Friday, November 29, 2013

Winter Racing, Get Out Your Snow Shoes

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

I know that most of you readers are probably off already today suffering from turkey and pumpkin pie hangovers, but for the rest of the world this is just a regular Friday…which is still good thing :) So while you are out door-crashing and deal-finding, just remember that your Canadian friends are all still working.

I signed up this morning for a 10K race on Sunday, the fourth race in the MEC Series.  We have done race two and three this year and they are very well run and only cost $15…what's not to like?  Well, maybe racing in the snow…I guess it will be a new challenge.  Also, it will be the first time that I have actually raced a 10K, so I'm really curious to see what my time will be.  10K is my most common training distance as that's the distance I run on my lunch break through the week, but I've never raced it.  I would love to break 40 minutes, but the conditions aren't likely to be conducive to such a quick time.  We'll see I suppose.

I've been out for a few decent runs this week and the weather didn't slow me down much.  Monday was really snowy with no real plowing of paths or sidewalks to speak of, but the weather warmed up a bit on Tuesday causing a bit of a slushy mess in spots, but the good news was that my regular running path had been (somewhat) plowed out.

photo 1

I got out again the next day and of course the logical progression was Snowy Monday, Slushy Tuesday and Icy Wednesday.  All that slush had frozen up real nice making things super slippery.  These are the snow tires  shoes I wear for most of my winter running, they are New Balance Minimus Trail 1010's and have some decent grip in the snow (ice -- not quite as good).

photo 2

They work well enough for me but I know there are probably some better options out there.  This, however, would not be one of those "better" options.

photo 3

I can't believe that someone would go out running in the snow and ice we have had in Five-Fingers…though I don't understand why anyone would run in these things EVER.  Sorry to offend any of you that wear these shoes, but I just don't get it.  If you run in Five-Fingers after 30+ inches of snow, you deserve to lose your "shoe" in a snowbank!

The run itself was really nice…I saw one other runner out on the path and it was so peaceful.  There was even a deer that ran across the path in front of me and then took off across the field…such a cool sight in the middle of the city.  Despite the ice, I managed to get my pace up a bit from the last couple days and was just under a 7'30" pace…trust me, it feels much faster than that while skidding across the ice!

photo 4

With November coming to an end this weekend we will also be coming to an end of our #thirtyin30 #runvember challenge…how is everyone doing?  I managed to get in 107 miles this month despite being away on vacation and coming back to Snowmageddon, so pretty satisfied with that!

What's the best Black Friday running-related deal you've found for today?

Anyone else racing this weekend?  Or Turkey Trotted yesterday??

4 comments:

  1. Finally I'm reading blogs! my "snow shoes" are my back up sneakers with some yak tracks on them!



    40 minutes? I think you can do 39:20!


    I've done no shopping for myself, just a few things for the kid! I guess my inhalers are my running purchases lol

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  2. I've looked at yak tracks before, how do they work? I've also considered old shoes and some screws...
    39:20 eh? If I hit that number it's just for you ;)
    Inhalers, chest scans, etc...not the most fun running purchases. Nice to see you back blogging again!

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  3. I saw your tree on IG! I guess you can rest this weekend and get your Christmas decorating started

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  4. Sugar Coated SheridanDecember 1, 2013 at 10:38 PM

    My snow shoes are non-existent...I get on my treadmill :) We so seldom get a big enough snow in West KY to warrant snow shoes, I don't even have any...

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