Wrap-up

Wow. My thoughts are duplicitous about the race. I'm still trying to sort out what happened. Sometimes it's hard to know.
The Leadville 100 is a very difficult race. Generally only around 45% of the starters finish. This year, 186 out of 561 entrants finished the race. That's only 33%.
I'm sure the weather had a lot to do with it. It honestly was miserable. I recorded some audio during the (short) race, and will put it together as a "jogcast" on the AA Cafe podcast, and I'm sure you'll hear it in my voice. There just wasn't anything fun about it. Lightning, snow, rain, sleet, muddy trails, cold wind...
But all that feels like an excuse to me. I know that slowed me down a bit from my usual pace. But I wasn't really able to eat much during the first part of the race. I couldn't seem to swallow food- no appetite. And eventually that was going to come back to bite me.
We discussed it afterward- what caused me to crash around mile 30? I've never crashed that early in a race. It's possible I got hyponatremia. I know I was well-hydrated, even though Brad kept telling me I wasn't drinking very much. But maybe I was over-hydrated and it washed too many of the electrolytes out of my system. That can cause brain swelling and other problems. Seems very possible that's what was going on. Because at one point I thought, maybe I have cerebral edema. Then I decided the fact that I considered that means I don't have it. But definitely I had some problem where anytime I would exert any effort I would instantly blow up. And that lasted at least 30 minutes. 30 minutes that I didn't have to spare.
It's common to go through tough times during a long race like that. Even the best runners go through it. Sometimes it takes an hour to come out of that tunnel. But unfortunately for me, this time I didn't have that time in the bank. By the time I recovered and felt good again, I was pushing the time cut-offs so tight that it was virtually impossible for me to stay in front of them.

I feel bad because I didn't get very far. And my legs aren't really sore.
But so be it.

For now, I'm saying that was my last 100. I enjoy running 50 mile ultras a lot more because I can finish in the daylight, drink a beer and go to sleep at night. For some people, running a 100 miles is in them. For me, it's a struggle. So, at least for now, I plan to get back in the gym, start running fast again (anything over 9 miles is for suckers!), and get on my mountain bike. I want to be strong and fast. Besides, isn't 50 miles far enough? (The obvious answer is no, but let's pretend it is for now.)

Thank you all for the support. A lot of people have given me physical help, encouragement, and motivation, and I truly appreciate all of you.

I also appreciate everyone who pledged money on the race for Coffee Kids. I'll contact each of you in the next couple days and let you know how you can donate your pledge money. Even though I wasn't pleased with my performance, some good still came of it.
Thanks for that. Stay tuned and I'll report how much money we raised for Coffee Kids.