Snowshoe Breakdown

The annual Whitegrass Snowshoe 5K was this past Sunday, and as always was a great time.  The weather was certainly colder than last year (10 deg F with significant wind chill), but the snow conditions could not have been better.

I had some equipment malfunctions within the first minutes of the race and quickly found myself in the back of the pack.  Kadra and Dan helped me try to get the snowshoe back on, but it was obvious that it was irreparable and that I was just going to have to deal with it.

With about a half-mile to go, the cantankerous shoe finally was done.  The binding completely ripped free from the frame and I hobbled on toward the finish line with the un-clod foot sinking into the snow with every step.  Nearer to the finish line, the fellow shoe followed suit.  I had managed to completely break Dan's snowshoes in one 3-mile circuit (sorry Dan).  I finished 10 minutes slower than last year, but still managed to squeeze into third place.

It's a shame that there aren't more showshoe races in the region. . . they are a great time - if you can figure out how to keep them on!

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Sadism

I woke early this morning from a fitful night's sleep.  5:00 am.  Got dressed to run, but made the mistake of looking at the thermometer - it read 0 deg F and the computer said wind chills south of -11.  I had a 25-30 mile run planned, but my winter-wearied heart could not bear to strap on a headlamp and enter into the cave of despair this morning. (I think I'm getting soft)

I acquired a treadmill last year courtesy of my friend John.  I decided to concede to the cold and see if I could sustain the mind-numbing task of a marathon on the dreadmill - something I never thought I'd succumb to, but I welcomed the test this morning with a somewhat maniacal craze.  Regardless, I prepared a few bottles of potion (with no worry of them freezing) and tossed a couple of gels onto the consol.

Four boring TV shows on Kadra's laptop, one movie, and 3:35 later the green lights on the screen read 26.2.  I should have just kept going and made it a 50K. . .

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WVMTR Meeting/Run

The meager but motley crew assembled

Sorry this video is so horrible - I'm sure I'll get better with practice, but if I made anyone sick I apologize.  This was a "test run" with the Christmas present that Kadra got me.  Pretty cool device . . . it's just too bad I'm a tool when it comes to this kind of stuff!

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Frozen Sasquatch 2011

2010 Sasquatch: Photo Dan Lehmann

The 2011 edition of the Frozen Sasquatch 50K was much like 2010 - only with a few difference.  It was once again cold (not as it was in 2010 though) and there was snow (a bit more than last year).  With temperature reaching 60 degrees last week, I thought we might be poised for some dirt (or mud) running for the race weekend.  What a difference a week made though.  As if on queue, the snow and cold rolled in just in time to add to the difficulty of this New Year's staple.

Last year it was around 16 degrees with about 1-2" of crusted snow.  This year we were greeted with temperatures around 23 degrees and around 4" of slick, wet snow.  The start was like that of many others - people bolting to the front of the pack that shortly are reminded of their inability to sustain their position.  I ran along and chatted with Michael Owen and Gancho Slavov in the early miles as we were boxed in behind some of the overzealous culprits.  I knew these speedsters would quickly pull away as I had no intentions of trying to match their pace on this day.  With that AT  and my necessary training looming, I planned to keep my effort controlled.

Sandbagging

I'm heading down to Charleston for the Frozen Sasquatch 50K tomorrow.  The weatherman is calling for snow and temperatures in the low 20's.  Better than last year, but certainly not ideal.  I'm feeling pretty out of shape and unmotivated of late (I think the cold, snow, and Holidays are to blame), but maybe a fun race in the snow with little expectation will be reinvigorating.  Off to chase the sasquatch!