Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Skipping World's Was the Right Choice
Saturday, February 25, 2017
I'll admit I spent some time wondering if I was making the right choice to skip the World Snowshoe Championships in Saranac Lake - 1st time in the US, only 3 hours away, etc, etc. But I haven't had a good season (such as it was... I've done the majority of my snowshoeing in the last two weeks, and almost all of that was in races) and was pretty sure I'd be disappointed with how I ran. As this week progressed and it became clear I was going to need today to wrap up some work that I'd hoped would be complete yesterday morning, I was glad I'd decided to stay local today, especially when the weather was prefect for a couple of nice rides and a run.
Seeing the videos of the races I'm even happier... it looks like they lost the majority of their snow, had to shorten the races, and the long course became a two loop race... warm weather aside, it looks like a whole bunch of things I don't like in a snowshoe race.
We've got two more scheduled for the Dion WMAC series... I'll be surprised if next Sunday's 5k at Greylock happens, given the lack of substantial snow in the forecast. The RD for the Northeast Championships has been very vocal that Woodford won't lose all of its snow before March 12 - he may be right, but I suspect that one will still have less than ideal conditions.
My brain shifted away from snowshoeing to regular running about a month ago, after our mostly snowless January. And as I've mentioned previously, the exceptionally poor conditions last year combined with this year to have me mostly off my snowshoes for pretty much two solid years.
Perhaps next season will be more conducive to getting back into decent snowshoe running shape.
JMH
Saturday, February 25, 2017
I'll admit I spent some time wondering if I was making the right choice to skip the World Snowshoe Championships in Saranac Lake - 1st time in the US, only 3 hours away, etc, etc. But I haven't had a good season (such as it was... I've done the majority of my snowshoeing in the last two weeks, and almost all of that was in races) and was pretty sure I'd be disappointed with how I ran. As this week progressed and it became clear I was going to need today to wrap up some work that I'd hoped would be complete yesterday morning, I was glad I'd decided to stay local today, especially when the weather was prefect for a couple of nice rides and a run.
Seeing the videos of the races I'm even happier... it looks like they lost the majority of their snow, had to shorten the races, and the long course became a two loop race... warm weather aside, it looks like a whole bunch of things I don't like in a snowshoe race.
We've got two more scheduled for the Dion WMAC series... I'll be surprised if next Sunday's 5k at Greylock happens, given the lack of substantial snow in the forecast. The RD for the Northeast Championships has been very vocal that Woodford won't lose all of its snow before March 12 - he may be right, but I suspect that one will still have less than ideal conditions.
My brain shifted away from snowshoeing to regular running about a month ago, after our mostly snowless January. And as I've mentioned previously, the exceptionally poor conditions last year combined with this year to have me mostly off my snowshoes for pretty much two solid years.
Perhaps next season will be more conducive to getting back into decent snowshoe running shape.
JMH
7.8 Mile Run on the Albany County Rail Trail
Saturday, February 25, 2017
My plan was to do 5 or 6 miles just to shake the rust out before tomorrow's race in CT... but then I was nearing my turnaround point my guts started grumbling, and there's a Portojohn at the Voorheesville trailhead for the rail trail... except of course that meant running almost 2 miles more than I'd planned.
On the plus side it was a gorgeous afternoon for a run, and the storm held off until after I'd gotten home. My legs didn't start grumbling until the last mile or so... not bad, considering I'd ridden almost 25 miles between last night and this morning.
On my way back from Voorheesville I spotted a turkey vulture soaring near the bridge over Rt 155... when I stopped a saw that there was a dozen or so more in one of the trees overhanging the road, and then I spotted another dozen or so perched on a fence across the road. I couldn't get a good look at them - too many trees and branches in the way - but it is good to see them back, just like last night it was good to hear the redwinged blackbirds calling again. Spring is on the way...
JMH
Saturday, February 25, 2017
My plan was to do 5 or 6 miles just to shake the rust out before tomorrow's race in CT... but then I was nearing my turnaround point my guts started grumbling, and there's a Portojohn at the Voorheesville trailhead for the rail trail... except of course that meant running almost 2 miles more than I'd planned.
On the plus side it was a gorgeous afternoon for a run, and the storm held off until after I'd gotten home. My legs didn't start grumbling until the last mile or so... not bad, considering I'd ridden almost 25 miles between last night and this morning.
On my way back from Voorheesville I spotted a turkey vulture soaring near the bridge over Rt 155... when I stopped a saw that there was a dozen or so more in one of the trees overhanging the road, and then I spotted another dozen or so perched on a fence across the road. I couldn't get a good look at them - too many trees and branches in the way - but it is good to see them back, just like last night it was good to hear the redwinged blackbirds calling again. Spring is on the way...
JMH
MID-60'S & WINDY
10.2 Mile Ride Through the Corning Preserve
Saturday, February 25, 2017
I knew I wanted to get in both a ride and a run today, and since there were storms in the forecast for the late afternoon (and I can run more comfortably in the rain than I can ride) I took the bike out for what was supposed to be an easy ride this morning.
What I hadn't counted on was the strong north winds, which made riding out to Watervliet lots of fun - and riding back to the Albany waterfront a real chore. I may have to do a shorter run this afternoon after beating up my legs this morning.
It's funny to think that last Saturday I had to turn around a little over 2 miles along the path because it was covered with 6-8" of wet snow. No sign of that today.
Lots of people out again, walking and running, and a few on bikes.
JMH
10.2 Mile Ride Through the Corning Preserve
Saturday, February 25, 2017
I knew I wanted to get in both a ride and a run today, and since there were storms in the forecast for the late afternoon (and I can run more comfortably in the rain than I can ride) I took the bike out for what was supposed to be an easy ride this morning.
What I hadn't counted on was the strong north winds, which made riding out to Watervliet lots of fun - and riding back to the Albany waterfront a real chore. I may have to do a shorter run this afternoon after beating up my legs this morning.
It's funny to think that last Saturday I had to turn around a little over 2 miles along the path because it was covered with 6-8" of wet snow. No sign of that today.
Lots of people out again, walking and running, and a few on bikes.
JMH
Friday, February 24, 2017
73 DEGREES IN FEBRUARY?!!!!
14.6 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, February 24, 2017
It's been a great source of frustration for me this week (and last) that we've had some fairly warm weather and I've been either too busy or too exhausted to do more than go for a walk in the evening... so as soon as work wrapped up today I hustled home, put the bike on the car, and headed over to Lock 8 to ride the bike path between Schenectady and Rotterdam Junction.
I could definitely tell that I haven't ridden much this month... and at times it was almost too warm, there's been no time to acclimate to the weather. Not that I'm complaining, especially when it's suppose to drop by 20-30 degrees later this weekend.
Lots of people on the path... no surprise there, they were enjoying the same late-spring-in-late February weather that I was.
One spot was a bit tricky because the ice hasn't melted yet but otherwise the path was totally clear - it's hard to believe we had 18-24" of snow on the ground two weeks ago.
JMH
14.6 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, February 24, 2017
It's been a great source of frustration for me this week (and last) that we've had some fairly warm weather and I've been either too busy or too exhausted to do more than go for a walk in the evening... so as soon as work wrapped up today I hustled home, put the bike on the car, and headed over to Lock 8 to ride the bike path between Schenectady and Rotterdam Junction.
I could definitely tell that I haven't ridden much this month... and at times it was almost too warm, there's been no time to acclimate to the weather. Not that I'm complaining, especially when it's suppose to drop by 20-30 degrees later this weekend.
Lots of people on the path... no surprise there, they were enjoying the same late-spring-in-late February weather that I was.
One spot was a bit tricky because the ice hasn't melted yet but otherwise the path was totally clear - it's hard to believe we had 18-24" of snow on the ground two weeks ago.
JMH
Monday, February 20, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
7 Mile Ride Through the Corning Preserve
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Really could have ridden my road bike, as there were only a couple of spots where the path wasn't totally clear from the parking lot for the USS Slater until about 2 1/4 miles from the boat launch - from that point on the path wasn't plowed at all, and the snow was too wet and deep for me ride even the fat bike through it. I briefly considered doing a 2nd out and back toward the unplowed section but decided instead that after this morning's race and considering that I haven't ridden in almost three weeks and I have another snowshoe race tomorrow morning - it seemed to make more sense to just head home.
I don't know what's going on at the NY State Museum today, but there were tour buses lined up on both sides of the street - it was pretty incredible how busy that short stretch of Madison Ave was today.
JMH
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Really could have ridden my road bike, as there were only a couple of spots where the path wasn't totally clear from the parking lot for the USS Slater until about 2 1/4 miles from the boat launch - from that point on the path wasn't plowed at all, and the snow was too wet and deep for me ride even the fat bike through it. I briefly considered doing a 2nd out and back toward the unplowed section but decided instead that after this morning's race and considering that I haven't ridden in almost three weeks and I have another snowshoe race tomorrow morning - it seemed to make more sense to just head home.
I don't know what's going on at the NY State Museum today, but there were tour buses lined up on both sides of the street - it was pretty incredible how busy that short stretch of Madison Ave was today.
JMH
Sunday, February 12, 2017
TOUGH GOING
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Today's snowshoe race was particularly tough going, between the deep snow, the wind hammering us with snow whenever it could, and the hills. Yesterday's was tough too, though it helped that the snow was a little less deep. Even the Get Rec'd race back in January was more of a challenge than I expect it to be. I've mostly been blaming it on the lack of snow and thus the lack of opportunities to improve my snowshoe fitness, but then at some point today as I was either trudging up the nth hill or stumbling around on a section of singletrack, the thought occurred to me - I haven't run a "real" snowshoe race in almost two years. What I mean by a "real" race is one where I couldn't run it just as easily or even more easily in shoes with spikes. Last season the only race I ran was the Super Frosty Loomis 10k, which had 6-8" of snow on no base. The race at Gore this year was packed man-made "snow", and the Get Rec'd course had a light layer of fresh powder with a frozen base underneath. So I really am very much out of snowshoe shape, with very good reason!
Doesn't make the races any easier, but at least I feel a little bit better knowing it's not totally due to me being fat and lazy...
JMH
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Today's snowshoe race was particularly tough going, between the deep snow, the wind hammering us with snow whenever it could, and the hills. Yesterday's was tough too, though it helped that the snow was a little less deep. Even the Get Rec'd race back in January was more of a challenge than I expect it to be. I've mostly been blaming it on the lack of snow and thus the lack of opportunities to improve my snowshoe fitness, but then at some point today as I was either trudging up the nth hill or stumbling around on a section of singletrack, the thought occurred to me - I haven't run a "real" snowshoe race in almost two years. What I mean by a "real" race is one where I couldn't run it just as easily or even more easily in shoes with spikes. Last season the only race I ran was the Super Frosty Loomis 10k, which had 6-8" of snow on no base. The race at Gore this year was packed man-made "snow", and the Get Rec'd course had a light layer of fresh powder with a frozen base underneath. So I really am very much out of snowshoe shape, with very good reason!
Doesn't make the races any easier, but at least I feel a little bit better knowing it's not totally due to me being fat and lazy...
JMH
Saturday, February 11, 2017
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO RUN...
5 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path & Forts Ferry Rd
Saturday, February 11, 2017
After the race I wanted to take my time getting back to Albany, so I actually ate lunch at Subway instead of while I was driving, reminded myself of why I don't go shopping on Saturday afternoons with a stop at the Wilton Price Chopper (sorry, "Market 32"), and picked up some recent releases at Barnes & Noble.
I had hoped to run at Saratoga Spa State Park, but the snow was deep enough that I would have needed snow shoes, and the hills this morning left me snowshoed out (especially since tomorrow's race will also be very hilly.) From there I headed to the Crossings of Colonie, where I hoped the paths would be plowed... it looked like they had been, but drifting snow had covered them in spots. So in the end I went to the other section of the bike path that gets plowed and had a very nice run... the inch or so of snow that fell last night provided the perfect cushioning.
On the way back I passed a fellow who made for a very odd image... 25 inch snowshoes, knee high snow gaiters - walking on the asphalt path in an inch of snow.
JMH
5 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path & Forts Ferry Rd
Saturday, February 11, 2017
After the race I wanted to take my time getting back to Albany, so I actually ate lunch at Subway instead of while I was driving, reminded myself of why I don't go shopping on Saturday afternoons with a stop at the Wilton Price Chopper (sorry, "Market 32"), and picked up some recent releases at Barnes & Noble.
I had hoped to run at Saratoga Spa State Park, but the snow was deep enough that I would have needed snow shoes, and the hills this morning left me snowshoed out (especially since tomorrow's race will also be very hilly.) From there I headed to the Crossings of Colonie, where I hoped the paths would be plowed... it looked like they had been, but drifting snow had covered them in spots. So in the end I went to the other section of the bike path that gets plowed and had a very nice run... the inch or so of snow that fell last night provided the perfect cushioning.
On the way back I passed a fellow who made for a very odd image... 25 inch snowshoes, knee high snow gaiters - walking on the asphalt path in an inch of snow.
JMH
Friday, February 10, 2017
ESCAPE FROM THE ALBANY SNOW EMERGENCY!
5.4 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path & Lock 7 Rd
Friday, February 10, 2017
It's pretty sad that the general lack of snow over the past couple of winters has brought us to the point where 10-12" is considered a major storm... but there you go. I can't really disagree with Albany's declaration of a snow emergency, just because they need to get the roads as clear as possible - but parking during these things is a nightmare, and prompted me to make plans to stay in Lake George tonight rather than drive the whole way to Pottersville tomorrow morning. With luck I'll get back late enough tomorrow to have missed the worst of the parking chaos.
It's been a tough week running-wise, so on my way out of town I headed over to the Niskayuna Lions Park for a run on one of the plowed sections of the bike path. Got there around 7 PM and found everything very still and peaceful. While I was running I did have one other runner put in a brief appearance, and there were people at Lock 7, but mostly it was just me and memories of numerous other winter runs on that stretch of path (especially back in 2006 when I was trying to get ready for the Eastern States 20mi road race in late March, and ran back and forth seemingly endless times on more evenings than I can count.)
Really, though, the most important thing was how god it felt to be running again.
When I reached the hotel in Lake George, the receptionist asked me why I was staying over, and when I mentioned the snowshoe race and being a refugee from the snow emergency, she said the latter was one of the top news stories because of all the tickets and cars towed. (Not enough, in my opinion - there's a mess of snow in front of my house because some idiot left his car there and instead of towing it the City just plowed around it.)
JMH
5.4 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path & Lock 7 Rd
Friday, February 10, 2017
It's pretty sad that the general lack of snow over the past couple of winters has brought us to the point where 10-12" is considered a major storm... but there you go. I can't really disagree with Albany's declaration of a snow emergency, just because they need to get the roads as clear as possible - but parking during these things is a nightmare, and prompted me to make plans to stay in Lake George tonight rather than drive the whole way to Pottersville tomorrow morning. With luck I'll get back late enough tomorrow to have missed the worst of the parking chaos.
It's been a tough week running-wise, so on my way out of town I headed over to the Niskayuna Lions Park for a run on one of the plowed sections of the bike path. Got there around 7 PM and found everything very still and peaceful. While I was running I did have one other runner put in a brief appearance, and there were people at Lock 7, but mostly it was just me and memories of numerous other winter runs on that stretch of path (especially back in 2006 when I was trying to get ready for the Eastern States 20mi road race in late March, and ran back and forth seemingly endless times on more evenings than I can count.)
Really, though, the most important thing was how god it felt to be running again.
When I reached the hotel in Lake George, the receptionist asked me why I was staying over, and when I mentioned the snowshoe race and being a refugee from the snow emergency, she said the latter was one of the top news stories because of all the tickets and cars towed. (Not enough, in my opinion - there's a mess of snow in front of my house because some idiot left his car there and instead of towing it the City just plowed around it.)
JMH
Sunday, February 05, 2017
Saturday, February 04, 2017
Thursday, February 02, 2017
BRRR... WHAT, IS IT WINTER OR SOMETHING?
6.1 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path, Onderdonk Ave, and Forts Ferry Rd
Thursday, February 2, 2017
I would have been dressed fine if it wasn't for the wind... as it was, I suspect I looked like a nutjob, in shorts and bare legs down below and thick fleece pullover under a biking shell, complete with a neck gaiter and winter hat up top. Not a bad run by any means but I've gotten spoiled by all the unseasonably warm weather.
It remains to be seen how long I'll last on Saturday... my longest runs this year have been half marathons, but it's been a over a month since my last half. I'm shooting for at least 15-16 miles, and then anything more that I can manage without destroying my legs for a week afterwards.
JMH
6.1 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path, Onderdonk Ave, and Forts Ferry Rd
Thursday, February 2, 2017
I would have been dressed fine if it wasn't for the wind... as it was, I suspect I looked like a nutjob, in shorts and bare legs down below and thick fleece pullover under a biking shell, complete with a neck gaiter and winter hat up top. Not a bad run by any means but I've gotten spoiled by all the unseasonably warm weather.
It remains to be seen how long I'll last on Saturday... my longest runs this year have been half marathons, but it's been a over a month since my last half. I'm shooting for at least 15-16 miles, and then anything more that I can manage without destroying my legs for a week afterwards.
JMH
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