Bouncing Back / Recovering

Gotta tell you... as far as post 100 recoveries go... this one is a bear.  More or less did nothing the entire week after Leadville except for a short mountain bike ride this past Saturday to loosen things up.

Started running again on Monday, an easy six miles on the trails around town... no real effort. Surprisingly enough, the legs felt better than I expected... everything else... meh...

Tuesday I went to the track and ran 8 miles which I just went ahead and turned into a MAF test just to make it interesting and to give me some motivation to keep from stopping. More or less about 20 seconds per mile slower at a HR of 145 than a few weeks ago. Makes sense to me right now...

Rode today... ugh... it took all that I had to put to the kit on and get going but I have to admit, after about an hour of riding I was feeling a lot better and was almost enjoying being on the bike for a change... okay, maybe I had more fun than that.... ended up riding a little over two hours with a 1200 calorie burn... Most of the riding was up in Hunter Valley and it is pretty up there now... it is amazing just how much the foliage is changing already...

I don't feel so tired overall, like throughout the body.... it's not a physical exhaustion so much as it seems to be more of a spiritual one. If I had to sum it up, it just feels like my soul is tired... I can't explain it any other way right now. It feels a little and maybe even presents itself as depression but i know that's not it...

It is amazing how 20 - 30 hours of hard effort can wreck the body and mind in a way that takes weeks to recover from. I mean a 50 miler, eh... I am off-kilter for a week maybe ten days... but a 100 miler takes many more weeks to recover from it seems. I guess it just goes to show what the cost of those miles after 50 or 60 miles really is.

But I must be doing something right during this recovery phase as my body weight has not gone up at all! I figured after taking all of last week off I'd had gained ten pounds at least... so that's a win! :)

The Leadville 100 Run - Post Race

So... the race happened... final result... 22:43 and change, depending on what you look at... 29th overall.

In a nutshell...

I trained my butt off this year.

I ran my heart out in the race.

It hurt.

A lot.

It is still hurting.

Being here - post 100 mile run - before I know it's going to take patience and time to bounce back. I just need to ride it out.

I am reticent to write a full blown race report on this one... Mostly because I don't know what to say but also because I don't feel like documenting a mile-by-mile regurgitation of the thing.

Also, for me, the race this year was personal. The work that went into it and the race itself was for a lot of personal reasons which I feel that I want to solely hold and know for myself. But if you are interested of what sort of motivated me, you can read about it here.

I will share the one thing that I learned in this race and the lesson is this... They always say that you never know who is going to show up for a race... I think most of the time we think of that in terms of other competitors who may or may not toe the starting line... but what I learned this weekend was that you also never know who is going to show up and that includes which version of yourself.

Leadville 100 Training Block #4 - July 20 - August 19

Well... I am done. I did my last training run, if you want to call it that, yesterday morning. Just three easy miles with my Wednesday morning running partner.... Today and tomorrow, no running. It's funny, two days off in a row... I don't remember the last time I went two days straight without running. Weird.

So training block #4... All running. NO bike.

259 Miles - 49:12:34 Running time.

The past few weeks have looked like this...

Week of 7/18 - 100 Miles - 18:48 Running Time - 23,009 Vert.
Week of 7/25 - 81 Miles - 17:38 Running Time - 16,759 Vert.
Week of 8/2 - 60.3 Miles - 11:14 Running Time - 12,910 Vert.
Week of 8/9 - 31.1 Miles - 5:03 Running Time - 6,040 Vert.

This week will be a 100 mile plus week... it's just going to look different... LOL. Easy four miles on the track Tuesday morning with some strides thrown in and then yesterday's easy three around town.

So... physically... yeah... I believe I am ready. From a mental POV... not quite there yet. I started struggling with the idea of actually running 100 miles this past Saturday morning when I woke up. No matter how you slice it... 100 miles is a longed damned way and though I have done it several times before... it still seems huge.

Goals... Sub-25. Beat 23:18. Beat 23:18 by a huge margin... Hint - consider the time delta between my 2014 and 2015 Run Rabbit Run results. Then of course... there is always the "just finish the damn thing," goal.

I read a neat quote yesterday that I have kicking around in my head...

"Big occasions and races which have been eagerly anticipated almost to the point of dread, are where great deeds can be accomplished." - Jack Lovelock

I can't say that I am dreading this weekend but I am ready to get it done. Or at least get started...  I have questions that need answering and the only way to find those answers is to get the first 13-30 miles behind me on Saturday.

I have plans for the race but we all know about plans and god laughing... and especially plans as they apply to 100 mile races... As one of my friends is fond of saying... "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

I know that it will be in the first two hours when I find out if I even have a chance at reaching my goal. It's either going to be there or it's not - a rather binary situation really. The speed I need will be there or it won't in accordance to the level of effort (heart rate) that I know I can sustain for 100 miles. If it is... great. If not... I know I will still do well but I WILL have to peacefully accept and adjust my expectations accordingly.

Yesterday, I wrote an article, Why We Fear Success, which delved a little deeper into my thoughts about this year's LT100 and everything that has gone into it.

On the surface it seems easy... each split that I want to hit during the race I know that I can do on any day... easy. The question is can I make those splits segment after segment for 100 miles. And if I fall off on pace how hard do I push it to make up time or to get back to where I want to be, etc?

One of the biggest things that I can not control but actually looks to be strongly in my favor for this one is the weather. It is going to be cool in Leadville this weekend with the highs only in the 50's on Saturday. I am excited about that!

In regards to the "being there mentally" thing... one thing I do have to consider is that maybe it isn't that I am "flat" or not psyched up or just not excited about it all... maybe it is just that I am relaxed about the whole thing, and if that is the case, relaxed is good.

A funny observation... yesterday I packed all of my stuff for the race. When I did the race in 2010 for the first time, we had the back of the Cherokee crammed full of stuff just for me for the race... Tons and tons of crap. When I finished packing yesterday, basically everything that I need - clothing, fuel, bottles, all of it, fits neatly into two reusable shopping bags. Definitely a case where less is better and I am sure Melissa and Annie are grateful for that.

Anyway.... not much else to say on the subject... I do intend for this to be my last LT100 run... Yes, I know I have said that before... but this time I mean it. REALLY!!! I love Leadville and the races and I always want be involved in some fashion, but from here on out I think I want it to be in more of a support role be it crewing, pacing, volunteering etc..

This is to be the last one (I think) and I want to go out on top... whatever that may end up looking like. When it is all said and done the only thing I can do is to do my best and no matter the outcome, as long as I know THAT - it's all good.

See ya on the other side!