Really stupid…

If an idea is good, it's on the verge of being stupid. ~ Michel Gondry

I have always had this theory… get a group of people in a room, throw out a bunch of ideas and at the end of the night, look at your list to find the most idiotic and that's the one you should do.

This blog was spawned from one very stupid idea – run the Leadville 100. I gave that a shot in the summer of '07, completed 73 miles, & and survived. The blog lives on…

26Jul/100

Ramp up…

I like sweet potatoes! ~ Bobby Draper

Mon July 19: 00:29, 3 miles, Casa Trails shake out
Tues July 20: 00:57, 5.86 miles, Casa Trails w/surges
Wed July 21: 2:43, 15.18 miles, GGCSP Zoo loop
Thurs July 22: 2:15, 11.71 miles, Casa Trails
Sat July 24: 2:59, 17.75 miles, GGCSP Zoo loop
Sun July 25: 2:50, 17.42 miles, Ned Loop to Rollinsville
Total: 12:25, 70.92 miles, 9829' vert

This week was nuts. On top of the mileage, I worked something like 55 hours and traveled to the valley on three different days. Not my normal way of doing things. Had some great runs, however. So it all works out.

The highlights were probably Tuesday's surge run and Saturday's redemption in the Park. Tuesday, was like Wild Kingdom out there and I saw many creatures along my route. First some fancy ducks in the pond near our house. Not sure what they were but they weren't mallards. Then a muskrat swam right up to me in the same pond. I wasn't in the pond, the muskrat was. Then I stumbled across a black bear just wandering down the neighborhood road. Then I spooked a bunch of elk and got to hear the babies and moms calling to one another. Then I saw a bat. Good times. The run was awesome too so bonus!

I had kindof an unfocused run on Wednesday in Golden Gate Canyon State Park so I ventured back on Saturday for redemption. And that's what I found with a really focused, sustained effort throughout. Really excellent results.

Sunday started out really strong but then I think I got a little backwards on my water and electrolytes and started feeling the effects. And it was hot. Really hot for up here. I was completely soaked with sweat when Rach met me in Rollinsville with water and smiles and so I just jumped in the car and called it a day. I certainly could have made it home without issues but it just seemed prudent to not push it at this point.

Heading up to Leadville on Saturday for the last big weekend before the race. Planning to run about 27 on Saturday then tackle the final 50 on Sunday. Should be exciting. I'll keep you posted.

~stubert.

19Jul/100

Post-camp rest…

High Lonesome living up to its name.

Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here! ~ The Dude

Mon 12 July: 3:58, 21.54 miles, Hello Muddah: Day 3 Betasso laps
Wed 14 July: 00:32, 3 miles, Casa Trails barefoot
Thurs 15 July: 00:36, 4.11 miles, Janet's house surges
Sat 17 July: 2:00, 11.20 miles, Casa Trails exploration
Sun 18 July: 3:30, 16 miles, High Lonesome
Total: 10:38, 55.85 miles, 8,924' vert

Finished up Camp One: Hello Muddah with an easily supported effort in Betasso that fed into some night running. It was hot, even at the 6:00 start but my legs responded quickly to the effort and I fell into a nice rhythm spinning laps just over 30-minutes long. Ate shit on lap 3 and cut both elbows, my left hand and my back and landed heavily on my right hip. Such is life... hopped back up and continued, albeit bloody and dirty. Maintained a fairly steady pace throughout only walking during the final laps as my legs got tired and it got dark. All in all a successful end to a successful Camp. Feeling more and more prepared for the race, which is great.

The next several days were all about rest and recovery so I took Tuesday completely off, did a very mellow run on Wednesday barefoot then just rolled some easy miles with a few surges with Janet on Thursday. I was back at it Saturday with 2 hours in the woods. Didn't feel great but did find a new trail to keep me entertained. All in all, I felt better as the day progressed, so that was encouraging.

Sunday, I headed up to one of my favorite routes, High Lonesome. This trail peaks at about 12,000 feet on the Continental Divide in the Indian Peaks Wilderness northwest of my house. I started at the Hessie Trailhead after a deep creek crossing on my motorcycle, which was exciting (and wet). The King Lake trail is fairly mellow and I made quick work of the ascent, feeling strong and fresh. Hit the High Lonesome trail in about 1:20 then headed north along the divide to amazing scenery bursting with color. The wildflowers are amazing this time of year and seeing them up high makes it even more special.

Spun a couple miles on High Lonesome then dropped down on the Devil's Thumb Lake trail. There was one large patch of snow with which to contend but it wasn't a huge deal. Then I made my way down, past Devil's Thumb Lake and decided to burn a little more time by heading back up to Lost Lake. I usually spend quite a bit of time in the Lost Lake area in the winter so it was cool to see it un-frozen and devoid of snow. Found our standard hike-out area and poked around up there a little bit before heading back down to the moto where I packed up and headed into Ned to meet with Pete to discuss crew logistics for the race.

All in all, a good week off the heavy lifting with some fun miles thrown in for good measure. We are now about 5 weeks out and I am feeling strong, fit and healthy. All good ways to be.

~stubert.

Filed under: Indian Peaks, LT100, Ultra running, training Post your comment

14Jul/100

Hello Muddah…

Yeah, well... I'm married now. ~ Brian Bellamy

Mon 5 July: 00:41, 2.96 miles, Red Plow barefoot
Tues 6 July: 1:00, 6.2 miles, Thorne Lake surges
Wed 7 July: 2:32, 12.65 miles, Casa Trails
Thurs 8 July: 2:06, 7.76 miles, GGCSP hike/run
Sat 10 July: 4:08, 22.69 miles, LT100 Start to Fish Hatchery
Sun 11 July: 7:59, 30.6 miles, LT100 Colorado Trail to Double Hope
Total: 20:44, 82.87 miles, 15,712 vert

Great week of training. Rolled right into the LT100 Camp One: Hello Muddah.

The week started with fairly typical, mellow running. Just logging hours and getting comfortable at a sustainable pace. Nothing really too interesting aside from dodging some weather, getting a little wet at times, and enjoying spending time in the woods. On Thursday, I decided to mix things up a bit and did my run sporting a heavy pack (well, the hiking portion of my run). Then ditched the pack and ran up some terrain that previously had not been runnable by me. Good stuff. I was a bit sore after but it was worth it for sure.

LT100 Camp One: Hello Muddah

Friday I spent the day getting organized for the weekend's adventure then jammed up to Leadville with Brad and Jess on Saturday to start the first of two planned running weekends on the course. We had a leisurely start and after shuttling a car to Mayqueen, Brad dropped us off at the start.

We headed out in the rain and made quick time back to the campground where we rendezvoused with Brad, saw the weather break, and continued on to Mayqueen with beautiful conditions. I bid my companions fairwell at MQ and continued on to the Fish Hatchery. I really felt great all day and made quick work of Sugarloaf. All told, a successful day on course.

Jess and Brad met me at Fish and shuttled me back to the cabin where I grabbed a shower and some food then jammed into town to get some food for Brad and Jess. There we met up with Sean, who is also running the LT100, had a beer and got psyched for the following day's adventure... the infamous double crossing of Hope Pass from Twin Lakes to Winfield and back.

Day two started early with a quick pick up of Sean at his hotel and drive over to Twin Lakes. Sean and I headed up the Colorado Trail toward Treeline and I spun around after about an hour ten to meet Jess and Brad in Twin Lakes after 2 hours of running. From there, the three of us made our way across the river to the base of Hope Pass then jammed up the hill. It was another gorgeous day and we jammed up the pass to the Hopeless aid station where Brad and Jess turned around, leaving me to carry on solo to Winfield.

I summited in just under 2 hours (cumulative 4 hours), a mere 5 minutes after a bear apparently did the same (according to a hiker I met on the trail). Then rolled down to the Winfield road. From here, it is the longest 2.5 miles you have ever experienced up to the ghost town of Winfield at just under the 5 hour mark where I dumped rocks out of my shoe, read the historical plaque detailing the mining town's past and then jammed back down the road to the base of the pass.

The south side of Hope is unbelievably steep and I power hiked the whole section. I summited at about the 6:39 mark then rolled down the north side of the pass and back to Twin Lakes in just under 8 total. That made for a sub-6-hour double crossing which is not too shabby, not too shabby at all.

I headed back to the cabin where I showered, ate dinner then jammed back home to see my lovely Rach. She hooked me up big time with massive amounts of tasty and nutritious food for the weekend. I can't say enough about how helpful she has been throughout all of this. I honestly could not do this without her.

All in all, this was a confidence-building week and it was great to get out on the course with good friends. I finished up Hello Muddah on Monday (more about that later) and feel like it was very much a success.

Good times, good times.

~stubert.

Filed under: LT100, Ultra running, leadville trail 100, training Post your comment

7Jul/100

Busy bee…

It's a grind. ~ Soul Coughing

Mon 28 June: 00:29, 2.81 miles, Casa Trails barefoot
Tues 29 June: 00:59, 5.74 miles, Thorne Lake surges
Wed 30 June: 2:24, 8.48 miles, South Arapaho Peak
Thurs 1 July: 2:08, 9.5 miles, Arapaho Glacier Trail
Sat 3 July: 2:56, 17.95 miles, Cirque de Ned
Sun 4 July: 4.25, 22.64 miles, GGCSP Mega Zoo loop
Total: 13:33, 67.48 miles, 6495' vert

Seems like I get progressively tardier on these updates. Staying busy for sure.

This was a bit of an "off" week but I still managed over 65 miles and lots of good training. Summited South Arapaho on Wednesday in record time. Beat my previous record to the summit by 35 minutes – for the round trip. So a pretty decent effort. Headed back up there Thursday night with Bob and Brad for a good hike/run. We got stormed off at about 12,000 feet and pretty soaked in the dark on the way down but it was so worth the trip and great to spend some time with those guys.

Saturday, I ventured out on a great loop from my house to Nederland. Typically, this ends up being about 24 miles and 4 hours or so, so I asked Rach to pick me up in Rollinsville at about the 3-hour mark. Rolled in there a little early, feeling strong.

Sunday was spent retracing a route I first did in '08 with pretty poor results. This time, I added a couple of miles and decreased my time by about 30 minutes and felt solid throughout.

Definitely feeling the strain of all the training I have been doing these past 6 months. Rach reminded me the other night that I should enjoy the journey as well as the destination, and she is absolutely right. I'm looking forward to Camp 1: Hello Mudda in Leadville this weekend. Scheduled to run the first 23 miles of the course on Saturday, do a Colorado Trail out/back then double crossing of Hope on Sunday, then head home and do a night run on Monday. May spin Betasso laps for that. Spaces are still available and company would be most welcomed if anyone would like to join in the fun and/or games.

~stubert.

Filed under: Indian Peaks, LT100, Leadville, Ultra running, hike, training Post your comment

1Jul/101