My first race report. Hope you all enjoy it!

“The Race Across the Sky”

Leadville 100 Mile Race Report-Michael Oliva

8/20/2011

I have never written a race report before but felt it would be a tragedy not to record my thoughts and experiences at the 2011 Leadville 100 mile race. Leadville is a unique 100 miler because the elevation is all above 9000ft and the race course peaks on Hope Pass which sits at 12,600ft! I felt prepared going into the race. I had run a decent race at the Vermont 100 miler five weeks earlier and had done about six 50+ mile runs with my training partner Michael Arnstein over the previous three months. My overall weekly mileage isn’t very high as far as ultra running goes. I probably top out at 100 miles a week max. But I felt the weekly long run is the key to training for ultras and I was very consistent with these long training runs.

I got out to Leadville eight days early with my buddy Michael Arnstein who was also doing the race. Another friend and training partner; Oz Pearlman who also was running the race got into town on Monday.  First thing Saturday Mike Arnstein and I in an attempt to shock our bodies and get used to the altitude ran/hiked Mosquito Pass which tops out at 13000ft. We then raced to another peak that topped out at 13,600ft. My lungs and heart were screaming as if I was running a 4:30 mile. I almost passed out at the top. It was great and I definitely accomplished the goal of shocking my system! The next day we raced the Leadville 10k. I gave a hard 98% effort. Mike A won and I finished 2^nd. Immediately after the 10k Mike A and I did a long run. We did 20 miles of the Leadville course from Fish Hatchery to Twin Lakes at a pretty solid pace. The plan was to then do a 3000ft climb up Hope Pass and descend down the back side. I was nervous about overdoing it so I decided to climb Hope Pass the next day and stopped the run here. Mike A decided to finish the run. I hitchhiked the 25 miles back to Leadville. It took three different cars but I made it back pretty quickly! I met some great characters. One couple said they hate when the runners come into town because they act like they own the place but they didn’t hold it against me and said that I seemed alright J Another couple let me jump in the bed of their pickup truck for the ride back to Leadville. The wind was super cold but it was a beautiful day!!

The next three days consisted of hiking/running mountains for about 3-5 hours each day. One day we climbed Mt. Elbert (14,400ft). It gave me confidence that I wasn’t really sore or tired after each of these workouts and the altitude seemed to not be affecting me too much. A couple days before the race at a local bar Oz and I had a fun night of marathon ping pong and met some interesting folks. We got home way too late (about 2:00AM) and I drank a bit more than I would have liked so close to the race. Being that we are intense competitors too I actually was more sore the next day from ping pong than I was from climbing mountains all week!  We agreed it would be a good idea to stay away from the bar until after the race!

Friday comes quickly and we are all business in preparation. My cousin Steve who I grew up with in NY and now lives in Denver came out to crew me. This is the first time I ever have a crew and wow; what a difference it made! I was a bit surprised and let down with how few people were hanging out in Leadville the two nights before the race.  I really enjoy the buzz, hanging out and having some beers with runners before the race but it was not to be in Leadville as the streets were empty as I walked around Friday night. Everyone went to bed early. I just hung out and decided to go to sleep at the same time I always do. Usually 3-4hrs of sleep is plenty for me before a race. I honestly didn’t feel nervous. I wasn’t overly confident either but I had a feeling that I knew what to expect and that comforted me enough to put me at ease.  I went to sleep at 11:30 PM and got 4hrs of solid sleep. Woke up at 3:30 AM and felt great. We were staying one block from the start so I left the house at 3:52 for the 4:00 race! It is electric at the start. Close to 700 runners start the race. The gun goes off.

Start to May Queen (0-13.5)

As always, everyone goes out way too fast! I have gotten very good about holding back and purposely make myself slow down. I have suffered enough in the past from going out to fast at the start and play things very conservatively. The course has about 6 miles of downhill on dirt roads until you get to a single track trail around Turquoise Lake. I get in a pack and follow the trail at a nice easy pace for 7.5 miles. I unloaded a deuce on the trail during this stretch and that always feels good. Steve meets me at the May Queen aid station (13.5). I take off a winter thermal under shirt and it feels good to have just a light long sleeved shirt on.  Steve gives me some peanut butter crackers, cliff shots and I am on my way. I filled up two of the bottles I had with me. For the entire race I carried two bottles of fluid with me. I don’t think I could have gotten by otherwise.

May Queen to Twin Lakes (13.5-39.5)

This is a long stretch. Going in this direction it is very runnable. Because of this most people end up running too fast! The sun comes out and it’s a beautiful day. I am feeling great and running conservatively. I over protect myself from the sun because I hate sunburn and my lips get terribly burnt if I don’t protect them correctly. I am the only one with long pants, a safari hat and long sleeves. I am literally covered from head to toe. The only thing uncovered is my hands! The photographers start to recognize me and start calling me “hat man”. One thing I remember is that we ran down a major downhill called Powerline. I bet 30 people passed me on this downhill. I said to myself that most of these people were going way too fast and were going to end up trashing their quads! I don’t think any of those 30 people finished ahead of me in the race. I didn’t get sucked into the momentum and stuck to my plan, taking it very slowly on the downhill. I met Steve at mile 29 and he refueled me. I still have far from perfected race day nutrition and was trying all news things for this race. My plan was to eat a package of those cheap peanut butter crackers every couple of hours. (they have 250 calories and 300mg of sodium). They have some fat in them too which I think is necessary to have during these long races. I probably ate at least 10 packs of these during the race. I never take gels but have given into the fact that they are necessary in these long runs. So my plan was to suck a gel (100 calories each) down every hour. I also was trying cliff shot blocks for the first time. I probably ate 10 packs of them during the race. They have 200 calories each and are easier than anything else to stomach when things go bad. I also bought these 100 calorie chocolate chip granola bars at Wal Mart. I probably ate 8-10 of those during the race too.

Miles 29-39 consisted of some steady up and downs. I ran pretty much alone and had passed a decent amount of runners during this stretch.  Steve gives me much needed sunblock at Twin Lakes (39.5). I take the bottom part off of my “magic pants” turning them into shorts. I start looking somewhat normal now but still keep on my funny looking hat! I am feeling really good here. Fresh as can be. The adrenaline didn’t start kicking in until about mile 20, I had basically been grinding out miles before 20 but now I was really starting to enjoy things.

Twin Lakes to Winfield (39.5-50)

Coming out of Twin Lakes you have to run through about 8 nasty 2ft high pools of water and a river. I hate wet feet with a passion so I grit my teeth as I go through the water knowing that my feet will be soaked for hours. After the river you start to ascend Hope Pass. It is a 4 mile 3000ft climb. I pass a good amount of people on this climb. My plan was to power hike the entire climb but I found myself putting in stretches of running because I felt so good. “Hopeless” Aid station is about 500ft before the peak and I stop there briefly but am eager to push on. The “Hopeless” Aid station is a unique site. It looks like a scene from MASH as this is usually a point where people give in and lay down or retire to a stretcher. All the medical and other gear has to be brought up here on llamas because it is inaccessible to cars! The last 500ft up to Hope Pass are really steep and I am pumped to start descending on the back side. The back side is very steep and you must descend about 2500 ft in two miles. I take it very easy down the mountain as I don’t want to trash my quads. At this point I start seeing the leaders coming up because Leadville is an out and back course. I am pumped to see my buddy Mike Arnstein in 2^nd place and tell him to go take the guy out who’s in first place! I get on the dirt road at the bottom of the mountain and am pumped. I feel good and start running the 2.5 miles uphill towards the halfway point at Winfield aid station. My two other buddies who are ahead of me pass me going the other way, (Oz Pearlman and Bob Sweeney). Bob lives in Boulder, CO now but I used to train with him when he lived in NY. It is the first time we raced each other and we bet the Leadville Race shirt on who would win. This is a big deal for me as I love the shirt and it would be equivalent to me losing $300 if I had to hand Bob the shirt! I reach the halfway point at Winfield in just under 10hrs in 9:45.  This is exactly where I wanted to be. My dream goal is to break 20hrs and my plan was to do this by running even splits so I am right on track and feeling good! I came into the Winfield Aid Station (50 miles) feeling like a million bucks! I had spring in my legs. I was saying to myself hell yea! But I also realized I have done enough of these 100 mile runs to realize that at mile 50 the race is only starting!

Winfield to Twin Lakes (50-60.5)

I storm out of Winfield and hammer the 2.5 mile downhill dirt road back to the base of Hope Pass. I love this part of the course because you get to see all the runners coming at you and it is great to cheer everyone on and adds to the energy of the day. It is much better than being alone for 100 miles which is usually the case with me on other courses. I start the super steep ascent up Hope Pass. I notice it is getting hot and I admit I was feeling a bit worn going up. After about 1000ft when we got above tree line and were totally exposed to the sun I started having problems. I knew all the factors were working against me at that point. We were at “peak heat” being around 3:00PM. I was at high altitude, 12,000ft, and I was pushing it up hill. I actually sat on a rock for 3 minutes and took a break. And it wasn’t a choice. I HAD too. At this point I was really hurting. I knew once I got over the peak of the mountain and started descending I would feel better but the problem was I had 700ft of steep climbing to go and at that point it seemed endless. I was wobbly and looked like a worn out boxer in the 12^th round. I went a little “mental” at this point which means that I purposely go off the deep end for a little while J  I started yelling at myself a bit and said to stop being a #$%@* and start pushing it. I am not ashamed to admit that I started crying uncontrollably. I was really hurting at this point. I was a bit embarrassed and put my head down for the rest of the climb up the mountain as other people passed. It worked though as I really pushed hard to the top! The view from the top is incredible. You can see for 50 miles all the way back to Leadville and view the entire race course. It can be scary knowing you have to run this entire landscape back to Leadville but people that run 100s are a bit wacky and seeing this actually pumped me up! The pain and tears subsided after I started to descend down the front of the mountain. At Hopeless aid station I realized I wasn’t the only one who was struggling. Many people were in the tent lied out on cots and it was clearly “game over” for them. I wolfed down 3 bananas and was shocked how awesome I felt. I think it was good to get some “real” food instead of the peanut butter crackers I had been eating all day! After about ¼ mile down the hill a women (Tina Lewis) zipped pass me with her pacer at an amazing speed! My plan was to take all the down hills easy but I said to myself, “its past halfway, you’re feeling good, *#@$ it! Go for it”! So I hammered it down the hill. It felt amazing! I had to really focus to keep up with Tina as she was flying. It was awesome! I was down the mountain in no time. I caught up to my buddy Bob Sweeney at the bottom and we ran into Twin Lakes together. He had gone through some low points but was looking strong overall.

Twin Lakes to May Queen (60.5-86.5)

At the Twin Lakes Aid Station I discover turkey and cheese wraps! They are small but I devour about 4 of them. They taste like heaven! I knew that some sort of solid, slow burning calories would be needed during the race and hoped this would do the job. I changed into dry socks which felt amazing even though my sneakers were still soaked. Everyone said I looked amazing at this point. I felt amazing too. I was ready to take on the world. I head out and there is a pretty significant steady climb. I really started to feel the altitude at this point. Every time I would come to an uphill it was like hitting a brick wall. I would breathe much more heavily than if it had been the same hill at the same point at sea level. There was a lot of uphill and some runnable sections until mile 68. There is a small aid station at 68. I stop briefly and start talking to a woman named Mariane who is waiting to pace someone she knows. Her runner is having a tough day and won’t be there for at least a couple of hours. I was able convince her to pace me for a few miles. We ran the next 3-4 miles together on flat dirt roads.  It was nice running with someone as I had been running alone for most of the day. Mariane was also really pretty and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to see a pretty face after being beat up and worn out all day long! Mariane turned back at about 72 to run back to where we had started to meet her original runner. Mariane had a son who she thought could start pacing me at mile 76. It turns out that my buddy Oz, who was a bit ahead of me got to 76 first and had Mariane’s son pace him. Miles 72 to 76 are flat and paved dirt roads. This is my strength and I hammered these 4 miles!! I passed about 10 people in this stretch. They all must have thought I was nuts because I again went a little “mental” and starting hollering and singing loudly. (You gotta be a little nuts to do these races).  A couple of these miles were sub 8:00 minute per mile pace and it gave me a huge boost knowing that I could run that fast and comfortably 70 miles into a race at 10,000ft elevation!  I came into the Fish Hatchery Aid station feeling like a million bucks. I saw my buddy Oz for the first time since the start. He looked strong but it was a real boost for me that I was able to catch up with him. I was lucky enough to find a pacer here (Jon) who agreed to run to May Queen with me. This was a major boost for me because it meant I would not be running the dreaded Powerline uphill climb alone and that Jon would be able to carry some extra cold weather gear in his bag in case I needed it. (Pacers are allowed to “mule” or carry runner’s items after mile 50 at the Leadville 100). I had originally planned on taking a major risk and not wearing winter gear in the hopes that I would keep moving fast between here and May Queen but now I didn’t have to worry about this. I put about six turkey & cheese wraps in a zip lock and meet Steve who helped me stock up on supplies. Jon and I then head out to tackle Powerline! After a mile on road we head on to the Powerline trail. I think it climbs well over 1000 feet in a couple of miles. (you get to about 11,200ft at the top). The climb is mentally draining because there are tons of false peaks in the dark and you feel like you will never reach the top! I catch Oz early on with his pacer. We chat for a few minutes and then I move ahead. I am feeling good and am run/hiking the climb. Most just power hike this climb. I also wolfed down all those turkey & cheese wraps. A few minutes later to my surprise Rhonda Calridge catches up with me with her pacer. Rhonda and I had been playing hopscotch all day. I probably saw Rhonda more than any other runner. She was super strong and I decided to try and hang with her. She was really pumping it up the hill. I had to give everything I had to keep up with her! My air exchange was at 100%! It was a sensational feeling. There was just enough air to keep me moving. I have never exhaled so much air! Rhonda on the other hand was smooth as can be and I couldn’t even hear her breathing. Two mornings after the race I woke up spitting up blood and I think I can attribute it to the trauma I gave my lungs from this climb but I don’t know for sure. I hung with Rhonda all the way to the top. We had a blast. You could tell the whole group was pumped because we were so strong and seeing that is a mental boost for pacers as well. There is nothing worse for a pacer than doing the “death march” all night with a runner. After about a mile of the descent my stomach was rumbling pretty badly and I told Jon I needed to stop to drop a deuce, my second of the day. I knew not having Rhonda to inspire and motivate me to keep up with her would be a problem but at this point I had no choice. I definitely felt much better once I unloaded and was able to get down a package of peanut butter crackers. YUM! Jon and I then hammered the downhill dirt road to a turn which took us on a single track rocky trail which leads to May Queen Aid Station. I was NOT prepared for this trail. I had wrongly assumed it was about a half a mile and that I would gallop through it and dance into May Queen. It didn’t happen. The trail turned out to be a couple miles long. It was technical. It was dark. It was rocky. It sucked. I totally lost my momentum. I couldn’t get in a groove. I would run a few steps then walk. At these points you have to keep it together mentally. I didn’t and let my constant adrenaline rush reverse to near the whining stage. I wasn’t whining but I was close. Looking back on this I think the best course of action would have been to suck it up, run/power hike fast, but safe and simply get it done! Instead I let my mind wander and lost focus. I really think these two miles altered the outcome of the rest of my race. If I had buckled down here I would have powered through to the May Queen aid station and hammered to the finish giving myself a shot at breaking 20hrs. Instead I slogged through this stretch and mentally hobbled into May Queen Aid Station (86.5). I am still kicking myself for allowing myself to lose focus at this point!

May Queen to Finish (86.5-100)

I was hurting at May Queen. Mentally I was dreading running 13.5 more miles. This goes against my normal philosophy. I NEVER think about the finish line. I always break a race down into small pieces and focus on the next aid station, the next mile or sometimes as little as the next 100 yards. Looking too far ahead is a risky mental game. I saw Steve and sat down at May Queen. I probably wasted 5-7 minutes sitting and being a real baby here. There was no need to sit. I should have sucked it up and got going. I got a banana down but the stomach was really saying no to everything. I finally got up and got going. Jon agreed to run with me the rest of the way which was a major boost! The last 13.5 miles were a major challenge and without Jon I may have taken at least an hour longer than I did! It turned out that Jon was originally from NY and grew up ½ hour from where I did. What are the odds? Small world! There is about a ½ mile on road before you enter a 6.5 mile trail around Turquoise Lake. I knew I was in trouble when I decided to walk the flat and short piece of road. It was all mental. I was thinking too far ahead and should have been focusing on the short term, the moment at hand. We entered the trail and I continued to be a train wreck. I was shattered when I realized the next 6.5 miles would be mostly rocky, single track, technical, and dark trail. I would try to run but slow down to a hike every time the trail got technical. I also had a tough time getting into the “zone” as I couldn’t see where the trail was going as there weren’t many glow sticks hung up on trees. I usually am a really good trail runner and once I get into the zone it’s like nothing can stop you. You don’t even look at the ground. Running technical trail becomes second nature, purely natural. You just look ahead with the confidence that your feet will land and twist in sync and balance with your body. I was NOT in the zone for the first couple miles of this trail and it showed. Stop, go, stop, go, stop, go. It was painful running for me. At about 2 miles into the trail we saw headlights behind me. I told Jon this sucks and that once one person passes you it then becomes a caravan of others passing as well. I also thought this might be my buddy Oz and my competitiveness didn’t want me to let him pass. He had barely beaten me at our 2hr ping pong marathon earlier in the week and I wanted a little revenge. (I later found out the beer I was drinking during ping pong was 8% alcohol and I attribute this to my ping pong defeat). But I digress.  After seeing the headlights behind us Jon and I start to enter the zone. I fall a few times but they are “good” falls and show that I am shedding my fear and starting to take some chances again. I hit the ground pretty hard on one fall and I clearly remember how good it felt to have my body lying on the cool ground. I could have lied there happy for at least an hour. I popped right back up and we started to enter the “zone”. We really started to flow through the trails like I normally do. I was saying in my head, “hell $@&*en yea!”. Whoever was behind us was moving well too because they kept right up on our ass. This was good for me though as it kept us from slacking off. We actually passed two runners in this stretch which gave me a HUGE boost. We get up to a road where Steve meets us. He gives me some cliff shots and peanut butter crackers which look like poop to me at this point. My teeth actually hurt from eating so much garbage all day! I give Steve a huge thanks as he has been incredible all day and we are off. Steve has been awake crewing me nonstop since 4:00 AM! The last five miles are a mixture of dirt, rocky roads, and a killer three mile climb on a dirt road into Leadville. I was worn out and having trouble. I would run well for about 2 minutes and wham; it was like hitting a brick wall. I would have to walk for 20-30 seconds. I just couldn’t put in a 5 minute good stretch of running. I did the 2 minutes running, 10 second walking program on and off for the next two miles. Then we were at the base of the 3 mile climb into Leadville. It sucked big time. The last 3 miles are a true test and show that the Leadville 100 makes you earn every mile. There are no freebies. This 3 mile section is the exact same course I ran in the 10k race a week earlier. I killed it in the 10k. It was amazing how different and how much more steep the hill looked now at mile 97 and in the dark. I contemplated walking the rest of the way to the finish but after pushing hard all day walking would be like giving up and take forever so I decided to push hard to the finish. I would run a minute or two up the hill then be absolutely trashed. I would put my hands on my hips, put my head down and say to myself “you got to be kidding me”. I could tell that even Jon was hurting at this point. The headlights were still behind us and at about mile 98 Bob Africa passed me. Bob had looked pretty bad when we had passed him about three miles earlier on the Turquoise Lake Trail. He was still hurting a bit but looked really focused and was pushing hard. I tried to keep up with Bob but didn’t have the mental fortitude. He slowly melted away in the distance. It just shows that in this sport you can be down and out one minute and on top of the world the next. There is no linear or gradual descent into the abyss. Running ultras are about handling the extreme emotional and physical highs and lows. The moments at when and why they will arrive are neither predictable nor logical. At mile 99 another runner caught me, Alyssa Wilderboer. She was extremely strong and I was amazed at how fresh she looked. We ran together for a minute or two. I was determined not to let another person pass me, especially so close to the finish line. We were now on the paved road into Leadville. The same street (6^th) takes us to the finish line. I told Alyssa on the last uphill that I was going to get a “little crazy” and asked her if she wanted to join me. She gave me a look that said, “This guy is out of his fricken mind” and politely said, “No thanks, you go ahead”. I said to Jon, “Are you ready”. He said, “Let’s do it”. I went totally mental. At this point even hardened felons would have been afraid of me. I started hammering it up the hill. I was yelling, hollering, whooping, cursing and throwing my arms up into the air. I was going to let pure adrenaline take me to the finish. A couple hundred yards from the finish I mentally came down to sanity and said to Jon, “I better watch that I don’t collapse before the finish line” and laughed. I didn’t want to have to prove I was as tough as Julie Moss because I don’t think I am! We then went mental again and I was screaming “hell yea” to the few people who lined the course at this late hour. I sprinted across and through the finish line, punching the tape they had stretched out for me. It was 1:33 AM. The clock read 21:33; I finished in 22^nd place out of over 600 people who started the previous morning at 4:00 AM. It wasn’t my dream of sub 20 hours but I held it together and finished not too far from my goal. I wasn’t let down a bit. I was ecstatic. I did it. So much can go terribly wrong in these races and 1 ½ hrs off a goal is not much at all. Steve was there and congratulated me. He was pumped and bewildered. He had never been to one of these insane events before and I think he enjoyed the experience. I saw Rhonda who finished 22 minutes before me and told her she was an absolutely incredible runner and it was an honor to run with her. Rhonda looked pretty fresh too, albeit having some stomach issues. She thanked me, laughed and said “Excuse me; I have to go vomit in the garbage can over there”. I laughed. Rhonda was the second female finisher in the race. I sat there with Steve and Jon and they were shocked at how good I Iooked and felt. At mile 95 I had told Jon I would be going straight to the medical tent after the race. But now I felt chipper and playful and wanted to do some shadow boxing with someone. I saw Alyssa and Phillip Turk cross the line and congratulated them. I showered and got right back out there to talk with everyone and watch some finishers come in with my buddy Nick Curry. I was happy to see that Mike Arnstein finished 4^th place and Oz cross the line about 45 minutes after me. It was a beautiful night and I have to admit I felt like a million bucks. I could stand, sit or walk pretty well but I later found when getting into bed that there was not one lying down position I could muster which didn’t result in extreme shooting pain in my legs. I would get comfortable for a second and then it was like a ghost was there shooting electric current through my legs! I am guessing this was just severe muscle damage. I tossed and turned all night and didn’t sleep a minute but felt great in the morning. We got up and watched the last finisher cross the line at 29:58. She was a local runner from Leadville and she looked pumped up!

Everyone always asks me why in the hell do I do these crazy races. After Leadville I finally realized that I favor doing the ultras and 100s because they are really not races at all, they are true adventures! It’s an adventure because success isn’t just measured by your results.  Its measured by the amazing people you encounter along the way and camaraderie associated with it. There is an understanding and unspoken bond between ultra runners which just doesn’t occur between people at shorter “races”.

In summing it all up I think Ken Chloubler the race director says it best. In his inspirational speeches he says, “You can do more and you are better than you think you are”. My take away from these crazy races is not only to do more and be better in running but to translate that philosophy to life as well. I look forward to being part of the Leadville experience next year but maybe this time as a pacer or crew member J  Thanks Ken and to my team for an amazing day!