CF Documentary

In January 2012 Holly and I were interviewed and filmed for an upcoming documentary on individuals with CF (as well as their significant others) who are thriving and accomplishing incredible feats despite dealing with the disease.

After recently checking on the progress of the movie, I discovered it is now in post-production, and the full trailer can be seen here:

http://www.livingxtreme.org/

Additionally, here is the poster for the film. Why does this picture look so familiar?!

Lastly, I've updated my race schedule for 2013. My next blog post will explain why it is so empty... not the best news to share, unfortunately.

Brooks

Rocky Raccoon: Live Tracking

For those of you that want to keep tabs on how this weekend's big race unfolds from the comfort of your own home, there should be a live race tracking link posted on the main Rocky Raccoon page (http://tejastrails.com/Rocky.htmlcome) Saturday morning.

If not, here is a reliable Twitter source for all updates ultrarunning-related:
https://twitter.com/#!/iRunFar

The race will be starting at 5:00am MST, and if all goes as planned, I'll be done well before midnight... ASSUMING mother nature even allows me to get down there. Looks like a nasty blizzard is coming through tomorrow and Friday which might impact this. Fingers crossed; I don't want all this training to be for naught!

Brooks

2012 Rocky Raccoon Predictions

(1/30/12 - THIS JUST IN: Hal Koerner is now on the entrants list!)

The taper is on!
With nothing to do this week but geek out about running while not actually doing any running, I'll post my prediction for next weekends big race. This year's field is by far, much less competitive than 2011, with a couple notable exceptions, aka Ian Sharman (RR100 record holder), Karl Meltzer (Mr. Hardrock), and Oswaldo Lopez (2011 Badwater winner).

While fully expecting these guys to decimate the rest of the competition, it still puts me in a position to potentially snag my first top-10 finish at a 100 miler. For whatever reason, I have had relative success at the 50 mile distance, but these 100's still escape me.

With cautious optimism, here's how I predict the race unfolding:

1. Ian Sharman; for obvious reasons. Predicted time: 13:12
2. HAL KOERNER; last minute entrant and my obvious 2nd place choice. Predicted time: 13:24
3. Karl Meltzer; he's a machine with more 100 mile experience than anyone else in the field. Predicted time: 14:14
4. Oswaldo Lopez; not too familiar with this guy, but looking at past race times, I could see him running sub-15. Predicted time: 14:55
5. Dan Vega; he beat Karl at a fast 100 miler last spring in 15:35. I think he'll be a little quicker here. Predicted time: 15:20
6. Liza Howard; I see her continuing her streak of improved 100 miler times. Predicted time: 15:25.
7. Tony Clark; he's run sub-17 before, so I expect him to do it again. Predicted time: 15:50
8. Brooks Williams; without any other names jumping out at me, I see a spot with my name on it. Predicted time: 16:31
9. From here on, it's a crap-shoot...
10. ---

Who'd I miss?!

Brooks

Treasures, Me Matey!

(1/28/12 - photos to follow)
About a month ago while out on a 38 mile run along the highway I found a couple of torn up, run over, and mangled plastic ziplock bags in a roadside ditch. Why they caught my eye, I don't know, but I decided to run into said ditch and retrieve them. What I found were bags full of small red stones, and a few minerals. I honestly thought they were for a Bedazzler, but decided to throw them into my pocket, just in case.

Fast forward a few days:
After going to numerous jewelers and gemologists, tt turns out the baggies full of red stones were all natural rubies - 44 of them to be exact. They are all low grade, primarily, but rubies none the less! "Hmmm", I thought... it was a longshot, but I decided to head back up the highway with Holly and go treasure hunting, just in case there were more to be found.

Fast forward a couple more days:
There we are in a litter-filled ditch enjoying semi-truck diesel fumes along with other 60-70 mph vehicle traffic less than 15 ft away from us. What were we thinking?!
And then...
BAM! I see another tiny ziplock bag, but wait, EMPTY. Despite this, our hopes were now up; at least we had found the right spot.

Fast forward to an hour later:
Holly and I have now found 10-12 more baggies full of all sorts of precious-looking gemstones - probably another 100+ stones altogether. Even if we discovered they weren't valuable, it was still a rush to find these little treasures in the ditches, in the middle of the road, and loose in the rumble strips on the highway.

Fast forward a month:
After doing my due diligence to make sure there were no gems reported stolen in the region, I went to several more gemologists to inspect my newfound stone collection. It appears I have:

• Emeralds (LOTS of emeralds and at least one that is worth several hundred dollars)
• Rubies (LOTS of rubies, none of which are worth more than 15-20 bucks per carat)
• Tourmaline (possibly the coolest looking of all the stones, several are of jewelry quality)
• Blue Topaz
• Mystic Topaz
• Opal
• Sapphire (this is the most perfect of all the stones, but the jury is still out on its authenticity)

What this has yielded besides POTENTIALLY a few bucks in my pocket, is yet another adventure and benefit of getting out there and running!

This latest find got me thinking about some of the other random crap I've found on the roads and trails:

• Driver's Licenses (x2) - Returned to grateful owners.
• Wrap around ear warmers - I got at least a season's use out of these bad boys!
• Hubcaps - Some of which I've kept...
• Sunglasses - Specialized bike glasses that have protected my running eyes on several occasions.
• Money - Small denomination bills and numerous coins... nothing too impressive.
• Golf Balls - I like to pick these up and save them for some reason.
• Gear from a plane crash - One of my coolest mementos, behind the gemstones!
• TBD... I'm not done exploring yet!

I highly encourage everyone reading this to lace up the shoes, and hit the road or trail with your eyes open and your hopes up... happy hunting.

Lastly - on a more serious running note - the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler is less than a week away... I'm hoping the hay is in the barn, so to speak. I banged out my last long run today (20 miles @ 7:12 pace), and am hopeful for a PR at Rocky. In 2010 I ran 17:31 there, so anything below that will be considered a success, based on only having 8 weeks to prepare. To be continued...
Brooks

2011 White River 50 Preview

Here's what I know so far about this coming weekend:

1. Lots of snow still. What this means is fixed ropes and miscellaneous treachery for about 2 miles of the course. CAN NOT WAIT!
2. Bib #4. This is the same number I had when I won Brew to Brew in April. I'm not superstitious at all, but I'm still excited to have gotten this race number.
3. Live tracking via Twitter. I don't know much about this Twitter crap, but if you just can't contain your excitement and need to know where the runners are at at all times, then go to: http://twitter.com/#!/whiteriver50
4. If you aren't familiar with the race, here is Tony K's race report from the first year he won it ('09). Lot's of cool photos, as well. http://antonkrupicka.blogspot.com/2009/07/white-river-50.html

I had an A goal of running <7:15 going into this week, but after hearing more about the course conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if only the top 1 or 2 guys go this fast. This being the case, all time goals are out the window, and I would be ecstatic with claiming a top-10 at this iconic race, regardless of how long it takes me. We shall see!

Oh, and finally, I predict a big win for the recently unstoppable Andy Henshaw. He's super fit right now as he is looking to improve on his world-leading 100k time from April, when he races in the 100k World Championships in September in the Netherlands.

Into the Mind of Brooks: Mental Training

I've been analyzing my running abilities (and life in general) lately, and something I ponder frequently is what it is that has made me stronger and faster at races this year. What I've started to realize is that there is no real trick or shortcut to it, but rather, a few reminders that make the suffering more palatable. Everybody's mind and body will work slightly differently than mine, but for what it's worth here's what works for me:

1. Past experiences: After 2 1/2 years of pummeling my body at 50-100 mile distances, I've learned that humans are resilient creatures, and it takes a LOT to kill a person. Case in point: I'm sitting here writing this. And while I've certainly tried  at races (read: 2009 Minnesota Voyageur 50), nothing has proved fatal. This is a vital bit of knowledge when the going gets tough... I simply have to mentally remove myself from the current moment and current suffering and remind myself that this too, shall pass, that it won't kill me, and there is no reason to stop pushing.
2. The faster you go, the sooner the suffering ends: Easy concept. Difficult to execute at times.
3. The 'Small Drop in a Big Bucket' concept: This is one I came up with around mile 80 at last years' Leadville 100, and it has had the greatest psychological impact for me when I enter super-suffer mode. During a 100 miler, think about how short of a time period the 20-30 hours you're out there is in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it will be the worst 24 hours of your life, but consider how you have 8,736 hours to recover and NOT be in that level of pain until next year (assuming you don't swear off running altogether). Really doesn't seem like that long then, does it?
4. Confidence: I don't know what this years LT100 field looks like yet, but I'm sure there will be 20+ runners at the starting line who are more talented, more fit, and stronger than me, but I doubt there will be 5 who can endure and push through as much pain as me. I consider this to be a great equalizer at the 100 mile distance.
5. Regrets: Nothing has eaten away at me, and bothered me as much as my DNF at last years' Hardrock Hundred. Period. I plan on it being the last DNF I ever experience. Knowing the regret I still feel because of it provides all the motivation I need to keep grinding.
6. Something to prove: I'm a bit of an anomoly, having Cystic Fibrosis and still doing ultra-distance racing. I like knowing that I'm doing something previously unfathomable, and want to see just how fast I can get despite this minor disadvantage.

Oh, almost forgot... this was in this months' Ultra Running magazine:

2011 Collegiate Peaks 50

I'm a little bummed that I didn't get to writing this sooner - since the memories aren't burned as intensely into my brain as they were early in the week - but regardless, this years' edition of Collegiate Peaks was a memorable race and I had a completely full weekend with good friends.

My buddy Sean, who was going to be taking his first stab at the 50 mile distance, and I hit the road in the early afternoon on Friday with prospects of great weather all weekend. As I look back, it was really almost too nice, in that mother nature really cranked up the thermostat for the race on Saturday, and left me with a sunburn that would make a snake jealous. I'm still leaving a trail of dead skin everywhere I go almost a week later! Oops. When you're dumb in the head, your whole body suffers.

Friday evening consisted of checking into our hotel, having a minor-freakout when I realized I didn't bring my salt tablets (thanks for saving my bacon on that one, JT), and then meeting our friends Marc and Amanda - who were also racing on Saturday - for some food and beer at Eddyline Brewery. Marc was also planning to attempt the 50 mile distance for the first time.

(The pre-fight weigh-in between Sean and myself.)



In the weeks and months leading up to this race, thanks to Sean and Marc, I was reminiscently able to get small doses of the excitement and fear of the unknown that goes with taking ones first plunge into ultra-distance running. It was infectious and great to see that fire again. This went a long way to motivating me as well, because, even though running is a huge passion in my life, I do unintentionally find myself viewing races as just another day at the office from time-to-time. Being around these two, training with them, and being able to mentor - when needed or wanted - served to reignite the fire in me and remind me just how great it is to push our bodies to the limit and see where our personal boundaries lie. Thanks, guys.

Getting back to the story, Saturday morning arrived quickly after some surprisingly restful sleep, and the morning routine began. Marc and I decided to arrive at the race a little later than the rest of the gang and had about 30 minutes to lay out our drop bags, mingle, take potty breaks, and get mentally ready to suffer all day in the heat. When it's almost 50 degrees out at 6:00am at 8,000ft elevation, you know you're in for a doozy...

I lined up in front with the fast guys (Ryan Burch, Duncan Callahan, Dylan Bowman, Corey Hanson, etc.), took a deep breathe, and then began the routine... left foot, right foot, water, sugar, salt, repeat. This was my first attempt at the 50 mile distance this season, and I honestly was looking forward to the dull pain that comes with running for the equivalent of a normal work day, vs. the intense pain of pushing at your body's redline for a short period (ie: a road marathon, ie: Boston, ie: a 5k, ie: the Incline).

Within ten minutes the gloves and armsleeves were already gone, and it was time to suffer. I was running at a steady, relaxed pace for the first 8 miles and was still within eyesight of the leaders for about 6 of them. Once obligatory bowel movement #1 took me into the trees around mile 8, I rejoined the pack after losing about 10 positions and was quickly in my element. I really begin actually racing if I'm a ways behind in the pack and always do better playing the hunter, and not the hunted.

Sean caught me shortly thereafter and made the first pass of what would turn into many in our all day game of cat and mouse. This lead was short lived though as he had to stop for his first pit stop shortly thereafter. I held on for another mile or two, and then when I began walking to eat a GU, Sean quickly passed. This was during the long sustained uphill section leading to the mile 17 aid station, and knowing this ascent can take a lot out of a guy, I was content hanging back about 200-300 meters as long as I kept him in my sight. We crested this climb together and then after some strategic talk, we began our long descent to the turn around with the plan of sticking close together and letting gravity do the work while we saved our legs for later in the day. We had no idea where we were in relation to the rest of the pack, but looking at our watches, it seemed that we were on pace for about a 3:30-3:35 first lap, which I'd assumed would have put us only about 10-15 minutes back from the leader.

Wrong.

I was soon in for a surprise when I crossed paths with Ryan (who was on his second lap which goes the opposite direction and allows you to see where you are in relation to all the other runners) at the same spot as I saw Andy last year. The difference this time was that I was 10 minutes faster than the year before and yet I was just as far back in the field. It was obvious that if he held it together for the next 24 miles or so, that he had a Course Record in the bag. (That was exactly what happened, too, as he won with a time of 6:37, after a 3:09 first lap.)

I hit the Start/Finish area at 3:29 - about 1-2 minutes ahead of Sean - and made quick work of getting in and out. It ended up being only a 3 minute break, due in part to the fact there was no water to cross this year, which meant no shoe/sock changing. By the time I got out of there I had about a 3 minute lead on Sean, with several other 50 mile runners within 2-5 minutes of us.

On the long climb after the turnaround, I was quickly made aware of the price I'd be paying for the rest of the afternoon... 1) It was HOT. 2) My legs were heavy and feeling cramp-ish. 3) It had only been 3 days since my strep-throat symptoms had begun to subside, and I was feeling extremely fatigued. It had taken a lot more energy than normal to turn a 3:30-ish first lap.

After enduring about an hour of this misery and (surprisingly) being able to run almost every step, the heat finally caught up with me and in classic Brooks fashion, I started projectile vomitting all over the place. Projectile. Everywhere. I was still crossing paths with 25 mile runners at this point and a few of them were lucky enough to get a show and see why it's just plain stupid to run 50 miles. Unlike similar past situations though, I felt remarkably good after purging and never considered quitting or dropping out. No matter how awful you feel during a race, you just have to remind yourself that 'this too shall pass' and that you'll bounce back and feel human again at some point.

Once I crested at mile 32 and had several downhill recovery miles to eat, drink and relax the legs, I was determined to beat my '10 time and, was ready for the long grind to the finish. Despite not feeling great, having familiarity with a race course helps tremendously from a psychological standpoint, until...

... I glanced over my shoulder and saw a pursuer closing the gap quickly. It was none other than Mr. O'Day (again). I felt defeated since I'd been pushing a pretty hard and consistent pace for a couple hours and assumed I was putting a gap on the competition. Rather than pushing my already gassed and cramping legs any harder, I opted for Plan B: Pull off into the bushes and take a dump while Sean runs by. If nothing else, I was going to make him lead and do the hard work now, because I was done.

We ended up running/hiking about 1-2 miles together and decided that we would tag-team the rest of the race and finish together. We both arrived and left the mile 44 aid station together and hit the final descent back into Buena Vista. What I didn't realize was just how much energy Sean had spent trying to catch me all afternoon, and I soon found myself running alone after his tank hit empty.

From here until the finish, it was just a matter of racing the clock. I say this because I hadn't seen another runner (besides Sean) since the 25 mile mark, when I saw Duncan and Corey in 3rd and 4th. Having run the entire 2nd lap alone I really had no idea of where everyone else was and therefore lacked motivation to really push it. The only update I received was at the second to last aid station, where I was informed I was about 15-20 minutes behind 3rd and 4th. Regardless, I was able to run a consistent clip to the finish, arriving 7 hours and 38 minutes after starting. This time was 8 minutes off my 2010 time, and good for 5th place despite the various issues I was dealing with. I was less than five minutes behind 3rd and 4th, and got a huge confidence boost being closely behind some big name guys! Shortly thereafter Sean came through, clinching a 6th place finish in his first ultra, with a time of 7:45. Rounding out the hugely successful day for the Colorado Springs contingent, JT ran a 50 mile PR of 8:06, and Marc finished no worse for wear in just over 10 hours.

(Rounding the last corner.)



(Marc finishing. 10:09)

(Medicine.)

 

(3rd place age groupers get bananas.)

  Nap time followed, and a few adult beverages were in order to numb the pain!

(Seemed like a fitting backdrop!)

On a side note, my running streak ended last week after 90+ days without a break and I've only run 3 out of 8 days since the race, but my body has been begging for rest for a while and with no races in my imminent future, I'm surprisingly okay with this time off!



June is still up in the air as far as racing goes, since I'm still quite a ways back on the waitlist for San Juan. This leaves me with some options, which include Bighorn, or possibly just no racing whatsover. I'm all about being smarter this summer and making Leadville the one that counts, so we'll see what happens.

For todays musical selection that JT can make fun of: 'Portugal. The Man'. I just saw these guys play an incredible show last week in C-Springs... enjoy.

Music and Maturing as a Runner

As far as hobbies and interests go, music is easily my 2nd biggest passion. Not being musically gifted myself, I think this has only enhanced my appreciation of it, and my respect for those who are. This post is going to be a little off-subject in that I primarily want to talk about music, but there is a major correlation with running...

I've gravitated further and further away from the iPod being a necessity while running as I've progressively begun to love the actual act of running more and more. This is a change for me, because until about a year ago, I truly disliked the running part of running (weird, right?). Instead, I just loved the overall health benefits and great sense of accomplishment that came with competing, and completing super long distances under my own power. The thought that I was doing distances that nobody else with CF had ever covered would generally help motivate me to keep going, despite my muscles and joints telling me I sucked. Besides this psychological incentive in the back of my mind, music always provided a key distraction while logging miles.

Let's fast forward to 'Brooks 2011'.
I can honestly say that I love running now, even with all the pain and suffering that goes along with it. Because of this, it's no longer a neccessity to have tunes with me while running, but I still find they help my mind-game tremendously when going really long... generally after the 4-5 hour mark. In the last year I've done numerous marathons and 50 milers sans tunes, but I still prefer to have the option, so I will always carry the iPod at an ultra, just in case I hit a super low point, and need the distraction to pull through it. That's the correlation music and running have with me.

Now it's time to just talk music.

2010 was a great year for Indie music, which is a broad term for the genre I primarily listen to. I don't want to bore you with a laundry list of obscure bands that you may or may not have heard of, or that you don't even care about. Rather, with the Grammy's being just a few weeks ago, I've been trying to decide what my top albums of 2010 were. It was great to see Arcade Fire take album of the year - since they still aren't really considered a mainstream band - and I agree that they are phenomenal, influental musicians in the Indie genre, but was 'The Suburbs' worthy of this honor?

In my book, they definitely deserved to be in the running, but I don't give them the top spot.
Here are my top-5 albums of 2010, in order:

1. Foals - Total Life Forever
2. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
3. Geographer - Animal Shapes
4. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
5. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Here is a sampling of each if you've got the time.







A couple other bands/albums worth mentioning are Ratatat (LP4) and Against Me (White Crosses).

In preparation for the challenge of running a seemingly endless number of road miles at Brew to Brew next weekend, I'm putting together a new running playlist to fight off the bad thoughts. Currently getting the most playtime is Phantogram, a band D-Rock (aka Tony Krupicka) just made me aware of last week.Thanks, man... I can't get enough.



Until next time, enjoy!

Leadville Training Weekend

My buddy Brandon and I have talked about meeting up for a winter training/play weekend in Leadville for about a month now, and finally last weekend all the pieces came together and we were able to get some altitude training in, and also watch all the random festivities at their yearly winter carnival. This included:

• Ski-Joring - aka: Getting pulled behind a pissed off horse in full gallop and launched off large man-made obstacles in front of hundreds of jeering spectators. Everyone is somehow disappointed every time a skier has a successful run because watching idiots crash and burn is way more entertaining!
• Sled-Dog Racing
• Nighttime Mountain Bike Racing - Temps in the teens at the start. Nothing athletic in Leadville appears sane!

Leadville Crystal Carnival from Brandon Fuller on Vimeo.

While on the subject of Leadville, Brandon has also just launched a new site dedicated to all things LT100 related. Check it out at: http://runleadville.com/

Finally, after scrounging around there for a while, I also found this cool video of the 2010 race start, featuring yours truly at front and center. Duncan is squatting down to the left of me, and Tony sneaks in next to me just seconds before we take off.

February 2011 Recap

February's statistics:

# of days I ran = 27
# of miles run = 226.5
Average miles = 8.39/day
Longest run = 30 miles

Last month I continued with the theme of consistency, only taking February 4th off, and am currently at 25 consecutive days of running. In this time I've also begun doing structured speedwork 1-2 days a week. This aspect of my training will be reduced after Brew to Brew and Boston, which I consider my 'fast' races of the year, but in the meantime, I'm seeing strength gains previously unknown. For example, I was able to run 8.5 hilly miles through the Garden of the Gods in 54:39 last night - a PR by nearly 4 minutes. While this new facet of training has left me more tired (and hungry) than usual, I'm amazed by how quickly my speed and strength have increased.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing as I have a handful of aches and pains that I've been training through, which include sciatic pain from overly tight hamstrings, an inflamed right achilles, and residual left shin pain from all the early season pavement miles. Despite not wanting to break my consecutive days streak, I'm not being foolish, and if my body mandates it, I'll take a day or two off.

February also contained two great training races that were incorporated onto the end of long training runs. The first was our local Winter Series III 10-Miler in Monument, CO which followed a 20 mile warmup run from Downtown Colorado Springs. Despite the fatigue and terrible, snowy conditions on the trail, I was able to manage 23rd place out of 500 runners to end my 30 mile day.

Similarly, last weekend I added the Winter Series IV 12-Miler in Black Forest, CO to the end of my long run (20 miles total) and despite feeling lethargic, managed 20th place out of approximately 450 runners.

While I only do shorter races like these for fun - with no intentions of being competitive - they are a still a great benchmark of my overall fitness and have managed to boost my confidence as I approach my first 'real' races of the year.

The plan for March is to continue increasing the overall mileage in hopes of hitting the 250-260 mile mark, and will include the Salida 'Run Through Time' Marathon on the 12th. This will provide me with my first real test of 2011.

Brooks

January 2011 Recap

My month in a nutshell:

• # of days I ran = 29
• # of miles run = 188
• Average miles per run = 6.48/day

After taking virtually the entire month of December off, the theme for January was consistency. Even though my mileage wasn't super impressive, I quickly started to get strong again and for the first time in almost two years, I'm running pain free! Somehow, I just woke up one morning and the Plantar Fasciitis pain was gone. And by averaging just over 10k per day, I'm nearly running the mileage I was at in July/August last year.

Overall, I'm pleased with where I'm at fitness wise, and the fact that I successfully avoided the most recent wave of sickness (chest cold/flu) that's been going around my office.

Highlights of the month:

1. Back-to-back long run weekends (32 mile and 23 mile days).
2. Beating JT at the Winter Series II 8 miler. (He'll deny it since I registered as 'Dirk Diggler', but it still happened. Oh, and ignore the slow times, we'd run 15 miles before the race.)
3. Running into a rabid squirrel who was chasing its own tail.
4. Meeting and (briefly) running with Scott Jurek.
5. Making page 21 of Runner's World.
6. Being touted as the featured athlete on the Brew to Brew race website.

With just over two months until I begin my 'official' race season, my main goal is to steadily increase the mileage while starting to incorporate speed work, tempo runs, hills, and interval training. Both of my April races are going to be more about leg speed than endurance (Brew to Brew, and the Boston Marathon), so it's time to get my butt moving.

Last but not least, my good friend Andy Henshaw just laid down a 2:26 marathon in Miami last Sunday, which has also inspired me to run fast! With a little help from him and others, I'm putting together a training plan that will hopefully have me in sub-2:45 shape by Boston.

Brooks

Ponderous Posterior Pikes Peak 50k

Yesterday was the final 'race' of the Colorado Fat Ass 50k series, which comprised of three informal events across the Front Range: Boulder in November, Ft. Collins in December, and Colorado Springs in January.

The field for these informal races would make any race director jealous, with Scott Jurek, Matt Carpenter, Tony Krupicka, Scott Jaime, Justin Ricks, Joe Grant, JT and yours truly all running. Despite not being prepared to run an ultra-distance event just two weeks into the new year, and nearly equalling my year-to-date mileage in one run, I was NOT about to miss the opportunity to run with these guys.

The course was a 'best-of' collection of our local trails which provided a treat for people unfamiliar with the area and locals alike. There was an abundance of single-track, fresh powder, gnarly climbs and descents, beautiful views of Pikes Peak, and thousands of feet of elevation gain/loss. For those of you familiar with the trail network around Colorado Springs, we hit the following: Garden of the Gods, Rampart Range Road, Williams Canyon, Waldo Canyon, Longs Ranch Road, Barr Trail, Intemann Trail, and Red Rock Canyon. In close to 32 miles there was less than 3 miles of running on pavement.

I had the privilege of meeting and running with a new friend, Patrick Garcia, for most of the day. He and I were both in less than peak condition, so we really had no interest in pushing the pace and tearing our bodies down too much. With several stops, including the PBR aid at mile 30, we were out there for about 6:35.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

(Pikes Peak as seen from the top of Waldo Canyon.)

(A long and snowy 2000ft climb up Longs Ranch Road.)

   

(Pit stop at No Name Creek on Barr Trail.)

(Patrick and I showing off our sweet winter running moves.)

 (PBR can hit a guy quickly afer 6 hours of running!)

(The final climb out of Red Rock Canyon.) 

(This guy kept CLAIMING to be Scott Jurek. I don't buy it.)

It was a perfect January day for a long trek in the mountains with some cool and talented people and just the kick in the 'posterior' I needed to get back to training for the 2011 race season!

Running and Rabid Rodents

Running:
So after my much needed 3 week hiatus from running, I got back on the horse on January 1st with the annual 'Hangover Run'... I mean Rescue Run 10k. This was the second consecutive year that my friend James and I were late to the race start, but unlike last year where we arrived maybe 5 minutes after the gun went off, we were a good 12 minutes behind schedule this year which made it too late to for me to officially register. But hey, I hadn't planned my outfit and decked myself out in snowboard/running attire for nothing, so I still went out and put in the miles.

Since then I have run every day of this cold new year, which puts my streak at 10 days as I write this. While I have no specific longevity goals for this streak, I also have no intentions of breaking it unless my body forces me to do so (ie: injury). Consistency and higher mileage will be the name of the game this year in hopes of a sub-2:47 marathon at Boston and a top-5 at the Leadville 100.

Oh, and I almost forgot... I'm in the 'What it Takes' section of the February 2011 Runners World.

Rabid Rodents:
Okay, so there is actually only one rodent in this video - a squirrel - but you won't be disappointed. While this video has potential to go viral on YouTube if I put techno music in the background, it's still pretty funny as it is. I rarely run with my phone, but last Saturday was thankfully one of those occasions.

Here's the scenario: I was two hours into my long run, and I'd just gotten off the snowy trails and hit the road behind Bear Creek Park to run home on surface streets when I encountered the squirrel in the videos below. I recommend watching BOTH videos, even if only for the entertainment value of the of the hill-billy comments the local resident provides in the background.
(I especially like "Who knows what happens when you get hit by a car?", and "He must have some sort of brain damage.")

Video #1. 'My Discovery':

Video #2. 'Squirrel and Stick':

Brooks

Ending the 2010 Season on a High Note

(12/10/10 - Photos to follow this weekend)
I say that not because of how I placed, or how fast I covered the terrain at the 2010 North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championship, San Francisco, CA, Presented by Gore-Tex... (yeah, that's really the half-paragraph long name of the event), but rather because I had tons of fun and a mini-vacation at the same time.

This race was my last scheduled ultra-distance event of 2010 and it couldn't get here quick enough. I'm not gonna lie, I've been mentally checked out of running and training for the last 6 weeks mostly due to the cumulative physical and psychological fatigue of racing 11 ultra-distance events since February. I've been remarkably healthy through all of it - both my lungs and my legs - but that doesn't mean I wasn't run down.

I arrived in San Francisco pretty late on Thursday night after an uneventful trip that required no body scans, pat downs, or cavity searches, so I was a happy camper. By the time I was on the road in my very own rental car for the first time (I felt like I was playing grown-up), it was late enough that I decided to wait until Friday to meet up with my friends and fellow racers, Natalee and Brandon. Thankfully however, it was not too late to experience a $10 sushi feast at a hole in the wall restaurant near my hotel on Lombard St.!

Friday started early since I had to move my vehicle before it risked a 9:00am tow. I relocated my sweet Ford Escape (sarcasm intended) to a spot a few blocks away in a residential neighborhood that resulted in a $55 dollar parking ticket instead. Apparently, you can park there any time imaginable, except between 9 and 11am on the 1st Friday of each month. How convenient... it was there between 8 and 10am on the first Friday of December! That's my kind of luck, but in no way put a damper on the weekend. I figured as long as I found enough free parking over the next 4 days, I'd make up for the $55 dollar hit.

All this occurred while I roamed the streets of downtown SF soaking up the sights, sounds, smells, and buzz of the city (it's amazing how tall I felt after wandering through Chinatown). I eventually made it to the heart of the shopping district and picked up my race packet at the North Face store. After returning from my hilly 2-hour jaunt, I was finally hungry and ready to head down to San Jose to meet Natalee and Brandon for lunch.

After fueling our tanks, talking some trash, and making some friendly wagers on the outcome of the race, Brandon returned to work (business trip for him) and Natalee and I ran pre-race errands and hit the city for the remainder of the afternoon. We all reconvened for dinner in SJ and then went our separate ways to prepare for the looming 2:30am wake up calls which were necessary in order to catch the 3:45am shuttle. By 11:00pm I was finally all prepared for the pain and suffering that was in my near future and caught a quick 3+ hours of sleep.

One downside to running ultra's is how early they normally start. I say this since I'm definitely not a morning person, and feel that there is something inherently wrong with getting up and hitting the road while most individuals are just leaving the bars to head home.

Anyway, I met the rest of the gang shortly thereafter and Brandon and I piled into the bus for a short trip across the bay to the Marin Headlands and the race start. For the first time I can remember, I actually had a normal bowel movement before the race started as opposed to the 3+ I normally endure throughout the course of a 50 mile race. Off to a good start!

At 5:00 we were off into the darkness and it was amazing how fresh I felt and how much fun it was to be running again. I say this because I had done virtually no training over the last 6 weeks since the Deadman Peaks 50 in late October... a slightly longer taper than conventional wisdom recommends, but again, I was primarily doing this race for the experience and to get out of Colorado for a few days. In hindsight, I probably should have run more than a 17 mile long run in preparation for it, but considering I'm alive and well as I write this, I can't complain too much. Ultimately, the main difference I felt was the level of pain I had to endure to get through it. Normally the real meat-and-potatoes fatigue sets in around the 50k mark for me, but this time I was hurting, cramping, and hating life in general around mile 17. It was going to be a classic suffer-fest from there on, so my freshness and excitement were definitely short lived.

By the 9 mile mark we had already covered 2 substantial climbs (you are constantly climbing or descending at this race, with no flat running to speak of) and I was still within sight of the leaders. This falsely had me thinking I was a genius for taking a 6 week hiatus/taper, as I normally can't see the leaders after the first 15 minutes!

I was again shocked at the mile 13+ aid station to discover I was still less than 5 minutes behind the leaders. I still felt pretty awesome at this point but the fact I'd just covered a mountainous half marathon in 1:41 made me nervous. That's freakishly fast for a trail race with lots of climbing and descending and in hindsight was probably a big contributing factor to the bad hamstring cramps that hit me about 4 miles later.

This cramping hit in the middle of the day's longest and highest climb to the top of the beautiful Mt. Tamalpais.

Rain and cold winds were arriving at this point as well, so I was looking forward to grabbing my rain shell and dry socks at the Boot Jack aid station around mile 19. If there is one thing you can count on at 50 and 100 mile events though, it's that you can't count on anything, and this was the case when I discovered my drop bag was MIA. Having endured enough of these sufferfests' by now, I finally realize that getting pissed off and throwing a hissy-fit accomplishes nothing and saps valuable energy and mental strength, so I grabbed some fuel and hit the trail again, rather than having a pity-party with only one guest.

The remaining climb to the turnaround on Mt. Tam was gradual to say the least, but my legs were already toasted, so a lot of walking ensued. This created a new problem in that I needed to run to stay warm in the rain/wind, but really couldn't. With chattering teeth I reached the turnaround and began running again for the long descent through the enchanted forest down to Stinson Beach. On top of warming up from the increased exertion level, I was able to dry out under the thick canopy of Redwood's, but this mental boost was shortlived as I took a tumble and went rolling off the trail. A quick self-diagnostic confirmed that I only had surface wounds, and would unfortunately have to continue. (As twisted as it sounds, I was kind of hoping for a more serious injury that would get me out of running 22 more miles, but again, I just don't have that kind of good fortune very often!)

The remainder of the race was pretty uneventful and included more of the same: Climb, descend, walk, run, drink, GU, salt, aid station, etc. I will say the course was one of the most beautiful I've ever run (with the exception of the Hardrock Hundred), and the ocean views seemed to always sneak up on me right as I needed a pick-me-up. While racing I ran into both Natalee and Brandon at various points and this was another huge boost when I was getting low.

The last real challenge of the day was the slippery mud and complete lack of traction on the hills that resulted from the constant rain. If anything it added to the experience and makes the story and memory that much fonder at this point!

In the end, I finished in 8:48.37 good for 34th place in what was by far the toughest field I've ever gone up against. I have no complaints or regrets about this... if anything, it was awesome enough to make me want to return in 2011 and actually prepare for it next time!

Natalee went on to finish her first marathon that day in 5:42 which is stellar considering the difficult terrain and the fact that she'd never run over 10 miles in training for it!

Brandon finished the 50 miler in 11:36 which was good for a new personal record, and the privilege of buying my ticket to the metal concert we all went to the next night!

After sitting around in the cold and rain until 7:30pm waiting for drop bags to be returned (mine was finally found), we were bussed back to the city. The most adventuresome event of the evening was drinking medicinal alcohol and playing Angry Birds on the iPad.

Sunday was tourist day but Brandon and I looked like locals in the gay community based on how we were both walking!

We hit all the popular spots, including Coit Tower, Lombard St, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square, and finally the DNA Lounge where we had our eardrums destroyed by a bunch of angry foreigners.

I still haven't decided on a firm race schedule for 2011, but the Western States lottery on Saturday wasn't kind to me and this won't be my big event. I'm already registered for the Boston Marathon and the Leadville 100 again, so now I just need to fill in the gaps in between as I kick back and relax for a few weeks. It's time for me to pursue a month's worth of offseason hobbies which now include ice hockey and learning to play guitar!

In honor of an awesome weekend in the Bay area, here's a tune from Geographer, who conveniently are from San Fran and happen to be my current favorite artist... enjoy!

2010 Deadman Peaks Adventure

There's something very appealing to me about taking solo road trips to races without much advance planning. I really thrive off the excitement of the unknown, the time alone with my thoughts, and the fact that I'm almost guaranteed to have a great story in the end. So like a moth to a flame, I gladly embark on these adventures and this past weekend's escapade in Cuba, New Mexico didn't disappoint...

Q: "Where is Cuba?"
A: Dead-smack in the middle of nowhere.

I hit the road late Friday morning to embark on the 6+ hour drive. En route I encountered snow going over La Veta pass in Colorado, sun and blue skies down the Taos, NM corridor, and finally, rain, sleet and cold temperatures in the high desert in, and around Cuba. Other highlights included the purchase of an authentic Mexican poncho in Taos, and my getting lost near Espanola and nearly running out of gas as I approached my destination.

Q: "What is the town like?"
A: A much crappier version of Fruita, CO or Moab, UT.

I arrived in town around 4:30 pm and decided I'd be better off snagging a motel room rather than sleeping in the front seat of my car. This was primarily because of the cold temps, not so much for comfort reasons. Choosing was a breeze as there were only two motels in town and I picked the first one I saw out of convenience. The Frontier Motel had a vacancy... I wonder why?

In addition to the selling points I mention in the video, the room smelled like urine. I didn't dare walk around without socks since the floor was damp for some reason (urine?), and neither did I pull back the covers on the bed. Instead I slept on top in my sleeping bag. This place was so nice, that while laying in bed watching TV, the shroud on the fan fell off bounced off the bed and rolled halfway across the room. It wasn't even on when this happened. No joke:

Q: "Why would you go there?"
A: Good question. For me, to run 50+ miles on the CDT at the 2010 Deadman Peaks Trail Run.

It was chilly in the pre-dawn hours as it had been drizzling all night, thus I was staying warm in my car taking care of my last minute gear checks when I noticed people running. Lots of them. Apparently my watch was off and I missed the race start. What a good way to get things rolling!

Within 1-2 minutes I was in hot pursuit of the headlamps ahead of me, and within a couple miles I was running with the leaders. Since it was overcast the nearly full-moon didn't help illuminate the way so the early pace was slow due to the constant cairn searching with our headlamp beams. Since the entire race was on the Continental Divide Trail the course was marked with fequent rock cairns, painted wooden posts and the RD had placed the occasional orange flag in critical areas.

Until mile 7-ish, I alternated turns leading the group of 4 that had gotten out ahead of the main pack. At this point I regrettably took my obligatory pit stop in the bushes. I say regrettably, not because of the 2 minutes or so the bathroom break cost me, but rather because of the 10 minutes I lost by getting off course as soon as I resumed running.
Since we had been running on the high mesa for a couple of miles on a defined double-track trail, I didn't anticipate the course taking us right of the edge of the cliff, so when the flags pointed that way I chose to keep going straight on the trail. It wasn't until I hadn't seen a trail marker or another runner for 5+ minutes that I decided to backtrack, finally discovering the trail DID go right off the edge of the mesa shelf and down a steep technical descent for several hundred feet.

I was infuriated when I realized I had lost quite a bit of time and a few positions, but I had nobody to blame but myself. After calming down and getting back into stride, I was supremely motivated to play hunter and catch back up to the leaders.

Around mile 17 I finally started catching glimpses of the runner who was currently in 2nd place, named Leif. After about a mile of playing pursuer on the tecnical terrain, I made my pass into what would end up being my final finishing position.

The course took us in, out, and through sandy canyons, slickrock shelves, high-mesa's and chapparal filled clearings on technical terrain. During a steep descent around mile 12, I had my only flirt with disaster when I stubbed my toe on a rock while in full stride. Only wearing 7oz shoes has its advantages, but toe protection is not one of them. Because of the sheer force with which I struck my foot and searing pain that followed, I was led me to believe I might have broken a toe... after the socks and shoes came off, my theory was confirmed.

Anyway, I'm not complaining, as this is all part of the sport. I kept moving as hard and fast as I could without depleting all my reserves, fully expecting to see the race leader Tim Long around the next bend. By the time I reached the mile 21 (more like 23) aid station I discovered I was about 4 minutes behind Tim. This was reassuring as I now knew I had been gaining on him.

Just before arriving at the mile 27 turn-around, I finally crossed paths with Tim for what would be the last time until the finish. His lead was still only 4 minutes so I was now ready to go for the kill and reel him in... or so I thought. I gave the next miles my hardest effort, but in doing so I realized that my legs where quickly turning to lead from the early push to catch up. I began walking the steep ascents at this point. By the time I reached the next aid station, I found out Tim had put 5 minutes on me in as many miles. Still, with only a 9 minute lead and 23 miles to go, I didn't completely rule out the possibily of catching him.

Eventually, around mile 35, my right hamstring began to cramp badly and this remained the standard for the rest of the race. Because of this, I had to begin walking the steeper climbs and just running the flats and downhills. I let my thoughts of winning go away at this point and then focused on CFM, or continuous forward motion. I was determined to hold on to second place if nothing else.

I eventually did reach the finish in 2nd place in 9:26.xx. (54 miles).

It had been overcast, cold, and at times drizzling throughout the day, but within 10 minutes of finishing the floodgates of heaven opened up, and I decided to hit the road rather than risk being murdered at the Frontier Motel for a second consecutive night.

To top it all off, I was pulled over in Walsenburg for having a headlight out, but the officer clearly could tell I was already beat down enough for one day and let me go with a warning. Talk about a long day. In the end, I'd been up since 4:00am, run for 9+ hours, and had driven for 6 more.

So another one is officially in the books and now it's time to get serious about training for San Fran in December!

Brooks

2010 Leadville 100

(8/30/10: All photos have been uploaded... still working on the video.)

19:57.52

Believe it or not, that's not a typo...
With even my most aggressive 2010 race predictions being in the 20:45 to 21:30 time range I'll be the first to admit how shocked I was to break 20 hours!! It honestly hasn't sunk in yet, and will likely be a while before it fully does!

With this past weekend being so eventful, there are obviously lots of pictures, video, and stories that I want to share with everyone, so with no further ado, here's my 2010 Leadville Trail 100:

Pre-Race: Thursday through Saturday Morning:
I got into town on Thursday afternoon and saw a deal I just couldn't pass up, so a little pre-race carbo loading with some new friends, Brandon and Natalee Fuller, was in order!

(How could we say 'no' to an offer this good?)

The rest of Thursday and Friday was relatively uneventful. There was the obligatory pre-race medical check-in and now renowned Ken Chlouber pep-rally, as well as some last minute aid station logistics with my crew. Before we knew it, it was time to attempt to snag a couple hours of restless sleep before the 2 a.m. alarms went off on Saturday.

After getting some fuel in the tank and heading to the race start to check-in, my crew and I joined the throngs of other runners, media, and crews at the coffee house. Here we saw some of the individuals producing the upcoming 'Born to Run' movie, including a bearded Jake Gyllenhaal doing his best to blend in with the crowd. After signing an autograph for him, it was off to the race start.

(Happy runners and crew. This will change soon enough...)

(Side note: I didn't find out about this until 60 miles in, but the first adventure of the day began when the starter decided to fail on my crew's vehicle despite working perfectly until we parked that morning. The kindness and assistance they were shown by members of other crews they'd never met is testament to the general good nature of the ultra community. Two separate teams helped out: One got my friend Katie to the first TWO aid stations and the other drove my other great friend Grant back to our campsite outside of town in order to pick up a backup vehicle... I'm not going to point any fingers, but I can think of a few other sports where you just wouldn't find that kind of commeraderie.)

The Race:
Start to Fish Hatchery

This year, due to the sheer number of runners entered, I decided to be on the very front line for the start. Still not thinking of myself as a fast runner, or a lead pack runner, I was a little nervous and felt slightly out of place when I was still near the front after the first few miles. At about mile 4 I was still running in the presence of greatness... Hal Koerner to my left, Tony Krupicka to my right, but since my bowels had already begun revolting, this forced a pit stop in the bushes that allowed me to fall back in the pack about 15-20 positions which felt like a much more realistic spot for me that early in the race.

For the 8 miles of trail running around Turquoise, I just found a perfect balance for my pace: A fast enough clip so as to not lose any positions and get lost in the sea of headlamps behind me, but easy enough so as to not feel any strain on the leg muscles or go into anaerobic mode. I was also especially careful with my footing this year on the roots/rocks so as to prolong the inevitable foot damage as long as possible. So far, so good. The only concern I had as I hit the pavement with a group of about 4 other runners was how unintentionally fast our pace had been thus far. My friend and eventual 6th place finisher, Harry Harcrow, was with me at this point and he made the comment that we'd gotten there WAY to fast. Since my body was 100% at this point, my rebuttal was simply, 'Burn it while ya got it!'...

2010 Mayqueen Aid Station (13 Miles): 1:48
2009 Mayqueen Aid Station: 1:56 (without a pit stop along the way)

As I mentioned in my pre-race post, one of my main goals this year was to have more efficient aid station transitions, and gain some free time in doing so. This first aid station of the day went much smoother than any in 2009, so I was supremely optimistic heading into the first climb of the day.

As we began the climb up Sugarloaf Pass via the Colorado Trail, I remembered how badly mangled my feet were by the time I reached the Fish Hatchery Aid Station (24 miles) in 2009. After running a quick self-diagnostic of my current condition, I realized that I was still feeling great. It was extremely hard to not run the steeper sections during this part of the race, especially when I began being passed by what seemed like half the field, but my gameplan was still to be smart, save the legs as much as possible, avoid blisters, and hopefully have a little bit left in the tank after mile 60. In all, I probably ran about half of the uphill stretch to the summit of Sugarloaf.

My approach to the free downhill miles was also different this year: Rather than bombing down the Powerlines, I controlled my energy and focused more on running as softly as possible to avoid pounding my quads too early, and paid special attention to my footing so as to avoid the off-camber foot strikes that tear my feet up on the rocks. By doing this, I lost maybe 5 more positions, but more importantly, I felt really, really, really good at Fish Hatchery and didn't need to stop for anything but some fluids, an Ensure, a handful of fresh GU's, and to lose the shirt (compared to last year where the first major blister repairs were performed at this point)! The only real 'disaster' up to this point was that I'd tried to turn my iPod on about 20 miles in, only to realize it was dead. Again, my day was not going bad by any means...

(Photos courtesy of Natalee Fuller)

2010 Fish Hatchery Aid Station (Mile 24): 3:38
2009 Fish Hatchery Aid Station: 3:55

Beginning with the 4 mentally gruelling road miles leading to the Treeline crew access point (mile 28, where Grant also donated his iPod for me to use) is where I began to put a serious gap on my 2009 time, and also began to reel in a lot of the runners who'd passed me on Sugarloaf barely an hour earlier. Rather than walking a majority of the flat or rolling terrain to the Halfmoon II aid station, I was able to run every step this year. (Likewise on the return trip later in the afternoon, but more on that later.)

There was actually a point during the section just before Halfmoon II (mile 32) where I began laughing and grinning from ear to ear over the simple fact that it was a beautiful day, I was listening to awful music (sorry Grant), and felt great despite having already run a 50k... that's a moment I'll fondly replay in my head every time I think about this year's race!

Shortly after Halfmoon II, runners hit the Colorado Trail for the remaining 8 miles before Twin Lakes. Here it becomes increasingly hillier and the climbs become longer, little by little. Before I mention what was so incredible about this stretch for me, I want to offer my theory as to why:

Even though it took some serious force-feeding, all day I had been taking a gel along with some Thermotabs every 20-25 minutes, and I was drinking consistently (about 20oz per hour). In addition to this, I forced an extra gel or two down my food chute at every official aid station, and sometimes even some chips, Coke, or Ensure, if available. I mention this because it clearly led to me having no shortage of glycogen in my legs... I actually had one of the fastest times of the entire field for this stretch.

To put in perspective how well I was able to run these moderate sections of trail: The overall winner Duncan Callahan was only 2 minutes faster on this 8 mile stretch outbound from mile 32-40. Inbound (miles 68-76), on the section from Halfmoon II back to Fish Hatchery, I was actually faster than Duncan by 8 minutes, or a full minute per mile! If you feel like deciphering all the splits, the Excel results can be found on the Leadville 100 website.

Okay, on with the suffer-fest. After an extremely strong, confidence boosting stretch on the Colorado Trail from miles 34-38, I began to have shooting pain in both hamstrings... cramps! All the uphill running was slowly beginning to have a toll, so I decided I'd try to let my legs go completely loose on the downhills in hopes of the cramps working themselves out. I felt like I was feeling the twinges of pain early enough that I could still do something about them, and decided to double my salt intake for the next hour or so, just to see if I could avoid complete leg failure later on!

I arrived at Twin Lakes still feeling halfway decent, and only needed to stop long enough to add 1-2 pieces of Kinesio tape to some toes I'd pre-taped the night before. Still no blisters at this point, just a couple of hot spots.

2010 Twin Lakes Aid Station (Mile 40): 6:13 - 25th Overall
2009 Twin Lakes Aid Station: 7:04

Leaving Twin Lakes I again resumed running, which was foreign to me since I walked this portion last year (having just taken a digger a mile before the aid station). I passed my friend Amelia who was getting some additional footage for her upcoming documentary, 'Why Run?' and as always, seeing a familiar face after suffering for hours totally boosted the morale; even if only for a few minutes.

(TMI side note: Being known for my digestive/bowel issues during ultra's (thanks Cystic Fibrosis), I had a bet with my crew members and friends as to how many times I would have to poo during the race. The predictions ranged from 3 to 8. My guess was clearly the 3, since I'm the one who would have to endure said bowel movements, and I didn't relish the thought of 8... I'm just sayin'! Right before Hope Pass outbound, I took what would officially be my last poo break of the day, bringing the total quantity to 3!! Sooo glad 8 wasn't correct...)

I arrived at the base of Hope along with 2 other runners and immediately assumed I would leave them in my dust. Wrong. One of them turned out to be Jeff Beuche, the eventual 5th place finisher, and for good reason. While the 2nd runner and I stayed together for most of the ascent, Jeff began alternating running and walking and quickly had disappeared. Even when we rose above timberline and could see runners 10-15 minutes ahead of us, Jeff was nowhere to be found. Hats off.

By the Hopeless aid station, and an alpine meadow full of llamas (one of which I thought was a buffalo at first site), I'd finally caught the next pack of runners who had gone out strong early on. After a quick top-off of both bottles I resumed my power hike to the summit and reeled in 2 or 3 of them.

The descending felt awesome after climbing for the past 1:45, so I took advantage of the feeling and ended up bombing the stretch to Winfield in less than 45 minutes. I was about halfway down before I crossed paths with Tony and his pacer, Dakota Jones. This was a confidence booster for two reasons:
1) It's always inspiring to see Tony killing it out there, and I have an unbelievable amount of respect and awe for his abilities.
2) I was stoked to see his lead was at least 4-5 miles shorter than it had been a year before. I remember being somewhat devastated last year when I wasn't even at the Hopeless aid station when he crossed my path bombing back down to Twin Lakes.

I'd just hit the gravel road to Winfield before I crossed paths with Duncan and then proceeded to run all the way in, passing about 4 more runners on the way. At the aid station I stepped on the scale to find my weight within 0.4 lbs of where I'd started (a whopping 140lbs) so the medical staff let me go and I ran to meet my crew for the second foot tending session of the day which was again just the addition of a couple layers of Kinesio tape around some toes. This was probably a 5 minute stop.

2010 Winfield (Halfway!): 8:55 (12:55pm)
2009 Winfield: 10:02

I'd arrived at Winfield in 19th place but appeared to have fallen back to about 22nd or 23rd because of my time in the chair. I'd began yelling for a pacer at the aid station, but surprisingly, despite there being like 5,000,000 people there, not one soul volunteered. So as I ran the 2-3 miles to the trailhead back up Hope I mentally prepared myself to take it on solo.

The climb was slow but uneventful. Being able to see where you're at in relation to other runners is probably the only bright side to an out-and-back course such as Leadville. Anyway, near the top I was pleasantly surprised to run into and then pass a beaten and battered Hal Koerner. Whether or not he'd just run the Canadian Death Race a few weeks prior, I was still psyched to be running with such an elite guy this late in the race. (Hal unfortunately ended up DNF'ing later in the evening at Fish Hatchery).

Three or four switchbacks later, the hardest part of the race was in the books and I would soon be out of the super-heat that had decided to rear its ugly head during this section of climbing.

I was going downhill very conservatively at this point because my feet had finally reached their breaking point. There were numerous hot spots now and it would only take one slip across a sharp rock to rip some toes and initiate a bloody, puss-filled mess in my shoes. About halfway down I ran into my friend Jill who had hiked up in hopes of crossing paths with me. She began running with me and provided a much needed diversion from the pain which was mounting. I'm pretty sure she just heard me whine the entire time since I had 10 1/2 hours worth of complaining to vocalize, and finally had an audience! During this stretch a couple of toes decided to finally tear open, as well. We'd passed a couple runners just before and after the river crossings at the bottom of Hope, but these positions were soon to be lost after our arrival in Twin Lakes #2, once I sat down and assessed the full extent of the foot damage.

-VIDEO OF MILE 60 AID STATION CARNAGE COMING SOON-

(Narration courtesy of Jill Suarez)

2010 Twin Lakes #2: 11:52 (3:52pm) -14th Overall (Yeah, this was news to me, too!)
2009 Twin Lakes #2: 13:32

I'm not going to say I'm happy about a 10 minute pit-stop, but looking back, it was this extra time and foot first-aid that ended up getting me to the finish with no further stops. This alone makes the 10 minutes well worth it.

The feeling of finally having a pacer was incredible. I liked feeling hardcore and all, because of finishing almost 60 solo, BUT hardcore hurts, and I was ready for the suffering to end (or at least be kept to a minimum). Katie and I power-hiked the grueling first climb out of Twin Lakes (doubly so, because of the steepness AND the tender, freshly glued/taped feet) but then proceeded to go to my original plan of running the flats and downhills, and just hiking all terrain with any uphill tendencies!

This worked well enough to pass one runner in the 8 mile stretch back to Halfmoon II. I covered this section slower than any of the guys in the top-10, but was probably 20+ minutes faster than last year, so I really couldn't complain.
How, I don't know, but after leaving this station I proceeded to start running with such renewed energy that I dropped my pacer almost immediately. For the 8 mile stretch back to Fish Hatchery not only did I not walk a single step, but I posted the 3rd fastest split of all runners. To put it into perspective: My split for miles 68-76 was almost identical to my morning split from miles 24-32... don't ask me how.

2010 Fish Hatchery #2: 14:56 (6:56pm) - 9th Overall
2009 Fish Hatchery #2:

After another quick aid station transition (< 3 minutes), I picked up my next pacer, James. James was slated to be my first pacer at Hardrock in July, so it felt good to not disappoint him again this time and actually let him put up with my late-race shenanigans. We were able to resume running immediately out of Fish and made it to the infamous Powerlines before going back to hiking. This stretch to the summit of Sugarloaf was covered within 7 minutes (1:06) of my night-training time 3 weeks prior, which was/is a solid time, but fails to properly acknowledge how badly and quickly the wheels were coming off... about halfway up, I performed a serious 'cat-disco' stomach pump. After puking up everything except for my internal organs, I felt slightly better, but had lost my desire to eat/drink regularly which had been my key to a great race up until this point. So by the time would reach the Colorado Trail again, my 2010 Leadville 100 would quickly become the 2010 Leadville Nighttime Suffer-fest 25k!

2010 Mayqueen #2: 17:13 (9:13pm)- 10th Overall
2009 Mayqueen #2: 20:00

I spent less than a minute at Mayqueen since survival-mode had already set in and I wanted nothing more than to be done at this point. I walked through, fought the urge to puke again, and continued without James knowing he would catch me with ease. When the concept of a sub-20 hour finish first became a long-shot possibility on top of Sugarloaf, we'd decided that he would stay with me until the finish, or until my sub-20 chances were gone, whichever came first. After about 4 miles of running around Turquoise Lake, the latter became my reality...

I began to have intense shooting pain in my right arch that could only mean one thing: Stress fracture(s) and no more running. We made it to the Tabor Boat Ramp (mile 94) and I made the call to drop James off and pick up Grant. My logic was, if I can't run, I might as well have fun and I new Grant was the guy who could make me laugh and stop thinking about nothing but pain.

After about a mile of wandering in the dark we started to pass campsites with cheering spectators. The BIGGEST surprise of this race, or any race, for that matter, came when we followed loud cheers straight into a makeshift aid station, of sorts... at least 6 women were jumping up and down topless and high fiving us as we went through!!! If Grant hadn't been with me to verify these bare breasts were real, I would have sworn I was delirious and hallucinating!

Anyway, after this nice diversion (and our next 20 minute conversation piece), we continued hiking. Soon we were back on the gravel road leading towards downtown Leadville! While running was impossible, we were walking at a 4+ mph pace which was still respectable. Despite this pace, we turned around to see headlamps rapidly gaining on us and as much as I wanted to fight them off, I could not. Grant and I just shut our lamps off in hopes of deceiving our pursuers, and walked under the bright moonlight until they finally blew past around mile 97.

At this point I just wanted to hang on and finish without being passed anymore. I'd become comfortable with the idea of a 20:15 time and lost all motivation to even power-hike. By the time we caught our first glimpse of the lights in town (approx. 1 1/2 miles from the finish) I looked at my watch to see that it was still almost quarter 'til midnight, which meant a sub-10 minute pace would still let me break 20! UNFORTUNATELY, sub-10's are much easier said than done after 98+ miles. After a 100 yard attempt to run up the hill we were on, I again decided it was impossible to run. We resumed walking and it wasn't until we were on the pavement with just under 1 mile to go that I again looked down at my watch and saw the time: 11:52pm. I no longer cared how much it hurt. I was either going to finish in under 20 hours or DIE trying (literally). I handed both water bottles to Grant to lighten my load and began running the final climb of the night.

My heartrate readlined almost immediately and I truly know of nothing to compare the pain to, but I ran with every fiber of energy I had thinking it still might be too little, too late. Cresting the hill I could see the downtown stoplight in the distance. When the pain reached a new high, I just pushed harder. Not knowing if my watch was even accurate, the thought came into my head that maybe 20 hours had already passed and this was all for naught! Regardless, I pushed until the point of near collapse, crossed the finish to the cheers of my crew, and fell to the concrete...

...somehow, I'd just run a 6:50 mile.

2010 Leadville 100: 19:57.52
2009 Leadville 100: 23:21.27

My desire to have a drink before last call was completely gone as I sat in the medical tent trying to process what I'd just accomplished.
Now I'm sitting here a week later, still trying to absorb it... and cannot.

That night, back at our campsite, I was unable to sleep because of violent coughing and vomitting, combined with the adrenalin high I was still experiencing. Not having eaten enough food or salt over the last few miles of the race had pushed me to borderline hyponatremia, but I was able to ingest enough salt tabs while laying in the tent to fight off any serious reprocussions.

Never had I imagined such a strong finish. Despite still not being able to walk without limping, due to the foot injury I incurred during the race, I'm already strategizing and brainstorming as to how I can go sub-19 next year. I've known for a while a screw is loose in my head, and now you do too.

Why I think another major time improvement is feasible:

I've averaged just under 50 miles per week in training in 2010 thus far, which is easily less than half the mileage elite ultra-runners are logging. In 2011 I will make a concerted effort to average at least 75 miles a week as part of my base training, in hopes of shaving one more huge chunk of time at Leadville!

Here's to the 2010 racing season being in the books!

Brooks