Hill Workout / Trail Running just below 10,678 Feet!
I didn't run that far mileage-wise and time-wise; however, I felt like I got a heck of a workout this Monday evening on top of Sandia Crest (10,678 feet above sea level) here in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Last Tuesday evening, I drove up to the Crest after trying to find the road that led to Singing Hills Youth Camp, a facility that our church, North Park Baptist Church, used to own for many years. (In doing a Yahoo! search, I noticed that it is now known as Camp Oro Quay.)
After reaching the Crest, I did the usual tourist thing and took a look at the incredible sights down into the valley where Albuquerque is. But I ventured south from the Crest House and noticed a marking for a trail that went to the Sandia Peak Tram. After going down it a little bit and seeing that it was marked 1.75 miles to the Tram, I knew I wanted to come back and run it.
Monday night, I did. I covered what I thought to be 1.75 miles in 18:23.12; however, when I saw the marking at the Tram about going back to the Crest), it was marked a mile and a half. The trail was easy to run at some points, but there were places in which you were forced to walk because of rocks in the path of the trail.
Once at the Tram station, I took a break and walked around as people were eating the dinner in the High Finance Restaraunt and waiting on a ride back down. I walked down to the ski lift area and found out where the South Crest trail picked back up. I went 7:08.29 before I got to a place that I wasn't sure about going any further. (Therefore, I have no frame of reference for mileage.) It took me 7:51.03 to get back. (Perhaps the fact that going back was more of an uphill!)
A narrative about the South Crest #130 trail that I ran can be found here.
On the return stop at the Tram station, I spoke to a woman from Jacksonville, Oregon (no, not Florida) as she and her husband are runners. We talked about Hood to Coast, marathons, etc. (You know, discussions that runners just have.) However, I didn't realize the time. It was getting rather dark and I have a trail that I've never been on before to get back through. (I later learned that the time was 8:45 p.m.)
As I headed north up the trail, I realized that I had broken many cardinal trail safety rules. I didn't have my cell phone with me (because the coverage was spotty up there) nor did I have a flashlight either.
It took me 25:36.81 to cover the trail back; however, I walked a lot because there were places that the only light that I saw was that from the moon. Therefore, it was tough to do a lot of running! (When I got in the car in the parking lot, it was 9:15 p.m.)
I may have only covered about 4 miles this evening, but my legs got an incredible workout! Obviously it was cooler at that altitude, but the sights -- especially the night time view -- as well as the sheer silence in places were actually the two (2) most notable things during the run.
Last Tuesday evening, I drove up to the Crest after trying to find the road that led to Singing Hills Youth Camp, a facility that our church, North Park Baptist Church, used to own for many years. (In doing a Yahoo! search, I noticed that it is now known as Camp Oro Quay.)
After reaching the Crest, I did the usual tourist thing and took a look at the incredible sights down into the valley where Albuquerque is. But I ventured south from the Crest House and noticed a marking for a trail that went to the Sandia Peak Tram. After going down it a little bit and seeing that it was marked 1.75 miles to the Tram, I knew I wanted to come back and run it.
Monday night, I did. I covered what I thought to be 1.75 miles in 18:23.12; however, when I saw the marking at the Tram about going back to the Crest), it was marked a mile and a half. The trail was easy to run at some points, but there were places in which you were forced to walk because of rocks in the path of the trail.
Once at the Tram station, I took a break and walked around as people were eating the dinner in the High Finance Restaraunt and waiting on a ride back down. I walked down to the ski lift area and found out where the South Crest trail picked back up. I went 7:08.29 before I got to a place that I wasn't sure about going any further. (Therefore, I have no frame of reference for mileage.) It took me 7:51.03 to get back. (Perhaps the fact that going back was more of an uphill!)
A narrative about the South Crest #130 trail that I ran can be found here.
On the return stop at the Tram station, I spoke to a woman from Jacksonville, Oregon (no, not Florida) as she and her husband are runners. We talked about Hood to Coast, marathons, etc. (You know, discussions that runners just have.) However, I didn't realize the time. It was getting rather dark and I have a trail that I've never been on before to get back through. (I later learned that the time was 8:45 p.m.)
As I headed north up the trail, I realized that I had broken many cardinal trail safety rules. I didn't have my cell phone with me (because the coverage was spotty up there) nor did I have a flashlight either.
It took me 25:36.81 to cover the trail back; however, I walked a lot because there were places that the only light that I saw was that from the moon. Therefore, it was tough to do a lot of running! (When I got in the car in the parking lot, it was 9:15 p.m.)
I may have only covered about 4 miles this evening, but my legs got an incredible workout! Obviously it was cooler at that altitude, but the sights -- especially the night time view -- as well as the sheer silence in places were actually the two (2) most notable things during the run.
posted by WalkSports.com | 12:58 AM
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