Another Season of the SnōShū, Race #5
Hallockville Pond 5mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, February 18, 2007
2007 Hallockville Pond 5 mi race results
Hallockville Pond snowshoe race info
2007 Hallockville snowshoe race photo slideshow
As I crawled out of bed before dawn today, I once again was struck by the craziness of it all. I mean - people actually get me to pay to do this to myself!
At the same time, it was nice to be heading back to the Berkshires for a race. I know anyone reading this is probably tired of hearing it, but I love the Berkshires. For whatever reason, they hold a special place in my heart, and it always feels good to go there and do something fun in the outdoors.
The light dusting of snow we were getting in Albany intensified as I drove to Pittsfield and then up into the mountains east of the city. At times the wind blowing the snow made it downright blizzard-like, despite the fact that not much snow was falling! Of course, the minor adventures I have getting to some of the races only add to the fun of race day...
Got to the Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest and found the race HQ. Got a warm welcome from Ed Alibozek, the RD who also sure seems to be a heck of a nice guy. Spent a while trying to decide what to wear, and finally went with the "dress light and hope I don't freeze" approach (since I was overheating yesterday at Camp Saratoga.) Then I trekked down to the starting line... along the way stopped to look at the folks ice fishing on Hallockville Pond and thought about how there are even crazier things to do than run through the woods on snowshoes - at least I'd be moving and generating a little bit of warmth!
The starting line didn't fill me with confidence - the first stretch was along a snow-covered dirt road that serves as a snowmobile trail in the winter... uphill. (What is it about Massachusetts races starting with a run uphill?) Chatted with a few of the other crazies while we waited, then Ed gave us a quick briefing on the course and with a quick and rather nonchalant "ready, set, go" off we went!
No surprise, the I tackled the first bit uphill at a fast walk... with five miles to go, I didn't see much point in sprinting up a hill! Once the hill topped out, we had a long downhill stretch... almost a mile... that would have been a lot more enjoyable if (1) my legs weren't tight and tired from yesterday, and (2) the road surface was a bit more level - instead, there were constant washouts under the snow, so it was nonstop up-and-down as I ran slowly down the hill. At least the snow was well-packed from the snowmobiles... in fairly short order there was only one runner visible ahead of me, so I guess everyone else made good time on this section. A brief uphill and then another downhill, and then - onto the singletrack!
On the plus side, the snow here was much more runable than up in Wilton yesterday. The trail had been fairly well packed and took me down into a ravine along the Basin Brook. From there things were fairly level, but the path weaved in and out between trees, around rocks, and on several occasions back and forth across the frozen, snowed-over brook. It was a great Berkshires forest - lots of cool rocks (erratics) and just generally a fun trail. Still slow going, between my legs warming up and the nature of the path, but a good time all the same. And then, just as I was getting into the swing of it and my legs were getting used to the idea of running again - the trail crossed the brook one last time and then headed up the Hill.
While running downhill early in a race can be fun, when it's a loop course you know you're going to be in for some uphill later on, and the Hill gave us that in spades. Unrelenting steep uphill... for what seemed like at least half a mile but was probably more like a quarter. As I trudged up the hill (and up and up and up!) I had flashbacks to the Greylock Death March last June... fortunately this was cooler and not nearly as long (the first three miles of that race go straight up!) Eventually the trail leveled out and I was back to walking/running through woods and rocks. About a mile from the finish I finally passed the fellow who'd been walking ahead of me for close to three miles... despite the fact that I was running occasionally and he was walking, he managed to stay ahead of me for much of the race - testament to what a strong, consistent stride he had! During this section, though, my legs finally seemed to get in the "groove" and I was able to run a bit more, and finally passed him.
Of course, not long after that we hit another short, steep uphill... and then another after that! One plus, the sun was finally putting in an appearance, and the sunlight streaming down through the trees and on the snow was gorgeous. What a great day to be out in the woods! Between the amount of time Id' been out and the fact that at one point the trail closely paralleled the paved road through the state forest, I knew the end had to be close... but it was hard to be confident of that plowing up those hills! Finally broke out of the singletrack back on the snowmobile road, and ran down the road to the finish... a downhill AND a packed road for the finish, what a bonus! Crossed the finish line in 1:37:07... almost exactly the same time as yesterday's race! Not too bad, considering the hills and my legs being a bit tired after yesterday's battle through the snow... funny thing was, one of the folks standing at the finish was Rich Busa, who I had followed yesterday - turns out that while he was out of sight for much of the race today, he finished just ahead of me again! (Maybe I shouldn't be so happy about keeping up with a 77 year old man... but Rich is a heck of a runner. I hope I'm still running as strong as he is when I hit 77!)
After that I grabbed some food back at race HQ - the ever-popular post-snowshoe-race chili, and a brilliant addition, some chicken ramen soup in a cup (just add hot water and enjoy!) After that I hiked up the hill to my car, changed into dry clothes (hurray), and headed back to Albany. I had originally hoped to do some XC skiing while I was in Massachusetts (much like I did after last year's snowshoe race at Savoy) but between my tired legs and the way the wind had picked up, decided that I was better off just going home and leaving the skiing for another day. Maybe tomorrow, if it's not too cold...
Before I forget, we owe a huge thank you to Ed Alibozek, for not only giving us a great race on a great course but also for organizing so much of the WMAC Snowshoe Series. This has been a very challenging year for the local snowshoe races, with last week providing the first real snowfall this winter... but Ed has always been ready to go and keeps us all well-informed on what's happening. Thanks Ed!
Next up: the Hoxie-Thunderbolt & Covered Bridge snowshoe races at Mt Greylock, next Saturday. 8 miles altogether - my longest snowshoe trek yet!
JMH
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running
Cycling 6.2 mi, 33 min
Snowshoe 23.3 mi, 6 hr 29 min
states visited: NY, MA
Hallockville Pond 5mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, February 18, 2007
2007 Hallockville Pond 5 mi race results
Hallockville Pond snowshoe race info
2007 Hallockville snowshoe race photo slideshow
As I crawled out of bed before dawn today, I once again was struck by the craziness of it all. I mean - people actually get me to pay to do this to myself!
At the same time, it was nice to be heading back to the Berkshires for a race. I know anyone reading this is probably tired of hearing it, but I love the Berkshires. For whatever reason, they hold a special place in my heart, and it always feels good to go there and do something fun in the outdoors.
The light dusting of snow we were getting in Albany intensified as I drove to Pittsfield and then up into the mountains east of the city. At times the wind blowing the snow made it downright blizzard-like, despite the fact that not much snow was falling! Of course, the minor adventures I have getting to some of the races only add to the fun of race day...
Got to the Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest and found the race HQ. Got a warm welcome from Ed Alibozek, the RD who also sure seems to be a heck of a nice guy. Spent a while trying to decide what to wear, and finally went with the "dress light and hope I don't freeze" approach (since I was overheating yesterday at Camp Saratoga.) Then I trekked down to the starting line... along the way stopped to look at the folks ice fishing on Hallockville Pond and thought about how there are even crazier things to do than run through the woods on snowshoes - at least I'd be moving and generating a little bit of warmth!
The starting line didn't fill me with confidence - the first stretch was along a snow-covered dirt road that serves as a snowmobile trail in the winter... uphill. (What is it about Massachusetts races starting with a run uphill?) Chatted with a few of the other crazies while we waited, then Ed gave us a quick briefing on the course and with a quick and rather nonchalant "ready, set, go" off we went!
No surprise, the I tackled the first bit uphill at a fast walk... with five miles to go, I didn't see much point in sprinting up a hill! Once the hill topped out, we had a long downhill stretch... almost a mile... that would have been a lot more enjoyable if (1) my legs weren't tight and tired from yesterday, and (2) the road surface was a bit more level - instead, there were constant washouts under the snow, so it was nonstop up-and-down as I ran slowly down the hill. At least the snow was well-packed from the snowmobiles... in fairly short order there was only one runner visible ahead of me, so I guess everyone else made good time on this section. A brief uphill and then another downhill, and then - onto the singletrack!
On the plus side, the snow here was much more runable than up in Wilton yesterday. The trail had been fairly well packed and took me down into a ravine along the Basin Brook. From there things were fairly level, but the path weaved in and out between trees, around rocks, and on several occasions back and forth across the frozen, snowed-over brook. It was a great Berkshires forest - lots of cool rocks (erratics) and just generally a fun trail. Still slow going, between my legs warming up and the nature of the path, but a good time all the same. And then, just as I was getting into the swing of it and my legs were getting used to the idea of running again - the trail crossed the brook one last time and then headed up the Hill.
While running downhill early in a race can be fun, when it's a loop course you know you're going to be in for some uphill later on, and the Hill gave us that in spades. Unrelenting steep uphill... for what seemed like at least half a mile but was probably more like a quarter. As I trudged up the hill (and up and up and up!) I had flashbacks to the Greylock Death March last June... fortunately this was cooler and not nearly as long (the first three miles of that race go straight up!) Eventually the trail leveled out and I was back to walking/running through woods and rocks. About a mile from the finish I finally passed the fellow who'd been walking ahead of me for close to three miles... despite the fact that I was running occasionally and he was walking, he managed to stay ahead of me for much of the race - testament to what a strong, consistent stride he had! During this section, though, my legs finally seemed to get in the "groove" and I was able to run a bit more, and finally passed him.
Of course, not long after that we hit another short, steep uphill... and then another after that! One plus, the sun was finally putting in an appearance, and the sunlight streaming down through the trees and on the snow was gorgeous. What a great day to be out in the woods! Between the amount of time Id' been out and the fact that at one point the trail closely paralleled the paved road through the state forest, I knew the end had to be close... but it was hard to be confident of that plowing up those hills! Finally broke out of the singletrack back on the snowmobile road, and ran down the road to the finish... a downhill AND a packed road for the finish, what a bonus! Crossed the finish line in 1:37:07... almost exactly the same time as yesterday's race! Not too bad, considering the hills and my legs being a bit tired after yesterday's battle through the snow... funny thing was, one of the folks standing at the finish was Rich Busa, who I had followed yesterday - turns out that while he was out of sight for much of the race today, he finished just ahead of me again! (Maybe I shouldn't be so happy about keeping up with a 77 year old man... but Rich is a heck of a runner. I hope I'm still running as strong as he is when I hit 77!)
After that I grabbed some food back at race HQ - the ever-popular post-snowshoe-race chili, and a brilliant addition, some chicken ramen soup in a cup (just add hot water and enjoy!) After that I hiked up the hill to my car, changed into dry clothes (hurray), and headed back to Albany. I had originally hoped to do some XC skiing while I was in Massachusetts (much like I did after last year's snowshoe race at Savoy) but between my tired legs and the way the wind had picked up, decided that I was better off just going home and leaving the skiing for another day. Maybe tomorrow, if it's not too cold...
Before I forget, we owe a huge thank you to Ed Alibozek, for not only giving us a great race on a great course but also for organizing so much of the WMAC Snowshoe Series. This has been a very challenging year for the local snowshoe races, with last week providing the first real snowfall this winter... but Ed has always been ready to go and keeps us all well-informed on what's happening. Thanks Ed!
Next up: the Hoxie-Thunderbolt & Covered Bridge snowshoe races at Mt Greylock, next Saturday. 8 miles altogether - my longest snowshoe trek yet!
JMH
2007 EVENT TOTALS
Running
Cycling 6.2 mi, 33 min
Snowshoe 23.3 mi, 6 hr 29 min
states visited: NY, MA
