Weekend Double....Ouch!!

OK, so back 20 years ago I used to be able to do a double and I even did a Penta (5) in one weekend but those days are long gone. For some reason the Granite State Snowshoe Series (GSSS) planned 2 races this pass weekend and if I was to maintain my standing or advance I'd have to make it to both races. After 2 races I was in 10th place, and figured that for me to advance I'd have to have 2 very good races. We'll see!!! I decided to set my goals for the weekend:







1. Run and entire race. Every other snowshoe race I've walked at least once.
2. Try and qualify for the Nationals at Sidehillers.
3. Advance in the GSSS rankings
4. Win an age group.
5. Beat the first place woman in a race.
6. Not fall during a race.


Saturday at Sidehillers


The first race of the weekend was in Center Sandwich. This is a very nice little town in central NH that gets its largest population during the fair they hold every fall. It's a great family take. I left my place in Gilford at 8:30 AM and then realized that it was Fishing Derby Weekend on the lake. You have to see it to believe it, 1000's of people are out on the lake. Whole villages are created with bobhouses, snowmobiles, ATV's, Cars, Trucks and even Planes are on the lake.
This is a shot I took in Meredith with my cell phone.

I arrived in Center Sandwich to find Chris Dunn milling around. Soon after Jim Johnson and his "Very Understanding" girl friend Kristin arrived with Dave Dunham schlepping along in the back seat (hey Dave "Three's a Crowd"). A few minutes later Steve Wolfe arrived. Steve had been fighting the flu the week before so he was talking down his prospects for the day. Steve and I signed in and then headed out in our shoes to take a look at the course and check out the hill we were scheduled to climb. The race starts out on the fair grounds which doubles as cross country ski trails in the winter. The race then crosses a road and heads up a hill. When Steve and I ran the course we noticed that the fair grounds trails we not as firm as we would like and that getting any speed in this section would be tough. But when we crossed the road we figured we'd be in real trouble. The trail was single track and wasn't packed at all. We ran up the hill and just kind of laughed because this hill was nothing compared to Pooh hill or Cobble Mtn. We should be able to dance up this hill. We ran back to the start and gave our report to Acidotic Captain Chris Dunn. Chris kind of looked at us like we had 3 heads and said that he remembered it to be a lot tougher then our report indicated. We'll see.

As more people arrived I noticed that the talent level of the group was a who's who of road racing. I would be lucky to finish in the top 20 today. Chris Dunn kept telling us that we were running for the team today and don't worry about the fast guys up front. The only way I was going to catch any of them was to tackle them at the starting line anyway. But to help us out with the team theme Chris was handing us some very nice Acidotic hats to say warm

Speaking of staying warm, the forecast for this race was in the mid 40's. WRONG! When I woke up it was 0 degrees out side. It must have been in the single digits now.

Paul K. called us to the starting line and explained that they had put snow on the road so we would not destroy our cleats and to try and stay in the middle of the single track or you would be waist deep in snow if you didn't. After last weeks race at Cobble Mtn where I fell down the entire mountain because I couldn't stay in the single track I was determined to not fall and stay on the packed trail. Paul K. then boomed the start of the race "GO!!!". I don't think I've ever seen so many people go out so fast. I felt like I was running in sand and was working way to hard for the first 1/2 mile. I was right on Chris D's tail crossing the road but I was already out of gas. As we climbed the hill my heart rate did it's normal thing and hit about 300. I kept telling myself that this hill is much easier then the others I've run and I should be able to cruse up it. Nothing was working! Half way up I fell and 5 people passed me while I was on the ground. Darkness was closing in around me. I got up but found it difficult to get going again. Slowly but surely I started turning over my feet and was able to continue my climb. Finally I reached what I thought was the top of the hill...WRONG. This course plays tricks on you. At the top were open fields that they had us run around and it seemed that every one of them were UP. Not a steep climb but always a climb. Worse yet was if you stepped 1 inch outside of the packed snow you were going down. Even while staying in the packed snow it seemed that you lost 6 inches for every stride you took. The good news was that I started passing people back up on the fields. The really good news is that I realized that I was a head of a bunch of people who had beat me at the other 2 races in the series.

When we finally started back down to the road I could tell I was being stocked by John Skewes who had beat me at Cobble. So as we came down the bush whack trail I was running scared and was not able to get any good drive from my snowshoes. The snow was just to light and I stupidly left my ice cleats on my showshoes. Once we crossed the road I was in a big field and would be able to peek over my shoulder to see if I was getting reeled in. Sure enough a 17 year old kid was picking up spots and had his sights set on passing me. I was frantically moving back and forth across the trail to find firmer snow so I could drive to the finish. No matter where I went the snow was all the same and I was now running in what felt like mash potato's. Kristin was out in the field taking pictures. I tried to look good for the camera but I think the frozen "stuff" on my nose and beard just made me look like and old guy who was not in control of his body functions.

photo by Kristin Wainwright

I started driving my arms and lifting my knees and was watching the finish line getting nearer and nearer. I could hear the kid behind me and I could hear the people at the finish line cheering us on. If it's a race this kid wants then it's a race I'm going to give him. I was really ticked off with myself last week giving up a place with 100 yards left, it wasn't going to happen today. I gave one last all out effort and manged to get him by 3 seconds. WOW I was dead. I had nothing left and was proud of my effort. Of course Bob Dion had beaten me once again by 1:14 so he took the over 50 title, and once again the first place woman smoked my by 3 minutes. But still I did manage to beat 5 or 6 people who normally beat me. So it wasn't a bad day out on the snow. The really good news was that I qualified for the Nationals. I don't think I'll attend but it's nice to say.

As I made that 2+ hour drive home my bliss was broken by a call from work that we had issues with our Internet sites, so I spent 1.5 hours of the ride calling people and getting things back in order. Fire drills are always fun.

Sunday at Frosty's

Now the real question was could I do a 2nd race in one weekend. My body didn't feel to bad so I was hopeful. I arrived in Atkinson and quickly signed in. I think that they have organized the sign in procedure a little to much at this race. I had to go to 3 different tables to complete the process. Made me feel like I was at the old registry of motor vehicles.

Chris Dunn was already there and was talking team again. There were big points on the block today because of the size of the race. In addition Dungeon Rock would be short runners because one of their team members was moving and he enlisted the help of a couple of team members. However Acidotic was going to be short runners too.

I hooked up with Steve Wolfe and we did an easy warm up on the roads this time. The temperature was already in the 50's and the snow was turning to slush. Once again footing was going to be tough. After Steve and I warmed up we headed inside to determine what to wear during the race. We decide that shorts were in order today. Chris Dunn promptly pointed out that I needed to tan up my legs before showing them to the crowd. I'm guessing they were milkweed white. Steve and I then took a quick run in our showshoes to see what the last km was like. As we ran snow was kicking up and hitting the backs of my legs. It felt very cold and sharpe like knives. I was questioning myself on my choice of attire. My hope was that once I started working hard the cold would go unnoticed. As we lined up for the start a bunch of high school kids with hockey shirts on jumped into the front row. A bunch of us talked them out of this and they moved a couple of rows back. This was going to be another fast start because the course takes a corner after 50 yards. My goal was to get out fast and not get bunched up at this turn.

The race director thanked everyone for coming out and soon gave the command to start. As I suspected it was a fast start. In fact Jim Johnson started so fast that after 100 yards into the race I think he had a 50 yard lead. Jim continued this and was out of sight by the mile mark. The snow was soft and being able to drive through each step was not an option. This would be a battle of attrition. I was running in 6th place and was feeling surprisingly good. At about the half way mark Ri F and Ted H passed me and I was already looking over my shoulder for more to come. I spotted the first place woman was only 20 yards back and Bob Dion was another 20 yards behind her. I was running scared once again. I kept my eyes on Ri and Ted to see if either one of them was faltering. A couple of times Ri stopped to walk up some of the hills, and I figured I'd get him sooner or later. But I think Ri uses the walking as a means to regroup and take off. Sure enough after one of his walks he put it into another gear and passed Ted for good. Now was my chance to get Ted. I came up behind him and he motioned me to pass him. As I passed him I tried to tell him that the first woman was right on our heels. The only problem was I was mumbling and I think it came out more like "firt wman hel blah blah'. After a couple more rollers I notice Ri was walking again. Was this my chance to get him? Not at all, the club house was now in sight and Ri was pulling away. I noticed he threw down a shirt that he was carrying about a 1/4 mile from the finish. I wanted to pick it up and hand it to him at the finish line to be a smart a$$ but was scared that the first woman was going to catch me. I peeked over my shoulder and there she was still 20 yards back. Here we go again, two days in a row. The snow was mash potato's no matter where you ran so I just stayed in the middle of the trail and pushed to the finish. I luckily nipped Kim Webber by 10 seconds. I took the over 50 age category which brought with it a $20 DD card. I never walked and for the first time I beat Bob Dion. SUPER DAY for me.

I did a 3 mile cool down run with Jim J (1st), Dave Q (2nd), Steve W (3rd), Keith O (14) and we got back just as they were handing out the prizes.

Lets see how I did against my goals for the weekend.

1. Run and entire race. Done at Frosty's
2. Try and qualify for the Nationals at Sidehillers. Accomplished
3. Advance in the GSSS rankings. Went from 10th to I think 4th. Official results not out yet
4. Win an age group. Done at Frosty's
5. Beat the first place woman in a race. Accomplished
6. Not fall during a race. Once again done at Frosty's.

Horse Hill Farm for the 5th race in the GSSS!!