NicoleSummer 2021…things are returning to some semblance of normal and the race season that was planned for 2020 is now back on the calendar for 2021. This past weekend was the Leadville Heavy Half and Marathon, and I did the Heavy Half. I had originally planned to race this back in 2019, but with the course re-routed due to the winter’s heavy snow, we opted to defer a year. Then came COVID-19, so it was a 2-year deferral.
What is the Leadville Heavy Half?
This is a 15.5-mile out-and-back course from downtown Leadville (10,000 ft) to the top of Mosquito Pass (13,100 feet). Not only is this course challenging due to the elevation gain, but the entire thing takes place at over 10,000 feet. Even living at 6000 feet in Colorado Springs is not enough to be ready for that!
How did I prepare?
While I’ve typically not been one to spend a lot of time on the trails, it was time to get acquainted with elevation gain. We revisited local trails from the 2019 race season here in town to get gain. As soon as Barr Trail was cleared of snow, we did a few training runs there. I was prepared to run for 3.5 – 4 hours. We also did a late May scouting trip to Leadville to spend time at this altitude. That training day was an adventure in itself.
Race Day
The marathon started at 7am, and the half at 9am, so I was up early to see Rudy and Steve start the marathon. (The marathon also goes up to Mosquito Pass, but it takes “the long way”). We had a nice AirBnB house for the weekend about a mile from the start, so it was a quick drive down (save the legs!) to cheer and see them off. Dottie and I went back to the house and I got my gear around and had time for a second breakfast. At about 8:30, I left to walk/jog to the start for a brief warm-up. I met another racer along the way. She was from Missouri but had been in Leadville the last month acclimating.
The Start
It was a rolling start with self-seeding based on anticipated finish time. I was thinking a 3:30 seemed reasonable so I set myself up at the back of the “under 3:30” wave and in front of the “under 4:30” wave. Shortly after 9am we were underway!
My plan was to run controlled anything that wasn’t too steep (and a lot of the course was steep). The trip out of town was runnable for a while at about 6% grade. I ran with power so I was hitting about 180W at an 11:00min/mile pace, which felt nice and controlled. A good number of people were passing me, but I knew I had to stay in my race. My goal was to keep my uphill miles at a 15:00 pace or faster, and then I’d make up the difference of the 13:30 target average pace on the downhills.
Just shy of 3 miles into the race we were treated to a mile of mostly downhill, which actually didn’t feel that great at first, but then my legs woke up. Mile 5 had relatively mild gain and I was right on target with 15:00 minute miles or better. But then the true challenge reared its head as we made our way up the pass.
The Climb
The average grade of mile 6 was 9.6%. The 7th mile was 13.9% and the last 0.75 mile to the top “eased up” at 12%.
The terrain in the three miles to the top became quite rocky and uneven. The closer to the top of the pass, the more unstable the terrain. Not only are you trying to get up a steep hill, you have to make sure you are not tripping on any rocks while navigating around other racers if it makes sense to pass. Additionally, the recent rains made for streams to be traversing the roads. As us “mid-pack” half marathon runners were starting up the steep sections, the marathon runners were on their way down. At this point, those who may have gone out too fast at the start were now slowing down or bent over on the side of the trail.
My energy levels were good and I was eating on schedule for the most part. I had a little trouble with some congestion in my ear, which made it harder to breathe (plugged up ear) and eat, but it would eventually clear for long enough for me to regain focus moving up the mountain and passing people every so often.
I could tell when I was close to the top of the pass because the facial expressions of the downhill runners changed from focused on not falling after a long, steep, rocky descent, but joy that they’d reached the turn-around! I was not “on pace” for the 5k climb to the top… it took me 1 hour and 6 minutes…
Mosquito Pass was extremely windy, as was expected. I had a jacket, hat, and gloves in case it was too cold, but I opted to not put them on. There was an aid station at the top but I just took a quick look around, swallowed an endurolyte and went on my way. While we were all happy to finally be descending, it was technical and steep, so I just went as quickly as I could but still controlled.
The Descent
A mile or so down I stopped to adjust my shoe but was certainly making much better time than going up, but not as quickly as I wanted to make up for the slower ascent. For comparison, the first 5k down took me about 37 minutes. After that long descent, I was somewhat looking forward to the mile climb for a break from the pounding. I power walked most of that and mentally prepared for the last 3 miles to the finish, which were mostly downhill. I spent some time chatting with another racer here. She was a bit stronger on the uphills, so I let her go up. Perhaps I could have run a little more of this hill, but I certainly made my way down it as fast as I could.
Before the final miles I fueled with a gel around, I had a strong finish and off I went. My legs were feeling it, my hips were feeling it, but I kept the feet turning over. In my head I felt a 9 minute pace would be good, but I gravitated to an 8:30. When I saw I wasn’t going to be that far off of my 3:30 time goal, I cut the next mile down to a slightly below an 8:00 pace. Turning on to 6th St, and knowing it was a straight shot and a bit over half a mile to the finish, it was time to give everything I had left. As I made the turn I saw the racers who were ahead of me on the uphill stretch. I set out to catch as many of them as I could and got a handful! This last 0.6 mile was a 7:50 pace and I knew my quads were going to be sore!
→ Finish time 3:33:29, 14/71 (F40-49).
After the Race
I crossed the finish line and collected my medal, finisher’s mug, and bottle of water, and then walked around the finish area for a few minutes. I sat on a wall, drank the water, and then connected with Dottie, who had just arrived. While the weather had been magnificent during the race, a small storm cell was passing through so we thought it best to get to the house. On the way to the car, I started to feel hungry so I snagged a post-race BBQ pulled pork sandwich at the athlete food tent. Was it the best pulled pork I ever had? Who knows, but it tasted delicious!
Dottie and I then pulled up Steve and Rudy on the trackers, and saw they only had 4 miles to go, so we didn’t spend too much time back at the house. I put on some dry clothes, ate most of the sandwich, and we went back to the finish. Steve finished in 6:41 and Rudy in 6:50. The storm cell had completely blown over and the sun was out strong. Overall it was a fantastic day.
My first time racing in Leadville was a great experience, even though I do feel a bit beat up now! This race is no joke…it’s really a lot of hiking/power walking and there is over 3000 feet of elevation gain. We were fortunate to have good weather, but it could be anything on the mountain. I was well prepared and look forward to my next race, the Barr Trail Mountain Race, which is a 12.6 mile out-and-back that starts at 6500ft and goes to Barr Camp at 10,200 and back. I will close out the season in August with the Pikes Peak Ascent – 7800 feet of gain starting at 6300 and finishing at 14,115ft – the top of Pikes Peak.
Nicole
