When Ultra's Don't Go to Plan - My Leadville 100 Trail Run Story

It's been 2 weeks post-Leadville and I can finally sit down and finish this. I started it a couple days after but I just didn't have the energy to complete my thoughts. I know a lot of other things have happened in the Ultra world but I know I would regret it if I didn't get my thoughts out about this race.

It had been 5 years since toeing the line in a 100 Mile race. Going into Leadville, I knew a couple of things...it was going to hurt, it was going to be hard and it would challenge me in ways that I hadn't experienced in a long time. I was prepared for all of that, the pain, the challenge but what I wasn't prepared for was the puking...that's right, the puking. It got me and it got me early....2.5hrs early. I didn't do anything I hadn't done on long training runs or even in other races that I ran to help prepare me for Leadville and it happened SO early that you can't blame it on lack of fitness...I hadn't even really gotten to test my fitness at this point. And just to be clear, I'm ok with puking...later in a race, I almost expect it... but in the first couple hours...that was just hard to deal with. The reason it was so hard is after many hours of it, I started to deteriorate, I had no energy, my mind weakened, my body weakened and my race became a suffer-fest to the end. Here's how it went down...

The weeks leading up to the race were pretty stressful, not because of the race itself but, more because I felt a struggle at home with balancing my passion for running and training and keeping members of the family happy. I had to be careful not to talk about Leadville too much and I needed to make sure my training was done when it would least affect others so I could be present. If you are not an ultrarunner it may be hard to understand our passion for the sport. To me, it is part of who I am...I love running and I love how fun and exciting ultra running is but I also understand that it is not for everyone...just like baseball isn't for everyone. I only mention this because when preparing for a 100 you really need to be in the right mindset and I don't think I went into this race at my best.

modeling the CTS buff in her own way

Addie and I got to Leadville on Thursday with a friend Samantha Wood, and by the way, she ended up placing 3rd Place Female behind Magda Boulet and Cat Bradley...so pretty damn impressive! So happy for her. On Friday, my crew all got into town...so once everyone was there we had a team meeting at my hotel room. My team consisted of some pretty awesome people. I had Amanda Pevoteaux as the Crew Chief/Pacer,  and pacers Chris Sipe (who had just finished the Western States 100), and Josh Holer (local runner and also 2020 Western States runner). My Coach, Adam St. Pierre also swung by to tell us how it should all go down. My pacers would run in front, block oncoming traffic, be the ones to tell others they are doing great and allow me to just do my thing and run.

Pacers Chris and Josh

Prerace meeting

Headed out of Outward Bound

I thought I was fit, I thought I had done the training and I thought my race would turn out a different way. But, As I mentioned before, I knew pretty early on that things were NOT going to plan. My friend Brooks and I were running together for the first 5ish miles but I had to let him go as I had to stop for a potty break...no big deal I thought, I'm sure I'll catch back up...then I had to stop again and finally a third time. Ugh, this bothered me as I could see so many runners passing me by while I handled my business in the bushes. I arrived at the first Aid Station May Queen and didn't stop as I had everything I needed with me. I was running well but my stomach just didn't feel right. As I was running on the Powerline section I had to stop and puke...oh no, I thought, this is too early for that! Once I stopped I got back to running and Dave Mackey was next to me. I told him how awesome I thought he was and that I had really enjoyed hearing him speak about his accident at the Colorado Running Company. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I just finished puking so I'm not sure...that's when he said well, it probably won't be the last time today...and boy was he right. I was running on pace or a little ahead when I got to the Aid Station Outward Bound. I informed my team of how I was feeling...my coach told me to "slow the F down" and they sent me on my way. I didn't feel like I was running too fast, it didn't feel like my stomach issues were because I was pushing too hard.

Probably telling me to slow the F down

Leaving Twin Lakes for Hope Pass

I took it fairly easy on the next section but still had bouts of nausea...my stomach just felt like the food wasn't digesting at all. I say this because of the sloshing I felt and because of the amount of liquid food that was coming up...it was a lot! When I got to Twin Lakes, my crew was there waiting and they worked me like a racecar in pit stop...they made sure I had everything I needed (which was amazing) and sent me on my way. I ran through the marshy section, trudged through the stream crossings and started hiking once I started the climb up to Hope Pass. I felt good, I passed people on the way up to include 6 women (Yes, I was counting). When I got to the Hope Pass Aid Station, I didn't stay too long, I sipped a cup of Ramen and then continued up the Pass for another 3/4 of a mile before descending down the other side to Winfield. I was feeling pretty good at this point and thought things were turning around until about 4 miles later the vomiting returned. When I got to Winfield, I started to feel it. I started to feel the loss of nutrition... I know this because my mind had suddenly taken a turn down negative-lane. I was starting to doubt if I could continue feeling the way I was. I was happy to see my pacer Chris who was donning the best pacer outfit ever...a pair of short shorts that were Mexican themed with what I think were tacos (if I'm remembering correctly) and a matching tank. At the time, all I could say was "wow, those are great"...It was hard to really appreciate how fun they were with how bad I was feeling! My coach was also there at Winfield and dumped a bunch of cold water and ice on me...he gave me some words of encouragement and sent me on on my way with Chris leading us out and holding some soup and chips for me. As we made the climb back up lots of people gave Chris props for his fun pacer outfit...I was glad someone was showing him the appreciation because I felt so bad I'm not sure I really said much to him.

Smiling because the worst was over
(or so I thought)...back to Twin Lakes

As we continued up to Hope Pass, I was continuing to feel rough...I was moving very slowly and had some more vomit sessions...when we got to the top, I sat down for a second while Chris got me some ramen and crackers. I sipped and ate the crackers and then we were on the way. He told me after a few minutes of letting the food settle we should pick up the pace. This solidified that fact that things were not looking good for me...normally, I love bombing it down mountains but at this point all I could do I was shuffle down...my stomach bouncing and sloshing with each step. When we got back to Twin Lakes, my crew was there along with Coach Duncan Callahan who is a previous Leadville winner (twice). I was having another low mental moment and I needed to hear that I could do it. I just remember saying that it seemed impossible...another 40 miles at that point!!! After about 10 mins I was on my way with a new pacer, Amanda. I knew she was looking forward to having some fun with me so I felt bad that I was not going to be able to give her the experience she was hoping to have. Not only was I struggling with not being able to keep any food down but I was also dealing with not being able to breathe properly...this happens to me in long races...after a while, I feel so congested and have a shortness of breath. Amanda tried to get me to take deeper breaths but when I did it would trigger coughing. It was so nice to have her with me because I felt like poo. I felt so bad physically that I couldn't help but be a Negative Nancy at this point...which I really didn't want to do. I wanted to be happy even if I was suffering but this just felt different. I still couldn't keep food down which made me feel so drained of energy that my mind weakened. Amanda led us back to Outward Bound Aid station...And, I guess I was a little loopy because after the race Amanda mentioned that the green reflective lights that I saw near the road were not, in fact moving like I had expressed. She also thought it was funny that for whatever reason when she said we were pretty close to the Aid Station I had asked who was going to be there...kind of a weird question when I knew all along who was going to be there. My mind was just not working right!

At Outward Bound my pacers swapped out. I picked up Josh Holer...poor Josh because the next 25 miles took us 7 hours!!! I complained, whined, apologized for being so slow...I asked to nap, to quit, I asked him to stop asking me to eat. He was just doing his job as a pacer but I was so sick of puking that I didn't want to put another thing in my mouth. I'm not sure if I said it or was just thinking it but I think I told him something along the lines that he had no idea how bad I felt and that if he did he would stop nagging me...it was probably just a thought because he's still talking to me which means I most likely didn't say it out loud!

28:01:22

The morning hours seemed to tick by in slow motion, the final climb went on forever and I only ran (more like a shuffle) when Josh would tell me to. He would point to a place on the side of the road, see that rock, run to there and then we can walk...see that sign, run to that and then we walk...he did this and I would do what he asked but it was definitely not a run...I felt like I couldn't physically bend my legs in a way that would allow me to run so I just did what I could. I moved forward. As I was about to round the corner for the final climb to the finish line my coach drove up, slammed the car in park, jumped out and gave me some final words of encouragement...he told me if he opened the dictionary to tough, my picture would be there...that made me feel super happy even though I may not have shown it. I finished the Leadville 100 with my crew and family beside me in 28:01:22, 4 hours longer than I wanted it to. I am not stoked about my time but I am so proud that I stuck it out and crossed that finish line. 100's are hard...so much can go wrong, it's not all about checking every block, things can happen that shake up your plan but it's about pushing on through the darkness, it's about friends that help you on your journey, it's about community and it's about finding things out about yourself that you can't in those moments when you are sitting on your couch watching a movie. You have to DIG DEEP in 100's and that's what I did. I didn't do it alone, if it wasn't for my crew, pacers, and coach, I may not be able to call myself  Leadville 100 finisher!

Best crew ever!