Once Again Lots of Geese - and Three Pheasants Too!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Weekly Activity Summary
1/23/2011 - 1/29/2011
running - 0 mi
riding - 0 mi
snowshoeing (2x) - 9.5 mi
XC ski (1x) - 2.5 mi
walking/hiking (1x) - 0.7 mi
paddling - 0 mi
Slowed down a bit this week due to not wanting to aggravate my injured knee... too much, actually, I should have at least gotten my lazy backside out the door for some walks in the latter half of the week. The knee seems to be holding up OK so next week I'll cautiously start building the mileage back up, and I may have to "race" at a slower pace than I've been doing for the past few weeks. Still, that's preferable to limping around unable to run much at all because I was stupid and made my knee worse!
JMH
1/23/2011 - 1/29/2011
running - 0 mi
riding - 0 mi
snowshoeing (2x) - 9.5 mi
XC ski (1x) - 2.5 mi
walking/hiking (1x) - 0.7 mi
paddling - 0 mi
Slowed down a bit this week due to not wanting to aggravate my injured knee... too much, actually, I should have at least gotten my lazy backside out the door for some walks in the latter half of the week. The knee seems to be holding up OK so next week I'll cautiously start building the mileage back up, and I may have to "race" at a slower pace than I've been doing for the past few weeks. Still, that's preferable to limping around unable to run much at all because I was stupid and made my knee worse!
JMH
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tough Decision...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I've really been looking forward to running the Curly's Record Run 4 mile snowshoe race on Sunday. Saturday's races are too far away (3-4 hours, depending on which one) for the distances they offer (3-4 miles) so I had planned to spend Saturday in Rochester with Ann and then come back for Sunday's run in Pittsfield. I feel like I've been running fairly well for the last few races, plus it's a good chance to spend some time in the woods with my friends.
Unfortunately... whatever I did to my right knee Tuesday night is definitely still there. It's nothing major - an occasional twinge when I move certain ways - but I suspect the long climbs and the insane descent at Curly's could easily aggravate it into a more significant injury. And having already dropped quite a bit of money registering for some long races in the 1st half of 2011... I really don't want to end up where I was back in June 2009, when I tore up my left knee two weeks before the Finger Lakes Fifties and attempting my first 50k.
So as much as it's driving me absolutely nuts to do so... I'm going to stay away from Curly's this weekend. Ordinarily I'd go and offer to help on the course somewhere... but if I do that Sunday morning, I have no doubt I'll talk myself into running. And then all my friends will have to holler at me for doing such a stupid thing. And I may find myself limping around for the near and not-so-near future, wondering if my knee will bounce back enough for me to complete a trail marathon at the end of May in under 8 hours (as well as making a bunch of time cutoffs along the way.)
On the plus side - I'll get to spend more time with Ann this weekend, which doesn't happen often during snowshoe season.
But man is it going to drive me nuts Sunday morning...
JMH
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I've really been looking forward to running the Curly's Record Run 4 mile snowshoe race on Sunday. Saturday's races are too far away (3-4 hours, depending on which one) for the distances they offer (3-4 miles) so I had planned to spend Saturday in Rochester with Ann and then come back for Sunday's run in Pittsfield. I feel like I've been running fairly well for the last few races, plus it's a good chance to spend some time in the woods with my friends.
Unfortunately... whatever I did to my right knee Tuesday night is definitely still there. It's nothing major - an occasional twinge when I move certain ways - but I suspect the long climbs and the insane descent at Curly's could easily aggravate it into a more significant injury. And having already dropped quite a bit of money registering for some long races in the 1st half of 2011... I really don't want to end up where I was back in June 2009, when I tore up my left knee two weeks before the Finger Lakes Fifties and attempting my first 50k.
So as much as it's driving me absolutely nuts to do so... I'm going to stay away from Curly's this weekend. Ordinarily I'd go and offer to help on the course somewhere... but if I do that Sunday morning, I have no doubt I'll talk myself into running. And then all my friends will have to holler at me for doing such a stupid thing. And I may find myself limping around for the near and not-so-near future, wondering if my knee will bounce back enough for me to complete a trail marathon at the end of May in under 8 hours (as well as making a bunch of time cutoffs along the way.)
On the plus side - I'll get to spend more time with Ann this weekend, which doesn't happen often during snowshoe season.
But man is it going to drive me nuts Sunday morning...
JMH
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
5.5 Mile Snowshoe in the Pine Bush
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I had hoped to get out for a walk last night but it was just too darn cold when I got home from work, so I was very pleased that tonight's temperatures were a bit more moderate. Though it didn't feel that way at the start of my run - I spent the first mile or so wondering if I was going to have to cut things very short for lack of warm enough gloves. Thankfully I warmed up pretty quickly after that and ended up dressed pretty much just right for the bulk of the time I was out there.
I haven't been to the Blueberry Hills/Kaikout Kill Barrens for a while, and I was pretty sure I could avoid any major hills (since my legs are still a bit tired from this past weekend) so that's where I headed when I finally got out the door. There was a fairly well packed path heading down the trail, but I figured out pretty quickly that if I strayed off the packed stuff by just a bit I would end up sinking about ankle deep, especially if I broke through the ice layer a few inches down. So that made for challenging footing in a few spots, especially where the wind had drifted snow across the packed path.
I started out looping around the perimeter, and ended up at the base of Blueberry Hill West... at that point it became clear that I wasn't going to be able to get the distance I wanted without either running multiple loops (bleah) or heading into the Kaikout Kill Barrens. So I abandoned my hope of avoiding hills and ended up running up and down quite a few, especially when I strayed off the path on the way back so that I could follow another set of snowshoe tracks. Those went up one of the tallest hills around (aargh) and then I had a heck of a time getting back down, since the snow on the eastern side of the hill had drifted fairly deeply... at one point I stepped into an unbroken snowbank and sank in up to my hip. Needless to say after fighting my way through deeper snow I was more than a bit happy to finally be back on the packed path...
The "habitat restoration" (ie removal of invasive species and really just about all flora except for some of the pitch pines) that was done at Blueberry Hill West and the Kaikout Barrens in the past year was really apparent and more than a bit depressing... especially at the border of the preserve, where there is no longer a wall of trees and bushes to block the view of the industrial park next door. As I've said before, I understand the need to preserve the environmentally unique inland pine barrens habitat... but it still seems a shame to me to cut down perfectly good trees (even if they're not native species) and turn what was once a delightful woods into a open field. But maybe that's why I'm a recreational naturalist and not a professional ecologist.
On a totally different note, near the end of my run I felt a sharp pain in my right knee, in pretty much the same area where I injured my left knee a little over 1 1/2 years ago... I walked it out, and did the same a couple of times when it gave me twinges during the last mile or so. Clearly all the running/hiking I did during the past few days over very uneven footing has strained or slightly torn something in my knee... so I'll be taking it easy on it for at least a little while, since I definitely don't want to be sidelined for months like I was back in 2009!
JMH
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I had hoped to get out for a walk last night but it was just too darn cold when I got home from work, so I was very pleased that tonight's temperatures were a bit more moderate. Though it didn't feel that way at the start of my run - I spent the first mile or so wondering if I was going to have to cut things very short for lack of warm enough gloves. Thankfully I warmed up pretty quickly after that and ended up dressed pretty much just right for the bulk of the time I was out there.
I haven't been to the Blueberry Hills/Kaikout Kill Barrens for a while, and I was pretty sure I could avoid any major hills (since my legs are still a bit tired from this past weekend) so that's where I headed when I finally got out the door. There was a fairly well packed path heading down the trail, but I figured out pretty quickly that if I strayed off the packed stuff by just a bit I would end up sinking about ankle deep, especially if I broke through the ice layer a few inches down. So that made for challenging footing in a few spots, especially where the wind had drifted snow across the packed path.
I started out looping around the perimeter, and ended up at the base of Blueberry Hill West... at that point it became clear that I wasn't going to be able to get the distance I wanted without either running multiple loops (bleah) or heading into the Kaikout Kill Barrens. So I abandoned my hope of avoiding hills and ended up running up and down quite a few, especially when I strayed off the path on the way back so that I could follow another set of snowshoe tracks. Those went up one of the tallest hills around (aargh) and then I had a heck of a time getting back down, since the snow on the eastern side of the hill had drifted fairly deeply... at one point I stepped into an unbroken snowbank and sank in up to my hip. Needless to say after fighting my way through deeper snow I was more than a bit happy to finally be back on the packed path...
The "habitat restoration" (ie removal of invasive species and really just about all flora except for some of the pitch pines) that was done at Blueberry Hill West and the Kaikout Barrens in the past year was really apparent and more than a bit depressing... especially at the border of the preserve, where there is no longer a wall of trees and bushes to block the view of the industrial park next door. As I've said before, I understand the need to preserve the environmentally unique inland pine barrens habitat... but it still seems a shame to me to cut down perfectly good trees (even if they're not native species) and turn what was once a delightful woods into a open field. But maybe that's why I'm a recreational naturalist and not a professional ecologist.
On a totally different note, near the end of my run I felt a sharp pain in my right knee, in pretty much the same area where I injured my left knee a little over 1 1/2 years ago... I walked it out, and did the same a couple of times when it gave me twinges during the last mile or so. Clearly all the running/hiking I did during the past few days over very uneven footing has strained or slightly torn something in my knee... so I'll be taking it easy on it for at least a little while, since I definitely don't want to be sidelined for months like I was back in 2009!
JMH
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Qualified Turtle
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
It's ironic, really... last year when US Snowshoe Nationals were near Syracuse, I had to go to Vermont to qualify. In the end that worked out OK, because I ended up at a fun race on a cool course and met some really nice folks in the process... even won two bottles of wine in the post-race raffle (more irony, since I don't drink!)
This year, Nationals are in Cable, Wisconsin. While I think it would be very cool to go and run, I really can't justify spending $500 or more to go run a 10k snowshoe race. As Bill Glendon put it last weekend, that doesn't seem like much bang for my buck!
So naturally I qualified no problem at last weekend's Mendon Winterfest race.
(Actually, that's not surprising at all... my guess is only a small number of the runners this year were trying to qualify, given that Nationals are a significant distance away... while last year, everyone and his brother had signed up to try to qualify, and I got bumped down the list by sheer numbers.)
On the plus side, the Granite State Snowshoe Championships are that same weekend at Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center (where I ran a trail race this last June) and I can drive there for a heck of a lot less than the trip to Wisconsin will cost. Maybe I can even convince Ann to come along and we can do some XC skiing there afterwards...
JMH
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
It's ironic, really... last year when US Snowshoe Nationals were near Syracuse, I had to go to Vermont to qualify. In the end that worked out OK, because I ended up at a fun race on a cool course and met some really nice folks in the process... even won two bottles of wine in the post-race raffle (more irony, since I don't drink!)
This year, Nationals are in Cable, Wisconsin. While I think it would be very cool to go and run, I really can't justify spending $500 or more to go run a 10k snowshoe race. As Bill Glendon put it last weekend, that doesn't seem like much bang for my buck!
So naturally I qualified no problem at last weekend's Mendon Winterfest race.
(Actually, that's not surprising at all... my guess is only a small number of the runners this year were trying to qualify, given that Nationals are a significant distance away... while last year, everyone and his brother had signed up to try to qualify, and I got bumped down the list by sheer numbers.)
On the plus side, the Granite State Snowshoe Championships are that same weekend at Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center (where I ran a trail race this last June) and I can drive there for a heck of a lot less than the trip to Wisconsin will cost. Maybe I can even convince Ann to come along and we can do some XC skiing there afterwards...
JMH
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
ICE, ICE, & MORE ICE
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I'm certainly not going to complain about having an unexpected day off... but I do wish it had been for snow rather than the sleet and freezing rain we got from about lunchtime on. I would have much preferred to get out and either ski or snowshoe this afternoon. Instead, I couldn't even safely get out to run, since everything was covered by a half inch of ice.
Hopefully we will get some more snow to top off the frozen mess we have right now, or this weekend's snowshoe races will be more than a bit challenging.
JMH
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I'm certainly not going to complain about having an unexpected day off... but I do wish it had been for snow rather than the sleet and freezing rain we got from about lunchtime on. I would have much preferred to get out and either ski or snowshoe this afternoon. Instead, I couldn't even safely get out to run, since everything was covered by a half inch of ice.
Hopefully we will get some more snow to top off the frozen mess we have right now, or this weekend's snowshoe races will be more than a bit challenging.
JMH
Monday, January 17, 2011
MORE HAWKS...
Monday, January 17, 2011
I don't know if hawks are actually more frequent near the Thruway (perhaps because there are convenient places to perch and it's easier to see prey in the cleared areas along the side of the highway?) or if it's just that I spend a lot of time driving, but Ann and I are used to seeing quite a few of them when we're on the highway (the same thing is true of the expressways around Rochester.)
So I wasn't surprised when I drove past the Montezuma NWR today and there was a hawk sitting on the fence by the side of the road.
I was surprised when a quarter mile later there were two sitting on the fence almost side by side... and then another a tenth of a mile after that... and another a tenth of a mile later... and still another, a tenth of a mile further down. Yes, that's six in all, sitting on a stretch of fence maybe a mile long.
Yet another occasion when I wished there was a way to pull over and try to get some photos... but then they probably would have flown off if any of the cars were actually stopping instead of just whizzing by.
JMH
Monday, January 17, 2011
I don't know if hawks are actually more frequent near the Thruway (perhaps because there are convenient places to perch and it's easier to see prey in the cleared areas along the side of the highway?) or if it's just that I spend a lot of time driving, but Ann and I are used to seeing quite a few of them when we're on the highway (the same thing is true of the expressways around Rochester.)
So I wasn't surprised when I drove past the Montezuma NWR today and there was a hawk sitting on the fence by the side of the road.
I was surprised when a quarter mile later there were two sitting on the fence almost side by side... and then another a tenth of a mile after that... and another a tenth of a mile later... and still another, a tenth of a mile further down. Yes, that's six in all, sitting on a stretch of fence maybe a mile long.
Yet another occasion when I wished there was a way to pull over and try to get some photos... but then they probably would have flown off if any of the cars were actually stopping instead of just whizzing by.
JMH
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
One of the pluses to being a snowshoer is it's almost always exciting when it snows - fresh powder to play in! Add in the possibility of a snow day off work (I know, I know, teachers have the cushiest jobs in the world...) and it's pretty clear why snow makes me smile.
Last weekend things were looking rather bleak for the upcoming snowshoe races (Greylock Glen, which I've been helping organize this year, and Albany's own Brave the Blizzard) with a miniscule amount of fresh powder covering ice and frozen ground. If tomorrow's storm goes as projected, both should be transformed into fantastic snowshoeing opportunities.
On the minus side - snow emergencies in Albany (single-side parking for 48 hours), inconsiderate fools who don't shovel their sidewalks, and all the people who drive like morons when the weather is poor. Excellent reasons to eventually move out of the city and into the country! Someday...
JMH
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
One of the pluses to being a snowshoer is it's almost always exciting when it snows - fresh powder to play in! Add in the possibility of a snow day off work (I know, I know, teachers have the cushiest jobs in the world...) and it's pretty clear why snow makes me smile.
Last weekend things were looking rather bleak for the upcoming snowshoe races (Greylock Glen, which I've been helping organize this year, and Albany's own Brave the Blizzard) with a miniscule amount of fresh powder covering ice and frozen ground. If tomorrow's storm goes as projected, both should be transformed into fantastic snowshoeing opportunities.
On the minus side - snow emergencies in Albany (single-side parking for 48 hours), inconsiderate fools who don't shovel their sidewalks, and all the people who drive like morons when the weather is poor. Excellent reasons to eventually move out of the city and into the country! Someday...
JMH
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
2.3 Mile Walk in the Pine Bush
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
My back has been feeling a bit better today but not well enough to risk running, so after running some errands I stopped off at the Pine Bush Discovery Center to go for a walk on some of the trails. It turned out to be very slow going... all the slush that formed during last week's warm spell has frozen into a very uneven, slippery surface, and I didn't have my screw shoes with me. Ordinarily I prefer to walk without a light, but tonight I couldn't risk it. At least I had a nice view of the night sky through some of the breaks in the clouds...
JMH
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
My back has been feeling a bit better today but not well enough to risk running, so after running some errands I stopped off at the Pine Bush Discovery Center to go for a walk on some of the trails. It turned out to be very slow going... all the slush that formed during last week's warm spell has frozen into a very uneven, slippery surface, and I didn't have my screw shoes with me. Ordinarily I prefer to walk without a light, but tonight I couldn't risk it. At least I had a nice view of the night sky through some of the breaks in the clouds...
JMH
Monday, January 03, 2011
And the Torture Arrives Quickly...
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tweaked a muscle in my lower back this morning as I was getting dressed for work... so much for going for a run tonight. Sitting is OK (mild ache) and walking is OK once I've been up and moving around for a bit, but going between the two (or doing anything ambitious like twisting or bending over when I'm up) is, as they say, no fun at all. So I decided to forego a walk tonight in favor of some Icy Hot and spending some time flat on my back...
With luck it will relax fairly quickly and I can get back to enjoying movement a bit more than I do right now.
One thing I do find about injuries like this (or my broken ribs back in 2006) - they always give me a new (and sadly shirt-lived) appreciation for being able to do normal, day-to-day activities pain-free. Which for me is the norm, and I can definitely be grateful for that.
JMH
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tweaked a muscle in my lower back this morning as I was getting dressed for work... so much for going for a run tonight. Sitting is OK (mild ache) and walking is OK once I've been up and moving around for a bit, but going between the two (or doing anything ambitious like twisting or bending over when I'm up) is, as they say, no fun at all. So I decided to forego a walk tonight in favor of some Icy Hot and spending some time flat on my back...
With luck it will relax fairly quickly and I can get back to enjoying movement a bit more than I do right now.
One thing I do find about injuries like this (or my broken ribs back in 2006) - they always give me a new (and sadly shirt-lived) appreciation for being able to do normal, day-to-day activities pain-free. Which for me is the norm, and I can definitely be grateful for that.
JMH
Sunday, January 02, 2011
1.4 Mile Walk at Colonie Mohawk River Park
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Still had some energy left and it seemed like a shame to waste a decent January day, so I stopped at the Colonie Mohawk River Park on my way to the Clifton Park Borders (my last errand before heading home for the day.) Nothing fancy... just walked the road down to the picnic area and boat launch, then walked back to the car. Snowmobilers have been going through the park, which is annoying... though at this point we're down to just patches of snow here and there, so I guess they're out of luck until we get another decent storm. Spotted a few birds here and there and an occasional squirrel, but overall it was pretty quiet. Since it was getting near sundown, the gulls were flocking toward wherever they go to spend the night... whenever I looked up in the sky I saw groups of them soaring overhead.
One plus - now that we're past the winter solstice the days have lengthened noticeably... I got back to the car around 4:30 and it was still pretty bright outside. We gain about a minute a day at this point; I'm looking forward to being able to get outside after work and still have some daylight left to enjoy.
JMH
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Still had some energy left and it seemed like a shame to waste a decent January day, so I stopped at the Colonie Mohawk River Park on my way to the Clifton Park Borders (my last errand before heading home for the day.) Nothing fancy... just walked the road down to the picnic area and boat launch, then walked back to the car. Snowmobilers have been going through the park, which is annoying... though at this point we're down to just patches of snow here and there, so I guess they're out of luck until we get another decent storm. Spotted a few birds here and there and an occasional squirrel, but overall it was pretty quiet. Since it was getting near sundown, the gulls were flocking toward wherever they go to spend the night... whenever I looked up in the sky I saw groups of them soaring overhead.
One plus - now that we're past the winter solstice the days have lengthened noticeably... I got back to the car around 4:30 and it was still pretty bright outside. We gain about a minute a day at this point; I'm looking forward to being able to get outside after work and still have some daylight left to enjoy.
JMH
Saturday, January 01, 2011
WELCOMING IN A NEW YEAR OF OUTDOOR FUN & TORTURE
2.1 Mile Walk on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ann and I had hoped to get in a walk before heading to her parents' house for New Years dinner, but between the time and the rain that was falling we had to ditch that plan. But I couldn't start the year off without getting outdoors, so when I got back to Albany I headed over to the bike path for a walk. Not much to see (well, it was dark after all) beyond two vehicles in the park lot that clearly had occupants (one vehicle was running and had the stereo going) and two ATV's that passed me as I was heading back... one of those few times I wished I had a cell phone to call the police on them. No beavers, otters, skunks, or even geese... but it was still really nice to be outdoors on an unseasonably warm night... the first of 2011!
Of course, since I'm planning on a late-spring marathon, I suspect I'll be spending a lot of time on that stretch of bike path over the next couple of months...
JMH
2.1 Mile Walk on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ann and I had hoped to get in a walk before heading to her parents' house for New Years dinner, but between the time and the rain that was falling we had to ditch that plan. But I couldn't start the year off without getting outdoors, so when I got back to Albany I headed over to the bike path for a walk. Not much to see (well, it was dark after all) beyond two vehicles in the park lot that clearly had occupants (one vehicle was running and had the stereo going) and two ATV's that passed me as I was heading back... one of those few times I wished I had a cell phone to call the police on them. No beavers, otters, skunks, or even geese... but it was still really nice to be outdoors on an unseasonably warm night... the first of 2011!
Of course, since I'm planning on a late-spring marathon, I suspect I'll be spending a lot of time on that stretch of bike path over the next couple of months...
JMH
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