Snowshoes, Ski resorts, and Half marathons Oh My!

Snowshoes
So the snowshoe season has wrapped up. This was by far one of the coolest things I have gotten into. I would really like to thank all of my acidoticRACING teammates especially the Captain Chris Dunn. I joined this team to meet people who were like me, enjoyed running, biking, and racing on trails. What I have gotten thus far are some great friends, incredible opportunities, and a ton of pride! This weekend was the Granite State Snowshoe Series Championship presented by aR's own Ryan Welts (as Race Director). This was the last snowshoe race for the series and it was held closer to my home than the rest. Acidotic really "brought it" for this event. Ryan suggested that I may vomit (which may as well be the post race norm). It took place at Bear Brook state park in Allenstown, NH and was the longest race of the series thus far (10k). I got to the venue pretty early and saw all of the familiar faces and a few new ones, among the 100 participants. Since i knew the really fast folks would be out in force for this race i seeded myself a bit further back than i would normally, this could have been a mistake OR a blessing in disguise. The twisty singletrack on the course meant that a pass would take quite a bit of energy since 18'' of snow lined either side of the trail. My first mile was slow, spending a lot of time weaving on and off the singletrack. I stuck with a CMS (Central Mass Strider club) member for quite a while as we broke away from the pack we were in. He would later lose me around the 4 mile mark. I finished a little bit over 55 minutes, which I was satisfied with. I decided my goal would be sub 1hr since snowshoe racing has so many more variables than trail racing (hills, snow consistency, balling, wet shoes, singletrack, hardpack...you get the idea.).  My time was good enough for 19th overall, and given the company I was in, i was pretty pumped. Jim Johnson won the race (along with every other GSSS race this year) in an incredible 43:22! This event was definitely a memorable one! After racing 4 of the 6 races in the series I finished out in the standings in 8th place (pretty cool since I only found my way into the top 10 only once at Horsehill)! Below is the link to the Granite State Snowshoe Series website and the individual results for races I competed in.

GSSS
Whitaker Woods 17th
Kingman Farm 18th
Horsehill 10th
Bear Brook Championship 19th

Snowshoe racing has really surprised me. I really didn't think there could possibly be anything worse than racing with giant flip flops on. WRONG! The snowshoes I wore this season (Dion 121's) are so light and so well designed that you forget that you aren't just spike running (running in microspikes). the coolest part? They're made in north Bennington, VT! Here's a link : DION SNOWSHOES. Not only did I have a blast this season racing, but it has been the most effective (and enjoyable) speedwork.  At Kingman farm (the only night race) I had the pleasure of running the course before the race to break out the tracks and place markers along the way. While this may have tired me out I really felt like I had contributed to the races overall sucess. Chris did an awesome job of designing the course and the night element with headlamps really made it something special. Horsehill was re-scheduled and fell on a particularly cold and snowy morning, the day after Kingman Farms NIGHT RACE! This likely lowered the amount of participants (crappy roads, TOUGH race merely 12 hrs before, COLD!) but the "Die Hards" were out! and Horsehill proved tobe a challenging race!Although I am transferring to NJ this Summer I PLAN on racing Acidotic in the future.

Enjoying the warm weather at the GSSS Championships

acidoticRACING's Granite State Snowshoe Championship team! No really aR won the Team Championships!

 

Winter Wild!

Winter wild is my kind of race! Run to the top of a ski mountain in the snow (usually over 1,000' of elevation gain) and then recklessly bomb down said mountain. These events are one of a kind, races where you choose your way down the mountain. If you're like me and masochistic, your vehicle DOWN the mountain will be the same as you chose going up. Others choose snowboards, skis etc. The Open category is primarily runners (did i mention most of these runners wear black and yellow?) Last week I did the Winter Wild Mt. Sunapee race. As expected many of my teammates were there as well. I wasnt feeling too great before Sunapee but I thought it would get better on the ride up to the mountain ( it didn't). Sunapee was my third Winter Wild race so I knew pain and suffering were inevitable. I started off slow in the sand like mashed potato snow and eventually made it to the top (about 2 minutes behind some of my teammates in the Masters category ...that's right 40 year olds are fast!). I knew there was one other runner ahead of me in my age group (20-29), so i took to the downhill pretty hard trying to catch him. I got an awful pain in my stomach on the way down but just tried to ignore it the whole way down. I gained a lot of distance on this competitor  but not enough to pass before the finish. Damn. PUKE! This race I really went all out but it just wasn't my day. I have had a 3rd place and 2 2nd place finishes at Winter Wild, I suppose winning one this season isn't going to happen for me!

Mister PukeyFace, this one hurt!

Winter Wild Uphill Series

 

Wachusett 3rd 20-29

Ragged Mtn 2nd 20-29 (5 seconds!)

Sunapee 2nd...AGAIN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Bedford & Oleksak Half Marathons

 

I grabbed the bull by the horns last month (and by grabbed the bull by its horns I mean, decided that my knee is slowly healing and accepting higher mileage again) and signed up for 2 half marathons on back to back weekends. New Bedford on St. Patricks day (sorry I refuse to wear green, only yellow and black :)) New Bedford promises a flat and fast course. I really wanted to polish up my half marathon PR (personal record) since it is a pretty unimpressive 1:38. Ultimately I would love to be sub 1:30 but an 8 minute gain is a lot to ask for. Well like I said above, all of this snowshoe and winter mountain running have done wonders for my speed. After the snowshoe championships on Saturday I followed suit with the Sunday "long run" (they haven't been very long lately due to nagging knee syndrome..). I have an awful habit of training way too fast, and treating my long runs as tempo runs. i probably have this problem because my mileage has dropped since this summer 70+ a week to a mere 35, while trying to get my knee rehabbed. This Sunday I did a 13.1 (half marathon) training run for New Bedford, I picked a slightly hilly "out and back" course and set off running way too fast. At the halfway point I noticed on my GPS that i wasn't far off of my goal split time of 6.55mi. in 45:30. I was certainly behind that (47:55ish), but in the spirit of finishing hard I tried to get home at a similar but slightly stronger pace. The result was 1:33:37 without much preparation, beating my (flat) Half at the Hamptons PR by 5 minutes. Needless to say, Snowshoes and Ski resorts have played a huge role in my road running game, and for that I am thankful! Oleksak Half Marathon is a smaller and hillier event, so I am not seeking to better whatever New Bedford Yields! Gotta Run!

 

 

 



Exciting updates!

Acidotic Racing
A couple weeks before the Winter Wild Wachusset race, I sent an email to Chris Dunn of Acidotic Racing about joining their team. I was looking at the Gallery from some of last years races and saw a ton of aR jerseys. After a quick google search I found out a lot about the team and its members. I had no intention of joining a club/team but the more I read through the website, the more I realized this competes in All sorts of endurance events (from cyclocross to snowshoe racing and just about everything in between). They had a myriad of events that they host as well mostly all on trials. On top of the fact that this group was competitive in everything I am interested in, they also have a very philanthropic approach to event hosting. After a couple of E-mails I was warmly welcomed to the race team! Since I have joined I have raced twice, once at Winter Wild Wachusset and one snowshoe race in North Conway. So far I really like the idea of racing for a team, especially such an outstanding group of individuals who make you feel welcome and genuinely appreciate you just showing up to a race. I'm looking forward to more events with these guys/girls!

http://www.acidoticracing.com

 

Winter Wild Wachusset
The Winter Wild races are uphill/downhill events with a few different options for racing them (run up/ski down, run up/run down, ski up ski down..you get the picture). I entered the "open" category (run up/run down). The race started at 7AM before the ski resort opened, so we would all be running on freshly groomed trails. Wachusset has a prominence of just about 1,000' so over the course of 2 1/2 miles you gain and lose all of that. I decided that my bulky/waterproof trail running shoes that I usually use for long distance or snow(Helly Hansen Pace's) would be the best footwear. I used microspikes and a lightweight goretex ankle gaiter to keep the snow out. This setup seemed to work great. I tried to start near the front but couldn't find my way around a couple snowshoers who would later trip and fall seconds after the start. The open category runners took off FAST, I knew i couldn't hold that pace to the top of the mountain so I tried to settle into a more comfortable pace, expecting to make some ground up when the leaders slowed down. Well they never really slowed down, but I did! The last 1/4 mile or so of the uphill was a black diamond trail, I really would have liked to have some trekking poles. reaching the top was a great relief, since the downhill wouldn't tax my cardiovascular system as much as the uphill did. In my typical fashion I recklessly bombed downwards gaining one or two positions on open category runners (losing a few to skiers). I finished at 26:58 which was good enough for 16th overall and 3rd for my age group. Afterwards there was an awesome raffle where tons of outdoor gear was given away to competitors. While I didn't win anything in the raffle I got a nice beer mug for an age group award! Winter wild was so much fun that I immediately signed up for the next one that I could make (Ragged Mountain).
Winter Wild Results

Nearing The Finish Line

 

Acidotic Racing Team at Winter Wild Wachusset

 

 

Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble



This weekend I took a leap out of my comfort zone and raced the Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble in North Conway, NH part of the Granite State Snowshoe Series. I have been really interested in snowshoe racing but wasn't sold on buying running snowshoes, especially since it is a seasonal sport. If I had only known how much fun I would have this weekend! I contacted the RD about renting a pair of Dion snowshoes (Made in Bennington, VT!) and he reserved a pair for me. It was a cold morning, probably at or around 20 degrees, but it felt much nicer. After getting into running snowshoes for the first time I jogged around getting used to them. It wasn't hard to get used to the Dions since they were incredibly light (especially in comparison to the 24'' hiking snowshoes I have). I started toward the middle of the pack since I was a complete "NOOB" as the gamers would say. The race was 4miles over rolling XC ski trails, I settled into a pace just below 9 minute miles. This pace was comfortable so I decided that I would speed up at the halfway point. The back half of the course was primarily downhill which helped me keep the pace up for a somewhat strong finish. I crossed the finish in 33:22 which was good enough for 17th overall. I was pretty pumped with the results since it was my first time running in snowshoes. I will definitely be trying to enter some more of these races, and i would recommend it to any runner looking for a fun off season race! I would like to thank aR and RD Kevin Tilton for making it happen!
Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble Results
Granite State Snowshoe Series

aR team pic before the race (a few members missing)

http://www.joeviger.com/

 

Wrap up

Today I did a nice single digit temperature 7 1/2 mile trail run. It was kind of nice to be completely alone on such a normally busy trail. It was incredibly icy and I probably should have utilized the spikes. The last few weeks have been awesome, I am very proud to be part of such a talented group of athletes and  I think that I will really benefit from being a member of aR. As some of you may know I am up for transfer this summer. I am ALMOST sure of where I will be going but until I see "official orders" I shall keep it to myself.  For my next few blog posts I have thought about interviewing some people who I really look up to as competitors. The reason for this is that I am sure it is boring to hear my first person narrative of mediocre race performances all the time and i have met a lot of interesting people in the running world.

Happy Trails!