snowshoe roar
it would seem as though march has picked up where february left off. however, the benefit of having a significant snow cover is that i was able to do the New Berlin Lions Snowshoe Roar, which was accurately billed as the first and only snowshoe race in southern Wisconsin.
(photo By C.T. Kruger; published online with details about the event at newberlinnow.com. i’m in the center of the photo sporting a yellow jacket & black pants.)
the course for the race was well marked and was groomed before the race which made it much easier to run on. there was a nice wooded section of the course that was repeated twice before returning to the start/finish area. the one potential bottleneck for the course, if participation grows, is a single footbridge in the wooded section.
overall, it was a well run event that will hopefully attract more participants in the coming years. i mustered sixth overall and second in my age group which netted me a nice medal. the post-race chili and hot chocolate were also a definite plus.
3/1 – 5 miles
3/2 – 3 mile snowshoe race in 28:40 plus 4 miles for warm up & cool down
3/3 – 15 miles
3/4 – 5 miles
3/5 – 5 miles
3/6 – 6 miles
3/7 – 6 miles
3/8 – 6 miles
3/9 – 11 miles
3/10 – 18.25 miles (indoors, average pace 8:00 per mile)
3/11 – 5 miles
MTD – 89.25 miles (11/11 days)
YTD – 484.25 miles (67/70 days)
Odometer – 35,423 miles
foregone february
without question, february has the most difficult month to run through when living in the upper midwest. if the snow, ice or cold weather doesn’t challenge you, then a virus, cold or other ailment will.
i opted to run indoors 9 times (treadmill x 7, indoor track x 2) and dealt with a bit of a virus through the middle of the month. while this february was far from my best, i was still able to roll more miles during the month than i had since february 2007 when i was prepping for the Boston Marathon.
feb 19 – off
feb 20 – 5 miles
feb 21 – 5 miles
feb 22 – 5.5 miles
feb 23 – 10 miles
feb 24 – 17 miles
feb 25 – 6 miles
feb 26 – 5 miles
feb 27 – 5 miles
feb 28 – 5 miles
MTD – 185 miles (27/28 days)
YTD – 395 miles (56/59 days)
Odometer – 35,334 miles
nine iron
the last few weeks may be best described using a golf analogy as it feels as though i am playing from the tee to green wielding only a nine iron. most of my efforts have been proverbial chip shots that are over shortly after they start. that said, we did get some snow earlier in the month so i was able to snowshoe a few times which i always enjoy.
some less than reasonable weather conditions on a sunday led me indoors for a left-turn-only long run on a track. this allowed me a neat vantage point to watch a speedskating meet held on the ice oval inside of the running track. the crack of the starter’s pistol startled me a few times until i was smart enough to pay closer attention to when each race started.
this past weekend i was able to log my first outdoor long run of the year with temps in the lower twenties and some sunshine. the paved trail that i normally would run on is essentially impassable so i took my chances on the city streets and only encountered one motorist who felt it necessary to point their car at me. the really entertaining part was the wave from the driver as he passed as though he was performing a public service of sorts.
feb 1 – 5 miles
feb 2 – 7 miles (snowshoeing)
feb 3 – 5 miles (snowshoeing)
feb 4 – 5 miles
feb 5 – 5 miles
feb 6 – 6 miles
feb 7 – 6 miles
feb 8 – 5 miles
feb 9 – 6 miles (snowshoeing)
feb 10 – 14.25 miles
feb 11 – 5 miles
feb 12 – 6 miles
feb 13 – 6 miles
feb 14 – 5 miles
feb 15 – 6 miles
feb 16 – 8 miles
feb 17 – 16.25 miles
feb 18 – 5 miles
MTD – 121.5 miles (18/18 days)
YTD – 331.5 miles (47/49 days)
Odometer – 35,270 miles
snot rocketeer
there’s nothing better than a midwestern winter to hone and sharpen your snot rocket skills. windy days add that extra layer of complexity to be able to judge the prevailing wind direction before proceeding. choose wisely and take satisfaction in the enhanced hang time. choose poorly and you’ll be wearing it.
my january ends with a new personal best of 210 miles covered during the month of january. (previous best: 202 miles in january 2007) for the most part, i’ve been able to run outdoors but i did run indoors a total of six times during the month. (treadmill x 3 & indoor track x 3) it should be noted that my snot rocket skills were not employed indoors.
in all honesty, i’m not real concerned about running fast in the middle of a wisconsin winter. according to my GPS watch stats for the month, i averaged 8:30 per mile pace and logged a few ticks more than 30 hours.
my only real regret is not being able to use my snowshoes this month due to a limited amount of snow. that said, i was able to enjoy a lunch hour run in shorts earlier this week when it was 58 degrees outside. my guess is that the snowshoe to shorts ratio will be a bit different in february.
jan 22 – off
jan 23 – 5 miles
jan 24 – 5 miles
jan 25 – 7.8 miles
jan 26 – 10 miles
jan 27 – 9.25 miles
jan 28 – 7.5 miles
jan 29 – 6 miles
jan 30 – 4.25 miles
jan 31 – 6 miles
MTD/YTD – 210 miles (29/31 days)
Odometer – 35,148 miles
protracted reality
“Every mile is two in winter.” – George Herbert
jan 11 – 6 miles
jan 12 – 8 miles
jan 13 – 12 miles
jan 14 – 6 miles
jan 15 – 4 miles
jan 16 – 6 miles
jan 17 – 6 miles
jan 18 – 6 miles
jan 19 – 12 miles
jan 20 – 10 miles
jan 21 – 5 miles
MTD & YTD – 149.2 miles (20/21 days)
Odometer – 35,087 miles