It's been a full 6 weeks now since my last race, the San Juan Solstice 50. In just 2 weeks, the Leadville 100 will take place, and I have officially decided to pull out. Not due to an injury or to a lack of competition, that's for sure. I'm feeling good, and Leadville will be as competitive as ever. Instead, I just have not been feeling motivated and psyched about the race, or racing in general lately.
Going into the SJS50 over a month ago I though I was ready, I finished with a solid performance but it was well below my expectation. The week following it, I decided to break my streak for nearly 7 months without a day off as well as my goal of running at least 4 miles a day for a year. I took a few days of complete recovery, and it worked wonders. In less than a week my legs felt good and I was bagging 14ers and attempting the Tenmile Range Traverse. All was looking good, and my motivation was mostly restored. There was one thing that kept resurfacing in my mind though, but it was "just a though" and I made sure to keep it at that. Until recently. At the SJS50 award ceremony, Jason Schlarb kept talking about Steamboat and the Run Rabbit Run 100. He was trying to convince me to register.
It was a good thought at the time, but I was focused on the Leadville and had been since the first of the year. Over the past 3-4 weeks though, I have had some undulating motivation. Something just didn't seem right. I neither hurt, sick, or over trained. I was starting to lose focus mentally. Leadville, instead of being an exciting adventure, slowly became a dreaded chore that started weighing more heavily on my mind. Then it occurred to me, I needed to do something about it. So, instead of going down to Telluride and Silverton to watch the Hardrock 100 and do some training with Dakota and Brendan, I went to Leadville and tried to re-ignite the fire. A 37 mile run on the course, camping with friends, crewing at the Silver Rush 50, and a near hypothermic afternoon jog around Turquoise Lake, and I still did not feel it. The following two weeks continued in the same fashion, and I knew I need to re-consider Leadville.
I pretty much made up my mind right then and there, but over the next few days I talked to some close friends and fellow ultra runners to get their opinions. Nearly all of them concurred. Pull out of Leadville and go to Steamboat. On paper it just made sense and when I finally let myself accept it, running became substantially more fun again.
Going into the SJS50 over a month ago I though I was ready, I finished with a solid performance but it was well below my expectation. The week following it, I decided to break my streak for nearly 7 months without a day off as well as my goal of running at least 4 miles a day for a year. I took a few days of complete recovery, and it worked wonders. In less than a week my legs felt good and I was bagging 14ers and attempting the Tenmile Range Traverse. All was looking good, and my motivation was mostly restored. There was one thing that kept resurfacing in my mind though, but it was "just a though" and I made sure to keep it at that. Until recently. At the SJS50 award ceremony, Jason Schlarb kept talking about Steamboat and the Run Rabbit Run 100. He was trying to convince me to register.
It was a good thought at the time, but I was focused on the Leadville and had been since the first of the year. Over the past 3-4 weeks though, I have had some undulating motivation. Something just didn't seem right. I neither hurt, sick, or over trained. I was starting to lose focus mentally. Leadville, instead of being an exciting adventure, slowly became a dreaded chore that started weighing more heavily on my mind. Then it occurred to me, I needed to do something about it. So, instead of going down to Telluride and Silverton to watch the Hardrock 100 and do some training with Dakota and Brendan, I went to Leadville and tried to re-ignite the fire. A 37 mile run on the course, camping with friends, crewing at the Silver Rush 50, and a near hypothermic afternoon jog around Turquoise Lake, and I still did not feel it. The following two weeks continued in the same fashion, and I knew I need to re-consider Leadville.
I pretty much made up my mind right then and there, but over the next few days I talked to some close friends and fellow ultra runners to get their opinions. Nearly all of them concurred. Pull out of Leadville and go to Steamboat. On paper it just made sense and when I finally let myself accept it, running became substantially more fun again.
Pros & Cons - Leadville or RRR
Leadville 100Good Competition, Already Registered. No Prize Money August: Middle of Summer, Less Adventures Lots of Roads, I'm Lacking Tempo Work Close to Home, Places to Stay No Extras for Placing Well Motivation Had Diminished Recently 6 Weeks to Recover Before UROC 100k | Run Rabbit Run 100Good Competition, Need to Register (I'm broke..) Prize Purse, Paid 5 Deep, 1st Gets $10,000 September: I Love Fall Racing, More Training Mostly Mtn Trail, More Like Current Training Still Fairly Close, Used to Live There 2 Western States 100 Bids (Hopefully..) Excited for a Fall Race, New Terrain, and More! 2 Weeks to Recover Before UROC 100k |
When compared like they are above, it is easily to see that RRR100 is the more logical choice. I did consider (for a minute) doing both, but I would surely be putting myself in over my head. There is still lots of fun summer adventures to be had, peaks to bag, and workouts to be done before I feel I am truly ready to race a 100 miler. Leadville just doesn't make the cut this season, although I may still be there to watch/crew. As for Steamboat, it's been nearly 3 years since I lived there, and have not been back since.. I'm excited to see what it looks like without snow, explore the trails, and enjoy the fall colors that come with the crisp air that time of year. Fall always has been, and always will be racing season for me, and I can't wait. So with that, Run Rabbit Run 100... See you in 6 weeks!
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