EB's Leadville 100MTB - RACE REPORT
Leadville 100MTB -- First attempt, won’t be the last.
If you’re ever lucky enough to be sitting amongst 2000 athletes, crew, spectators and volunteers in the Lake County High School Gym, you’ll know one thing is certain. This race is the real deal. You’ll hear Founder Ken Chlober tell you through his earned gritty voice and thick cowboy demeanor how they’re going to send you over some of Colorado’s biggest baddest mountains and then tell you to turn around and go back. He’ll tell you how he’ll give you the shotgun when to start and his partner in crime, Merilee Maupin will be there at the finish to tell you when to stop. Ken’s son Cole who is taking over as the face of the LV100 family will tell you this is indeed the best family reunion going. You’ll see athletes stand as they’re going for their 10 year, 1,000 mile buckle, or the Men and Women who are going after bragging rights as a Leadman/Leadwomen. Although this was my first time, I felt like I was apart of this family already. I felt the genuine grit, I saw the guts of the riders, and the sheer determination in the eyes of the athletes around me. After being in endurance racing for almost a decade, this race was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
Lessons Learned:
- Corral position is KEY.
- Take advantage of the first 6 miles to St. Kevins.
- Must ride descents better… not necessarily faster, but better.
- Find the “in-betweens” of the race.
- Don’t OVER-eat
- Get rid of weight i.e. no hydration pack on way back to town.
Things that went GREAT:
- Finished in under 12! Goal time was 10 hours. Finish time was 10:43.
- Never felt taxed. Could have kept going after the finish.
- I DIDN’T CRAAAAASH!
- My bike was PERFECT. Never felt out of control and only got stronger on the descents.
- SO thankful I had my full suspension. By the descent down Sugarloaf, my arms were sore from the overall fatigue of being in the ready position.
Things I plan to work on for 2020:
- Overall technical riding skills
- FTP - Duh
- I’d train with a 30/52 eagle, but plan to race with a 32 tooth ring up front to gain on the crowds on the road descents and flats.
- I’d use my hydration pack for the first half and then switch to bottles. Less weight.
- I’d do more endurance MTP racing
- I’d try to corral up to the Red corral.
- I’d try to start more aggressive and get ahead of folks before the St Kevin’s climb.
Leading Up:
Seeing that this race is at altitude, I decided to drive out to Colorado one week before race day. The drive wasn’t too terrible, and my friend Anna and I arrived in Leadville on the Monday before the race. I was lucky enough to have college buddies who are halfway to earning their 10 year, 1,000 mile buckle. They were able to show me the ropes on what to expect, invited me on rides, and kept me under their wing as the anticipation built up before Saturday. Monday we went out and road Hagermans/Sugarloaf/Powerline decent. Wednesday was by far my favorite ride of the week (pre-race.) My friend Ryan had grown up with the Leadville 100 Dream Chaser, Ty Hall (who by the way raised over $100,000 for the Leadville 100 Foundation on race day by starting dead last and passing over 1,450 athletes finishing sub-9!!) He and his wife Roxanne are two of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. Ty took us on a longer ride to the north of town, through the old mines, up to 12,000 feet where the Columbines were still in FULL bloom. It was the perfect way to check out of the anxiety from race week and simply ride my bike. Thursday the rest of the Virginia crew, Jay, and my two training partners from Charlotte arrived. We went and rode the same Monday ride again (Hagermans/Sugarloaf/Powerline) to my surprise had become much more manageable after some pretty significant rain. Friday was the athlete briefing which is both informative and inspirational, the crew headed out to Twin Lakes to secure our spot, Jay went to grab the tent and sadly was stuck in traffic for 3 hours trying to get to Twin Lakes due to a horrible car accident. Sweet Tim Cronk waited for him so that everything was in place for race day. Sheila, Matt, and Jay all took photos and video for the racers so we knew where and what to look for upon arrival into Twin Lakes Aid.
Race Day:
I woke up at 3:30 and started eating breakfast. My nerves never were terrible, although I didn’t sleep by 3-4 hours that night. We kitted up and set out to be at our corrals by 5:15 am. Upon arrival I saw Pat Morton had already secured a spot along the front gate of the purple corral. Perfect! Now it was time to wait, hydrate, pee, and eat. Closer the about 6:25am, they move the gate where athletes filtered in behind the faster corrals across Harrison and down 6th street. The National Anthem was played, I gave Pat a fist bump and wished him well, and BOOM we were off.
My plan for the whole time was to ride my bike for the first half, and then go for it after mile 80. Next year I would like to dissect the “in between” places of this race where I can find gains in these in-betweens because once you’re on these climbs, you’re simply following the wheel in front of you and praying they don’t put a foot down. In the 3.5 mile downhill out of town, not only was I out of gears, I stayed far left of the group to avoid squirrely riders, and was passed by HALF of the corrals behind me. I kept telling myself “this race goes all day” TRGAD but I’m not sure if this is one of the first “in-betweens” I should pay attention to. The first 6 miles out are not uphill and the gains (while being safe) could have placed me in a bit more of a better placement for Kevin’s.
I raced with a power meter, trying to hold 141 for the day. At the top of Kevin’s, I was still sitting at 135 NP, mainly due to the crowds and slow accents to avoid rubbing wheels. Never mind, I thought. TRGAD. Arrived at the top of Kevin’s and held my line on the descent, doing so timidly. These downhills (for me) are NOT an in-between. However, when I got on the road headed to Hagermans, it was game on. Another “in-between.” I passed a LOT of guys on this section, but again I was completely out of gears so it was just me, my heavy bike, and my Ikon tires trying to do our best to make gains. I took the turn onto Hagermans which is a beautifully graded gravel road. This kind of road, this kind of climb is my JAM. I had already ridden this section 3 times leading up to the race and felt super confident about it. When I reached the top of the Powerline, again my timid descending took over. I wasn’t passed by many people, and honestly I didn’t care. I truly believed this race was NOT won on the descents. I made it to the bottom in my own time and again was back in my wheelhouse of the road… let’s go. My NP was sitting right at 141 and I was on track with eating and drinking, but I did notice my left hamstring was talking to me ever so much. I took advantage of the road and my Apple Watch and texted Jay to throw a Gatorlyte in my water bottle at the aid station. I don’t play when it comes to cramping, and I knew I had to get salt in quick before climbing Columbine. I chose NOT to have my splits taped to my bike because I didn’t want the pressure. I went back to what I knew… I need just over a bottle an hour and try to eat every 45 min. I came up on Pipeline and had finished my liquid. Knowing I had at least another hour before arriving at Twin Lakes, I stopped and filled my bottle up with Gu Roctane w/o caffeine to stay ahead of my hydration. This is when my stomach started to feel a bit sour. (PAUSE: As many of you know, I can get a bit ahead of myself when it comes to planning. I’m always trying to stay one step ahead of the big bonk, the cramps, the dehydrations…. So much so, I can put myself in a hole on the other side. In 2014 at Ironman Texas, I did just this with salt, over doing it and paying severely for it in my marathon, finally puking my brains out in front of a crowd, scaring many small children for life.) I tend to do this to myself often, which is why I have a bottle of water on the downtube to help digestion and hopefully any side effects of eating/drinking too many calories.
Out of Pipeline and into the single track which was one of the HIGHLIGHTS of my day. Holy cow, this really is the best part of the race, even if it is only 1.5 miles. I took my time again, and had the nicest folks behind me. I kept telling them I’d stop so they could pass me, but they refused and cheered me on, telling me I had a beautiful line. Really? I love you.
NP was still sitting pretty at 141 as we exited to the road and then hit another beautifully graded gravel road. There were groups that were trying to get together, but I chose not to push to hang on. It was a steady climb for a while into headwind, and I wasn’t even at the halfway point yet. TRGAD. BIIIIIG road downhill (great to finish eating/drinking) into the beginning of Twin Lakes.
PARTY. Upon entering Twin Lakes, you’ll ride through about a mile of the first set of crew tents. It took me a bit off guard because of all the crowds, but was a nice break in the race. At this point I had to PEE. Sure as heck wasn’t going to jump off here, so I decided I would start undressing and find a porta john as fast as I could while my crew got my bike ready. I roll up screaming how I needed to Pee and they pointed me in the direction. I sprinted to the front of the line, begging the folks waiting if I could jump in front of them. They of course obliged and I seriously peed for 3 minutes. There has to be a more efficient way to do this, thus is the reason I’m writing a paragraph about urinating in my race report. I ran back to my bike, shoved half of my PB & Pickle sandwich in my mouth and started riding.
On to Columbine. Another “in-between” spot is climbing out of Twin Lakes. People were walking some of these sections and the race leaders were about to catch me going back the other way here, so it wasn’t conducive of passing or burning matching. Upon getting through this section, I hit the gravel road which begins the 10 mile climb to the top of Columbine. The first 5 miles are what I love, mostly graded fire-road that starts out steep and then gradually flattens out… until the goat trail. Like a lightswitch, you go from fire road to loose, silty rocky double track. By this point the Gold/Silver/Red corrals started to pass me. The group I was with was already off of their bikes hoofing it, not really giving me the chance to ever attempt riding. I chose not to panic and just follow suit and honestly I wasn’t so sure I could ride this with out being all over the trail. Again I was so encouraged by the athletes around me, their encouragement, and patience with the race around them. The next two miles WENT.ON.FOREVER. At this point, you’re sitting at 11,500 elevation, hike-a-biking, one foot in front of the other. No one was riding until it flattened out a bit, and even then, you’re just in a line succumb to the rider in front of you because if you go even a foot to your left, you’re risking getting pummeled by riders who have already made the turn. Finally made it to the turn, and I could see my pulse in my eyes, telling myself “fake bonk, just the altitude, get your ass down.” I did NOT stop which was tough because the short little pitchy decent you make into the aid station is staring at you in the face to climb back up. Honestly, I’m not sure if I rode this or walked this. I can’t remember. I do know I successfully descended down with no close calls for me or for any athletes still making their way up. Again, I was followed by the most encouraging athletes who I told I would gladly pull over for them to pass and the refused, stating they were in no rush to get down this part quickly and risk a flat. We all got down to the fireroad and they quickly passed me here. This is when I noticed I was kinda in the middle of the pack/back of the race. I also noticed my NP was in the 130s which it would stay at for the remainder of the day due to all the hike-a-biking. I again focused on getting down safely in one piece and not focused on speed.
Made it back down to TL behind my time due to the Seven Dwarf Marching I did at the top of Columbine. (*que whistling here) Coming in hot yelling for Excedrin and protein. Of course this was NOT in my crew plan so I had everyone standing around me staring at me to which I yelled “F-ing do something.” NOTE: Endurance at altitude makes me a super B****. My back and my head were killing me from hiking and altitude. I was foggy and only remember seeing Clark made it and pointed at him. I remember Sheila asking me why I had goosebumbs and I said, “I don’t know you tell me.” Jay asked me if I wanted electrolytes ad I said, “I don’t know ask her,” pointing to Sheila. I shoved another half of a PB & J in my mouth and took off.
Riding back out was a bit disheartening. The excitement of the race had slowed to folks packing up their crew tents on the other side of the dam. There were people walking on the trail because they thought folks had already gone through. I had to yell through my stuffed mouth that I was coming. My stomach at this point was shot, and it took A LOT for me not to throw it all up. I looked like a hamster or better yet Joey Chestnut riding a bike. My stomach was like, “nah girl.” But I knew I had to attempt to swallow seeing all that I had left to ride. I slowly sipped water from my bottle and was able to get it down. It didn’t help that once we got to the road climb back to gravel/single track, the gentleman in front of me wasn’t so lucky as he began to puked his brains out. Not today, Satan.
I knew then and there it was time to move to blocks and gu’s. I knew to make it to Pipeline aid and load up. My plan was to drink my calories to Pipeline, but the Gu Roctane was not my friend, so I stuck with water. This is when I began to notice it was hard to keep my HR in the 130s. Still chugging along, I remembered I never got my Excedrin and was really mad at my husband, attempting to text him from my watch that he had forgotten to give it to me…. OMG I blame altitude for being the Grumpy of the Seven Dwarfs. Thankfully I had no service and decided to stop before pipeline to pee, take an excedrin, and pop a tums. And this Ladies & Germs saved my day.
Rolled into Pipeline where my buddy Ryan’s dad was there with my drop bag. I looked like a crazy person pedaling along yelling “BOB! BOB! BOB!” until finally I see him waving his arms. I load up with nutrition I hope to keep down and take off. Passed Pipeline timing mat and headed to Powerline. AgaIn feeling strong on the flats, and hugging some dudes wheel the whole way back up to the turn. It was time to race, buuuuut my HR wouldn’t go above 140. Not sure if it was because I was stomach sour or fatigue. Legs still felt super strong. I saw Kayla and Ryan’s mom at the bottom of Power line, got a push, and then shining like a Knight at the Round Table in his Rainbow Onesie was my husband, Jaybird. Y’all. He. Pushed. Me. Up. The. Entire. Powerline. Or at least the super steep part until the turn. He then proceeded to walk with me until I could get back on my bike. I was with it. Felt great just cruising along. I asked about how everyone was doing, and never for one second thought about stopping or crying (which I do a lot) or even having to get yelled at to keep going. It was just another long day on the bike for me. We said our goodbyes, and I mounted up with one last push from mi amore.
The next part was another in between. There is still about 3.5 miles of technical climbing after the steep section. I rode it at camp, but because of the foot traffic, and a few athletes walking in the good line, I too found myself walking this section. I don’t really remember when I decided to get back on my bike and ride. I do remember being upset with the guys in front of me for walking in the good line. Made it to the top traverse of Sugarloaf sucked down an Untapped Pure Maple Syrup… and this is where the temps dropped significantly and thunder was on the horizon. I kept pedaling and descended Sugarloaf more confidently than any other descent that day… maybe this year. I remember thinking how grateful I was to have my full suspension because my entire upper body could feel everything on that downhill. I also remember thinking my stomach felt better after that Maple Syrup.
Made the turn for Hagermans and used this and another “in-between.” Knew I had a big road climb ahead of me, but again this climbing was my JAM. Turned onto the road and could tell I was starting to get chills. I tried my best to eat a few blocks, but really they just sat in my mouth and I sucked on them the best I could. At this point, I knew a storm was coming and I better prepare. At the top of the road climb, I stopped and asked a guy to pull my jacket out of my bag for me, threw it on, and made the turn for Carter Summit. Thank goodness I did. I ate a Gu at this point, passed the aid station grabbing a cup of coke and of course my stomach was all unicorns and rainbows now… dumb digestive track could have come to on Columbine but whatever.
The skies opened then. The biggest, baddest, deepest thunder pounded over my head and I for sure yelled out “I’m NOT getting struck by lighting!” There is a massive turn to the left after the cattle gate that even though I had known this, I was still in too big of a gear, having to hop off but able to jog up it. Jumped back on and it started hailing. Didn’t phase me that much until the descent down Kevins. I couldn’t see anything, had to take my glasses off. My breaks were not too happy with swimming through the descent, and I wasn’t taking any chances on letting them loose. All I kept telling myself was “get to the cows, just get to the dang cows.” The skies cleared as soon as I saw the cows who were hanging out a million miles away in their own personal prairie, far away from the hail.
I felt insanely good here and started to hammer with what gears I had. I made the turn on to the road and was soaking wet and baking in my rain jacket. Hit the muddy section that ran parallel to the train tracks with a smile on my face, turned and killed it of the boulevard, taking my jacket off while still riding. At the top of the Boulevard, I asked the volunteer to stuff my jacket back in my pack, jumped on and headed to the finish. I was able to not only climb and PR this last section, I sprinted in passing two maybe three folks at the end finishing in 10 hours and 43 minutes. I was way over my goal time but for this being my first time, I am extremely pleased with my day.
I’ve already confirmed my slot for next year thanks to my performance at Tahoe. I’ve learned a ton of lesson this season and am eager to continue off-road adventures in 2020.
Comments
What a great read @Emily Brinkley !!
Thank goodness for Tums and Cows 😋 Seriously EB ... I am so impressed with your courage to take this on. One of the biggest challenges in MTB racing is how to get the fuel in. Now you know what sections you can take your hands off the bars to eat. I have this vision of you at Twin Lakes stuffing food in your mouth and it was falling out 😂. Jay was cool calm and collected every minute.
Congratulations and the journey continues!
Thanks for the detailed race report @Emily Brinkley and congratulations on finishing an epic day! I enjoyed reading how you worked problems throughout the day, raced smart, and stayed within yourself -- that has to feel very rewarding. I've read and heard that first section out of town can be really sketchy with all the riders -- how risky is it to to make up time there?
I think a Leadville qualification attempt is looming on my horizon and your report may help push that quicker ☺️
I don't think this was in your race plan -- could you please describe the MTB gear you used? Bike, tires, wheels, pressure, etc?
Hey @Jeff Phillips ! Thanks so much. Yes, I rode a full suspension Specialized Epic, 30 front chain ring with a P2Max powermeter, Enve M525 wheels with i9 hubs, Maxxis Ikons, 2.35 in the front and 2.2 in the rear, running 18 in the front and 17 in the rear. Over the course of my training, I found this latter information is WAY personal. @matt limbert might be able to go into more detail on what he ended up going with as well. I had raced Tahoe Trail on Fast Tracks 2.1 both front and rear and found this was way too aggressive of a set up for me at this time in my MTB career.
@Jeff Phillips I rode a Scott Spark 710 - full suspension. 32 front, 10-51 Shimano XTR cassette, DT Swiss XM 1501 wheels, Aspen 2.25. (though I also rode Ikon's during my recon of the course and was happy with those - if it was drier I would go with those. We had lots of rain the week before the race and the course had plenty of traction.) I used the TyreWiz app for my weight and tire size - 17 front, 18 back. I'll use the same setup next year.
You COULD ride a hardtail - most of the REALLY fast guys do. Be prepared for the physical nature of the ride - especially on the way home and the Columbine descent is challenging on good day, add the uphill traffic on the narrow double track and it is no joke.
Well, THAT was an adventure, all of it: the decision to go, the MASSIVE amount of training required, the detailed attention to bike size, tires, pressure, the course intel, the meticulous planning, the recruitment of a support team, and all THEIR planning. And that just gets you to 5:15 AM, when you actually have to ride the sucker. Which you apparently did with total mindfulness for an entire day.
I'm sitting here in awe of your accomplishment. I bet some time in the future, you'll remember these days and say, "How did I ever do THAT?"
@Emily Brinkley did you know that CREW stood for “cranky rider endless waiting”? Honestly you weren’t that bad. Although Jay is a saint but you don’t need to be told. You girl are a major studette to have accomplished what @Al Truscott laid out above, on top of work, family, band, etc. Was a pleasure to watch your performance. Extremely well done.
Glad you had a complete day. I will try to keep up next time we ride together.
Thanks @matt limbert I appreciate the info and insights.
@Emily Brinkley Great race and great race report. I'm so happy for you I don't even know where to start. Such a huge accomplishment. Congrats again on a tremendous race!
Way to go EB!
Cannot wait to learn from you and all other other jedis next year! 2020 baby!
On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 8:49 AM Scott Alexander <
teamenforums+d25994-s6029573@gmail.com> wrote:
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> Scott Alexander commented on EB's Leadville 100MTB - RACE REPORT
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> Way to go EB!
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> Cannot wait to learn from you and all other other jedis next year! 2020
> baby!
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wowzers... the amount of detail you included @Emily Brinkley makes me think I never did this race!! I think if I do this again, I am going to have to seriously pick your brains for advice!!! Congrats on finishing the epic race and getting your buckle! Can't wait to see how you fill the in-betweens next year!
@Emily Brinkley way to go, you took on Leadville like a pro! The MTB race is super tough. It's still the only race I've puked in. Next year you'll be hoisting that Big Buckle! Then the only left to do is the Leadman. 😉