Lake Effect Snowshoe Festival 4-Miler 2 Mile Fun Run

Run: 4 miles in :17:00 min. @ 1:15 p.m.

Weather Report: Light Snow, 23°F, 83% Humidity, Winds: from N @ 9 mph; 13°F.

Pre-Race Observations: One day after running about 6.4 road miles, I'm getting ready to shoe a 4 mile jaunt through the Lake Ontario coastal snows...

My normal "pre-game" routine is a little off this morning due to the late start time of my event. The latest I have ever started a traditional race is 10:00 a.m., but today we will not be leaving the start until 1:15 p.m. or so. Fortunately, I slept in later than normal this morning (a whopping 7:45 a.m.!), and have begun drinking some joe and boiling water for oatmeal. The later start will likely necessitate a snack a few hours before the race--or not!

This will be my second time running the course. Last year, I had registered for the snowshoe race, but because of a freakish snow shortage, lake effect or otherwise, the event defaulted to a trail race. I don't recall much about the course, other than the fact that it was a little hilly and, having no perspective about how to preform a snowshoe run back then, my memory of the experience has given me little insight as to what I can do today to improve my chances for placing.

My goal going into the event is to continue following through on my recent focus, which is to say that I want to finish strong with a smile on my face!

Post-race Observations: My son went to the race with me today, and I told him just before the start not to wander too far away--I suspected that might take the a "early release" by opting out of the 4 miler after the first two mile loop... which turned out to be exactly what I did. While running the first loop, which consisted of some severe ups and downs, crossing two creeks (one which required me to step into the water), my ankle were aching slightly, and about half way though my pride told me to "keep going! Nobody else is going to stop!"

Projecting ahead to the next few weeks, though, I realized that I really wanted to do both the six-hour snowshoe relay next Saturday and the marathon in two Saturdays, so I set my pride aside and wrapped up my afternoon after two miles. There was another athlete who finished just after me, and as far as I know, we were the only two not to finish the four miler!

For my trouble I received a nice glass snowflake as a reward, and more importantly, gained the opportunity to interact with some of my running peers whom I hadn't seen in a while. The event was well organized by the good folks at YellowJacket Racing, and bith Jack and I had a great time together, looking at it as a dry-run for our roadie to Ohio (hopefully) in two weeks.

Adio, wli nanawalmezi.