Leadville Taper / 8/1-8/7

The taper for the Leadville 100 is on. The week ending August 7th was my first taper week. I ran just north of 70 miles and for about 9 hours and took Monday completely off. I did no trail runs and did zero in the mountains--maybe a mistake? Instead, I chose to stay close to home and hit the dirt roads in the Parker hills. On Friday I had a great tempo run and felt fast, strong and light on my feet.

• Total miles for the week: 70.2
• Total time running and cycling: 9 hours, 15 minutes
• Total vertical: ~7,000 feet
• Total runs: 7
• Average mileage per run: 10
• Yoga stretches, core strengthening and push-ups

Total miles for the year: 2213.61

This week I'm planning about 50 miles and 7-8 hours of running, including an outing to Mount Falcon of about 1.5 hours in duration--probably on Saturday. It will be nice to hit the trails and get in some nice vertical one last time before the big race the following Saturday.

You know, in 100s it's really difficult to know how things are going to go. Even in the marathon it's sometimes hard to predict how you're going to fare despite how hard you trained. Cramping, stomach issues, dead legs and other ailments can get you when you least expect it. The chaos factor goes up dramatically when you're running 100 miles, especially at 10,000+ feet in the Colorado high country. Sometimes we ultrarunners forget how hard it is to cover 100 miles. The task at the Leadville 100 is insanely hard and requires a highly conditioned body and mind.

From here on out, my focus is on staying healthy, resting well, getting my gear in order and hydrating. Anne and I learned a bug is making its way through our son's school. Just the news I wanted to hear! I guess I'm going to be washing my hands a ton for the next 11 days.

I've always liked this clip from Rocky III.



Get 'er done!