8-11-12

Me: Leadville 100!!

Today was the day and wow, what a day!

A long, rough, but in the end...a good day.

Here is the recap...

6:30am: Lined up with 2100 + racers. Feeling good, excited and happy. Chaotic start, fast pace and then 2 medium hard climbs (St. Kevins and Sugarloaf) which didn't feel too bad.

8:40am: Bob & I stopped at the 1st support station, Pipeline. Danielle, Mike, kids and Wendy were here to help us.  I was having stomach cramping. Bob was feeling good. Bob and I rode most of the first two hours together which was great! After this stop Bob & I rode the next 45 minutes with a big group that had a good pace line going on the flatter sections. 

9:25am: Bob and I reached the 2nd aid station, Twin Lakes where our friends Kaylee, Highly and Laurel were supporting us. We ate PBJ, Pringles and kept going.

Columbine Climb: The longest & highest altitude (12,550') climb of the race. This is where Bob and I separated & started having difficulty. I was not getting enough food in nor drinking much even though I was trying. I had some chicken noodle soup at the summit and then headed down the mountain. I yelled at Bob as he was marching up (many sections of the course are so steep you have to walk & push your bike).

12:45pm I arrived back at Twin Lakes aid stop feeling horrible. Sat down in a chair and tried to eat and drink. I only got a bite of PBJ and 2 spoons of soup. I was worried about how I was feeling. Bob arrived at this aid station about 15 minutes after me. He also tried to force in the nutrition. The next hour of biking for me was better. I remember noticing how pretty it was riding the single track with the mountains all around. Neat to see the long line of racers ahead and behind. I was encouraged.

2:00pm: I got to the Pipeline aid station where Wendy was waiting. She did an awesome job. Again I tried to eat but couldn't. I stuffed some bars in my jersey but forgot to refill my water and kept going.

2:20pm: Powerline Climb. This was the most brutal section. This seemingly endless climb is incredibly steep. It requires pushing your bike a LOT. Danielle and Brooke were here to cheer and they walked with me a LONG ways up this mountain. Danielle tried to feed me small bits of bar but I couldn't swallow it. None the less, they were such a bright spot in my day! Thank you so much for being there Danielle and Brooke! When Bob came through a 1/2 hour later they did the same for him. By the time I reached the very top of Powerline I was devastated. I still had an hour and 1/2 to go. The lack of nutrition was having a huge effect on me. I was bonked! It was at the top of the Powerline climb that Bob vomited. He was suffering too. :-(

Mile 90: I ran out of water. I begged a couple swigs off bikers who passed me by. It helped. 

9hrs 37 minutes. I came across the finish line crying and so happy to be done. I wanted to be at the finish to cheer for Bob and others but Wendy took me to the medical tent where they kept me under observation. I was not breathing well, freezing & my heart rate wouldn't come down below 93. I was completely dehydrated and distressed from the effort with no nutrition. 

10hrs 22 minutes: Bob finished! He came over to the medical tent and though he was doing better than me he had a rough day as well. 

In the end though...it was a good day for many reasons:

I rode with my Dad on my mind throughout the race. It was 12 years ago today that he passed away. I wore sticker butterfly tattoos on my shoulder, arm and leg (from Brooke, Ashley and Tyler) as a beautiful reminder of a father I admire, love and miss. It was special.

3 years ago I would have never believed I could do this race, let alone be on my bike again. This is one of the toughest mountain bike events out there so I know I've come a long ways. I'm extremely thankful!

Despite the rough time we had, my time was under 10 hours (my goal) and I was 20th woman overall. Both Bob and I earned the small belt buckles for breaking 12 hours and we finished!

It was a perfect year to do Leadville with so many friends from Arizona and elsewhere competing. It made this an extra special vacation and event!

We had amazing support. It is hard work to be at the aid stations all day long, set up, wait for us to come by, feed us, cheer and then be there at the finish. We are so grateful to our family and friends. You are all awesome!

Bob and I trained many miles together, did some fun races in preparation and got to enjoy these past 3 weeks in Colorado with great people, seeing gorgeous places and doing cool stuff. We finished it off with an amazing experience at the Leadville 100. I'm so glad to have a husband to share this journey with. Congratulations, honey! You did great and you're the best!