Apr
4
The foothills northeast of Albuquerque, in the predawn.
Continuing with the trend of heavy business-related travel in March of this year, another trip took me for a customer visit in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and eventually on to a few days in Silicon Valley as well). This provided the opportunity to a new experience for this long-time runner – running at altitude, in this case roughly 5200 feet (one mile) above sea level. I can’t recall for certain, but I believe the highest altitude I had run at previously was in Las Vegas at around 2,000 ft., less than half that amount.
Albuquerque has what is labeled as a mountainous arid climate, generally dry, and, in the winter through early spring, subject to wide temperature swings as the sunlight-warmed days give way to quick cooling at night, with the lack of vegetation leading to little heat retention. For this visit, the overnight low for my predawn run was around 40º F (5º C), and the dry air made it almost seem chillier. Yet shorts and arm sleeves were adequate, as they are for most of the year here.
I had stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in the Journal Center district of the city, a bit north of the relatively small downtown. True to form, a late night arrival (11:30 PM) led to very little sleep before the 5:15AM alarm and, after my recently-typical warm-up of lunges and stretching, and extra caution to study the map more intensely after the getting-lost experiences of Phuket and Shanghai , I headed out with plenty of time before the sunrise due at 6:50 AM.
My route took me west away from the main north-south highway, I-25, along San Antonio Dr. NE. The surface alternated between sidewalk, thinly-bermed road (which usually led to me jumping up on the sand at the side of the street as traffic approached), and a gravely trail lining the backside of a neighborhood. After 1-1/2 miles, I turned right (south) on Wyoming Blvd. NE, which possessed both a consistent sidewalk and bike lane perfect for use by runners. The early stretches of this run seemed a bit more challenging than normal, as an 8:00 pace didn’t come easily. I initially blamed the altitude but, on reviewing the elevation map, there was also ~250 feet of climb here.
This climbing was generously paid back quickly after turning east onto Osuna Rd. NE, at the Arroyo del Oso Golf Club. The sidewalk was more patchy, and I opted to run on the sand just to experiment with a softer surface. The pace quickened with the downhill and my usual tendency to underestimate the length of my run – I realized I would be closer to 7 miles than 5, and quickly shot my wife a Blackberry message to let her know I’d be calling her later than planned. When the sand got a bit too soft, it was easy enough to hop on the roadside bike path.
The map made it appear there would be several opportunities to turn north, but it (or my interpretation) was mistaken, as I eventually found myself at what I knew would be the furthest-east opportunity to do so, San Mateo Blvd. NE. I turned north and then grew a bit concerned in realizing I’d soon have to cross under I-25 if I didn’t find an alternate route, and I didn’t really know my navigation east of I-25 as well. Fortunately, I’d thrown my map (from Run.com) in a pouch and was able to consult with it quickly to identify a path back using Pan American, Harper, Barnhart, and Forest Hill Dr. NE, involving just a little bit more uphill and downhill.
Once back to my room, surprised at how little the altitude really seemed to affect me on this run, I discovered another surprise. I couldn’t understand why, after removing my shoes, I kept stepping on hard particles on the carpet. What a horrible cleaning job the hotel has done, I thought initially. It was only while packing up my shoes that I realized there were dozens of burrs on the bottom from my time on the sand.
Another new city explored, in a small way at least – on future trips I hope to be able to have a little more time to hit some of the foothill trails just a bit north of where we stayed (in the daylight, preferably). Albuquerque seems a very runnable city, with a great climate and space on the roads for runners. I’d recommend against doing so barefoot, however.
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