Last week I did my BIG race of the first half of the year, the Leadville Heavy Half! It was one I’d been contemplating for awhile. I new it would be really hard going from 10,000 to over 13,000 feet in the first half of the 15.5 mile course. I had a couple of friends who signed up with me. We hired a coach, who wrote a plan for us that didn’t seem overwhelming to me at all, but seemed like it would get us to the race well trained and healthy. We ran trails all winter long, despite the snow. We did some Fat Ass runs with a cool group of ultra runners, as well as lots of our girls! Training for this was awesome!
So, that is the course elevation map!! It’s a real tough one, far more difficult than any other trail race I’ve done up to this point. On race day, I was super excited and super nervous. I was glad to have Amy, Amanda and Caitlin to go up with! We ran into our coach Kim up there in time for a quick picture.
We listened to the pre race speech by Ken Chlouber. He told us to dig deep when the inevitable crisis came! What?? Oh shit, what’s going to happen out there? There was lots of walking in the first half uphill, and running in the flats and downhills. It was so beautiful you just had to take pictures. At the top of Mosquito Pass, Ken posed with us for pictures. I told him I hadn’t encountered any crisis yet, but my crisis could be if I fell. Naturally, I fell. I took it much slower on the second half due to leg cramps, but it was so much fun! I saw my friends along the way, and talked to many great people. I’m so in for next year now that I know what to expect and how to train a little bit better!!
WinoRunnerGirl 