So glad you're still with us, Tom - you can bet I'll try to keep the photos coming for you, so you can at least get a bit of virtual trail in with me!
It was a pretty amazing weekend out there, though I will say I'm a little beat up from the 25k race on Saturday. Did not expect a foot of fresh snow the night before, and at -16c/3f it wasn't until my 3rd lap (course was a 5k loop; there were also 5k and 10k options) that things finally started to pack down a bit. Whole lot of people either didn't show up at all, or switched to the 10k after their first lap - only 20 finishers total for the 20k, and 101 for all distances out of 130+ registered.
The hardest part was going out for another run at sunset after I finally got home, but it definitely helped work some of the junk out of my legs. The trails along the river Sunday morning were beautiful but the temperature came up rapidly to just above freezing, and the snowpack destabilized - spent a bit of time trying not to fall in the Speed River, so 2nd run was at an indoor track. Felt great to run in a tank top for a change!
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ill advised racing inc.