Finally, Leadville!

I took a short (6.5 mile) acclimatization run on Tuesday afternoon along the Leadville race route on the north shore of Turquoise Lake. At almost exactly 10,000 ft, the lake trail was a great run to start getting used to the thinner air here.

We scouted a few key spots on the race route — Powerline, Fish Hatchery, Twin Lakes — all place names I’ve heard many times but have only just now put them in a real, tangible context. I’m looking forward to seeing them all again on Saturday — and *really* early on Sunday 🙂

On the Turquoise Lake run, at first my heart rate spiked and I was panting through the first 100 yards. After that, I eased into a moderate pace (a fair bit faster than the 14 min/mile pace the race officials use to estimate the slowest possible pace for a 30-hour finish), and even ramped up to a 9 min/mile on the run back — Of course, I felt like I was pushing a 7:30 pace. Thanks, Altitude!