2015 U.S. National Snowshoe Championships
a few weeks ago i placed in my age group at a USSSA sanctioned snowshoe race so i met the eligibility standard to register for the National Championships race. this year the Nationals event was being held in my (adopted) home state of Wisconsin, only about a three hour drive from where i live.
i drove up on friday night and on saturday morning i arrived two hours before start of the Mens 10K race. while getting ready for a short warm up run, i noticed the (indoor) concession stand was already grilling bratwurst. nothing says “hello wisconsin” like the smell of bratwurst being grilled first thing in the morning.
after a ten minute warm up run, i bound my feet onto my snowshoes and headed to the starting line. while the temperatures may have been in the single digits, the sunshine made it feel much warmer. after some final instructions we were sent on our way.
at the start i purposefully lined up near the back of the pack. while i got into the race i’m not exactly contenting for a title. as we made our way through the first mile and onto the first section of single track, i dialed into a solid pace and was able to avoid a jackrabbit start.
the course was a nice mix of single track sections alternating with wide open sections that allowed room to pass or be passed. another benefit from starting a bit further back is that i was able to reel in other folks as the race went on. from a mindset perspective, it’s much more encouraging to pursue rather than to be pursued.
in the middle part of the course there were some really challenging sections of single track where if you made a wrong step you’d be off the trail and tumbling down a hill. i also remember a real steep downhill in that section that i was chopping my steps in a frantic effort to slow my momentum so i could make a sharp right turn at the bottom of the hill.
i glanced at my watch when i saw the halfway mark and noticed that i was on track to finish in under an hour. the second half of the race did have some fun single track sections but what was most memorable were the steep uphill climbs. each time i looked up from the bottom of a hill i dialed down the pace and focused on getting my cadence high with short strides until i was up and over the hill.
before i knew it, i saw the 9K marker which meant there was only about a half mile to go to the finish. i made my way through one last uphill single track section while keeping tabs on a few guys ahead of me. while i couldn’t quite close the gap, as i approached the finish i could see it ticking with fifty three minutes and change on it. i lumbered along as fast as i could muster to cross the line with 53:47 with exactly six miles on my gps watch.
overall, the snow conditions were packed very firm and was likely the best track i’ve had the opportunity to race on. checking the results i finished 59th overall and 8th in my age group.
recent training
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2/9 – 7 miles
2/10 – 7 miles
2/11 – 7 miles
2/12 – 7 miles
2/13 – 7 miles
2/14 – 14 miles
2/15 – 8 miles
2/16 – 7 miles
2/17 – 7 miles
2/18 – 7 miles
2/19 – 7 miles
2/20 – 7 miles
2/21 – 17 miles
2/22 – 8 miles
2/23 – 7 miles
2/24 – 7 miles
2/25 – 6 miles
2/26 – 5 miles
2/27 – 5 miles
2/28 – 1 mile warm up, 6 mile snowshoe in 53:47
February Totals: 209.25 miles
(27/28 Days, 33 Hours & 6 Minutes)
YTD: 429.25 Miles
(58/59 Days, 66 Hours & 49 Minutes)