Race Report and Surprise: The 33rd Annual Santa Fe Runaround 5K

Alright, this race was AMAZING.  But not because of the running....more about this below!

I felt like I was drowning on thin air and it was a relief when I finished.

So it's obvious that running at altitude is not my friend.

I placed 2nd in my age group, but at times during the race, I felt like giving up and was surprised to have finished without walking.

I live at sea level and the elevation here is VERY difficult to run race pace at...The race peaked at 7200 feet, which is almost 1.4 miles above sea level.

The race was out and back.  It was straight uphill for the entire first half and then was back down for the 2nd half.

But the coolest surprise part of the run was that I literally ran the entire thing with Caroline Rotich.

(Ok, so she actually joined me after the first couple minutes because she didn't want to be in the starting group with everyone else, but then she was with me until the end.)

For those of you who may not recognize her name, Caroline beat out sweetheart Kara Goucher to place 4th at Boston 2011 (2:24:26).  She WON the New York City Half Marathon in March 2011 (1:08.52).  She also placed 1st in the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon (2:29:47).

She was not registered for the race, she was just there to support us mortals.  I had met the race director and he introduced me to her and she said she'd run with me.  I told her not to run with me because I was going to be slow, but she insisted that she wanted to stay with me because she wanted to be supportive.  I was the weirdo from out of town, nutty enough to do a 5k after two days of coming to elevation.

We ran a the PACE OF A SLUG compared to what her normal pace is, but she was THE NICEST, MOST HUMBLE person I have ever met.  She refused to leave me behind, despite my many pleas to go on without me.

OK, so a little more about the race:
The night before, I laid out all my stuff, like a good like neon OCD girl:

And here I am at the starting line:

And we're off!

The next mile and a half were uphill.  All you need to know was that it was miserable.

Caroline found me shortly after the start and stayed with me until the end.

The downhill in the 2nd half wasn't enjoyable because the air was so thin and my muscles were so oxygen starved that I couldn't even push it like I would have been able to at sea level.  Oh well, I'm on vacation, I'm here to have fun!!!

The final turn, almost done...

You can see that Caroline (in the red) and I separated at this point, she did a second lap to participate in the 10K that was going on at the same time.

After the race, I tracked her down for some more general chatting and she shared some running tips.  We also talked about gear and shoes, tapering, and mileage.

While we were chatting, her two running training partners and her coach walked up.  They were getting ready to head out for an additional run (like 18 miles or something like that).  I got to meet the others briefly but before I knew it, they were running off again.  Fortunately my uncle was right there and was able to catch a photo!

The race director was telling me how one of these guys runs a half marathon in 1:01.  Didn't get a chance to chat, but I should have found out how that happened.

I also found this daughters of the american revolution statue after the race.  I was surprised to find such a thing out in Santa Fe.

The girl in the pink is my friend from the Thursday night running group from Thursday.  The girl in the blue just happened to have gone to the same school for undergrad as I did, but we didn't know each other.  We were just introduced to each other because of the Virginia connection.

Here's my special Santa Fe pottery mug that I won for getting 2nd in my age group:

Good times!

Running Uphill with the Santa Fe Striders

Yesterday I felt pretty defeated after my morning jog-tour.  So like any rational person, I went for a 2nd run of the day.

My aunt told me about a local running group that meets at The Running Hub store on Thursday nights, so I thought I'd give it a try.  She has a friend who used to be a nationally ranked Ultramarathoner (and of course he's in his 60's!)  There are some crazy runners out here.

Amazing scenery.

I was the youngest person in the group, except for a VERY nice girl who was around my age.  She ran with me the whole time.  There were a few men in their 50's and 60's, it was great to see people who remain so active.

And by active, I mean that I overheard a couple of them talking about their 50 mile races the prior weekend.  Wow.

We ran 6 miles, and because of the thin air, it felt uphill the entire time.  Of course it wasn't actually, it just felt that way.  The elevation appears to have maxed out at 7280 feet.

Here's the girl that I made friends with.  I hope to see her at the 5K on Saturday!

Does anyone else do running groups when they travel?
I met a nice woman in her 40's who said that whenever she goes on business trips with her husband, they look up the local running club and do a group run.  Great way to find a new running route in an unknown territory.

Running at Altitude in Santa Fe (aka Sucking Wind) + 5K Race?

Wowzers, can we say sucking wind?

I'm at an elevation of 7,260 feet right now, which is 1.4 miles above sea level.  I usually live in Richmond Virginia, which is EXACTLY at sea level.

I went for a little 5-ish mile jog in the morning yesterday with my mom and my aunt to get a mini-tour of Santa Fe.  They rode bikes and I ran.  My garmin battery died, so I have no idea how fast I was going, but I felt like I was in molasses!

Read face: dying.

Cool part of run was the BEAUTIFUL art in Santa Fe.  We ran downtown and around Canyon Road, which has a ton of art galleries.

Plus all the great photo ops gave me a chance to stop and catch my breath :)

And yes, I would have taken all these NERDY photos, even before the existence of the blog.

Yes, sometimes I feel sorry for the people around me, but I just love taking photos.

These wind art pieces are fun, our friends in Florida actually bought one and have it at their home in Venice.

 I LOVE modern art.

 Giant horse head.

I really liked these giant faces.  I should have posted next to them so that you'd have an idea of how huge they are.

We also went through the railroad park (that's my aunt on her bike):

And I can't forget my FAVORITE food stand that I saw.

Isn't it gorgeous with all the pretty colors?!

Can't wait for more adventures.

Plus I'm thinking of doing a 5K here on Saturday!  May be my slowest race ever, but it should be fun.  I've never run a 5K before, I'd like to try one out.

Does anyone have any thoughts about running at higher altitudes?  How long does it usually take you to get used to the air?
I did some internet searching and some sources said it takes over two weeks and some places said over two years...

Flying 'Cross Country

Yesterday I flew direct from Washington DC to Santa Fe.

In the past, this would have been a big problem because flying used to make me SO SO anxious, but I think I'm finally getting over it.

I got a DELICIOUS light lemonade from Wendy's while waiting.  Our flight was delayed, didn't leave until 9pm.  Sorry I look so tired in this photo, you can tell I was in need of a vacation.

Yep, that's my animal cracker pillow!  I am actually 5 years old.

While waiting in the terminal during the long delay, I caught up on blogs and surfed the internet.

Then I had a little airplane bottle (or two actually) of SKYY vodka!

It was a genius idea because it helped me fall asleep shortly after getting on the plane and I didn't wake up until we were landing.  Now that's some great flying in my book.

But in all honesty, I think that running in the afternoon prior to flying is really what helped me to relax.

Running is the best way to fight anxiety, hands down.

That afternoon, I did a 'lil 4 miler, average pace of 8:30.  It felt like I was running faster, but the 83 degree temp with high humidity, plus hilly route was tough for me.

I started at this church which is next door to my parents' home.

And I wound around the bike trail.  I had to get a bridge photo!!

 

I ran by the planetarium.  Used to go here to study constellations when I was a kid.

Does anyone else have anxiety when flying in airplanes?  Any tricks for getting over it?
After flying a ton in highschool, I started avoiding it because it made me so anxious.  But I've decided to conquer my fear and I think I'm almost over it!  And I really think running the day-of helps a lot.

Ironman Challenge!

Oh man, I feel really nerdy sharing this...

...but CLICK HERE to read my interview from the VCU Recreational Sports website about the Ironman Challenge training program that they have.  It's a little wordy, but it made me feel famous for a split second.

The Ironman Challenge is a program at my gym that encourages people to complete a full ironman over the course of 9 weeks.  At the end, you win a t-shirt or something of that sort if you complete it.

Someone from the marketing department interviewed me and they took photos as well.

I had to include my neon water bottle in the photos of course :)

Pretty funny how I really don't have biceps to speak of.  Oops!

So yep, my gym is pretty much awesome.  

Since I work at the MCV/VCU hospital, I get a membership at the VCU gym for $14 per month (includes unlimited classes too.)  Here's a photo of the sweet pool w/waterslide and giant 2-story workout room with a climbing wall from THIS POST:

....And PS I'm headed to Santa Fe tonight!  Time for a much needed vacation :)

Strawberry Hill Horse Races

On Saturday, I went to the Strawberry Hill horse races at Colonial Downs, outside of Richmond, Virginia.  It was my first time checking it out!

As I mentioned earlier, I was a little tired since I had worked the nightshift before (7pm-7am) and had only had a two hour nap.  Shockingly, I didn't fall asleep while standing.  I actually was quite energized, despite avoiding any caffeine.

The weather was gorgeous, I really felt like I was in a dream the whole time.

My friends and I got a plot so it was fun to just hang out and tailgate all day.  The people-watching was off the hook, there was a huge variety of folks there.

I wore a dress from CK Bradley, a cute designer who has since stopped designing clothing and now sells crazy ski suits.  Please look at the website, it's worth gawking at.

My girlfriend wore her pink hat (same cute hat as the Derby Party) and I babysat it for a little while while she was off running around.

And then someone else babysat it.....!
Who would have thought that was such a great color on him?

Look at these pretty colors together, loved all the brightness (of course.)

The day was a visual treat, checking out all the cute dresses, hats, and esthetically pleasing colors.

Needless to say, no run on Sat.  I was in bed by 10pm that night, felt great to sleep after a long day in the sun!

Not Enough Sleep!

Can't wait until I catch up on my sleep...and there are so many new little small exciting things that I want to share, but I'll just wait for some future posts.  And by exciting things, I mean new running clothes, shoes, and accessories.

I worked Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights and slept for 2.5 hours and then went to the Strawberry Hill Horse Races all day on Saturday.  That is NOT enough sleep for me!  And then I turned around and worked 12 hours today (Sunday.)  Back again for dayshift tomorrow.  But no complaining, I only work three days per week (week = Sun thru Sat.)  Gotta put it in perspective.

I totally prefer having a set, predictable schedule with a routine, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...or so I keep trying to tell myself :)

Weather on Saturday was GORGEOUS, I'm going to do a post about Strawberry Hill tomorrow after I finish going through the photos.

Until then, I'll chat a little about my most recent "pre-nightshift" fun run!

I had a limited amount of time so Tappan and I set out from our respective homes and met in the middle.

I was wearing one of my new fav gray running tops from Target.

That's some heel strike, Ryan Hall would NOT be proud :)

Check out THIS video about Ryan Hall's running form and midfoot running.

I was caught smiling, not my usual running face:

The last few minutes of my run were through the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  Love that place, I'm pretty obsessed.

 Look how awesome the outdoor cafe is, can't wait to eat there!

And of course, the traditional pre-run photo.  Here's a little variation, I'm at the Braille Reading Library in this one!

Alrighty!  Work the next two days and then I'm flying off to a VACATION out west on Wednesday!  More info to follow.