As you may or may not know, Leadville is a small town, for the vast majority of the year. Actually, I will be perfectly honest, I have no idea how big or small it really is. I just have a feeling it’s small. Except during race month (August) when it blows up like your momma on Christmas desserts.
So finding accommodations in town is obviously painfully difficult. When I registered for the race (a long time ago) I took a cursory glance, and found… nothing. Everything was already booked. WTF! I figured I was hooped. I don’t know who these morons are who like to pre-plan everything years in advance, but that really doesn’t jibe with my total hatred of planning and my proclivity for last-minute spontaneity.
Unfortunately, with the dog needing some shade and a safe place to stay when I go running, and the entire family flying down to act as crew, I was forced to finally do some planning. So I got back online, and did some more searching and… found a place! No, I won’t link to it, in case some rich psychopath decides to try to steal it out from under me, but basically it’s: a) awesome and b) right in town! Hell yess
We had previously been planning on staying in a nearby city, maybe Vail, or something, where it would be cheaper (plus every house in Vail has a hot-tub, because, you know, skiers…) and just driving down for the race. But I’m am such an obsessive compulsive “arrive early” kind of guy (probably an interesting side-effect of my unwillingness to plan) that this gave me anxiety. I knew that during the week leading up to the race, worrying about driving across hell and creation was not something that would be conducive to sleep and relaxation.
But anyway, problem solved, at least for race week: we have a sweet spot to call home.
So now, shit just got real. I am still in need of lodging for the training camp, although I have a line on a place for then (late June) as well. Not really a concern. I can always just sleep in the truck, too. The remaining outstanding question is rather: how long should I go down to Leadville for, in July or August? Should I stay the whole summer? Be a full-time runner? Sleep under the stars and acclimatize like a Sherpa? Or should I not give up my semi-idyllic life here in Vancouver, and just go down for a few weeks? These are tough questions to answer. I guess the rental costs, which I am still waiting on, will help to clarify.
In the meantime, I’ve gotta train hard and absolutely not get sick or hurt again. I need to eat my veggies like a good boy, sleep lots, run like a gazelle, and hike up lots and lots of steep-ass hills. My motivation is returning, slowly but steadily, and as the clock tic-tocs, the moment of truth draws nearer and nearer!
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