Sierra Vista 50K (Race Recap)

Las Cruces, NM

Saturday, March 1

Weather - Sunny and warm

A later addition to my race schedule, this race was selected because it was a good time of year for a last "big mileage" weekend before Arizona Monster, the race itself was inexpensive, and flights/travel was going to be very minimal.

The race began at 7 and it was suggested that we arrive early as we would have to park on the road to walk in. We got up at 5 and got ready. It was nice that we didn't also have to pack up all our stuff since we were staying at the same place after the race. 

We left on time, around 5:45 with the plan of arriving just after 6:00. When we first arrived there were only a half dozen cars parked along the road. The parking lot volunteers said that we did, in fact, need to walk to the trail head to get our bibs. It was a bit of a longer walk than expected, probably close to 10 minutes? I used the bathroom and we got our bibs/race shirts. It was going to be a beautiful (sunny and hot) day:

When we got back closer to the car the volunteers told us that we could actually move our car and drive in to get a closer spot, so we did. Got everything ready to go and then I headed to the start area because I wanted to use the bathroom one more time before we started. 

I had initially thought I would bring my smaller UltrAspire vest as the Zygos seemed like it would be overkill, but last minute I figured I would bring my bigger pack since I would be using it for all my races over the summer anyway.

The race began right on time, and with less than 40 of us, Ben and I started towards the back. I hadn't done any real research on this one, and figured that with "only" a couple thousand feet of gain it would be a nice day in warmer weather and nothing crazy would happen.

Well, the race started with an out and back from the trailhead to the road that we had driven in on. This was designed to prevent bottlenecking as almost the entire course was on single track. We were definitely going to be in the back for the whole race. Once we turned around to head back to the trail head there were only a couple of people behind us. We ran through the start/finish and headed up the first climb of the day. I think we both realized pretty quick that this race was going to be more difficult than we thought. I managed to pick an Arizona (rocky) trail in New Mexico! 

We had both started out with gloves on, and I believe I actually kept them on for at least the first few miles, as is evidenced by one of our early race photos. 

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

I had also decided that I would start with arm sleeves since it had been a little chilly when we started, and since it was also supposed to be full sun, to help prevent getting burned. The terrain made running more challenging than we expected it would be and it was disheartening to see such a slow pace.

It warmed up pretty quick and we hit the first aid station. I don't remember much other than there was a dog that didn't want to be pet and I grabbed some watermelon. Temperature was starting to heat up and we were basically alone! We could see a couple people in front of us, but once I stopped to for a minute to pee, we didn't see them again.

I can't remember how far into the race we were, but at some point I caught my toe on a rock and went flying. I was surprised I didn't actually hurt myself or scrape myself up more because all the weight was on my hands. That jarred me into running a lot more cautiously as well. 

We were expecting a second aid station, but it turned out to just be a jug in the middle of nowhere - good to know for the way back so we could plan. The next actual aid station was maybe 10 miles in. We were told there would only be a water drop after that before the turn around. The water drop seemed to come up pretty fast, and we were optimist when we hit a salt flats area that was really pretty runnable. It took almost until we turned around that I realized we would have to overshoot the halfway distance because of the out/back we had done at the start. We both forgot to put on sunscreen and there was not a lot of food options, nor ice, which was disappointing. I think we grabbed some gummies and cold water, but that was it. We headed out for the back half, and when I realized I had forgotten the sunscreen I pulled out my Patagonia Airshed so at least my arms and neck would be covered and protected. It was not as hot as I expected and every once in a while we got a breeze that was quite nice! At the first water stop I remembered to ask for sunscreen, and thankfully they had some. I put it on my legs and face but opted to keep my long sleeve and hood on.

We passed one guy in this section, and never did see him again.

Somehow, the entire way back felt like one big climb. We were both hot and tired and we had headphones in to try and motivate us. While it didn't seem to take too long to get to the water drop, it seemed like an eternity before we got to the aid station. Miles 20-27 seemed like they were never going to end. We grabbed water from the unmanned water station and it was surprisingly not that warm - even though it was nearly 80 degrees and the jugs had been in the sun all day. At some point my right hand snagged one of the bazillion stabby things on the side of the trail and it cut my hand open pretty good. Once it stopped bleeding I just put some water on it. (I'm writing this race report almost 2 weeks later and it took about 10 days before it stopped cracking open and bleeding!!)

Things were going very very very very slow. Ben and I made the decision that I would go on ahead and we would just see each other at the finish. He caught up briefly at the last aid station. I was feeling pretty good, so I took off. I have to say that I didn't recognize any of the section after the last aid station - were we even here?? Approaching a very steep climb (that I didn't recall) and I saw someone ahead of me that looked to be in pretty bad shape. I was able to pass him and asked him if he needed anything, and his answer was "just for this to be done." Same... Thankfully it was almost all downhill to the finish and I was able to run pretty well in. So happy to be done!!

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

It was an absolute ghost town at the finish. Considering I was about 90 minutes under cutoff, there were about 2 other runners, the timing guy, the photographer and her dog, and two volunteers. That's it. I got some coke and sat down in a chair under the tent to wait for Ben. He also managed to pass the guy that I had and was only about 8-9 minutes behind me.

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

Our finisher award was a wooden(ish) cutout - no ribbon or anything, kind of like a small plaque? This was a very small, grassroots event, so it was fine.

Official Time - 8:35:48

Overall Place - 30/37

Gender Place - 12/13 (OA winner was female, and was 45 minutes ahead of second place?!)

Thoughts

• Very inexpensive! I signed up mid December and it was $88 after taxes/fees. They also "require" a pair of shoes for a donation. I saw that on UltraSignup, but then it was never mentioned in any of the pre-race emails and we had to ask about it at packet pick up.
• Definitely plan on being self sufficient for food! I am not that picky, but honestly all they had was snacky type stuff (chips & sugar) - nothing of real caloric density. I had some of my own food but I didn't eat much as I lose my appetite when it's hot.
• Aid stations had cold water, but no ice, which was disappointing since it was really warm and exposed.
• I didn't have cell service for most of this course. 
• The race had a gpx available and it was nice to have, although honestly not necessary. Even being alone out there we didn't have to question where the course went.
• Got a few free on course and finish line pictures, which is always nice!
• Did not see any "native" wildlife, but saw dogs at every aid station, which was lovely. As for vegetation, holy cow, so many cacti and stabby bushes. Really had to be careful on this course.
• If you are looking for a hot, rocky and exposed course, this is for you!!

Angel Fire Adventure Marathon (Race Recap)

Angel Fire, New Mexico
Sunday, July 3
Marathon #29
Weather - Sunny/windy/warm

With a pretty big race coming at the end of summer, I knew I would need some longer runs. At the time I registered for the Angel Fire Adventure marathon I didn't yet have my training plan and decided, sure, why not. Well, I actually was looking for something close by when I didn't already have something planned, preferably on a Sunday so I could also do a longer run with Runners' Edge. I was having trouble finding a race until I expanded my search to surrounding states, and since I hadn't run a marathon in New Mexico, it was the "obvious" choice.

I registered right after I finished Revel, before I knew the hip was all jacked up. As race day approached I was apprehensive about what to do. I had already booked the hotel, and since the "easy four" and week of trail running had been "OK" - I figured I would head out and hope for the best.

As far as I could tell, the course was a double out and back, and figured I could ask the race director about dropping at the halfway point if I felt really awful.

Race Day

I had slept fairly well. I had mapped how far it was to Angel Fire from the hotel, and it was about an hour and a half, so I was up just after 4 am for the 6:45 start. I was checked out of the hotel by 4:15, and drove around town for longer than I would have liked looking for coffee. Finally found an open gas station, got a coffee and diet Pepsi, then started the drive.

Highway 64 into Angel Fire is a two lane highway, super straight until you near the hills, then  it is pretty curvy. I saw jillions of deer on the side of the road, so I was paying extra close attention, as dawn is when they really seem to be out. I was driving over the speed limit and it was STILL taking longer than mapquest had said. Shit.

There was no actual address for the race start, but when I started to get close I saw that there were markers on  the side of the road so I just followed those until I got to the parking lot at the entrance to the resort. The website had said it was a 1/4 mile walk to the start/finish area where I would need to get my bib. I was parked by 6:10 - only 35 minutes until the race start. I call shenanigans that it was a 1/4 mile. It took almost 10 minutes to walk over, then the same to get back - and I was walking pretty fast.

View from the start line. Wish the race would have been in those hills!

By the time I got back to the car it was 6:35, I still had to apply sunscreen, shove my gel in my pockets and get my sunglasses. I was halfway to the start when I realized I had left my handheld in my car. Crap. And then I still had to use the bathroom - I hadn't used one since I left the hotel! Got in line with 3 minutes to the start, but there were only two port-o-potties. I ran into Dave Bell in the line and we chatted until he headed off, while I still waited. The race is not chip timed and I was the very last marathon runner to cross the start line - 8 minutes late, snatching a bottle of water on my way out. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the race...

The race set out on the shoulder of the road... where we would remain the entire race. I was minutes behind everyone else and stupidly started out faster than I should have. Within a half a mile, my calves seized up. Tried to run through it, but I pushed too hard and by the time I gave up and started walking I had to go super slow and was limping. At this point, I was thinking, the calf issues are nothing new, if that is the only issue I have this will be fine.

When I say I was running super slow, I'm not kidding. Normally (at least in the last few years), in a road race I'm moving around an 11 minute pace. I was at a 13 minute pace for most of the first half. I was taking lots of walk breaks. Angel Fire is at 8400' and for whatever reason, the altitude was making me a little queasy, although some of that could have been the heat and sun.

The aid stations were about 2 miles apart, having ONLY Gatorade (various flavors) and water. I had brought enough gels for the entire race, but for the first time, the sweetness was really bothering  me. I had also forgotten my Base salt, and I was sweating like crazy.

I got passed by the first half marathon runner before I was even at the first aid station. I caught up to the first marathon runner shortly after that. I was NOT enjoying myself. Even though my hip was feeling all right at this point, I just felt overly fatigued and not into it.

Not much else to say about the first half. It wasn't great, but I figured I might as well just go for the full marathon. I caught up to Dave just after the half marathon runners turned off. He wasn't having a great time either. Then, I realized where we were...

Focus on the SIDE of the highway. Pretty trees!

When I had gone out last year for Ragnar, there was a section of trail that ran near the road, going UP. That's what we were on. So for about 2 miles, I pretty much just walked. It was steep enough that running wasn't even worth it. Just past mile 15 we had some downhill. I started running, slow still, but the hip was holding up. That is, until I was running across a gravel driveway and I caught my toe on a rut. I lurched forward to catch myself from falling on my face and the impact of stepping (of COURSE with my "bad" leg) jarred my hip. I yelled out and tried to keep running and couldn't. This was around mile 17. I basically walked the remainder of the race.

The only marker that made me feel almost as good as the finish line

At the turnaround, I noticed I wasn't alone in my misery. All the people at my pace were walking. I would walk for 3-4 minutes and then try to jog, but the way back was about a four mile climb, into a headwind. AWESOME. My kidneys were "hurting" like I needed to pee but there were no bathrooms on the course and nowhere I could go without risking public indecency. Since the race was on the road, there were a few Sheriffs cruising up and down the race course to ensure people weren't driving like maniacs.

I tried REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hard to not hate every single second of this race. Pictures like THIS made me feel a tad better (this was the side of the road, maybe around mile 22?)

To top it all off, I was getting eaten alive by deer flies. URG. I was in  bad place and cursing my stupidity for "needing" to run the full marathon.

Random sightings on my run back... (I did NOT take a picture of the decapitated owl):

The long long long long long road - but yay for the pretty mountain in the distance!

Deer leg. Just one.

Deer body. Down the road from the aforementioned leg.

Caped ninjas on horseback?

I passed maybe a half dozen people in the last 6 miles. Caught up to a guy I seen pacing earlier. He had to quit his pace leading duties after getting incredibly sick. We ran/walked together for most of the last two miles.

At the finish I collected my medal, was given a bottle of water, and then I headed to the "finisher tent" for my shirt. Not surprisingly, the size I had ordered (men's size XS, since no women's size) was not available. There was no food at the finish other than pretzels, granola bars, orange and banana slices. After a hundred thousand miles on the road, I really needed something more. "Luckily," I was still nauseous so I was fine for the time being. I hung around at the finish to wait for Dave and Stacy. I chatted with the race directors for a few minutes and let them know that they need more potties and that the walk from the lot to the start is NOT a quarter mile. The race director offered to adjust my time to my Garmin time since I started so late, which was nice.

Official Time - 6:08:46 (slowest road marathon, by quite a bit)
Overall Place - 64/78
Gender Place - 35/44
Division Place - 7/7
Mile 1 - 13:19
Mile 2 - 13:09
Mile 3 - 12:52
Mile 4 - 13:34
Mile 5 - 13:00
Mile 6 - 12:56
Mile 7 - 13:01
Mile 8 - 13:42
Mile 9 - 13:29
Mile 10 - 13:10
Mile 11 - 13:34
Mile 12 - 13:22
Mile 13 - 13:52
Mile 14 - 13:58
Mile 15 - 16:11
Mile 16 - 12:39
Mile 17 - 13:49
Mile 18 - 15:11
Mile 19 - 16:08
Mile 20 - 17:03
Mile 21 - 16:36
Mile 22 - 16:20
Mile 23 - 15:39
Mile 24 - 13:21
Mile 25 - 13:3
Mile 26 - 13:54
Mile 26.11 - 12:55

Back half = NOT FUN

Thoughts:

• This was the third year of the event and there are still some kinks that need to be worked out. The parking lot situation/time to walk to the start needs to be adjusted to a realistic time. The inaccurate info caused me to misjudge my morning and got me off to a rough start.
• The aid stations were well stocked with fluids, but NOTHING else...  I know better than to rely on aid stations for food, but for a $100 fee, something with salt would have been appreciated.
• The course was marked. But incredibly inaccurately. The only mile markers that were right on for me were 1 and 13. For example, the 26 mile marker was about .6 away from the finish. WTF! If I was someone who had a kick at the end I would have lost my mind.
• The race isn't chip timed, which is fine, but there needs to be more bathrooms at the start (and on the course) and the half should maybe start 30 minutes after (instead of 15) to ease up on the crowded start area.
• The race did start right on time, which would have been nice if I could have started on time.
• The post-race was not great - need more food for sure!
• The unisex shirts. Boo, hiss. Everyone knows how I feel about this.
• I do love the medal!

• The course itself is not great. I knew it was road, but it was all on the shoulder and most of the shoulder was gravelly and uneven. But! If I looked to my left or right, it was really pretty! Angel Fire is a gorgeous resort town, and running on the trails there is pretty fantastic. Sadly, I didn't get to do that (again, not the fault of the race, it's not like they mislead anyone into thinking it would be trail). I also realized, when writing my recap, that I did not take any pictures on the first half of the course when we ran through "town" and on not nearly a "pretty" road.
• Would I run this again? No.

Ragnar Trail Angel Fire (Race Recap)

Friday, August 28 - Saturday, August 29
Angel Fire, New Mexico

So I was surfing Facebook late one night when I was having trouble sleeping. My good friend and Runner's Roost teammate, Heather, posted that she was looking for another person to run Ragnar with them in New Mexico. I was interested, but knew that I would have A so I didn't think that I would be able to do it. She said kids were welcome to come so I committed to be on team "The Running Dead" assuming I didn't have any major scheduling conflicts at work. My attorneys were find with me taking Friday off, and I called A in from school.

Thursday

My dad dropped off A at my office so that we could head down to New Mexico right after. This was a bad idea. It's like I've forgotten that Denver traffic is THE WORST. It took us an hour just to get to Ikea, which is something like 10 miles away. Shortly after getting to Castle Rock (about 25 miles away), it started to rain - pretty heavily. We stopped in Colorado Springs and went to Hu Hot for dinner. I was thinking that we had missed a bulk of the storm as it had stopped raining by the time we were done.

However, I was wrong. As we got closer to Pueblo, the rain got heavier. It was super dark and my wipers were going as fast as they would go and I could barely see. I was cruising along at an uncomfortably fast speed of about 40 mph. I had A call my dad to see where an affordable hotel might be and decided it was best to just stop for the night. We stopped in Colorado City at the Days Inn, about an hour north of the New Mexico border.

Friday

We got up at 5:30, giving us enough time to get dressed, load up the car and grab a quick breakfast in order to be on the road by 6:15. We had to make one stop in Trinidad to buy bottled water, and then we were on the road again. We arrived in Angel Fire just after 9, in time to see the fog covered ski slope that was the backdrop for our run. I found our team camp with no problems - it was the ever so wonderful theme "The Running Dead" and was decorated like the zombie apocalypse. SO FUN.

I was to be the leg 1 runner and still had a while to go. We sat around and talked, decorated our team shirts with fake blood, ate some lunch and drank a beer. Headed over to the start line for my 1:00 pm wave start only to find out the race was going to be delayed because of lighting. Arg. Headed back to the camp. Ate more. Around 2:00 there was still sketchy weather and thunder/lightning so the race was postponed ANOTHER HOUR. Sigh.

A was pretty terrifying in this clown mask

Leg 1 (Green Loop - "Easy")

Loop 1 - INKnBURN "zombie" tech tee

Finally, at 3:00, we were off. Due to the postponement there were quite a few of us starting at the same time. Even running a sub 10 pace (which really is the fastest EVER for me lately), I was dead last heading out for the "easy" loop. The first mile was on road and paved bike trail with a gradual downhill. That part WAS easy. However, I quickly overheated with my long sleeves, and I had to strip on course to get the top off as the sleeves were too tight to just pull up. There was a gradual uphill until the course moved onto the trail.

It was really pretty, but steeper than I expected. The green loop merged with the yellow but it wasn't congested or crowded. Steep climb towards the end of mile 3. Finally, we were at the top of the hill and there was a lovely downhill that I cruised down, jumping over ditches (glad I ran this section in the daylight first as all loops would run this last half mile). There was a weird section about a quarter mile out involving stairs and running on a boardwalk type surface before heading into the chute. I handed off to runner 2, Shelby. (Thoughts about the green loop? Not exactly what I would call "easy").

Headed back to the camp to for a beer. Most of the team stayed in the village. Probably 30 minutes after I stopped running, the rain and hail started. It was coming down so hard and so fast that the camp began to flood - there was seriously a river running in between our camp and the one next to ours. We thought for sure the race was going to end up getting canceled because the weather was so awful. Turns out the race was going to proceed as long as there was no lighting.

Spent lots of time just sitting around and eating. A participated in the "air guitar" contest. Sadly, she didn't win the overall prize, but she did get a stainless steel Ragnar pint cup out of it. I decided to lie down and take a short nap before my next leg since I was going to be running much later than originally planned.

Leg 2 (Red Loop - "Difficult")

Taken before it got dark so I could get a picture of our outfits

I was awoken by A hovering over me telling me to get up. I really didn't want to. I was so tired. But I dragged myself up and then went to sit in a chair, looked up, and saw Dan. That's who was handing off to me! He had run WAY faster than expected and I obviously wasn't there. Luckily I had all my stuff ready and I ran to the transition tent and headed out, half asleep. There was a full moon but it was obviously SUPER dark, and this was my longest and most difficult leg. The first half mile or so was on the road, and then it moved onto the trail.

I was completely alone, I could not even see other headlamps. The trail didn't seem too technical and I'm assuming it was pretty but it was dark so I have no idea. The first 3 miles was all uphill so there was very little running for me.

When I hit the three mile mark I knew it was mostly downhill so I ran as much as I could. I haven't done much running at night, and certainly not on trails, so this was fun. I had a great time on this loop. (And looking at my Garmin information - turns out my sprint into the finish was just that - 7:22 pace O.o)

Headed back to the camp and everyone else was in bed, except Dan. He stayed up with me while I had a few beers and then I headed to bed around 2. Was woken up fairly early, maybe just before 6 because everyone was starting to wake up.

Leg 3 (Yellow Loop - "Moderate")

Matchy matchy mummy tech tees!

I wasn't feeling all that great so I decided not to eat before my run. I spent some time in the village waiting for Dan to arrive. He took a lot longer than expected, so I was wondering if he even ran the correct course. I headed out for my last leg of the race just before 9:00. The first mile or so wasn't too terrible, but then the climbing began. It was substantially more difficult than I thought. It was more technical than the red loop with a lot of roots and rocks. And the climbing. So much climbing. It was steep and I was tired and it was already hot. There was very little relief from the climbing, not many downhills or flats.

There was a small section of downhill and then the course merged with the green and I was back in familiar territory. Bombed the downhill again and was super happy to be done.

Due to the late start and slower running (mostly because of trail conditions), our team was in danger of not finishing in time, so we had to "double up" our runners. Good - because then we would 1). finish and 2). not finish so late that I would be driving at night again.

A and I went up the hill to the Lodge and got some breakfast (I had a delicious ham/cheese and green chili quiche and A had a breakfast burrito). We started to pack up our stuff since were planning on heading out right after the team finished. Spent some time in the Elevated Legs after Heather and Dan went out for their last leg. Not more than 15 minutes after they headed out the rain started. AGAIN. A and I sat in the car and only headed over to the finish when we thought they might be finishing. They came in - cold and soaking wet. We got our team picture taken and then, of course, it stopped raining.

Runners Roost team members (Dan, Heather, Me)

We helped tear down the camp and then headed out around 3:00. The drive back was just about as adventurous with MORE torrential rain. We stopped in Pueblo for dinner (burgers), and got home around 9:00.

Whirlwind weekend.

Thoughts

• This was only the second relay I have ever run, the other being the SoCal Ragnar back in 2012. This was THE MOST FUN EVER. I had such a great time running this, and again, I really love being on a team that is not competitive. Takes off a lot of pressure!
• The courses were marked extremely well. At night they had LED lights of some kind on all the markings so they were easy to see even from a distance.
• The transition tent was well organized and it helped to have the color of the bracelets we wore match the color of the loop we were running.
• There was only one bib, and it was given to us on a race belt so it was really easy to change hands.
• I would 100% recommend a trail relay - ESPECIALLY if you like trails. So great. I hope to do another one sometime!