Wussies

SnowShoeFest II
Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2014
Canaan Valley, WV

 

Thanks to this year’s ‘winter vortex’ there was plenty of snow at Whitegrass to enjoy for SnowShoeFest II.  Kerry and Doug returned from SSF I to join a slew of SSF newbies: Boots, Torstin, Priya & Greg — ie the ones who managed to escape the Knipling vortex that brought down Tracy and Michele.

 

Those who made it were treated not only to heaps of snow but to sunshine and temps that floated into the 40s.  When we finally rolled out of the Chophouse at around 11am (SSF is a relaxed affair), the sun was full on and folks were shedding layers left and right.  It was the first time in months I’d needed to slather on sunscreen.

 

 

Snowshoes bring out a different side of folks.  TC let me show him how to skip and pony-gallop in the big floppers.  Tom’s got quite the spring when he feels like it.

Aaron gave us quite the tour of Canaan, spiraling around Whitegrass to hit Bald Knob and then scooting over Cabin Mountain Trail to finish through the Sodds and down Timberline’s Salamander.

Boots hung around for a second day and her first time on xc skis.  Bootsies there was a pro!

 

 

Did I thoroughly enjoy these winter outings in the Adirondacks and  Vermont?  Absolutely.  Am I learning to dress properly and not suffer so much in the cold?  Surely.  Do I feel ready now to take on Minnesota?  I wouldn’t push it.

Magnus Gluteus Maximus 50k

Bull Run, Mannassas, VA

December 14, 2013

After the great disappointment of not getting to run Massochist with Sean in November, I was treated to the opportunity to have a long, snowy run with him and Schmitty at this year’s MGM.  Sean had just had brain surgery to replace the battery in the chip implanted in his brain for seizure control (hence the sportin’ hairdo pictured below).  So I had agreed to run whatever version of MGM Sean had in mind.  As my fibroma is still a bit problematic on trails and my hamstring was still sore from Jingle All the Way, I had no need to push for the whole 50k anyway.

Sean, Greg Z, and I ran to Fountainhead together.  I started out wearing my red lobster hat courtesy of Keith, but it was actually pretty warm out despite but the icy footing and I ended up dropping the hat after about a mile.  MGM ended up being exactly what I want it to be: a chance to catch up with folks.  It’s always a bit disorienting to notice that some people seem to think MGM is a race.  For me, it was great to be able to spend a couple hours running with Sean, since I hardly see him now that he’s has moved permanently to Leesburg.  After four years of religious Wednesday night runs with Sean, I now spend my Wednesdays evenings at pilates class.  I like pilates alright, but there isn’t nearly as much giggling.

I was tempted to continue onto the Do Loop with Greg (who’s one of the most entertaining people to run with), but I’d told Sean I’d get him and his head wounds back to Hemlock, so I headed back with him and Scmitty.  Brian and I have our differences over which hills should be run and which walked, but fortunately Brian is not in top shape after coaching cross country.

Although my whole not-driving thing can be a pain in the arse, carpooling gives me a great opportunity to catch up with other folks — like Tracy, who I carpooled with to MGM, and with Priya, who drove back to DC with me (via Wegmans!).  In addition to our shared love of Wegmans, Priya and I have an uncanny list of other similarities in our upbringing/schooling:

(a) we both studied abroad at the University of Melbourne (we attended rival colleges, Ormond and Newman)

(b) we both played soccer in college (me at Amherst, she at Penn)

(c) we both went to Stanford University (she for law school, me for my freshman year of college before I transferred)

(d) Priya currently lives a block away from where I went to elementary school (Chevy Chase Elementary), where I won the mile in 6:57 as a 5th grader (26 laps around a square gym)

Priya also just ran the Kepler 50k in New Zealand’s South Island, a race I have desperately wanted to get Aaron to do (but it’s around the same time as Hellgate, so the odds are stacked against me).  I wonder if Priya also loves kitties and ponies.

* Wishing everyone a great holiday and New Years, and hope to make a return to WUS in 2014! *

 

ps – I can’t help but include the line that my Brazilian colleague sent me today wishing me a happy holiday:

“Large tether, have a good Christmas and happy new year!”

(After some forwarding to Brazilian colleagues and discussion, we decided that by ‘large tether’ this individual was trying to mean ‘big hug’)

 

 

 

Jingle All the Way 8k

December 8, 2013

4th, 28:50 (PR)

For the second year, Cecile, Bernard, and I braved the dire wintry weather forecasts to run the Jingle All the Way 8k that starts and finishes at Freedom Plaza.  Aaron took one look at the course map (which includes FOUR 180-turns around cones, including one brutal one in the last quarter mile), and opted to just be race crew.  I’ll admit that those turns suck, but the JAW run is growing on me as the Martha Version of Hellgate — wintry weather, a bone-crunching kind of pain (I ran 5:48-mile pace), but good spirits and Christmas cheer (over 6,000 people ran, donning a wide assortment of Christmas-themed costumes, weather be damned).

I wore my trail shoes because of the plantar fibroma that is still bothering me and limiting my trail running (god those things were slippery around the cone turns!).  I wasn’t sure what to expect speed-wise.  I’m still kind of a mess physically, between my chronically sore right hamstring and new foot fibroma problems.  But within the first mile of the race I found myself running neck-and-neck with another female runner, a situation that I don’t find myself in much now that I’ve moved up to longer distance races.

I wasn’t so interested in getting into a dogfight, but neither of us could lose the other.  We passed the 4th place woman around mile 4 but were still neck-and-neck going into the last half-mile.  I was beginning to think that it would come down to the last sprint to the finish.  But I got a jump on her going around the last cone, and finished 4 seconds ahead, going under 29 minutes for my first time at the 8k distance.

I’ve been deflated about my foot and missing Masochist for the last month, so it was nice to know there’s still some wheels down there and have a good final race before I wind down for the winter.

Here are some official race pics:

There were many super-photogenic runners that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leuven, Belgium

Journey to ‘Sweetwater’

When I asked Philippe if there was a nice place to have a relaxed stroll, he told me of the beautiful land of ‘Sweetwater’ about 10k outside of the city.  If you try to google ‘Sweetwater Leuven’ you will get a bunch of Sweetwater locations in Texas and Georgia.  But I eventually figured out that Sweetwater translated to Zoet water in Flemmish.  I also discovered that the route to Zoet water looked like it went through some nice areas outside of the city with lakes and trails.  So I figured I would just take a backpack with some snacks and walk there.  If I was too tired to walk back, there was apparently a regular bus back to the city.  I had no map, no phone, but a general sense of where Zoet water lay in relation to the train line and river.  Zoet water ho!