the Way of the Turtle

Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #1
I Love Woodford 3mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday, December 27, 2009

Woodford always summons up memories of my first snowshoe race back in December 2005. I had purchased a pair of 25" Dions about three weeks before and Albany spent the whole time with at most of couple of inches of ice-crusted snow. In other words I had no idea what I was getting myself into at Woodford, with 12-18" of relatively fresh powder. By the end of roughly an hour of stumbling and gasping my way through three miles of torture, I had learned what snowshoeing is really like - cold melting snow all over you and the hardest work you'll ever do to "run" at a 20 min/mile pace. But it's also a heck of a lot of fun, which is why I'm looking forward my 5th season of snowshoe racing.

After waking up periodically throughout the night and listening to the rain falling, I was really glad Woodford RD Jack Quinn had sent word earlier in the week that there was plenty of snow at the park. I think I lost track of how many times Ann asked me if I really thought the race would still be on, especially as we drove from Albany to Bennington surrounded by lots of brown and grey and very little white... but then, as has happened on several occasions since I started snowshoeing back in December 2005, we started climbing up into the mountains and there was snow!

After watching a car getting set to be towed up into the parking lot we were thankfully re-routed to the one-way exit road - I'm really not sure my Civic would have made it up that slushy icy hill, even with snow tires. The parking lot was a little bit better than last year - I didn't see Jack gliding around on his skates! Checked in and said hi to a few friends that I didn't see nearly often enough this fall, with my injuries and all, then geared up and we made the trek down to the starting line. Third time at Woodford and I've learned - hike down the road, not the trail, and avoid that drop just before the road crossing!

Chatted with more friends while we waited for things to get started and Ann took some photos. It was definitely looking to be a good day, if a bit slushy - not too cold, and the snow wouldn't be too loose after the rain. All that remained to be seen was how my knee would hold up... Jack said a few words about the race and the course, and then - off we went!

The train starts pretty quickly on snowed over road into the park - it's a lot easier to tuck into a comfortable spot in the lineup and stay on the packed track then plow through the unpacked snow to the sides, though there's plenty of room to pass if you want to. I ended up at the back with the usual suspects - Konrad, Bill, Walter, and Jeff. The road also runs uphill and I always find it surprisingly tough so early on... this year I knew I'd be slow enough that it didn't seem worth jockeying for a better position before the start of the singletrack.

The woods were beautiful as always... one of the neat things about snowshoeing is the various ways the surroundings can be just wonderful. Sometimes it's that bright gleaming white that everything gets in the sunshine, but today it was a grey, misty kind of beauty, with the evergreens standing out just a little more colorfully against the muted background. I especially like it when we approach the shore of the reservoir and can see the water through the trees, and crossing the streams and cascades bubbling away under the ice and snow. I found the running similar to last year - not terribly difficult going, other than trying to keep the snowshoes from getting too wet in a few spots (ice buildup - bleah!) and of course the fact that injuries and laziness have me in much worse shape than I was a year ago.

Eventually the winding path through the woods gave way to the open field just before coming back out on the entrance road. I sensed clear sailing, picked up the pace a bit, and very quickly tripped and slammed myself into the ground... nothing that unusual for a klutz like me, but the knee I injured back in June and November took the worst of the impact. Picked myself up, determined that everything still worked more or less, and headed off down the road to the finish - a bit more carefully than a few moments ago.

With only two prior Woodfords under my belt it still surprises me how quickly the finish comes up once we're back on the road. Ran it in as fast as I could (translation - not very fast!) and was happy to finish in 45 min 22 sec, only slightly more time than last year... not bad considering my knee and general lack of conditioning. Collected my finisher's "trophy" (mmm... Vermont Bread Company!), chatted briefly with a few folks hanging around the finish, and then Ann and I made the hike back up to the car so I could change into some dry clothes and grab a quick bite to eat before we got back on the road.

All in all, another successful I Love Woodford and a milestone for Konrad as well – his 100th snowshoe race! Best of all and another fun time out in the woods with my crazy snowshoeing friends. A huge thank you to Jack Quinn and his wonderful crew of volunteers for a great morning - where else but at one of our snowshoe races would you find a RD stopping by someone's car as they're getting ready to leave to make sure they've gotten something to eat and are going away feeling welcomed and happy? Today was a great start to the 2010 snowshoeing season and the WMAC Dion Racing series - bring on the next couple of months of stomping around in the snow!

JMH

2009 Event Totals
Run 279.1 mi, 69 hr 8 min
Bike 58.6 mi, 4 hr 29 min
Snowshoe 57.4 mi, 13 hr 50 min
XC Ski 3.3 mi, 1 hr 2 min

states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, VT