Week Ending Jan. 8 & Snowy Range Snow Shoe Races

Back-to-back decent weeks for the first time in a long time.  Also strung together two consecutive good races.  And I just got back from the doctor with a clean bill of health.  My shoulder is still a little dinged up from my flailing at Silent Trails.  I have a pretty good-sized trapezoidal spasm and the bump in there that concerned me is more than likely an inclusion cyst, both of which should eventually work themselves out.  My other concern was some discomfort I was feeling in my lower left abdomen that I was concerned might be a hernia.  I had a hernia repaired once when I was a toddler, so this was not out of the question.   However, the doc found no evidence of that and my issue is more than likely a simple lower abdominal muscle strain or pull thanks to the races I've run the last two weeks.  So, now that I've shared a lot of personal information, let's get on with the show.

Mon. Jan. 2 - 5 miles in 35 min (6:54 pace).  I got out for an out-and-back on the Greenway in Cheyenne after sitting on my butt all day.

Tues. Jan. 3 - 4 miles in 30 min (7:36 pace).  My four mile out-and-back on the Greenbelt in Laramie.  I had planned to continue on and do the south loop, but Saturday's race caught up with me and I called it at four.  Did a quick round of core work after.

Wed. Jan. 4 - 7 miles in 63 min (9:00 pace).  I got up early for some snow shoe fun at Happy Jack in the rising sun.  I went down Pole Creek until the snow stopped, then turned around and went up Aspen and Forest, turned around and went up Middle Aspen for a couple of minutes, and then came back in up Pole Creek.  It was a beautiful morning up on the trails.

Thurs. Jan. 5 - 6 miles in 42 min (7:00 pace).  Did what I am now referring to as the Spring Creek Loop in the morning.  Felt pretty alright.

Fri. Jan. 6 - 5.5 miles in 38 min (6:54 pace).  Friday form work.  My house to fieldhouse, 2xhigh knees, butt kicks, side bounds, karioka, followed by 8x180m laps in 35 sec with 35 sec half lap jog rest.  Hit the last one in 30 sec.  Not feeling much speed this morning.  Renovations of the indoor track at the fieldhouse are pretty much complete and they look great!

Sat. Jan. 7 - 15 miles in 3:18 (13:13 pace).  Snowy Range Snow Shoe Races!  My dad drove over early to pick me up and we drove up the mountain to the ski area.  I signed up for what was billed as a backcountry 20K, and met the seven other crazy people who decided to do that silly race as well.  Sam and Jenn Malmberg were there, as was Mr. Martisius, who decided to forsake speed in the name of wearing the largest snow shoes I have ever seen.  It was like he had his own personal catamaran.  Our start time was 8:30am, with the 5K and 10K starting later.  After some pre-race instructions and course directions, Josh Fuller started us with a hearty blast of his vuvuzela. 

Pre-race meeting.

And we're off!  Note Fuller in back with the vuvuzela.

From the horn I took the lead with what I thought was a pretty conservative pace.  The first mile or two worked us up out of the ski area and toward Libby Creek trail.  Once on Libby Creek, I took a good digger when my snow shoe cleat grabbed a tree branch hidden by snow.  That allowed Sam to get back on my tail.  As we worked around Libby, I started to feel the 10,000ft. elevation and decided to start hiking the climbs.  I expected either Sam or Kyle Fanning, who had caught up to us by that point, to pass me on the climb up from the creek and onto Libby Ridge.  Neither did, however, with Sam expressing that he was content to follow me since I was the one who knew where we were going.  The course was very well marked, so I'm not sure I believe him.  I will concede that out of the three of us, I was the only one who knew these trails.

I pulled into the first aid station at about 1:05 into the adventure.  Sam Vogel and Fuller were there with cheer, water, and fig newtons (yum!).  I had put 20-30 sec. on Sam by that point, but I waited at the aid station so we could head out together.  From the aid station, we entered my favorite part of the course; a quick, few-miles long downhill on Barber Lake trail.

I pulled into the second aid station around 1:49 on my running time.  I was feeling pretty good at that point, and had built a comfortable lead on Sam and Kyle.  Again, though, I waited for Sam at the aid station so we could continue together.  At the aid station, we asked the volunteers there how far along we were.  One answered, "about half way."  I thought, "no way, we're at least two-thirds done."  However, I should have recalled the old saying about how in a mile race, it's the third lap that is the farthest from the finish line, not the first.  This proverb would prove correct.

From the second aid station we entered the rolling Corner Mountain trails that had a little more snow on them.  As I crested a rise, a large bull and large cow moose bolted in front of me, eliciting my cry of , "HOLY SHIT!"  I yelled at them a couple more times as I continued, but we went our separate ways and called it good.

Next was the crux of the course.  From Corner Mountain we hopped back on Barber Lake road for a short distance before making a turn up a forest service road.  I have camped off that road many times, but it produced the most difficult part of the race.  For a couple of miles, we trudged through mid-calf to knee-deep snow.  The only other evidence of humans out there were the two sets of snow shoe tracks left by those who marked the course the day before.  I tried to just settle in and walk in the previous tracks to avoid having to break much trail.  I found my trek poles to be particularly useful at that time.  I theorize I built up a good lead on Sam and Kyle on the section, since they did not have poles and I envisioned them struggling to stay upright without them.

I finally got on a groomed ski trail around the ski area and was thinking, "hey, I might almost be done!"  It was wishful thinking.  Alec had us finish with the 5K loop around Hanging Lake.  I was pretty cooked at that time, and struggled to make myself keep running.  I also struggled to keep my pants on.  After three hours of sweating and getting wet from the snow, my pants were so heavy with water that I had to fight to keep them over my ass.  That was my last couple of miles; cursing, wanting to be done, and constantly pulling up my pants.

Finally, I heard the joyful cry of the vuvuzela at the finish line.  I pulled up my poles and sprinted as best I could to the finish.  I crossed in first in 3:18:16 and was immediately handed a Pabst from Fuller.  After some congrats, back-slaps and handshakes, I turned around to see Kyle coming in.  Three miles before, I had no sighting of the guy, was certainly minutes ahead of him, and then he pulled to within 40 seconds of me at the finish.  He must has been burning on that last 5K.  Had the race been a mile longer, he might have had me dead to rights.

Finally frickin' done.

Alec's hand comes from out of nowhere to shake mine.

I got me a medallion!

That was the race.  Some conferring at the awards ceremony concluded that the course was actually about 25K, with multiple GPSs reading between 15.2 and 15.5 miles.  So, we all proposed that next year, Alec should probably bill this as a 25K, not 20K.  Some accuracy, please.

What a well executed race.  Alec worked his butt off and it showed, and I think it was worth it.  Hopefully others agree.  Great job from all the volunteers and sponsors who made a heck of an inaugural race.  I hope to see everyone again next year, with a few more out there as well!

Sun. Jan. 8 - 4 miles in 30 min (7:36 pace).  A quick morning running on the Greenbelt to shake out some of the junk from the race.  I was actually feeling pretty darn good considering the thrashing the day before.  I should train for races more often.  Seems like I'm not crippled if I do.

Totals:
Week's Miles: 46.5
Running Time: 7:17

Gear: Asics Speedstar 5 (422 miles) Saucony Peregrine (144 miles)