There is a short steep climb at mile 5 of the Leadville 100 that seemed to audibly laugh at me and assert the truth that an extremely difficult 27 hours was ahead of me. My quads were heavier than barbells at the bottom of the ocean. My breathing felt like each breath was moving through a straw. And worst of all, a crack in the strong armor of my mind rapidly grew from a hairline fracture to what would eventually grow to be the Grand Canyon. -------------------------- This has been an epic summer in Leadville. Signing up for the Lead Challenge or ‘Leadman’ series was something that I have thought about since my first Leadville 100 finish in 2016. Completing the Marathon, the 50-Mile run, the 105 Mile MTB, the 10K and the 100 Mile run over the course of 10 weeks was a bit daunting, but something I was excited for. The challenge of balancing both mountain biking and running ultra-distances would prove to be difficult both in terms of time and training. Having made it through the 10
The crew at the start I woke up and my legs felt amazing! Staying off of them and the CBD seemed to do the trick because I was barely sore and felt super fresh for the day. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy day as we would be climbing 2,000 feet right from the start over the first 5 miles. Just like in Stage 4, right from the start, Morgan took off. The first 6 miles involved a 2,000 foot climb up a 5-7% grade paved road. I trailed behind Morgan for several miles and let him have some space, but I pushed to keep up with his pace. I was gassed a few times but was able to fall back into stride. Around mile 4 there were some switchbacks and they reminded me of Lookout Mountain back in Golden which I had done all winter in training. “You’re at home Tim! GO!!” I picked up the pace and went past Morgan. He was right on my heels as we made the first turn. I pushed a little harder. He faded back a hair. Rounding the next turn I was out of sight for a little and I sprinted hard and then