Matt Limbert Leadville Race Report - 2019

Leadville 100MTB -- First attempt, won’t be the last.

I rode in the gutter, emptied the tank and was lucky enough to earn a big belt buckle by 90 seconds.

I didn't keep track of my pace all day. That was on purpose. Knowing that I was behind or ahead was not going to help me, I was already doing the best that I could. I just wanted to ride my bike, hard all day. I started conservatively on purpose and was with people all the way to Columbine climb. The crowd would thin every time we climbed. We rode 75% of Columbine goat trail to the top. It was a constant stream of riders. After Twin Lakes outbound (headed home), there were two groups of riders sharing the work on the gravel and paved road home - their pace was just a bit too high for me. I climbed Powerline until it made more sense to hike a bike. The road climb up the paved road around Turquoise Lake to the top of St. Kevins descent was 45 minutes and was a real grind that late in the day.

About that gutter. There is segment of the course that runs alongside an abandon railroad track. The double track (sometimes singletrack) trail is lower than the railroad track, overgrown with bushes and muddy. One of the guys in the Leadville podcast nicknamed it the gutter. I came off the St. Kevin's descent and knew I was about 35 minutes from the finish. My Garmin said 8:15 or 8:20 but that was pedaling time not elapsed time. I didn't know how long I stopped at Twin Lakes (Inbound and Outbound) and Carter Aid station (for a water bottle of Coke). At this point, I just decided to empty the tank. That was my only mantra as I rode in the gutter, turned left up the rocky fire road, then headed to the paved road and the final climb to the finish.

I got to the base of the final climb, a random guy at the corner said - "You have 5 minutes left for the big buckle if you want it." At that point, I didn't know how long it would actually take me to get there, but my "Empty the tank" mantra seemed appropriate.

Lessons Learned:

• Corrals are key. If you have a time goal, get the best corral you can. If you just want to experience it, don't worry about corrals.
• Have a flexible fueling plan. I planned on bars, gels and shot blocks, but used Coke and Snickers for the last 2 hours. Practice with a variety of fueling sources. The race starts after 5-6 hours, you need to know how to read your body for fuel and hydration after that mark.
• Taking your hands off the bars to reach for pockets, handle food or bottle is a challenge. Its not like triathlon or road riding, when the timer beeps you eat or drink. The terrain dictates where, when and how long you have to eat or drink. Road = Eating.
• Recon the course weeks in advance. Either the Camp or solo. It pays off huge to know how long it takes you to ride sections of the course. The course is too big and too mean to see any of it the week before.
• This is a mountain bike race. You need skills to descend Columbine, Powerline, and Sugarloaf. I need more time riding rutted or rocky long fire road descents.
• Ride defensively. You are responsible for the 15 ft bubble around your bike. I saw: a guy with a wireless bluetooth speaker playing Lynyrd Skynyrd, multiple guys with earbuds/headphones, earbuds guy passing on me on a sketchy part of Powerline descent to gain a bike length, guy passing me on the Columbine decent to gain a bike length because there was another guy just in front of me.
• I knew how long the climbs would take based on my recon and made a sticker for my top tube to remind me how long (in minutes) those sections were.
• Challenge rides for the win. Long road rides 6-8+ hours. Only a few. Space them out. Not to close to the race. I learned a lot of the post 5 hour fueling and how to read my body. The fueling and hydration gets wacky after 5-6 hours (see bullet #2).

Things that went GREAT: 

• Finished in under 9!
• No flatting. No mechanical problems. Bike overhaul at home 2-3 weeks before the event.  
• I DIDN’T CRAAAAASH!
• My bike was PERFECT. Never felt out of control and only got stronger on the descents.
• SO thankful for an awesome crew at Twin Lakes. Shelia Leard, Tim Cronk, Jay Brinkley. They translated my grunts, mumbles and head shakes for actual productive actions. Thanks. 

Things I plan to work on for 2020: 

• Overall technical riding skills.
• FTP - Duh
• W/kg + sustained sub-threshold (high aerobic) for 1 hr+ whatever your sustained power is without going into the red. (Columbine climb is 1 hr 45 mins + of climbing)
• Split long rides. 2x rides same day - 6-8 hours total.
• I’d be a bit more aggressive and keep my position before the St Kevin’s climb. 
• If possible, get a fly-by hand off of a bag at Pipeline for extra fluids. I was running short on the way home (it was getting hotter) and I got fluids from random spectators or volunteers at a turn - I just got lucky.

Leading Up/Preparation: 

This was my "A" race for the year.

I got my Leadville entry via the lottery and was assigned the White Corral with all the other lottery folks. I raced the Tahoe Trail 100k in mid-July to move up my corral.

Challenge rides: All of my long rides were on the road/TT bike. I never did a monster MTB ride. I rode several 8+ hour road or gravel races to figure out pacing, fueling and hydration (Feb: 100 mile TT, Mar: 8+ hr gravel ride, May: 8+ hr gravel ride, Jun: 10+ hr Withrow ride @ Al Camp).

Recon #1: I rode a majority of the course in mid-June. I couldn't get the highest elevations because there was still snow above 11,000 ft. During a week of riding, I got St. Kevin's, Powerline (ascent/descent), Pipeline, Twin Lakes to Columbine (ascent/descent). I rode my full suspension and then rented a hardtail. I compared my times for climbing and descending on several parts of the course. I was faster on the full suspension overall all. My full suspension has a complete lockout for climbing, but is a bit heavier. I was a bit slower climbing, but faster descending because the full-suspension makes up for my lack of technical skills and line choice. I came out to the race a week early and rode the final two sections that I did not see. Hagerman's fire road, Turquiose Lake and Sugarloaf.

Recon #2: I read Scott Dinhofer's race report and watched the video of a guy ride the course in 11+ hours - I watched it in sections and 2x speed. You can get the idea. I also listened to the Leadville Podcast - they do a course overview and go over tips and tricks to

Training: I followed the IM training program, but added a split long ride mid-week. I added a mountain bike skills day that was either an easy ride that focused on a particular skill, like fire road descents. Other times, I would ride a cross-country, rocky loop hard for handling at speed.

Race Plan: I was on plan early and fell off my schedule after Pipeline on the way home. I reverted to "whatever it takes" + "whatever is available" + "whatever sounds good" which was essentially coke and snickers, several GUs and shot blocks. Bars were not happening at that point.

This is how I defined my box, execution, my "mile 18" and one thing:

• This race is about sustainable pacing, MTB skills, and nutrition.
• Crashing is slow. Eyes up. Keep long sight lines.
• Pavement = paceline = eating
• Just ride your bike. Aerobic all day is enough.
• This race starts at Twin Lakes Outbound (my mile 18).
• Empty the tank on the way home.

Mantras/Thoughts:

• Early (Start, Kevins): This race goes all day.
• Middle: Just ride your bike.
• Late: Hagerman Pass pavement = 1.5 hours home

I broke the course down based on nutrition widows:

Start to Twin Lakes Outbound 450-500 calories per hour, pacing for 2:40-2:45

Drink on schedule every 12 minutes camelback.

• Kevin’s = Maurten
• Turquoise Lake paved (decent, ascent) and Hagerman’s fire road = Bonk Breaker Bar + Clif Blocks + salt
• Sugarloaf = Finish Maurten early
• Powerline descent = Nothing. Too technical.
• Fish Hatchery, Paved Road, Pipeline: 2nd Bonk Breaker bar + shot blocks + salt tabs
• Singletrack = Nothing. Too Technical.
• Fire Road Twin Lakes Inbound: Start 3rd Bonk Breaker Bar or GU? or shot blocks

Twin Lakes Outbound to Twin Lakes Inbound - (400-450 calories per hour, pacing for 2:20-30 min segment)

• Drink on schedule every 12 minutes camelback.
• Columbine climb = Maurten + 1/2 Bonk Breaker?
• Columbine descent = no eating – too technical. No eating. Drinking only. Maybe eat at the very bottom.

Twin Lakes Outbound to Pipeline - 14 miles:  (400-450 calories per hour, pacing for 1:00-1:05 segment

• Twin Lakes Fire Road = Start Bonk Breaker bar + cliff blocks or Maurten + salt tabs 2x every 30 minutes
• Singletrack = Nothing. Too technical.
• Pipeline Inbound = Finish Bonk Breaker bar + cliff block/Caffiene GU or Finish Maurten

Pipeline Outbound/ FINISH: (whatever it takes)

• Road to Fish Hatchery: Snickers.
• Powerline = Drink only. Too demanding.
• Powerline top = Maurten.
• Sugarloaf descent = Drink only.
• Hagerman Fire Road & Turquoise lake paved descent: Maurten or Bonk Breaker + shot blocks.
• Turquoise Lake paved Ascent = Maurten + Shot Blocks or GU.
• Kevin’s Descent = Drink only.
• Return to Boulvard: GU or shot blocks. 

 Twin Lakes Crew routine.

• Stop.
• Dismount left of bike. Dump trash
• Person #1 replaces downtube bottle and holds bike from front handlebars.
• Person #2 puts new hydrapak on the ground by me and new nutrition, then wipes chain with towel, lubes chain by spinning pedals backwards
• I load up the hydrapak and new nutrition in my pockets.
• Fist bump.
• Mount bike
• Pedal.

Garmin 530 Plan

• Course loaded.
• Screen #1 Elevation graph (scale 120 vertical, 0.5 horizontal) this way I can see what is coming up over the next 2 miles. With HR and time field below the elevation
• -Screen #2 HR, Time, Distance
• -Screen #3 Course

If you read this far, you are really interested in this race. For you, I will say that the shotgun blast start and roll out down 6th street at 10,000 ft in Leadville is just as cool and iconic as the swim start in Kona.

Just sayin'.