1/22/2012 Bradbury Squall, parkour, lastness, fire, gear, etc.

Somehow, winter finally got itself together and Squall Race day was picture-perfect.

There were so many Trail Monsters around, volunteering and racing with equal gusto, that I unfortunately barely exchanged hellos with most of them. Let's hear it for fast-paced vaguely social funlike situations! Luet--- I mean, Nebuchadnezzar showed up about 30 seconds after I did and we immediately began discussing hypothermia and trying to figure out what to wear (like omg, what to wear, omg). The only sure thing gear-wise was that we were both going to be borrowing some chic Dion snowshoes, so went in search of the legendary Ryan Triffitt to meet our new friends. (Legendary in my world, anyway - have you read his amazing 50 miler report yet?)

Ryan held up two flavors of snowshoes and we stared blankly as he explained the difference and asked us which we would like. Fortunately, Ryan is more decisive than we are and hooked us up with with the slightly larger/heavier/supposedly more stable of the two options, rather than the racing flats one.

Getting them on was tricky because the straps were stiff, but I assumed this meant they would stay firmly in place. They were longer and narrower than the snowshoes I've been using. Foot kayaks.

In fact, getting the damn things on took so long that I didn't have time to put on gaiters, which I like mostly for the added warmth. I abandoned them near the start/finish area and forgot to grab them post race, but fortunately they ended up with Jamie, so I shall see them again someday!

Being completely inexperienced in the world of snowshoe running, Luette and I placed ourselves all the way at the back of the initial herd...and stayed there for the whole race. The course was perfect - beautifully packed, full of snow-covered tree branches for Luette to destroy (she gets a little violent, no big deal), and illuminated here and there by rays of low golden wintry sun.

The only issue was that my shins SCREAMED for almost the whole first half of the race. The extra length on the unfamiliar snowshoes meant I had to pick my toes up, way more up than I normally would. Also possible - that, plus the coldness may have affected them too. Who knows.

The level of discomfort was such and I actually wondered if this-all was a good idea. Luette is brilliant at distracting me though (what were we discussing? Mastiff poop, was it? Or the pronunciation of "duodenum"?) and thanks to her, I slowly and rather pathetically managed to keep going forward. Curse you, fancy schmancy snowshoes...

And by the time we were onto the Tote Road, the shins began to feel a little bit better - less scream and more holler. Any they were cranky but tolerable when we got onto the Boundary Trail. Annoying to have this kind of stuff come up but whatever. I was still having a blast listening to Luette's stories about, ie, nude mountain climbing, and enjoying the hell out of the race.

...Not to imply we were really "racing" -- unless you count things like parkour photo ops as part of racing. (I might.) I'd slowed us down so much that we were certainly not going to be anything but very, very last, probably even without the camera pauses. We discussed how we would handle our finish, and if we should aim a little higher: Maybe we should try to be last in all three snowshoe races. Someone's got to do it.

Anyway, after almost but not quite discussing the devastation that is collard greens, and each getting jumped on by a springy/out-of-control (but harmless) dog, we decided to try to TIE for last place. Rounding the last corner was David, who was volunteering, patiently cheering us onward (or maybe wondering where on earth we'd been!) and then we heard the cowbell and saw the flock of folks waiting (and waiting) for us to finish. I didn't even see her because Luette and I were still laughing about who knows what, but apparently Scout was there too with her volunteer paws on the stopwatch. And a bunch of other badass volunteers were there as well - very very cool Monstery spirit in tha house.

We struggled out of our foot kayaks/flippers/whatever they were called and headed toward the fire. As always, the crew of Monsters had everything running smoothly and winners/awards were announced and wrapped up shortly. And the fire was oh so blissful.

And if anyone was distraught/verklempt/bewildered/disapproving that this slow creature is slowifying the vibe of the Monster world, they were too polite to say so. But I never got that vibe. As far as I can tell - it's so not about that.

~71 minutes
~3.65 miles snowshoe run
~low 20s, sunny, perfectly packed snowy trails on Bradbury's west side
~Dion snowshoes, Brooks Cascadia 6, Smartwool socks, pants, polypro shirt, fleece shirt, fleece windbloc vest, Ariat gloves, the skullcap.

....and then, I felt like I needed just a bit more, so I went back out...
~31 minutes
~1.5 miles
~same everything but Winter Walker snowshoes (which felt great) and add a shell jacket. Sweet!

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Also - now that you've read the loser's point of view, be sure to check out the great report from one of the winners, Danielle. She is a beast!