The Road to Leadman
The Road to Leadman
Background
So I wanted to do something epic this season. Since moving to Utah at the end of 2014, I’ve increasing gravitated towards off-road endurance sports. Utah is just unparalleled for outdoors activities. I have epic trails almost literally in my backyard. When I heard about the Leadman competition from a post by Tim Cronk about a year ago, I was deeply intrigued because it combined my love of trail running with my burgeoning interest in mountain biking.
What is the Leadman? A field of 100 athletes completes all five of the Leadville branded races culminating in the Leadville MTB 100 followed a week later by the Leadville Trail Run 100. Athletes are ranked by their cumulative overall time. Less than 50% of the entrants complete the Leadman. Considering both the Leadville MTB 100 and Leadville Trail Run 100 each have about a 50% DNF rate, this is darn good. I’ve read Leadman competitors have a lower DNF rate for both races than average.
To become a Leadman, you must complete the following races before the cutoff.
|
Race |
Summary |
|
Leadville Trail Marathon, June 18 |
This is a surprisingly difficult race with over 6k of vertical peaking at over 13k. The finish times are more on par with a 50k. |
|
Silver Rush 50 MTB or Run, July 9 & 10 |
I am signed up for the MTB race as a warmup for the MTB 100. I’ve heard it is a more technical course than the MTB 100. |
|
Leadville Trail 100 MTB, August 13 |
This is it – widely considered the most epic endurance MTB race. The two Race Across the Sky movies captured its magic. |
|
Leadville 10K, August 14 |
The day after the MTB 100 you have to drag yourself around Leadville for this 10k. |
|
Leadville Trail 100 Run, August 20 |
This is arguable the most icon 100-mile trail run. It is one of the original 100-milers and was featured prominently in Born to Run. |
Training Guiding Principles
Leadman will be the focus of my season. Everything else is structured to get me across the finish line of each of the races, and have fun along the way. The crown jewel is finishing Leadville Trail 100 Run in less than 30 hours before the cutoff. It would be gravy to make it in less than 25 hours and earn the big buckle.
I did a bunch of research on preparing for the Leadman. The blog A Trail Rat’s Adventures detail’s the authors training and execution for Leadman. I read every single entry related to Leadman. The author also has a Facebook group called "Leadman Alumni and Hopefuls" that I joined which has a bunch of useful posts.
I was very fortunate to connect with a Utah Leadman. Scanning through last year's results, I noticed one of the participants had a Utah hometown. His name seemed really familiar. I looked him up on Ultra Signup, and it turns out his name looked so familiar because he finished a couple spots behind me at the grueling Corner Canyon 50k in October. I remembered seeing another runner wearing a Leadville shirt. I was able to connect with him on Facebook, and he graciously spent almost two hours on the phone sharing his experience and lessons learned. I walked away from that call confident I could compete in the Leadman. He had done about 50% the cycling volume and 80% the running volume I did in 2016.
Based on everything I know now, here are the principles to guide my training:
· Each week will have a particular focus – run, bike, balanced, race, or recovery. The Trail Rat's training volume was pretty much on par with that of an Ironman, which gave me some confidence. He structured his training plan so that every week had a focus. I really liked that idea and incorporated it into my plan. It will help avoid monotony – and probably save me from getting divorced over a long bike ride every Saturday. Honestly, I just don't know that I can ever follow the long bike ride every Saturday formula again, at least not while my kids are young. Details on the general structure of the weeks is in the section below.
· I will set duration targets rather than miles but will have vertical targets. Trail running and MTBing can be much more variable than roads in terms of mileage. The goal is time on my feet or in the saddle. However, I will have vertical elevation gain targets. I learned from the four ultras I’ve done to target weekly elevation gain that is equal to or greater than that of your upcoming race. Indeed, many elite ultrarunners don't track mileage but do track vertical.
· I will take an intuitive training approach. That is, I’ll have a general outline of workouts each week in Training Peaks but I’ll be free to change it up depending on how I feel. Last summer I felt like I trained myself into a brick wall for IM Boulder (which I missed due to a death in the family on race week) by slavishly following the training plan. I am highly motivated to train. If I don’t feel like it, that is my body telling me something. I need to listen.
· Work in hiking and learn to use trekking poles. I love hiking but it has a low ROI in terms of time investment. I get a finite amount of time away from the family, so it's hard to justify a full day of hiking. However, the Utah Leadman said he did about two hikes per week to prepare. I will probably be able to work one in every couple of weeks. He also recommended using trekking poles to save the legs, especially for the technical section over Hope Pass and back. I have some collapsible trekking poles that I bought for the hike down the Zion Narrows in 2015, but I don't use them much, mostly in snow. I have a steep hike right by my house that averages 1000ft/mile that I could take all the way to the top of Lone Peak at just under 12,000ft. I can go power hiking on this section with trekking poles in lieu of running on occasion.
· Improve MTBing technical skills. Road biking is maybe 20% technical and 80% fitness, but MTBing is probably closer to 50/50. My weekend warrior MTB buddies always make sure to pick technical trails to neutralize my fitness advantage. I did a coached session with a pro MTBer last year and learned a tremendous amount. I'll setup more coached sessions with her this year.
· Recovery is the third sport after trail running and MTBing. It will be especially important between the week of the Leadville MTB 100 and Trail Run 100. The Utah Leadman highly recommended compression boots to recover from the punishment. I couldn't justify the price of the NormaTec boots, so I found the Air Relax boots at a fraction of the price (see my forum thread for details). I will also stick with doing yoga every Monday to undo the damage from the weekend as well as maintain core strength and mobility. Which leads into my next point...
· Keep up strength training to maintain durability. I think trail running and MTB riding take much more core and upper body strength than their road counterparts. In addition to yoga, I'll do 1-2 strength session per week focused on functional strength. Since I won't be swimming these workouts can take their place.
· Optimize blood chemistry. So this is new for me – I generally don't do supplements. The Utah Leadman said that many of his fellow competitors had issues with magnesium deficiencies. I started taking a magnesium supplement and it does seem to hurt anything. Has anyone in Da Haus tried the Insider Tracker service? I'm considering it.
Season Roadmap
So here it is. This will be a mashup of the training plan from Relentless Forward Progress by Bryon Powell for running and the Leadville MTB 100 training plan by Drew Edsall. I've used Powell's template for all my ultras and it works. It's pretty simple: run a lot, and then run more. One bit of secret sauce I discovered was doing back-to-back long runs on the weekend. For example, I'd do a 20-mile trail run Saturday and then a 15-miler on Sunday to get used to running on tired legs while also lowering the risk of injury. I'm still digging into Edsall's plan, but it looks like it includes some skill work and road biking (since Leadville is considered not technical for a MTB race).
I ran the roadmap by Coach Patrick, and he gave me some valuable feedback. He recommended against the races highlighted with question marks to avoid risk of overtraining and/or injury. My thinking was that I’d get the experience of doing an epic MTB ride one weekend followed by an epic run the next to similar the conclusion of the Leadman. I had already submitted a ticket for the Tahoe Rim 50 lottery and of course I got it because I didn't want it. I’ll keep that spot so I have a backup race if my Leadman plan come off the rails.
|
Week |
Monday |
Focus |
Run Duration |
# Runs |
Bike Duration |
# Rides |
Total Duration |
Total Vert |
Strength Workouts |
Race |
|
1 |
1/9/2017 |
Balanced |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
2 |
1/16/2017 |
Running |
5 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
3 |
1/23/2017 |
Race |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
2000 |
1 |
Bigfoot Snowshoe 25k |
|
4 |
1/30/2017 |
Running |
7 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
3000 |
2 |
|
|
5 |
2/6/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
3000 |
2 |
|
|
6 |
2/13/2017 |
Race |
7 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
3000 |
1 |
Moab Red Hot 55k |
|
7 |
2/20/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
8 |
2/27/2017 |
Running |
9 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
6000 |
2 |
|
|
9 |
3/6/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
3000 |
2 |
|
|
10 |
3/13/2017 |
Race |
10 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
4000 |
1 |
Buffalo Run 50M |
|
11 |
3/20/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
12 |
3/27/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
5000 |
2 |
|
|
13 |
4/3/2017 |
Race |
12 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
6000 |
1 |
Zion 100k OR R2R2R OR Zion Traverse |
|
14 |
4/10/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
15 |
4/17/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
4000 |
2 |
|
|
16 |
4/24/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
12 |
5000 |
2 |
|
|
17 |
5/1/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
3000 |
2 |
|
|
18 |
5/8/2017 |
Race |
2 |
3 |
10 |
2 |
12 |
4000 |
1 |
Desert Rats MTB 50k/100k OR WRIAD |
|
19 |
5/15/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
???Possible 50k/50M Run |
|
20 |
5/22/2017 |
Balanced |
6 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
12 |
6000 |
2 |
|
|
21 |
5/29/2017 |
Running |
10 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
14 |
6000 |
2 |
|
|
22 |
6/5/2017 |
Bike |
3 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
4000 |
2 |
|
|
23 |
6/12/2017 |
Race |
7 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
5000 |
1 |
Leadman: Trail Marathon |
|
24 |
6/19/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
25 |
6/26/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
4000 |
2 |
|
|
26 |
7/3/2017 |
Race |
3 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
9 |
4000 |
1 |
Leadman: Sliver Rush MTB 50M |
|
27 |
7/10/2017 |
Race |
10 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
10000 |
2 |
???Tahoe Rim 50M |
|
28 |
7/17/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
29 |
7/24/2017 |
Bike |
4 |
4 |
10 |
4 |
14 |
12000 |
2 |
|
|
30 |
7/31/2017 |
Recovery |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
31 |
8/7/2017 |
Race |
2 |
2 |
11 |
2 |
13 |
12000 |
0 |
Leadman: MTB 100M + 10k |
|
32 |
8/14/2017 |
Race |
24 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
15000 |
0 |
Leadman: Run 100M |
Here is the spreadsheet if you want to really dive into it: https://1drv.ms/x/s!AhrqS7wa__Ka8B3yru4Z0E3esiwm
Run Focused Weeks
Run focused weeks will follow the below general structure from Powell’s book with my added secret sauce of back-to-back long runs on the weekend.
|
Training Sessions |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
Primary Training |
Yoga / Core |
Run 1hr |
Run 1.5hr |
Run 1hr |
Endurance Bike 1-2hr |
Long Run 2-5hr |
Long Run 2-3hr |
|
Secondary Training |
FTP OR Easy Bike 1hr |
Strength |
VO2 OR Easy Bike 1hr |
Bike Focused Weeks
I’ll follow the workouts from Edsall’s plan in Training Peaks. I’ll probably modify the weekday workouts to do on my KICKR with Sufferfest or Zwift.
|
Training Sessions |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
Primary Training |
Yoga / Core |
FTP Bike 1hr |
Run 1hr |
VO2 Bike 1hr |
Long Run 1.5-2hr |
Long Ride 2-5hr |
Long Ride 2-3hr |
|
Secondary Training |
Run 1/2hr |
Strength |
Run 1/2hr |
Balanced Weeks
These will be a blend of the two above.
|
Training Sessions |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
Primary Training |
Yoga / Core |
FTP Bike 1hr |
Run 1hr |
VO2 Bike 1hr |
Run 1hr |
Long Run 2-4hr |
Long Ride 2-4hr |
|
Secondary Training |
Run 1/2hr |
Strength |
Run 1/2hr |
Closing Thoughts
For those who made it through all this detail, I salute you! I am going to need the collective wisdom of EN to help me complete the Leadman. I plan to update this thread as I get smarter and learn new things, or when I have questions. I look forward to mojo from the EN Ninjas!
Thanks for following my adventures and misadventures!
Comments
The funny thing is that race I'm most nervous about is the MTB 100. I just started MTBing last year and the longest ride I've ever done on a MTB is about 3 hours.
The factors I've heard contribute to the high DNF rate for the MTB 100 are:
You're right about Fridays, probably too ambitious. I'm usually pretty tired from the work week by Friday, so this will probably be the first workout to get dropped or scaled back. Better to rest up and hit the weekend workouts hard.
Now, the dirty secret is that sitting in Boulder the Sunday before the race, my buddy who roped me into it totally psyched me out with the belief that i'd not break 12 hrs. I was so believing in this misconception that I emailed Tim and told him that I was done, was calling a friend to ship me my road bike and just to a week long altitude road camp and focus on my upcoming IMWI in 4 weeks instead of this stoopid MTB race. Tim talked me off the ledge, and I had a great, but painful race. Keep in mind this was 3 weeks after IMLP.
I know what i can do if i showed up there rested and with fitness, i know you can do that better where this is a structured focus... You are going to do way better than "just finishing"
Would love to get that resource, will shoot you my email address.
I had a tough day in Leadville because I trained for and did an IM 3 weeks before. If I ONLY was doing LV MTB100, I'd train for a bike race and like your run guys say, focus on logging climbing miles, and if possible, at altitude!
You live much higher than I do and can regularly get up to 8-10k ft I believe... THAT will help you lots. You also should be doing no swim training, just focus on those legs, bike & run & climb, repeat...
I live at about 5k ft and have mountains out my front door where I can get up to 9-10k for MTBing and 12k for running, so I should be able to log lots of time at altitude.
I had previously been on the fence about having pacers for the Leadville Trail 100, but I am now convinced of their value after seeing how much it helped the 100-mile runners at the Buffalo Run.
I'd love to have some EN mojo with me in Leadville. If you have aspirations of doing Leadville, pacing would be a great way to dip your toe in the water. I rented a house nearby in Breckenridge with extra space where you could stay. My best buddy from college will be my crew chief, and would take you to the appropriate aid station to rendezvous with me. Reach out if you're interested in pacing me at Leadville.
enjoy the training !!!
I've found myself gravitating towards off-road a lot more lately too. I didn't get into the LV100MTB via the lottery this year, and have had to back out of the Austin Rattler 100km in a few weeks (not even close to ready, no point).
Keep us apprised of your progress! Can't wait to follow along!
@Scott Alexander it's definitely insane and I am hoping for amazing. It's hard to beat trail running and MTBing, especially in the places we live. I love getting out in nature and not worrying about cars.
I was surprised how many of the Leadman encouraged me to do both and add the Silver King in the mix, including a former Leadman winner. They said it was tough but it is great preparation for the big show with the MTB 100 five weeks later and the Run 100 six weeks later. The other camp said do the MTB 50 because it is easier and save it all for the Run 100, which is the crux of the Leadman.
If I were going to work this into my plan, I would think I would take basically recovery and taper for five weeks after Silver King leading into the MTB 100.
It's only $125 to sign up for the Silver Rush Run, so if I'm just not feeling it after the MTB race I wouldn't be out Ironman $$$. I was planning to be in Leadville that Sunday anyway to go recon the Run 100 course and hike over Hope Pass. For the Run 100, you go over Hope Pass at over 12k ft out and back. It is supposed to be the hardest part of the entire Leadman. I don't think the Silver Rush 50 actually sells out, so I could even just sign up after the MTB race if I feel good.
In case the Leadman wasn't stoopid enough, it could be more stoopid...
When I first considered the Leadman I figured why not just do the 50MTB and 50 mile run (gonna be there for 1 of them right?) might as well do them both ..... Then I thought NO just go with the 50 MTB and save it... Then I really started to think, and said its really all about that 100 mile run, just do everything nice and easy, no injury etc to make it to that 100 mile run healthy... Then I said WTF a 100 mile run is 10x harder than anything I have ever done (50 mile ultra and UMFL) I dont need all those other races (MTB mostly) derailing my goal of completing the 100 mile run through injury or fatigue.... Bottomline I have no idea what to say other than be careful on either or both because all that really matters is making to the 100mile run healthy and prepared for THAT RACE.... Lets face it none of the others will be "EASY" but they really dont have that "I just hope I can finish aspect to them"....
I signed up for the MTB 100km but will be a deferral until next year, just not prepared for it.
@Scott Alexander that looks like a lot of fun, especially with the different run distance options. Do they have a Rattler King?
I've decided to back out entirely out of Austin Rattler. Just not ready for it. Not even close!
- Converted the drivetrain to Shimano XT 1x11. I like being able to rip through the gears from the highest to lowest gear quickly without having to mess with the front derailleur.
- Added a OneUp Shark 50T to my 11-42 cassette making it a 11-50. I was really intrigued by the SRAM Eagle but just couldn't justify the $1300 price tag. This gives me the same range of gears at 1/10th the price. The 50T is the size of a dinner plate and actually give me a lower gear than I had on my 2x10 setup. With a 32T chainring upfront, I don't spin out until 26+ MPH (which is pretty hard to hit on a MTB). This will give me the range of gears I'll need for Leadville for the climbs and fast flats/descents.
- Upgraded the brakes to SRAM Levels. Way more modular than the basic Shimano brakes that came with the bike.
- Changed the tires to Scwalbe Nobby Nics from the Rapid Robs that came with the bike. This dramatically improved the handling on technical trails. I'll run these for WRIAD and Silver Rush MTB 50 where the extra handling on these more technical rides will come in handy. Then I'll switch to Racing Ralphs, per Scott's recommendation, for the Leadville MTB 100 where I will want a faster tire.
- Added a Stages Power Meter. They had a closeout for $400, so I jumped on it figuring it would help me keep from blowing up at the Leadville MTB 100. After a few rides with power, I can say it is totally different than a road or tri bike. My VI is usually around 1.30 - yes, 1.30! A typical ride has about 25% of the time without pedaling on single track descents. I would imagine my VI will be lower for Leadville since I'll be able to pedal more on the descents because they are much less technical than my local trails. Still it will probably be somewhere in the 1.15-1.20 range.
I'm considering adding a dropper post, although I've heard it's pretty much not needed for Leadville except maybe the Powerline descent. It seems like it would help in general for technical descents to get the seat out of the way.Gabe Peterson said: @gabe - what dates do you have the house in BR? I am seriously considering this.. It IS 4 weeks after LP... so no idea what kind of shape I will be in, but certainly spending a few days in the high country with an MTB & pacing you would be a good way to jumpstart what's next.
For the LV 100 run - can you brief us on what you need from the pacers? How much running will we be doing? etc..
feel free to email me (sdinhofer@gmail.com) or we can do a call.
as for your bike upgrades, you WILL spin out on the road section just after St Kevins, i hit 42 max speed (the ride up on the way back, well, you know...
LOVE all of the upgrades you are doing and the tire choices. as for the dropper post, i barely use mine riding technical trails around here, on LV, you won't need it, I'd think more about the weight than the advantage for one not so technical downhill..
Power meter is way cool..
Here is a good guide to pacing Leadville. There are four major pacing sections about 10-15 miles each, so ideally I'd have two pacers who could rotate -- or one badass pacer to run the entire back 50 with me!
I'll shoot you an email so we can setup time to chat...
So I've pretty much followed the plan as laid out above. I've changed up the focus of a few of the weeks as I've learned more and/or life intervened. The spreadsheet in the above link reflects the most recent updates.
I feel like the plan has been a success. My goals was to build up my trail run and MTB fitness early by setting milestone events. I did the Buffalo Run 50 miler in March and just completed the White Rim in a Day (WRIAD) MTB ride last week (more on that below).
I feel like I've built a massive aerobic engine for trail running and MTBing. I can run or ride up an ~8% grade for an extended time without my HR going above MAF at 142. In other words, I can go all day if I keep my HR below 142.
Last week I completed the epic MTB ride White Rim in a Day (WRIAD). This is an old jeep road through the back country of Canyonlands National Park that was originally built to find uranium in the Cold War days. It is 80 miles from the top of the Shafer Switchbacks near the park visitor center to the top of the Mineral Bottoms Switchbacks with about 5,000 ft of climbing (usually with grades in the 10-20% range). It takes you into some of the most remote areas of the park, dozens of miles away from any kind of rescue. It was like riding across the surface of Mars.
I convinced two buddies to go with me. We had a shuttle drop us off at Schafer at sunrise, and left a car at the top of Mineral Bottoms the night before. The longest ride I had done on my MTB was 54 miles and it was grueling, so I was nervous about spending all day in the saddle. I'd say a rough rule of thumb is that 1 mile on a MTB is about equivalent to 1.5-2 miles on a road bike, depending on the terrain. So this would be like riding about 120 miles on a road bike. MTBing also takes much more core and upper body strength to do things like jump over rocks.
It was a great day, probably my best ever on two wheels. I finished with just over 7 hours ride time and felt like I could have kept going. My lower back was a little sore but my legs felt great the next day. I came away feeling confident in my endurance MTBing ability.
You can find the route and pics on the Strava activity. Here is some bike porn to whet your appetite.
Here is a movie of the route I took for WRIAD courtesy of Relive (a cool app BTW):
https://www.relive.cc/view/980564961
Here is a podcast from a Leadman finisher that is pure gold:
https://www.orangemud.com/pages/episode-13-don-reichelt
https://www.orangemud.com/pages/episode-13-don-reichelt
Next up is the Silver Rush MTB 50 and Run 50 on July 8th and 9th...
Race Plan
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23291/road-to-leadman-leadville-trail-marathon-race-plan
Race Report
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23355/road-to-leadman-leadville-trail-marathon-race-report
Silver Rush MTB 50 Race Plan
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23400/road-to-leadman-silver-rush-mtb-50-and-run-50-race-plan#latest
Silver Rush MTB 50 Race Report
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23510/road-to-leadman-silver-rush-mtb-50
Leadville MTB 100 Race Plan
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/23615/road-to-leadman-leadville-mountain-bike-100-race-across-the-sky-race-plan