Looking back - last one

10 Years ago – January 2004

I was coming back from a hamstring injury during this month and managed 304 miles (just under 10 miles per day) while racing four times.  I started off the year with a small trail race at the Merrimack River.  It was supposed to be a snowshoe race but we didn’t have snow.  The trail was in good enough shape for non-snowshoe running so 20 of us did so.  I ran tentatively, deciding just before the start to run, and placed 7^th.  Teammate Richard Bolt took the victory.  Two weeks later I headed out to Adams for the Greylock Glen snowshoe race.  I got buried, finishing 7^th in 27:29 for the 5k loop.  A week later I headed up to Essex Junction Vermont for the USSSA qualifier.  It was brutally cold and the course was a dead flat loop with a lot of ice.  I ran 44:43 for the 5.8 mile course and placed 8^th out of 38 finishers…but I did qualify for nationals.  The next day I went out to Pittsfield and was running in 5^th place with about a mile to go when I went off course.  I got back but not before I lost a dozen places.  I made up some of those, rolling into the finish in 13^th place.                      

 5 Years ago – January 2009

I only logged 288 miles during this month but raced eight times.  My goal was to do a lot of snowshoe races and the weather cooperated.  I kicked off the year at the Hangover classic, running the JV race (5k) where I took 2^nd place on a brutal day.  It was 15 degrees the roads were covered with snow, and the wind was howling at over 30 mph.  I nearly drowned doing the ocean plunge!  Two days later I headed to Tewksbury since it was an “open” weekend (no snowshoe races).  Conditions were good but I ended up alone in 2^nd place right from the start.  Jim Johnson took the win in 16:23 and I rolled in 1:37 later.  The next weekend I made the LONG drive to Pittsfield for the Turner trail snowshoe race.  This is a great course with a tough climb and a fast descent.  I hit the top in 2^nd but got my doors blown off during the descent and ended up finishing in 5^th place 15 seconds behind teammate and top 40+ finisher Tim Van Orden.

 A week later I completed my first double-race weekend of the year.  Jim Johnson and I headed west and stayed out there for the weekend.  I felt pretty lousy at both races finishing in 5^th place at Greylock Glen and 4^th place at the Brave the Blizzard.    The following weekend I doubled again, this time in Readsboro VT and back to Pittsfield.  At Readsboro I took third place just barely holding off long-time WMAC series ace Ken Clark.  On Sunday I had a decent run at the Curly’s record run.  I love the climb at this race and decided near the top that I wanted to see if I could be the “king of the mountain”, I somehow got around Ben Nephew just before the top and sprinted ahead.  Soon after I lost the lead and ended up in finishing in third place 58 seconds behind Ben.

My final race of the month was one I directed at Northfield Mountain.  A decent field of 77 showed up and I was surprised when partway through I recognized Leigh Schmitt who hadn’t run a WMAC race in years.  He buried me on the descent and I ended up in fourth place just over two minutes behind Josh Ferenc.