It’s been pretty hectic around the office these days and I haven’t hand a chance to make any blog entries. We have finally reconfigured our server room, replete with new servers, UPSs, a new Rack and new furniture. This has been my main work focus for the last two months and the first phase is nearing completion. Yeah!! Now, those of you non-computer geeks might be falling asleep (or maybe it’s my writing) but for those computer geeks out there, you know how cool it is to have all new equipment.
On to the race report: I’m a little behind the times, the race was last Saturday (the Sandia Snowshoe Challenge), and I had a great time.
The Outlaws made a strong showing, with the Dread Pirate, Myles, Geek Girl, Flaming Mo, Iron Outlaw and Michi. It seems the gun (or yell) went off and I was still trying to figure out how to walk in those darn snow shoes, much less run. As you may recall my only experience with the snowshoes was two weeks ago for about 20 minutes. During that twenty minutes I had major problems and ended up walking back to the car in my hiking boots sans snowshoes.
Right from the get go I knew I was in trouble, I ran up right behind someone (not a good idea with snowshoes) and got stepped on. I wobbled and flailed my arms wildly but didn’t fall down, it’s amazing how stable snow shoes are. This had me a little gun shy and I fell into a nice easy “run” with a pack of runners. All the other Outlaws were way ahead of me and were disappearing fast. Oh well, I was here for fun. For about the first mile my hip flexors were killing me and I thought there was no way I could finish the race. I think exhaustion made me relax a bit and I when I finally relaxed my hip flexors relaxed too, life was good once more. Now where were those other Outlaws….
After relaxing a bit I got a little confidence and started to pick up speed and even passed a few folks, but got stuck behind Mr. “there is no way I’m going to let you pass no matter how many times you politely ask, and if you do try I’ll stick my ski poles out so you trip”. This guy was frustrating, Run a little, walk some, run a little, walk more. I finally got past him and started making up some time. I saw the Dread Pirate in front of me so I had to catch her and say Hi. Saying anything is more work that you would think. It might have something to do with two snow shoes strapped to my feet and trying to run up a hill at 10600 feet. It took forever to catch her, her easy gait was surprisingly fast. I finally caught her and shuffled past, but just to have the last word she informed me that I had snow on my @ss. So now I’m laughing, trying to run up hill with snowshoes at 10600 feet. Yeah, I got a little out of breath. Luckily the finish was just around the corner and I could relax a bit.
The Iron Outlaw finally beat me at a race. It was one of his goals to beat me this year and he’s finally done it. Congratulations to him! (even though I wasn’t racing!) :)
The race is definitely on for next year and I’m thinking about going up and doing the 10k trail. Anyone else up for some high altitude training?
On to the race report: I’m a little behind the times, the race was last Saturday (the Sandia Snowshoe Challenge), and I had a great time.
The Outlaws made a strong showing, with the Dread Pirate, Myles, Geek Girl, Flaming Mo, Iron Outlaw and Michi. It seems the gun (or yell) went off and I was still trying to figure out how to walk in those darn snow shoes, much less run. As you may recall my only experience with the snowshoes was two weeks ago for about 20 minutes. During that twenty minutes I had major problems and ended up walking back to the car in my hiking boots sans snowshoes.
Right from the get go I knew I was in trouble, I ran up right behind someone (not a good idea with snowshoes) and got stepped on. I wobbled and flailed my arms wildly but didn’t fall down, it’s amazing how stable snow shoes are. This had me a little gun shy and I fell into a nice easy “run” with a pack of runners. All the other Outlaws were way ahead of me and were disappearing fast. Oh well, I was here for fun. For about the first mile my hip flexors were killing me and I thought there was no way I could finish the race. I think exhaustion made me relax a bit and I when I finally relaxed my hip flexors relaxed too, life was good once more. Now where were those other Outlaws….
After relaxing a bit I got a little confidence and started to pick up speed and even passed a few folks, but got stuck behind Mr. “there is no way I’m going to let you pass no matter how many times you politely ask, and if you do try I’ll stick my ski poles out so you trip”. This guy was frustrating, Run a little, walk some, run a little, walk more. I finally got past him and started making up some time. I saw the Dread Pirate in front of me so I had to catch her and say Hi. Saying anything is more work that you would think. It might have something to do with two snow shoes strapped to my feet and trying to run up a hill at 10600 feet. It took forever to catch her, her easy gait was surprisingly fast. I finally caught her and shuffled past, but just to have the last word she informed me that I had snow on my @ss. So now I’m laughing, trying to run up hill with snowshoes at 10600 feet. Yeah, I got a little out of breath. Luckily the finish was just around the corner and I could relax a bit.
The Iron Outlaw finally beat me at a race. It was one of his goals to beat me this year and he’s finally done it. Congratulations to him! (even though I wasn’t racing!) :)
The race is definitely on for next year and I’m thinking about going up and doing the 10k trail. Anyone else up for some high altitude training?
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5 comments:
That was a great race! I'd be willing to go up and do the 10K trail.
Great job Mark-Yep that snow will be all over you! I would be up for a 10k if I can train a little beforehand..
Bones...no hard feelings. You did your best...and on this day, it just wasn't enough!
Hey, I'm up for a 10K up there.....anytime.
MG
T and I would love to go snow shoeing. Last year we went up to the crest and the altitude with the change from 5000 to 10,000 ft made me feel a bit "buzzy"--but I still got in 6 miles. 10K it is!
I enjoyed my hike in big clown shoes. Must do it again next year. What is it with Pirate? Why does she keep avoiding all the post-race photos?
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