USATF Club XC Nationals. DTC.

This weekend Dukes Track Club headed to Bend, OR to compete in the USATF Club XC National Championship.  276 of the fastest women and 410 of the fastest men in the country, and that's just in the open race.  Women's and men's masters races were also held that morning!  I haven't raced XC since NCAA Nationals in 2005.  Colby College XC, underdogs finishing in fifth place in the nation.  It was nice to lace up some spikes again!

I ran 24:46 for 6K.  Not exceptional.  A week before I'd run 23:46 for the 6K (6:20s) in 20 degrees at 6000 feet by myself.  I'd had bigger goals for this race.  Place didn't matter to me, but I'd hoped to run closer to 6:00 pace.  In reality, only eight women broke 6:00 pace.  The course was tough, 2K loops on a muddy, hilly, stutter step golf course.  The first two laps I held pretty steady and strong, not getting passed, closing gaps.  I hid lap three, and really started to burn up.  Heavy breathing, burning lungs, legs, arms.  And slowly dropping back.  Happy to finish where I did in the top half for my fitness level.  30 seconds faster would have brought me 50 places toward the front.  Humbling and inspiring experience to be surrounded by so many phenomenal athletes.  Recently, my girls and I have had some pretty solid XC style workouts at the Academy XC course, a very tough course.  Unfortunately, there's no replica for competition, and that's where I felt like I was lacking.  It would have been nice to have the opportunity to race one XC race beforehand!

All the individual stuff aside, I wouldn't change this weekend for the world.  Dukes Men finished 28th of 50 teams and Dukes Women finished 32 of 34.  Very proud of everyone for getting outside of their comfort zone.  Steph, racing in the open race with us instead of the masters.  Sam for your first XC race ever.  Vanessa, for your first since college.  And Leen, for your first XC race since high school and your strongest ever.  Thank you to my team for being not only my friends, but my family too.  Without you I'm nothing but an individual, alone.  Together we are a team, creating memories, blazing trails, and building our little dream of the Dukes Track Club in the national running community.  Also thanks to everyone that supported us remotely, with positive words and cheers from afar, and to Picky Bars for a FANTASTIC post race dance party!  I'm looking forward to the USA XC Championships in February 2014 in Boulder, CO, and hope that we'll all be there together!

La Luz. Everyone's a weiner.

DTC Saturday Long Day

The Sandia Mountains, which watch over Albuquerque from the East, are the home of the La Luz trail.  The race up this trail began in 1965 with nine total runners, and runs nine miles up switchbacks, rock slides, various ecosystems, and a set of stairs. With close to 4000 feet of elevation gain and a grade of 12%, well, spectating is a lot more fun!  To enter the race, participants enroll in a lottery which allows a total of 400 racers per the US Forest Service.  Times on this single track span from 90+ minutes to close to five hours.  

Sammy Pants dominating

Our day began with a car load of people, Starbucks, and some costumes in a bag.  I never cease to be inspired by the community of athletes and supporters in Albuquerque.  "Six minutes till the first runners come through!" a volunteer told us.  Two minutes later, our friend Kris came blazing through with no warning, winning the race in 1:22:15 (9:08 min/mile pace), beating out former champion Simon Gutierrez by one minute.  Kris also broke the world record in the stroller half marathon (yes, pushing a baby) in a time of 1:12:11 (5:30 min/mile pace)...a race 4.1 miles longer while pushing his thirteen month old daughter.  If that doesn't show you that this course is hard, I don't know what will!

After that, a sea of Dukes.  Loren Wohletz in 3rd (after running Hard Rock 100 three weeks ago), Chris Pev in 4th, Stuart Lisle in 5th, Matt Piccarello in 8th, Anthony Fleg in 9th, Travis Mcwhorter in 36th.  So many teal jerseys coming across the line.  Becoming an Albuquerque household name.  Sorry if I left anyone out, just too many!

GO ALEX!

We all know Alex Darling is a stud.  Not only is she gorgeous and super speedy over a fast short stuff, but today she proved that when she sets her mind to something, nothing gets in her way.  Including a mountain.  Alex cruised into first place in 1:58:10, close to a minute over the next female.  Stephanie Latimer rocked 7th place and an age group win.

And of course, my Lululemon family.  Who else would have a full on tailgate at eleven thousand feet, celebrating how amazing everyone is.  Chase Peregroy (over 10min PR), Sam Fernandez (smiling the whole way), Irene Minster (had enough energy to tell me I was a good liar when I told her she looked fab), Britney Jaeger (first time La Luz finisher, and I'm sure she'll sign up next year!)  You guys rock.

Happy Cheer Squad and Finishers

In the end, we managed to make many people smile, force fed some fruit leathers and gummy bears to depleted runners, and listened to Eye of the Tiger and Final Countdown about 400 times.  The Rocky theme song is still playing in my head.  But that's what makes this all worth it, turns some of the selfish  aspects of this sport around.  Being part of the competition from both sides is wonderful, and being a spectator always gives a new perspective every time.  Proud of my people, and proud of all 349 runners that crossed the line!

And in case anyone ever forgets that this happened, it's now a matter of public record....

Thanks ABQJournal!

Women's Distance Festival Recap

Disclaimer: If you don’t like the sappy stuff, skip to the bottom :)

Wow.  The Women’s Distance Festival was my first “race” after moving to Albuquerque in late June of 2011.  I showed up with no expectations, no goal, and knowing not a single person.  That day I broke nineteen minutes for the first time in five years (18:56), I won overall, and I met a lot of fabulous people...including current race director, Eric Beiderman, and many members of the Albuquerque Road Runners.  In July of 2012, a faster 18:05, a second win, and friends, there to cheer me on...Lululemon had become my Abq family.  

July of 2013.  Today I ran a lifetime PR of 17:51.  Faster than college, at altitude, win for the third year.  Surrounded by people and teammates I love, dressed up as hot dogs and out of bed before the sun rose to cheer on our crew (Dukes Track Club).  Not only that, but it was hard not to get a little emotional as the sea of teal and red Dukes Track Club jerseys flowed across the finish line, personal record after personal record.  I’m a sucker for this stuff, I know, but to be surrounded by women and men who push you and support you consistently...that’s invaluable.  

A lot has happened in a year.  I’ve dropped minutes from my marathon time.  I feel stronger and happier than ever.  I have AMAZING sponsors (Saucony, Nuun, and Nuttzo).  I have a coach who I trust 100% (thanks Brett Schumacher!)  And most importantly, I have teammates, friends, and fans who inspire me, everyday, to never give up.

There's a long way to go still and a lot of work to be done...but you can't do it alone!

For those “non-saps”

I am not allowed to complain about a PR, or anything about today...but I made a rookie mistake, which I'll blame on fidgeting with and not starting my watch, and ran the first mile too fast.  5:28 first mile, which should have been a 5:35.  Second mile around 5:40, third mile around six minute.  Just a little tweak and holding back, not running from adrenaline, saving something for that last bit.  Playing it smart would have led to a stronger finish and an overall faster time.  I’d love to take this down to sea level and see where consistency could put me.  Years ago, I never thought I’d break 20min.  Now it’s time for a new goal...but what???  There's still a LONG way to go!  THAT SAID, I'm psyched about today, and I hadn’t run a 5K since this race last year.  I was VERY nervous going into this, since this race meant a lot to me, number one because the race itself is awesome, well organized, and a ton of fun, number two because I'd won it the last two years, and number three because this was the first REAL benchmark of fitness to this point.  I’ve made a lot of changes in terms of recovery (foam rolling and massage as often as possible), nutrition (eating MORE food, not just clean and real food), and training (more miles).  Things I’m still working on...strength and sleep, my dreaded S’s.  But it is nice to know that even with these changes, I've not lost anything, and I hope I can say that I've gained something by being 14 seconds faster than last year.  Yes, it is 23 miles short of a marathon, but still, I hope it means something!  Race Results here...2013 Results. 

Next up....Lululemon SeaWheeze!  Vancouver, here we come!

TWA crash site in the Sandia Mountains

The Dukes Track Club had a fantastic adventure on Saturday heading up to the site of a plane crash from 1955 in the Sandia Mountains.  Twenty-three of us met early and headed up the hill for an eleven mile, 3K feet, trek that included a couple of wrong turns, some bumps, bruises, and scrapes, and good memories.  

This excerpt is from Wikipedia with some history of the plane crash.

On February 19, 1955 at 7:03 am, TWA flight 260 en route from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico received an IFR clearance from the Albuquerque tower ("ATC clears TWA 260 for approach at the Santa Fe Airport via Victor 19 climb northbound on the back course of the ILS localizer"). There were no further communications after the aircraft took off at 7:05. It was last seen in a high speed shallow climb toward the cloud-shrouded Sandia Ridge at an estimated altitude of 3,000 feet above ground level.

At 7:13 the flight crashed into the Sandia Mountains killing all 13 passengers and three crew members on board instantly. Due to the complex mountainous terrain, a day after the crash several members of the New Mexico Mountain Club, along with other volunteers assisted the New Mexico State Police in the recovery efforts leading to the formation of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, a voluntary organization still active today.

Kinvara Trail...full o' rocks