My date with destiny...

Well, fast forward 17-months from my pacing experience at the Leadville 100 trail run and I’ve done the unthinkable. This week I pulled the trigger on a race registration that has my stomach feeling like I ate some bad sushi. Somehow I have gone from “why would you ever think about a 100 mile run, those people are crazy” to finishing my first 50-miler last year and blurting out “#@%^ ever doing 100!” to registering for the Leadville 100.

The reality is after finishing my pacing segment with Kristina in 2014, I had the bug to see what I was capable of. I remember Julie asking me in the car on the way back to our hotel how the experience was, and I had ‘that look’ in my eyes. That ‘look’ that no doubt made her heart sink knowing that I would have my date with Leadville 100 destiny in the future.

My friend Seth had a quote last year that summed it up well for me, "endurance racing is like heroin, buddy. Once you get a taste you cant quit." The truth of this is spot on to the demise of many other priorities in life.

What is really interesting to me about this race is that I don’t have any desire to do 100 mile race anywhere else. With Ironman, it was much different. Finishing an Ironman was the goal and I chose a location. For this race, Leadville chose me, and the LT100 is calling me like the ring calling to Frodo.

I’m terrified to be honest. Especially since I am still recovering from some minor injuries I obtained in my 50-miler last year. I don’t do well with no sleep. I have never raced over 12 ½ hours straight.

The unknown of it all is daunting.

Still yet, I am thrilled. I will prepare for this mentally and physically for the next 8 months and be at the start line ready to go. I have a lot to research and learn before then. I am thankful to be sponsored by Pearl Izumi this year as part of the 2016 Pearl Izumi Run Championship Team so I know that I will have the best technical apparel to keep me going. I am putting early thoughts to my pacing team and crew and researching all I can about the course and pacing strategies. For those that care, I’ll be posting my training and prep updates here.

Here we go!

Comments

Getting Lost in the Never Summer Mountains

Standing in the early twilight hours of the sunrise at the Gould Community Center I was thankful that I could join the other 285 runners at the starting line. My heart issues a few weeks prior cost me some valuable training time and had me wondering if I’d be able to race. Once I got the green light from the cardiologist to run, I had five solid weekends to get some vert in and a small taper before the Never Summer 100K . It would have to be enough. Never Summer 100K is a 65-mile race in State Forest State Park in Northern Colorado. The course takes you through the Never Summer Mountains and skirts the southern edge of the Medicine Bow Mountain Range. The race has over 13,000 feet of vertical gain and most of it takes place over 10,000 feet above sea level. Simply put, this was one of the hardest 100K races in the country. Elevation Profile of Never Summer 100K I was fortunate to be racing with several other athletes I knew well including my good friend and legendary ultrarun

Quad Rock 25

For some reason every time I know I have to wake up early the next day, I can’t sleep. I set my alarm the night before for 4:45 AM and went to bed around 10. I woke up just about every hour on the nose and looked at the clock. By the time 4:15AM rolled around, I just laid in bed and waited for my iPhone to tell me it was time to get up. Buzz….It was time to get up. My pre-race plan I rolled out of bed virtually exhausted and put on my battle armor for the day -- shorts, socks, compression, t-shirt, jacket, and my signature trucker hat. I had loaded up my car the night before with all my gear and nutrition so I was good to go. I kissed Julie on the forehead, she wished me luck as I left to go grab some coffee, pick up Chris and carpool to the race. We made it up to Horsetooth about an hour before the race start. Since we carpooled, we were able to park about 100 feet from the start line. This was clutch because outside it was 37 degrees, raining and windy. View close

Quad Rock 50 and the Highway to Hell

I was standing in the midday sun staring into my car. Sweat was dripping down my face and my eyes were heavy when a little devil popped up on my shoulder. “Just stop Tim. You are tired, beat up and it’s hotter than hell out here. Just get a 25 mile finisher time and take a nap in the shade. This was not an “A” race for you anyway” ------------- Rewinding the clock 5 hours, I was ironically shivering from the cold awaiting sunrise as I stood next to 200 other ultrarunners. The sun was just beginning to light up the sky as the race director made his final announcements about the race. Early morning view The Quad Rock 50 would consist of a clockwise, 25-mile loop followed by a reverse run of the same loop. Each lap has three major climbs and about 5,500 feet of vertical gain per lap for a grand total of 50ish miles and 11,000 feet of elevation gain. “Follow the pink flags,” the race director said. This piece of advice would come in handy later in the day as I slogge

Spokes

Search This Blog