2012: The year of the half-life.

I've been a pretty awful blog-keeper-upper over the last few months.  It's not that nothing has been going on, because I'm sure that I've had plenty of things I could have written about... but between being completely exhausted while in the field and trying to play catch-up and have somewhat of a life when I'm at home, there hasn't been a lot of motivation to spend time writing about what I've been up to.  We had a really nice, mellow Christmas here in Albuquerque this year.  It was just what I needed, although I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that 2012 is already over.

Disclaimer:  I love my job.  I enjoy the people I work with, I love the work that I get to do, and I've been very lucky to get to work on some pretty fantastic projects over the last year.  
But with that being said... I'm burnt out.

We moved to Albuquerque last February, and since that time I have basically been doing fieldwork non-stop.  I spent the months of March through June working a 4-days-on/3-days-off schedule, which meant that I was away from home 3 nights out of every week.  This certainly got old after a while, but it was nice because at least I was able to be home every weekend and have somewhat of a social life.  Starting in July, I went back out to Gallup for the Highway 491 excavations.  The 491 project schedule included 8-day-on/6-day-off sessions, so from July until Thanksgiving, I was basically gone from home more than half of every month.  Now I'm on a new project in Nevada that is also consisting of 8-day sessions.  The holidays provided a nice break, but a good chunk of December and half of January-- gone.  Thus, I've dubbed 2012 my Year of the Half-Life.

Eight day sessions aren't horrible when you only have to work one or two, but to do them for more then 4 months straight?  Not. Cool.  By the time I would return from an 8-day session, I was so physically and mentally exhausted from working 8 straight 10-hour days that I usually needed a full day of sitting on the couch to recuperate, and then I spent a couple of days catching up on normal life things that I was unable to do while in the field (like paying bills, doing laundry, going to the post office- stuff that you never realize is a big deal until you are unable to do it).  And because I'm a bit of a masochist, on top of this ridiculous schedule I was determined to continue riding my bike and to check off my race list this fall, so my every-other-weekends at home were often consumed with long bike rides which left us little option to go out of town to do other things.

Orange safety vests: Not classy.

This year, I watched the Olympics from a crappy pizza joint in Gallup.  I missed the annual Balloon Fiesta.  I celebrated the re-election of our president with boxed wine in my hotel room.  I didn't get to see the first snow of the year on the Sandia mountains.  Being in the field as much as I have- it messes with your head.  Living in less-than-elegant hotels, either eating out or eating microwaveable food every night, wearing grungy and definitely unattractive work clothes every day... it really wears on you after a while.  Lately I've noticed that I curse like a sailor, my first instinct is to wipe my dirty hands on whatever pants I am wearing before reaching for a napkin, and I maybe shave my legs once every ten days (sorry, Josh).  I need to re-accustom myself to the ways of the civilized world!

Basically, I feel as if I've had no life for the last year.  A lot has happened this year, but I feel like we only just arrived in Albuquerque and I have no idea where the last eleven months have gone.  On the bright side, my face and arms have a perma-tan and I've been able to stay in good shape while eating whatever the hell I want all year.  So there is some good mixed in with my bitching!

Despite being away from home so much, 2012 was a good year.  Mentionable bullets from the year:
-Moving to Albuquerque was a fantastic thing, and Josh and I are both really happy to be here.  I love New Mexico, and (other than the people we left behind) I don't miss living in Arizona at all.
-My mom has also relocated to Albuquerque and I am so happy to be in the same city and be able to spend time together with her on a regular basis.
-This summer I was given a promotion and was officially put on salary at work.  This has all gone to solidify my relief and happiness about my decision to leave graduate school when I did-- the real world is SO much better!  Having a 401k makes me feel like a certified grown-up.
-I've ridden my bike a lot this year and have gotten stronger and faster than I've been before, and I had a blast in the four bike races that we completed in 2012.
-In August, Josh and I decided to buy a house in Albuquerque.  Obviously, that transaction is not complete yet, but the process has been pretty exciting and quite the learning experience for me.  Not to mention the fact that buying a house is a freaking-scary-awesome-big-deal.  Hopefully very soon into the new year, we will have our new house and can embark on the many tasks associated with tackling a fixer-upper and creating a wonderful home for ourselves.
-I guess the last big noteworthy thing in 2012 was our engagement.  Big and noteworthy, I should say.  Don't ask me about wedding plans- there aren't any.  I'm still trying to figure out how to say the word fiance.

I have a couple of more sessions of work in Nevada through January, but after that I've been promised copious amounts of time in the office.  A few years ago, I never would have imagined that I'd be craving work in an office; but after my year of non-stop fieldwork I am completely excited about being home for months at a time, sleeping in my own bed, wearing regular clothes, having a more normal social life, and eating homecooked meals.

2013 promises to be another big one- so keep checking in and I'll try to be better about posting things to the blog.  There are still a few back-logged entries I've got up my sleeve from the last couple of months.

Happy New Year!

El Tour de Tucson, v.2

Even though I've had a pretty awful field schedule over the past 6+ months, I've still managed to bike as much as possible while I'm home and improve my cycling fitness.  I was excited to ride both the Tour de Acoma and the Day of the Tread this year, but my main training focus was El Tour de Tucson.  I had a score to settle with El Tour de Tucson.

We did this race in 2010, and I loved every second of it.  I had hoped to ride it again last year, but I just didn't have the time and energy to train for it.  This year I was doubly committed to the race because I wanted to both visit Tucson to see my friends there, and also to get my revenge on El Tour.

Josh and I left Albuquerque midday Thursday to travel to Tucson for the race weekend.  After staying up late at the bar with our friends on Thursday night, and then having an incredibly stressful, not-relaxing-at-all day on Friday that ended with a proposal... well, let's just say I was less than rested when we woke up at 4:30am Saturday morning for the race.  We both slammed our energy drinks, pulled on our arm warmers, and after finding a parking spot about a mile from the start line, rode up to our spots in the middle of the Silver category (El Tour corrals riders based on your expected finish time; Silver is between 6.5 hours and 9 hours).  One of the higher-ups from my company, Richard, was also riding and found us at the start line.  We chatted and tried to stay warm for the hour prior to the race.

Last time I rode El Tour, I finished with a time of 7:42.  This year, I knew I would be a lot faster.  My goal time was to beat 7 hours.  I wasn't entirely sure that I could do it, but I knew that I'd be completely thrilled to break 7.  Bottom line, I was going to happy with any improvement over my previous time.

Like every El Tour, there were thousands of riders tackling the 111-miles course that day.  We were probably about in the middle of the pack, so it took us a couple of minutes to get across the start line after they blew the horn, but soon enough we were off and rolling along.  It was just as I remembered from the last time- a little bit frantic, very crowded, and super thrilling.  I just love big huge races!  About 7 miles into the race, everybody has to dismount their bikes and walk down and up a big, sandy wash.  After this point, Josh and I lost track of Richard and he went on ahead of us.  I had a finish time goal for this race, but I wasn't about to push too hard at the beginning and ruin my chances of making that goal.  Moderately-paced and steady, that was my plan.

Josh and I managed to ride together for this entire course, to my surprise.  We would get separated for stretches, but then would catch up to each other at the aid stations.  I felt great for the entire race, and I think I can attribute part of my strength to the fact that I've been training at much higher elevations in Albuquerque this year.  I made sure to eat and drink at regular intervals and I even managed to go pee at one of the water stops!  (This is kind of a big deal, since I very rarely can pee in the middle of a long bike ride since I apparently do not usually drink enough fluids.)  So, all-in-all, it was a happily uneventful, strong ride.

I waited so long to write about the race that I don't really have a lot of specific anecdotes about the day to recount; it was a great ride, but I don't have a lot of specific memorable moments to tell about.  I smiled for all the photographers, I chatted with lots of other riders, I thanked all the police officers helping to direct traffic, and I cheered along with some of the roadside spectators.  Last time I did this route, I remember reaching mile 80 and thinking, 'I have 30 more miles?  How am I going to do that?!'... this time, at mile 80, my thoughts were, 'Only 30 more miles?  Man, this is cake!'.  I guess a couple of years can really make a big difference.

With about 20 miles left to go in the ride, Josh and I realized that we could finish in less than 7 hours if we just rode the remainder of the course at a steady, comfortable pace.  I was ecstatic.  We took off with purpose and were ready to knock out the rest of the 111 miles.  Then, the inevitable happened.  Josh, Mr. King-of-flat-tires, got a flat tire.  ARGH!  I wasn't going to leave him on the side of the road after we'd ridden 90 miles together already, so I stopped and waited for him to change his tube.  He changed the tube and inflated it, and realized that the spare was also flat.  So then he took my spare tube and had to change it all out again.  This whole thing took almost 20 minutes.  Twenty minutes!  I quickly realized that my chances of beating 7 hours were now out the window, but oh well.

In the end, we crossed the finished line in 7 hours, 18 minutes.  You do that math.  I felt great after the finish line, and although I didn't beat my goal time, I knew that I would have if not for the mechanical difficulties, and knowing that was just as good.  Next year, 6:30.  It's on!  El Tour is one of the best events I've done, and there's no wonder it's such a hugely popular event.  Everything is run seamlessly, the people of Tucson are so supportive and awesome throughout the ride, and you just cannot beat the weather.  Having good friends to visit in Tucson makes the whole thing even better for me, and I plan to continue the tradition.

Now it's December, and I'm giving Gustavo a little break for a while.  Bring on the snow!!