First Snowshoe Race of the Year.

Finally, I am competing in my first snowshoe race of the season. The location is King Pine Ski Resort and the Pooh Hill SS Race in Madison, NH. I had been a bit banged up due to a knee problem suffered 3 weeks ago, but the pain has subsided and i felt a need to race.

I started the preparation for the race on Friday night with the best massage therapist in RI, Nikki Toth. She pummels the knots out of my legs like no one else and seems to enjoy it.

Saturday morning, Dave Principe, Jackie and Bob Jackman and me, headed out for the 3 hour drive to Pooh Hill. It is not too bad a drive, straight thru Boston and up to Rte. 16 in NH to Madison. When we left here in Warwick, the temp was about 25 and as we headed north, it kept dropping. By the time we reached Madison, the trucks thermometer read 13, but it was a dry 13 :) Oh yeah, the sun was out too.

Sign in and it was time for a 3 mile warm-up. I was surprised that my knee was feeling quite good, no aches or pains. Looks like the massage helped! I cruised thru that and felt pretty good about what was about to come. Now i just wondered how to dress, so i went for the thin polypro and Turtle tank top and no hat. It may have been cold, but the sun was warming things up just fine. This was just the second time this year that i was on snowshoes, so there was some trepidation heading into this race. So the gun goes off and unlike last year at this race, i hold back and keep it easy. As we run thru the early single track, i am actually feeling pretty good. No oxygen debt, no high heart rate, i like this. Thru the little ups and downs, everything seems to be working well and i actually manage to pass a few runners out there. Coming up to 30 minutes of running, i was starting to feel the lack of conditioning that you really need to run in snowshoes. I walked a short hill but was running within 20 seconds. Then came the zigzag across the lake thru a narrow trail with slow, soft snow that really seemed to sap my strength. So for the last 2 miles, i survived by running and quickly walking up a few of the inclines. Into the finish and a 47 minute 8 k, give or take a bit, and it was over. All in all, a good race. It surpassed my expectation so i was happy with it.

Bob Jackman finished up in 3rd place and Dave Principe took 10th place. Nice run guys!

I have to applaud Chris Dunn and  the Acidotic Racing Team for the job that they do. This is a very organized race, even going off right on time. The check in is easy and post race is a great time with lots of awards and a large raffle. Oh, by the way, i won the big prize...Kahtoola Snowshoes...in the raffle. Thanks Chris.

Now that the race was over, time to think about the task at hand. Turtle tradition says we have to hit a brewpub on the way home and today that choice is the Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, NH. After a race this grueling, you find yourself craving a good brew. Well, there aren't many better spots than this. The Bottle Rocket IPA was up first for me, quite tasty with a good hop bitterness but not overpowering. Bob, Jackie and Dave all went for the Stout and seemed to enjoy it. Food wise, i went for the salmon fillet sandwich with chipotle mayo and fries. I was a bit bummed out that they did not have sweet potato fries as i tend to judge these places by their IPA's and sweet potato fries. The fries were good none the less. I tried a barleywine ale also, it was good and malty with some good hop overtones, i recommend it if you find your way to Portsmouth. I do like my homebrewed IPA much better, for the record.

Next week it is the Sidehiller Snowshoe race in Center Sandwich, NH, which also means i get to go to Milly's Tavern in Manchester after the race. Nothing like good snowshoeing and good beer!!!!

Thanks to Steve Wolfe and Krissy Kosloski for suppling the photos above of  fat old me.

 It was funny how a few runners asked who was going to take pictures at the race, since i was running and Krissy Kosloski who shoots too was competing, but turns out that Krissy dropped out and grabbed her camera so see her photos here. For the record, i love shooting photos at the races but would much rather run. I will find my way to another SS race to shoot this year, but it is not a priority. Either way, i will support the sport!

If you would like to read some blogs of the fast guys up front, check out these:

Jim Johnson
Steve Wolfe
Acidotic Racing

Todays Results:

Go Here.

Later

Scott