Thoughts On My Failed 100 Miler

There I was, some 28 plus miles and 7,500 feet of climbing into a run.  At the top of Tower's Road which marked the final big climb of the day of Fort Collin's 2012 Chubby Cheeks run.  I stopped for a brief moment and was a bit pissed off.

Not because of my current run.  On the contrary.  My run that day went great.  What I was pissed at was comparing my current run with what happened 3 1/2 months ago as I entered Mayqueen at roughly mile 13.

I have refrained from looking back at my failed 100 mile experience in fear of commenting on items shortly after they happened.  I felt it's been best to let the dust settle and then comment.  While there were numerous things that could have gone better (like not having to squat in the woods so much), two things have become clear as day to me:

1)  I had over trained.
2)  I really had no interest at being on the start line of Leadville.

Over trained - I'll be completely honest.  I never thought I had the possibility to over train   Especially for a race this distance.  However the signs were right there and I overlooked them.  The first sign was on my last real mountain run.  The Pawnee/Buchanan Loop.  I was tired from the get go.  I just assumed it was a lack of sleep over a long work week.  In hindsight, I should have started my taper there.  Some 26 days before race day.

Instead I hammered out a few more tempo runs up to 13 miles long in the following days and another 20 miler around Mt Falcon a week later.  The 20 miler was slow but required way to much effort from previous attempts at the same exact distance.  I was exhausted the rest of the day.  Instead of starting my taper, I continued on.

With yet another 20+ miler, in Leadville at night, two weeks before Leadville.  The quads were exhausted but I pretended that wasn't the case.  There I was some 3 miles away from BF's house and I'm running with folks I had no business running with.  NC, NMP, a former Olympian with his film crew and a few others who are much better runners then myself.   I justified my running being easy as I was drinking a beer by this point.

I started my taper the next day.  13 days before the race.  But it was apparently too late.  Every run after that was tough.  I was hoping it was nerves leading up to race day.  It wasn't.  It was simply exhaustion.

While my journey to Leadville exhausted me, my journey at Leadville simply put me over the top.  My body wanted no more, it was D.O.N.E.  I'm not sure anything could have been done differently on race day to get me to the finish line.

Funny to look back at how exhausted I truly was.  But at the time I simply didn't see it.  Or I didn't want to see it.  Following the race nothing hurt, nothing was injured, but running was just tough.  The smartest thing I did was simply allow the body to recover on it's own by letting it dictating what to do and what not to do.  It took roughly two whole months to fully recover.  

Not Leadville - I've been up to Leadville 100 4 of the last 6 years now.  I observed from afar, paced and tried running the amazing event.  I have nothing but absolute respect for the race and it's history.  But at the end of the day, it's not a race for me.

I choose Leadville mainly because I knew the course, I had friends who were running it, and because it made sense for a person with a wife, a daughter and a career that can consistently consume 60 hours of work a week.

In all honesty, I never saw the Leadville course as a good fit.  Not because it was 100 miles but because I saw a course that required way to much running and one that wasn't of the mountain element (yeah it's high in elevation but it's not a true mountain up and down run and far from scenic with the exception of Hope Pass).

What I disliked most about Leadville was what many love about the race.  It's popularity   It's crowds.  It's insanity.  None of this was my cup of tea.  

2013 - This past September, I caught myself really missing not being at Steamboat for the races even though I had no interest in running more then a few miles. Like the towns sprinkled in and around the San Juans, the Steamboat area is a place that I feel at home.  I can't say that about any other mountain town here in Colorado.  You can have Aspen, Breck, or Vail but give me Telluride, Durango and Steamboat any day.    

I posted a blog last year asking which 100 miler I should sign up for.  At the time Steamboat wasn't on the list as it wasn't officially announced.  Though I had a hunch it would be soon.  A day after the 2011 Steamboat 50, I was chatting with Fred.  He asked if I were coming back in 2012.  I said only if he was hosting a 100.  He said with a grin, I might, I might not.  Thanks Fred for the specific answer!

Had I known about Steamboat last year prior to signing up for Leadville, I would have choose Steamboat regardless of it being a first time event.  Now we are weeks away from various race registrations opening.  Decision time for many.

For 2013, I'm all in for the Steamboat 100.  Regardless of what issues might have occurred this year, I'm confident that Fred will host a fantastic race next year.  A race that fits my running style with lots of ups and downs.  A no frills race (for the slow folks at least).  A race that my family can be a part of without being mauled over by overzealous crew members.

Nothing is guaranteed with the 100 mile distance.  There are also so many variables one has to deal with.  What I can control is learning from my mistakes from training in the past and being at a start line of a race that I truly want to be a part of.

As for other start lines I want to be a part of next year, I'll follow up with that shortly.