Some of the Technical Stuff
written April 9 but posted today
I’ve never been prone to writing race reports that share a lot of information on when I took gels or which pair of shoes I’d chosen to wear. Mine tend to be more about who I meet and what I think along the way. Given that a variety of people are reading this blog (or at least I’d like to think so) I’m going to give some of the more technical stuff here:
Day One – Thurs. April 3 – start 9:15 a.m.
Siesta 2:30-5:30 finish 7:00 p.m. (70 deg. F)
Highlight of day: send-off in Las Cruces
Daily miles: 16.9 Total: 16.9
Day Two – Fri. April 4 – start 7:30 a.m.
Siesta 2:00-5:00 finish 7:15 p.m.
It was 30 deg. F at 6:00 a.m.
Highlight: the Upham Hills in twilight
Daily miles: 20 Total: 36.9
Day Three – Sat. April 5 – start 7:00 a.m.
Siesta 2:30-5:00 finish – before 7:30 p.m.
It was 35 deg. at 6:54 a.m.
Highlight: friend, ultra-runner, Ghost Town alum John Harrington joining us – he paced me for the evening miles and kept us laughing and entertained around the lamplight in our camp that evening.
Second best highlight: the hawk that flew up from ground level. She fussed at me, dove at and circled me, and did everything she could to convince me there was no nest close. I left her and hers in peace.
Daily miles: 18 Total: 54.9
Day Four – Sun. April 6
By now I was losing ground on charting starts and finish. I know I was walking by 7:15 and done before 11:30 a.m.
Highlight: getting a 1hr. 15 min. massage at the Elephant Butte Inn.
Second best: the shower before the massage
Third best: I was closer to Engle (my day’s destination) than we’d thought the day before.
Daily miles: 10.5 Total 65.4
Day Five – Mon. April 7
This was a great day. Left the road out of Engle around 10 miles. Entered hills. Beautiful hills. I love hills. Had 14 miles before siesta. Had another 7.1 after siesta.
Highlight: Our camping space. I actually walked beyond it in the late evening, but Matt drove me back because it was so lovely. We were tucked in under a small hill topped with ocotillo. There was a tree or two – we parked between them. The truck bed faced the hills. As we settled in for the night (under covers before getting chilled) I looked at the hills in the twilight and said, “This is like going to sleep in a painting.” The same was true with our waking up.
Best decision: My feet are in such sad shape, I decided to store the pack in the truck so my back wouldn’t go bad as well. I look at the truck now as my “carreta” or even as my pack animal! In the end I carried the pack about 70 miles and may pick it up again before the end of the trip. The important thing is the getting there.
Daily miles: 21.1 Total 86.5
Day Six – Tues. April 8
Hot, dusty, the worst of the desert to date. Matt said he knew it took courage for me to leave our siesta camp. The spot was ugly, but uglier was the wind. It beat me up. I kept going though and covered the remaining 7.5 miles needed for my day.
Highlight: Reaching the 100 mile mark. We pushed to make it by siesta. I wanted to call someone I was so excited, but we had no cell phone coverage. Go figure. We watched a movie in the truck bed until the DVD player or the laptop ran out of juice.
Second best highlight: feeding the cattle time on the Buckhorn. We took lots of photos.
Daily miles: 20.6 Total 107.1
Day Seven – Wed. April 9
The wind from yesterday never stopped. We saw no one from around 8:00 a.m yesterday until mid-morning today when a flat-bed semi with a load of stuff came from the opposite direction on the single lane road.
Highlight: That I was two miles closer to the Fite Ranch B&B than we thought. It’s beautiful and spacious. The tub is long, the shower hot. Matt’s gone to Socorro for things we need and to get some laundry done.
Second best: the magical yucca forest that reached for miles and miles
Follow-up: I will be writing another post on my thoughts from today. There may even be more than one. Right now these are the titles:
What Do You Mean ‘We’?
Thank you Flying Brian Robinson and Keith Dunn
Daily miles: 13.5 Total:120.6
That’s it for technical details for now. Between the winds, the dirt, my fatigue, my sore feet, and the general “togetherness” that doesn’t lend itself toward quiet thoughtful prose in my journal, I apologize for the brevity of these details. Don’t worry, the stories are piling up and they won’t go away. For now, I’m getting them “out” any way I can. Cheers!
