Brave the Blizzard 4 mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Brave the Blizzard info
2008 Brave the Blizzard results
OK, Brave the Blizzard was billed as a 5k, and then we got an update that it had been expanded to a 3.5mi... and then apparently one of the runners had a GPS that measured it as 4 miles. So 4 miles it is!
After yesterday's long hard slog (OK, it wasn't really that long) I figured I'd be facing more of the same today, so I have to admit I wasn't totally enthused about heading over to the race this morning. But I knew I'd be kicking myself if I skipped it - after all, this is the first time in 4 years that it's actually been a snowshoe race - so I pulled my gear together and made the short drive to Guilderland Elementary School. As I noted back in the fall - there's something very refreshing about doing races close to home. I was able to get up at a reasonable hour, and the drive to the race took only slightly longer than my drive to work in the morning.
Checked in, said hi to a few of the folks I've run other races with, and then geared up for the run. Walked around in the snow a bit to warm up, as the crowd outside grew. Just before it was time to run, we all clustered together by the starting line, and RD Josh Merlis had a few things to say about the race and the course - like the fact that instead of heading across the field and onto the trails, we'd be heading off in a different direction through unbroken snow and then going through the woods for a bit before joining the trail system. And then - it was time to run!
As much as I told myself to walk the first few minutes, I couldn't help running... and it became clear very quickly that some of the folks who were walking should have had the foresight to start farther back in the pack. Dodged around a few, spent a few minutes behind a few... but by the time we hiked up the hill and hit the trails into the Albany Pine Bush, I was in a small "train" that seemed to be moving at a fairly comfortable pace - one I was pretty sure I could maintain until the end. So I resisted the temptation to dart ahead, worried that I'd blow up before the home stretch, tucked in behind the person in front of me, and jogged down the well-packed trail at a fairly even pace.
The race course wound through the woods and then joins the yellow trail heading toward the powerlines. I stayed with the group through that whole section, but once we turned onto the red trail and hit the long uphill they started to slow down... and I was pretty sure I could pick things up a little bit. So I passed several runners and headed up the hill at a faster clip. Didn't make it all the way to the top without walking... but I did gain some distance, and decided to keep pushing and see what I could do, especially since I knew it was mostly level or downhill all the way back to the powerlines.
Passed a few more runners on the long stretch of red trail through the woods... I was sure they'd overtake me later on, but I managed to maintain my fairly tenuous lead. One of the nice things about running those trails so often was knowing when I could blast up a hill (I dropped a couple of pursuers doing that) and knowing when I needed to stop and walk (ie. the steep hill after crossing the stream!)
Back at the powerlines, I started smelling the barn door... I also started feeling the effects of pushing, and I definitely wasn't looking forward to the uphill stretches between the Pine Bush trails and the school. Passed another runner or two before turning off onto the connecting trail... that winding trail felt like it went on forever, and I was positive I'd lose it and be passed by all the folks I'd gone by over the last mile or so. But I finally reached the top of the short steep hill down to the finish - that was tricky - and ran as fast and as hard as I could to the finish, crossing the line at 51:39.
Every once in a while I run a race where they do something cool at the finish, like calling out the incoming runner's name and home town... I'm not at all surprised that Josh (who had actually won the race in an incredible 28:01) did that here, but all the extra stuff he said, about how I run trail races all over the northeast, at all sorts of distances, was really pretty cool. As trail runners go I don't know that I even make it onto the mediocre list - if anything, I probably make it onto the "plan to keep the finish open a long time if he's in your race" list, since I'm slower than slow. So it always feels good when an RD treats my accomplishments like they're something meaningful (because they are to me!) That's one of the things I like about the Albany Running Exchange (and also the Western Mass Athletic Club, Yellowjacket Racing, and the Finger Lakes Runners Club) - they're very accepting of those of us who don't even vaguely resemble the elite runners at the front of the pack.
I was initially disappointed with my time, since I thought I'd run much more consistently than yesterday (when I walked lots of the course) and my time was about a minute longer. But if the course was actually 4 miles long I feel a lot better about it... that's a decent pace for me in a snowshoe race this early in season, especially after running one the day before.
After I changed into dry clothes, I briefly considered grabbing some pancakes, but decided I really needed something more substantial (and more protein-based!) plus I had a number of errands to run. So I packed up my gear and said good-bye to Guilderland Elementary and Brave the Blizzard... at least until January 2009!
Next up: the North Pond 3.5 mile snowshoe race over at Savoy State Forest. Maybe. They're calling for pretty warm weather over the next few days, so I wouldn't be surprised if next weekend's romp in the snow ends up being postponed or cancelled.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 7.1 mi / 1 hr 42 min
states visited: NY
