The following is an email Sam sent out describing his Leadville 100 experience:
Alright so here is the update:
Holly and I went out to Leadville, Co on Thursday evening with Doug and Kim Anderson. What was supposed to be a 6:30 hour drive turned into a 9:30 hour marathon due to the road in Spanish Fork being washed out by a flash flood. We get to Leadville and check into this freaky looking hotel. I have attached a pic of the hallway. Anyway this hotel was right across the street from the start/finish line and was very convenient. If you have never been to Leadville it is a small mining town and sits at 10,200 feet in elevation. It almost feels like time forgot Leadville, it is very twilight zone. Due to this high elevation the temps never got above the mid 60's and the lows were supposed to be in the high 30's/low 40's. There were 1000 other cyclists registered for this event (including Lance Armstrong) and it is funny because at the check-in on Friday morning everyone was looking at each other's legs to size up the competition (just a stupid thing all cyclists do).
So the sign-in and pre-race meeting was held on Friday. During the pre-race meeting Lance walks in and gets the mic shoved in his face. He was a class act as no one expected to see him at the pre-race meeting. He basically told everyone that he was in good shape and that he would give it his all. It was very obvious though that everyone in town wanted to see him get beat by the local hero and 5 time defending champ Dave Weins.
Friday afternoon was so great. Holly, my buddies, and their wives went for a leisurely mtn bike ride around a lake outside of town. It was nice to get out and stretch the legs a little. It was also good to test the lungs at this crazy altitude. You could definitely feel the elevation as I was out of breath everytime I climbed the hotel stairs and we were on the third floor, and there was no elevator. After the ride though I knew that the altitude wouldn't be much of a problem. Following the ride the entire group went to dinner. Leadville does have good food. The 2 places that we ate at were excellent. I have been trying to prepare myself for this race for the past 6 months, and I am sure my two buddies Rick and Doug got sick of me asking questions. Doug has ridden this race 5 times and Rick did it last year. A couple of my other friends have been doing it for up to 12 years in a row. It was a huge advantage to pick their brains on everything from the course, preparation, gear, etc... Following dinner they took me for a drive to kind of show me where the race would go and where Holly would be at the aid stations. My questions continued for the next 2 hours!
The race was to begin at 6:30am, however if you wanted to be up closer to the starting line you needed to drop your bike off at the starting line at 5:00am. The top 100 returning finishers from the previous year are given a special area at the front of the race and I was jealous that Kenny, Brad and Elden (all 3 were returning top 100 the previous year) got to sleep in an extra hour because they wouldn't be fighting for a place to put their bikes. As mentioned before I had so many questions about the race that I had no idea what to expect.
If you are familiar with this event you know what a big deal breaking the 9 hour mark is. In fact if you finish the race at all it is a HUGE accomplishment. If you finish in less than 12 hours you get a silver belt buckle. If you finish in less than 9 hours you get a big belt buckle made out of silver and gold. A bunch of the guys that I have been riding with have told me that I could break this magical barrier, but that it was such a hard race that a first timer couldn't really do it. I knew Rick was close last year 9:30 and that he was in great shape this year. My plan was to stay on his wheel and use his experience to somehow finish sub 9. I also took a look at the finishers from last year and wrote on my thigh with a sharpie my desired split times that would put me at the finishing line before 9 hours. The race begins and the start was crazy. It is supposed to be a neutral start with no passing; however you have that one guy who thinks he is a hero and tries to gun it from the start. Elden was run over in the first 10 yards and lost both his bottles, and I saw at least 10 other cyclist hit the pavement. After this "neutral" start comes the first climb. These knuckleheads who were passing on the start soon met the St. Kevins climb. It was almost comical watching these guys fall off their bikes due to the steep grade of this climb. By the time the climb was over everything had pretty much settled down. The backside of St. Kevins was a paved decent and felt quite nice to be on a smooth surface. This only lasts a few miles as the powerline climb quickly approached. This climb was pretty rocky and steep but it was nice to have Rick there showing me the line. The decent down the backside of powerline was super steep and if you lost focus for a second you would end up in the back of the ambulance. The next 20 miles was a rolling flat section that was harder than I expected. I ended up hooking on to a train of top 100 riders from the previous year and helped work the paceline with them. By the time I got to the Twin Lakes aid station at mile 40 Rick was no longer with me. Holly was at the aid station and did a GREAT job supporting me. I can only imagine her stress level as I come flying in, yelling instructions, and asking for specific food, drink, etc... and to have them put in a specific pocket in my jersey. She truly is a Saint!!! At this point it was 2:45, exactly where I had hoped my split would be. The next climb is a beast. It is 10 miles long and climbs 3600 feet to top out at over 12,600 or 12,800 feet. I was climbing alone for the first half until I caught the famous coach of Lance Armstrong, Chris Carmichael. It was cool to ride with him as we exchange small talk and continued our way to the summit. As we climbed above the tree-line I heard the leaders flying down the mountain towards me. I can't explain in words how cool it was to see Lance Armstrong and Dave Weins in action. It was freaky how easily they descended a super rocky, nasty trail down from the Columbine mine. At the point they passed I was less than a mile from the summit, which seemed like an eternity. That climb is demoralizing! Finally I hit the aid station at 4:26 which was 4 minutes faster than my pace split, and had the volunteers fill my bottles for the decent back down the mountain. I was flying downhill, so glad that I had trained on some technical rocky trails back home. I ended up leaving Carmichael in the dust. I passed Brad, Rick, Doug and the others and they were yelling words of encouragement. I was feeling great about 5 miles from the aid station and felt a ping in my left hamstring. I went into panic mode as my hammy was starting to cramp. Luckily I had just filled my bottles at the top and in the next 5 miles ended up drinking both bottles hoping to rehydrate. I pulled into the aid station and was frantically looking for my gear bag, which Holly had ready, and pulled out electrolyte pills and sportlegs, which help with lactic acid buildup. I have been drinking a sports drink called CarboRocket that my friend Brad actually invented. It is a complete lifesaver. After taking the electrolytes and drinking a bottle of CarboRocket I felt fine (no more cramping). The 20 miles of flats on the return was not kind. Being alone and having a nasty headwind in your face will beat you down. I limped into the final aid station feeling my shot at a sub 9 hour time was no longer a possibility. I checked my leg and I was hoping to be at this checkpoint at 6:05. I was currently at 6:04! I still had a chance. The infamous Powerline climb was the next obstacle. I cannot in words describe the next hour. Powerline is so steep and so long that it is hard to even push your bike up it. In addition to the nastiness of the climb, it has a number of false summits that beat you down mentally. I was about 3/4 of the way up this climb (walking my bike) and tears were rolling down my face. It really was a sad sight. I was a man beaten down badly. I was grateful that I was by myself during this low time. Come to find out later that this happens to most everyone, even the experienced veterans of this event. Good news is at the top of the climb I had 20 miles to go and 2 hours to finish for a sub 9. I only had 1 climb left. On the decent it started raining and got downright cold. I had forgotten from earlier in the morning but the last climb is mostly on asphalt. It is wicked steep but smooth. I climbed with a steady tempo and eventually reached the summit. I knew at this point that if I just stayed on my bike and did not wreck that I would be a sub 9 hour finisher. I don't know why but on the final decent I was actually enjoying the downhill. I think it was because I knew that in less than 30 minutes it would all be over. I was watching my gps as the final miles ticked away. At mile 100 I was still about 4 miles outside of town. Why didn't someone tell me the race wasn't really 100 miles? The last 4 miles were pure misery. There was a 3 mile dirt road that slightly was uphill into a headwind, followed by 1 mile on pavement that rolled. You could see the finish line from about a mile away. Knowing the end was near, and that I would be under 9 hours I coasted into the finish. Holly was there and as always, when I see her I lose it. I was bawling like a baby. She wasn't expecting to see me so soon and my arrival surprised her. In fact no one was ready with the camera to take my picture as I crossed the line. I stopped my clock, turned around and saw that I finished in 8:47:30. I couldn't believe I did it. The next 13 minutes seemed to drag out forever. I knew Rick was going to be cutting it close to his goal of 9 hours, so I hung around the finish area with my fingers crossed. 9 hours came and went and no sign of him anywhere. It turns out on the last climb he broke his chain and with that lost any chance of finishing in less than 9 hours. He eventually finished in 9:20 with Brad, and the first thing he asked his wife was "Did Sam do it?" I consider Rick a true friend and this proves what a good guy he is! So now we were waiting for the others. Doug and Elden were on single speeds and both wanted to finish in under 11 hours. They both did it finishing in 10:06 and 10:53. I can't imagine how hard that would be with only one gear.
Anyway that is my tale. I finished in 85th place and guaranteed a spot in the special top 100 area for next year's race. Before checking out of the hotel we all reserved rooms for next year so we could all do it again. I have never hurt more in my life. On the flipside I have never felt a greater sense of accomplishment. I owe Holly, Doug and Rick so much for helping me accomplish this near impossible feat. It has only been one day, but I am already looking forward to next year.
If you want to read the stories of the other people please check out their blogs at: http://www.ride29er.blogspot.com/ http://suncrestdug.wordpress.com/
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