Snowshoeing 101

Weather Report: Fog and Windy, 32°F, 69% Humidity, Winds: From W @ 22 mph, gusting to 32 mph; feels like 19°F.

Emboldened by both the confirmation, via organizer Goose Racing's website, that tomorrow's Winterfest 10k Men's snowshoe race was indeed a "go," and the assurance that "snowshoe running has a learning curve of roughly two minutes," I set out into the fog and blustery wind for a practice "run." As suggested on the Adirondack Sports and Fitness website, the most challenging part, after becoming sort of accustomed to the flopping of the platform, was committing to running in the cold and wind. Fortunately my winter running has given me much practical experience in dealing with the elements, so my area of need was (and is) in moving with the shoes.

As mentioned previously, I've had these beauties since last February, but have not had the chance to even "lace 'em up." Until this afternoon, when I finally put on the Crescent Moon Gold 12 snowshoes. The bindings were very easy to loosen and tighten, making stepping into, and out of, the shoes fairly easy and very simple. When it comes to "running," it definitely does not pay to be a gangly, mildly-chicken-legged novice.

My lack of acumen with the equipment does make me a little cautious about competing tomorrow, and I feel I would be more confident (and competent) if I'd been able to practice more... but, I still think I'll give it a shot letting the chips fall where they may. Who knows, this may be a good time to transition my mindset from a "try to place" to a "have fun and finish with a smile."

Adio, wli nanawalmezi.