As a Denver resident, we’re all pretty concerned the state is going to be a giant tinder box this summer. Snow pack levels across the state are well below the average (by about 50%) for this time of year. If we have a snowy spring and/or a wet summer, that could help, but I’m not optimistic. This is the driest winter since I moved here 14 years ago. The winter of 2012-2013 was my first winter here, which has historically been the benchmark dry winter for recent comparisons, and this is drier (I think).
Yeah, could be real bad
Seemed like good information here distilled down into one podcast.
2 Likes
Pretty good discussion. Need 5 years of structured training to go sub 9? Oof there goes my dream 
Yeah, I thought most of it was pretty good, but I wouldn’t take that 5 year comment as absolute. I think that was to temper expectations, especially since they coach a bunch of newbie athletes doing the race. A more common measuring stick is ~4w/kg sea level ftp with solid endurance and good execution on race day. And that’s not an absolute either, but better than how many years of training imo.
1 Like
I have been sticking to structure now for my 3rd year. I can definitely carry more load and it seems like im getting more robust and gains compound. But I feel like there is not a massive amount of low hanging fruit to pick there anymore in a 4th of 5th year. I’m also 45, so time is working against me.
1 Like
Less this:
More this:
A friend of mine rode 8:30 a few years back. He doesn’t do much, if any, structured training. But he’s above 4 W/kg.
Yeah - definitely don’t need 5 years of structured training to go sub 9. I’m not there yet and have done it twice and almost a third.
Also don’t agree with them that you need to be doing over 10 hours / week necessarily. I think for some people, yes, but there are some that do fine on lower volume too.
Also felt like they could have done a better job with the Acclimation thing and when to arrive - There are some people where arriving the afternoon before and then race the next morning is like the worst approach (me). Really have to try it yourself.
1 Like
Agee on this. Similar for me. I’m pretty terrible the first day, probably my worst after ~2 days, starting to feel human again after 3 days. For me, it’s not just about drop in power, but headaches and just feeling pretty bad. I usually do an easy 30 minute spin up kevins on the day I arrive and there is no way I’d want to race with that feeling. I’m sure it would be different with race day motivation, but I still don’t think it would be good for me.
1 Like
Here’s another thing. Adam said the average elevation was over 11K. I can’t remember if it was here or the Facebook group, but I’m pretty sure someone did an analysis of Average Elevation by Distance and By Time - and it was lower than you’d expect. Definitely in the 10’s for both. I think it was probably the Facebook group and discussed on Fatty & Hottie’s podcast?
1 Like
Probably no more easy gains, but maybe still decent room for growth depending on how much volume you’re doing. I started getting serious about training in my early 40’s and hit a plateau on under 10 hours per week. As the kids got older and work eased off, I made significant gains in my late 40’s and early 50’s. And then I was lucky enough to retire at 54 and took training up a notch and saw more gains. All time power pr’s last year and was probably overtraining a bit. Tbd on this year, I’m thinking last year might have been pretty close to my genetic potential at 56. And yep, our genetic potential goes down as we age, but I was nowhere close to it when I was younger. And maybe not even that close now, but I’m not interested in training more than I do.
2 Likes
Yeah, the only time one is above 11k on the course is the very top of Sugar Loaf, which is short both ways and then the top third of Columbine, which does take some time. But there’s no way that adds up to even a third of your race time, much less being the average elevation for the day. I think he was forgetting that you start at 10k, but it’s not all up from there all day. Twin Lakes is 9200.
All around, that video was some so-so advice. Same reason I find the Bonk Bros kind of unlistenable too. They say a lot of stuff that makes no sense. Not a good advertisement for their coaching business if you ask me.
1 Like
Ok, I just checked. Average Elevation, by time, for me is under 10,200’ which is what I thought I remembered. (Download GPX, convert to Excel, quick look at the numbers)
2 Likes
@Jonathan is targeting a sub 7 finish this year and sharing his approach/progress on the podcast. Some good things to think about regardless of your finish goals.
My season is going well so far. I’m mainly focused on Unbound for now, but 2 of my biggest focus areas are dropping weight (and general nutrition) and getting more aero on the bike. Both of those should play well at Leadville. I’ve gotten pretty obsessive on nutrition and I’m already leaner than I was at my peak last season. Power is still a long ways off, I’m trying to ramp a little slower this year.
7 Likes
I was kind of inspired by Jonathan here. To really put a goal that difficult out there and actually go for it is pretty cool. Also going to try to stretch myself goal-wise for the race this year as well now. Why not really? I won’t be trying to go sub 7, but I do want to take a nice sized time chunk off my time from last year. We’ll see what the goal is after I crunch some more data. Looking forward to more updates from Jonathan though for sure.
6 Likes
Yeah, sub 7 is a next-level goal. I think only 2 amateurs have done it in the last few years. So, basically pro-level fast.
3 Likes
I’ve read about the Facebook page for participants and was going to sign back up for FB just to access - is anyone a member and is it worth adding another forum to check?
I also wanted to see if anyone had a ‘cue sheet’ (distances, key climbs, aid, etc.) already done that they would be willing to share? I’ve asked AI to draft one, but I’m less trusting of a computer than someone who’s actually ridden the course….for some reason.
Ultimately I’m trying to put together my plan for sub 9 hours and while nothing beats some local recon, I like to drill this stuff into my small brain early on so it’s somewhat automatic when I show up.
As someone who deleted facebook a while ago from my phone and only uses it when I want to buy/sell bike stuff, I don’t think you’re missing much on the fb leadville group. It is rarely educational.
This was my pacing plan from last year which was pretty similar to most for the 9 hours
3 Likes