Race Report: Leadville Trail Marathon

The Race:

I’ve dreamed about running a race in Leadville since I read Born to Run a few years ago, so there was a pinch-me factor to this race.  I executed to my race plan and can honestly say I have long distance trail running dialed in, like EN 4 Keys dialed in.  I went conservative on the outbound leg where about 80% of the climbing happens and then started pushing on the inbound journey.  I managed to move up 49 spots on the return trip, going from 199th at Mosquito Pass to 150th by the finish line.  It sure was fun running down all those athletes!

Perhaps the greatest excitement came at the top of Mosquito Pass at 13,120 where the wind was ripping at 50+ MPH.  I had to lean forward at about a 30 degree angle to get to the timing station.  The operator of the station was huddled behind his ATV taking cover.  Otherwise, it was a great start to the Leadman competition!

Here’s the run on Relive (note that my altimeter was off by about 2,000ft, so I didn’t go to 15,000+ ft):

https://www.relive.cc/view/1041461406

Starting the climb up Mosquito Pass.  Couldn’t take my phone out after this due to the wind.

Key Take Aways:

1. Altitude didn’t have a significant effect upon me.  This is really good news, as the Trail Marathon is actually the highest of the Leadman events.  This is something I suspected based on past experience.  For example, when I did Mt Whitney (the highest point in the contiguous US) my friends were dying but I just had a slight headache.  The temperatures were in the low 50s to high 60s, so I’m guessing training in a warmer climate helped balance out the effects of altitude.
2. Hike up step grades before the Trail 100.  There were long sections where I hiked for over an hour, such as the 2,000+ ft climb up Mosquito Pass.  I power hiked with using my hands to push off the top of my legs.  I’ll want to use trekking poles for the climb of Hope Pass and back (3,000ft of vertical each way), so I need to practice with them.
3. Once again, the Mafetone Method works.  I mostly had my Fenix 3 set to only display my HR and kept it in the 140 range with short spikes up to 150, only switching to show pace on the non-technical descents to force myself to run fast.  On step hills, I’d start power hiking when my HR hit 150.  My average HR was 142 (right at MAF!) and my peak was 155.  My strategy of building a giant aerobic engine looks like it’s working.  With the altitude, I doubt I could have gotten my HR above 155.
4. Continue building efficiency descending.  Leading up to the race, I'd end a lot of my trail runs down a fire road that is about a 6% grade and not technical.  I'd practice begin able to run a sub-8:00/mile pace down this on tired legs.  Most trail runners go too hard on up the hills and too easy down the hills.  I passed bunches of runners on the descents who were shuffling along.

What’s Next:

The next events for the Leadman are the Silver Rush MTB 50 and Run 50 July 8th and 9th.  Leadmen have to do one of them.  I signed up for the MTB 50 but am planning to also do the Run 50.  Doing both is a separate competition called the Silver King, which I’ve learned many of the Leadmen do.  I figure this will pretty much lock in the fitness for the MTB 100 and Trail 100 with five weeks to taper and recover.  I won’t jeopardize my Leadman competition on the Run 50, and will drop if there is any risk of injury.  The real prize is the Trail 100 in August.