Preparations Are Being Made for Leadville 100

Picture courtesy of:stuckintherockies.com

So I've now registered for Leadville 100, and booked hotel, car and flight. I'm flying into Denver on Thursday(two days before the race) and staying in Frisco(elevation 9,042 feet). I figured that that extra 1,000 feet of elevation at Leadville(10,152 feet) will only aggravate me before the race. I'll be being Thursday and Friday night "down" at Frisco then driving to Leadville morning of the race-running through the night and then will drive back down to lower elevations before I fly out on Monday.
When I worked out in Snowmass(elevation: 9,100 feet ) as an adaptive ski instructor several years back, I had joined a men's league basketball team. I remember my first time running up and down the court- I was out of breath within 30 seconds, and I had a throbbing headache. Some people attribute the majority of altitude's effects to dehydration as your body has to increase its red blood concentration to get enough oxygen, thus "expelling" the fluid portion(plasma) of the blood causing dehydration.
My first stop after the flight into Denver will be to a convenience store where I plan to combat this physiological effect by staying as hydrated as possible. Normally I can do a two-three hour run without any water, but I will be making a point to be drinking 8-12 ounces every hour for all day Thursday and until about 5pm on Friday(don't want to spend the night peeing). Also staying at a lower elevation will hopefully give my body a bit of advantage(or delay in disadvantage).
Okay-logistics are starting to come along. I'll be soon planning out my drop bags(which depends some degree on how much gear I can get from Brooks). Other than that, all that's left is the training...