Here is what I’ve learned from the experience:
How not to run your first 100 mile race at Leadville:

1. Don’t bother with a race plan.  Sure, the 800 or so other runners have worked diligently on theirs for months, but just because they have such a document doesn’t mean that you need one, too.  Especially if it’s your first 100.  If you do decide to write a race plan, limit it to a few handwritten notes,  and put them in the pocket of some jeans you leave at home in the laundry basket. Do not, under any circumstances, share your race plan with your crew.  Nothing is more exciting during an ultra than an element of mystery.
2. Don’t bother to reserve a room early for race weekend.  Why should you? Surely not because hundreds of runners, plus their pacers, crew and assorted family members, will be in town for race weekend.  Sharing a twin room with three other people will be a bonding experience between you an your crew.  Contrary to popular belief, a good night’s sleep is totally unnecessary before a 100 mile race.
3. Pack your drop bags according to a system only known to you, not your crew.  This will force you to spend more time than necessary at each aid station, looking for things in unlabeled little ziploc baggies.  The suspense will make the race more exciting, especially at 2 AM: did I bring extra batteries for the head lamp, or did I not?
4. If you feel the irrational urge to make up for lost time early in he race, even though, not having your race plan handy, you can’t be sure whether or not this is actually the case, go ahead.  Feel free to go fast before mile 25, especially on straight, steep , and long downhills, like Powerlines.  Your quads will thank you later.
5.  Don’t bother to make sure your hydration pack is indeed full after leaving an aid station.  Blindly trust a kind aid station volunteer to know the quirks and peculiarities of your pack, even if it took you several months to figure them out.
6. Don’t bother to refill your pack at every opportunity.  If you have enough faith, an aid station will appear on the back side of Hope Pass, right before your pack runs dry….oh, wait, you’re not Ryan Hall.  And your religious belief is based on Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Never mind.
7.  If you get sick of clif bloks, just stop eating altogether.  And if you get sick of citrus electrolyte taste, quit taking electrolytes.  Just use your imaginary superpowers for nutrition and hydration.  Whatever else you do, don’t listen to experienced 100 mile veterans if they try to get you to eat something at mile 87 when you don’t really feel like it.  What do they know, just because the’ve run a bunch of 100 milers and you have not?
8. After the race, take a quick shower (nothing has ever felt this good!), but don’t    stretch, use the foam roller, or take care of your blisters.  Don’t eat, either.  Instead, lie down for a 10-minute nap before going back down to the finish line to cheer on your friends as they come in.  Wake up hours later and realize you’ve missed all of them.  Spend the next few hours feeling apologetic, and grateful for their understanding.

Undeterred, but hopefully a little wiser, I am already planning our next ultra adventure.  David’s first 100.  My next 100. 
This is a good time to be alive and running.

Third in my age group.