The week before my birthday, I decided I had to find a half marathon on my birthday. Besides, it's not like a birthday falls on a weekend day every year. I found the Chips and Salsa Half Marathon in Albuquerque, NM. Since NACHOS are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOOD, and chips and salsa is a close relative, I thought this would be perfect.
As is typical for my running adventures, no one could or wanted to go with me. Bleh and boo hoo and all that jazz. As I was getting ready to head out, I thought I'd Google some things to do. I found a list that named Downtown ABQ as a good place to hang, so I expanded the list and noticed Hot Yoga Downtown Albuquerque studio. I've always wanted to try it because I want so desperately to LOVE yoga - I know my hammies certainly need it! And guess what! They had a class I could actually make...provided I got my ass in gear and got out the door. The only down fall was my yoga mat was at work (we do lunch time yoga at work once a week). So I really needed to move because it would still take less time to find a local Walmart and grab a cheapy mat. That is exactly what I did.
I took the back roads to ABQ. It took the same amount of time but was about 60 miles shorter than taking I10 all the way there. I made it to Walmart quick like, grabbed my packet and headed across town. The interstate system through town was pretty awesome unlike Tucson, so it was easy to get around.
I told the studio I was new to Hot Yoga and visiting for a run. Another guy who walked in with me was also new to the studio and Hot Yoga, so that made me feel a little better. I thought he'd be a pro either way since he showed up in all Lululemon men's gear. I'd done little research on Hot Yoga...so I had an "Oh crap" moment when I realized it was 90 minutes, but thankful they had a shower (which is standard). I was also thankful that I'd brought my EcoVessel with me to keep cold water in...which I drained with a quickness in the hot and humid room.
As we started going through the flows, Mr. Lululemon started sitting out more and more. I was happy I was hanging although not going as deep as some of the other people. I know it is about some zen meditation, but my miniature competitive streak was still happy. I finished. I was oh so thankful for the relaxation at the end!
After a quick shower...undressing was the slow part. It's hard to peel wet clothes off, I decided to hit the Lululemon store...mainly because I was jealous I didn't have fancy Hot Yoga gear. The dressing room attendants were awesome. I chose a pair of Groovy Run Shorts with a pretty cherry blossom pattern. It turns out the people at Lululemon were volunteering at the race the next day too. They promised to remember my name and cheer me on. I thought it was sweet.
In my search for ABQ activities, I stumbled on a Mexican restaurant called El Pinto. Apparently many famous people have eaten there and loved it. It also happens that they have America's Best Nachos according to the Wall Street Journal in 2006.
So here they are! This was a huge portion (and only a half portion at that) with a bit of something on every chip and all very fresh. However, they lacked any real complex flavors. It was simply freshness and nose watering jalapeños.
After my carbo nacho load, I headed to the hotel and prepped for the next day. I got very little sleep due to the storms and the stupid flood mass alert siren on my phone. Bleh. I managed to crawl out of bed, eat a little something, pack the car and head to the race with a little time to spare.
I expected the race to be small but I was a bit frustrated with the lack of organization. Most people couldn't find the start line...and none of us could figure out the map. Once we found the start line, we realized we were facing the wrong way...which caused the race to start late since we all had to flip around. The race director ensured us the course was well marked. And it was.
The course wound through a lot of neat neighborhoods. There were many gorgeous houses that I fantasized about owning some day. I even spotted some hot air balloons which always makes me smile.
There were plenty of water and Gatorade stops along the way, but no fuel, gels, snacks, gummies, whatever. Make sure you bring you own if you ever do this race.
At the second water stop, I saw a hot dog. The hot dog looked familiar... I was just happy to see someone else dressed up since I only saw a taco racing...and of course I had my sombrero and mustache. As I passed the hot dog, a girl yelled my name and sure enough it was the crew from ABQ Lululemon! They remembered me! It was pretty awesome considered I was wearing a hat, had no name on my bib and wasn't wearing my new Lulu shorts and they still found me! It made my birthday pretty special since no one else was there to cheer me on.
Around mile 10, my ankles started to hate me and I gimped along the last three miles trying to do a 2:1 interval without a timer. I need a backup app for that (one that won't mess with Nike+) for when I leave my Gym Boss at home. As I approached the finish line, people were standing under it holding it up for me. I hate those things. It's not the first one to collapse on me and ruin my final moments of a run. I'm pretty sure I finished close to last with 2:53 (even though there was a 3:30 cut off).
I then made my way over to the snacks. Water, granola bars and fig cookie bars...and wait for it....wait for it.... HALF A BURRITO! WTF?! NO chips and salsa?!?!?! This was a Chips and Salsa Half not a Burrito Half! Oh well, I was happy to have half a meal in my tummy for the drive home.
As you can see the bling isn't too terribly spectacular. You'd think they'd do more since it was the 10th anniversary, but oh well. I did at least have the opportunity to double dip and earn my virtual Birthday Bash 5k medal.
Once I got back into town which took a bit longer due to the flooding (I'm sure the car floated at one point out on the reservation), a friend took me out to Blanco's for nachos (of course). They are tied for number one nacho spot with Sir Vezas. I had a couple of margaritas (hello Mango Jalapeno) and birthday flan!
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