Race Across New Mexico, Stage 8

Stage 8 came the day before the first scheduled day off. Therefore, I was in a bit higher of spirits. My legs were feeling pretty good, too, for the most part, although there still was a bit of limping involved. No big deal. The left hip was hurting a bit, so I put some rocktape on the sore spot and that seemed to help. This run took us from the middle of nowhere, north of the White Sands Missile Range, to the town of Carrizozo, NM. There were some really cool views of mountains off in the distance, but the most memorable part of the run was the fact that snow came in and the temperatures dropped...and the wind picked up! Some said that the windchill was around 15 degrees. But, no problem! I put on Christine's awesome Gore-Tex jacket and that kept out all the wind, snow, and cold.

Less than a mile into the run, the snow started coming down. They were big, wet drops. I traded my regular jacket for the Gore-Tex jacket, and also put a pair of running pants over my tights:

Loving the variety in the weather:

Awesome views, and long, slow climbs!

The last 10 miles or so had no precipitation, but the wind picked up, gusting to 30 mph. A grey day, but feeling very happy:

Upon finishing this stage, I was immediately ready for some rest and relaxation :) The woman at the hotel even gave us two bowls of Indian curry! Yum!

Stage 8

Distance - 26.63

Time - 5:03:32
Pace - 11:24
Calories - 1921
Elevation Gain - 1361
Elevation Loss - 2339
HR Avg - 140
HR Max - 209
Minimum Elevation - 5221
Maximum Elevation - 6695

Totals (6 stages)

Distance - 159.77

Time - 30:53:35
Pace - 11:36
Calories - 12291
Elevation Gain - 6441
Elevation Loss - 6684
HR Avg - 137
HR Max - 185
Minimum Elevation - 6356
Maximum Elevation - 7277