Soul Mining: Taylor’s Training Log for the Leadville 100 (June)

The Obstacle is the Way

Challenges are inevitable in training. That’s the whole point. The stress – physical, mental, and spiritual – gives us the ability to step up to our set goals. It is absolutely necessary for growth. 

This is all fine and expected, especially when we have some semblance of control. That control helps us to remain steadfast in our training, and while it’s not an illusion, it is often elusive. Because sooner or later, that thing called life happens. Meeting deadlines, giving adequate attention to family matters, grabbing groceries, etc. 

This is training. It all takes time and energy, the two key components of any ultramarathon training block. 

When those resources are finite, how does one have the time and energy left to train for a freakin’ 100-mile race through the highest mountain range in Colorado!? 

Well, it’s all in the basics. I’ve come to rely on consistency. It is king in these parts. The sum of my average days will always beat out my best days. That’s something I can hang my hat on. 

So even though my pen and paper calendar hasn’t exactly matched what my legs have done, I need to fall back on the foundational training truth of consistency. With that in mind, I’m proud of showing up throughout one of the craziest months of my life.

Variety is the Spice of Training

June has simply been wacko! I’ve learned to be flexible over the course of the month. 

I took a week off at the beginning of the month to reset from another year of teaching first graders as an elementary educator. The following week I logged my first hours as your new lead of the Dirt Division here at Believe in the Run. Even though I’m no longer chasing children around, it was very taxing in a different way. 

I bring this up to remind you that stress is stress. My own reminder was like stepping on the end of a rake and smacking myself in the forehead with the wooden pole. The brain and body will internalize this stress the same way regardless.  I had to take these stresses into consideration when planning out my weeks and build over time. 

The following weeks of June would all be spent in a different state around the country visiting family and working. Wonderful. Beautiful. But with a boatload of logistics and ferrying across the western half of the U.S., it was still stressful. Again, stress – no matter positive or negative – is stress.

My favorite aspect of running this month was the variety it provided. It made planning each week interesting, to say the least. Thankfully, I had a well rounded crop of trail running shoes in the La Sportiva Prodigio line. Even the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro handled a solid amount of pavement as my surfaces were quite diverse. 

Most of my training for trails and ultra running is based on total time on feet and perceived effort as opposed to overall distance and pace. With the wide variety of terrain and conditions, those variables are much easier to control and adjust as needed. 

Here’s a breakdown of my last month of trainin

Week 1 highlight: The true kick-off to Leadville training happened this week. It was certainly highlighted by Robbe being in town. We had a couple of nice runs together with one being a hike/run up to Estes Cone that had a rad evening inversion.

Highlight: Exploration is one of the main reasons I love trail running. This week I took to segments of trail that I had never been on. One was a steep ravine. Even though I was hoping to make this a loop, the high river said not today! I was forced to turn around and take the steep 1,100 feet in 0.9 mile climb back out of the ravine and return home the way I came.

Highlight: Even though I was in the land of rolling hills and gravel, I stuck to my running for time over distance. Due to traveling and a broken down car, I wasn’t able to get in all the time on foot that I hoped for, but a higher rate of running made up for some of the time anyways. A big 25-mile run with a mix of gravel, road, and trails soothed my soul, even on a very hot and sweaty day.

Highlight: A major highlight of the week was a quick stop at home in the mountains. I went for a long trail run deep into Wild Basin to Bluebird Lake. There was still a ton of snow up high, but it made for a beautiful and fun adventure that reminded me to take it as it comes. 

I also had the chance to return to the motherland (Minnesota) which meant heat and humidity. I took to the trails where I ran my first ever trail miles as a kid (before I even knew it was a sport) and enjoyed ripping down some black dirt singletrack in the Minnesota River Valley. Many spiderwebs were consumed in the process.

Highlight: Hello Western States! The Dirt Division met up in Olympic Valley, California. This alpine playground provided lots of time on foot with many friends, new and old. Almost every run this week was with someone. Many of the days even had multiple runs. Even though I didn’t snag all the miles I wanted, this was another potent reminder that stress is stress. It was a great way to cap off the month. The whole event left me more excited than ever to travel my own 100-mile adventure in Leadville. 

I also had my first miles in the upcoming La Sportiva Prodigio Max. I’ll be logging a ton of miles in these over the next month leading up to the big event.

FINAL BLOCK

It’s time to get specific. In preparation for the Leadville 100, July will bring more time on feet and getting to work in the alpine. I know that Hope Pass is no joke. While I live at 8,000 feet above sea level, I still know that running above 10,000 feet for 100 miles isn’t anything to mess around with. In the first days of July, I have already logged a couple of bigger alpine runs that included a variety of terrain and conditions. Thanks to the La Sportiva Prodigo Pro, I left that run feeling more confident than ever. 

Longer days are starting to take their toll. As I’ve been battling some niggles, I look forward to the protection, support, and stability that the Prodigio Max has. I will also start integrating some bike rides to include some intensity without too much pounding. This is the first time in a long time that I have been able to stack many hours of running in back to back weeks. I’m still getting used to the training load. I would much rather make it to race day feeling good rather than beat up, even if that means choosing less running miles. 

See you on the other side!