Leadville 100 Race Report: Half Moon to Twin Lakes: Mile 30.5 – 39.5

I walked / ran the up and down section of the trail that heads around Mt. Elbert and eventually comes to a nice downhill into Twin Lakes. I did not feel bad, but my IT band was in so much pain that I could NOT run the down hills. I finally figured out how to put all of the weight on my left leg and run downhill. This was going to be a long day if this kept up. I was not going to let this beat me. I did not however record any video during this section since I was in concentration mode. Jason also pulled one of his Houdini impersonations by vanishing. This is the section where Anton got lost going out. I laugh because I know the exact place he got lost and where 2 guys in front of me made the wrong turn. What is funny is that when you are going as slow as I was, you have plenty of time to see the markers. I finally ran into Twin Lakes holding onto an almost 30 minute gap against my original goal. Despite my pain, I was making good time. As I stumbled downhill into Twin Lakes, recording of course, I saw my crew. I was happy, excited to have run 40 miles so far and be ahead of plan.

My nutrition plan for the day was working:

• Thermolytes every hour (1, 2 or 3 depending on heat, effort)
• Gu Gels every hour (1 or 2 depending on heat, effort)
• EFS in my water (electrolytes supplement)
• Aid Station and Crew Supplied Hard Food like Subway (Italian bmt toasted), peanut butter snacks, ramen, potatoes and salt (the best food of the day).
• Mt. Dew

As I sat down, a local resident yelled at my crew to move a bicycle that was laid against a fence. She was worried that the bike would knock the entire fence down. My crew just looked at her and told her to do it herself.

As I sat down in Twin Lakes, I ate well, smiled and mentally prepared for the Hope Pass throw down! At this point, my pacing team was not ready turned to find out. As I left Twin Lakes, I knew that would see Team T-Rex next. See you in Windfield.

Note: It was awesome to see all of the crews. I felt like all of the crews were there for me: Claire and Russ, Angie, Sarah, Kelly, Jen, Misa, Jeffrey. It was such a joy to see everyone. They were there which meant that the rest of my family was also out on the course. That was an awesome feeling.