Transmountain Challenge

It's been about two months since I completed my last half marathon before surgery. I wanted to cross Texas off my list of states so I headed to El Paso to knock out the Transmountain Challenge. 

I hit a small brewery in Las Cruces, NM for some chos and peach beer. Pretty good! This was their Xsmall plate. Perfect for just me.

I made it down to the Golden Horseshoe that Mom and I hit a few years earlier. Kind of a gross place, but you can find great deals. Also helps if you speak Spanish. The only thing I could remember from my recent trip to Tulum, MX was asking how much; however, everything was appropriately marked and I just did a bit of nodding to get through it all. 

I later hit a little dive called Taps down that direction as well. The chos were even better. 

I probably shouldn't have drank all the beer but I considered it carbo loading. I headed back to my hotel and prepped for the run the next morning.

Parking was a bit of a mess because half the roads were shut down. You had to drive around the barricades to park which wasn't exactly intuitive. 

The morning wasn't terribly chilly. The first mile or so was relatively flat. Heading into mile 2 my running partner slipped on some rocks and almost ate it. He tweaked his ankle a bit but managed to keep running. We maintained a 2:1 run/walk interval for most of it until we got to the crazy steep parts of the hill. It was about 6 miles of uphill. I wanted to die. The breeze was chilly, especially after you work up a sweat. My hamstrings (what I've always thought to be ischial bursitis is actually torn hamstrings after 3 years of misdiagnosis) were killing me with the uphill! I was actually walking faster with less energy than running so we skipped a few intervals and reversed them for a bit. The scenery was pretty though.

Down hill was AWESOME! It felt good to work different muscles. We even managed to make up for some of our lost time from the hill. 

On our descent, this pack of runners ran by us when we were on a walk interval. They shouted something about not giving up trying to be encouraging. It really was just annoying. If I stop, encourage me. If I'm walking, keep your mouth closed. We dusted them on our next run interval and never saw them again. 

About mile 10-11 is when my posterior tibial tendonitis started to kick in. I slowed way down. We still managed to finish in roughly 2:37 which given the hill really isn't that bad! I should also mention we dressed as foxes....what does a fox say by the way?

I managed to get back to the hotel before checkout so I could get in a quick shower. I hopped in the car and headed straight back to Tucson. 

For a final race, I'd say it felt pretty good and deem it a success.

Chips and Salsa Half Marathon (THE BIRTHDAY HALF)

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!