Saturday, February 28, 2009

TRAVELLIN' TURTLE, Part 1 -
Off to Hawley!
Saturday, February 28, 2009

It's funny how this seems to be turning into a yearly trend... last February it was the "3 races in 2 days" trip (Greylock, Kingman Farm, and Moody Spring) and this year it's my first time at the Hawley Kiln Klassic before heading to Maine for the 1st ever Pineland Farms Winter Triathlon. In any case it's a sure sign I'm crazy... by the end of this weekend I'll have done something like 11 hours of driving to do two races. Nuts!

Sunshine in Albany gave way to clouds and snow flurries as I went over the mountains and through Pittsfield... but then back to sunshine in Savoy and Hawley! The roads were a little bit treacherous in spots, with sections that had no doubt been wet during yesterday's 50 degree thaw now flash-frozen to ice.

I made the mistake of using Google Maps to get my directions... spent a while in West Hawley looking for a road that apparently doesn't exist. Thank heavens I printed a detailed enough area map that I was able to replot my route to the Hawley fire station, where I joined multiple cars parked along the road, checked in, changed into my running gear, and then wandered around both trying to stay as warm as possible (there was a very cold wind whipping across the fields near the fire station) and getting some photos of a gorgeous winter day at a spot I'd never visited before. It was definitely warmer out of the wind in the woods... a good omen for the race to come, but that didn't make it any easier waiting for the start!

JMH
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