Long Run at the Hyatt in Albuquerque

I'm on a three-day trip and had a 16-and-half-hour overnight in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have a long bike ride scheduled on my upcoming days off, and while in Vegas a few speed workouts were completed, so in Albuquerque it was time to begin getting serious about my commitment issues with the treadmill. On my training schedule, an 11-mile run was in order for the day, but due to poor planning, I had no Gatorade or Gu packs to help give me calories for this almost-half-marathon endeavor. After hydrating the night before with a Santa Fe IPA micro brew and a local Albuquerque red amber (it was good, but a little hoppy for my taste), I woke up and had a cherry pie-flavored Lara Bar for breakfast. I don't really recommend drinking beer to hydrate the night before, so I drank a couple 12-ounce cans of water and had a Grande Starbucks coffee to wake me up and keep my spirits high for the impending run. Then began my journey into 96 minutes of running with nothing but daytime television and an image of myself in a mirror to keep me entertained.

The gym was wonderful with ample equipment, a great weight area, stretching mats, and even equipment to support kettle bell workouts. There were men's and women's locker rooms as well to freshen up there if you didn't want to go back to your hotel room. The workout was a success, beginning at 6 mph and taking five minutes to work up to a 6.7 mph pace I held tell the twenty-minute mark. I gradually began raising the pace to 7.1 mph which I held for the remaining fifty minutes or so. I did have to take two water breaks not computed into my running time, but I held a strong 6.86 mph average pace throughout the 11 miles.

It was in the 90's in Albuquerque by the time I had woken up (I got to the hotel after 11 pm the night before), so an inside workout was necessary. I like the discipline required of the treadmill to hold a pace and not adjust with whims of fast and slow sections if distracted. What I'm not a fan of is trying to stay occupied. Today it was a combination of Orange County Choppers and ESPN. While running at 7.1 mph changing the channel is not the easiest of maneuvers, so having stations in close proximity is of high importance. Commercials are so slow that they actually feel like they are running backwards in time, thus the need for a backup channel. Today I can thank my successful run on 3 episodes of OCC in a row with story lines of an Eragon-themed bike and a reusable bio fuel bike. The lesson from all of this is that you have to know yourself and be familiar with your limits. I can't just stare off into oblivion for two hours. I need stimulus, and today I was lucky enough to find Orange County Choppers among Judge Judy, and soap operas.