I was chatting to the guy in the running shop yesterday. I’ve assumed it’s him and his wife that own it. So when we said we were from the vague “near Manchester in England” he jumped in saying he works for Sunbelt Rentals and often travels to Warrington. Mr and I just laughed. A random hipster town in the rockies and you run into a guy that knows Warrington. So I asked how he feels when he goes for run when he’s over - he said it’s like floating on a cloud.
I’ve only been on 1 run and that was down in New Mexico. Hiking up steep climbs takes enough effort.
I found living in Bogotá at over 2,600mtrs quite challenging at first. Lots of ‘pressure headaches’ and hard to breathe when mountain biking (wasn’t a trail runner then).
Took quite some time to get used to it, then I’d go down to the coast and it felt like you could bite into the air!
We stopped in Leadville on our way to Boulder today. You can feel the altitude the moment you step out the car. No idea how you’d run or cycle in that.
It’s a weird town. Easy to see that if you lose your job at the mine you’re f&#ked. But if you’ve got a job at the mine you’ve not got much to spend your money on so you’d have a lot of cash to throw around.
I think if you do races anywhere with altitude you need to be there several weeks before hand just to get used to it. My runner walked in the last 50 miles at Sedona - but even then going up the steep mountains walking I was gasping. Even the bit into Flagstaff felt hard - although it was really hot . I was really surprised at how cold it was at night - down to zero, I’m just glad I had packed an insulated jacket.
Sounds like you are having a great time (I had an amazing time but I think partly as I was with friends who are American but left wing and just made me feel like part of the family). What car did you get. I ended up with a Kia Telluride - far to big for one person - and it was a gas guzzler.
We’ve had a brilliant time. But, like you, we’ve been to affluent, outdoor orientated places (Durango, Ouray, Gunnison, Buena Vista, Boulder). Only with friends the first half and then just the 2 of us. Without fail everyone we’ve chatted to has said “you can have our politics/president”.
Car was an unexciting Hyundai Tucson but we’re going 1-way between states so I think Albuquerque airport wanted to offload a crap car. It’s done alright though - only smoked the brakes slightly on monarch pass
