Despite rolling his ankle three times in the first 13 miles, Joel ran a great race! He pushed through alot of pain and some of the worst weather I'm sure he's run in. Due to the crappy weather it seemed like everyone was running within themselves and therefore there was little socializing on the trail. I'm sure this added to the difficulty for Joel as he likes to talk while running. I'm not going to get into the details of Joel's race. I'll leave that to him. I'll just say I'm extremely proud of Joel for enduring the cold, wet weather and running over 40 miles on a sprained ankle. I think he learned some things about himself as well as what types of races he'll do in the future.
As for myself...I have no regrets. I didn't run because I didn't have the desire to push through to the end. I'm sure Joel would have preferred that I run with him rather than crew for him but one of the most important parts of our friendship is the fact that we each allow the other to be themselves. We push each other as much as possible but in the end we each do what we need with no judgment from the other.
I'm excited to continue to train and I'll be even more ready, both physically and mentally, next year. Next time I'm in Leadville I'll have my wife and Joel as crew and pacers. I know I can complete this race. It's not just something I think, it's something I feel.
Looking towards Hope Pass from Twin Lakes
Joel coming into Winfield in 13h 20m
6 comments:
Good decision on your part...as hard as it was to make. A race like that, you have to be 100% bought in. It's not like a little sprint where you start and finish in 1:30.
GREAT Race by Joel. My friend did Pikes Peak, and I KNOW how bad it was up there. He's an animal for gritting his way through it on a 3X sprained ankle.
Next year....NEXT YEAR!!
It sounds like a great decision. It would be terrible to have run and have a bitter taste in your mouth from the event due to something out of your control. That kind of experience can lead to a feeling of obligation to train, rather than an enjoyment of training. Any other events this year yet?
Reports make it sound brutal, but I see it was pleasant at Winfield (but I'm guessing cold).
Next year.
Nic,
As I had planned on running Leadville I have nothing else on the schedule other than my somewhat "underground" 50 miles on the IAT late in Sept.
Anyone is welcome to join....drop boxes only, no planned aid, we finish at a local restaurant for food and beer. I'll write a post about this as we get closer.
steveq,
The weather was horrible. Winfield was the best they had all day. Fortunate for them that Hope to Winfield was nice. Cool but sunny.
When are you doing your underground 50?
we're still trying to pick a date but probably the last Saturday in Sept.
We want it to be during the peak of fall colors. It's on a beautiful rolling section of the IAT. Good beer and food available at the Cafe Wren after. We're about 1.5 hours from the Cities.
Join us?
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