The Heat is On

I never have done well with heat. My body shuts down to preserve itself. It feels like I'm drugged. I'm not talking about when I'm actually in the heat. My body knows when its hot outside, and it does this. My body tries to go into hyper-sleep. I can't think very efficiently because it feels like my brain is drugged. I just can't get motivated. It's like I have sleeping-sickness - can't ever wake up all the way.

My training is going poorly - I'm very under-trained.
I went to Real Endurance.com and tried their calculator to figure out a predicted finish time for the Leadville 100. Granted, I was really sick during April, and my performance for each race since then has been better and better - so things are moving in the correct direction. But the calculator says I'll barely finish. That's IF I finish, and the margin of error is great enough that I could even finish, but not make the 30hr cutoff.

Real Endurance.com calculator predictions
Based on...
Run Rabbit Run: 2.42+/-.31 = 24:03/27:34/31:08
Jemez 50: 2.15+/-.24 = 28:56/32:34/36:13
SJS50: 2.11+/-.23 = 29:12/31:40/35:06
Silver Rush 50: 2.65+/-.27 = 25:07/27:57/30:36
/29:55:30/

I'm feeling real un-motivated, though. Just not caring about the Leadville thing much anymore.
I went to log into the Leadville website today, but my login was invalid. They dumped all usernames and passwords. So i created an account last October, but in February I couldn't log on. And now in July, the account was no good and I had to create a new one. I'm so glad I'm not dealing with this race ever again. I work hard at a job that is full of hassles - but they pay me to put up with hassles. But when I'm not getting paid, the last thing I want are hassles. The Leadville races just aren't my cup of tea anymore. I'm not against them - it is quite a big enterprise. I simply don't want it in my life after this summer.
It's like the Pikes Peak Marathon - so glad I did it - once. I never want to do it again - such a zoo.
There are other races coming out all the time, and I want to stick to races that are simpler. Maybe abandon pay-for events and stick with adventures with my crazier friends who like to do Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, and stuff like that. I want to go back to work feeling relaxed - not like I've been run around a rat-race dotting i's and crossing t's.

Leadville Silver Rush 50 - 2011

I really like the 50. Not to hard, not too easy, fantastic scenery, awesome people, not far from home.
I overslept. Somehow, two alarm clocks didn't wake me. The light in the sky woke me at 5:24. Race start at 6:00. So plenty of time to get there, but not enough time to get there all organized. Forgot my GPS pod, which would have helped keep me on pace. Didn't have time to deliver my drop bag.
My goal was a new PR. That would require under 10hrs.
I sprained my ankle at about mile 21. That sure didn't help. But I've had worse sprains, and an icy pool of water was blocking the road right after that. I stood in there for several seconds before continueing.
I made it to the half-way turn-around in exactly 5hrs, but the wheels were falling off. So Plan B was to finish as well as I could.
10:50:29
Not fast, not slow, just a fun day.

Sheryl

One of my friends died over a week ago.

Missing Golden climber's body found on Mount Baker in Washington

She and her boyfriend were coming down from the peak and had to descend a large snowfield. The snowfield wasn't particularly steep. Conditions were complete white-out. Some other climbers started the glissade down the snow, then Sheryl started down, then her boyfriend. When he got to the bottom, the first climbers were there, but not Sheryl.
As it turned out, snowmelt had created a creek under the snowfield and had melted out a very deep hole. I think maybe it was over 20 feet deep. In the white-out, Sheryl never saw it until she was sailing into it. There is a strong flow of icy running water in the bottom.
That was July 3rd? I haven't been able to get a good date, but the story was out July 5th.
Sheryl's body still hasn't been recovered. Of course, its bad enough, and no one wants anyone else's life to be risked in a recovery operation. Still, its very hard to take.
Sheryl was a very happy and energetic person. She's very much missed around here.

Leadville Marathon 2011

Oh, man, this was the year I was slow. The first three years I ran this race, I did so well, each year doing still better than before. But this year I knew it wasn't going to happen. I finished in 5:45, or something like that. My PR was 5:05 - so close to sub-5hr. Next year. I need to stay injury-free.

Good news is my lungs are still cooperating. Not like normal healthy lungs, but not like they have been, either. My lungs weren't a factor at all.

For training, I ran on Mt Evans twice in the past several weeks. But I haven't had nearly the mileage I historically have logged. I'm just not fast. That takes more training.

It was an awesome weekend. My son came along and we had fun camping the night before and after the race.

The weather was perfect. That makes all my races this year! Am I Mr. Lucky or what? Just give me free entry into your race and I'll bring great weather! (Void where prohibited by law.)
I really enjoyed the race. I wasn't agonizing over a PR. I was certainly giving an honest effort, but nothing like the past.



It was a very good time. The race is extremely well supported, and is one of my favorite courses. It's like trying to run on a pile of rocks for 26.2 miles. Crazy. I love crazy-ridiculous courses, but the scenery is also fantastic.



These panos were all taken from the race course.