New Mexico Part II

When I finished the last update we had made it to Los Alamos last Sat. night.  Sun. am, I started with a 4 mile run which looked something like this... ( see pics above)  After the run, we toured White Rock with a great Overlook area, and Bandelier where we took a short hike with a Ranger who gave us some information about the ancestral Pueblo people.  On the way to Bandelier we encountered some bikers who were in the middle of the Tour de Alamos bike race.

Then we headed back to Los Alamos to explore some of the museums and to learn more about the Manhatten Project.  It was interesting to learn how the scientist and their families lived in total isolation and secrecy during this time.  Today over 8000 people are still employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and you have to wonder what they are working on now.

Next we headed to the Jemez Mountain National Scenic Byway.  The Valles Caldera was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  Interesting - they had a marathon a couple of weeks before our trip.  Maybe one day I will make it back to explore the area on foot.

 If you look real close at the pic on the right, you may see a deer or maybe a baby elk???  My eyes are not that good  (ha ha)

After we drove through the Jemez Springs area we finally came across our much anticipated Fry Bread. 
"hallelujer"  (as Madea would say)  Fabulous!  Each year, Linde and I usually have a word or a phase that we repeat, like a million times, on the trip.  This year it was "FABULOUS!"

Fry Bread - Yummo!

The next stop was Albuquerque.  My favorite part of ABQ was my running and Sandia Peak area.

Last Monday, I ran 7 miles on the trail at the Rio Valley State Park.  The trail runs along the Rio Grande River.

Cottonwood trees line 

much of the trail.

Sat. we rode around the Sandia Crest area and toured Tinker Town.  Sat. evening we rode up the Sandia Crest Tram to see the sunset.  This is the world's longest tram - a little scary.

Tues. was my last morning to run in dry air,  so Linde and Mom were generous enough to drop me off at the trail that runs along Tramway Blvd.  I ran 9 miles and they went to breakfast.  

After the run, we packed and started the long journey home.  When we made it back to Atlanta, I lucked out because Delta had overbooked the flight, and they needed a volunteer to stay in Atlanta and in return they offered overnight accommodations, food vouchers, and a $300.00 voucher for my next flight.  Sweet - ready for our trip next year!

So this week, with the vacation, I managed to get 34 miles of running, 4 miles of walking, and some stretching and yoga poses.

Summer Soltice in New Mexico

Months ago my Mom (Eli) and my sister (Linde) planned our annual trip.  Of course, I didn't realize at the time that my hubby would be out of work because of the BP disaster.  After stressing, debating, and encouragement to go ahead with the trip from Chad, I decide to go forward with my plans.  The flight and my portion of the hotels was covered, so all I needed was to cover my food for the trip. 

So off to New Mexico for a week.

We landed in Albuquerque and made our way to Santa Fe for our first stop.

Adobe building in Santa Fe

Linde and Eli touring Santa Fe

Art Galleries on Canyon Rd

Santa Fe is the 2nd largest art market in the US with over 200 galleries.

(therunningartist - Santa Fe is a "must see" city if you haven't been there.  I could see you with a gallery in NM)

Rock Paper Scissors

 

 

On Wed., after giving up our search for the Dale Ball Trails that Happy Trails recommended,  I ran 5 miles on Cerrillos Rd and ended my run on this road near our hotel, just before dark.

Thurs. I read about a nice trail along the Santa Fe River....well let's just say, I'm not a "real" trail runner because this was an overgrown snake pit, in my opinion.  So I ran on the road along the Santa Fe River on Alemeda St. and Canyon Rd.  Nice run enjoying the art sculptures along Canyon Rd.

After the run we continued touring Santa Fe 

Palace of the Governors - we shopped for turquoise from the Native Americans - Success!

We toured the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, but we were disappointed that the current display was abstracts.  We really wanted to see the O'keefe landscapes.

We toured the Loretta Chapel - interesting story about the staircase - google it.

Fri. we headed out of Santa Fe heading to Taos.  

We saw the Echo Amphitheater

Ghost Ranch, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, and then we headed on to Taos.

 

 

Today was a walking day, so Linde and I walked 30 minutes in Taos after we stuffed ourselves at Orlandos - Yummy!  (thanks Becky for the recommendation)

Fri. am, I started off with a nice 6 mile run down the road in Taos.  I was out early because we had much touring to do.  It was 50 degrees when I started my run, what a treat to escape the heat and humidity.  I ran a 1 mile w/u and then ran a 2 mile tempo run around 8:30 pace, and then 3 miles back to the hotel.  Our first stop of the morning was the Taos Pueblo.  We were hoping to luck up on some bread or better yet, some "fry bread".   It was mentioned, prior to our travels, that this may be "somewhat commercialized" and I would have to agree.  It was interesting, but has turned into a money maker.  The travel books say 100 residents still live as the ancestors lived 1000 years ago....  I don't think so....not from what we saw, and the worst part - no bread.

Next stop was Questa where we tried to see a stain glass shop from a local artist, but no luck here either.  He was out for the day.  From here, we headed to the Rio Grande Wild Rivers area.  Linde and I decided to hike the La Junta Trail which is a 1 mile hike down to the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red River.  In the picture above the Red River is on the left and was much greener, and prettier than the Rio Grande on the right.  We survived the hike back up, and then we continued along the Enchanted Circle. 

Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park @ Angel Fire. 

This is an amazing memorial in a spectacular setting. 

We had dinner at the Rancho de Chimayo.  This was another recommendation from Kathleen @ Happy Trails.  It was fabulous!  As we left the restaurant we were just in time to enjoy a great southwest sunset.

After sunset we landed in Los Alamos.  I will start there on my next blog. 

A 5 Year Slow!

After the Blueberry 5k this weekend, I was shocked at my time.  So Sat. afternoon I did some research to see how far I had to go back, to find a 5k time slower than Sat.'s results.  For some time, I have wanted to list all of my races in one place, so my shock with my race time prompted me to compile the data.  The answer to my question was 5 years ago.  25:47 - WHAT?

It's funny!  I did not go into Sat.'s race with any expectations of a fast 5k.  This is only my 4th week back to running and I have not had any speed work, except, I did do one hill workout - the grueling "billboard run."  I just wanted to race so I headed down to Poplarville, MS.    In addition to no speed work, the heat index has been over 100 each day for a while now, and Sat.'s high was no different.  So the race started with a steamy, humid temp. - 78 degrees, with the heat index at 93 degrees, at 8:00 am.   Over the last few years I have learned to run in the extreme heat and humidity of summer in the south, but I have not, to date, learned to race well in it.  My other continuing battle is to run well on hills.  Summer, fall, winter, spring - nope - I am not a hill runner, not yet.  So the 5k on Sat offered all of my biggest challenges in running - heat, humidity, and hills. 

My expectations were to finish in the high 24's and I knew it would be a challenge to do that, but I never even considered high 25s.  After the race, it's funny, I was not upset, just shocked.  Typically, high 25's would be jogging.  So Sat. as I was looking through my running history going back to 2000, my resolve to run better grew and grew.  (wish I would have documented my racing history going back to my first 10k in 1986)

Now I'm on a mission.  I am excited and ready for speed work.  I have NO, ZERO natural speed.  You guys know how I love to analyze the what, why, how, why not, when, etc.  So when I look back at "how can I run THAT slow?" it's really easy to figure out.
*For several years, I have basically run speed work year around, until Nov.
*Late Nov. hurt my hip.
*Desperate to make it to the starting line at Boston, I ran very conservatively with no speed work for Boston.
*After Boston I took a month off all together
*Almost 7 months of no speed.

So now I am running on "pure talent"  Bahhhhhh! LOL!  I have no talent for speed, I have to WORK for it - ALWAYS!

The rest of the data from the 5k

* same course in 2008 - 24:40

* 24 seconds per mile slower than my last 10k pace in March - again I say WHAT?

*2:25 slower than my last 5k in March

Wow!  Speed work does a body good! 

I am excited for the challenge ahead of me.  The good thing is,  I will quickly be able to see results, and that will be fun.  Today I did an introductory speed session.  I had to slow my times tremendously based on Sat.'s 5k time.  It was fun to get back to the speed work.

Update - no new, or good news on the job issue for my hubby.
Should have some great pictures to post on my next blog.

This is my life today!

Warning - this is VERY SAD!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

As of May 28th my husband no longer has a job.  In 1998, he started charter fishing in South Louisiana- (www.dufrenesguidesevice.com) - taking people fishing for speckled trout and redfish.  We are both self-employed and we love our way of life.   In a very short period of time everything has changed, and currently we do not know what the road ahead has in store for us.  I have faith that things will work out, and in the mean time, as usual, my running becomes even more important to me.

Currently we are looking into the possibility of going to work for BP.  As we investigate we are worried about health issues, and the possibility of ruining our boat.  On the other hand, we need money to survive, and good paying jobs are NOT easy to find.    When one door closes....another one opens. 

We pray families of the 11 people who died in the initial blast on the rig and realize that yes, we are entering a very scary time, and what we had in the Gulf may never be again, but we have our lives, and our family, and that is the most important thing.

Running - today I start my 4th week of running.  I am feeling good, loving it, and starting to add a few quality runs, but mostly - just running.  As I go through this current hurdle in our lives, my goal will be to run and keep the endorphins revving.  That's it!

week 1 - walk 9 miles and run - 14 miles
week 2 - walk 6 miles and run - 17 miles
week 3 - walk 6 miles and run - 22.5 miles

I am confident that my next post will not be so depressing.  

Heat Nausea Spreads Through the Southeast.

 Cattails on my run this morning.
(Really appreciated the excuse for a break)

Brought back childhood memories.

Many runners in the southeast have recently been posting about heat issues on blogs, fb, twitter, etc.  I have posted several times about April and May being tough months for me and running.  We have roughly 4 seasons here, so it takes some doing each spring to get acclimated to the heat.   This year, we had a cooler than normal April, but now we are having almost record high heat daily.   Below I listed the things I do to run in the extreme heat and humidity of South MS, and even worse, South LA (more humid).

This is what I do: 
*during my running break,  I walked in the afternoon heat to try to get ready for my return to running.

*I eat before 85% of my runs.  I am weird in that I get nauseated if I do not eat prior to a run.

*I'm also sure to drink a LOT of water before heading out the door in the summer, probably around 16 oz. of water,  plus several cups of decaf coffee.

*I drop waters so that I have water every 20 min. or sometimes I wear a hydration belt.

*If I'm going over 1:40 (10 miles for me in the summer), I will also drop some Gatorade too.  I drink some Gatorade and some water.  I have Gatorade around 45-60 min. and then every 45-60 min., and continue with water every 20 min

*If I'm going over 2:00 (12 miles for me in the summer), I will also use gels (I prefer Gu chocolate), starting at 1 hour and then every 45 min beyond that. 

   I started experimenting with Accelerade gels over the winter which have an "all-natural whey protein and carbohydrates in a patented 4:1 ratio to help aid athlete performance and speed recovery."

*My pace naturally slows with the heat.

*When I get back, I drink another large glass of water and continue drinking throughout the day.

  If I'm running in the evening I try to drink extra during the day and drink a large glass (16 oz) prior to running in the evening. 

* A nice extra treat - a couple of years ago we started putting rags in the cooler with the drinks.  For our long runs we run a 5 mile loop and we put coolers out around 2.5 miles and 5 miles with water, Gatorade, and wet icy rags to cool our face.  It's so refreshing.   Depending on our mileage we may be doing the loop several times, but it's convenient for water stops. (we alternate water/Gatorade duty each week).  If I run solo, it's typically not as luxurious.  It may be hot waters, and hot Gatorade by the time I make it to my stops.
*If I plan to race, I plan runs that will be run at the same time as the race.  Last year in June, I ran a half marathon that started at 6:00 am.  In preparing for it, I had several runs that started at 8:00 which should be the time that I was finishing the half marathon.  Also, this year, I plan to run some 5ks later in the summer, so I will have many runs that start at 8:00 or 8:30 to get ready to run a race in the heat.

This seems to work for me.  Several years ago a friend and I were out on a run in Aug.  We did not have enough water and we both had a horrible, horrible long run.  We both still remember that day clearly.  Yes, it's a pain to prep, but for me, and her, we decided on that day not to duplicate that run.  I takes some extra work, but  it's worth it, for the hopes of a decent summer run.  It seems to work, I haven't had another run as memorable as that horrible run several years ago.   Typically, by mid June I have adjusted to the heat and it doesn't seem to be as big an issue as April and May when I am getting acclimated to it.

Some of the recommendations on a fb comment yesterday:
These were posted by Ben and Terry - good info for most people

*drink a lot of water throughout the day. Even on days when you are not training. 

*it does take some time to get acclimated to the heat. 

*try Endurolytes. They are capsules with electroyltes/salts/etc.

* slow down. Running in the heat is hard, even when acclimated to it. You can't run with the same speed you did a few weeks ago when the temperatures were cooler and the humidity was lower.

* Start out your runs hydrated and continue to drink fluids during the run. Especially if the run exceeds 40 minutes. For my lunch runs in the summer I make sure I drink a 20 ounce bottle of Gatorade/Powerade 1 hour before the run and another 20 ounce bottle right after the run.

* Sports drinks are better than water for drinking during exercise. They absorb more quickly, help prevent hyponatremia, and provide muscles with energy.

* Run when it is cooler if you can – early morning is best.

* You will gain a considerable amount of heat acclimation within the first two weeks but your body will continue to adapt for weeks as the temperatures continue to climb.

*Slow down. Even after your body has reached its maximum acclimation to the heat you can't excise as hard as you did when it was cooler.

*Try the electrolyte tablets that Ben suggests. I do use them (on occassion) prior to a run if the run is going to take me an hour or more, but I don't normally use them during the run-just Gatorade/Powerade.

* If you are taking gels during the run I'd suggest drinking water, not a Sports drink, with those. Too much sugar in your stomach will SLOW absorption. Gels should be taken with water. AND

* SLOW DOWN 

First week back!

14 miles of slow running

2 runs with friends

1 yoga class

4 days of core work, yoga poses, and some stretching

9 miles walking

One last note:  If you are not a summer runner, you can become one if you WANT to.  Many years ago, I would cut my mileage WAY back during the summer and I would say "I just can't run in the summer."  A few years ago, I was determined to do it.  I wanted it, so I made it happen.  Now I have learned to really enjoy summer running, especially when I make it to the middle of June.  

What works for you to conquer summer running?   What about runners in areas that have much less variation in season like South FL and Southern CA?  Do you stay acclimated to the heat year around, or how does the heat effect you? 

Weight Loss Mama is doing a giveway.  Check it out here.

1 month of walking

1 1/2 days from now I will start the long journey back into running condition.  Most of you know on April 19th, I ran my first Boston marathon.  That was my last run.  I promised myself I would take a month off after Boston, and I have honored my body and mind with a break.  Why would I do it?  For me, it seems to be that running is very deep in my soul.  I like to think I will still be at it 30 years from now.  Will I, only time will tell, but in the mean time, I like to increase the odds of that happening by taking some mini breaks.  The other reason is I think our bodies deserve and need some down time to be able to climb to the next level.  I know mine does anyway.  One other reason is the whole "trick the body" type of philosophy.   When I start back, my body will be revving into high gear again, and hopefully burning some extra calories. 

So for the past 4 weeks my exercise has been walking.  Nope,  I never aired up the tires on the bike.  Each day I walked my minimum, which is 30 minutes, and that was it.  I think I had 2 or 3 days that I walked a little longer.  No yoga, no stretching, no weights, no schedule, no demand,  just walking. 

SCENES FROM MY RECENT WALKS

MS Therapy!

Horses on the hill!  More therapy! (MS)

LA Bayou therapy!

Back in MS - new pavement - just in time to welcome me back to running. Nice and cushiony!

 

Thoughts from 4 weeks of walking

1st 3 weeks - "I can't wait to run again"

4th week - "I may be too lazy to run again"

 

This week is another year of my exercising streak.  9 years ago, I said I would exercise for 30 minutes each day.  (2 other ladies committed too, I will not mention any names, but let me just say,  this has been a solo streak)  (also in full disclosure - I did have 1 day when I only went for 20 minutes - also some days would barely qualify as exercise - so I say 9 years of 30 minutes of movement.  When I'm sick- it's down to a stroll)

I am very thankful for my health, desire, and hard-head to "get out the door" each day.  Also, I'm thankful for family and friends who occasionally go with me to complete the daily task.  (my sister has been with me at 11:30pm to get it in just in time, and she has also been at the unGodly hour of 3:30 am.  In fact, in the 9 years, I may have covered every hour on the clock, just to "get it done"  Hubby and Scarlett (our dog) have been with me many days - I love our walking time together)

 One of my favorite pics of Scarlett.  (that's some photographer to get her sticking her tongue out, right?)

So YES, I'm a streaker!  I never told you that :)!   I will keep it going until something comes up that keeps me from getting in my 30 minutes during a 24 hour period.  

I like to say 

"It Must Be Done!"

2 weeks AB (after Boston) - Serious Slacker here!

Today I have been catching up on bloggie world and what becomes apparent over and over ....

I am a SERIOUS SLACKER!

I promised myself I would take a month off of running after Boston.  I am sticking to that promise, but as I read all of the blogs everyone is back to running and many are even racing already.  Wow!

For me, it has been a long hard FIGHT to get to Boston (years).  After finally qualifying in Oct. 2009, and becoming even more motivated, I injured my hip in a half marathon PR race at the end of Nov.  So, I didn't get to train exactly as I wanted to Boston, but I did manage to complete my long runs and made it to the starting line.  Woo Hoo!  Mission accomplished!  With that all said and done,  I will continue to honor my efforts with 2 more weeks of rest from running.  In the mean time, I will continue to walk, or possibly bike some, if I get motivated to air up the tires.

What's next?  Upon my return to running  - 2 weeks and 1 day from now - oh yes, I'm counting,  I will work on getting my base back for the first 4 weeks.  After the 4 weeks of grueling heat acclimation ,  I will then add speed work.  As I type, I can hardly stand it.

Hello speed work - I have missed you so much, I promise to reunite with you soon.    

Later in the summer I would like to work on getting my 5k times down.   I realize summer in MS is not the time to work on fast 5ks, but I will work toward improving my time as much as possible in the heat and humidity.   This will lead me into training for something in the fall.  Currently, I am thinking about the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL in Dec., but haven't totally committed yet.   Anyone want to meet me in Huntsville to run a marathon?  What about you Jennifer, have you decided on your next marathon? 

So many marathons, so little time, too much recovery needed.