Another year, another Leadville

The moment I was pulled from the course at the Leadville 100 mountain bike race last year, I knew I wanted to try again. I did not expect to get the opportunity to race there again so soon, but a week ago, I learned that I won a spot in this year's race through luck, fate, or the kindness of the Lifetime Fitness gods. (Note: Let's hope the same gods smile upon me when the results of the Unbound Gravel lottery are revealed next week.) 

The snail mail letter was a nice touch.

Why Leadville?

I've spent a large portion of my summer in Leadville every year for the last 6 years. I can either thank or curse my friend Doug who started all of this by asking me and Trent to pace him for the 100 mile run in 2017. Since then, I've done something up there every summer except 2020. The marathon, the Silver Rush 50 run and mountain bike races, the 10k, the 100 mile mountain bike race and 100 mile run: I've stood on all of their start lines and crossed most of their finish lines. Why? Because Leadville is magic. If you know, you know. If you don't know, you need to go. I love it there, it's my favorite place in the world, and I am beyond excited to have a reason to go back again. 

The luck of the draw

If you know me, you know I've got a good track record when it comes to winning contests and lotteries (see Norseman x2). So it might not surprise you that I won this year's Leadville lottery, but it does surprise the heck out of me! I was so sure that I'd never get in through the lottery that last year, I guaranteed myself a spot by signing up for the full Lead Challenge (I was going to do the marathon anyway; it was basically saving money if you think about it). People try over and over again to get into this mountain bike race and they get declined year after year.

After my DNF last summer, I came up with a plan for getting on that start line again. Instead of entering the lottery, I decided to sweet talk Trent into agreeing to go up in July for the Silver Rush 50, then stand around after that race to win a spot through a random drawing for entries to the 100 mile race. Last year, they didn't have enough women present to claim the available spots. What a brilliant plan.

However, about a month before the lottery opened in mid-December, one of my new Arkansas friends contacted me through Strava. I'd met Jimmy John and his friend Audy last year when all of us were training for Leadville out at Lake Sylvia. We followed each other on Strava and cheered for each other virtually throughout the summer. Still, I was surprised when Jimmy John asked if I wanted to enter the 2023 Leadville lottery with him, Audy, and another one of their friends as a group. Groups seem to do better in the lottery, he told me. Hmmmmmmm. Again, if you know me, you know I'm great at saying SURE, WHY NOT? when I should be saying, hmmm, let me think about that. 

Note: entering the lottery as a group does seem to work. One of my Smash teammates also entered the lottery as part of a team, and her team also got in.

Getting prepared

I know I didn't get to the 42-mile checkpoint quickly enough last year because of my technical skills, not because of my endurance. So I know exactly what I need to work on. I've been working to get better and braver on my mountain bike since the summer - I took an official private lesson with a coach with the Women of Oz and a few unofficial private lessons with my amazing friend Ari. But as soon as I won the entry last week, all of this has taken on a new sense of urgency. I've got seven months to prepare. Let me make everything I do contribute to a successful day in August.

In no particular order:

• Practice pushing my bike fast uphill. I know I'm going to be on foot for some of this race, but I can move faster than I did last year. This means practicing pushing my bike and wearing better, grippier shoes that don't give me blisters.
• Practice riding scary downhills on single track. Otherwise, how am I going to descend the Powerline section without walking? (Walking downhill is a waste of time, Kris.)
• Practice riding steep uphill single track, preferably with other people nearby. I need to be able to stay on my bike and ride up St. Kevins while people are passing me.
• Practice racing. If you know you can do it, you can do it. I've got a great opportunity at the upcoming Ouachita Challenge to practice a tough, technical mountain bike race. I need to enter allllll the races and get as comfortable on this bike as I can.
• Focus on the bike. I still want to do the Big Sur marathon in April (another lottery that I won, along with Shelly and Orissa, so I'm not willing to drop out or drop to a shorter distance). But I found myself asking my coach last week if I can train to "just survive" the marathon. After all, it's just a scenic foot tour of the Pacific Coast Highway, with 2600 feet of gain over 26 miles. I don't need to win it or anything.

These are just some thoughts I'm having as the 2023 season begins. I hope everyone has something on your calendar that makes you as inspired, nervous, happy, and excited as Leadville makes me. Here we go again!