Make that TWO State Champions

credit RedRiverMiner.com

I honestly never thought this would happen, but I won my first race!! Now, keep in mind, there were only about a dozen other races, but I will take it!

The Desert Babe (openly copying that name from http://highdesertdirt.blogspot.com) and I traveled to the Enchanted Forest in Red River, NM, a beautiful little mountain town near Taos, to compete in the Low O2 Snowshoe Challenge. This is certainly an apt name, considering the race takes place at +9,500 feet! This race also serves as the New Mexico State Snowshoe Championship, a title The Desert Babe has won two times already (2012 and 2014, she was out of the state in 2013). Admittedly, we were both nervous going into the race: The Desert Babe had a title to defend and I am still a newby at this sport.

I ran for the first time in snowshoes and competed in my first snowshoe race several weeks ago at the Santa Fe Snowshoe Classic. It was a little over 5k and brutal, including a 1.5-mile long climb. This race had a good turnout (~75 races) and I placed eighth, which was great, but I was also over five minutes behind the winner!

So, going into yesterday’s race, my goal was to push as hard as I could. I wanted to try and stay close to the leaders, but also realized 10k is A LOT longer than 5k (like twice the distance…), so I really had no clue what running that far on snowshoes would feel like. The 5k race nearly killed me!

As the NM State Championship, the top two finishers in each age group qualify for the national championship, taking place in Eau Claire,Wisconsin this year. I had no doubt that The Desert Babe would win the women’s race, much less her age group (she beat all the women in the Santa Fe race by at least five minutes), so I knew we would be going to Wisconsin regardless. On a side note, The Desert Babe missed making the national team by only about 30 seconds last year, so I am confident she will make it this year! I knew the turn out for this race would be small, but I also did not want to qualify for nationals simply because there was no one else in my age group.

Before getting to the race, I should highlight how beautiful the location is. Red River is about 45 minutes from Taos, nestled in a tight little valley with a beautiful stream running along the town. There is a little ski hill here, and if you have ever seen the mountains here (part the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southern Rockies), these mountains are STEEP and the skiing looks really intimidating! The Enchanted Forest is privately held land that has beautiful cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails winding through a thick pine forest. And the snow was fantastic up there! It was thick and sticky, with typical crystal blue skies!

Ok, back to the race. Warming up, I saw two guys that looked like the main competition. One guy looked like he knew what he was doing and the other guy has his shoes bolted into his snowshoes, so obviously he was serious! Both were clearly older than me, but as The Desert Babe pointed out, especially with snowshoe running, age does not mean much. After The Desert Babe and I returned from out warm-up, several late arrivals had showed up. They both looked young and strong; one of them had beaten me at the Santa Fe race. Looks like I had my work cut out for me!!

The State Champs flexing their guns!

The race was a two-lap course (there was also a 5k race starting at the same time). It started in a field (after starting on single-track at Santa Fe, snowshoe races are much less hairy when they start in a field so everyone can line up across the starting line). The course immediately climbed up a groomed XC ski trail. About 0.2 miles in, it jumped onto a single track (aka, you would have to be good to pass) for 0.3 miles. It then got back onto the ski trail until around the 1.4 mile mark, where it got back onto single track nearly to the end of the first lap (5k mark), winding through trees on hilly, sometimes short, “punchy” climbs.

Right off the start, I was in fourth place. My heart felt like it was about to explode (even though it never really went over 150 bpm; not sure if it is altitude or what, but cannot seem to get my heart rate much over 150 bpm anymore). Once we got back onto the ski trail, ~1 mile in, I took third place up a long gradual climb, then second on the decent. But already first place was nearly out of sight, that guy was flying! First the rest of the first lap, I could hear third place behind me, although, I did feel some relief once I got onto the single track on the back half of the first lap, because I knew it would be hard for him to pass me on the single track.

When I went through the halfway point, I had developed some breathing room from third place, but first place was nowhere in sight. I was pleased with trying to hold on to second place. I just hoped I wouldn’t blow up on the second loop. The second half of the race was pretty uneventful. I kept putting time into the guy behind me and had the fortune of knowing what to expect on the loop (having already run it), so I felt more relaxed. The second half of this loop was great: winding through the trees and feeling comfortable with the gap I had on the guy behind me. I comfortably cruised into second place.

After finishing and nearly puking, I cheered The Desert Babe on as she finished two places behind me, crushing all of the women and becoming a three time NM State Snowshoe Champion!

Where it is always fun!

After finishing, she asked if I won, and I explained how badly I was crushed by Rene, the guy in front of me. But, I was comforted by the fact that the winner was racing in the world championships in several weeks. More importantly, he is from California, making me the NM State Champion!

Awards were not for several hours, so we headed to town for food (and milkshake). The whole time in town, The Desert Babe kept saying she thought Rene only ran the 5k distance, but I assured her he simply destroyed me in the 10k.

Well, during the awards ceremony, I was called up as the overall winner. It turns out Rene did only run the 5k distance, The Desert Babe was right! Not only did I win my first race, but I led for most of the race. Meaning this was the first time I ever led a race and won a race!!

All in all, it was an awesome day. Since we both won the race, The Desert Babe and I both won a free night at a yurt in Enchanted Forest and took home some nice pottery award. As if the day couldn’t get any better, on our way to pizza and beer, I say my first big horn sheep, and not just one, but an entire herd! #NMTrue!!

Now that you have read this long-winded ramble, here is more well-written article, but my favorite journalist: http://www.snowshoemag.com/2015/01/26/2015-low-o2-snowshoe-challenge/

Vail 2.0

Turquoise Lake, Leadville, Co

This weekend The Girl and I headed up to Vail for the second time this month. We were attending a wedding in Vail on Sunday, so we drove up on Saturday so we could spend the night in Leadville.

Despite thinking we were pros on the route, we managed to miss my beloved Gun Barrel road. It may see odd in today's GPS-everything world that we could make a wrong turn and not instantly be scolded by an electronic voice of our error. However, The Girl and I enjoy using an atlas for adventures (remember what that thing is?). It is hard to appreciate your sense of place and connection between places when you just follow the directions of an electronic voice. Plus, sometimes, like today, the wrong turn ends up being the best part of your drive. (The atlas was also one of the many amazing birthday gifts The Girl gave me last month!)

By the time we realized our error, we were committed to the detour. At first, we were both a little bummed; the postponement of lunch and a general desire to be out of the car did not welcome the added time to the drive. However, our detour brought us to probably my now favorite road in all of Colorado. It was just a two-lane road, but the views and feel of the road was amazing. There were fantastic entrances to ranches (see below!), we saw a massive herd of buffalo at one ranch (The Girl and I decided we will need to have some buffalo at The Barn House), and the road just wound through green hills and big sky. This detour also brought us through Salida. I am pretty sure I will be stopping at Salida again in the future. It had a fantastic western main street, ending into the mountains. There were many food options, breweries, coffee shops, and micro distilleries. We, of course, stopped at our now favorite Brown Dog Coffee.

Sometimes the wrong turn is the best turn

Albeit a little later than planned, we eventually rolled into Leadville, at 10,152ft it is the highest incorporated city in the US. We had previously driven through Leadville on our way up to the GoPro Games, but did not take the time to stop. In her knack for finding travel gems, The Girl had arranged lodging for us at the Governor's Mansion. Built by the former Colorado governor, Jesse McDonald, in 1893, the house is now owned/operated by the Stuevers. These Florida transplants are not just inn keepers, Jaime is also the mayor of Leadville. The suite was amazing (a definite must if I ever lose my mind and do one of the classic races out there). Following pizza at High Mountain Pies and a beer at the old-time saloon, Silver Dollar, we headed for bed, looking forward to a trail run in the morning.

Canoeing with The Blades at the wedding

After a coffee at City on a Hill, we went for a fantastic trail run along Turquoise Lake. We were hoping to complete the whole loop (~13 miles), but around half-way some bad intel made us worry that the trail might not completely surround the lake (in retrospect it appears that it does), so we doubled back. We also discovered Leadville hosts an amazing set of groomed trails in the winter. I am will be encouraging The Girl to head back for some snow shoe running come winter!

After food and shower, we continued our trek up to Vail for the wedding that afternoon. The wedding was not in Vail proper, but rather a ranch ~12miles down a dirt road. Correction, ~12miles down a rather rough dirt road. While a bit of a journey out, the location was beautiful. It was a small wedding with a lake and mountains as a backdrop.

Definitely the highlight of the entire weekend was between the ceremony and reception. Seeing some people out on the lake in a canoe, The Girl and I rented a canoe and headed out. It was fantastic canoeing in wedding attire. I have to admit, while I never would have thought it possible, The Girl looked even more beautiful on a mountain lake, with huge mountains in the background, and a canoe paddle in her hands!

Glamour shot!

After several hours of reception, The Girl and I were feeling pretty done with wedding festivities, but it still was only 9PM. Comparing the rustic cabin we had arranged for that night to our soft beds back at home, we decided upon the only logical thing, lets drive home right now. I think that ended up being one of the more painful drives I have made. Some of those hour-plus straight roads through desert had me seeing many things that definitely did not exist. But we made it and sleeping in my own bed was so sweet.

It turned out to be a fantastic trip, just as every trip with The Girl seems to be. But, I think I am ready for a break from Vail and that same drive. The West is big, there are many more places to see!

GoPro!

Just hoping I don't crash off the start!!

Fly-fishing, dog long jump, running races, bike races, various kayak competitions, whitewater stand-up paddle boarding, bouldering, free-style slack-lining, and on and on all squeezed into the small (and posh) mountain town of Vail over one weekend. Welcome to the GoPro Games. Both The Girl and I were competing in multiple events; we were both racing the Vail Pass half marathon, she was running the 10k mountain running race, and I was riding the time trial bike race. We arrived Friday evening in time for dinner then quickly collapsed into bed.

There is one highlight to this night. In the middle of the night, I woke up from one of my most classic dreams. In the dream, The Girl was sitting, staring with complete focus down on her bare feet. I walked up to her. Without looking up or breaking any focus on her feet, she said in an intense, confident tone, “These are The Blade,” pointing with both arms to her feet, “when I run, they slice up the ground.” If I was not impressed (and a little intimidated) by her running ability before, The Blades erased all doubt.

Saturday morning, The Girl (aka The Blades) and I woke up early to run in the Vail Pass half marathon. We were told the race goes from the town of Vail up to Vail Pass (aptly named), but the true consequences of this race never really sunk in, we just knew it would include a lot of climbing. Also, while named a “half marathon,” the race was actually 13.7 miles, instead of the true half marathon of 13.1. Just a minor difference, right?

We started off the run around 8,200 ft and the first several miles were relatively flat as we worked our way to the edge of town. I was just trying to keep with The Girl, as we went through these miles at around 7:15 min/mile pace. Then slowly the road started to climb. My ignorance was soon crushed as I realized the road was never going to level. In fact, it was just going to slowly become steeper. It was a bad sign when around the five-mile mark I was seriously questioning if I would finish the race. Also around that time, The Girl slowly pulled away as my legs ached for flat ground; I only saw her in the distance the rest of the race (but I DID keep her kind of in sight the whole time). At mile seven, the course switched from road to bike trail. I walked through this aid station to make sure I actually got some water down; instead, I had to fight back from puking. Fortunately, I got moving again. There isn’t much more to say. It kept getting steeper and I kept getting slower. The last several miles I felt like I was barely moving (I was barely moving), but I kept “running.” To rub salt in the wound, the final 100 meters were one of the steepest parts of the race. After a brutal “race” (more like a slog) that finished at the pass at about 10,500 ft, the warm welcoming we got upon crossing was simply a volunteer saying “good job,” no music, nothing. The Girl and I looked at each other with a look of “What the heck did we just do?!”, got on the bus, and headed back to Vail. We were just happy to be done with that thing!

Because of our next races were the following morning, we wisely took measured to rest and recover so we were primed the next day; we spent the entire day walking around on a warm, really sunny day, watching other events going on – exhausting, but fun! We saw all the vendors, slack-lining, kayaking (seeing Eric Jackson doing flips was pretty awesome), some mountain biking, some dog jumping, and bouldering. Needless to say, we were both completely exhausted that evening. Again we crashed into bed, hoping we would have some energy for the next day.

The Girl’s race started at 8AM and mine at 9AM, which afforded me the opportunity to see her go off at the start. Her 10k started in the middle of town, then quickly headed to the ski hill where it abruptly went straight up. It was amazing to see the line of races working up the hill, pretty rough. I then headed over to my start to figure out when I was going off. It was a time trial, so each racer was staggered by 30-seconds. I guess I should have looked at the schedule earlier, because I discovered I was one of the last to go, leaving a little after 11AM!! Well, at least I would get to see The Girl finish. I made it back over to her finish line to see the first couple racers come in. Not long after the winners came in, I saw two women racing for a sprint finish. In fact, one was REALLY sprinting! Who could have that much energy left? But shortly before the finish line, the slower racer drifted into the other women. It is unclear if an elbow was thrown or not, but it was all in good competition and the racer who worked the hardest reached the line first. I then realized it was The Girl! Not only does she have blades, but she is not adverse to throwing some ‘bows to protect herself! Look out!

After killing some time, we made our way over to my race. I will admit, I was nervous about my start; I really did not want to be the guy who crashed off the starting block! Fortunately, the start went smoothly! The course was similar to the previous days run, but ended about 4 miles shorter. Early into the race, I realized the legs were pretty heavy and it would not be a strong performance. Then I started getting passed. Considering we were staggered by 30-seconds, it was really impressive to see how strong those guys were. I would be putting it modestly to say I got crushed! But, it was motivating to see how strong those guys were. I will remember that during trainer sessions!

As I rolled back in, the weather worsened. As we left the rain had started, perfect timing. All in all, it was a pretty exhausting and exciting weekend. It was amazing how many activities were going on and motivating to see so many great athletes! It is on the calendar for next year, and I will get revenge on that half marathon!