Author: Mike Aish, Mizuno Elite Race Team Member
Published on: October 28, 2016
I know it’s been some time since I crossed the line at Leadville, but after a crazy summer of training and racing I needed a few weeks to myself to decompress.
The last time I posted, I had just raced the 100 mile mountain bike race and the 10km back to back and I was tired. As much as you want to say that you ‘held back’ on the bike to save yourself for the 100 mile running race the next weekend, I’m not sure if you can really get that tired feeling out of your legs in time before you line up again on that start line.
The week after the bike race was ‘low key’ to say the least. I did a little running on the trails in Copper Mountain, I ate as much as I could, watched the track and field at the Olympics and slept a lot. It’s a crazy feeling to be tired from such a hard weekend of racing and know that you have the biggest challenge still to come one week later.
My goal for the LT100Run was 19 hours and 32 minutes. This would give me the record and hopefully be enough to hold off any other contenders. Any other normal year of just running, I would have said this would be an achievable feat. My best time for the course is 16:38. My plan was to go out and run the first half of the course at a normal relaxed pace, take my time getting over Hope Pass (both ways) and then see what I had in the legs on the way back. In the back of my mind, I was even thinking that I might be able to compete for a top 5 finish. Oh was I wrong…..
The first half of the race went to plan, I even stopped halfway up Hope to talk to an old friend I hadn’t seen in awhile who was out for a good spot to watch the runner’s go by. I got to the halfway point feeling good and ready for the hard work to start. It wasn’t until I had picked up my pacer and we were starting the climb back up Hope Pass that I started to really feel bad. Even with all the help my pacer was trying to give I just couldn’t get myself going. I couldn’t hold anything down and was throwing up all over the trail. I was having trouble moving my legs and I was holding onto trees to keep myself up right. I was barely moving and could do nothing as more and more runners kept coming past me on the way to the top.
One of the things I love about the Leadville Race Series is that you never feel like you’re alone out there. As bad as I was feeling (and must of looked) just about everyone stopped for a split second to see if I was ok and encouraged me to keep going. It was probably the most I’ve ever suffered, but I made it to the top. It felt like I was going to die. Over those 5 miles my GPS said I was going one mile an hour, just think about how slow that is for a minute.
After a quick lie down and a few cups of soup, I was off again at a slow walking pace, but I was in a much better frame of mind. I had given up on competing and now just wanted to finish the race. I figured that I had 20 hours to go the last 40 miles. I told my crew and pacer to give me a headlamp and a jacket and go home. I’d see them tomorrow sometime, and as always they didn’t listen to me. Before I knew it I had a new pair of shoes on and was off on the Colorado trail again heading for the finish line.
Now this is where things started to turn around….. For some reason I started to feel ok, like I could run a little and then that jog turned in to a real run and next thing you know I was running 6 minute miles, running like the cops were after me. In the section between Twin Lakes and Outward Bound I passed 17 people-most of whom didn’t believe I was still in the race, let alone still running. I felt great and was moving well. I even started to think that I might be able to stage a come back and get the Leadman title. Wishful thinking……
As quick as it had come, the great feeling in my legs disappeared. As soon as I passed through Outward Bound the legs gave up and I was back to a stumbling along the trail only stopping to throw up what little I had been able to hold down. I was out of gas and my legs were done. It took me 6+ hours to walk in those last 23 miles. When I got to the finish I was cold and barely moving. It had taken me almost 22 hours, but I had done it. It was not the race I had hoped for, but I was happy to have finished and put the final race behind me in the Leadman series.
As it happened, I ended up second overall in the Leadman standings and I was as surprised as everyone else. The guy that won, broke the record and what made it even better, was that he was a Leadville local. As much as I wanted the record, having it go to a local is pretty cool. Looking back, I’m not sure what went wrong. I’ve always had trouble with my knees around that 50-60 mile mark and maybe they were already a little stressed from the bike race the week before? I ate more than I have ever in the first 50 miles and didn’t feel like I could have drank anymore. Who knows….? That’s racing I guess.
Right now I’m resting and still trying to recover. I’ve been on my bike a bit and to the gym a few times. The body feels ok, but I still don’t have that “bounce” in my step. I’ve gained a little weight and spent a lot of time hiking with one of my dogs. From here, I’m not really sure what the next adventure will be, but I’m sure it won’t be far away….
