An Albuquerque Climb!
If I decide to do the Blue Bell Fun Run 10K on Saturday in Brenham, I'll be ready for the hills after this Wednesday evening. Tonight, I did something a little unique -- for a Houstonian, that is.
I decided to run, then walk, run, then walk (you get the idea) 40 minutes up Tramway Blvd. on the north side of Albuquerque, just off I-25 North and near the Sandia Casino. Tramway Blvd. takes you to the base of Sandia Peak, which reaches 10,378 feet in elevation. Tramway Blvd., from the Casino to the Tram House of the Sandia Peak Tramway, is basically the course to World's Longest Tram 10K (alternatively known as New Mexico's Toughest 10K). [This event is held on Sunday, May 22, 2005.]
That race starts in the parking lot of the Casino, which is at 4,900 feet in elevation. [The Tram House is at 6,500 feet!] Last May, 76 took place in the event with the winner covering the 6.2 miles in 42:18.1, a 6:49/mile pace.
Let me testify that I was nowhere near it! In fact, I'm guessing I might have only done three miles up and then back down. Because it was got dark faster than I thought, I stopped at 40 minutes because it was going to pitch dark headed down the road (and I didn't wear my reflective vest). There was a '4' marker that looked like a mile marker. I made it to there in 19:50.80. (I'm guessing I started somewhere between 2 and 3. '2' was at the Interstate.) And at 40:01.10, or 20:10.30 beyond that, I turned around.
The view, though, looking back over Albuquerque was incredible. You could see Rio Rancho straight ahead (looking west), the city to the southwest and the lights of the football stadium at the University of New Mexico to the south. It was an incredible sight!
Going back down, I made it to the '4' marker in 15:31.71 (and I ran the entire way.) From the '4' marker to '3' marker (not sure if it was really a mile), I covered it in 11:00.67 and the remaining portion in 6:23.86.
Up the hill: 40:01.10 (19:50.80 / 20:10.30)
Down the hill: 32:56.24 (17:24.53 / 15:21.71)
Total time: 1:12:57.34
Going up that type of elevation change wasn't easy at all. Actually, I can't remember running for more than 3.5 minutes at a pop. As I got higher, I was stopping after 1.5-t0-2 minutes of running. It was quite an experience, but one that I'm going to do more regularly while I'm working out here.
On Tuesday, I logged a sluggish 1:08:53 (32:53.80 out / 35:59.30 back) that probably took me somewhere close to 6 miles. It was slow as I think I was getting reacclimated to the altitude and my legs were half shot. (Sunday, I didn't even get 6 miles in at Terry Hershey Park in Houston. I just emotionally wasn't in it. I was in between mile 2 and the 10K turnaround spot and threw in the towel. But the highlight was breakfast later at Le Peep with Steve Shepard, Saara DeWalt, Kalan Ickes and Lee Greb.)
I ran from the Marriott Courtyard that we are staying at, out Jefferson Drive NE to Balloon Festival Park and out Alameda as if you were going out to Rio Rancho. As I was turning around underneath an overpass, I fell for the first time ever as a runner!
I hit some type of wire that came up out from some dirt which was close to a guardrail. I landed on my elbows and hands to avoid doing a face plant, got up, brushed myself off and kept on running (before turning to head back up a hill.) For awhile, I actually felt loosened up a bit, but not the way I want to regularly do that.
I decided to run, then walk, run, then walk (you get the idea) 40 minutes up Tramway Blvd. on the north side of Albuquerque, just off I-25 North and near the Sandia Casino. Tramway Blvd. takes you to the base of Sandia Peak, which reaches 10,378 feet in elevation. Tramway Blvd., from the Casino to the Tram House of the Sandia Peak Tramway, is basically the course to World's Longest Tram 10K (alternatively known as New Mexico's Toughest 10K). [This event is held on Sunday, May 22, 2005.]
That race starts in the parking lot of the Casino, which is at 4,900 feet in elevation. [The Tram House is at 6,500 feet!] Last May, 76 took place in the event with the winner covering the 6.2 miles in 42:18.1, a 6:49/mile pace.
Let me testify that I was nowhere near it! In fact, I'm guessing I might have only done three miles up and then back down. Because it was got dark faster than I thought, I stopped at 40 minutes because it was going to pitch dark headed down the road (and I didn't wear my reflective vest). There was a '4' marker that looked like a mile marker. I made it to there in 19:50.80. (I'm guessing I started somewhere between 2 and 3. '2' was at the Interstate.) And at 40:01.10, or 20:10.30 beyond that, I turned around.
The view, though, looking back over Albuquerque was incredible. You could see Rio Rancho straight ahead (looking west), the city to the southwest and the lights of the football stadium at the University of New Mexico to the south. It was an incredible sight!
Going back down, I made it to the '4' marker in 15:31.71 (and I ran the entire way.) From the '4' marker to '3' marker (not sure if it was really a mile), I covered it in 11:00.67 and the remaining portion in 6:23.86.
Up the hill: 40:01.10 (19:50.80 / 20:10.30)
Down the hill: 32:56.24 (17:24.53 / 15:21.71)
Total time: 1:12:57.34
Going up that type of elevation change wasn't easy at all. Actually, I can't remember running for more than 3.5 minutes at a pop. As I got higher, I was stopping after 1.5-t0-2 minutes of running. It was quite an experience, but one that I'm going to do more regularly while I'm working out here.
On Tuesday, I logged a sluggish 1:08:53 (32:53.80 out / 35:59.30 back) that probably took me somewhere close to 6 miles. It was slow as I think I was getting reacclimated to the altitude and my legs were half shot. (Sunday, I didn't even get 6 miles in at Terry Hershey Park in Houston. I just emotionally wasn't in it. I was in between mile 2 and the 10K turnaround spot and threw in the towel. But the highlight was breakfast later at Le Peep with Steve Shepard, Saara DeWalt, Kalan Ickes and Lee Greb.)
I ran from the Marriott Courtyard that we are staying at, out Jefferson Drive NE to Balloon Festival Park and out Alameda as if you were going out to Rio Rancho. As I was turning around underneath an overpass, I fell for the first time ever as a runner!
I hit some type of wire that came up out from some dirt which was close to a guardrail. I landed on my elbows and hands to avoid doing a face plant, got up, brushed myself off and kept on running (before turning to head back up a hill.) For awhile, I actually felt loosened up a bit, but not the way I want to regularly do that.
posted by WalkSports.com | 11:26 PM
1 Comments:
I would advise you to tuck and roll, although I wish I could do that better. I fall all the time. Broke my front tooth in half, on Halloween morning, no less. The face took the brunt of the fall. On concrete. Ouch.
-c
TxSkatemom
http://hooha.org/skatemom
Post a Comment
<< Home