My apologies for being away so long - it's time to wrap up the Leadville 2012 Race.
I need to take you through the last 22 miles to the finish line! Jay Gates took me up Powerline in the dark. At this point in the race, there are a couple of things running through my mind. First, as you can imagine, I'm feeling tired. I continue to feel so oxygen deprived and have come to the conclusion that it isn't going to get any better before the race end. Climbing had been my weak spot since mile 40 but at the same time, this would be my last climb. I was a little ahead of Rick but figured that he would catch up with me like he had on the previous mountain climbs.
Jay was awesome and we had some great conversation. Mentally I was trying to figure out what time I could get to the finish line. The great news was that I KNEW I was going to finish. The more pertinent question was, would I finish under 24, 25, 26, 27, or 28 hours? My goal all year had been sub 24 hours and I really believed my training had prepared me to achieve this. I didn't anticipate the difficulty I would have with breathing. Going up Hope Pass it was becoming increasingly clear to me that sub 24 hours was not going to happen. I thought the 25 hr finish was possible but it would be really difficult. Nonetheless, the Big Buckle that is awarded to sub 25 hr finishers is a badge of honor that I would be proud to wear.
Our climb was really good, just slower than what I had hoped. Sometimes I didn't talk very much because I was focused on breathing. Jay and I conversed about the Leadville experience, our year of training, and how much I appreciated him and others training with us. Jay had an important role in our training - he did a lot of the toughest workouts with us - 48 miles to West Branch and climbing the stairs at Jumers.
As we approached the top of Sugarloaf Pass (or Powerline), Rick and his pacer, Curt Johnston, caught up with us. I was really glad to see them - we were both that much closer to the finish. We visited for a few minutes and then we began the descent downhill to the MayQueen Campground aid station. The pattern for this race had been Rick gaining or passing me on the uphill climbs and me gaining or passing him on the downhill and flat sections of the race. Since this was a downhill section of the race I decided to take off again and thought we might cross paths again. Also, if I had any chance at a sub 25 hour finish, I needed to get going again.
Jay and I ventured out ahead. Rick and Curt were walking for a bit, largely due to Rick's sore feet. Even though we were going downhill I was probably not running as much as I should have been to the Hagerman Road. By the time we hit the lower part of the trail after the mile run along Hagerman road, I could feel my energy beginning to wane and probably started to let my mind think about my knees starting to hurt a little bit. Jay and I also talked about how cool it was that Rick and I had trained over the past 12 months and how neat it would be to finish Leadville together. This idea had a tremendous amount of appeal to me and I thought it would be really fitting. So I decided this was the way I wanted to finish the race. We finished this leg of the race at MayQueen and within 2 minutes, Rick and Curt showed up. We fueled up and headed out together for the final 13.5 miles!
John Lawler and Larry Ratigan joined Rick and I around Turquoise Lake. Rick's feet were really hurting so we walked for quite a bit of this section. When we reached the Tabor Boat Ramp, we picked up Doug Himmelman and Scott Passman and continued on our way. I stopped a couple of times to retape my feet so Rick made his way ahead and I eventually caught up with him. At about 95 miles we met up with a few others - my sisters Kim and Debi and Todd Hornbuckle. Technically we violated the 1 pacer per person rule but many of these rules aren't really that important to enforce when there isn't much traffic on the trail or road.
The last 5 miles seemed much longer than 5 miles but we made it. The last mile at Leadville is especially awesome because as many of our team can join us as they want. With the exception of my 82 year old mom and our official photographer/videographer, my sister Michelle, our entire team ran the last mile of the race with us. We walked quite a bit of it but ran it in for the last 1/4 mile or so. It was one of the greatest feelings of my life - what a wonderful accomplishment with a very special group of people!
Rick and I crossed the finish line together at 27 hours, 22 minutes, and 17 seconds and received our medals and hugs from Merilee (Oneal) Mappin. I always love seeing Merilee, especially at the finish line of the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run.
We had a quick post race medical check in everything checked out just fine. We gathered everyone together for a big thank you and team picture. It felt a little sad to say goodbye to everyone but people had to get back to their lives and we were so grateful they could be with us at Leadville.
Mom, Debi, Kim, Katelin, and Michelle joined Rick and I at the awards ceremony where Rick and I received our finisher hooded sweatshirts and belt buckles. We were a little sore in the legs :o) after a shower and a quick nap but the ceremony was wonderful and I'm so glad we were able to attend.
Thank you for reading about my Leadville experience - it has been most enjoyable to venture through this journey and it is my hope that sharing some of these thoughts will help and inspire you to achieve more satisfaction and joy in your life.
Have a great day! DIG DEEP! DIG DEEP! DIG DEEP!
I need to take you through the last 22 miles to the finish line! Jay Gates took me up Powerline in the dark. At this point in the race, there are a couple of things running through my mind. First, as you can imagine, I'm feeling tired. I continue to feel so oxygen deprived and have come to the conclusion that it isn't going to get any better before the race end. Climbing had been my weak spot since mile 40 but at the same time, this would be my last climb. I was a little ahead of Rick but figured that he would catch up with me like he had on the previous mountain climbs.
Jay was awesome and we had some great conversation. Mentally I was trying to figure out what time I could get to the finish line. The great news was that I KNEW I was going to finish. The more pertinent question was, would I finish under 24, 25, 26, 27, or 28 hours? My goal all year had been sub 24 hours and I really believed my training had prepared me to achieve this. I didn't anticipate the difficulty I would have with breathing. Going up Hope Pass it was becoming increasingly clear to me that sub 24 hours was not going to happen. I thought the 25 hr finish was possible but it would be really difficult. Nonetheless, the Big Buckle that is awarded to sub 25 hr finishers is a badge of honor that I would be proud to wear.
Our climb was really good, just slower than what I had hoped. Sometimes I didn't talk very much because I was focused on breathing. Jay and I conversed about the Leadville experience, our year of training, and how much I appreciated him and others training with us. Jay had an important role in our training - he did a lot of the toughest workouts with us - 48 miles to West Branch and climbing the stairs at Jumers.
As we approached the top of Sugarloaf Pass (or Powerline), Rick and his pacer, Curt Johnston, caught up with us. I was really glad to see them - we were both that much closer to the finish. We visited for a few minutes and then we began the descent downhill to the MayQueen Campground aid station. The pattern for this race had been Rick gaining or passing me on the uphill climbs and me gaining or passing him on the downhill and flat sections of the race. Since this was a downhill section of the race I decided to take off again and thought we might cross paths again. Also, if I had any chance at a sub 25 hour finish, I needed to get going again.
Jay and I ventured out ahead. Rick and Curt were walking for a bit, largely due to Rick's sore feet. Even though we were going downhill I was probably not running as much as I should have been to the Hagerman Road. By the time we hit the lower part of the trail after the mile run along Hagerman road, I could feel my energy beginning to wane and probably started to let my mind think about my knees starting to hurt a little bit. Jay and I also talked about how cool it was that Rick and I had trained over the past 12 months and how neat it would be to finish Leadville together. This idea had a tremendous amount of appeal to me and I thought it would be really fitting. So I decided this was the way I wanted to finish the race. We finished this leg of the race at MayQueen and within 2 minutes, Rick and Curt showed up. We fueled up and headed out together for the final 13.5 miles!
John Lawler and Larry Ratigan joined Rick and I around Turquoise Lake. Rick's feet were really hurting so we walked for quite a bit of this section. When we reached the Tabor Boat Ramp, we picked up Doug Himmelman and Scott Passman and continued on our way. I stopped a couple of times to retape my feet so Rick made his way ahead and I eventually caught up with him. At about 95 miles we met up with a few others - my sisters Kim and Debi and Todd Hornbuckle. Technically we violated the 1 pacer per person rule but many of these rules aren't really that important to enforce when there isn't much traffic on the trail or road.
The last 5 miles seemed much longer than 5 miles but we made it. The last mile at Leadville is especially awesome because as many of our team can join us as they want. With the exception of my 82 year old mom and our official photographer/videographer, my sister Michelle, our entire team ran the last mile of the race with us. We walked quite a bit of it but ran it in for the last 1/4 mile or so. It was one of the greatest feelings of my life - what a wonderful accomplishment with a very special group of people!
Rick and I crossed the finish line together at 27 hours, 22 minutes, and 17 seconds and received our medals and hugs from Merilee (Oneal) Mappin. I always love seeing Merilee, especially at the finish line of the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run.
We had a quick post race medical check in everything checked out just fine. We gathered everyone together for a big thank you and team picture. It felt a little sad to say goodbye to everyone but people had to get back to their lives and we were so grateful they could be with us at Leadville.
Mom, Debi, Kim, Katelin, and Michelle joined Rick and I at the awards ceremony where Rick and I received our finisher hooded sweatshirts and belt buckles. We were a little sore in the legs :o) after a shower and a quick nap but the ceremony was wonderful and I'm so glad we were able to attend.
Thank you for reading about my Leadville experience - it has been most enjoyable to venture through this journey and it is my hope that sharing some of these thoughts will help and inspire you to achieve more satisfaction and joy in your life.
Have a great day! DIG DEEP! DIG DEEP! DIG DEEP!
