Fun Hurts!

I don’t really remember the exact day or even a year when I learned about Leadville. And even though it wasn’t a long time ago, at this point, it sure seems like it's been a dream of my entire life to do this race. However, I vividly recall my last days in Northern California before we said goodbye to old and new friends alike and moved to the wonderful state of Colorado (my dear California, wherever I am, you’re in my heart until I die). In those last few days, I was going through a virtual list of climbs and routes that I always wanted to do but never felt ready enough. And what I thought was not the best time for me to go do it, actually was the one and only moment I had, and I blew it. And realizing that did change my perception of things quite a lot.

With that mindset, I entered December 2022, when the lottery for next year's Leadville 100 opened. Was I ready for Leadville? Hell no (spoiler alert — I wasn’t ready on a race day either). Did I expect to be ready for it when/if the time comes? Nope (not due to the lack of self-confidence, but rather because I’m smart and usually quite realistic). I threw my name into the hat anyway. And at 10 o’clock in the morning of January 9th, 2023, I was jumping to the ceiling, running around the house, and texting my best friends to share the excitement that I’ve got a chance to do the race of all races, the hunt for a coveted buckle, the infamous suffer-fest up in the Rockies. One email (along with a $500 transaction on my credit card) flipped my life upside down for the next 8 months. From now on I was asking myself the exact same question a couple of times a day: how that (whatever I was about to do) fits into my Leadville prep plan. As if a certain part of my brain became fully devoted to that until it was over.