Leadville 100 Training?

Training
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I am sure it is possible but wanted to check to see if anyone has done pretty much all of their leadville or related training on trainerroad?

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I assume you know about Nate’s prep, that was almost entirely trainer prep?

Related podcast with Nate.

Here is a LT100 thread.

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Also: Training for Leadville 100 MTB: Insights from Sub 9 Finishers - TrainerRoad

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Possible. And periodic long rides or races to get nutrition, equipment and pacing dialed.

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Thanks and just what I was looking for. Used to live in Vail and Aspen but live in GA now and throwing my name in the lottery on Dec 1st for the race in August.

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I did!! 8:53 finish time-ish, maybe 8:52.

Two hour sweet spot workouts are key in my opinion.

I also fueled well and was up there a week before. As others have said there are some podcasts that go it to further detail.

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Thanks Nate. I will check out the podcast and listen to it while I am traveling for work this week.

By the way been a TR user for about 2 years now and throughly enjoy the product and the direction you all are going.

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Good luck in the lottery! I’m hoping to get a slot also. Will be training mostly on TR if I get in with a few longer rides here and there to get nutrition dialed in as others have mentioned.

I’m planning to do SSB I and II into Sustained Power Build into Century Plan based on Nate’s guidance. Doing short power build now “for fun” and to do something different going into next year.

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Depending on how badly you want to get in, it might be worth doing a qualifier. I’ve done the Silver Rush twice, and got a coin for the LT100 both times.

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I’ll be doing Silver Rush either way. If I get in, I plan to use that race for corral placement and if I don’t get in, I’ll hope to qualify there. I’m a bit nervous about all eggs in one basket to try to qualify one month out from the big show but being able to drive there in 30 minutes makes a lot more sense than flying to Tahoe or Austin…

Thanks for the guidance - would love some tips on Silver Rush if/when you have time.

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Sounds like you live in CO then, somewhere near Frisco? If so, you’ll already have an advantage over many other of the racers due to altitude acclimatization.

The Silver Rush is a hard course. All up or down, no flat. The start is up a very steep hill that you have to push or carry your bike up. Don’t get carried away and run up that. Walk. Otherwise you’ll spike your heart rate and it can take a while to get it back down. Get there early to get a starting spot in the first few rows. Can help you avoid bottlenecks in the first hr of the race.

There will be some hike a bike, so be prepared for that. Not as much at the LT100, and not as much since they changed the course a few years ago, but still some. How much depends on how strong a rider you are. Probably somewhere in the range of 20 mins for me. But feels longer cause it’s pretty miserable pushing your bike.

There’s no real technical sections, although there are some rocky stretches that can be tricky due to the amount of speed you’re carrying. Don’t want to hit a football sized rock at 20mph.

I’ve done it fully self supported. Used a camelback and stopped at the half way point for a water refill. I’ve also done it with support. That’s certainly nicer, but not necessary. The LT100 on the other have I think would be a lot harder to do fully self supported.

A full sus bike is nice due to the extra comfort. But people do ride it on hardtails. The weather has been good both times I’ve done it, but could be pretty miserable if the weather turns. So need to be prepared until the day of with colder weather/rain gear.

For training, closer to the event, get out and do some long sweet spot intervals, 30-60 minutes. The race is basically 4 long climbs, and 4 long descents.

Let me know if there other things that’d be helpful to know.

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What an awesome and informative response - thank you very much.

Yes, we live in Denver but spend a lot of the winter and summer in Frisco. Still thinking about what the best altitude acclimation strategy but have time to sort that out.

I signed up for the lottery this morning…fingers crossed! But I’m feeling more hopeful to qualify in via Silver Rush now as a back-up since I was planning to do it any way. Now on to sort out what the right training approach will be to not blow myself up too much for Silver Rush and still be able to put together a good day at LV100. …

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I’m in Summit! I have a lot of friends who live in the front range who seem to have no issues when racing up here. I really don’t think you’ll have an issue. But of course, everyone is different. I’ll be doing some longer rides come May to prep a bit for the Firecracker and as I’m sure you know, easy to loop 3-5 hour rides up here on mostly single track; would be down to ride together.

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The first year I rode the silver rush, I was living in Chicago and came to Colorado for a week before - RMNP and Aspen. One week acclimatization seemed to work well, and is a similar approach that Nate used. Given you live in Denver, the adjustment won’t be as big for you, but still worthwhile planning somewhere ~1 week to acclimatize.

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There’s enough of a gap between the Silver Rush and LT100 where you’ll have sufficient time to take a rest week, do 2-3 weeks more training, and then a 1-2 week taper. Should be fine.