Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #9
Greylock 4.5 & 8 mi Snowshoe Races - POSTPONED
Saturday, February 25, 2006

Greylock Snowshoe races info

The Curse of the No SnōShū continues... word came down last night that the Greylock races scheduled for Saturday have been postponed, as has Sunday's already postponed Curly's Record Run. No great surprise - there's NO SNOW. But we are supposed to get a little bit in the next few days, and maybe we'll have a few good storms that will allow some of these postponed races to be run in March.

On the positive side, now I can take the cane class that Mr. Stalloch is teaching tomorrow morning at the Albany location. And with luck, in between grading papers this weekend I can get out for either a long run or a snowshoe run. (And practice katas... two weeks until the black belt testing...)

JMH

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

Black Creek Park DIDN'T Kick My Butt
10 mile trail run
Monday, February 20, 2006

Black Creek Park info

Black Creek Park is fairly close to Ann's house, and is one of the nicest of the Monroe County Parks. In the summer the trails are fairly busy with walkers; in the winter they see a lot of use for XC skiing. The trails are a mix of woods and fields.

Black Creek has also typically kicked my butt every time I've run there. Admittedly, the 5 mile loop that covers the park perimeter should have been challenging back when I was typically running maximum distances of 5-6 miles, but last summer I did an out-and back perimeter run (run most of the perimeter one way, then turn and go back the other way) and the heat and humidity clobbered me. So in some ways, as much as I like Black Creek, it's something of a running nemesis for me.

Yesterday I set out to do the same perimeter out-and-back, confident that the heat and humidity wouldn't be a problem (windchill, on the other hand, was a concern... so I packed a variety of gloves and headgear.) The trails were nice - some mud, some ice, but lots of fun to run. Didn't see too many people - always a plus. The last half hour was challenging, just because I've been a lazy slug for 2 weeks and only run once (so a 2 1/4 hour run was challenging!) But much of the run felt pretty darn good and I can honestly say that, for once, Black Creek did not kick my butt!

Of course, the Greylock 8 mile snowshoe race on Saturday will be another story... if it happens (I'm not holding out much hope for that.)

In any case, it's definitely time to start extending my long distances and building my medium distance (12-15 miles) base... Nipmuck is only 3 1/2 months away!

JMH

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekends #7 & #8

Brave the Blizzard/Bummer No Blizzard
3.5mi Trail Race (MISSED)
Saturday, February 11, 2006

Camp Saratoga 8K Snowshoe Race - CANCELLED
Saturday, February 18, 2006

I passed on running the Brave the Blizzard 3.5 mile trail race because (1) we had a busy Saturday at the karate school, between classes in the morning and the Family Activity Day at Latham Circle Mall in the late morning & afternoon, and (2) I run those trails all the time. It sounds like they had a good time, but I still think my morning was better spent at karate.

Just got word that the Camp Saratoga 8k race has been cancelled because the trails are wall-to-wall ice. Oh, well. The Curse of the No SnōShū continues...

We'll just have to wait and see if the Greylock Snowshoe Races happen next weekend... I'm hoping I can get in some time on the snowshoes this weekend out in Rochester, since running an 8 mile race in them could be fairly painful otherwise...

JMH

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

Karate Demonstration
Clear Channel Communications Family Activity Day
Latham Circle Mall
Saturday, February 11, 2006

This was well worth doing... the students got VERY excited about being in the demo. (It's been so long since we've done one, I think we had forgotten how much they enjoy them sometimes!) We had 18 students participating, as well as 5 instructors, and there was a decent-sized crowd watching (so maybe we'll get some new students to boot...)

After Master Hillicoss did a brief intro to the school, the students ran through some stretching, punches, kicks, and blocks. Then came katas - lots of katas, including two black belt forms.




And then came my moment of "fun" - being Master Hillicoss' partner as he demonstrated a variety of self defense techniques. I'm VERY glad the organizers insisted that we bring along a mat! It did seem like some of the parents took far too much pleasure in seeing me get beat up!












Then we had breaks, breaks, and more breaks. Two of my students (a green belt and a purple belt) did their first board breaks. The big finale was meditation breaks - first Miss Moller relaxed on a bed of nails and had two patio blocks smashed on her chest with a sledgehammer, and then Master Hillicoss walked across a tray of broken glass, smashing 6 patio blocks at once along the way.







After that we wrapped everything up and manned the booth we'd rented... Master Hillicoss said they talked to lots of folks all afternoon, so we may indeed get some new students from this. Regardless, the students got excited and had a great time - and that's the most important point by far!

JMH

No Short Sleeves Today!
5-6 mile trail run at
Five Rivers Environmental Education Center
Iaido class
Friday, February 10, 2006

I'm glad I enjoyed the warm weather while it lasted, because seasonable temperatures have definitely returned! On the plus side, maybe we'll get some snow and the last few snowshoe races will be, well, snowshoe races.

After spending much of the week inactive (practiced katas and self-defense for a while on Monday, and taught classes Wednesday and Thursday... but no running or biking since Sunday) I managed to get out for a short run at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, a nature preserve/education center that takes its name from the 5 major rivers that flow into this area (the Hudson, Mohawk, Sacandaga, Schoharie, and Hoosick rivers, to be exact.) The trails there are pretty nice, though in good weather I sometimes find them a bit crowded (it seems to be a popular place to walk.) Today I saw very few people. The terrain was challenging at times - the mud from the warm weather has frozen, leaving behind a crunchy unstable surface. But that was no big deal. Saw a flock of turkeys while running on the Wild Turkey Trail (they seemed less enthused to see me than I was to see them) but my favorite part is running along the Vloman Kill - the trail runs along both sides, through essentially a pine forest, so with the pines above and the water running in the stream its very peaceful and very scenic. The ice made some really cool patterns on the water as well. All in all, a very good run.

We had a pretty decent iaido class this evening. Reviewed some terminology and philosophical points, then practiced advanced katas - first Ninin Giri (which is one I really enjoy doing!) and then we learned Yoko-Ichi-Monji, which we practiced three years ago in Japan and I remembered as a real knee-killer (my memory is sound.) Other than spending a lot of the time trying not to blow out my knees while we did that one, it was a pretty good class.

Tomorrow is the big day at the Latham Circle Mall - the Clear Channel Communications Family Activity Day. Hopefully they will have a great turnout and it will be worth the time and money we've invested. In any case, it will be good for the students to participate in and see a demo (but it sure would be nice to get some new students out of the deal!) With luck I'll have some pictures to post later in the weekend.

JMH

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #6
Saratoga Winterfest 5K Snowshoe Trail Race
Sunday, February 5, 2006

Saratoga Winterfest trail race 2006 results
Saratoga Winterfest 2006 snowshoe race info

Saratoga Winterfest Trail Race 2006 Photo Slideshow

We were told in advance that this would be a trail race, since the Curse of the No SnōShū has continued to plague us (though WMAC did manage to hold a snowshoe race yesterday, by moving the site from Northfield Mountain to Dubuque State Forest in Hawley, MA. But even in the Berkshires the conditions are far from ideal…)

I’d only been to the Saratoga Spa State Park once before, and then it was just to drive through so I could do the MHCC Metric Century ride… but I was impressed with how nice it was then (of course, that was on a sunny day in September…) Today we were at the main complex, and the architecture is fairly cool. (So were the temperatures – it was pretty windy.)



The race course was a mixture of surfaces – a little pavement, some grass, some dirt roads through the woods, and some singletrack trail through the woods. And some ice… not as much as on Friday, but enough that some of the runners had ice spikes on their shoes. In the interest of safety, the race organizers routed much of the course around the ice, and where it was unavoidable they put down kitty litter to add some traction (making this the only race I’ve ever done where kitty litter was one of the running surfaces.) Parts were very scenic – we even got to run past a geyser! – and other parts were less so. But overall it was a nice course, with two lengthy hills.






photo courtesy of www.saratogastryders.org




I didn’t think I was pushing all that hard at first, but about halfway through I started really feeling the effort, and the last mile was tough – I may not have been in oxygen bankruptcy, but I was definitely feeling some oxygen debt. When I crossed the finish line it became apparent why: I finished in 30:17, or 9:46 miles – UNDER 10 MINUTE MILES! That was exciting! It’s nice to have definite proof that my time riding and running has had some positive effect.









Afterwards I grabbed my camera and walked about 2/3 of the course to take pictures. (I thought about running it again, because I wasn’t dead tired… but then decided not to push it. I don’t need to get injured…) There were also several photographers out on the course, so I’m hoping one of the web sites will have my photo somewhere.

The one definitely would have been a lot prettier as a snowshoe run (and also a lot harder!) But it was still well worth doing – I had a good run, got a cool T-shirt, and got to walk around a little bit of the park. And only 40 minutes from home.

JMH

Next up – depends on whether the Curse continues to hold. I had signed up to run the Brave the Blizzard 5K Snowshoe Run next Saturday – but if it turns out to be the Bummer No Blizzard 5K Trail Run I’m planning to skip it, since I run the trails they're using all the time anyway (and I’m missing lots of Saturday classes this winter.) In which case the next event would be the Camp Saratoga 8K Snowshoe Run up in Wilton. Maybe the Curse will have lifted by then…

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 7.1 miles, 1 hr 17 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

SHORT SLEEVES IN FEBRUARY???
8 mile trail run in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve
Friday, February 3, 2006

When I left the house to go help with the Friday night karate class, it was 58 degrees outside. After class I headed over to the Madison Ave Ext section of the Pine Bush and set out on a medium length run (90 - 120 minutes... admittedly, running that in the woods at 8:30 PM on a Friday night is a little unusual. OK, maybe not that unusual for me.)Half an hour into the run I was cooking, so - off came the fleece top and I ran the remaining 75 minutes in my short sleeve shirt. And I wasn't chilly until I stopped. Absolutely wacky.Running trails at night has been one of the fun things I've done this winter. It's usually very peaceful (except when I start imagining that a sasquatch is going to come crashing out of the bushes and attack me... sigh) and sometimes very pretty (I've run a couple of times under the full moon when I almost didn't need my headlamp... talk about magical...) Tonight seemed noisier than usual - lots of traffic and aircraft sounds - but it was still a good run, and a real treat to be out in my shirt sleeves running. There were a few icy patches, but my Yaktrax worked great, and the rest of the trails there are soft enough that I could keep them on my shoes the whole time. (I recommend Yaktrax wholeheartedly if you're going to be running on icy surfaces! I use the Yaktrax Pro, which has an extra strap to keep the unit more secure. They're GREAT!)And now I think it's time to collapse into bed...

JMH

P.S. I am convinced that I am the cause of this insanely warm winter we've had... after all, I bought a pair of brand new snowshoes back in December (and bought Ann a pair for Christmas.) All I know is - the longer races in late February and early March are going to be mighty tough if I don't get a chance to practice snowshoe running between now and then...

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #5
Lake Effect (NO) Snowshoe Duathlon
Sunday, January 29, 2006

Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon 2006 results
Lake Effect Snowshoe Festival 2006 info

Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon 2006 Photo Slideshow

Well, it was fairly clear on the way out to Rochester that this would NOT be a snowshoe event. While we had 6 inches of snow in Albany (and I managed to get in two nights of snowshoe running this past week, woohoo!) the snow vanished on the way out west AND the forecast was calling for 40 degree weather and rain on Sunday.

The rain started a bit before lunchtime and, naturally, kicked in full force right around when I arrived at Webster Park for the race. Checked in, got my goodies, and wheeled the bike over to the transition area. Then I spent 20 minutes sitting in the car trying to remain somewhat dry. Not that there was a whole lot of advantage to that… within minutes of getting out of the car for the pre-race briefing we were all drenched, and I at least stayed drenched for the next 2 ½ hours.












The race consisted of a 2 mile trail run, then two 6.2 mile biking loops, and wrapped up with a 2nd 2 mile trail run. It was clear right from the start that the run was going to be very wet and very muddy… within my first few steps the mud tried to pull one of my shoes off (something which happened repeatedly during the runs!) We ran paths through the fields and then went into the woods – and things got pretty cool. Lots of up and down, two stream crossings, multiple areas where trails had become streams… 2 miles of wet, squishy, slippery, muddy fun. Couldn’t make great time – I had to keep taking different sections slow so I wouldn’t blow out a knee – but I had a good time running through the mud under the pine trees!





The riding was less fun… cold, wet, cold, hilly, cold… the route took us through the residential area surrounding the park and wasn’t terribly scenic or interesting in the rain. I had the option of stopping the ride after the first 6.2 mile loop and briefly considered it (my feet were getting pretty cold and the ride was getting a bit miserable) but I signed up to do the full du and by golly that’s what I decided to do. And my feet were even colder by the time I got off that bike…



As always my legs didn’t work terribly well when I started the 2nd run, but at least running warmed me back up. Of course, after almost 90 minutes on the course the trails were even more flooded (and having all the other runners go through ahead of me didn’t help… the trails were pretty churned up.) So the 2nd run took me a little longer… but after 1 hr 51 minutes I was the last person to cross the finish line (not long after a guy who did the race with his arm in a sling… OK, that was a little bit demoralizing.) A little over 20 minutes for the first run (10 minute miles - pretty darn good!), 61 minutes for the bike (not bad for 12.4 miles up and down hills on my heavy mountain bike) and then 25 minutes for the last run (not awful, considering that my legs took half a mile to get into running again and the course was a slippery mess!)



The race photographer from All Ages Photography did get pictures of me starting the first run, riding, and crossing the finish line – smiling at times (or was that a grimace) and bearing a remarkable resemblance to a drowned rat.

Originally I was going to pass on taking pictures at this one, but the running course was cool enough that I really wanted to get some shots of it… so after I packed up my bike I changed into a dry shirt and jacket and ran the course again, this time with my waterproof camera in hand. (Yes, you read that right. I ran the course again. Just to take pictures.) Later in the week I’ll get the pictures developed and post the good ones, along with the "official" race photos once I order them.

Of course, I can't wrap this up without saying how great the folks from Fleet Feet Sports and Yellowjacket Racing are... I've been very impressed at all three races I've done with them. All of the volunteers are fantastic (I don't know that I would have wanted to stand in the pouring rain for an hour yesterday directing riders at the turns!) and everyone involved is very encouraging - something which is especially nice for us "back of the pack" athletes. I definitely plan on doing more races with these folks, and I would say that anyone looking to try a duathlon cannot go wrong choosing to try one of Yellowjacket's events.

JMH
"still wringing the water out..."

Next up: The Saratoga Winterfest 5K Snowshoe Race. Or maybe the Saratoga Winterfest 5K trail race. Either way it will be a nice run in a pretty park.

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 4 miles, 46 min
riding - 12.4 miles, 1 hr 1 min

SNOW!!!!!!!
Monday, January 23, 2005

Finally, we have snow again! About six to eight inches... not a lot, but enough for...

SNOWSHOE RUNNING!

Went out for an hour tonight before heading to the karate school to teach a sword class. Very cool and very fun. (And now I'm very tired.)

With luck the snow will remain long enough for me to go out again on Wednesday.

Western NY is supposed to get hit later this week, so perhaps the snowshoe duathlon will be a snowshoe event after all...

JMH

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #4
Mendon Winterfest 10K Snowshoe Trail Race
Saturday, January 21, 2006
(MISSED DUE TO ILLNESS)

Mendon Winterfest Snowshoe races info

Well, the title says it all, doesn’t it? After a week of rain and warm weather, the trails at Mendon were fairly snow-free, so this was going to be a 10K trail run. Unfortunately, the past week also saw me sick as the proverbial dog, and though I was well on the road to recovery by Saturday morning, I made the call to stay in Albany and catch up on all the work I was buried under due to being sick and brain dead. It was a tough call to make, especially in light of the weather forecast for heavy rain during the race (how can I miss a trail run in the rain???) but I think it was the right decision. As I've said in previous posts, one thing I've definitely learned from doing races is that sometimes things just don't go the way I've planned!

Ann, sweetie that she is, drove over to Mendon and picked up my T-shirt for me, and confirmed that it was cold and pouring rain (which could have been some fairly torturous fun… oh, well. There’s always next year.) Apparently she also ate my bowl of post-race chili - well, she definitely earned it.

I’m going to try to get in a cold bike ride today, in preparation for the Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon next Sunday (which includes 12 miles of riding the roads around Webster Park, in addition to two sets of 2 mile snowshoeing loops. With luck there’ll be enough snow to actually snowshoe – it’s hard to improve when you can’t practice!)

For now, though – back to that work I’m slowly digging myself out from under!

JMH

UPDATED - chilly bike ride

Actually, it wasn't too bad until the end, when my feet started to get cold. Did a fairly nice 19 miles out and back along the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway from Schenectady County Community College to just past Rotterdam Junction. Saw very few other folks, and worked the kinks out of my legs after almost a week of inactivity. Had to walk around one or two patches of ice, and through one section where the path is closed due to major trail work along the river - looks like maybe there was a slide or something. All in all a pretty pleasant ride. If the weather is like this next Sunday I won't complain!

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 0 miles, 0 min
riding - 0 miles, 0 min

11.5-12 Mile Trail Run at Keuka Outlet
Monday, January 16, 2006

Keuka Outlet trail run photo slideshow

After spending Sunday and Monday morning out in Rochester with Ann (no running on Sunday, to maximize the time I had with my sweetheart), and seeing as it was a bright sunny 30º day, I decided to stop at the Keuka Outlet Trail on the west side of Seneca lake and do either a medium snowshoe run (if there was snow) or a longer trail run.



The trail parallels the Keuka Outlet Creek, which runs from Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake and features numerous rapids and two reasonably large waterfalls at old mill dam sites. At times during the last 200+ years the Outlet was home to up to 40 mills, though now all that remains are a few old building and some foundations. (One site has a fairly tall brick chimney and a hefty 4-5 ft flywheel as the main sign of the previous occupants.) Two means of transporting goods were developed in the valley the outlet has carved in its surroundings – first the Crooked Lake Canal, ran along the outlet and dealt with the 280 ft drop in elevation through an amazing 28 locks in 8 miles! Not surprisingly, the canal was never profitable, and when it closed a railroad was built on the towpath. In 1972 Hurricane Agnes destroyed much of the tracks, and the idea of converting the area into a recreational path was developed. The area is now managed by the Friends of the Keuka Outlet Trail, and 7 miles from Penn Yan to Dresden have been developed into a multi-use park, featuring mostly dirt/cinder/stone dust trail along the old rail bed. (Much of this info came from the Friend’s website, , with some additional info from the University of Rochester History Department’s section on canal history.)



Ok, now that you know far more about the history of the Keuka Outlet than you will ever care about, why did I decide to run there?
(1) it’s relatively level. OK, actually it rises 200+ feet in the direction I was heading, but that means downhill running all the way back.
(2) it’s very peaceful and very pretty – I can take pictures while enjoying my passage through nature!
(3) it also doesn’t see a ton of use, especially in the middle of the day, and I typically like solitude when I’m running.
(4) the whole path runs along the stream, and for some inexplicable reason I find that running and biking next to water resonates deep inside me (must be the turtle!)
(5) I also think the old mills are somewhat cool, as is the one remaining stone lock (much of the cut stone was claimed for local foundations, but somehow one lock did survive.)
(6) I’ve ridden there twice and run there (sort of) once – the latter was in mid-July in horrid heat and humidity, and I had to stop running after 20 to 30 minutes – my body just couldn’t keep going. Well, I knew heat and humidity would NOT be a problem in January!







After all that setup, the actual run is pretty anticlimactic – I had a good run in a beautiful place, and it was such a gorgeous day (for January) that I decided to push it and run for 2 ½ hours, or a total of 11.5 – 12 miles. I took something like 18 photos, some of which I’ll post so everyone can be jealous that I got to run in such a cool place on Monday. And since I haven’t done much over 2 hours since early November, I’m a tired sore puppy, aggravated by the cold that I woke up with Monday morning. (I’m glad I got the run in before that moved beyond the sore throat stage.)



Then I hopped in the car, drove 3 ½ hours back to Albany, and limped up the steps to my apartment.

So no racing this weekend, but a pretty darn good day in there all the same. Next weekend (assuming I’m something approaching healthy) I’ll add some more to the racing totals for 2006.

JMH

UPDATED INFO - Greylock Glen has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 28. Unfortunately I'm scheduled to teach class that morning (the only Saturday in January I'm going to be there) AND I'm doing the Lake Effect Snowshoe Duathlon (which may end up being a trail run duathlon) the next day. So no Greylock Glen this year... bummer. I'll just have to settle for the longer Greylock races next month...

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 0 miles, 0 minutes
riding - 0 miles, 0 minutes

Season of the (NO) SnōShū, weekend #3

Greylock Glen 5K Snowshoe Race (POSTPONED)

Saturday, January 14, 2006

It came as no great surprise that after weather in the high 40’s and 50’s much of the week, the Greylock snowshoe race scheduled for Saturday was postponed… can’t really snowshoe when there’s no snow! Ironically, the Berkshires received heavy snowfall Saturday night and Sunday morning; with luck that will see them through this week’s rain and brief bout of warm weather so that the Curly’s Record Run snowshoe race can be held this weekend in Pittsfield. (I won’t be there – I’m planning to run in the Mendon Winterfest 10K race, which will probably end up being a trail race AND may be happening in the rain… I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather folks are wrong about that one!)

JMH

Season of the SnōShū, Weekend #2
North/South Pond Shuffle 3 mi Snowshoe Race
XC Skiing in Savoy Mountain State Forest
Saturday, January 7, 2006

2006 North-South Pond snowshoe race results
North-South Pond race info

2006 Savoy snowshoe race & XC skiing photo slideshow

What a great way to start of the 2006 racing year. The weather was GORGEOUS – bright and sunny. All the way over there was little to no snow – but up in the forest, there was over a foot! Not too cold, not very windy… a great day to visit Savoy Mountain State Forest over in NW Massachusetts.



Got there without mishap, registered (since these races are VERY conditions-dependent, some of them don’t allow pre-registration) – and hopped back in the car and turned it on to have heat while I changed into my racing gear. Of course, I had to finally get back out when it came time to put on the snowshoes… and after that I plodded around trying to get used to the deeper snow and stay warm until we started. I did notice right away that, even “packed”, over a foot of snow is a LOT different to run in than the 6 inches or so we’ve had in Albany. Anyway, the race director had a few things to say, among them “There’s only 500 feet of climbing, mostly in the first half” and “GO!” And off we went.

photo courtesy of www.berkshiresports.org



Ran along, huffing and puffing, for all of about ¼ mile… and then the uphill began, and really didn’t let up much until 1 ½ to 2 miles into the 3 mile course. While I was able to run hills here in 6 inches of snow, it just wasn’t happening over there. So I spent the bulk of the first half to 2/3 walking, walking, walking, and stashing bits of clothing as I generated heat (and I generated a LOT of heat.) I did actually pass a couple of people during this bit, so maybe I’m improving a little bit. Also discovered that squirt top bottles are a bad plan for winter racing, because they freeze up and you just end up unscrewing the caps anyway. (My Gatorade ended with a quite a bit of ice in it by the end. That does reinforce that it really is kind of cold, no matter how warm I’m getting from the walking/running.)

photo courtesy of www.berkshiresports.org

Then we hit lots of level stretches and downhills, and I started running pretty steadily. Some folks tore by me on the downhills – one of the drawbacks to bad knees (just can’t tear down the hills like I’d like to.) Chatted briefly with Rich Busa, a very impressive 76 yr old gentleman who does a lot of the same races I do (he was having a rough time, and joked about it being due to what he keeps hearing about getting old. Keep in mind this guy has been photographed making snow angels with no shirt on after snowshoe races.) Got my picture taken right as I was trying not to fall on my butt. At some point in there my heel cleats got wet and built up two huge ice balls – didn’t realize that until I walked to the car and felt like I was walking on two ice balls. (Must have been at one of the stream crossings – good thing they left out the other two miles that were originally planned, due to the trails being too wet!) The last 1/8 of a mile was the hardest – the snow wasn’t really packed, just badly churned up from the whole pack running over it at the start of the race. As a result I couldn’t think about anything except trying to breath when I finally hit the finish – didn’t even remember to stop my watch, so I didn’t know my time was 59:32 until they posted the results Saturday night.

So, I changed into some dry clothes and did what any intelligent individual would do – drove to another part of the park, strapped on my XC skis, and skied for three hours. Sadly, I think that was a little over three miles… of course, for much of that I was breaking trail through knee deep snow (the skis kept it ankle deep, but I had to step off them a couple of times and sank up to my knees) and a lot of it was either uphill or challenging (ie. bumpy, twisty) downhill. Did have two stretches along some of the roads which are only used by snowmobiles in the winter… while the snowmobilers I saw were courteous and friendly, sucking down their exhaust for a while after they passed was no fun. But most of the time I was totally alone.

Which did lead to one somewhat aggravating episode – the 2nd trail I took has become a streambed, and one section was too wet to ski (and the sides were too densely wooded to go off trail.) So I took off my skis and hiked for a bit… and then discovered that my bindings were too iced up for me to secure my boots. Played with them a bit, muttered a few choice words about whoever designed the bindings and my ghost haunting him if I died out in the woods, and stomped along the stream for a ways further (and got my boots good and wet in the process…. Aargh.) Finally stopped again and worked at de-icing the bindings (which involved my breathing on them until the ice melted, and chiseling the ice off my boots with the ends of my poles.) And eventually got the boots secured and decided that I was NOT removing my skis again until I got to a place where I could easily hike out if I needed to.





Once I finally got back to the car (3 hours later) I made another discovery – double-knotted boot lacings that have been soaked and frozen are a bear to get untied. But I did get them off finally. I also discovered that the boot socks I wore for the race and then the 2nd pair I wore skiing are GREAT - even through my feet got wet doing both activities, they stayed warm. So now I'm on a quest to purchase more of those socks... so far with no luck. Still have a few more stores in the area to check, though. Anyway, late in the afternoon I drove out of the forest and back to so-called civilization, and wrapped up my strenuous Saturday by topping off the gas tank in MA, where gas is 20 cents cheaper than in NY. (Actually, I guess I TRULY wrapped up the day watching Jeremiah Johnson. It just seemed appropriate somehow.)

I did get pictures, both from the race and skiing. The race pictures were taken with my $20 waterproof fixed-focus camera. They’re OK, about what you’d get from the disposables I’ve been using for most of my races. The waterproof casing does seem to introduce a blur around the edges, but it’s not too bad. Only shot half a roll of film with my good camera while skiing, so don’t have those pictures yet.

Next is either the Greylock Glen 3 mile race (if there’s snow at Greylock next weekend… that might be iffy!) or the Mendon Ponds 6 mile race (which I believe will be a trail race of there’s insufficient snow) the following weekend.

Not a bad start to 2006!

JMH

2006 racing totals
snowshoe – 3 miles, 59.5 min
running – 0 miles, 0 minutes
riding - 0 miles, 0 minutes

Season of the SnōShū, weekend #1
I Love Woodford 3.5 mi Snowshoe Race
Sunday December 18, 2005

2005 Woodford snowshoe race results
Woodford snowshoe race info

2005 Woodford snowshoe race photo slideshow

Well, true to form getting there turned out to be a minor adventure. As I packed my gear this morning, I was thinking that after doing 16 races/events this year, prepping to leave for a race has become pretty much old hat - I no longer stress over "do I have this" and "do I have that" like I did back when I only did one or two races a year. Lugged everything down to the car - and discovered that one of my front tires was very low on air. So that launched a 20 minute job of putting on the spare, complicated by the fact that my car (like every other car on my street) was parked on a sheet of ice. But 20 hot sweaty minutes later (I was drenched by the time I was done... great way to start a 75 minute drive to run a race in the snow) the spare was on and I was on my way.

The drive over is a pretty one through the mountains - the race is in the Green Mountains National Forest, which is a pretty cool place to go. Unfortunately missed the turn on my first pass and had to go back, but finally found the parking lot and picked up my race number with no problems. While waiting in line at the porta-john (a common pre-race ritual) I was told that we had to hike down to the starting line, which was on the other side of the highway. So once I was all geared up, off I went... up hill and downhill through the woods in about a foot on snow (good thing I was wearing snowshoes!) with the final bit to get to the road down a STEEP hill, which I was barely able to make it down without breaking my neck. Keep in mind this was just to get to the starting line!



(Afterwards I walked back to the starting/finish line to take a couple of photos... I walked along the road! MUCH easier.)



Anyway, so we all lined up, the race director said some stuff that none of us could hear, people around me said "We're in the back - it'll be all packed down, so how hard can it be to keep on the course?" and then - off we went.


photo courtesy of www.runwmac.com

Now, my version of packed down and everyone else's version clearly differs... snowshoes don't really pack snow, they just shift it down and out of the way. But it's still unstable, slippery, etc. I ran down the snow covered forest road for a bit, maxed out my cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, and then we got to the singletrack section, and I spent much of the next 45-50 minutes hiking. It was a very pretty course (what I could see when my glasses weren't clouded over) but I didn't have a prayer of running most of it... not enough juice in my legs (and here I thought I was in decent shape running half marathon distances on trails this fall) and I'm just not used to running with snowshoes in snow a foot deep (well - the trail was "packed" so it wasn't a foot deep.) So I eventually managed a semi-efficient type of speed-hike which maybe in time I can turn into running on singletrack trails. For the last quarter to half a mile I did run ( we ended up back on the snow covered road) so I crossed the finish line at 1:04 gasping and running (that averages to 18.25 minute miles), but most of it I walked. And walking it was HARD WORK. My legs feel like I ran a half marathon.



We all got a loaf of bread at the finish (one of the sponsors was the Vermont Bread Company.) I thought that was cool, until I had to hike back to the parking lot uphill in snowshoes with a loaf of bread in one hand. Now I think it was just somebody’s idea of a cruel joke.

Had I known I'd be walking so much I would have taken a disposable camera with me and taken pictures of the course. Instead all I have are some shots of the registration area, the hike to the start/finish, and the start/finish. I did get one of the "officials" to take a picture of me running toward the finish when I went back down to take pictures… but unfortunately she must not have pressed the button all the way, because the picture didn’t come out. Clearly I need to get a digital camera (preferably a water-resistant one that I can take out on race courses with me!)

Oh, and your backside goes numb from the snowspray kicked up by the back halves of the shoes... I forgot my back was covered with snow and sat down in the car before changing clothes, then had to clean snow off the seat. I wonder if they make snowshoe gear that's teflon-coated in the back...

The cranky old right knee twinged and pinged a couple of times... it's going to take practice to figure out how best to protect it while on snowshoes. But it didn't go out, so that's OK.

The next race is January 7 - a 5 miler in Savoy State Forest in NW Massachusetts (assuming they have snow on the trails.) I clearly need to get out snowshoe running a good deal more between now and then, so that maybe I can run a bit more than I ran today. Of course, that means I also need to find someplace with actual snow to run in… Albany does not qualify in that department.

Time to take a shower (to try and finish warming up) and then I have to convince myself to do work instead of just going to sleep.

JMH

This was the last race of 2005! 18 races this year, covering 115 miles of running, 165 miles of biking, and 3.5 miles of snowshoeing, in 4 states - NY, MA, RI, and VT. (or should that be the equally applicable states of exhaustion, injury, confusion, and insanity.) Not too shabby considering how little running and riding I'd done prior to March this year... next year with luck and a little hard work will be even better...

2005 races/rides

• Dodge the Deer 5K trail race, Apr 2005
• Leatherman's Loop 10K trail race, Apr 2005
• Rochester Spring Classic Duathlon, May 2005
• Greylock 3 mi trail race, June 2005
• Summer Solstice 14K trail race, June 2005
• Indian Ladder 15K trail race, July 2005
• Greylock Half Century 50 mi ride, Aug 2005
• Savoy Mountain 4.5 mi trail race, Aug 2005
• Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club Metric Century 65 mi ride, Sept 2005
• Jordan Alpine Classic 8.5 mi trail/road race, Sept 2005
• Pfalz Point Trail Challenge 10 mi trail race, Sept 2005
• Rochester Autumn Classic Duathlon, Oct 2005
• Monroe Dunbar Brook 11.5 mi trail race, Oct 2005
• Black Diamond Off Road Duathlon, Oct 2005
• Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon trail race, Oct 2005
• After the Leaves Have Fallen 20K trail race, Nov 2005
• Lil Rhody Run Around 8.5 mi trail race, Nov 2005
• I Love Woodford 3.5 mi snowshoe race, Dec 2005

FIRST XC SKIING OF THE SEASON!
XC Skiing in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve
Friday, December 9, 2005

photo slideshow

Snow day! Snow day! Snow day!

While it may be no fun getting a phone call at 5:30 AM - I really don't mind when it's to let us know we have a snow day.

Used the morning productively - I ordered my new Dion snowshoes! (www.dionsnowshoes.com) From what little I've seen so far Bob Dion has a great company and he truly cares about his customers - I'm really looking forward to getting mine and giving them a try!





In the afternoon I set off with my XC skiis for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. I wasn't the first one out on the trails (and I ran into several other folks gliding along. Well, sort of.) Trails were looking pretty nice under about 6 inches of snow. Unfortunately, it was very WET snow, and every five minutes or so I needed to stop and scrape the snowpack off my skiis. In other words, it was a long hard slog with not a whole lot of gliding going on. But I did get some nice pictures...
and a fairly strenuous workout, though not the kind I was hoping for!






JMH

A RELAXING THANKSGIVING BREAK
12 Mile Mountain Bike Ride
Thursday, November 24, 2005

This morning I woke up to a light snowfall - very pretty. So I pottered around for a while, prepped a turkey, and popped it in the oven for a slow cooking. Then I packed the bike on the car and headed over to the Pine Bush. There was only about an inch of snow - enough to make the ride interesting, but not enough to make it difficult. Again, no one in sight (despite the two other cars parked at the trailhead) as I zipped around on the trails. About halfway through the ride, the sky got very dark, the temperature started dropping, and the wind picked up... so I stopped and started unpacking my wind jacket, hat, and heavier gloves. Just in time, too... as I was putting them on the snow started coming down with a vengeance and then BOOM! one heck of a loud thunderclap hit overhead. So I rode through the snowstorm - very cool, and I once again wished I had my camera. (Admittedly, my glasses and brakes icing up made the ride a bit more challenging, but not impossible.) After about 20 minutes the storm blew through and I rode for a while longer, until I started getting tired and I ran into a large group of walkers - both signs it was time to head home. So off I went, to warm up and chow down on far too much turkey.

I miss Ann and will be glad when she gets back - but all things considered, I think this was a pretty good way to spend the holiday.

JMH

A RELAXING THANKSGIVING BREAK
7 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Since Ann is off in Australia with the karate group, I've had the freedom to spend the first part of this break doing whatever I want. In other words - running and riding!

Today we had pretty good weather - warm (for November) and sunny. So off I went for a short run (90 minutes) in the Pine Bush. It was a good run - quiet and relaxing, with no people in sight. Looking at the sun shining down through the trees I wished I'd brought along my camera.

All in all, a great way to spend the day before Thanksgiving!

JMH

Nine Strenuous Weekends - Part 9
Lil’ Rhody Run Around 8 Mile Trail Race
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005

2005 Lil Rhody Run Around race results
Lil Rhody Run Around race info

2005 Lil Rhody Run Around photo slideshow

Well, once again my plans went astray. Originally I had intended to drive to Pawcatuck, CT (about 20 minutes from Burlingame Park in RI, the site of the race) on Saturday, spend the afternoon and evening visiting with friends, and leave for the race at the luxurious hour of 9:45 Sunday morning. Unfortunately, after I got home for lunch on Saturday I found myself dozing off, and decided a 3 hour drive that afternoon was a bad idea. So I called my friends and made plans to drive straight to the race, leaving at the not-so-luxurious hour of 6:45 AM.

Some pluses to driving straight there: I got to see the Sun come up, and driving through the Berkshires was a treat, with the mist rising up into the air all over the mountains. For the most part it’s a very pretty drive (except for the bits through Springfield and Hartford.) One minus – once you leave the Mass Pike, there are NO REST AREAS or easy places to stop until you’re nearly to I95 in CT, about an hour of driving – not a pleasant prospect if you’re hydrating in preparation for a race!



But, that difficulty aside, got there in plenty of time and with no real difficulties. At 10:15 the parking lot was already overflowing – this is one of the best-attended trail races in New England, with about 200 runners being typical. Hunting season has already begun, so runners are required to wear at least 100 sq inches of orange, and some folks were very creative. Checked in and found that instead of getting a T-shirt, they were handing out orange safety vests that had been screenprinted with the race and sponsors (I would have preferred a T shirt, but so it goes.) Geared up, and noticed fairly quickly that in the high 50/low 60 degree weather my stylish race garb of a long-sleeved technical shirt with an orange tank top worn over top was going to be a bit warmer than I had expected (I knew I should have bought the orange technical shirt!) Still, I’d rather be a little warm than freezing cold… we had beautiful weather for the run!


After a few delays while several thick-headed runners (who apparently didn’t get that the “you must wear orange” instruction applied to them) found orange clothing, off we went on our 8 mile loop around Wachaug Pond. The trails were fairly level, a lot of singletrack, good amounts of roots and rocks, and some interesting bits – mud, boardwalks over some swampy sections, etc. I started out as usual, feeling like I didn’t have a prayer of finishing and doing my best “Darth Vader with asthma” heavy breathing. Thought I was running pretty hard, but people kept passing me. The first half was fairly level (apparently that’s part of the appeal of this race.)

After a brief stretch on a paved road (bleah) we hit the 2nd half, and that’s when the course got pretty cool. Flat turned into lots of gradual up and down, we ran past and around and over big rocks, through a couple of streams, and so on. I also started passing people, which was a pleasant feeling. The last mile took us out onto the paved road around and back into the park – bleah again (but at least the last half mile was downhill.)









This was another race where the announcer called out runner’s names as they finished – cool, finished the last race of my fall series like a real athlete! I also found that while my watch said that it had taken me 1hr, 29min, the official race clock said 1hr, 25min – so officially I ran just over 10 ½ minute miles… a nice bonus for the last race, too. (As it turns out, my watch was right and I ran 11 minute miles, but I’m still pleased.)

After that I hung around for a bit, enjoyed the sunshine and a warm November day in a pretty park in RI, and had a bagel and a bowl of delicious home-made minestrone soup. All in all I’m glad I made the trip down there and ran it – don’t know if I’ll do it again, but it was a good way to end the Nine Strenuous Weekends, and a good way to spend a sunny, warm November Sunday. Life doesn’t get much better than sitting on the bumper of your car soaking up the sunshine, enjoying the pleasant feeling of tired muscles and chowing down on minestrone soup in a really pretty park.

(and after I was done enjoying that I drove over to Pawcatuck and visited with my friend and his wife until early evening… then drove back home. And tried to do some work. And finally went to sleep!)

-JMH

The Nine Strenuous Weekends are over! 9 races/events in 11 weeks! No more races for a month! (And no crazy Pine Bush run to wrap things up with TEN Strenuous Weekends... I'll just do that crazy run for fun sometime.)