The group today included Randy, Mindy, Jim, Dave, Alan, Chuck, Lily and Dom in addition to myself and Emma. Our biggest group in some time.
Conditions proved to be more difficult than expected and the pace was very slow today. I had hoped that after a week of snowmobile traffic since the last snow the trails would be well packed, and they looked fairly well traveled but we all sunk in deep with every step.
Not to be put off by the conditions we trudged along in a single file line that gradually extended itself as we each found a pace that was as comfortable as could be expected in the soft snow. The sun was shining and the temperature was well into the 20's, a great day to be outside running.
Mind the gap in the snowmobile bridges, one wrong step could lead to a painful fall. Chuck, who has learned from experience as have I, makes it look easy.
At 5 miles we hit the powerlines that run east towards Brunswick and west towards North Pownal. No one felt like going any further so we all turned here.
Most of the way back along this out-and-back route is uphill and we clocked some very slow miles. Good ultra training as I always say when the pace is forced this slow. By the time we reached the top of the last hill, about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, Chuck, Dave and I had got a little ahead of the rest of the group and proceeded to pick up the pace for the gradual descent along the Snowmobile Trail in the park.
As punishment for getting ahead of the rest of the group I made Chuck and Dave join me on an extra half mile that included an uphill finish. We averaged a 10:23 pace for the run as a whole but got in a 9:02 for out last full mile. Emma, Alan and Jim were waiting when we got back to the parking lot and Mindy and Randy who had made a minor detour weren't far behind. Jim brought cookies to share and we all hung around in the parking lot drinking coffee, hot Gatorade and eating cookies until we were too cold to take it any more.
time: 1:48:12
distance: 10.4 miles
pace: 10:23
weather: 27 degrees, sunny and breezy
conditions: soft packed snowmobile trails, very inefficient
gear: Inov-8 Roclite 315 with screws, wool socks, OR gaiters, tights, 2x long sleeve tops, gloves, buff
4 comments:
Looks like a lot of fun, what time were you all out there?
This was so much fun - great write up. And I bet you will surprise yourself at the MWC on Sunday!
Hot Gatorade? Really? Is that actually any good?
Hot Gatorade is way better than cold Gatorade, and I've been told that adding whiskey makes it even better but have yet to try it.
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