Navarino Snowshoe Adventure 5K
i’ve been bounding about on some redfeather snowshoes for the past few winters and have been pining for an opportunity to participate in a snowshoe race. even though we’ve been getting socked with plenty of snow the past few winters, there aren’t any local snowshoe races here in southeastern wisconsin. since we were headed to my in-laws in northeastern wisconsin, i did some research online and found a 5K/10K snowshoe race that was within an hour’s drive.
after a few wrong turns, i found my way to the Navarino Nature Center within an hour of the start time. i registered for the 5K rather than the 10K mainly since i was just getting over being sick and wasn’t real sure of how i’d fare. after a short warm-up with the snowshoes on the trail, i lined up for the start.
the race director’s pre-race announcements included the course markings and that the 10K is two loops of the course. he went on to explain a change to the course from the prior year to include an out-and-back section that would justify the use of the word “adventure” in the race name. assembled at the start were folks sporting all shapes/sizes of snowshoes including traditional long wooden shoes to ultra-light shoes that looked to be better sized for children’s use. two competitors had even opted to sport woolen kilts with some non-traditional spandex tights underneath.
the race started and i was astonished to see more than a few fellow competitors take off at a sprint churning up chunks of snow in their wake. i’ve done some training in these funky shoes but never really tried to run fast in them. we stretched out single file along the groomed ski trail as we made our way through a clearing then into the woods. it’s much easier to run on packed snow versus the powdered snow to the left & right of the trail so i kept focused on staying in the track and not taking the tangent on turns. hearing a fellow competitor on my heels, i did move to the side to allow them by.
the course rolled up and down as well as wound left and right through the woods. the description of the course from the event web site cited…
“Dedicated groomed trails for snowshoeing symbiose beautifully with off trail terrain including such pleasures as bog drifts and winding routes through pine forest, oak savannah, and tall grass prairie.”
…which i can say was pretty accurate. while i wasn’t in great shape, it was shaping up to be a pleasant racing experience. i made a right turn into the “new” section of the course that the race director had spoken about. i made my way over the footbridge and up the hill then descended through a narrow opening onto a frozen bog. this is where the “adventure” began. the handful of other competitors ahead of me had churned up the powdered snow and i could plainly see pockets of where shoes plunged deeper than i would have expected the ground to be. while i avoided these areas, i did find myself working pretty hard to work through the uneven terrain.
after this rather adventurous section, we rejoined the main trail for a short time until we were directed down another single track section. i found myself simply navigating the single track with the implicit intent of not tripping at the expense of really exerting myself aerobically. safely navigating through the section, i emerged from the woods and made the short final effort to the finish line.
glancing at the clipboard, i finished a distant fourth in the 5K and noted there were a handful of 10K runners that were already out on their second loop. while i haven’t seen the final results online, i believe the 5K winner was mustering a pace that was two minutes per mile faster than mine. needless to say, i think i’ve got alot to learn before i can truely be competitive.
regardless, the one trait that really stood out for this race was how friendly the volunteers and competitors were. everyone said “good morning” and were very outgoing. perhaps next year i’ll find myself in better shape so i can make a return trip to the event.
workweek wrapup
this week had a variety of fun conditions to run in between the snow and the following cold snap. after all that fun, i opted for some left turn running on friday night.
2/8 – 6 miles (westbound out & back on the glacial drumlin, light snow)
2/9 – 5 miles (in town, hospital loop, more snow)
2/10 – off (too much snow)
2/11 – 6 miles (temperature: 4 degrees)
2/12 – 7 miles (evening, pettit center, 25 laps averaging ~8:00 pace)
MTD – 54 miles
YTD – 214 miles
Odometer – 29,722 miles
slow start
my efforts for february have been rather pedestrian, only mustering thirty miles to date. admittedly, i’m running at an easy pace to allow my right achilles to heal up again.
2/1 – off
2/2 – off
2/3 – 5 miles
2/4 – 5 miles
2/5 – 6 miles
2/6 – 7 miles
2/7 – 7 miles
MTD – 30 miles
YTD – 190 miles
Odometer – 29,698 miles
sunny sunday
i got out late in the afternoon for a constitutional on the glacial drumlin trail. temps were around 20 degrees and i opted for my oakley’s as it was fairly sunny. i needed 7.75 miles to get to 160 miles for the month so i simply headed westbound on the drumlin until my GPS hit 3.88 miles then did a 180 for home.
i ended up running 23 out of 31 days during the month and averaged just under 7 miles per day. considering the previous month’s total miles was 101, 160 is a reasonable step forward…although i’m sure my dad would scold me for exceeding the “10% rule.” 🙂
eyeballing my odometer, i may just be able to be rolling 30,000 miles by the time the Trailbreaker Half Marathon is being run. i’ve gotta say, it would be cool to be running a hometown event as i’m passing 30K. (my guess is i’d be in shape by then for a solid half marathon or a slow full…likely would opt for the half)
MTD/YTD – 160 miles
Odometer – 29,668 miles
easy does it
i volunteered on sunday the 24th at the InStep Icebreaker Indoor Marathon and didn’t fit in a run for the day. i got to work the race registration table, handing out the timing chips. during the race i was asked to stand near the finish line and share the lap counts with anyone who needed it. i simply held a clipboard with a note scribbled on it that said “Ask me for your Lap #” but there weren’t many takers. honestly, the projection screen did a pretty good job of sharing where each person was as they went by since their name, laps completed and lap time was displayed. regardless, it was very cool to have a ringside seat to watch the runners roll through nearly 96 laps on the track.
the rest of the week shaped up to be…
1/25 – off (right achilles sore from too many left turns)
1/26 – 5 miles (easy)
1/27 – 5 miles (easy)
1/28 – off (low single digits and windy in the wee morning hours)
1/29 – 7 miles (back at the pettit center in the evening, -2 degrees outside in the wee morning hours)
1/30 – 7 miles (afternoon run, east on the glacial drumlin)
MTD/YTD – 152 miles
Odometer – 29,660 miles