A Snowy Trail Run, in Pictures

Yesterday the dogs and I both needed some exercise. So we fought the good fight against the white snow of death and went to Bakers Ridge and slogged about (aboat for my Canadian reader(s)) and got muddy, snowy, tired, and happy. From A to Zed it was a good time and my toque worked perfectly.

Running with my dogs always makes me feel like a slow, clumsy, inferior species.

It also reminds me that exercise is play, mud is fun, and that a good face-licking is never a bad idea.

It took me about an hour and a half to get out, run for nearly an hour, make a stop at Kroger for some missing ingredients, and get home. Probably a better way to spend some time than watching "The Spy Next Door" which is what I was up to before I left.

The Past Few Days

Have been busy.

Somebody had a baby.

Someone else has been doing schoolwork, walking the dogs and trying to be a good daddy.

The little bundle didn't sleep at all last night, and the wifey is tired. I slept just fine, though, thank you very much.

The dag's have been adjusting just fine.

They still get to hike and play in the snow:

And Chopper still enjoys a solid snuggle or two.

Times are good in our house right now.

Andrew's 2011 racing plans and a birth play-by-play from my perspective coming later this week.

Out like Chief Ron in TDB.

Race Report: Frozen Sasquatch 25K

On Saturday, I participated in my first race of the year, the Frozen Sasquatch 25k, in the Kanawha State Forest, near Charleston WV.

I had signed up for the 50k in September, back when I was feeling fit, the sun was shining, and I was unreasonably optimistic. As the semester wore on, my schoolwork piled up, and my wife got more and more pregnant, I modified my agenda, and started planning on running the 25k.

That was a very good idea.

While I was reasonably active through the past 3 months, my longest run was about 10 miles, and that was on flat roads in November. I’ve been doing some Crossfit WOD’s over at the House of PAIN (aka Pumphouse Industries), running here and there, and riding my bicycles occasionally.

I woke up at 4:00 am on race day feeling very unprepared, despite my pre-game carb loading. (3.5 slices of pizza and chicken fingers. Very Paleo.)

The drive down was fairly uneventful, aside from crushing redneck monster-truck egos in my little purple-blue Mazda 3. As I got closer to Charleston, the snow got deeper. I was one of the first cars in the parking lot at around 7 am.

As I picked up my race packet, my spirits lifted considerably at the sight of two dudes in Five Fingers. While I’m a fan of the toe-shoes, they suck in the snow. And they’re really, really cold. Plus, one of the barefoot brothers was wearing a kids hat with ears. I felt pretty darn good about my trail-slippers (New Balance MT 100’s) and girlie hat with a pony-tail hole.

After an encouraging PRP (pre-race-poop) I sat through a boring, standard pre-race meeting, while chatting with Michael Owen, a total stud runner who got 9^th place at TNF 50 miler in San Francisco in December.

The race started, and I was near the front of the pack. The first climb/hike was uneventful, and I honestly don’t remember too much from the race itself. All trails look pretty much the same when covered with snow.

After the first hour, my faux-fitness started to dissolve. The downhills hurt more and more, and my fast hiking kept getting slower.

I got chicked at least 3 times. I only avoided the 4^th by a furious kick in the last 400m. I call it the ego-sprint.

My finishing time was 3:00:34. Not exactly world-beating, but fast enough for a big dude with minimal running experience. At the Mohican 100 (2009 edition) Jeremiah Bishop beat me by about 3 hours. It’s good to know I’m at least 50% slower than both top ultra-runners and ultra mountain bike guys.

The race was fun, and I’m looking forward to a summer of trail running adventures. Next up: Big Bear Lake 20k.