synthetic wrote:
Big John wrote:
I did not even know there was snowshoe running. I mean we used do the deal where you just wear plastic bags on your feet and run in your regular running shoes in the snow…but that was like just a few inches…six inches of snow…whatever.
But I just watched that snowshoe running 101 video with the world championship snowshoe runner. Honestly? After watching that I think it looks even HARDER than regular shoe running.
For sure, like running in soft beach sand
..with a brick tied to each foot.
I've been snowshoe running & racing for a few years now, and it's the hardest form of running I know. Tougher than dragging a tire, tougher than hill repeats, especially when the snow is deep and unpacked. I tried my bigger snowshoes for running yesterday hoping for some float, but, well..
Big John wrote:
I was prepared for total misery on today’s run…to the point that I thought about bagging it. The forecast was 20F with wind chill down to 5F. Well…once I got out there, I was happy to find there was no wind at all. I mean I was all bundled up with longhandles, 2 pairs of pants, 4 or 5 shirts, a coat, hat, and gloves, but it was fine.
Holy smokes - I'm not sure I'd be able to do anything but roll downhill in that much clothing! It was -20c/-4f with windchill of -28c/-18f on Saturday morning with a headwind for most of my run down to the market, but I was ok with a couple of additions to my usual: a pair of cut-off wool socks as sort of mini leg warmers (for my ankles, since the shoes I was wearing don't have velcro for gaiters), an extra poly wicking shirt over a (fairly thick) merino wool longsleeve, and a merino wool tubular gaiter worn as a hood. The NB tights I wore do have a wool lining, and I wore one of my thicker fleece skirts, but I stayed quite warm even though the tips of my mittens and the tubular gaiter froze solid (the latter around my neck where sweat vapor escapes the collar of my jacket).
It got a little sketchy because the deep cold meant that my screw shoes struggled with the worst ice I've ever seen on that trail, and I was upset my phone noped out on me (shut down due to the chill) so I couldn't get photos...so I went back for a little walk with my husband later to show him and get some pics.
Second run was right after the walk - still -17c/1f, on more ice-covered but beautifully moonlit trails
While I was out, I noticed one of my spikes was jingling a lot more than usual and felt a little looser than I expect on my shoe - my foot also slipped sideways a teensy bit here and there, which was a bit confusing as I could still hear and feel the spikes biting into the ice. It wasn't really bad, and I didn't think I'd be able to sort it out in the frozen darkness with nothing but mittens and a handheld light I was trying out. When I got home I found the problem: a link had snapped, possibly due to the cold. It was at the outside of my foot, so the slipping I'd felt was actually my shoe sliding sideways on top of the spike plate.
As you can see on the right, I was able to fashion a new link from a cotter pin, and would have to hope it'd hold up for Sunday.
I started off with a beautiful sun-filled romp around one of our favourite conservation areas - I hadn't been there in awhile, and it was just lovely to go visit such a gorgeous place.
I finished up just before sunset, looking extra dramatic as a line of cloud poured in over the reservoir:
The spikes held up! I didn't actually see any concerning wear on my shadetree link when inspecting afterward, but I said I wanted to keep to some simpler, maybe groomed trail for the second run as it would be in the dark and there's just nowhere to go that wasn't icy.
I, uhh...didn't stick to groomed trail.
..but I didn't die, and my spike repair still seems to be going strong.
Got my first xc ski of the year in yesterday: quite literally just up my street and over a couple of blocks to the mailbox to post out some cheques for work, with a loop through the park and schoolyard on the way back. The wind was vicious and the snow was the deepest I've ever skied in: I think out of a mile I got maybe 5 whole strides of actual kick-and-glide (where wind had thinned the snow down), whereas the rest was basically hiking/postholing with poles in my hands and planks on my feet.
Then, the snowshoe run just before sunset. I tried the whole "stomp myself a path then go back over it", but the wind had filled in my tracks by the time I got back to them. I ran on the roads so I could use wheeltracks, then had to dodge the plows coming through to finally dig us out (around 5pm). At least the sunset was pretty!
..and of course, there's more than one way to gauge snow depth.
It was a little easier running around the neighbourhood today as the roads have all been plowed and a lot of sidewalks cleared, but still very much "trail shoes required" out there and a bit of postholing where nobody has cared enough to lift a finger against the foot-plus-deep banks.
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ill advised racing inc.