Saturday, January 19, 2008

Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #3
North Pond 3.3 mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 19, 2008

North/South Pond snowshoe race info
2008 North Pond results (check it out - my picture from 2006 made the results post!)

If I hadn't known that RD Ed checked the course at Savoy Mountain State Forest on Thursday, I would have been more than a bit concerned during the drive over to North Adams this morning... there was virtually no snow, other than scattered patches here and there. Fortunately, the bright morning sunshine alleviated the unrelenting brown and grey a bit. Even knowing that Ed had checked things out, it was still a relief to see snow off the sides of the road and into the woods as I drove up the mountain and into the park.

Got there a few minutes earlier than I'd planned, so I checked in, geared up, and stomped around in the snow for a bit to get the blood flowing in my legs. The snow was only a few inches deep, with a hard ice crust on top. But by the time I got to each section of the course, enough other folks would have been on the trail that I wouldn't have to worry about the ice.

A few minutes after the proposed start time, Ed had us all cluster together down by the gate to the boat ramp, said a few words about the course and tomorrow's race (also in Savoy, but I'll miss it, since I'll be out in Rochester) and off we went into the sunny, snowy woods.

It's good that it was such a pretty day, because that helped take my mind off how hard the first half of this course is. It starts out with a lot of rolling up and down for about half a mile, followed by a mile or more of almost constant climbing. Try as I might, I just didn't have the juice in my legs to run up that hill. So instead I plodded along, trying not to get too discouraged. I was passed by one gal (actually, I think I may have run the first mile or so of Brave the Blizzard behind her two weeks ago!) who had a good, steady pace and managed to gain a 200 m or so lead by the time I finally reached the top of the ridge.

Having run this course two years ago, I was really looking forward to hitting the top of the ridge... because after that there's a long downhill, and then a lot of level and downhill stretches with only a few short climbs. I made good time on the initial downhill, and passed the gal who'd passed me. Ran fairly steadily through that whole stretch, which gets tricky in spots as the course jogs to one side of the trail or the other to avoid the streams running underneath the snow.

After about 56 minutes the road came into sight and I knew I was getting close. The trail wound through the woods for a short distance, then came out at the road to the boat launch. There was another gal a little ways ahead of me who seemed to be struggling a bit, so after passing the gate where we'd started I poured on as much speed as I could and powered into the finish a few seconds ahead of her. Truth be told, I was more interested in finishing strong than in beating her to the finish, but having a bit of competition definitely helped.

Then it was time to change clothes, throw my gear in the car, and head back to Albany to get ready for the trip out to Rochester.

All in all, a tough but good run on a beautiful day with some great folks. I can't ask for much better than that!

Next up: part 2 of this weekend's doubleheader, the Mendon Winterfest 10k snowshoe race... which I suspect will morph into the Mendon Winterfest 10k trail race, unless they get some snow today.

JMH

2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 10.4 mi / 2 hr 43 min

states visited: MA,NY
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