WWU - Running in Santa Fe

Take One:  I was looking forward to running in Santa Fe - the cooler morning temps, the lower humidity, the new town to explore - what could be better?  We arrived on Thursday afternoon, so less than 24 hours later, on Friday morning, a bunch of us got together for a run.  Well, I didn't count on the altitude - yes, I knew it was high, but I didn't think it would bother me.  Santa Fe is 7,199 feet above sea level (for comparison, my town is 367 feet above sea level), which is higher than Denver, Colorado (the "Mile-High City").  We started out on our run, doing 2:1 intervals.  I didn't even make it to the first walking break before I threw in the towel!  Now, I was running with faster people and trying to keep up with them, which was part of it, but mostly it was the elevation.  I was couldn't catch my breath, so I very quickly decided a nice morning walk was a better plan.  Luckily Loretta was walking, and we took a tour of the town together.

After we ran, Jeff, Andi and I ate breakfast at the French bakery in the hotel, and then we walked up two flights of stairs to our rooms.  We got to the top and all three of us were gasping - it was comical, really, because we are not that out of shape, but the altitude was a killer whenever we did anything more than a simple walk.  We were trying to make plans on when to meet downstairs and it went something like "Let's *gasp* meet *gasp* at *gasp* 10:45" - and we were almost laughing at how bad we sounded, except that laughing required more lung capacity than we could muster!

Take Two:  Would you believe that the morning after Cary and Brian's wedding, we all assembled for a group run - at 7:00 a.m., no less?  Yeah, runners are definitely a different breed.  Call us crazy, but this is how we have fun.  This run went better than the previous day's, in that I actually ran.  Julia and I ran 2:1 intervals and didn't try to keep up with the rest of the speedy pack.  At one point, it felt like we were really working hard and I glanced down at my Garmin to see our pace.  I laughed when I saw 15:30 - oh altitude, how you make it feel so challenging!  We ran about 2.3 miles and called it good.

The sun was shining bright for our finisher picture!

After our run, we got to experience a fun Santa Fe tradition - Pancakes on the Plaza!

They were selling t-shirts, so Jeff and each I bought one - we both felt the need to own something with a patriotic pancake man on it.

This event is put on by the Rotary club, and they have it down to a science, which is to be expected after 40 years of doing it.  Cary and Brian generously gave all of us tickets to the breakfast, so after we ran, we walked over to the plaza, stood in a short line, and walked away with plates of ginormous pancakes, grilled ham, juice, and chocolate milk.  We sat on the grass and ate, and ate, and ate...not sure if anyone actually finished their pancakes, but we all made a valiant effort because they were delicious!

CC, Loretta and Andi

My plate, cup of OJ with a partially-melted mango fruit bar chilling inside, and the grilled ham, which was so good.  Plus lots of syrup...

This was such a fun event - there was a grandstand in the center of the plaza, with a band playing patriotic music, people were milling all around, there was an arts and crafts show happening as well - it was a great way to start the celebration of our nation's birthday, and it had a very old-fashioned, small-town feel.  After we finished eating, we walked around and checked out the vendors, bought a few things, and just enjoyed being able to spend time outside on a July morning without sweating to death.  And while I didn't actually run a whole lot while I was in Santa Fe, the time I spent running, walking, and with my friends was priceless.