Hawley Kiln Postponed...
Friday, February 29, 2008
I'd been wondering if I was going to do two snowshoe races or one this weekend - I'd already ruled out a trip south to Rock Hill, NY, to run the Celebrate Life Half Marathon road race on Sunday - but now I no longer need to decide - Saturday's race has been moved to Sunday in light of the storm that's supposed to dump substantial amounts of fresh snow on the Berkshires. So only one race this weekend.
And while it's only a 5 mile course, the fresh snow could make it a doozy... RD Ed noted that marking the course yesterday with the 10 inches of fresh snow that fell Tuesday took 2 1/2 hours... yikes!
But now maybe I can sneak in a short run of some sort tonight after I get back from the NAIS conference in NYC... and wonder of wonders, I may actually be at the Saturday morning karate classes tomorrow.
JMH
Thursday, February 28, 2008
BRRR... I Should Have Run Yesterday!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Instead, I was lazy under the rationale that another day of recovering from this bug couldn't hurt... and today we've been hit with some of the coldest weather all season.
We'll see how windy it is when I get home from work. I don't mind the cold, but the windchill can be a real problem.
JMH
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Instead, I was lazy under the rationale that another day of recovering from this bug couldn't hurt... and today we've been hit with some of the coldest weather all season.
We'll see how windy it is when I get home from work. I don't mind the cold, but the windchill can be a real problem.
JMH
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I Hate Being Sick!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Here we have a gorgeous snowy evening, a great time for a run... and I'm unable to take advantage of it, for fear of setting back my gradual recovery from the bug that sunk its teeth into me over the weekend (and resulted in one of my rare sick days from work yesterday.)
Oh, well... it's probably for the best, seeing as it's nearly the end of our 2nd term and I'm buried under work... but I look out the window at the snowy evening and I really want to get outside and play, either on my snowshoes or just running.
Sigh.
JMH
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Here we have a gorgeous snowy evening, a great time for a run... and I'm unable to take advantage of it, for fear of setting back my gradual recovery from the bug that sunk its teeth into me over the weekend (and resulted in one of my rare sick days from work yesterday.)
Oh, well... it's probably for the best, seeing as it's nearly the end of our 2nd term and I'm buried under work... but I look out the window at the snowy evening and I really want to get outside and play, either on my snowshoes or just running.
Sigh.
JMH
Sunday, February 24, 2008
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 8:
Hawley, MA to Albany, NY
(64 miles)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 8:
Hawley, MA to Albany, NY
(64 miles)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Another drive that seemed to take much longer than I suspect it actually did. Of course, I was tired and somewhat hungry and continuing to make feeble efforts to fight off what will probably be a cold as this week progresses.
There were several places I would have liked to have stopped, but I passed them all by knowing that my legs were shot from 13.1 miles of hard snowshoe running this weekend... besides I wanted to get home and crawl into bed for a nap!
So am I glad I took this crazy journey this weekend? I don't know if glad is the right word, but I don't regret doing it. Having said that, I don't think I'd do it again... as much as I was sick of the driving last night, it's really no more than I'd do travelling to Rochester over the weekend, but the payoff just isn't there to make it worth driving an extra 7 hours to run a 5k snowshoe race. At least when I drive to Rochester I get to spend time with my sweetheart! Still, it was fun to run the inaugural race at Kingman Farm, and it was instructive to run my first night race (running a race at night is quite different from doing a training run at night!)
And I did find some parts of New England that I want to visit again, maybe during the summer, when I suspect the mountains of southern Vermont and New Hampshire will be even more beautiful.
But for now, some cold medicine and some sleep are in order.
JMH
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 7:
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #10
Moody Spring 6mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, February 24, 2008
2008 Moody Spring photo slideshow
I knew from the get-go that this would be the toughest race of the weekend, for a variety of reasons - it would be the longest race I'd done so far this season, it was the third race in what was turning into a very long weekend, and I was definitely fighting off a cold. Plus Konrad had warned me that the course included some major climbs.
On the other hand, it was a beautiful sunny day to be out in the woods with a bunch of people just as crazy as me. And I figured I could probably walk the thing in about 2 hours or so. So no worries...
I checked in, geared up (it was a bit breezy up in the parking lot above the Americorps camp, so I actually risked overdressing and wore a light shirt under my top and fleece vest) and then hung around outside the building chatting with Konrad and Bill and enjoying the sunshine. Before long we headed across the road to the snowmobile trail we'd run the first and last 1.5 miles on, where we were given a few quick words about the course (snowmobile trail, then a singletrack loop, and then back on the snowmobile trail) before the race was started without any fanfare. (I'm pretty sure it was Old Farmer Ed who was talking to us, and he said "The race starts when I say go. Go." A moment later it registered and off we went.
The first stretch is a moderately steep uphill, so I didn't bother even trying to run... just trudged up the hill trying to get my legs to warm up. After that was a long downhill which I ran pretty consistently, if not all that fast, and then the terrain rolled up and down for a bit, before we reached the ribbon marking the turnoff onto the singletrack.
I could tell very quickly that the singletrack was going to be the real challenge. It wound through the woods over very rolling terrain, with a lot of gradual uphill... in other words, more hiking! There were some nice downhill stretches where I got to run, but those tended not to last very long. The other problem was the footing. The ground was covered by a layer of snow, with thick layer of ice on top, and then more snow... all fine, except that every once in a while the ice would give way and I'd find myself struggling not to fall on my face. Still, the woods were absolutely gorgeous.
Eventually we crossed the main snowmobile trail, running by a group of snowmobilers who were taking a break at one of the shelters. And then the real fun began, because along this stretch the ice was so hard that my cleats would barely penetrate it, leaving me with very little traction... if only I'd known, I'd have taken the opportunity to try out the special ice cleats I bought this season. (I wasn't the only one having this problem... I caught up with the gal ahead of me who was also struggling, and after a bit Konrad and Bill caught us and they had the same difficulty.) We had a long steep downhill, then a long steep uphill (this was where Konrad and Bill caught up with me) slipping and sliding all the way. But I did get to see Moody Spring (a pipe coming out of the hillside) and refilled my water bottle in hopes that the spring water would give me an extra boost. (OK, that was a long shot.)
After that it was just a long slog along the rolling trail out in the snow-covered woods on a beautiful sunny day. One plus to walking much of that stretch - I took quite a few pictures. I also got in some short bursts of running, as I hurried to catch up with the group each time I stopped to snap a photo. And finally, after about 90 minutes, we came out at the snowmobile trail again. Unfortunately with a lot of climbing ahead of us to get back to the start! (Remember the long downhill on the way out...?)
I lagged behind a bit a take some photos of the group running down the initial hills, then caught up with them at the bottom and did my best to power hike up the long hill... surprisingly, my legs didn't feel too bad, maybe because of all the walking I did on the singletrack loop, and I picked up a decent lead on them. At times it seemed like that hill would never end, but eventually I reached the top and did my best to run the rest of the way down to the finish... not very fast, but the best I could do. Crossed the finish in 1 hr 50 minutes, and listened to some good-natured ribbing from Rich Busa that he'd gotten me back today after I beat hime yesterday (he finished about 5 minutes ahead of me.) A couple of minutes later Bill, Konrad, and Stephanie (the gal I'd caught up before reaching the spring) came running down the hill, and we were all done.
After that we hiked back across the street, and I said good-bye to Josh and the ARE crew who, being much faster than I am, were getting ready to leave. Snagged some food, chatted with a few folks, and then trudged up to the parking lot to change into some dry clothes and finally head home.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 39.2 mi / 10 hr 35 min
states visited: MA, NH, NY
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 7:
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #10
Moody Spring 6mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, February 24, 2008
2008 Moody Spring photo slideshow
I knew from the get-go that this would be the toughest race of the weekend, for a variety of reasons - it would be the longest race I'd done so far this season, it was the third race in what was turning into a very long weekend, and I was definitely fighting off a cold. Plus Konrad had warned me that the course included some major climbs.
On the other hand, it was a beautiful sunny day to be out in the woods with a bunch of people just as crazy as me. And I figured I could probably walk the thing in about 2 hours or so. So no worries...
I checked in, geared up (it was a bit breezy up in the parking lot above the Americorps camp, so I actually risked overdressing and wore a light shirt under my top and fleece vest) and then hung around outside the building chatting with Konrad and Bill and enjoying the sunshine. Before long we headed across the road to the snowmobile trail we'd run the first and last 1.5 miles on, where we were given a few quick words about the course (snowmobile trail, then a singletrack loop, and then back on the snowmobile trail) before the race was started without any fanfare. (I'm pretty sure it was Old Farmer Ed who was talking to us, and he said "The race starts when I say go. Go." A moment later it registered and off we went.
The first stretch is a moderately steep uphill, so I didn't bother even trying to run... just trudged up the hill trying to get my legs to warm up. After that was a long downhill which I ran pretty consistently, if not all that fast, and then the terrain rolled up and down for a bit, before we reached the ribbon marking the turnoff onto the singletrack.
I could tell very quickly that the singletrack was going to be the real challenge. It wound through the woods over very rolling terrain, with a lot of gradual uphill... in other words, more hiking! There were some nice downhill stretches where I got to run, but those tended not to last very long. The other problem was the footing. The ground was covered by a layer of snow, with thick layer of ice on top, and then more snow... all fine, except that every once in a while the ice would give way and I'd find myself struggling not to fall on my face. Still, the woods were absolutely gorgeous.
Eventually we crossed the main snowmobile trail, running by a group of snowmobilers who were taking a break at one of the shelters. And then the real fun began, because along this stretch the ice was so hard that my cleats would barely penetrate it, leaving me with very little traction... if only I'd known, I'd have taken the opportunity to try out the special ice cleats I bought this season. (I wasn't the only one having this problem... I caught up with the gal ahead of me who was also struggling, and after a bit Konrad and Bill caught us and they had the same difficulty.) We had a long steep downhill, then a long steep uphill (this was where Konrad and Bill caught up with me) slipping and sliding all the way. But I did get to see Moody Spring (a pipe coming out of the hillside) and refilled my water bottle in hopes that the spring water would give me an extra boost. (OK, that was a long shot.)
After that it was just a long slog along the rolling trail out in the snow-covered woods on a beautiful sunny day. One plus to walking much of that stretch - I took quite a few pictures. I also got in some short bursts of running, as I hurried to catch up with the group each time I stopped to snap a photo. And finally, after about 90 minutes, we came out at the snowmobile trail again. Unfortunately with a lot of climbing ahead of us to get back to the start! (Remember the long downhill on the way out...?)
I lagged behind a bit a take some photos of the group running down the initial hills, then caught up with them at the bottom and did my best to power hike up the long hill... surprisingly, my legs didn't feel too bad, maybe because of all the walking I did on the singletrack loop, and I picked up a decent lead on them. At times it seemed like that hill would never end, but eventually I reached the top and did my best to run the rest of the way down to the finish... not very fast, but the best I could do. Crossed the finish in 1 hr 50 minutes, and listened to some good-natured ribbing from Rich Busa that he'd gotten me back today after I beat hime yesterday (he finished about 5 minutes ahead of me.) A couple of minutes later Bill, Konrad, and Stephanie (the gal I'd caught up before reaching the spring) came running down the hill, and we were all done.
After that we hiked back across the street, and I said good-bye to Josh and the ARE crew who, being much faster than I am, were getting ready to leave. Snagged some food, chatted with a few folks, and then trudged up to the parking lot to change into some dry clothes and finally head home.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 39.2 mi / 10 hr 35 min
states visited: MA, NH, NY
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 6:
West Springfield, MA to West Hawley, MA
(44 miles)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
A major plus to staying in West Springfield before Moody Spring - I was able to sleep later than I would have at home (shorter drive, plus all my gear was already packed.) This was especially good considering that my incipient cold seemed to be making itself more noticeable in the dry motel room air.
I had flashbacks to Northfield at the start of this month, since part of my drive to the Dubuque State Forest in West Hawley took me along a stretch of highway I drove for that race too. After that it was time to make my way along numerous scenic side roads, with a stop for some juice at a convenience store. The rest of the ARE crew were there putting gas in the van, but I decided to wait and gas up closer to the NY border.
All in all, an uneventful drive, and it seemed blessedly brief after yesterday's travels. We had a brief moment of concern when Josh got the van stuck partway up the snow-covered icy hill to the parking area for the race (concern because the rest of us couldn't get by him to park, and afterwards none of the folks already parked would be able to get out) but some teamwork freed the van and the ARE crew ended up happily parked much closer to race HQ in the CCC headquarters/current Americorps building.
JMH
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 6:
West Springfield, MA to West Hawley, MA
(44 miles)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
A major plus to staying in West Springfield before Moody Spring - I was able to sleep later than I would have at home (shorter drive, plus all my gear was already packed.) This was especially good considering that my incipient cold seemed to be making itself more noticeable in the dry motel room air.
I had flashbacks to Northfield at the start of this month, since part of my drive to the Dubuque State Forest in West Hawley took me along a stretch of highway I drove for that race too. After that it was time to make my way along numerous scenic side roads, with a stop for some juice at a convenience store. The rest of the ARE crew were there putting gas in the van, but I decided to wait and gas up closer to the NY border.
All in all, an uneventful drive, and it seemed blessedly brief after yesterday's travels. We had a brief moment of concern when Josh got the van stuck partway up the snow-covered icy hill to the parking area for the race (concern because the rest of us couldn't get by him to park, and afterwards none of the folks already parked would be able to get out) but some teamwork freed the van and the ARE crew ended up happily parked much closer to race HQ in the CCC headquarters/current Americorps building.
JMH
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 5:
Madbury, NH to West Springfield, MA
(153 Miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
OK, I will readily admit that this was the point where I decided the NH leg of this trip was downright stupid. I was tired and hungry, and seemed to be feeling the signs of a cold coming on. And this drive seemed to take forever. That's what I get for hearing the call of a potential adventure and letting Stupid Turtle do the thinking (or lack thereof) for me.
Along the way I stopped at what had to be the slowest Wendy's on the planet and dodged some incredibly bad drivers. But finally, 10:30 or so found me safely checked in at the West Springfield Red Roof Inn... the room was toasty warm (I was more than a bit worried that it would be cold and I'd spend half the night shivering while it warmed up) and after flipping through the channels on the TV and watching a few minutes of several programs, I read for a bit and then fell asleep.
No doubt my wake up call at 6:30 would come all too soon...
JMH
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 5:
Madbury, NH to West Springfield, MA
(153 Miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
OK, I will readily admit that this was the point where I decided the NH leg of this trip was downright stupid. I was tired and hungry, and seemed to be feeling the signs of a cold coming on. And this drive seemed to take forever. That's what I get for hearing the call of a potential adventure and letting Stupid Turtle do the thinking (or lack thereof) for me.
Along the way I stopped at what had to be the slowest Wendy's on the planet and dodged some incredibly bad drivers. But finally, 10:30 or so found me safely checked in at the West Springfield Red Roof Inn... the room was toasty warm (I was more than a bit worried that it would be cold and I'd spend half the night shivering while it warmed up) and after flipping through the channels on the TV and watching a few minutes of several programs, I read for a bit and then fell asleep.
No doubt my wake up call at 6:30 would come all too soon...
JMH
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 4:
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #9
Kingman Farm Moonlight 5k Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2008 Kingman Farm photo slideshow
I knew we were getting close when the RD walked through the parking lot hollering "15 minutes until the pre-race meeting"... and then "10 minutes" and then "5 minutes". At the five minute call I pulled my gear together and headed over to where a lot of the competitors were gathered pulling on their snowshoes. We all stood around shivering while the RD gave us some info about the race and the course, and then I got the answer to a question that had been on my mind since I'd arrived at the Madbury Town Hall parking lot - namely, where exactly was this race starting and finishing? (Of course, if I'd printed the course map that the RD sent all of us who pre-registered, I probably could have figured it out myself!) We hiked a little ways into the woods, and then down the trail a short distance... and stood around waiting for things to begin. Apparently, even after the prerace meeting it was another 5 minutes before the start of the race.
It was kind of neat seeing all the headlamps twinkling in the darkening woods... though the increasing darkness combined with the narrow (maybe 2 people wide) trail made it clear that starting position could be very important, especially considering that many of the folks in this race had never done a snowshoe event before (much less one at night!) But after multiple countdowns from the RD (3 min... 2 min... 1 min... 30 sec... 10 sec...) it was time to run!
It became clear to me very quickly that racing at night is very different from going on a training run at night. For one thing, there were roughly 80 other folks out on the trails with me... and I knew full well that some of them had no idea what they were doing! For another thing, it's a lot more challenging to keep to the correct trail at speed than it is when you can go at any old pace... fortunately, there were volunteers at many of the crucial turns, to help keep us on course.
I suspect I went out too fast... I did the first 2k (about 1.2 miles) in 16 min and change, and really started to drag after that. I suspect it also didn't help that much of the winding path for the first 3k or so was a gradual uphill... of course, then we hit the base of the only "major" climb on the course, and running was out of the question! At that point I fell back on my main hill technique - the fast-as-I-can-uphill-plod, punctuated by lots of gasping for breath. The trail wound it way back and forth until we finally reached the top, where a very enthusiastic volunteer informed us that it was all downhill from there. Fortunately, I had read the RD's pre-race e-mails, so I knew that wasn't totally accurate.
We ran along the top of the hill for a while and then started down... and not long after found ourselves heading back up! What had been described in the pre-race e-mail as a short climb seemed to take forever, but finally we headed back down again, winding our way through a series of switchbacks. Toward the bottom it got steep enough that I knew I might be in for some difficulty, so I let the folks behind me go on ahead and took my time, until I finally reached level ground again.
At the bottom I finally figured out that the hollering and screaming I'd been hearing the whole time I was one the hill wasn't runners making noise, but rather cheering at the finish line... because it couldn't have been more than a quarter mile or so from the bottom of the hill to the finish! So I ran as hard as I could (translation - pretty darn slow) and crossed the finish line in 46 min 24 sec... not the time I'd been hoping for, after those first couple of 1k splits, but still not bad for the climbing and descending during the last 1.5 km and for running the race at night.
After that I wandered back to the parking lot, snagged a piece of pizza, and then waited around for the post-race raffle, where we'd been told it was likely anyone who stayed would take home a prize. (And that was probably accurate - they had a lot of stuff to give away!) Unfortunately for me, the prize I won was a six-pack of beer, which I donated to the ARE crew (since I don't drink) and then I headed back to the car to change into dry clothes and head out into the night for the long drive to West Springfield and my plush accomodations at the Red Roof Inn there... hopefully with a stop for food somewhere along the way!
All in all, this was an interesting race, and I liked the attitude of the organizers, who seemed very intent on everyone, fast or slow, having a good time. I could also probably get into the concept of night racing if I could do it more often, though I did miss seeing the scenery on the course (one of the fun aspects of snowshoe and trail racing.) For me the major drawback to this race was its location... as I left Madbury with another 2 1/2 hours of driving ahead of me, I had a strong feeling that it was just too much driving for a 5k... I was actually in Madbury for 3 hours or so, with only 46 minutes of that spent actually racing, and roughly 7 hours of driving from the race locations in western MA. So while I talked myself into doing it once for the sake of the adventure... I really don't think I would do this triple header again. (And I'm positive I won't drive the 8+ hour round trip out to Maine for the final 5k race in their snowshoe series on March 15!)
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 33.2 mi / 8 hr 45 min
states visited: MA, NH, NY
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 4:
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #9
Kingman Farm Moonlight 5k Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2008 Kingman Farm photo slideshow
I knew we were getting close when the RD walked through the parking lot hollering "15 minutes until the pre-race meeting"... and then "10 minutes" and then "5 minutes". At the five minute call I pulled my gear together and headed over to where a lot of the competitors were gathered pulling on their snowshoes. We all stood around shivering while the RD gave us some info about the race and the course, and then I got the answer to a question that had been on my mind since I'd arrived at the Madbury Town Hall parking lot - namely, where exactly was this race starting and finishing? (Of course, if I'd printed the course map that the RD sent all of us who pre-registered, I probably could have figured it out myself!) We hiked a little ways into the woods, and then down the trail a short distance... and stood around waiting for things to begin. Apparently, even after the prerace meeting it was another 5 minutes before the start of the race.
It was kind of neat seeing all the headlamps twinkling in the darkening woods... though the increasing darkness combined with the narrow (maybe 2 people wide) trail made it clear that starting position could be very important, especially considering that many of the folks in this race had never done a snowshoe event before (much less one at night!) But after multiple countdowns from the RD (3 min... 2 min... 1 min... 30 sec... 10 sec...) it was time to run!
It became clear to me very quickly that racing at night is very different from going on a training run at night. For one thing, there were roughly 80 other folks out on the trails with me... and I knew full well that some of them had no idea what they were doing! For another thing, it's a lot more challenging to keep to the correct trail at speed than it is when you can go at any old pace... fortunately, there were volunteers at many of the crucial turns, to help keep us on course.
I suspect I went out too fast... I did the first 2k (about 1.2 miles) in 16 min and change, and really started to drag after that. I suspect it also didn't help that much of the winding path for the first 3k or so was a gradual uphill... of course, then we hit the base of the only "major" climb on the course, and running was out of the question! At that point I fell back on my main hill technique - the fast-as-I-can-uphill-plod, punctuated by lots of gasping for breath. The trail wound it way back and forth until we finally reached the top, where a very enthusiastic volunteer informed us that it was all downhill from there. Fortunately, I had read the RD's pre-race e-mails, so I knew that wasn't totally accurate.
We ran along the top of the hill for a while and then started down... and not long after found ourselves heading back up! What had been described in the pre-race e-mail as a short climb seemed to take forever, but finally we headed back down again, winding our way through a series of switchbacks. Toward the bottom it got steep enough that I knew I might be in for some difficulty, so I let the folks behind me go on ahead and took my time, until I finally reached level ground again.
At the bottom I finally figured out that the hollering and screaming I'd been hearing the whole time I was one the hill wasn't runners making noise, but rather cheering at the finish line... because it couldn't have been more than a quarter mile or so from the bottom of the hill to the finish! So I ran as hard as I could (translation - pretty darn slow) and crossed the finish line in 46 min 24 sec... not the time I'd been hoping for, after those first couple of 1k splits, but still not bad for the climbing and descending during the last 1.5 km and for running the race at night.
After that I wandered back to the parking lot, snagged a piece of pizza, and then waited around for the post-race raffle, where we'd been told it was likely anyone who stayed would take home a prize. (And that was probably accurate - they had a lot of stuff to give away!) Unfortunately for me, the prize I won was a six-pack of beer, which I donated to the ARE crew (since I don't drink) and then I headed back to the car to change into dry clothes and head out into the night for the long drive to West Springfield and my plush accomodations at the Red Roof Inn there... hopefully with a stop for food somewhere along the way!
All in all, this was an interesting race, and I liked the attitude of the organizers, who seemed very intent on everyone, fast or slow, having a good time. I could also probably get into the concept of night racing if I could do it more often, though I did miss seeing the scenery on the course (one of the fun aspects of snowshoe and trail racing.) For me the major drawback to this race was its location... as I left Madbury with another 2 1/2 hours of driving ahead of me, I had a strong feeling that it was just too much driving for a 5k... I was actually in Madbury for 3 hours or so, with only 46 minutes of that spent actually racing, and roughly 7 hours of driving from the race locations in western MA. So while I talked myself into doing it once for the sake of the adventure... I really don't think I would do this triple header again. (And I'm positive I won't drive the 8+ hour round trip out to Maine for the final 5k race in their snowshoe series on March 15!)
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 33.2 mi / 8 hr 45 min
states visited: MA, NH, NY
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 3:
Adams, MA to Vermont to Madbury, NH
(156 miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Chatted briefly with a few folks, then changed into dry clothes and wandered for a few minutes taking pictures. Then it was time to hit the road for the long drive to Madbury.
I started out heading up to North Adams (a town I've gone through for many a race in northwestern MA) and then headed into parts unknown, specifically Route 8 across the border into Vermont. What a gorgeous drive! There were many places where I wanted to stop and take pictures, but there unfortunately was no way to pull safely off the road... even if there was a shoulder, it was buried under snowbanks almost as tall as my car.
I took Route 9 across southern Vermont - again, more beautiful scenery and little opportunity to stop. Lost the sun to some grey clouds for a bit, but it reappeared before too long. I made a brief stop at a viewpoint outside of Marlboro, and passed several parks and recreation areas which I really would have liked to have seen if (1) the access roads had been plowed, and (2) I wasn't on my way to another race.
Eventually I crossed over the border into New Hampshire, and stopped almost immediately at a shopping center in Keene, both to snag some food and to visit the local Borders. Ended up purchasing a nice little local guide to the Wapack Trail before setting out on Route 9 again for my drive across New Hampshire. Lots more beautiful scenery, couple with mild aggravation that I couldn't stop and explore a bit. I definitely want to come back to this part of New England!
Eventually I found myself in the small town of Madbury, which ironically is not that far from Portsmouth, NH - the first town in NH we ran through during last year's Eastern States 20 Mile Road Race. Greylock had finished pretty early, and I hadn't stopped much along the way, so I was extremely early - they weren't even ready to check people in yet, though they were in the process of getting set up. One plus to arriving early - I ended up with a nice parking spot, only a short distance from the start and finish of the race.
Wandered around a bit taking pictures while there was still light, then changed clothes - by the time I was done I was able to check in. Then I went and sat in the car (it was too chilly to hang around outside for an hour) and read the book I'd brought along (an omnibus of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials) while I waited for the evening's event to begin.
JMH
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 3:
Adams, MA to Vermont to Madbury, NH
(156 miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Chatted briefly with a few folks, then changed into dry clothes and wandered for a few minutes taking pictures. Then it was time to hit the road for the long drive to Madbury.
I started out heading up to North Adams (a town I've gone through for many a race in northwestern MA) and then headed into parts unknown, specifically Route 8 across the border into Vermont. What a gorgeous drive! There were many places where I wanted to stop and take pictures, but there unfortunately was no way to pull safely off the road... even if there was a shoulder, it was buried under snowbanks almost as tall as my car.
I took Route 9 across southern Vermont - again, more beautiful scenery and little opportunity to stop. Lost the sun to some grey clouds for a bit, but it reappeared before too long. I made a brief stop at a viewpoint outside of Marlboro, and passed several parks and recreation areas which I really would have liked to have seen if (1) the access roads had been plowed, and (2) I wasn't on my way to another race.
Eventually I crossed over the border into New Hampshire, and stopped almost immediately at a shopping center in Keene, both to snag some food and to visit the local Borders. Ended up purchasing a nice little local guide to the Wapack Trail before setting out on Route 9 again for my drive across New Hampshire. Lots more beautiful scenery, couple with mild aggravation that I couldn't stop and explore a bit. I definitely want to come back to this part of New England!
Eventually I found myself in the small town of Madbury, which ironically is not that far from Portsmouth, NH - the first town in NH we ran through during last year's Eastern States 20 Mile Road Race. Greylock had finished pretty early, and I hadn't stopped much along the way, so I was extremely early - they weren't even ready to check people in yet, though they were in the process of getting set up. One plus to arriving early - I ended up with a nice parking spot, only a short distance from the start and finish of the race.
Wandered around a bit taking pictures while there was still light, then changed clothes - by the time I was done I was able to check in. Then I went and sat in the car (it was too chilly to hang around outside for an hour) and read the book I'd brought along (an omnibus of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials) while I waited for the evening's event to begin.
JMH
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 2:
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #8
Greylock Covered Bridge 4mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2008 Greylock Covered Bridge photo slideshow
Despite the grey skies and the cloud cover low enough to obscure most of Mount Greylock, the weather today was still better than last year, when I arrived at Greylock Glen to find bitter cold temperatures and a viscious wind whipping down off the mountain. Today was chilly but not too bad... checked in, geared up, and then stodd around chatting with some of the other runners while we waited for things to start. (And waited to find out where the start would be, since today's run would only be part of the old Greylock 3.5/8 mile race courses.)
A few minutes before the start Paul Hartwig gave us a quick breakdown of the course (lots of uphill for the first half, followed by lots of downhill for the rest, and keep your head low at the Covered Bridge, because apparently it sunk a bit) and then we headed off into the field to line up at the start - in the opposite direction from how we'd usually go. Once we got the signal to begin, that turned out to be a real plus, because it avoided the bottleneck that always slows things down when we run up the path toward the mountain.
I started out right behind Rich Busa, then he pulled aside and let me pass him a little ways in... that made me wonder if I'd gone out to fast, since I almost never finish a snowshoe race before Rich. Shortly after that the path headed downhill and crossed the bridge over Peck's Brook, then followed the winding singletrack through the Covered Bridge and over the bridge with all the plastic flowers before winding its way uphill along the brook. Up and up and up... I began having flashbacks to the end of the Greylock Half Marathon last year, when this section was at the end and it seemed like it was climbing forever... I'm not sure what was harder, trudging uphill then after having run 10 miles or so in the June heat, or trudging uphill today on snowshoes!
At various points I paused and looked back, and there were two runners not too far behind me - Rich, and an older gal, both of whom seemed to be struggling about as much as I was. One plus to having run this route less than a year ago - I had a vague idea of where we'd hit the top and start descending, and eventually I got there. Seeing that arrow pointing downhill along the Cheshire Harbor trail (a nice, wide snowmobile path) sure felt good!
Since I knew there were folks not far behind me, I did my best to hustle down the Cheshire Harbor trail - it felt good to be running instead of trudging uphill, though I'm always struck by the fact that on snowshoes, even running downhill is work! The bottom of the hill came all too quickly, and then the path took us along another snowmobile trail that wound up and down through the woods before finally hitting a long downhill stretch that I could pretty consistently run again. That finally deposited me back by the brook, where I crossed the several bridges and took a brief break to try to get my camera to work (the batteries were a bit zapped from the cold) - until I heard Rich Busa clattering across the Covered Bridge! I'm not sure how he almost caught up with me without me seeing him!
That lit a fire under my backside, and I trudged as quickly as I could to the top of the last hill and then ran down the last couple of hills as quick as I could. There were a few moments when I thought some folks who'd already finished might not get out of my way in time as I hurried back into the Glen, but everyone cleared a path and I hit the finish line to cheers from a couple of folks waiting there (RD Ed Alibozek, Curly's RD Beth Herder who was taking pictures, and ARE organizer and guru Josh Merlis.) I finished in 1 hr 5 min 28 sec... not a phenomenal time for 4 miles, but also not that bad, considering all the climbing I had to do in the first half of the race.
After that I cheered Rich across the finish, snagged a cup of chili, and headed to the car to change into some dry clothes. As I was getting to the road, Bill and Konrad were coming down the last hill too. Changed clothes, then wandered up the road a bit to snap some additional pictures before hopping in the car to begin to long drive to Madbury, NH, and race #2 of the triple-header weekend.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 30.1 mi / 7 hr 58 min
states visited: MA, NY
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 2:
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #8
Greylock Covered Bridge 4mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 23, 2008
2008 Greylock Covered Bridge photo slideshow
Despite the grey skies and the cloud cover low enough to obscure most of Mount Greylock, the weather today was still better than last year, when I arrived at Greylock Glen to find bitter cold temperatures and a viscious wind whipping down off the mountain. Today was chilly but not too bad... checked in, geared up, and then stodd around chatting with some of the other runners while we waited for things to start. (And waited to find out where the start would be, since today's run would only be part of the old Greylock 3.5/8 mile race courses.)
A few minutes before the start Paul Hartwig gave us a quick breakdown of the course (lots of uphill for the first half, followed by lots of downhill for the rest, and keep your head low at the Covered Bridge, because apparently it sunk a bit) and then we headed off into the field to line up at the start - in the opposite direction from how we'd usually go. Once we got the signal to begin, that turned out to be a real plus, because it avoided the bottleneck that always slows things down when we run up the path toward the mountain.
I started out right behind Rich Busa, then he pulled aside and let me pass him a little ways in... that made me wonder if I'd gone out to fast, since I almost never finish a snowshoe race before Rich. Shortly after that the path headed downhill and crossed the bridge over Peck's Brook, then followed the winding singletrack through the Covered Bridge and over the bridge with all the plastic flowers before winding its way uphill along the brook. Up and up and up... I began having flashbacks to the end of the Greylock Half Marathon last year, when this section was at the end and it seemed like it was climbing forever... I'm not sure what was harder, trudging uphill then after having run 10 miles or so in the June heat, or trudging uphill today on snowshoes!
At various points I paused and looked back, and there were two runners not too far behind me - Rich, and an older gal, both of whom seemed to be struggling about as much as I was. One plus to having run this route less than a year ago - I had a vague idea of where we'd hit the top and start descending, and eventually I got there. Seeing that arrow pointing downhill along the Cheshire Harbor trail (a nice, wide snowmobile path) sure felt good!
Since I knew there were folks not far behind me, I did my best to hustle down the Cheshire Harbor trail - it felt good to be running instead of trudging uphill, though I'm always struck by the fact that on snowshoes, even running downhill is work! The bottom of the hill came all too quickly, and then the path took us along another snowmobile trail that wound up and down through the woods before finally hitting a long downhill stretch that I could pretty consistently run again. That finally deposited me back by the brook, where I crossed the several bridges and took a brief break to try to get my camera to work (the batteries were a bit zapped from the cold) - until I heard Rich Busa clattering across the Covered Bridge! I'm not sure how he almost caught up with me without me seeing him!
That lit a fire under my backside, and I trudged as quickly as I could to the top of the last hill and then ran down the last couple of hills as quick as I could. There were a few moments when I thought some folks who'd already finished might not get out of my way in time as I hurried back into the Glen, but everyone cleared a path and I hit the finish line to cheers from a couple of folks waiting there (RD Ed Alibozek, Curly's RD Beth Herder who was taking pictures, and ARE organizer and guru Josh Merlis.) I finished in 1 hr 5 min 28 sec... not a phenomenal time for 4 miles, but also not that bad, considering all the climbing I had to do in the first half of the race.
After that I cheered Rich across the finish, snagged a cup of chili, and headed to the car to change into some dry clothes. As I was getting to the road, Bill and Konrad were coming down the last hill too. Changed clothes, then wandered up the road a bit to snap some additional pictures before hopping in the car to begin to long drive to Madbury, NH, and race #2 of the triple-header weekend.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 30.1 mi / 7 hr 58 min
states visited: MA, NY
HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 1:
Albany, NY to Adams, MA
(65 miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
OK, a quick refresher - earlier this week Josh Merlis, one of the guiding lights and all-around-lunatics of the Albany Running Exchange, sent word around that he was organizing a trip to the three snowshoe races this weekend - Greylock, Kingman Farm, and Moody Spring. I had toyed with the idea of running all three previously but had dropped Kingman Farm from the list because it would be a long distance to go for a 5k race... but Josh's e-mail challenged me to re-evaluate that. (Stupid Turtle taking over... sigh.) Which is why 6 AM Saturday morning found me not only packing for the Greylock 4 mile snowshoe race, but for a weekend of travelling all over the freakin' place.
The drive to Greylock was uneventful, other than the fact that I skipped my usual rest stop at McDonalds (last chance to use a real bathroom before the race) because I was running a bit behind schedule. No worries in the end - I reached Greylock Glen in plenty of time. Though it was a bit intimidating to find Mighty Greylock hidden from view behind low-hanging clouds...
JMH
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 1:
Albany, NY to Adams, MA
(65 miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
OK, a quick refresher - earlier this week Josh Merlis, one of the guiding lights and all-around-lunatics of the Albany Running Exchange, sent word around that he was organizing a trip to the three snowshoe races this weekend - Greylock, Kingman Farm, and Moody Spring. I had toyed with the idea of running all three previously but had dropped Kingman Farm from the list because it would be a long distance to go for a 5k race... but Josh's e-mail challenged me to re-evaluate that. (Stupid Turtle taking over... sigh.) Which is why 6 AM Saturday morning found me not only packing for the Greylock 4 mile snowshoe race, but for a weekend of travelling all over the freakin' place.
The drive to Greylock was uneventful, other than the fact that I skipped my usual rest stop at McDonalds (last chance to use a real bathroom before the race) because I was running a bit behind schedule. No worries in the end - I reached Greylock Glen in plenty of time. Though it was a bit intimidating to find Mighty Greylock hidden from view behind low-hanging clouds...
JMH
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
GASP! A SNOWSHOE TRIPLE HEADER!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
OK, I'm committed to a crazy weekend of snowshoe races - I even booked a room in West Springfield, MA to save myself some driving.
Saturday morning is the Covered Bridge snowshoe race (aka the race previously referred to as the Mount Greylock Winter Death March.) In previous years this was a 3.5mi race with an option to extend it into a longer 8 mi race... looks like this year there's just one option, 4 miles. While I was looking forward to longer race to push myself (and help me prepare for the Pittsfield Snowshoe Half Marathon on March 8) given the schedule this weekend I'm not complaining!
Saturday evening is the inaugural running of the Kingman Farm Moonlight 5k snowshoe race in southeastern NH... yup, a race run at night! Since I usually run at night with a headlamp it won't be that unusual for me... but this will be the first time I've run a race at night. Despite an insane amount of driving, it should be interesting and fun.
Sunday morning I'm back in western MA, at the Moody Spring 5-6 mi snowshoe race... originally scheduled for last weekend, it was moved to this one because conditions were too ripe for someone to break an ankle (semi-deep snow with a thick icy crust.) If we do the 6 mile course, this will be the longest race I've done this season... and still only half of what I'm facing in about two weeks up in Vermont! Yikes!
JMH
Thursday, February 21, 2008
OK, I'm committed to a crazy weekend of snowshoe races - I even booked a room in West Springfield, MA to save myself some driving.
Saturday morning is the Covered Bridge snowshoe race (aka the race previously referred to as the Mount Greylock Winter Death March.) In previous years this was a 3.5mi race with an option to extend it into a longer 8 mi race... looks like this year there's just one option, 4 miles. While I was looking forward to longer race to push myself (and help me prepare for the Pittsfield Snowshoe Half Marathon on March 8) given the schedule this weekend I'm not complaining!
Saturday evening is the inaugural running of the Kingman Farm Moonlight 5k snowshoe race in southeastern NH... yup, a race run at night! Since I usually run at night with a headlamp it won't be that unusual for me... but this will be the first time I've run a race at night. Despite an insane amount of driving, it should be interesting and fun.
Sunday morning I'm back in western MA, at the Moody Spring 5-6 mi snowshoe race... originally scheduled for last weekend, it was moved to this one because conditions were too ripe for someone to break an ankle (semi-deep snow with a thick icy crust.) If we do the 6 mile course, this will be the longest race I've done this season... and still only half of what I'm facing in about two weeks up in Vermont! Yikes!
JMH
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
LUNAR ECLIPSE
9.5 Mile Run on the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon's orbit carries it through the Earth's shadow, blocking out the light from the sun that we would ordinarily see reflected as moonlight. For the last day or so the news agencies have been talking a lot about tonight's total lunar eclipse, in part because its the last one that will be visible in our part of the world until December 2010. Weather permitting (there was a possibility it might be cloudy) there was no question that I wanted to get outside and see this one... so I combined my interest in the eclipse with a need to get out for a run and decided to run on the bike path tonight while the eclipse was happening.
I got off to a late start (I'd planned to start running around 8 PM) and hit the path just as the moon was entering Earth's shadow. It was a cold, clear night - a perfect night for seeing the eclipse and a great night for a run, too! Initially, the nearly-full moon lit everything up with a silvery-white glow almost as bright as my headlamp. As I continued to run, more and more of the moon was covered by the shadow, and things got dimmer and dimmer... but never so dark that I needed a light to see. One of the things that's kind of interesting about a lunar eclipse is that the moon never gets completely dark; instead, sunlight refracting through the atmosphere around the edges of the Earth casts a reddish-orange glow over the face of the moon.
Thanks to the warm weather we had earlier this week, the path was clear of ice for almost a mile east of the Niskayuna Lions Park, so I was able to run a section that I couldn't last winter (fewer loops on the Gerbil Wheel! Hurray!) The entire time that I ran, the ice on the river and the streams and ponds bordering the path was cracking, popping, and snapping... it sounded like a host of large monsters were out in the water smashing through the ice! The first time it happened I wondered what was going on, but as the run progressed and I kept hearing it, I realized that it was just the ice shifting and moving with the currents. But it was loud enough that I still jumped a few times!
I also heard some sort of bird off in the woods, and startled a couple of bunnies on my first time out along the Gerbil Wheel. On the way back I nearly had a run-in with a skunk that was wandering down the path - he moved off to the side and lifted his tail as I ran by, but fortunately we parted quickly enough that he didn't spray - that would have been a miserable addition to my run!
My legs felt pretty good on my 2nd lap, but unfortunately I made a rookie mistake and wore a different type of sock than I'd used previously with my Adidas Supernovas - and ended up with sizeable blisters on the arch of my foot and a blistered toe. So I cut things a bit shorter than I might have otherwise, and was pleased to find out later that I'd ended up running somewhere around 9.5 miles (rather than the 8-8.5 miles that I thought I'd done.) That's easily the furthest I've run since November!
As I wrapped up my run, the moon was just starting to come out of the Earth's shadow, with a sliver of brighter light along one edge. It would have been nice to be able to run longer and see the bright light returning to illuminate the path, but this was still a great run, and a first - I've never run during a lunar eclipse before tonight!
JMH
9.5 Mile Run on the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon's orbit carries it through the Earth's shadow, blocking out the light from the sun that we would ordinarily see reflected as moonlight. For the last day or so the news agencies have been talking a lot about tonight's total lunar eclipse, in part because its the last one that will be visible in our part of the world until December 2010. Weather permitting (there was a possibility it might be cloudy) there was no question that I wanted to get outside and see this one... so I combined my interest in the eclipse with a need to get out for a run and decided to run on the bike path tonight while the eclipse was happening.
I got off to a late start (I'd planned to start running around 8 PM) and hit the path just as the moon was entering Earth's shadow. It was a cold, clear night - a perfect night for seeing the eclipse and a great night for a run, too! Initially, the nearly-full moon lit everything up with a silvery-white glow almost as bright as my headlamp. As I continued to run, more and more of the moon was covered by the shadow, and things got dimmer and dimmer... but never so dark that I needed a light to see. One of the things that's kind of interesting about a lunar eclipse is that the moon never gets completely dark; instead, sunlight refracting through the atmosphere around the edges of the Earth casts a reddish-orange glow over the face of the moon.
Thanks to the warm weather we had earlier this week, the path was clear of ice for almost a mile east of the Niskayuna Lions Park, so I was able to run a section that I couldn't last winter (fewer loops on the Gerbil Wheel! Hurray!) The entire time that I ran, the ice on the river and the streams and ponds bordering the path was cracking, popping, and snapping... it sounded like a host of large monsters were out in the water smashing through the ice! The first time it happened I wondered what was going on, but as the run progressed and I kept hearing it, I realized that it was just the ice shifting and moving with the currents. But it was loud enough that I still jumped a few times!
I also heard some sort of bird off in the woods, and startled a couple of bunnies on my first time out along the Gerbil Wheel. On the way back I nearly had a run-in with a skunk that was wandering down the path - he moved off to the side and lifted his tail as I ran by, but fortunately we parted quickly enough that he didn't spray - that would have been a miserable addition to my run!
My legs felt pretty good on my 2nd lap, but unfortunately I made a rookie mistake and wore a different type of sock than I'd used previously with my Adidas Supernovas - and ended up with sizeable blisters on the arch of my foot and a blistered toe. So I cut things a bit shorter than I might have otherwise, and was pleased to find out later that I'd ended up running somewhere around 9.5 miles (rather than the 8-8.5 miles that I thought I'd done.) That's easily the furthest I've run since November!
As I wrapped up my run, the moon was just starting to come out of the Earth's shadow, with a sliver of brighter light along one edge. It would have been nice to be able to run longer and see the bright light returning to illuminate the path, but this was still a great run, and a first - I've never run during a lunar eclipse before tonight!
JMH
Monday, February 18, 2008
7 Mile Run at Thacher Park
Monday, February 18, 2008
After a very lazy day yesterday (I skipped going to a snowshoe race in the morning and then waited long enough to get outdoors that the rain provided a good excuse to stay in) there was no question that I needed to get in a run today. Fortunately, I had the day off, so I was able to choose a location that I wouldn't typically get to in the winter, when I have to do most of my running at night. Thacher seemed like it would offer a nice combo of nature, solitude, and challenge, plus I haven't been there since late November... so the late afternoon found me making way way up to the Helderberg Escarpment.
This was one of those odd weather days... temperatures were unseasonably warm in the morning (high 50's) but during the afternoon a cold front started making its way into the area, resulting a very strong, chilly wind up on the Escarpment. Fortunately I planned ahead a bit and had enough warm clothing that I was able to do my run... I would have been in trouble if I'd tried to go out in shorts!
I decided to do what amounts to my short Thacher loop, along the Escarpment then up Paint Mine Rd to the trail along Beaver Dam Rd, looping down to the Hop Field trails through the woods and swamp. During the first half mile I hit all sorts of footing - bare ground, ankle deep snow, and ice. As I ran along the Escarpment I eventually hit an additional type of trail - the underwater type. Fortunately, it was early enough in the run that my feet had time to warm back up after being dunked in icy water!
I stopped at several points along the trail above the Indian Ladder Trail to take pictures of the waterfalls... there was a decent amount of water going over each thanks to yesterday's rain. Between the wind and the water I decided to skip the rest of the Escarpment trail and headed across the road. After a brief detour to check out the waterfalls at the Paint Mine picnic area, I headed up Paint Mine Road. I guess snowshoeing has had a positive effect, because I made it to the top without feeling like I was going to keel over!
One nice thing about being in the woods up on the hill - there was almost no wind! Made my way along the trails across the top of the ridge and then down into the swamp... lots of ice, but thanks to my screw shoes, that wasn't a problem. Actually, the worst footing was going down the steep hill to the swamp... there the ice was covered by a layer of slushy snow and it was tough for my shoes to get a grip.
The trail around the swamp was frozen in some spots and flooded in others, so footing was tricky but not too bad. From there it was pretty easy running , right up to the top of the long hill down to the Hop Field picnic area... that was a solid sheet of ice, and I had to pick my way down it fairly carefully. At the bottom I decided I wanted the fun to last a little longer and did an out-and-back along the XC ski trail over to the park maintenance buildings. Got back to the car just in time... as I was putting my gear away the Park Police and Park Ranger both pulled into the parking lot, probably to lock the gate. So I gave them a wave, hopped in the car without changing clothes or shoes, and said my farewells to the quiet pleasures of nature as I headed back to the noise and congestion of Albany.
JMH
Monday, February 18, 2008
After a very lazy day yesterday (I skipped going to a snowshoe race in the morning and then waited long enough to get outdoors that the rain provided a good excuse to stay in) there was no question that I needed to get in a run today. Fortunately, I had the day off, so I was able to choose a location that I wouldn't typically get to in the winter, when I have to do most of my running at night. Thacher seemed like it would offer a nice combo of nature, solitude, and challenge, plus I haven't been there since late November... so the late afternoon found me making way way up to the Helderberg Escarpment.
This was one of those odd weather days... temperatures were unseasonably warm in the morning (high 50's) but during the afternoon a cold front started making its way into the area, resulting a very strong, chilly wind up on the Escarpment. Fortunately I planned ahead a bit and had enough warm clothing that I was able to do my run... I would have been in trouble if I'd tried to go out in shorts!
I decided to do what amounts to my short Thacher loop, along the Escarpment then up Paint Mine Rd to the trail along Beaver Dam Rd, looping down to the Hop Field trails through the woods and swamp. During the first half mile I hit all sorts of footing - bare ground, ankle deep snow, and ice. As I ran along the Escarpment I eventually hit an additional type of trail - the underwater type. Fortunately, it was early enough in the run that my feet had time to warm back up after being dunked in icy water!
I stopped at several points along the trail above the Indian Ladder Trail to take pictures of the waterfalls... there was a decent amount of water going over each thanks to yesterday's rain. Between the wind and the water I decided to skip the rest of the Escarpment trail and headed across the road. After a brief detour to check out the waterfalls at the Paint Mine picnic area, I headed up Paint Mine Road. I guess snowshoeing has had a positive effect, because I made it to the top without feeling like I was going to keel over!
One nice thing about being in the woods up on the hill - there was almost no wind! Made my way along the trails across the top of the ridge and then down into the swamp... lots of ice, but thanks to my screw shoes, that wasn't a problem. Actually, the worst footing was going down the steep hill to the swamp... there the ice was covered by a layer of slushy snow and it was tough for my shoes to get a grip.
The trail around the swamp was frozen in some spots and flooded in others, so footing was tricky but not too bad. From there it was pretty easy running , right up to the top of the long hill down to the Hop Field picnic area... that was a solid sheet of ice, and I had to pick my way down it fairly carefully. At the bottom I decided I wanted the fun to last a little longer and did an out-and-back along the XC ski trail over to the park maintenance buildings. Got back to the car just in time... as I was putting my gear away the Park Police and Park Ranger both pulled into the parking lot, probably to lock the gate. So I gave them a wave, hopped in the car without changing clothes or shoes, and said my farewells to the quiet pleasures of nature as I headed back to the noise and congestion of Albany.
JMH
Saturday, February 16, 2008
A VERY SHORT RIDE
5 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Today was such a gorgeous sunny day (though a bit chilly) and the forecast is calling for rain for at least part of the next two days. So once I got back to Albany I changed into riding gear and took my ATB over to the Niskayuna Lions Park, figuring that even if the rest of the path was too icy I could always do a couple of laps on the Gerbil Wheel (the 2 mile stretch of path that's plowed in the winter.)
Unfortunately, I got there late in the afternoon, so it got even chillier pretty quickly. I rode out to Lock 7 and wandered around a bit taking pictures, then tried riding a bit on a snow-covered portion of the path... in the end, that proved to be more hard work than fun, so after only a quarter mile or so I headed back to the road and then the plowed path.
On the way back to the park, I spotted a heron crouched next to a section of open water, and amazingly he didn't fly off when I stopped to get some pictures. At one point he started moving and I thought he would either snag some dinner or take off... but in the end he went back to just standing there, contemplating whatever it is herons contemplate on a cold February afternoon.
I briefly considered putting the light on my bike and heading out for a 2nd lap when I got back to the car... but in the end the chill and my tired legs won out, and I packed up and headed home instead.
JMH
5 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Today was such a gorgeous sunny day (though a bit chilly) and the forecast is calling for rain for at least part of the next two days. So once I got back to Albany I changed into riding gear and took my ATB over to the Niskayuna Lions Park, figuring that even if the rest of the path was too icy I could always do a couple of laps on the Gerbil Wheel (the 2 mile stretch of path that's plowed in the winter.)
Unfortunately, I got there late in the afternoon, so it got even chillier pretty quickly. I rode out to Lock 7 and wandered around a bit taking pictures, then tried riding a bit on a snow-covered portion of the path... in the end, that proved to be more hard work than fun, so after only a quarter mile or so I headed back to the road and then the plowed path.
On the way back to the park, I spotted a heron crouched next to a section of open water, and amazingly he didn't fly off when I stopped to get some pictures. At one point he started moving and I thought he would either snag some dinner or take off... but in the end he went back to just standing there, contemplating whatever it is herons contemplate on a cold February afternoon.
I briefly considered putting the light on my bike and heading out for a 2nd lap when I got back to the car... but in the end the chill and my tired legs won out, and I packed up and headed home instead.
JMH
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #7
Camp Saratoga 8k Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 16, 2008
2008 Camp Saratoga snowshoe race results
Today's race at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve shows how much of a difference snow conditions can make from year to year. A year ago this was one of the toughest snowshoe races I'd ever done - fairly deep, slippery snow and very unstable footing left me with a time of 1 hr 37 minutes. This year the snow was shallow, with a crust of ice, and packed down by the groomers to boot - and I ran the course over half an hour faster, in 1 hr 6 minutes. What a difference!
One of the trends for this winter's snowshoe races has been the "brown countryside" syndrome... with one exception, every race I've done has featured a drive through a brown and mostly snowless countryside, leaving me seriously wondering just how there would be a snowshoe race in these snowless lands. And then, in every case, as I got close to the race site, snow would miraculously appear... perhaps the snow gods are trying to make up for the difficulties that lack of white stuff caused during last year's racing season. After all - how else can one explain the fact that two weeks ago Saratoga Spa State Park was the only place with snow in all of Saratoga (and the entire capital district)?
In any case, today's trip wasn't quite that bad... I actually started seeing snow as I drove into Wilton and made my way to the Wilton Wildlife Preserve. Checked in (race HQ was in a different building this year, tricky!) and visited one of the more interesting restrooms I've been in prior to a race (basically a large outhouse building, with a climb up and over several large snowbanks to get to it.) Then I geared up, trying to figure out what clothing would work best (with a goal of staying warm enough but not overheating) before heading up the hill to the starting line. Chatted a bit with some of the other runners that I've gotten to know from numerous WMAC series races, listened to a few words of wisdom from co-RD Jeff Clark, and then with surprisingly little warning and fanfare, off we went.
One of the nice things about this race is that the trails are mostly groomed XC ski trails, about 8-10 feet wide, so there's lots of room to pass and be passed early in the race. Since there was a pretty good crowd that was a real plus! I started out almost all the way at the back, but passed a few folks early on and caught up with Konrad, who was once again without his usual race partner Bill Glendon and would probably pace me like he did at Saratoga Winterfest 2 weeks ago.
The woods were gorgeous - it was a wonderful sunny day, and a lot of the trees and bushes were still coated in ice from earlier in the week. The path took us through the woods and across a couple of fields, with mainly rolling terrain - lots of up and down, but not much that was all that steep. About halfway in we came to a real luxury in a snowshoe race - a water stop! I have to hand it to the wonderful volunteers - manning a water stop has got to be a pretty dull job under ordinary circumstances, so manning one in the middle of February really takes dedication!
After running only 3-4 miles races previously this season, 8k seemed to go one forever... or maybe it was just the uncertainty over whether I could maintain my pace for that distance! Of course, it didn't help that having run the course last year I knew the worst hills were in the last 2-3k. And soon enough, we were at the top of the first steep descent, which many of the runners fly down and which I have to creep down to preserve my knees. That took us to another descent, and the short rolling stretch of singletrack overlooking the pond. Then we were out in the open, rounding the end of the pond and heading for the last killer loop in the fields above the parking lot. Running past the finish line (and knowing you've still got a mile or so to go!) is tough - but at least this year we didn't have folks having a good time in the lodge as we ran by!
The last loop was a bear - first we climbed up to the fields, then headed back down only to make a sharp turn and climb back up the hill we'd just descended! As we went up and down the hills, I gradually gained ground on a pair of runners who'd passed us a couple of miles back and stayed just ahead for the rest of the run. I managed to pass them on the last straightaway, mainly because I didn't want to end up behind them on the final steep descent before the finish, and poured on what little speed I had left to stay in front of them. Went down the last hill as quick as I could without blowing a knee, and did my best imitation of a sprint to the finish, crossing the finish line in 66 min 27 sec. A pretty darn good run, as far as I'm concerned!
Despite his protests during the race that he was barely keeping up with me, Konrad finished a few seconds later, and once again credited me with pulling him along at a faster pace than he would usually run, though I maintain he deserves all the credit for pushing himself to keep up with me. Still, it is nice to hear someone saying that I'm actually helping them run faster!
After I got rid of some of my gear, I walked back out on the path overlooking the pond to shoot some pictures - I'd been concentrating on running when I came through during the race. I briefly considered hiking some other parts of the course, but decided instead to head home and go out for either a ride or a hike somewhere else to take advantage of the gorgeous (OK, chilly but sunny) day.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 26.1 mi / 6 hr 53 min
states visited: MA, NY
Camp Saratoga 8k Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 16, 2008
2008 Camp Saratoga snowshoe race results
Today's race at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve shows how much of a difference snow conditions can make from year to year. A year ago this was one of the toughest snowshoe races I'd ever done - fairly deep, slippery snow and very unstable footing left me with a time of 1 hr 37 minutes. This year the snow was shallow, with a crust of ice, and packed down by the groomers to boot - and I ran the course over half an hour faster, in 1 hr 6 minutes. What a difference!
One of the trends for this winter's snowshoe races has been the "brown countryside" syndrome... with one exception, every race I've done has featured a drive through a brown and mostly snowless countryside, leaving me seriously wondering just how there would be a snowshoe race in these snowless lands. And then, in every case, as I got close to the race site, snow would miraculously appear... perhaps the snow gods are trying to make up for the difficulties that lack of white stuff caused during last year's racing season. After all - how else can one explain the fact that two weeks ago Saratoga Spa State Park was the only place with snow in all of Saratoga (and the entire capital district)?
In any case, today's trip wasn't quite that bad... I actually started seeing snow as I drove into Wilton and made my way to the Wilton Wildlife Preserve. Checked in (race HQ was in a different building this year, tricky!) and visited one of the more interesting restrooms I've been in prior to a race (basically a large outhouse building, with a climb up and over several large snowbanks to get to it.) Then I geared up, trying to figure out what clothing would work best (with a goal of staying warm enough but not overheating) before heading up the hill to the starting line. Chatted a bit with some of the other runners that I've gotten to know from numerous WMAC series races, listened to a few words of wisdom from co-RD Jeff Clark, and then with surprisingly little warning and fanfare, off we went.
One of the nice things about this race is that the trails are mostly groomed XC ski trails, about 8-10 feet wide, so there's lots of room to pass and be passed early in the race. Since there was a pretty good crowd that was a real plus! I started out almost all the way at the back, but passed a few folks early on and caught up with Konrad, who was once again without his usual race partner Bill Glendon and would probably pace me like he did at Saratoga Winterfest 2 weeks ago.
The woods were gorgeous - it was a wonderful sunny day, and a lot of the trees and bushes were still coated in ice from earlier in the week. The path took us through the woods and across a couple of fields, with mainly rolling terrain - lots of up and down, but not much that was all that steep. About halfway in we came to a real luxury in a snowshoe race - a water stop! I have to hand it to the wonderful volunteers - manning a water stop has got to be a pretty dull job under ordinary circumstances, so manning one in the middle of February really takes dedication!
After running only 3-4 miles races previously this season, 8k seemed to go one forever... or maybe it was just the uncertainty over whether I could maintain my pace for that distance! Of course, it didn't help that having run the course last year I knew the worst hills were in the last 2-3k. And soon enough, we were at the top of the first steep descent, which many of the runners fly down and which I have to creep down to preserve my knees. That took us to another descent, and the short rolling stretch of singletrack overlooking the pond. Then we were out in the open, rounding the end of the pond and heading for the last killer loop in the fields above the parking lot. Running past the finish line (and knowing you've still got a mile or so to go!) is tough - but at least this year we didn't have folks having a good time in the lodge as we ran by!
The last loop was a bear - first we climbed up to the fields, then headed back down only to make a sharp turn and climb back up the hill we'd just descended! As we went up and down the hills, I gradually gained ground on a pair of runners who'd passed us a couple of miles back and stayed just ahead for the rest of the run. I managed to pass them on the last straightaway, mainly because I didn't want to end up behind them on the final steep descent before the finish, and poured on what little speed I had left to stay in front of them. Went down the last hill as quick as I could without blowing a knee, and did my best imitation of a sprint to the finish, crossing the finish line in 66 min 27 sec. A pretty darn good run, as far as I'm concerned!
Despite his protests during the race that he was barely keeping up with me, Konrad finished a few seconds later, and once again credited me with pulling him along at a faster pace than he would usually run, though I maintain he deserves all the credit for pushing himself to keep up with me. Still, it is nice to hear someone saying that I'm actually helping them run faster!
After I got rid of some of my gear, I walked back out on the path overlooking the pond to shoot some pictures - I'd been concentrating on running when I came through during the race. I briefly considered hiking some other parts of the course, but decided instead to head home and go out for either a ride or a hike somewhere else to take advantage of the gorgeous (OK, chilly but sunny) day.
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 26.1 mi / 6 hr 53 min
states visited: MA, NY
Yes, I'm Nuts (Part 3)
Saturday, February 16, 2007
Next weekend there are three snowshoe races on the calendar: Greylock on Saturday morning (where I'll be running the killer 8 mile course) and Hallockville Pond on Sunday (which I'm not sure I'll be running.) And a new race, the Kingman Farm Moonlight 5k, in Madbury, NH, on Saturday evening.
I've looked at the info for the Kingman Farm race several times, and considered doing it despite the distance (it's roughly 4 1/2 hours from Albany.) But it always came back to the concept of driving all that way for a 5k... it just doesn't make sense.
Which, of course, is precisely why I registered for the race this morning.
I may reconsider and just write off the registration fee (it was fairly inexpensive) especially if I'm feeling fried after trudging around the slopes of Greylock. But right now it's quite possible that I'll spend somewhere between 3 and 4 hours at Greylock Saturday morning and then head for 3 1/2 hours east to run in New Hampshire.
Nuts, nuts, nuts!
JMH
Saturday, February 16, 2007
Next weekend there are three snowshoe races on the calendar: Greylock on Saturday morning (where I'll be running the killer 8 mile course) and Hallockville Pond on Sunday (which I'm not sure I'll be running.) And a new race, the Kingman Farm Moonlight 5k, in Madbury, NH, on Saturday evening.
I've looked at the info for the Kingman Farm race several times, and considered doing it despite the distance (it's roughly 4 1/2 hours from Albany.) But it always came back to the concept of driving all that way for a 5k... it just doesn't make sense.
Which, of course, is precisely why I registered for the race this morning.
I may reconsider and just write off the registration fee (it was fairly inexpensive) especially if I'm feeling fried after trudging around the slopes of Greylock. But right now it's quite possible that I'll spend somewhere between 3 and 4 hours at Greylock Saturday morning and then head for 3 1/2 hours east to run in New Hampshire.
Nuts, nuts, nuts!
JMH
Friday, February 15, 2008
LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!
Viewing the International Space Station
Friday, February 15, 2008
photo courtesy of NASA
OK, I can only wish I could see a view of the ISS like this! Instead, I turned on the local news tonight and was surprised to hear that the ISS would be passing directly overhead between 6:15 and 6:22 tonight. So at 6:18 I headed out to the front sidewalk, not expecting to see much with all the lights around and the half moon shining bright and high in the sky.
Happily, I was wrong, and I spent around a minute or so watching a bright point of light zip across the sky... with an orbital period of a little over 91 minutes, it's not surprise that it passed overhead in a little over a minute. It's an incredible thought that the point of light I saw is actually between 300 and 350 km away, moving at almost 28000 km/hr... and that there are people inside going about their business of maintaining the station and performing scientific experiments. Fantastic!
JMH
Viewing the International Space Station
Friday, February 15, 2008
photo courtesy of NASA
OK, I can only wish I could see a view of the ISS like this! Instead, I turned on the local news tonight and was surprised to hear that the ISS would be passing directly overhead between 6:15 and 6:22 tonight. So at 6:18 I headed out to the front sidewalk, not expecting to see much with all the lights around and the half moon shining bright and high in the sky.
Happily, I was wrong, and I spent around a minute or so watching a bright point of light zip across the sky... with an orbital period of a little over 91 minutes, it's not surprise that it passed overhead in a little over a minute. It's an incredible thought that the point of light I saw is actually between 300 and 350 km away, moving at almost 28000 km/hr... and that there are people inside going about their business of maintaining the station and performing scientific experiments. Fantastic!
JMH
Thursday, February 14, 2008
CRUNCH... CRUNCH... CRUNCH...
5.5 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I managed to get over to the Pine Bush before the sun set, so I got some nice pictures of trees and bushes coated with ice, and also some nice shots of the sunset from Blueberry Hill West.
It was definitely a good evening for a run... the snow wasn't too deep (maybe two inches) and coated with a layer of ice, so it was noisy running... hence the "crunch... crunch... crunch..." because that's what I heard the whole time I was out there! Traction was pretty good in unbroken snow, but a little slippery when I was running on my own or other folks tracks. So it was definitely a decent workout!
In addition to running the main trail out and back, I also took the loop into the woods, which turned out to be very cool - other than some animals, I was the first one to be out there. Broke out my headlamp about halfway through the loop, then realized when I got back on the main trail that it was a lovely moonlit night... but kept using the headlamp because I didn't want to risk a fall.
All in all, a fun run on a great night, and not too bad considering all the time I've spent off my feet over the last week and a half.
Word also came down tonight that this weekend's snowshoe double-header (5 miles at Camp Saratoga in Wilton on Saturday, and 6 miles in the Dubuque State Forest in Hawley on Sunday) is looking good... I had originally planned to skip Sunday's race and go out to Rochester, but since their supposed to get lousy weather Sunday and Monday Ann has encouraged me to stay home. So it looks like I'll get 10-11 miles of snowshoeing in this weekend!
JMH
5.5 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I managed to get over to the Pine Bush before the sun set, so I got some nice pictures of trees and bushes coated with ice, and also some nice shots of the sunset from Blueberry Hill West.
It was definitely a good evening for a run... the snow wasn't too deep (maybe two inches) and coated with a layer of ice, so it was noisy running... hence the "crunch... crunch... crunch..." because that's what I heard the whole time I was out there! Traction was pretty good in unbroken snow, but a little slippery when I was running on my own or other folks tracks. So it was definitely a decent workout!
In addition to running the main trail out and back, I also took the loop into the woods, which turned out to be very cool - other than some animals, I was the first one to be out there. Broke out my headlamp about halfway through the loop, then realized when I got back on the main trail that it was a lovely moonlit night... but kept using the headlamp because I didn't want to risk a fall.
All in all, a fun run on a great night, and not too bad considering all the time I've spent off my feet over the last week and a half.
Word also came down tonight that this weekend's snowshoe double-header (5 miles at Camp Saratoga in Wilton on Saturday, and 6 miles in the Dubuque State Forest in Hawley on Sunday) is looking good... I had originally planned to skip Sunday's race and go out to Rochester, but since their supposed to get lousy weather Sunday and Monday Ann has encouraged me to stay home. So it looks like I'll get 10-11 miles of snowshoeing in this weekend!
JMH
The Himalayan Project
Thursday, February 14, 2008
No, I'm not suddenly making plans to go snowshoeing or running in the Himalayas (though admittedly, that could be very cool.) Instead, the Himalayan Project is a program established by Sally Hunsdorfer, a 1969 graduate of the Albany Academy for Girls, with the goal of establishing schools and training teachers in Nepal and collecting and distributing fleece jackets to the people there.
A few weeks ago Sally gave a presentation to the kids about the Himalayan Project... she spent a while talking about travelling and meeting people in Nepal and showed some absolutely beautiful pictures of both the people and the countryside. After that presentation we decided to collect fleece jackets for hier next trip, and I volunteered to act as faculty coordinator for the boys' side of the street.
Sadly, the boys didn't come up with many jackets... but five of my old fleeces that I rarely if ever use anymore will soon be on their way to Nepal. It's kind of a cool thought to know that I will be helping someone halfway around the world, simply by giving up a few jackets that have been taking up space in my closets.
JMH
Thursday, February 14, 2008
No, I'm not suddenly making plans to go snowshoeing or running in the Himalayas (though admittedly, that could be very cool.) Instead, the Himalayan Project is a program established by Sally Hunsdorfer, a 1969 graduate of the Albany Academy for Girls, with the goal of establishing schools and training teachers in Nepal and collecting and distributing fleece jackets to the people there.
A few weeks ago Sally gave a presentation to the kids about the Himalayan Project... she spent a while talking about travelling and meeting people in Nepal and showed some absolutely beautiful pictures of both the people and the countryside. After that presentation we decided to collect fleece jackets for hier next trip, and I volunteered to act as faculty coordinator for the boys' side of the street.
Sadly, the boys didn't come up with many jackets... but five of my old fleeces that I rarely if ever use anymore will soon be on their way to Nepal. It's kind of a cool thought to know that I will be helping someone halfway around the world, simply by giving up a few jackets that have been taking up space in my closets.
JMH
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
SNOW FALLING IN THE WOODS
4.2 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
After over a week of first being sick and then not wanting to freeze my backside off, I finally laced up my running shoes and hit the trails again. Naturally, my first time back on the trails coincided with a snowstorm! Fortunately, my screw shoes were up to the task, at least until the snow starting getting a little bit deeper, and by then I was almost done running.
I definitely felt the effects of the time off... combined with the increasingly difficult footing as more snow fell, tonight's run started off feeling pretty good and ended up feeling like work!
Right now the forecast is calling for rain tomorrow, so even if I end up with a day off I'll probably stay indoors. But maybe it will let up early enough that I can get out for another short run in the evening.
JMH
4.2 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
After over a week of first being sick and then not wanting to freeze my backside off, I finally laced up my running shoes and hit the trails again. Naturally, my first time back on the trails coincided with a snowstorm! Fortunately, my screw shoes were up to the task, at least until the snow starting getting a little bit deeper, and by then I was almost done running.
I definitely felt the effects of the time off... combined with the increasingly difficult footing as more snow fell, tonight's run started off feeling pretty good and ended up feeling like work!
Right now the forecast is calling for rain tomorrow, so even if I end up with a day off I'll probably stay indoors. But maybe it will let up early enough that I can get out for another short run in the evening.
JMH
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Mixed Blessings
Sunday, February 10, 2008
For the past week or so every day I've been checking the registered runners list for the Grand Island Trail Marathon in Michigan at the end of July, but today is the first day it's been updated since I sent my application in. At that point there were 56 spaces left - the race seems to be filling in record time this year.
My first reaction to seeing my name on the list was "Wow, I'm in."
My second reaction was "Oh, crap. I'm in." Because I know I'm nowhere near ready to run that race (good thing it's 5 1/2 months away, eh?) and this one will take some planning, because not only will I be running the race but I'm also looking to visit some parks and trails out that way... it's a long trip and I have no idea when I will ever get back to Michigan's Upper Penninsula, so I want to experience as much of its scenic beauty as I can before I destroy my legs in the marathon!
If all goes well, I'll end up running three marathons this year - Nipmuck (which I hope to finish a bit more strongly than my death march to the finish last year), Grand Island, and Mount Desert Island in Maine in October. I've got a lot of work to do!
JMH
Sunday, February 10, 2008
For the past week or so every day I've been checking the registered runners list for the Grand Island Trail Marathon in Michigan at the end of July, but today is the first day it's been updated since I sent my application in. At that point there were 56 spaces left - the race seems to be filling in record time this year.
My first reaction to seeing my name on the list was "Wow, I'm in."
My second reaction was "Oh, crap. I'm in." Because I know I'm nowhere near ready to run that race (good thing it's 5 1/2 months away, eh?) and this one will take some planning, because not only will I be running the race but I'm also looking to visit some parks and trails out that way... it's a long trip and I have no idea when I will ever get back to Michigan's Upper Penninsula, so I want to experience as much of its scenic beauty as I can before I destroy my legs in the marathon!
If all goes well, I'll end up running three marathons this year - Nipmuck (which I hope to finish a bit more strongly than my death march to the finish last year), Grand Island, and Mount Desert Island in Maine in October. I've got a lot of work to do!
JMH
A Short Hike at the Greece Canal Park
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The plan today was to get out for a run while Ann went to the fire station and worked out for a bit... but while the cold air was manageable, the wind was incredible, and the windchill was absolutely bitter. So I wimped out and convinced Ann to go for a short walk instead, and we went out to the Greece Canal Park because it was (1) nearby, (2) wooded (less exposure to the wind) and (3) relatively flat (Ann's knees don't deal well with hills.)
We ended up having a nice if somewhat cold walk through the snowy woods. The path had a light dusting of snow with hard packed snow and ice underneath... a good walking surface. It was bright and sunny, and the cold meant that we had the woods pretty much to ourselves. Along the edges of some of the fields we got to see some nifty swirling, blowing snow, and I tried to get a picture of the snow-vortices in the field we crossed after leaving the woods... it was cooler to see in person, but the picture I took at least gives an idea of what it was like.
The walk was a good idea, but tomorrow evening I run - regardless of the weather!
JMH
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The plan today was to get out for a run while Ann went to the fire station and worked out for a bit... but while the cold air was manageable, the wind was incredible, and the windchill was absolutely bitter. So I wimped out and convinced Ann to go for a short walk instead, and we went out to the Greece Canal Park because it was (1) nearby, (2) wooded (less exposure to the wind) and (3) relatively flat (Ann's knees don't deal well with hills.)
We ended up having a nice if somewhat cold walk through the snowy woods. The path had a light dusting of snow with hard packed snow and ice underneath... a good walking surface. It was bright and sunny, and the cold meant that we had the woods pretty much to ourselves. Along the edges of some of the fields we got to see some nifty swirling, blowing snow, and I tried to get a picture of the snow-vortices in the field we crossed after leaving the woods... it was cooler to see in person, but the picture I took at least gives an idea of what it was like.
The walk was a good idea, but tomorrow evening I run - regardless of the weather!
JMH
A Persistent Squirrel
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The cold, extremely windy weather seemed to have the birds keeping under cover today... we only spotted a few juncos and bluejays at the feeder. But this furry fellow showed up and did his best to get a free meal... despite Ann and I chasing him away four times.
It was actually quite impressive watching him hang from a branch by his hind legs while he grabbed seeds from the feeder - at one point he was hanging on by one back foot!
I guess we should be happy that it's only one squirrel, and not an entire swarm of them!
JMH
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The cold, extremely windy weather seemed to have the birds keeping under cover today... we only spotted a few juncos and bluejays at the feeder. But this furry fellow showed up and did his best to get a free meal... despite Ann and I chasing him away four times.
It was actually quite impressive watching him hang from a branch by his hind legs while he grabbed seeds from the feeder - at one point he was hanging on by one back foot!
I guess we should be happy that it's only one squirrel, and not an entire swarm of them!
JMH
Saturday, February 09, 2008
A Brief Walk Outdoors... Sort Of.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Last night ended up being a bust for getting outside... too much to do getting ready to leave town for the weekend. Driving to Utica and spending the early afternoon in a staff meeting was frustrating on what I considered to be a fairly nice day (not too cold and even snowing lightly at times!) After the meeting Ann and I headed to Rochester... in the rain. So much for my plans to stop somewhere and get outside for a few minutes on the way.
We ended up having dinner at the Fairport Village Inn... a nice little restaurant on Main Street in Fairport, not far from where the old Rochester karate school used to be. I was a bit surprised to see that the town still had lots of holiday lights up... so after dinner I parked the car and while Ann waited (she had no interest in walking around in the cold just to see some lights) I wandered around for a few minutes and snapped some pictures. Not what I would have preferred, but better than nothing, I guess.
JMH
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Last night ended up being a bust for getting outside... too much to do getting ready to leave town for the weekend. Driving to Utica and spending the early afternoon in a staff meeting was frustrating on what I considered to be a fairly nice day (not too cold and even snowing lightly at times!) After the meeting Ann and I headed to Rochester... in the rain. So much for my plans to stop somewhere and get outside for a few minutes on the way.
We ended up having dinner at the Fairport Village Inn... a nice little restaurant on Main Street in Fairport, not far from where the old Rochester karate school used to be. I was a bit surprised to see that the town still had lots of holiday lights up... so after dinner I parked the car and while Ann waited (she had no interest in walking around in the cold just to see some lights) I wandered around for a few minutes and snapped some pictures. Not what I would have preferred, but better than nothing, I guess.
JMH
Thursday, February 07, 2008
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman, edited by Ralph Leighton
I recently picked up copies of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! as prizes for two of my students (the day before our winter break we had a paper airplane competition - the student from each class whose plane went the greatest distance from my window won) and spent a few minutes looking through this more recent edition (which includes both Surely You're Joking... and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, Feyman's 2nd book of anecdotes.) Since my paperback copies are slowly but surely falling to pieces, I jumped at a chance to use one of my Borders Rewards coupons to knock a hefty 30% off the cover price of this wonderful hardcover collection... and found myself inexorably drawn into re-reading the stories that I first read over 20 years ago, when the books were first published back in the 1980's.
For those who don't know, Richard Feynman was probably the greatest theoretical physicist of the 2nd half of the 20th century. He participated in developing the 1st atomic bomb during the World War II and later made important contributions to superfluidity, particle physics, and quantum electrodynamics. He and two colleagues won a Nobel Prize in 1965 for their work on QED. He came to the public's attention in the 1980's through his participation in the Presidential Commission investigating the Challenger disaster; Feynman was the one to figure out that low temperatures drastically reduced the elasticity of vital O-rings in the rocket engines and publicly demonstrated the fact by dipping a sample of the material in a glass of ice water at a press conference. But Feynman was more than just a great physicist - he was a real character. He had interest in a wide variety of topics and dabbled in everything from art to drumming to juggling and more. In 1985 his semi-autobiographical book of anecdotes, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! made the NY Times Bestseller List for 15 weeks... and it was through this book of hilarious stories that I first was introduced to the free-spirited Feynman.
In 1985 I was in my sophomore year of college, and had spent much of my time up to that point limiting my roamings to the immediate Vassar College campus... of course, there were lots of places there to roam, so that wasn't too difficult! But at some point during my sophomore year I started to get my bearings in the wider Poughkeepsie community, and in addition to short trips off campus to the local book store (which had a large selection of science fiction and fantasy books, because the owner was a fan) and Iron Vic's Comics, I started making longer distance trips out to the local shopping centers. It seemed like quite a hike at the time, but it was really only a mile and a quarter or so... about half an hour one way. In later years I brought a bike down to Vassar and biked to both the shopping centers and to a much more distant used bookstore, almost 4 miles away... I remember several enjoyable rides on sunny fall and spring days to go buy used books. Anyway, my main reason for hiking out to the shopping centers was a store called Caldors. A long-deceased precursor to Wal-mart and Target, Caldor was in most ways a typical department store of the time... except it had a huge book department with an incredible selection of paperback and discount hardcover science fiction and fantasy. Once I discovered that, every month or so I would hike out there and buy some new books, and typically at the end of the school year I would celebrate by purchasing something more expensive, like a hardcover or an entire paperback series. (What can I say... I'm a major book geek.)
It was at Caldor that I first discovered Calvin & Hobbes, in the first collected edition of the newspaper strips (one of my friends was with me and commented on what a great comic strip it was, and she was so right!) And it was also at Caldor that I picked up my first copy of Surely You're Joking... , sometime in early 1996 after it was released in massmarket paperback. I was immediately drawn into the crazy and often irreverent world of Feynman and his whacky stories. Stories which I've repeated often in these years that followed, and stories which I've shared yearly with some of my top students by choosing Surely You're Joking... as our annual physics book award. Admittedly it's not much of a physics book - but it's a fantastic book for showing that not only can science be fun (if nothing else, Feynman made sure he had fun with what he did for a living) but also that scientists are real people who can definitely be interesting for outside of what they do for a living... I'll never be the character that Feynman was, but I'd like to think I'm definitely a character in my own right! I suppose I'm also drawn to Feynman's stories because he was an incredible teacher with a gift for explaining things in simple language, and I like to think I do a bit of that myself.
So I suppose, in the end, I've had a wonderful time re-reading these stories both because "hearing" Feynman relate some of his outrageous escapades is just so much fun, and because they bring back memories of some really fun times when I was a bit younger than I am now and things at least seemed a lot simpler (especially in hindsight!) I wouldn't go back to those days for all the money in the world, but it's definitely fun to revisit them in my thoughts.
JMH
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman, edited by Ralph Leighton
I recently picked up copies of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! as prizes for two of my students (the day before our winter break we had a paper airplane competition - the student from each class whose plane went the greatest distance from my window won) and spent a few minutes looking through this more recent edition (which includes both Surely You're Joking... and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, Feyman's 2nd book of anecdotes.) Since my paperback copies are slowly but surely falling to pieces, I jumped at a chance to use one of my Borders Rewards coupons to knock a hefty 30% off the cover price of this wonderful hardcover collection... and found myself inexorably drawn into re-reading the stories that I first read over 20 years ago, when the books were first published back in the 1980's.
For those who don't know, Richard Feynman was probably the greatest theoretical physicist of the 2nd half of the 20th century. He participated in developing the 1st atomic bomb during the World War II and later made important contributions to superfluidity, particle physics, and quantum electrodynamics. He and two colleagues won a Nobel Prize in 1965 for their work on QED. He came to the public's attention in the 1980's through his participation in the Presidential Commission investigating the Challenger disaster; Feynman was the one to figure out that low temperatures drastically reduced the elasticity of vital O-rings in the rocket engines and publicly demonstrated the fact by dipping a sample of the material in a glass of ice water at a press conference. But Feynman was more than just a great physicist - he was a real character. He had interest in a wide variety of topics and dabbled in everything from art to drumming to juggling and more. In 1985 his semi-autobiographical book of anecdotes, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! made the NY Times Bestseller List for 15 weeks... and it was through this book of hilarious stories that I first was introduced to the free-spirited Feynman.
In 1985 I was in my sophomore year of college, and had spent much of my time up to that point limiting my roamings to the immediate Vassar College campus... of course, there were lots of places there to roam, so that wasn't too difficult! But at some point during my sophomore year I started to get my bearings in the wider Poughkeepsie community, and in addition to short trips off campus to the local book store (which had a large selection of science fiction and fantasy books, because the owner was a fan) and Iron Vic's Comics, I started making longer distance trips out to the local shopping centers. It seemed like quite a hike at the time, but it was really only a mile and a quarter or so... about half an hour one way. In later years I brought a bike down to Vassar and biked to both the shopping centers and to a much more distant used bookstore, almost 4 miles away... I remember several enjoyable rides on sunny fall and spring days to go buy used books. Anyway, my main reason for hiking out to the shopping centers was a store called Caldors. A long-deceased precursor to Wal-mart and Target, Caldor was in most ways a typical department store of the time... except it had a huge book department with an incredible selection of paperback and discount hardcover science fiction and fantasy. Once I discovered that, every month or so I would hike out there and buy some new books, and typically at the end of the school year I would celebrate by purchasing something more expensive, like a hardcover or an entire paperback series. (What can I say... I'm a major book geek.)
It was at Caldor that I first discovered Calvin & Hobbes, in the first collected edition of the newspaper strips (one of my friends was with me and commented on what a great comic strip it was, and she was so right!) And it was also at Caldor that I picked up my first copy of Surely You're Joking... , sometime in early 1996 after it was released in massmarket paperback. I was immediately drawn into the crazy and often irreverent world of Feynman and his whacky stories. Stories which I've repeated often in these years that followed, and stories which I've shared yearly with some of my top students by choosing Surely You're Joking... as our annual physics book award. Admittedly it's not much of a physics book - but it's a fantastic book for showing that not only can science be fun (if nothing else, Feynman made sure he had fun with what he did for a living) but also that scientists are real people who can definitely be interesting for outside of what they do for a living... I'll never be the character that Feynman was, but I'd like to think I'm definitely a character in my own right! I suppose I'm also drawn to Feynman's stories because he was an incredible teacher with a gift for explaining things in simple language, and I like to think I do a bit of that myself.
So I suppose, in the end, I've had a wonderful time re-reading these stories both because "hearing" Feynman relate some of his outrageous escapades is just so much fun, and because they bring back memories of some really fun times when I was a bit younger than I am now and things at least seemed a lot simpler (especially in hindsight!) I wouldn't go back to those days for all the money in the world, but it's definitely fun to revisit them in my thoughts.
JMH
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Dang Cold
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
My original plan was to go for runs both last night and tonight... then I woke up Monday morning feeling like crud and knew that might have to change.
Yesterday I was feeling quite a bit better, so I thought tonight might still be a go... but after spending the day trying to cough up my lungs, I decided running in the rain would qualify as a Really Dumb Thing To Do.
All I can hope is that I kick this thing enough to put in a few miles on Friday... and maybe I can manage a few miles on Sunday without getting into too much hot water with Ann.
Aargh.
JMH
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
My original plan was to go for runs both last night and tonight... then I woke up Monday morning feeling like crud and knew that might have to change.
Yesterday I was feeling quite a bit better, so I thought tonight might still be a go... but after spending the day trying to cough up my lungs, I decided running in the rain would qualify as a Really Dumb Thing To Do.
All I can hope is that I kick this thing enough to put in a few miles on Friday... and maybe I can manage a few miles on Sunday without getting into too much hot water with Ann.
Aargh.
JMH
Monday, February 04, 2008
RUNNING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN US of A -
2008 NationRun
Monday, February 4, 2008
NationRun website
No doubt this is old news to just about anyone who might read my ramblings (it's gotten a lot of coverage from running publications in the last week) but I just found out today about the 2008 NationRun - three young fellas from New York who, along with rider, departed from coastal Georgia on Friday, Feb. 1 with the intention of running across the southern US to San Diego while pushing most of their equipment in two baby joggers. Their goal is to average about 25 miles a day and reach San Diego around June 1.
Apparently these guys were inspired by two runners who ran from coastal NJ to coastal Oregon back in 2003 (that amazing feat is documented at Run the USA.) In the midst of their planning their own cross-continental run, they decided to use it as a fundraiser for a scholarship in memory of a cousin of one of the team who was killed in a car accident while home on leave from Iraq. So these guys not only have an amazing adventure ahead of them, they also have a really good cause to champion.
All I have to say is: wow. And good running, guys.
JMH
P.S. I thought it was hilarious that this was one of the photos they posted from their first day! You can bet that if I ever see one of these signs a photo of it will make its way into my blog header!
photo courtesy of the NationRun.com webshots album
2008 NationRun
Monday, February 4, 2008
NationRun website
No doubt this is old news to just about anyone who might read my ramblings (it's gotten a lot of coverage from running publications in the last week) but I just found out today about the 2008 NationRun - three young fellas from New York who, along with rider, departed from coastal Georgia on Friday, Feb. 1 with the intention of running across the southern US to San Diego while pushing most of their equipment in two baby joggers. Their goal is to average about 25 miles a day and reach San Diego around June 1.
Apparently these guys were inspired by two runners who ran from coastal NJ to coastal Oregon back in 2003 (that amazing feat is documented at Run the USA.) In the midst of their planning their own cross-continental run, they decided to use it as a fundraiser for a scholarship in memory of a cousin of one of the team who was killed in a car accident while home on leave from Iraq. So these guys not only have an amazing adventure ahead of them, they also have a really good cause to champion.
All I have to say is: wow. And good running, guys.
JMH
P.S. I thought it was hilarious that this was one of the photos they posted from their first day! You can bet that if I ever see one of these signs a photo of it will make its way into my blog header!
photo courtesy of the NationRun.com webshots album
Sunday, February 03, 2008
SARATOGA SNOWSHOE RERUN
3.1 Mile Snowshoe Run at Saratoga Spa State Park
Sunday, February 3, 2008
info about Saratoga Spa State Park
One of the things that definitely looms over me these days is the fact that the Pittsfield Snowshoe Half Marathon is a little over a month away and the longest race/snowshoe run I've done so far this season has only been 4 miles. So after chatting for a bit with Konrad and Rich after the race, I headed to my car for a dry shirt and my camera and set out to run the course again, albeit at a slower pace and possibly with a few detours to get some pictures.
Along the way I took passed by the first icy downhill on the unplowed park road and instead followed a trail through the woods that we took 2 years ago when there was a trail race instead of a snowshoe race. That had the advantage of taking me past the geyser on Geyser Brook - a mineral spring that shoots a stream of water up into the air, surrounded by a small island formed from the deposits of minerals in the waterspout.
I also detoured occasionally up on the ridge, to get pictures down into the gullies and off into the woods.
But for the most part I followed the same course I'd run earlier... doing more of a snowshoe shuffle than a snowshoe run.
I suspect I'll be feeling it for a day or two (or more)... but it was good to get in a longer snowshoe run. And the fact that I'm not totally fried tells me there's hope I'll survive all 13 miles in early March! At least if I keep getting my backside out the door to run...
JMH
3.1 Mile Snowshoe Run at Saratoga Spa State Park
Sunday, February 3, 2008
info about Saratoga Spa State Park
One of the things that definitely looms over me these days is the fact that the Pittsfield Snowshoe Half Marathon is a little over a month away and the longest race/snowshoe run I've done so far this season has only been 4 miles. So after chatting for a bit with Konrad and Rich after the race, I headed to my car for a dry shirt and my camera and set out to run the course again, albeit at a slower pace and possibly with a few detours to get some pictures.
Along the way I took passed by the first icy downhill on the unplowed park road and instead followed a trail through the woods that we took 2 years ago when there was a trail race instead of a snowshoe race. That had the advantage of taking me past the geyser on Geyser Brook - a mineral spring that shoots a stream of water up into the air, surrounded by a small island formed from the deposits of minerals in the waterspout.
I also detoured occasionally up on the ridge, to get pictures down into the gullies and off into the woods.
But for the most part I followed the same course I'd run earlier... doing more of a snowshoe shuffle than a snowshoe run.
I suspect I'll be feeling it for a day or two (or more)... but it was good to get in a longer snowshoe run. And the fact that I'm not totally fried tells me there's hope I'll survive all 13 miles in early March! At least if I keep getting my backside out the door to run...
JMH
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #6
Saratoga Winterfest 5k Snowshoe Race
Sunday, February 3, 2008
2008 Saratoga Winterfest snowshoe race results
Word came down yesterday that Saratoga was a go- apparently they even have enough snow for it to be a snowshoe race! So this morning found me making the relatively short drive north to Saratoga Spa State Park, wondering the whole way how they could possibly have enough snow when everywhere else was grey and brown. But however it happened, when I pulled into the park I found myself surrounded by the wintery white stuff... as well as lots of ice.
Having spent the entire ride up wondering if I'd correctly recalled the 11 AM start (or if I'd be arriving right as the race started.) That's what I get for not double-checking the start time this morning. Needless to say, I was very happy to see people warming up as I pulled into the parking lot at 10:30! Checked in, picked up my T-shirt (same design, but a new color this year! Hurray!) and goodies, and then headed back to the car to gear up. Even though I was worried I'd be a bit chilly, I decided to do some things different for this race - long-sleeves under my fleece vest, no water bottle (surely I could survive three miles without it) and no camera - I wanted to concentrate on doing the best I could today.
Over at the start time I ran into Konrad and we chatted for a while. Turns out his usual racing partner, Bill, hadn't come to today's event, so he was going to try to stay on my tail in hopes of maintaining an even pace. I let him know I was planning to take it easy so that I could do another loop of the course afterwards (Smart Turtle talking) and we remininsced about the torture of Northfield yesterday. Then it was time for a few words from co-RD Jeff Clark, and off we went.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
The first stretch around the perimeter of the quad always seems incredibly long to me, probably because it is a good haul, and because I always find sprints tough to start - there just isn't time and distance to get a good warm-up before the race is over! So we started out slow and I picked up the pace a bit as it went along.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
The first downhill was scary - solid ice coating the road with a very thin layer of snow. After that we had a nice stretch through the picnic areas before the first climb, up the hill to the pool. Not a long climb, especially compared to Curly's and Northfield, but tough all the same, especially so early in the run. The front runners passed us on their way down the hill - Josh Merlis from the Albany Running Exchange had the lead, with Bob Dion of Dion Snowshoes in 4th place and Ed Alibozek, the overall organizer of the WMAC Snowshoe Series, in 5th.
At the top of the hill I struggled to pick up the pace, but it was tough after that climb. We ran a loop around the pool and then headed back down the hill - that felt pretty good, though after a while even running downhill on snowshoes feels like work! Then we had a long stretch along the brook, before heading over a footbridge and across another picnic area to a new section of trail that had been chosen to provide better snow coverage for this year's course. Before the race Jeff referred to it as "the quadbuster" and that was pretty accurate! While the previous climb to the top of the ridge had always been a challenge because it was relatively long, this one was very steep, and the first part was mostly ice. Getting up that hill was darn tough!
After that we had an "easy" run through the woods on top of the ridge, winding through the trees... might have been very scenic, if I hadn't been concentrating on breathing and maintaining some reasonable speed forward. I ended up with a very loud runner right behind me for much of that stretch - not that I can criticize, since I usually sound like Darth Vader with asthma at one of these things. But he distinguished himself when we passed a volunteer and he got really ticked off that she didn't know how far it was to the finish... at which point I decided that no matter what, I wanted to beat this guy there. He actually passed me a short time later, so I tucked in behind him and hoped I'd have enough juice left to pass him in the final stretch.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
We ended up passing the ever-incredible Rich Busa about a quarter mile from the finish, and then I passed the somewhat rude fellow and pushed as much as I could to maintain a lead on him. No question that I was seriously sucking wind on that final stretch down through the tall pines.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
I was a little disappointed to hear that my time was 38:40 - that was essentially the same time as last year, and I thought I'd run better today. Rich crossed the line right after me, and then the somewhat rude fellow (who did stop, shake my hand, and compliment me on a good run.) A minute or so later Konrad appeared... turns out he'd dropped back just after the top of the hill, but he was still happy as could be because that was the fastest he'd ever run a snowshoe race and he still felt pretty good! So today was a first for me - I actually helped another runner go faster than normal!
I spent a while chatting with Konrad and Rich, while I tried to decide if I was going to go out for another loop. My legs were definitely feeling tired, because (no great surprise) once the start whistle blew, Dumb Turtle whacked Smart Turtle over the head and stuffed him in a mental closet, then proceeded to run the whole thing at something resembling all out. But eventually I convinced myself that I really did need to get in another 3 miles, so I said my good-byes and headed back to the car for a dry shirt, my camera, and my water bottle. And then it was time for a much slower rerun of the course...
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 21.1 mi / 5 hr 47 min
states visited: MA,NY
Saratoga Winterfest 5k Snowshoe Race
Sunday, February 3, 2008
2008 Saratoga Winterfest snowshoe race results
Word came down yesterday that Saratoga was a go- apparently they even have enough snow for it to be a snowshoe race! So this morning found me making the relatively short drive north to Saratoga Spa State Park, wondering the whole way how they could possibly have enough snow when everywhere else was grey and brown. But however it happened, when I pulled into the park I found myself surrounded by the wintery white stuff... as well as lots of ice.
Having spent the entire ride up wondering if I'd correctly recalled the 11 AM start (or if I'd be arriving right as the race started.) That's what I get for not double-checking the start time this morning. Needless to say, I was very happy to see people warming up as I pulled into the parking lot at 10:30! Checked in, picked up my T-shirt (same design, but a new color this year! Hurray!) and goodies, and then headed back to the car to gear up. Even though I was worried I'd be a bit chilly, I decided to do some things different for this race - long-sleeves under my fleece vest, no water bottle (surely I could survive three miles without it) and no camera - I wanted to concentrate on doing the best I could today.
Over at the start time I ran into Konrad and we chatted for a while. Turns out his usual racing partner, Bill, hadn't come to today's event, so he was going to try to stay on my tail in hopes of maintaining an even pace. I let him know I was planning to take it easy so that I could do another loop of the course afterwards (Smart Turtle talking) and we remininsced about the torture of Northfield yesterday. Then it was time for a few words from co-RD Jeff Clark, and off we went.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
The first stretch around the perimeter of the quad always seems incredibly long to me, probably because it is a good haul, and because I always find sprints tough to start - there just isn't time and distance to get a good warm-up before the race is over! So we started out slow and I picked up the pace a bit as it went along.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
The first downhill was scary - solid ice coating the road with a very thin layer of snow. After that we had a nice stretch through the picnic areas before the first climb, up the hill to the pool. Not a long climb, especially compared to Curly's and Northfield, but tough all the same, especially so early in the run. The front runners passed us on their way down the hill - Josh Merlis from the Albany Running Exchange had the lead, with Bob Dion of Dion Snowshoes in 4th place and Ed Alibozek, the overall organizer of the WMAC Snowshoe Series, in 5th.
At the top of the hill I struggled to pick up the pace, but it was tough after that climb. We ran a loop around the pool and then headed back down the hill - that felt pretty good, though after a while even running downhill on snowshoes feels like work! Then we had a long stretch along the brook, before heading over a footbridge and across another picnic area to a new section of trail that had been chosen to provide better snow coverage for this year's course. Before the race Jeff referred to it as "the quadbuster" and that was pretty accurate! While the previous climb to the top of the ridge had always been a challenge because it was relatively long, this one was very steep, and the first part was mostly ice. Getting up that hill was darn tough!
After that we had an "easy" run through the woods on top of the ridge, winding through the trees... might have been very scenic, if I hadn't been concentrating on breathing and maintaining some reasonable speed forward. I ended up with a very loud runner right behind me for much of that stretch - not that I can criticize, since I usually sound like Darth Vader with asthma at one of these things. But he distinguished himself when we passed a volunteer and he got really ticked off that she didn't know how far it was to the finish... at which point I decided that no matter what, I wanted to beat this guy there. He actually passed me a short time later, so I tucked in behind him and hoped I'd have enough juice left to pass him in the final stretch.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
We ended up passing the ever-incredible Rich Busa about a quarter mile from the finish, and then I passed the somewhat rude fellow and pushed as much as I could to maintain a lead on him. No question that I was seriously sucking wind on that final stretch down through the tall pines.
photo courtesy of Fateague Fotos
I was a little disappointed to hear that my time was 38:40 - that was essentially the same time as last year, and I thought I'd run better today. Rich crossed the line right after me, and then the somewhat rude fellow (who did stop, shake my hand, and compliment me on a good run.) A minute or so later Konrad appeared... turns out he'd dropped back just after the top of the hill, but he was still happy as could be because that was the fastest he'd ever run a snowshoe race and he still felt pretty good! So today was a first for me - I actually helped another runner go faster than normal!
I spent a while chatting with Konrad and Rich, while I tried to decide if I was going to go out for another loop. My legs were definitely feeling tired, because (no great surprise) once the start whistle blew, Dumb Turtle whacked Smart Turtle over the head and stuffed him in a mental closet, then proceeded to run the whole thing at something resembling all out. But eventually I convinced myself that I really did need to get in another 3 miles, so I said my good-byes and headed back to the car for a dry shirt, my camera, and my water bottle. And then it was time for a much slower rerun of the course...
JMH
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 21.1 mi / 5 hr 47 min
states visited: MA,NY
Saturday, February 02, 2008
WANDERING AROUND WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
The French King Bridge
Ice Glen
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Since I was looking at a 2+ hour drive home from Northfield, I decided to stop along the way and see some sights. Ice Glen was an easy choice - I've wanted to go back there since Ann and I visited it last winter, and it's only a short distance from the Lee exit of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The French King Bridge was a late addition to my itinerary - I drove across it on my way to Northfield, and decided I had to stop on the way home and see what the deal was with this fancy bridge out in the middle of nowhere.
The French King Bridge
Massachusetts Highway Dept info page
The French King Bridge is crosses the Connecticut River and is named after nearby French King Rock. The bridge was first built in 1932 and that year won an award as the most beautiful steel bridge of its class from the American Institute of Steel Construction. The bridge was rebuilt in 1992 and bears a plaque identifying it as "A SPECIAL PLACE designated by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs because it exemplifies the unique qualities of the Commonwealth."
Admittedly, the view from the bridge is pretty nice, and probably would be even better on a sunny day. As I was walking out on the snow-covered sidewalk, I spotted a deer on the hillside down below, presumably searching for food.
A little bit further down Route 2, I pulled off to check out the view of another bridge, this one with a dam, across the river at Turner's Falls. I thought about going into town and seeing if I could walk out on that one too, but in the end decided it was too much work for what looked like a pretty utilitarian structure. Maybe the view is nicer when there's more water going over the falls and dam...
Ice Glen
Last winter Ann and I visited Ice Glen (and also hiked up to Laura's Tower) in Stockbridge. I found the glen fascinating... huge trees all around and boulders everywhere. In the end we only went a little ways into the Glen because Ann hadn't really dressed for scrambling over boulders, and I've wanted to go back to go through the whole thing ever since, so I decided to give it a try today.
No great surprise, I found the trails covered with some snow and lots of ice... actually, in most places the snow was under the ice. My screw shoes gave me pretty good footing, so I was definitely glad I'd brought them. I briefly explored the area near the suspension bridge across the Housatonic River, then hiked up the hill into the woods until the trails diverged - left for the Tower, right for Ice Glen.
The hike into the Glen is pretty easy after that first half mile or so uphill, and the woods were very quiet and pretty. Someone had gone through with snowshoes after the snowfall, so I had a fairly clear track to follow through the boulders. Unfortunately, a little ways in the snowshoe track took a fallen tree up over one of the rocks, and I wisely chose not to risk that... I don't have the greatest balance in the world, and it was a fairly long fall from the tree to the ice covered rocks underneath it. I tried climbing up to one side of the Glen (which is where I suspect the trail actually goes - I remember it winding up and down when we were able to see the blazes last winter) but with everything covered in ice I only got a little ways before it became clear that I wasn't going any further unless I wanted to risk life and limb (and I didn't!) Even then I had to slide on my backside to get back down safely.
So a somewhat disappointing trek... I considered hiking up to the tower, but my legs were tired from the snowshoe race up and down Northfield Mountain this morning, and no doubt the tower would be encased in ice too and not safe to climb. After returning to the car I drove down the road to check out the access to the far end of the Glen, but it comes out on private property and there really wasn't anyplace to park so that I could hike in and maybe see a little bit more. Clearly another trip is in order!
JMH
The French King Bridge
Ice Glen
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Since I was looking at a 2+ hour drive home from Northfield, I decided to stop along the way and see some sights. Ice Glen was an easy choice - I've wanted to go back there since Ann and I visited it last winter, and it's only a short distance from the Lee exit of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The French King Bridge was a late addition to my itinerary - I drove across it on my way to Northfield, and decided I had to stop on the way home and see what the deal was with this fancy bridge out in the middle of nowhere.
The French King Bridge
Massachusetts Highway Dept info page
The French King Bridge is crosses the Connecticut River and is named after nearby French King Rock. The bridge was first built in 1932 and that year won an award as the most beautiful steel bridge of its class from the American Institute of Steel Construction. The bridge was rebuilt in 1992 and bears a plaque identifying it as "A SPECIAL PLACE designated by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs because it exemplifies the unique qualities of the Commonwealth."
Admittedly, the view from the bridge is pretty nice, and probably would be even better on a sunny day. As I was walking out on the snow-covered sidewalk, I spotted a deer on the hillside down below, presumably searching for food.
A little bit further down Route 2, I pulled off to check out the view of another bridge, this one with a dam, across the river at Turner's Falls. I thought about going into town and seeing if I could walk out on that one too, but in the end decided it was too much work for what looked like a pretty utilitarian structure. Maybe the view is nicer when there's more water going over the falls and dam...
Ice Glen
Last winter Ann and I visited Ice Glen (and also hiked up to Laura's Tower) in Stockbridge. I found the glen fascinating... huge trees all around and boulders everywhere. In the end we only went a little ways into the Glen because Ann hadn't really dressed for scrambling over boulders, and I've wanted to go back to go through the whole thing ever since, so I decided to give it a try today.
No great surprise, I found the trails covered with some snow and lots of ice... actually, in most places the snow was under the ice. My screw shoes gave me pretty good footing, so I was definitely glad I'd brought them. I briefly explored the area near the suspension bridge across the Housatonic River, then hiked up the hill into the woods until the trails diverged - left for the Tower, right for Ice Glen.
The hike into the Glen is pretty easy after that first half mile or so uphill, and the woods were very quiet and pretty. Someone had gone through with snowshoes after the snowfall, so I had a fairly clear track to follow through the boulders. Unfortunately, a little ways in the snowshoe track took a fallen tree up over one of the rocks, and I wisely chose not to risk that... I don't have the greatest balance in the world, and it was a fairly long fall from the tree to the ice covered rocks underneath it. I tried climbing up to one side of the Glen (which is where I suspect the trail actually goes - I remember it winding up and down when we were able to see the blazes last winter) but with everything covered in ice I only got a little ways before it became clear that I wasn't going any further unless I wanted to risk life and limb (and I didn't!) Even then I had to slide on my backside to get back down safely.
So a somewhat disappointing trek... I considered hiking up to the tower, but my legs were tired from the snowshoe race up and down Northfield Mountain this morning, and no doubt the tower would be encased in ice too and not safe to climb. After returning to the car I drove down the road to check out the access to the far end of the Glen, but it comes out on private property and there really wasn't anyplace to park so that I could hike in and maybe see a little bit more. Clearly another trip is in order!
JMH
Season of the SnōShū 2008 - Race #5
Northfield Mountain 3.8 Mile Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Northfield Mountain snowshoe race info
2008 Northfield Mountain snowshoe race results
I fully expected this race to be cancelled, given the weather we've had recently... but word came down on Thursday that not only was it likely to happen, but there was enough snow that it would even be a snowshoe race, albeit at a shorter distance than originally planned (3.8 miles instead of 6.) So the wee hours of Saturday morning found me throwing my gear in the car and heading for parts unknown, in this case Northfield Mountain about 2 hours away in Massachusetts.
I was initially concerned that the roads would be icy, but since much of the drive was on highways I needn't have worried. The drive on the MA Turnpike up over the Berkshires was particularly scenic, with the Sun coming up in the east and the trees alongside the road all coated with ice and snow. Gorgeous! After stopping at one of the rest stops, I dug out my camera and snapped some pictures as I was driving (don't try this at home, kids!) All in all, it was a smooth trip, except for my getting slightly turned around and initially heading the wrong way at the final turn to Northfield. But I got that straightened out and got there in plenty of time to check in, choose what top I would wear, and pull on my snowshoes before we all gathered at the start. RD Dave Dunham gave us a quick overview of the course, and then it was time to run!
This race started with an intimidating similarity to Curly's last weekend - yet another Course That Starts With a Death March Up a Mountain. The first half climbed about 800 feet, but the climb was drawn out a bit more than Curly's, and to add insult to injury - in several spots we actually ran downhill and lost elevation that we had just gained. I did my best to maintain an even pace as I hiked up and up and up... it helped that the woods were beautiful, with lots of evergreens and exposed rocks.
more to come...
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 17.9 mi / 5 hr 9 min
states visited: MA,NY
Northfield Mountain 3.8 Mile Snowshoe Race
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Northfield Mountain snowshoe race info
2008 Northfield Mountain snowshoe race results
I fully expected this race to be cancelled, given the weather we've had recently... but word came down on Thursday that not only was it likely to happen, but there was enough snow that it would even be a snowshoe race, albeit at a shorter distance than originally planned (3.8 miles instead of 6.) So the wee hours of Saturday morning found me throwing my gear in the car and heading for parts unknown, in this case Northfield Mountain about 2 hours away in Massachusetts.
I was initially concerned that the roads would be icy, but since much of the drive was on highways I needn't have worried. The drive on the MA Turnpike up over the Berkshires was particularly scenic, with the Sun coming up in the east and the trees alongside the road all coated with ice and snow. Gorgeous! After stopping at one of the rest stops, I dug out my camera and snapped some pictures as I was driving (don't try this at home, kids!) All in all, it was a smooth trip, except for my getting slightly turned around and initially heading the wrong way at the final turn to Northfield. But I got that straightened out and got there in plenty of time to check in, choose what top I would wear, and pull on my snowshoes before we all gathered at the start. RD Dave Dunham gave us a quick overview of the course, and then it was time to run!
This race started with an intimidating similarity to Curly's last weekend - yet another Course That Starts With a Death March Up a Mountain. The first half climbed about 800 feet, but the climb was drawn out a bit more than Curly's, and to add insult to injury - in several spots we actually ran downhill and lost elevation that we had just gained. I did my best to maintain an even pace as I hiked up and up and up... it helped that the woods were beautiful, with lots of evergreens and exposed rocks.
more to come...
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 17.9 mi / 5 hr 9 min
states visited: MA,NY
Friday, February 01, 2008
Snow... Rain... Ice...
Friday, February 1, 2008
I'm looking out the window right now at a fairly impressive snowstorm... in the few minutes it's been falling, the snow has managed to lightly over the ground. This would ordinarily be excellent news for this weekend's races (other than that fresh snow is tougher to run through!) except - it's supposed to turn into an ice storm as the afternoon progresses.
Right now Northfield is still on, though the course has been reduced from just under 6 miles to just under 4 miles. Saratoga is hopeful but will depend on how much ice is on the trails in the park.
Keeping my finger crossed...
JMH
Friday, February 1, 2008
I'm looking out the window right now at a fairly impressive snowstorm... in the few minutes it's been falling, the snow has managed to lightly over the ground. This would ordinarily be excellent news for this weekend's races (other than that fresh snow is tougher to run through!) except - it's supposed to turn into an ice storm as the afternoon progresses.
Right now Northfield is still on, though the course has been reduced from just under 6 miles to just under 4 miles. Saratoga is hopeful but will depend on how much ice is on the trails in the park.
Keeping my finger crossed...
JMH
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
