Pretty much for the entirety of the Columbine Climb, up and down is a safe expectation. At 9 hour pace, I passed the entire race field between Twin Lakes Alternate on the way up (Keegan passed me there) and I probably passed the last people in the field at the bottom of the climb on their way up. Remember, it’s an out and back race where the turning point is the top of this climb. If you’re slower, closer to 12 hours, you’ll start encountering traffic coming the other way earlier. If you’re super fast (i.e. Pros) you pass people at the back of the field going the other way before they’ve even made it to Twin Lakes Dam.
At the top in the chunky goat trail section - you should expect steady, heavy traffic coming the other way. At points it’s a steady conga line of people doing a hike-a-bike and delirious from the altitude so you need to have your wits about you and stay right.
There is a short section that splits and is one way, but it’s a small part of the overall climb.
Now with my previous comment - remember that there’s a steady line of people coming up the other side of the trail at you. It’s also that you have to watch for rocks that could cause you to flat, crack a wheel, or crash, that you might not be able to as easily avoid because of traffic.
Slightly different turn around point at the top here, but this is from 2017
And keep in mind those guys didn’t have traffic to deal with and had the full fire road to descend on. That right side was pretty chonky and you just won’t have a choice on race day.
Are corral positions based on 2024 events TBD? I was considering doing sea otter or Tahoe trail to improve my spot for Leadville if either of them will apply.
Yes, any qualifier race you do between now and Leadville can be used to improve corral. Just keep in mind that the cutoff times can (and do) get updated year to year.
Tamira Jenlink (LT 100 Race Director) said on the Leadville Podcast that they were going to tighten up corral times so that they align more with the results they’re seeing. First example of that is the change in times for the 2023 Rattler as they align to this year’s LT100, which tightened up by about 10 minutes from the prior year. For the 2023 LT100 a Sub 5:30 at the 2022 Rattler was good for Red. For 2024 LT100 that time needs to be Sub 5:20.
Wild card is how much or if those times are going to change for 2024 Fuego XL and Tahoe Trail. I expect times to change for Lutsen99r as the course is different for 2024.
This year’s Lutsen99’r is sold out.
Still spots for Fuego XL and Tahoe Trail though.
The weekly posts were a little much so decided to occasionally post milestones. Today’s milestone is that I’m happy with the progress. The goal has been, and will continue through April, to adapt my body to handle larger and larger training volumes and continue to lose weight and gain overall fitness.
I’ve been focusing on 3 week blocks with a 4th recovery week at 40-50% of a normal week. Each week in a block consists of one high intensity ride with intervals at or near threshold and the rest of the week is primarily zone2. Progress of the 3 week blocks is below. It’s nice to see how steady progress turns into large gains over time.
When I started in Nov my FTP was 3.12 w/kg. I’m currently sitting at 3.68 w/kg. I’d say my B goal is 4 w/kg with a stretch goal of 4.5 w/kg. I’ve definitely seen the biggest gains in feeling comfortable at 200watts for 3.5-5 hours with only marginal increases on my top end but that’s to be expected given how I’ve structured my training.
Good luck all with the continued training! 5 big months ahead.
I’m in the first Speciality phase of my Master’s XCM plan, so FTP isn’t going anywhere until after Sea Otter XL. The threshold workouts have been consistently difficult.
I have been working on a better XCM cockpit. I’m giving the SQ Lab 30x with a 16° back sweep and Ergon grips a try. I need to take it out for an extended ride to see if either change is worth keeping. I need to do a long downhills as that’s the place where it seems like the sweep could be less than ideal.
I’m finishing up a VO2 Block the end of this week (Friday can’t come soon enough ). After a little rest it’ll be long-form FTP test, and then into a Threshold Block, rest, then another FTP test.
After that, it’ll probably be almost all Sweet Spot, Tempo, and Endurance building TTE and Volume straight through until August, while spending as much time as I can out on the trails. My last FTP test / adjustment was May last year.
Got a serious itch to do Leadville last summer when I turned 50 and have failed in the lottery a number of times. I used to ride a lot but have been primarily lifting for the last 4-5 years. To make sure I did get in I decide to go through Boundless Coaching which has been great. Did TR low volume training plan until Jan 1 and have been working with a coach since the new year. It is very helpful having a coach as I definitely wouldn’t be doing as much on my own. The last month training has primarily been two days lifting legs, one very hard interval workout and lots of Zone 2. My riding has increased significantly and riding 10-12 hours/week, two of the days being 2-4 hour rides.
Goal is to break 9 hours like lots of others. I do live in Colorado and train at 6100’ which hopefully helps a bit. I just did a 20 min FTP test last Friday and averaged 303 watts which I was really happy with. Only time I have been over 300 watts for 20 minutes was once 11 years ago. Seems like I need to get to the 4.0 w/kg magic number and I am at 3.6 w/kg. Here is my FTP progression since last July as I always find it helpful seeing how others are doing.
I am also doing some gravel/mtb races this summer and the LT100 Stage Race to hopefully increase my corral position. Good luck to everyone!
When I first read this I wasn’t paying enough attention and thought these were weekly totals.
Looks like a good plan though. Even getting to 4 will make you dangerous.
I’ve been trialing a cockpit setup change as well. 100mm stem and 660 bars. It honestly feels better than I expected, though it’s definitely not as nice as 760s. The long stem makes the hands in the middle of the bar much nicer too.
As far as tires, I’m thinking renegades, thunder burts, or race kings. Anybody have opinions on which?
4.0 isn’t by any means a guarantee. If you’re at 4.0 with good endurance / TTE (ability to express FTP and ride high% of FTP for longer periods of time), and have a good day across the board it gives you a realistic shot.
Also, the 20 minute test isn’t the best judge of FTP. Especially for someone strong and with a lot of lifting background. If you’re doing a lot of TR Trainer workouts, AIFTP has been good for me, otherwise I think the long form tests (e.g. Kolie Moore) are better.
With that said, what you have going for you, 4.0w/kg is a sea level number.
I just did a revamp for a test on a modded cockpit. Egon Grips setup with the palm/wrist alignment, an SQlab 3OX 16deg cut down to 680, mounted to a 100mm Whiskey stem running it as -6° rise (still positive overall with head angle stack.)
I’ve only done a 1 hour spin on it and some of the control angles need some tweaks, but it feels pretty good. Once I run this on about a 3+ mile downhill here I’ll have a better idea of or . and if it’s good I’ll get the carbon bar.
If you are at 3.6 at 6100’, that’s already in the ballpark of 4.0 equivalent at sea level. 4.0 sea level FTP is no guarantee to go sub 9, but it’s a pretty good benchmark if you execute well. I’ve been around 4.0 for all 3 of my attempts and only missed out on a big buckle once due to poor execution.
Thanks as that confirms what I have read. Of course there is no guarantee and a lot can happen but at least it gives me a good chance with good execution. Plus, I believe my numbers still have room to improve once I start doing some races this summer plus big mountain rides. Most of my long 3/4 hour rides have been flattish and zone 2 so far. I just need to stay consistent and focused to hopefully earn that big belt buckle.
That is a very impressive ftp progression, I’d go so far as to say inspiring! I went with boundless as well, hope to see you out there sometime. Did my 20 minute effort just today, sitting at about 3 1/2 w/kg right at sea level, hoping for a little more but 4 is probably a bit out of reach. Although after seeing what you have pulled off….I guess you never know
Shooting for the elusive sub 9. I wish I was handy with data and could draw a histogram of the checkpoint times for those who did get sub 9. Anyone have a pacing sheet they trust?
Nice…I think they have a meet up prior to the race so we likely will meet up at the race. The coaching and having a plan for each week has been super helpful. Also, there is still a lot of training ahead so my guess is you will see your numbers increase over the next few months.
Time targets for 9 hour, and also includes expected NP throughout the day and target climbing watts on key climbs. Power estimates are for ~167-170lb rider on ~24lb bike.
). After a little rest it’ll be long-form FTP test, and then into a Threshold Block, rest, then another FTP test.
or 
. and if it’s good I’ll get the carbon bar. 
