Sticks, streams and shrunken snowfields

The Wednesday before Leadville Mom and I went with the pups, Zippy and Ruby, up to Jones Pass for a loop ridge hike (all off trail). A gorgeous day by all accounts, and our furry four-legged friends couldn't have been more delighted with their surroundings ... in fact, the area has sort of become Zippy's stomping grounds this summer, and he showed mom (me) all his favorite sticks, streams and spots ... and was only a bit dismayed to discover his favorite snowfield had significantly shrunk since his last visit, 2 weeks prior.

Leadville: a shudder for the shutter

The photos of the Leadville 100 that Jeff Best took are live and ready to view. Click here to view all 141 of the photos. Here's a sampling of a few of my favorites!

Breaking the Tape - 100 miles

Photo by Jeff Best

The Leadville 100: Time of 28 hours, 30 minutes. Third place among women 20-29 years, 28th female finish, 225th finisher out of more than 650 people who started the race! 

I'm letting the memories flirt with my mind to conjure up the words to describe the race ... hope to post a detailed description soon. In the meantime you can scan through some of the photos from my mom's camera here. Our good friend, Jeff Best, also came out to help crew and photograph. I'm really looking forward to seeing - and posting - some of the images he captured ... should paint the highs and lows in vivid color. Right now I'm feeling so much at once: loopy, giddy, exhausted, overjoyed, alive!

I received so much support from so many people for this endeavor - there's no way to possibly thank each and every person enough. 

It's no understatement to say I couldn't have done it without my crew and pacers. My mom aka "Crew Chief" showed exceptional skill and deft organization. When I showed up at aid stations everything I needed was laid out and ready to go ... and every need was attended to ... including taking off my sweaty gross socks and replacing them with crisp, clean, dry ones. I got in and out of almost every aid station, except for the last one when I needed to regroup, in short order. Dad was master chef, chauffeur and entertainer, as well as the crew chief's sidekick, helping her help me. Jeff, as previously mentioned, took the photographs, helped shuttle vehicles, provided endless words of encouragement and tied up any remaining loose ends. All three of them stayed up ALL NIGHT waiting for me at aid stations.

Rusty saw me through the two toughest sections of the course - my second climbs over Hope and Sugarloaf passes. When my mind started to dwell on how sickeningly tired I was and how sourly painful my feet felt and how many long miles I still had before me and how much I hated gu shots at that moment but couldn't stomach anything solid, he made me think about all that I had to be grateful for: the full moon, my amazing crew, the tools to dig deep ... and he told me one story after another to keep me engaged ... stories of daredevil surfing, harmless youthful antics and healing. 

Kevin joined me for a long, beautiful stretch along the Colorado Trail at the base of Mount Elbert and the even longer (mentally) 13 final miles to the finish line. Those last 13 miles were excruciating, and yet also wonderful. At one point I felt so sick it seemed like I would buckle over at any moment, and at the pace I was moving it would have taken decades to go a mile, what alone 13 miles. (I was still putting one foot in front of the other, but just barely). Like a true pro, Kevin got e-caps, food and fluids in me and said just the right things to keep me mentally buoyant. Seemingly miraculously, my body snapped back to life and we were able to break into a steady power hike all the way to the finish. The grace and poise Kevin brought to those last 13 miles will not be forgotten. 

Mark and Pam Macy also get major kudos - and a little bit of the blame for this whole thing. Back in 1988 Mark Macy ran the Leadville 100 for his first time (he's done it many times since) and my parents paced him. One of my earliest memories is being at Leadville, watching flashlights bounce through the night, and my mom explaining to me that those people had been running all day and all night long. Part of my motivation for signing up for Leadville was definitely nostalgic - my mom actually gave me her Leadville race shirt from 1988 (see post-race photos ... I'm wearing it!). Beyond being the initial inspiration, Mark also spent a couple of hours with me before the race giving me tips and tricks for how to get to the finish line, AND he cared for my blistered, sweaty feet in the middle of the night. (Mark and Pam were at Leadville this year crewing for someone else). 

A tremendous thank you also goes to all of my Alaska ultra friends. There's no way I would have had the courage to put my toe on the starting line, what alone cross the finish line without you all. From that first blistering cold winter night on Bear Mountain when I came out for a Monday night run to every trail mile since, you all have been nothing but supportive, inspirational and fun. You all made training for Leadville an exceptionally wonderful experience. 

To everyone who called, texted, e-mailed, Facebooked ... wow! WOW! I think I'm going to forget about my birthday altogether, and instead run 100 miles every year. I so enjoyed all the little notes, thoughts, conversations, prayers and words of encouragement. I got reconnect with folks I haven't talked to in a long time - and touch base with those I see more frequently. The feeling of being supported was through the roof. 

Like I said at the beginning, I'll get a race report up just as soon as I process the experience myself. 

With love, 

Amy

A good day is ...

crossing the finish line at the Leadville 100. What a feeling! Loopy, giddy, exhausted, overjoyed, alive! More to come soon. Sleep beckons.

Granite walls and falls

Last week Jeff and I headed out for a few days of climbing at Independence Pass. The weather didn't totally cooperate, but we still got some good time on crags (my new learned word of the week!) and camped next to this totally cool waterfall that sculpted all of these amazing granite rock formations. Plus, it was nice to just have some total down time ... much needed time for reflection as this amazing whirlwind of a summer wraps up and the next chapter (aka autumn) inches open.

Sweet altitude

Upon my return to Colorado at the beginning of August, Zippy and I took a five-day mini running vacation in Leadville ... learning the lay of the land for the race (this weekend!) and altitude-izing. Leadville is at 10,000 feet and sits at the base of a couple of Colorado's highest peaks ... Mount Elbert and Mount Massive ... both of which Zippy and I did loop runs on ... up one side to the peak, down the other, and then around the base back to the start. We also checked out Hope Pass and Sugarloaf Pass ... the high points on the race course and did an afternoon run along Turquoise Lake.

On top of the time soaring through Colorado's high peaks ... I enjoyed hanging out in the hostel ... the majority of guests were in town training, like me, either for the mountain bike race or the running race ... so the comrarderie was through the roof. We all spent our days training and our evenings talking racing strategy ... who knew you could analyze the minutia to such a degree? I actually had to remind myself: "It's just running." And the way I look at the race: "How cool ... I get to run all day long." That's that.

On a random note ... I stopped into the outdoor store in Leadville to pick up a few things, and behind the cash register was none other than Christine, a former fellow Alaska Pacific University student. It took us a couple of seconds to place each other - it was that unexpected and out of context. She invited me over for an excellent dinner with some friends, and about half way through Tiffany shows up ... also a former fellow APU student. She just moved to Leadville from NYC two weeks ago. We had a really fun time talking and catching up. Sometimes life is so random and wonderful.