I have finally analyzed my nutrition from Leadville partly in hopes to figure out why my gut went sour but the numbers didn't tell me much. The photo is of me on top of 12,600 foot Hope Pass attempting to eat a piece of white bread. This is where the gut started to get bad!Here is first a laundry list of the foods and beverages I chose throughout my adventure:-Clif Shot Electrolyte beverage (lemonade flavor)-First Endurance EFS beverage-Water-Electrolyte powder (770 mg of sodium per serving!)-First Endurance EFS energy bars-First Endurance Pre-Race-Mashed potatoes-Cheese sandwiches-White bread-Ramen noodles/soup-Powerade-Powerbar powergelsMy nutrients totals for the just over 17 hours that I did complete include the following per hour:-Calories: 173 (goal of 300-350)-Carbohydrate: 38 grams (goal of 60-70)-Protein: 2 grams (goal of 6-10)-Branched chain amino acids: 1136 milligrams (no set goal)-Fat: 1.8 grams (goal was minimal)-Sodium: 455 milligrams (goal was 800-1000)-Caffeine: 89 milligrams (no set goal)-Fluid: 16 ounces (goa of 20-24)Now, while it looked like I did horrible at meeting my nutrition goals, I was almost spot on to my set nutrition goals through the first 40 miles . It wasn't until the last 20 where my nutrition started going downhill and not until the last 10 miles where it went downhill very quickly! There was a steady decline in my calories, carbohydrate, fluid and sodium intake the last 10 miles which was a product of my vomiting and inability to hold any foods or fluids down. All in all, it was a very successful race from a nutrition standpoint until about mile 50. I suspect it was partly due to altitude and the illness that plagued me for 3 weeks prior to the race. I'm still extremely happy with my decision at mile 60 to not continue and feel that I "grew up" as an endurance athlete during those 30 minutes of contemplating if it was worth my long-term health to try to finish.Nothing is more important in life than our health. Embrace it. Cherish it. For it is what allows you to live the quality life that you do and enjoy the journey we call life!Thanks for reading!Coach Bobcoachbob@fuel4mance.com
Find a comfy chair and a cup of your favorite beverage before diving into this post. It's a long read but I think you will find it enjoyable! The photo is of me coming in at the 40 mile mark feeling fantastic and ready to conquer Hope Pass!
Before providing my full race report, I think it is important to give the background behind this race and my motivation to do it again. Yes, I did say again. I am often told how strange (that is actually stating it nicely as you can imagine) I am for even contemplating entering races like this and while I cannot fully explain why I do, it’s just something that I have to prove to myself. I don’t do these types of endurance events for anyone else. It is purely an intrinsic motivator.
Okay, rewind to the year 2004 when I decided to enter the 2005 Leadville Trail 100 mile run. I just came off of completing the 2004 Leadville Trail 100 mile mountain bike race and was so impressed with the entire experience, I felt like I needed that next endurance test. The 100 mile run was it. Now I don’t call myself an experienced runner but something about running 100 miles at altitude intrigued me. My 2005 preparation went well. I did my first ultra-run of a 50k in April of 2005 and had a decent running base going into Leadville. I talked with many ultra-runners and read as much as I could to prepare. However, when I arrived at the start line in 2005 I was still terrified. I had no idea what to expect. I knew I could run but my longest training run was 36 miles so I did not know what my body would do after that point. I think my biggest fear was my nutrition. Even though it is my passion (and my job), you just never know what your body will or will not do during a 100 mile run.
Saturday, August 20, 2005. One day before my Mom’s birthday I toe the line for my true introduction to the crazy sport they call ultra-running. Cold, scared, anxious, excited, nervous…all emotions going through my head at 3:55am, five minutes before the race director’s shotgun started us. I vividly remember the first 47 miles of the race because I was having a great time. Nutrition was good, my body felt great and my mind was holding strong. As I began my 3400 foot ascent of Hope Pass (at an elevation of 12600 feet), I paced myself wisely by powerhiking and walking. As I reached the aid station just below the summit, I began feeling a bit of pain in my right shin. By the time I got to the summit, it was stabbing pain and was getting worse with each step. The hour descent from Hope was probably the most physical pain I have ever experienced in my life but I was able to hobble into the 50 mile turnaround where my crew took care of me. I told them of the pain in my shin and also told them that I was okay to continue (maybe I was just delirious from the pain!). So my pacer and I packed it up and headed out to complete the last 50 miles. Unfortunately, it was very apparent that I would be walking it to the finish line. Running was more painful than walking and walking was painful enough! Needless to say, 18 hours later I did finally cross the finish line, with 36 minutes to spare under the 30 hour cut-off time. It was a huge accomplishment and one that proved to me that physical, mental and nutritional limits can be tested! Oh, and by the way, that shin pain that I mentioned turned out to be a stress fracture! Yep, I walked the last 53 miles with a stress fracture in my lower leg. Live and learn I guess!
Now, fast forward to this past weekend. Before the race report, it’s important to understand why I would enter another Leadville. Say what you will but I did it because I needed to feel like an athlete again. I know it sounds strange but the athlete in me seemed to go into hiding when I moved to Florida. During the short time I was there, I felt unmotivated and did not want to train for anything. I did manage one half-marathon but that’s it. So, entering the 2007 Leadville run was a homecoming for me of sorts.
My preparation for this year’s Leadville went well. I was up to a 3.5 hour long run in early March and then it happened. During a trail run, I had the unfortunate experience of breaking my first bone…ever! It’s amazing what planting my right foot on a little rock in just the right place does to a fifth metatarsal! Luckily I did not need surgery but eight weeks in a walking boot set my training back a bit. I could not run, could hardly put any pressure on my foot while cycling and could only swim with a pull-buoy between my legs. Oh, and did I mention that my first race of the season before Leadville was Ironman Coeur d’Alene the last weekend in June? Needless to say, I finished the Ironman (for my sixth finish) in not a blazing time but with 5 weeks of run training, I was extremely pleased. Eight weeks to go after Ironman was Leadville and my training was ramping up well. I had recovered from Ironman and gradually got to running on the trails again. I had to be a bit careful with my healed broken foot but I did manage some great long runs. My longest run in preparation was 32 miles with a few 2:00, 3:00, 4:00am starts along with two bear sightings throughout the last eight weeks of training!
August 18, 2007. Leadville, Colorado. Elevation 10200 feet. I was mentally, physically and nutritionally ready for this race again. I felt completely ready to take on this challenge again. My crew and I arrived at the start line at about 3:30am, I checked in and was excited to run! Here’s my recap of the run aid station to aid station.
Start to May Queen campground, 13.5 miles. The five hundred plus field didn’t start to thin out until around mile 5. I knew this would be slow going from 2 years ago so I didn’t stress and just had a nice 13.5 mile warm-up. Got to the first aid station, got some fluids and food from my crew and on I went.
May Queen to Fish Hatchery, 10 miles. This section saw some great singletrack in the forest and also an ascent up Sugarloaf Pass to 11000 feet. Descending the infamous Powerline is always fun as it can be quite a quad burner. My strategy was to take it easy this year and go slower on the way down. I pushed it a bit too fast last time and theorize that this was one of the reasons for my stress fracture. It was a great hike up and descent to the next aid station. Grabbed more fluids and food, stripped off some clothing as it was getting hot, sprayed some sunscreen on and off I went again.
Fish Hatchery to Halfmoon to Twin Lakes, 16 miles. The first part of this was all on asphalt and dirt road. After checking into Halfmoon, it was a few more miles to the turn-off to the Mt. Massive trailhead. True to its name, after about a mile on this trail, there was an enormous climb. I was in a pack of about 10 runners and it was slow going for all of us. One foot in front of the other and my heart rate sounding like a drum beating in my head. After this summit, it was a beautiful singletrack run down into Twin Lakes. I was feeling fantastic and ready to conquer the summit of Hope Pass, the 12600 pass that posed a significant challenge for everyone.
Twin Lakes to Winfield, 10.5 miles. After loading up with fluids, food and rain gear, I was off. After about 8 stream and river crossings it was time to begin the hike. It took me almost 2 hours to get to the aid station just below the summit. About halfway up I started feeling something I had never felt before. It is hard to describe but it forced my steps to become shorter and slower and my breathing much more labored, even when my pace slowed down. It wasn’t one thing but a myriad of lightheadedness, dizziness at times and dry mouth. I suspected I was feeling a bit of altitude sickness. Great, spend 25 years of my life in Colorado, move to Florida for one year prior and look what happens? Have I no altitude advantage any longer? By the time I reached the aid station, I was in dire need of fluids. I filled up on some Coke and mashed potatoes and headed out to the summit. On this short, oh about 1 mile walk, I felt like a baby could have crawled faster than I was walking. There were many times that I had to stop and catch whatever breath I could at 12600 feet. I finally made it to the top, sat down for about a minute and decided to start my descent that would take me to the turnaround. Did I forget to mention that it rained the entire way up to the summit from Twin Lakes? Yeah, Mother Nature was not kind and the trail was turned from a nice dusty, rocky trail to a mudslide. More on that later.
Now one thing that I must have not remembered too well from 2005 (or I just conveniently chose to forget!) was how difficult the descent from Hope really was. There were many times that I could not stop unless there was a tree that I could latch my arms around. Rock fields, boulders, loose dirt and rocks made it challenging to get down in one piece. At about mile 47, I planted my foot on a rock right where I broke my foot 5 months prior. It hurt but not like it was broken again thank goodness! I had about half of the gnarly descent left so I did everything I could to protect my right foot from more danger. I finally made it to the Winfield dirt road and began my 2.5 mile trek to my crew and the 50 mile mark of the race!
Winfield, the halfway point. As I entered Winfield, I met my crew, they stripped off my wet shoes and socks, I lubed up my feet with some Hydropel, put on new shoes and socks and was ready to start again. Yes, I was feeling good and ready to get back up Hope Pass again. My pacer carried all of my gear on her back and we headed off. Immediately after leaving Winfield, my stomach began to give me problems. We walked and ran portions of the 2.5 mile dirt road to the trailhead and in that time, my stomach went from good to bad. The ugly part came soon thereafter as we began our ascent to Hope Pass. Braving the rain and very painful hail on the way up, it took us just over 2 hours to summit Hope, I was unable to eat anything and every time I drank water or sports drink, I felt nauseous. We did finally make it to the top and stopped for a chance for me to eat a piece of white bread and water (and to take some amazing photos from the top of our world!). By this time, not only was I not able to consume many nutrients but I was also cold, well, freezing to be exact. I was shivering furiously on the mile descent to the aid station and my pacer was beginning to worry. I sat down and consumed three cups of Ramen noodles with broth, then sat by the fire the volunteers had made before heading down to Twin Lakes again. Now, I had been challenged before in 2005 but not with my gut. This would prove to be a very enlightening as well as long 2 hour trek down the mountain; a trek that should have taken half that long on a good day!
As we began the descent on the mudslide called a trail (seriously, at times our shoes were buried 2 inches in mud!), I soon realized that the ugly that I had experienced climbing up to Hope, turned hideous. I started off fairly well from the Hope aid station but it only took about 10 minutes for the nausea and vomiting to surface. I don’t remember the exact intervals but the “slide” down the mountain included bouts of normal conversation with my pacer (that is, when she wasn’t having so much fun sliding in the mud!) with immediate bouts of stopping, grabbing my knees and giving the “heave-ho’s”. It actually brought me back to my freshman year in college but that’s another story! The long and the short of it was that during this 4 or so miles of coming down, I managed to dry heave more than I can count on my hands and vomited fluids a few times. And it always happened after I tried to drink. Red flag!
So here I am, the sports dietitian in me is trying to analyze the situation as best as possible. I had adequate fluids in the ascent and descent, was relatively okay with my sodium intake (the Ramen saved me!), was still peeing about every 1.5-2 hours but was still throwing up (albeit, not much since there was nothing in my stomach!). Take a drink, stop and try to puke. Hmmm…seemed a bit like a disaster in the making! My pacer and I finally made it to the bottom of the mountain, it’s dark and we have to cross the streams and rivers again. Now the entire time coming down, I was hotter than a Gator football player during two-a-days (hint: reference to my last job as a sports dietitian at the University of Florida in what I thought to be the most hot and humid place on the planet!). As I place my foot into the water for the first river crossing, I immediately broke into severe shivers. The kind where you think your teeth are going to fall out because they are crashing into each other so violently! Okay, so we make it through the water crossings and back to Twin Lakes, finally! I came in with 45 minutes before the cut-off time. We find our crew and I immediately lay down on the ground. Whoa, shouldn’t have done that! My crew freaked out a bit but they didn’t understand that I was coherent, just a bit tired of the rain, hail, mud, downhills and my gut by then! After a few choice photos taken of me on the ground (I hope to post a few later!), my crew helped me up and I changed into some warm and dry clothes. Here’s where the challenge really began.
The challenge was not physical, well not really. The decision that I did not want to make was finally upon me. Did I continue on and try to finish or have my wristband cut signifying my first ever DNF? I didn’t take this decision lightly, mind you. I took 35 minutes to make it and in that time I drank fluids, walked around, assessed the gut situation and really, really assessed the “why” behind what I was doing at Leadville a second time. As I mentioned previously, Leadville called my number again because I needed to find the athlete in me again after arriving back home in Colorado. Had I done that? Did I accomplish that goal? I had trained for Leadville since January, completed my sixth Ironman, had numerous long runs of 20 plus miles. Was I comfortable with the direction my life had gone? Decisions, decisions, decisions. My crew of course gave me their input and it was mostly to stop as they feared my health being severely compromised. They knew I hadn’t been able to keep all of my fluids and food down since the turnaround and they did not know what would happen if I had continued on to the next aid station 9 miles away. Would I make it? Would I pass out? Would I have to be hospitalized? All great questions they were thinking as was I.
So here it was. The clock was ticking. I had to make a decision. Back to the real reason of why I was here. Was it to prove that I could finish a 100 mile run? No, did that two years ago. Was it to prove to myself that I could do it again? Not really, I already did it once. The bottom line, after much self-reflection, was that I had already accomplished my goal. I found the athlete in me months ago during the journey of preparation. The race was nothing more than a means to an end but did I want it to end? Along my journey of finding my inner athlete again, I managed to inspire the athletes whom I coach (and some who had crewed for me), my kids, my wife and my mom through my training. I had learned that even though I didn’t feel like the athlete I was upon returning to Colorado that the pure joy of being in the mountains again brought back the life and athlete to me. But hands-down, the most important thing that I considered before making one of the toughest decisions in my life was that even though continually testing your physical limits is exhilirating, there comes a time where embracing the journey of health and fitness is more important than taking risks.
Could I have finished the race? Who knows. From a time perspective, the answer appears to be “yes”. But I learned more during those 35 minutes sitting at mile 60 in Twin Lakes, Colorado than I have in 14 years as an endurance athlete. I learned that the journey is truly more important than the end result.
Enjoy life. Love your family and friends and as my posted note on my computer screen at home reminds me daily, “do the right thing”.
Thanks for reading!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Less than one week to go and I'm just about ready! I've been holding onto a little illness for the past few weeks but it is gradually leaving my body. My hope (and prayer!) is that it is completely gone by Friday. Lots of rest and low stress this week will hopefully do the trick.This past week saw 5 days of pure rest (to try to shake this cold), a 12.5 mile trail run on Saturday and a 11.3 mile trail run on Sunday. I felt like I could run all day on Saturday. Sunday was more of a struggle because of the heat but I made it through! I tried to keep my heart rate low on both runs and walked a good portion at times to remain aerobic. It's crucial at Leadville to depend on aerobic energy as much as possible and walking seems to do the trick...most of the time. Put a 9.5% grade hill in front of me on Sunday's run and it was everything I could do to try to stay aerobic! Forget about that! It would have taken me crawling on all fours to get my heart rate low so since the hill was no longer than about 3/4 of a mile, I just decided to maintain a high heart rate for a few minutes. Good training for the last hoorah up the 12,600 foot Hope Pass climb at Leadville this weekend. Imagine having your heart rate so high that you cannot hear yourself breathe because of the intense lub, dub, lub, dub sounds coming from your chest region...then multiply that by about five-fold and that's what summiting a 12,600 foot pass at mile 46 feels like! You get the point...Physically I'm ready, I just need to get my immune system healthy. Mentally, I've never been so ready to start a race. Unlike two years ago when I did this race, I am looking forward to embarking on the journey because I actually know what to expect along the way. I was scared of the unknown in 2005. This year, I will conquer the known! Nutritionally, I should be ready. I mean, c'mon, I'm a sport dietitian right? Yeah, that's what I thought a couple of years ago also when almost all of the food I packed did not sound appealing and for the first time in my life, I bonked. Well, I'm two years older and wiser this time. I know my body better and will be packing a variety of products. I thought you would find my nutrition list entertaining so enjoy!Race day nutrition offerings (what my crew will have in the crewmobile during the race for my choosing):-Poptarts (must be the Poptarts brand, frosted strawberry as those are the lowest in fat and contain no trans fats!)-Red vines (they pack a caloric punch per vine...70 calories!)-Skittles (these saved my life in 2005 and are my "go to" food now)-M&Ms (I doubt I will use them but will have them for the extra fat and calories just in case)-Cheese sandwiches on white bread (nice and bland, a great break from sweets and a great thirst stimulator!)-Mashed potatoes enriched with a good amount of sea salt (I had these at the top of Hope Pass two years ago and just about stayed at that aid station forever because they were so good. Now, they will be with my crew at every stop)-First Endurance EFS Shots (liquid energy and electrolytes)-First Endurance EFS sports drink-First Endurance Ultragen (a post-workout drink but one that I may use on the course)-First Endurance Pre-race (a mental stimulator with caffeine that has worked wonders for me during my training)-Clif Shot Electrolyte beverage, lemonade flavor-Gatorade Endurance sports drink-Accel Gels-Carbboom gels-First Endurance EFS energy bars-Bakers Breakfast Cookies (mocha cappuccino and caramel apple!)-And to finish it all off, a bag of crystallized ginger in case the food processor I call my stomach gets a little upset!Now, I certainly won't eat all of these items but it's good to have this variety because what I like at mile 20 may not be the same as mile 80. I like to cover my bases if you can't tell! The worst thing that can happen to a sports dietitian is to not finish a race because of not having foods that work for my body. Although, in a 100 mile race, nothing is guaranteed!Thanks for reading. My next post will be a recap of the race...it's probably not going to be up too soon after I finish as I will need some R&R!Coach Bobcoachbob@fuel4mance.com
I don't know if it is dumb luck or not but the excitement of my last long run in preparation for Leadville included another bear spotting. I was running with my friend/Leadville racing partner and we spotted the black bear a couple of hundred feet from us. While it was not the close encounter I had last weekend of having the bear about 20 feet in front of me, it was still quite an adrenaline rush! The bear was running in the same direction we were headed so we proceeded with caution down the trail to see where he was headed (and to try to finish our run!).Lucky for us he disappeared and we were able to continue on, although not without frequent checks behind us to see if he was going to surprise us! After the bear spotting, the wildlife viewing was a bit more boring...only about 22 deer and a hawk. Did I mention how much I love Colorado?!This last big build week was a success. I logged in 64 miles which is the most I have ever run in one week and my body feels great outside of not being able to shake this cold that I have had for 2 weeks. I have entered my taper phase and will take the next 2 days off with another one spaced on later this week to get my immune system healthy again.This weekend started with a 13 mile trail run on Saturday followed by a 30-miler on Sunday, which started at 2am! It wasn't the 40 miles that I had hoped for but it was better to cut it short due to time (I wanted to get home to see my kids and let my wife have her training time...remember priorities!) and I just couldn't ding my immune system more than I already had. It was a bit difficult getting out of bed and trying to run 30 miles on a few hours of sleep but Leadville doesn't care how much sleep you had or not. Leadville beats you up physically and mentally so it's important to prepare for that. I didn't practice that in 2005 and swore that I would not make those mistakes again!As for my long run nutrition, I consumed 4 bottles of EFS lemon-lime with 1 scoop of Pre-race in each (200mg of caffeine!), a bag of Skittles, a white bread and cheese sandwich (hold the mustard and mayo) and 1.5 EFS bars. I should have eaten more and will make note of that for Leadville. I had to milk my last ounce of fluid the last 7 miles as we did not encounter a fluid replenishing station but I did survive until I reached home base, albeit dehydrated! Post-run saw me immediately consume a bottle of Ultragen (which was already prepared and waiting in the fridge when I got home...I preach being nutritionally prepared post-exercise!) then heading to the river by my house for a lower body soak of 8 minutes in the ice cold water followed by another bottle of Ultragen. Later that day I was at the swim beach with the kids, soaking the lower body in lake water in between building sand castles and buring my kids in the sand. Today, I feel great! No soreness, no aches and pains. I highly recommend ice baths post-long training. During every run the only thing I can focus on is Leadville (except for keeping an eye out for bears!). I am completely ready for this "race" mentally and physically feel like I can really do very well. Stay tuned for the next post. I'll include some photos of my nutrition preparation strategies so you can see the time I take to plan out my nutrition. I know, that's a shocker!Coach Bobcoachbob@fuel4mance.com
I'm talking about the highest ultramarathon in the country...the Leadville 100 mile trail race! Yep, Coach Bob is once again subjecting himself to the rigors of starting at 10,200 feet and peaking at 12,600 feet. Why you ask? Well, my wife says because I am crazy but really, I just love seeing how far my body can be pushed. I live my one of my favorite sayings, "If you don't push your body to the limits, how do you know where your limits are?".Leadville is just around the corner, August 18-19. I did the race and successfully finished in under the 30 hour cut-off time in 2005 but not without incident. At about mile 47, I really started to develop an excruciating pain in my right shin. It forced me to walk the last 50 miles and a few days afterwards, I found out I had a stress fracture. Live and learn! Fast forward to 2007 and I'm going into Leadville with a vengeance. I know I can break 25 hours as long as I do not experience any biomechanical or anatomical challenges other than the normal fatigue along the way. So the next few Fuel4mance blogs will be devoted to my physical and nutritional preparation for Leadville. I think it is very important to share since it differs quite a bit from the traditional ultratriathlon prep.Last weekend gave me almost 45 miles in a 22 hour span of time with a long, continuous run of 32 miles on mixed road and trail. Good nutrition (about 300 calories per hour and 16 ounces of fluid per hour which included an EFS bar, liquid gels, skittles and EFS sports drink mixed with one scoop of First Endurance Pre-race) during and aggressive post-run recovery (ice bath for 6 minutes, 2 bottles of First Endurance Ultragen immediately after and a nice continuous soak in a reservoir playing with my kids later that day) really lessened the effects of the run. Monday was a rest day and Tuesday I was back on the road!This is just such a cool story with a lesson somewhere in there that I feel I must share. My excitement last weekend was on my sub 2 hour trail run when I encountered a black bear about 20 feet in front of me on a trail that I frequent by my house. Talk about getting goosebumps! I stopped dead in my tracks and observed what his next move would be. Luckily for me, he ran up the mountain into the trees. My wife tells me that my next move wasn't very smart but you have to understand that I was on track to break 1 hour on this climb and I couldn't just turn around without making it to the top. I mean, I'm a competitive person! So, yes, I continued on (at a much faster pace!), reached the top narrowly missing my one hour mark by 2 seconds and headed back down. It was almost more frightening running back down as I had no idea where ole blackie was! But, since you are reading this, I obviously survived and came out with a great story! Did you pick up on the lesson? If you did, let me know because I still don't know what it is! :-)This weekend is the biggest of them all. I'll put in about 3 hours of pure trail running on Saturday (same bear trail!) and then will wake up at 2am on Sunday to head out for my 6 hour journey of which I will attempt to cover 40 miles continuously. Same recovery strategy of hopping in the reservoir with the kids since that worked so well last weekend!Check back next week for an update on how my epic training weekend went and what I did nutritionally to be successful! Thanks for reading!Coach Bobcoachbob@fuel4mance.com
