Frozen Zucchini 5K Snowshoe Adventure 2015
Without the snowshoes, ha ha.
Ahh, first race of the year is DONE! Woo hoo!
Oh my gosh that picture makes me laugh!
I like starting my year off with a January race… because I like the idea of doing one race a month! I’ve only achieved that once – in 2011. Maybe I will again this year?
Anyone else aiming for the one race a month this year? (or maybe that is waaaay too easy for ya!)
This is actually the only race I’ve ever done in January (in 2011 and 2014)! And I plan to keep doing it in the future, if I am in town (although I may wait to sign up only if there is enough snow to snowshoe).
I first signed up for this race because the concept of running in snowshoes blew my mind so hard I had to try it out. And… I found out it’s super challenging. Really, the most intense kind of racing I’ve ever done. I love the way it pushes me, so I have been back for more. And bonus, the group, Smart Farm, that puts on this race is hella cool – they run an “educational” garden so people in the community can learn about “their agricultural heritage, organic gardening, the slow food movement, and best practices for living ‘green,’ sustainable lives. ” Hence, the title, Frozen Zucchini. Cute, no?
And man, they have some of the best swag ever!
I mentioned how awesome their swag is at packet pickup, and the lady giving me my packet said “I have never heard that word before, but you are the third person to say it today!” Ha ha.
Okay, on to the race! The course is two loops that make up a 5K. As you know, no snowshoes were allowed. We were warned that there was a lot of ice on the trail, and heavily encouraged to use Yaxtrax, but a failed experience with them several years back has made me doubtful of their usefulness* on straight-up ice, so I just wore my trail shoes. And was fine. But probably only because we got a light dusting of snow the night before, which made the ice more manageable to run on. The course was very well marked with orange spray paint, and there were a lot of volunteers out there, warning us about really icy spots.
It ended up being more like a cross-country race – we were on and off snow-dusted grass, to icy and snow-dusted paved trail, to sometimes (rarely) dry trail. It was still really challenging, especially with 20 mile per hour winds, and snow sometimes blowing in our faces. But it was FUN. I found myself wishing I would be out there longer. Rachel was visiting to do the race with me, and, well… she’s my ultra buddy! Running “only” 3.1 miles with her just isn’t enough! Although, I did tell her during that run that my maximum on a course like that would probably be 5-6 miles. And while I was warm enough when we were running, I was very happy to change after the race! Ha ha ha.
Seen at the finish line!
We ended up averaging 11 minute miles. Which, during and after the fact, I think is very good, but is not what I was expecting going in to the race. The race wasn’t chip-timed, so we lined up near the front, and thought we’d be able to go pretty quickly, since we’ve done trails before. Ha ha! Not so much! People were flying by us! I was impressed by how fast they were going on that course!
After the race, a photographer asked us for our names, and said he took our photo and planned to run it in the Daily Herald (our local paper). Our photo didn’t end up in the print copy, but we were in the digital one (and the same article, with a quote from me, was in both). Fun! It pays to wear goofy outfits, guys!
Also, this caption says that Smart Farm (well, “Fun,” a typo, ha ha) grows their produce for local pantries. Cool!
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit bummed I didn’t get to race in snowshoes. Especially because I really wanted Rachel to experience it (she had actually been training in them… unlike me!)! But, that is a risk with this race – you don’t know if there will be enough snow. I didn’t do it one year for that reason (and missed the other year because I was out of town). Maybe next year we’ll have snow again. Or maybe I will try one of these snowshoe races in the Madison-area that Rachel has been telling me about! We’re so awesome at falling on the trails, Rachel needs to try it on the snow, too, ha ha (surprisingly, neither of us bit it during this race).
With or without snowshoes, it was a fun race, and a great way to kick off the racing year! And it made me even more stoked about the (longer) races Rachel and I will be doing together in the upcoming months!
*Although I do wonder if the newer model with spikes would be better
Themocracy
I love Rachel’s shirt!
She says she gets asked about it all the time! I told her having her picture in the paper would probably make people look for it even more.
Wow, it sounds like a really challenging race. Also, I love those Star Wars leggings! They may be the best piece of running attire I have ever seen 🙂
Thanks! I have a pair with Han and Chewie on them too. They’re from Amazon 😀
I have YakTrax for snow but I have Stabilicers for ice. I’m with you, the YakTrax just don’t cut it on ice.
Sounds like a fun race. I’d do it just for the awesome socks!
Ahh, I will have to see what the Stabilicers are like!
What is the creature on your hat?
It’s the Wampa from Empire Strikes Back. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wampa
Sounds like such a fun race – and the swag looks great! Talk about a win/win!
I LOVE that hat!!!
I have a pair of YakTrax that I’ve been waiting to try but I am waiting for SNOW on the weekend, and I haven’t had it yet. I could pretend to be sad but I’m not.
I love the outfits, and I really love Rachel’s red hoodie. Great job!
Ha ha ha! We are having such a mild winter, right?!
I wore the same hat for Polar Dash last year. My pants weren’t nearly as cool though.
Ha ha! Gotta find some fun pants!
I love your outfit, the hat is so cute! It sounds like a really fun event in snow shoes or not. You live a whole different winter existence up north, it might me treadmill run more lol
The hand warmers really work well, love them 🙂
How depressing that the snowshoe race didn’t have enough snow. Man, we really need some snow! Maybe you can use the force to summon up some for us! 🙂 🙂
I tried! I must not be strong in the force!
Rachel and I found a snowshoe event that is part of a winter festival that brings in snow if there isn’t enough of it naturally!
OMG I love that red shirt! Oh, it’s mine. hahah 🙂 Now you know why I couldn’t resist buying it!
You are totally right that 3.1 slow miles is not nearly enough time spent together. Good thing we will run over 10x that distance together in a few short months! heehee!
I love the socks we got in the goodie bag. I may or may not have worn them pretty much every day since Sunday. 😉
Buah ha ha! You kill me! 🙂
Yes! I am pumped for our ultra! Gotta keep reminding myself about it when I feel too lazy to run!
I am happy the socks are working out! I need to use mine soon! Looks like it’ll be cold enough tomorrow!
Those pants are the best. Way to attract media attention! 🙂 It looks like a fun but super hard race. Hopefully in February or even March you can try a snowshoe race! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂 I did find a snowshoe race with guaranteed snow in February! Maybe I will try that one! 🙂
Oh man your outfits are both amazing!! Congrats on another january race 🙂 but booo to there being no snow. What’s up with that? I really hope you can do a snowshoe race this year. The swag for this race looked pretty schweet too. 🙂
Ha ha ha. Don’t even pretend – I know you are happy there is not a ton of snow and cold in January!!!! Although, I do wonder what’s up with it! Hope we don’t get totally hit next month or something!
I NEED to do this one of these years! Bummed there was no snow but yay for running with Rachel. The gardener in me loves Smart Farm’s mission and makes me wanna do this even more. Love the costume and press coverage!
I hope you get a chance to try it! It’s a blast! I wonder if the kids would like it too?
It does sound like a cross-country race, terrain, conditions, all of it. It looks like fun, but the last time I ran in snow was in 2006.
Aww, bummer! I look forward to a few snowy runs here in there! Especially the ones with fresh flakes and no wind (so they aren’t hitting you in the eye, ha ha).
Ha, I really love that you were in the featured photo — I didn’t get the “Star Wars” reference right away though! I thought you were dressed up like a panda, sorry! Bummer that there wasn’t enough snow for snowshoes. Running on snow-dusted grass with a frozen ground is so unpleasant, so it probably wasn’t any easier than with snowshoes! (Not that I would know, ha.)
I’m trying for one race a year, but I haven’t found anything good for February yet, whoops. Maybe I’ll aim for 12 races, so it would average to one a month!
Even people who are familiar with Star Wars sometimes don’t know what the hat is. Ha ha! So no worries 😉 The footing was surprisingly easier, still, than having snowshoes on!
That would be cool! Do you have one in mind for March?
I love how you can look pretty cute in any outfit.
Thanks 🙂