Another Season of the SnōShū, Race #1
Mendon Ponds Winterfest 10k Snowshoe Race
2007 Mendon Ponds Winterfest Snowshoe 10k results
Mendon Ponds Winterfest Snowshoe Races info
2007 Mendon Winterfest Snowshoe 10k photo slideshow
Thursday night word came down - the Greylock Glen snowshoe race scheduled for Sunday was being postponed, and the Hoffman's Notch Wilderness Challenge snowshoe race was being cancelled. No great surprise in either case... we've had little more than a light dusting of snow. But I figured I'd make the best of it, and try to get in a ride one day and a long run the other.
Friday afternoon I checked the Mendon Ponds Winterfest Snowshoe Races page on a whim, and found the following posted:
To which all I could say is - woo hoo! Rochester here I come!THIS WILL BE A SNOWSHOE RACE!!!!
THE TRAIL IS BEING GROOMED FRIDAY MORNING.
updated 12:00pm (noon) friday.
Scrambled around Friday evening to get things ready for the weekend, and crawled out of bed at 4 AM on Saturday to wrap things up and hit the road to Rochester. Fortunately, my race (men's 10k) didn't start until 11, but with the possibility of bad weather in central NY, I had to leave extra travel time. As it turned out, it really wasn't a problem - I hit some fierce snow squalls on the way out, and the wind caused some drifting and blowing snow in spots, but I made it to exit 45 right around 9 AM. With plenty of time to spare, I ran a few errands and then headed over to Mendon Ponds Park... a park I am coming to know fairly well, having done 4 races and 1 training run there in 2006.
Exiting the car, the first thing that became apparent was - with the wind chill it was freakin' COLD. On the plus side, I figured the wind would not be as much of an issue in the woods, and a knew from practical experience that once I was running I'd most likely generate plenty of heat... the only worry was keeping my face and ears warm. After I checked in, I parked the car in the suggested lot (rather than along the road like most of the other runners!) and periodically ran the engine to heat things up as I geared up. Did a quick practice walk on the snowshoes, since I haven't had them on for almost a year, and then headed up to the lodge/race HQ to wait there for the race to start and wonder just how painful the race would be. (After a year of now snowshoeing, a 10k race probably isn't the ideal way to jump back in...) I also found myself wishing I'd eaten more on the ride out... breakfast at 4:30 AM in Albany is a long ways from racing at 11 AM in Rochester.
All too quickly, it was time to venture back out into the wind and cold. After few brief words from one of the RDs - off we went!
It became clear very, very quickly that the other runners in the men's 10k were much faster than I am... within about two minutes the last one was out of sight and I was plodding along all by myself. The trail was "easy" as snowshoe events go - only about 6 inches of snow to begin with, and that was packed down pretty solidly by the efforts to groom it and the previous runners (and probably more than a few cross country skiers.) I made my way up and down the hills (walking up, running down when possible, and mixed running/walking on the level sections) and contemplated the fact that well before I reached the finish the women racers, who started half an hour after the men, would be passing me. About 20 minutes in, I passed the RD's, who were very encouraging, and then I settled into a long, slow plod broken up only by the occasional cross country skier. (They were actually a bit worrisome, since the trails we were racing on are marked for one-way skiing... and we were running them backwards!)
The woods were very beautiful, with everything covered with snow and ice. Whenever the sun was out the light was caught in all the ice on the tree branches and everything sparkled and glowed. A very nice change from constant brown and grey of snowless Albany!
The first 2 miles or so were the toughest. I found myself thinking a lot about how jumping into a 10k was probably not the smartest thing to do, that I was clearly not in snowshoeing shape, and that it was going to be a long 2 hours or so to the finish line. One of the mental challenges of racing the trails in Mendon was simple - I knew that it would be very easy to take a trail down to the road, take off my snowshoes, and just run down the road to race HQ and declare a DNF. The temptation was very strong, but fortunately I was very determined (or just stubborn) and stuck with it. Despite knowing that a series of long, steep hills were waiting for me in the 2nd half...
Things improved during the 2nd half. My legs warmed up and running came a little more naturally, though I got slower and slower hiking up the hills. A little over an hour in, the first women runners started passing me... surprisingly, there were very few of them and the front runners were five minutes or so apart. The trails continued to be absolutely gorgeous - much of the 2nd half was up on the ridges of the East Esker, and at one point we had a great view off into the distance. My right hip and outer thigh started hurting a fair bit toward the end, especially on the uphills, but that's nothing I'm not used to...
After the final long, steep hill, it became clear that I was doing better than I'd anticipated, and that I'd manage to finish in a good deal less than 2 hours. I crossed the finish line in 1:42:30, for an average of 16:45 min miles... not great (the fast guys finished in 50-65 minutes!) but better than I'd predicted before the race, and better than both of the races I did last year, where I averaged 19-20 minute miles.
Headed into the heated lodge and found a place to sit while waiting for the women to finish and the post-race raffle to start. Given the small number of runners (about 63 between the juniors, men, and women) it seemed like I had a chance of winning one of the raffles. Missed the 2 pairs of Crescent Moon snowshoes and the 2 gift certificates to the restaurant that catered the post-race food and drink, but won a year's subscription to Trail Runner magazine - very convenient, since my subscription is running out and I'd been trying to decide if I should renew my membership in the American Trail Running Association (which includes a free subscription) or just subscribe on my own.
After that, it was time to get warm! Hiked back to the car, froze while changing into dry clothes and shoes... and headed over to Ann's, both to thaw out and to wait for her to come home from her trip to Utica for the AMAI Adult Seminar Day.
All in all, a trip that was well worth it. I got to spend time outdoors on a beautiful day and ran what may be the only snowshoe race of the season, the way things are going around here (after all, we'll probably finally get snow on a weekend when I'm committed to doing something else!) I also got to see Ann this weekend, which would have happened otherwise - a major plus!
JMH
Next up: the Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon put on by Yellowjacket Racing. Last year we ran in the mud and rode in the rain. This year - maybe there will still be snow! Should be another tough race - I haven't ridden nearly enough - but I have no doubt I'll finish. It just might take a while...
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running
Cycling
Snowshoe 6.2 mi, 1 hr 42 min
