Treehaven Tromp
over the weekend i ventured to the northwoods of wisconsin for a ten kilometer snowshoe race at the Treehaven preserve. it’s not uncommon to see folks racing with kilts on and admittedly i felt a bit of envy being kilt-less.
the race started with a flurry of folks kicking up plumes of snow. admittedly, i’m much more of a tortoise on snowshoes so i kept to the side of the course and settled into my own pace.
the (very well marked) course wound it’s way through open wooded trails and narrow single track sections. while the race organizers did their best to groom the open wooded sections, the snow was a bit…fluffy which made it tough to maintain momentum through those sections. there was less snow through the single track sections and it was well compacted which made it much easier to run through.
for what it’s worth, snowshoes really just redistribute your weight to a greater area so you don’t sink as far into it. also, the less weight you carry the less you sink and the more compacted the snow is the faster you can motor along.
roughly two miles into the race i ran past another participant who was fiddling with his snowshoe bindings off to the side of the trail. after the race i heard that one of his bindings had broken and he had to complete the course without snowshoes…which unfortunately DQ’d him.
besides fighting through the fluffier snow sections, the most adverse thing i had to deal with was that my nose was running like a sieve. thankfully i didn’t have anyone too close to me so i simply snot rocketed with the wind and kept motoring along.
rolling into the last mile through the narrow single track, folks doing the accompanying five kilometer race were kind enough to step the side of the trail as i approached. while i was working hard, i still made the effort to say “thanks” or “much appreciated” as i passed them.
cresting the final hill there was a five kilometer participant ahead of me who was really working hard to get to the finish. rather than prancing past i simply downshifted then enjoyed the final stretch by waving and smiling at the folks who were hearty enough to stand out there as spectators.
my gps watch measured the course at exactly six miles which i covered in 1:05:14. since i stayed the night before, i headed back to my room for a very welcome hot shower then made my way to the post race chili lunch; which included beer from a local brewer. the results weren’t posted so i patiently waited through the silent auction and door prize giveaways to be rewarded by hearing my name called for third place in my age group.
(3rd M40-49 & 14th Overall)
Splits 1M - 9:55 2M - 11:06 (21:01) 3M - 10:58 (31:59) 4M - 10:48 (42:47) 5M - 11:29 (54:16) 6M - 10:58 (1:05:14)
i’ve been competing for…years and i do believe this is the first time i’ve gotten an award made of wood. in all, i had an enjoyable time in the northwoods…even without a kilt.
also, the race was the final qualifying race in the region for the 2015 Dion Snowshoes National Snowshoe Championships. since i renewed my USSSA membership earlier in the week and finished in the top five for my age group, i’m now eligible to compete in Eau Claire, WI at the end of the month. so i’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
1/26 – 7 miles
1/27 – 7 miles
1/28 – 7 miles
1/29 – 7 miles
1/30 – 7 miles
1/31 – 8 miles
Jan Totals – 220 Miles (31/31 Days, 33 Hours & 42 Minutes)
2/1 – 6 miles
2/2 – 7 miles
2/3 – 7 miles
2/4 – 7 miles AM, 7 miles PM
2/5 – off
2/6 – 7 miles
2/7 – 1 mile warm up, 6 mile snowshoe in 1:05:14
2/8 – 7.25 miles
MTD – 55.25 Miles (7/8 Days, 9 Hours & 12 Minutes)
YTD – 275.25 (38/39 Days, 42 Hours & 55 Minutes)