this meeting there was a crew meeting that was good for many of our crew to hear. Following this meeting, Rick and I held our own private meeting with our crew to talk about what we wanted them to do for us during the race. Then Rick and I headed back to the condominium we were staying at in Coppermountain to begin to lay around, eat, and rest. Many of our other crew members stayed in Leadville and drove around some of the course to figure out where they were going to meet us. They also probably had a private meeting to talk about how to take care of us if and when we became grumpy or difficult during the race!

Another friend and fellow runner, Jeff Friedman, stayed with us at the condo and he brought a pacer and crew member to stay with us as well. 

It was hard to sleep the afternoon/evening/night before the race as you might imagine. We were able to nod off at different times and grab a few winks throughout the evening - that was about the best we were going to do. My mom, sisters Debi, Kim and Michelle, niece Katelin, and friend Curt arrived on Friday afternoon/evening. Except for Curt, they headed ot Leadville to stay at a hotel. Scott Passman drove 12 hours from Boise, Idaho and showed up a little after midnight. Our team was assembled and we were ready to go.

My friend Tom Rudbeck was so gracious to host all of us at his condo. We were able to spend some quality time with him and his friends who happened to be vacationing in Colorado at the same time. Thursday and Friday night required some creative rearranging of beds, sleeping bags, mattresses, couches and futons to sleep nearly 20 people! It was fun and a week I'll never forget!

We woke up around 1:30 am to get ready for the race, pack the vehicles, grab something to eat, and travel the 30 minutes to Leadville. Everything went off as planned and we made it to the starting line about 1/2 hour before the race started. Mom slept at the hotel but my sisters and niece made it to the starting line. We took a bunch of pictures and videos with our friends at the starting line before starting the race at 4 a.m. It was very exciting to be with all these crazy people in the middle of the night heading out to run 100 miles in the middle of the Rocky Mountains - I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

An interesting observation to note is that 1100 people signed up and paid the $295 entry fee to enter the race. 900 people showed up on Friday to pick up their packets and go through the medical check in. Only 800 people actually showed up to the starting line! I was amazed. I sort of get the 200 no-shows since they had signed up and paid more than 8 months prior to the race - many things may have happened (e.g. injury, change in life circumstances). What blew me away was that more than 100 people who traveled to Leadville and were planning to run the race as late as Friday morning decided to back out of the race. I'm not sure what was going through their minds but maybe the fear of such a daunting feat caused them to withdraw, even so close to the race.

I need to go to bed. I promise to return and will share more of my race experience on my next post.

Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!