#SeaWheeze

Quick Seawheeze recap...

Wonderful extended weekend in Vancouver and Washington with family and best friends. Race wise, second female of 8400 females with an alright 1:22:45. Not allowed to be upset...a difficult hilly course (winner didn't break 80min either) and a freaking out hamstring that caused me to stop twice I the last 3k, losing a minute or so...all around a strong race physically and mentally on a beautiful course with the best superfans EVER (Jo,Di,Dana,TK).

Proud of my people who also raced strong and had fun!  More deets to come!

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!

My friends are faster than your friends :)

Loving Tuesday mornings!  The Dukes Track Club is a collection of post-collegiate distance runners.  We train for races ranging from 5k to 100milers.  Tuesdays have been early morning track workouts up at Academy, the only place in town with trees, grass, and sprinklers.  The turnout is bigger and bigger each week, and it truly is amazing to have a group to train with and inspire me.  The greatest thing is that everyone supports each other, and is thrilled when the other is doing well or has a good workout.  Support is everything!  There are a bunch of races coming up for us all, Seawheeze half marathon, US Marathon Champs at Twin Cities, St. George and Skagit marathons, and Western States 100miler to name a few.

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

#BOSTONSTRONG

It has been a surreal couple of days, a boiling pot of different emotions. It is impossible to pinpoint what exactly I feel at any given moment, but for the moment, sadness and anger are the two descriptors that come to mind. I will have more posts to come relating to Boston, but for right now, send hope to the injured and hug all around. Life is short, Boston is strong. April 21st, 2014, will be here before we know it.