Our failure in 2004 was a huge eye-opener to us. Phil and I are both fit; we may not look like bike studs, and we aren’t speedy, but neither of us had come up against an event that we couldn’t complete. And we didn’t like how it felt to fail – not only to fail, but to quit.
Again demonstrating that one’s degree of stubbornness is inversely proportional to one’s intelligence, we didn’t accept that Leadville was beyond our ability. Instead, we decided that we were going to try again.
While we are stubborn and some do question our intelligence, we were smart enough to realize that we needed professional help. [Peanut Gallery – shush!]
Finding a coach is a difficult thing. The internet has certainly made it easier to discover your options, but the rule of caveat emptor [buyer beware] comes into play. Anyone can build a website and claim to be a qualified coach. We ended up spending a couple of months doing on-line research and calling various coaches to see if we could find someone who was qualified, available and affordable.
Eventually we hired Bob Seebohar , who at that time was a principal with ATP Coaching in Evergreen. Bob is an endurance-sports coach and sports-nutrition expert. An exercise physiologist and a registered dietitian specializing in sports nutrition for endurance athletes, Bob has been a competitive triathlete and duathlete since 1993. Most important to us, Bob had completed the Leadville 100 MTB race in 2004 (10 hours, 59 minutes).
Working with Bob was extremely valuable. We learned about training using the periodization model ; we also learned that having a structured plan with specific goals for each workout allowed us to become more efficient. The quality of our training improved, allowing us to better manage the quantity. We trusted Bob’s knowledge, and it worked.
I was not panicked standing in the starting queue in 2005. I knew what to expect. I knew that there would be suffering and that I was as prepared as I could be for the event. It was a much different feeling than what I experienced in 2004.
Phil and I both finished the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race in 2005 in under 12 hours:
11:40:20 Joanne Morrow
11:40:54 Philllip Kriz
Remarkably, after nearly 12 hours of racing, we finished only 34 seconds apart.
At the end of the race I swore I’d never do it again. Uh huh. Stay tuned.
Never say never! Once the endurance bug has bitten you'll keep on doing things like Leadville.
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