the Way of the Turtle

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