Lake Wissota Loppet

This was a last minute race I decided to enlist in.  Angela and Kaia were out of town for the weekend and that left me with the chance to catch up on work at home.  Well, a snowshoe race sounded like work to me.  Granted, it was fun, but I didn't just go out there to show up.  I had hoped to go out and have a great race.

I saw something in this race that I had never seen before in any race.  After reaching the halfway point, the race turns around and heads back to the start.  The return route is different than the first half, so the route isn't really an out-and-back course.  It was held on a lake, so therefore was entirely flat.  It was even more flat than the 2013 Book Across the Bay which had a small pressure ridge causing a slight variation in elevation this year.  Anyway, I was about a minute behind the lead two snowshoers when I saw them round the halfway point and the first snowshoer stopped and took a water from the water station and walk while he drank it.  Then, the second place guy who was probably about ten seconds behind did the same thing.  I have never seen the leaders of a race stop and walk while drinking water from a water stop.  I have seen people take water from water stops and drink it, but if you are leading the race or closely competed for second, it just seems like on a 10K race that competitors would not stop to drink.  Maybe I am being overly critical here, but I felt for a while I might have a chance to catch up if they walked long enough.  Unfortunately, they began running again.  There was a pretty cool bridge that we ran by and also under. 

 

I finished the race with my fastest snowshoe 10 K time ever.  My time was 46:57, which was good enough for third place out of twenty snowshoers (most people do the skiing event as the snowshoeing event hasn't built to the popularity level of skiing).  Below is some of the left over gear after the race.  Either some trusting people or many people forgot their stuff.  I must give credit to the race organizers that the post race soup and bread were great.  Temperatures were not bad either.  It was nice to be able to hold a snowshoe event in early March and not have it be cancelled due to lack of snow.  If anything, it looks like we might hold onto our snow for a while this year.  Special thanks go to the event hosters for the Lake Wissota Loppet for taking many pictures and providing these to me to report on this event.

Stomp the Swamp

This was technically Kaia's first official snowshoe race.  She did the Stomp the Swamp in 2012, but Kaia didn't do it in snowshoes that year.  She just work boots.  This year she was completely prepared with everything she would need.  What a trooper.  She loves doing races.

It doesn't hurt when you get to hold hands with your mom and a large white dog as you do the race.  Kaia was in heaven on this day.

 

My favorite race photographer caught some nice action at the beginning of the race.  I hadn't been running or snowshoeing much, but I decided to do the 12K anyway.

It is always good race tactics to look behind you to make sure no one else is going to come from behind and surprise you at the finish.

No one was, but I decided to make a strong push for the finish because that's what you do.  My final time was 1:06:53.  This was good enough for sixth out of twenty eight 12K runners.

 
 
 

 

My favorite race fan loves hanging out with dad at the finish line.  You gotta love the teddy bear she holds during the race.  It's so cute.

My Uncle Lyle who lives in Wausau came to watch the event.  He had never been to a snowshoe race before.  He also got to see Kaia.  We later went to his house for a wonderfully prepared lasagna meal, prepared by my wonderful Aunt Patty. 

 

Kaia's favorite part is the "necklaces" they give out for kids who do the race.  Dad also got one for getting second in his age group.

Book Across the Bay

My wife and I have completed the "Book" every year since 2008.  This is the sixth straight year in which I have done this race.  As always, the Book Across the Bay is a mostly flat course.  This year there was a pressure ridge at the 6-7 kilometer point in the race so there was a slight elevation change which was a nice break from normal.

 

Angela and I posed before one of the coldest Book Across the Bay I have every done.  We were smiling, but the sun would soon go down and it would soon get much colder.  Angela and I spent an hour sitting in Burker King sipping on hot chocolate so we didn't have to stand around outside.

 

As the sun goes down the temps plummet.  You don't see it here, but when it came time to do the actual run I usually strip down to a bare minimum of clothing. On this year, I wore race shorts and a pair of thin tights, a baselayer, and a thin outer orange shell.  I also wore a hat and gloves, but all other clothing I was wearing earlier in the day got put in a bag to be dropped off at the finish of the race.

 A cool sight that has not been seen in previous years was this ice dragon spewing fire.  At least one creature had a source of heat tonight.

 

I finished the race in 6th place out of 707 snowshoers in a time of 53:40.4.  Upon completing the course I thought I would revert back and run the course backwards until I saw my wife.  I didn't know it at the time, but my wife was having some problems with exposure to the cold and had stopped to warm up which meant I had a long wait.  I ran back 2 kilometers and finally waited at the 8 km marker since I thought I shouldn't run much more than that as I was thinking she would be around soon.  As I waited, I froze and got colder and colder.  Finally, I saw Angela and she was not looking good.  With temperatures below zero before even considering windchill, this was one cold night.  I was about the coldest I have ever been.  As Angela and I trekked toward the finish, we stopped at the 9 kilometer marker by a fire to warm up.  It is amazing when you are frozen how even a fire doesn't help you warm up much.  When we left the 9 kilometer marker, Angela wanted to walk a good portion of the rest of the way as she was also dangerously cold.  That walk toward the finish was bitterly cold and my forehead was unbelievably cold.  I couldn't even look forward and had to tilt my head toward the ground to keep it from being exposed to the cold wind.  My wife and I both agreed that this was one of the toughest Book Across the Bays ever as far as weather is concerned.  I don't know how she made it to the finish all right as she stripped down to a minimum of clothing as well. Perhaps next year we'll be watching the weather much more closely prior to doing this event.  Still, the postrace chili always hits the spot and warmed us up well.

Turkey Leg 5K

I have to admit, Angela had a pretty nice hat.  I traditionally wear a Santa outfit when running the Thanksgiving Day race.  Sometimes when we have run at Thanksgiving it has actually snowed during the race.  Not in the forecast today, but it was pretty chilly out today.

 

My mom snapped this great action photo at the start of the race.  Pretty good camera work, mom!

Santa rounds the corner for the final push toward the finish as I had to come in under the 20 minute barrier.  I didn't leave any room for error as I crossed the line in 19:59.

Angela crossed the line in 31:56.  Kaia finished just ahead of Angela.  I am not sure if Kaia actually was able to see herself crossing the line, as it looks like she may be asleep.

It looks like I was right and Kaia was sleeping.

Mom and Kaia walk off toward warmer conditions inside the YMCA and also to snacks.

Kaia loves her daddy.  She leans in for a big hug.

Our mom wanted to come see us run the race.  It was a blast.

This has become our traditional breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, wherever we are. . .the postrace meal.

The race directors now keep the knife used to cut up fruit out of the open.  Years ago when I first did this race, the knife was left out right in the open next to the fruit which seems dangerous.  Perhaps they saw my previous blog from the 2007 Turkey Trot in which the knife was kept right next to the fruit.

Kaia's favorite part of the race are the animal cookies.

I went up to collect my medal for third in my age group and 23rd out of 522 runners.  Everyone loves the "Ho Ho Ho" on the back of the pants.

My mom, Kaia, Angela, and I pose for a picture at the completion of the race.

Harvest Hoot & Holler 5K

The Treasured Haven Farms Hoot & Holler offered a 5K and 7 mile event.  It was held at the owner's farm.  The shorter race went first with the second one offered second.  The race was in a fun location, but did not have the turnout that I think they were liking.  For me, it was kind of a last minute decision to even go.  I did the shorter event.  I held the lead until about the midpoint of the race, before being overtaken by another guy from a suburb of the cities.  My wife and daughter slept in so they did not attend.  The course was pretty hilly and was a course that wears you out pretty quick.   I finished the race in 22:02, which was 1:04 out of first place.  The course was enjoyable, but I wish that there would have been some pictures posted.  I have not been able to find any from that day.  The cool thing about this event is they make engraved plaques that are given to the overall winners and the age group winners.  I scored two plaques. . .one for being second overall out of 30 runners and another for being first in my age group.  While it would have been fun to try doing the 7 mile afterwards, I was spent and decided that one race was enough on a day like today. 

Forrest Run

The Rice Lake Forrest Run held its second annual 5K event today. This was held on the same course as the Rice Lake Cross Country team runs. It is a 5K race held in honor of Forrest Olson, who was a local athlete that died of Brain Cancer. This event served as a fundraiser event which donated money to support cancer research. I don't know at this time how many runners showed up on this cold and blustery morning, but the organizers I visited with feel it was more than in the first year. 

The Rice Lake Forrest Run held its second annual 5K event today. This was held on the same course as the Rice Lake Cross Country team runs. It is a 5K race held in honor of Forrest Olson, who was a local athlete that died of Brain Cancer. This event served as a fundraiser event which donated money to support cancer research. I don't know at this time how many runners showed up on this cold and blustery morning, but the organizers I visited with feel it was more than in the first year.  The event was well organized with an easily visible route marked with a thick white painted line running the entire length of the course. You couldn't get lost. Because it was the cross country course which a lot of people are familar with, it was easy for fans to move around to view runners at different places on the course. There were actually a few people who moved to various spots on the course to cheer on the competitors. Among the people who were there to cheer us on were my wife and daughter. Since my daughter was so good to come out and cheer me on today, I thought a nice reward for her later was to take her to her favorite restaurant (Casa Mexicana) for chips and queso cheese sauce.

The winning time from last year was 20:14 which was achieved by a friend of mine, Ted Romportl. This year, a new record time was set by a huge margin. A 2007 graduate from Bruce High School won the race in 17:42. One of the Gilbert boys who are huge soccer players (but should go out for cross country in my opinion) got second with a time in the low 19's. I finished third overall in a time of 19:57 according to my watch, but 20 minutes even according to the race directors. I enjoyed running against a previous kid I had coached named JT Postlewaite who finished fourth in 20:38.

This was a challenging race for me because while I was a cross country coach for four years, I have never ran the course in a race type situation myself. I have run it dozens of times during practices, but never actually raced it. It was tougher than I had expected it to be. I enjoyed the colors which were still beautiful despite the heavy winds which have knocked down most of the leaves in Rice Lake over the last couple of days.

 

 

A great post-race selection of food was also present after the race. Water, gatorade, bananas, granola bars, and turkey sandwiches were all awaiting the finishers of the race today. This was one of the better races as far as post-race refreshments I have run as many settle for things like water and bagels/bananas. The turkey sandwiches hit the spot.  Thanks to all the organizers for a wonderful event.  We hope the event was a success in your eyes and the eyes of those who will benefit from the fundraising and donations generated from today's race.  It was exciting to finish the 5K in the same location as great runners from the Rice Lake Cross Country team have had the chance to do over the years.

Lyndon Ellefson 5K

The Lyndon Ellefson race was a race I had heard all about, but never had the pleasure of doing.  The race holds a 5K and a half marathon.  I decided to do the 5K event.  It would turn out to be a race of near epic results.  My wife was recruited to be the race photographer for this event.  She does a lot of photography for me so I figured that she would be a good person to do the photography for this event.  She also is a great supporter.  Both Kaia and I planned to participate in our individual races today.  I was excited right off the bat in that I saw a fellow runner named Brett Ridout at the event today.  He and I have run against each other in several races over the course of the summer.  I knew when I saw him there that he would push me and I would push him.  We typically have finished within a few seconds of each other at several races in the past. 

The race director mentioned at the beginning of the race that there would be a fire truck leading the race.  He said that the fire truck would try to stay ahead of the majority of the runners, but that other runners could pass it if they wished.  As Brett and I took an early lead, I told him, "you heard the director.  Go ahead and pass the fire truck."  Brett urged me to do the same.  We exchanged jokes about this and went ahead with the run.  We race pretty much side by side for the first mile and Brett pulled a little bit of a lead.  Brett pulled the lead out to about 20 seconds at one point as I was developing some stomach cramps midway through the race.  Like any runner, I pushed through them and continued running.  At one point a couple of blocks before the finish of the race, I looked at my watch and saw the time.  I saw it looked like I had not run as hard as I had felt I had, as it looked like I was going to finish with a time much above my all-time personal best of 18:01 which I ran during a race on Thanksgiving several years ago.  I did give a hard charge at the end, however, and narrowed the gap considerably.  Brett gave a final look at he would cross the line first in 19:01

I crossed the line in 19:11, which was at about half the gap that I had at one point.

I finished second which was fine, but disappointing.  I had hoped that if I had not developed some midrace cramps, I would have held my position a little better, but the biggest disappointment was yet to come.  As people started finishing, everyone started doing the post-race visiting that usually happens after a race.  A few people with GPS watches stated the course length had been 3.3 miles.  That is frustrating, as it is nice if the distance is what the directors actually say it is.  I visited with several people who stated they had gotten 3.3 miles.  I had to check for myself.  I used my vehicle to check the distance and drove the route not just once, but twice and yes, it was 3.3 miles.  The one thing about hosting a race for someone like myself whom I consider to be a fairly serious runner is that it is important to have a course that is as accurate as possible.  It is a turnoff to several runners if you have an inaccurate course distance.  Some race directors will even own up to the difference in distance and state that the course runs a little long or a little short, but nothing was said here.  For me, the frustrating thing about this race is that my time of 19:11 over 3.3 miles would be much less if you converted the time to a distance of 3.1 miles.  If I convert the time for the course to what it would have taken me to go 3.1 miles, my time converts to 18:01.24.  How frustrating is this!  Even if the course had ended at 3.1 miles (which it did not), I would have finished in 24/100ths of a second slower than my all time PR.  While this tells me that I actually had a much better race than I thought I had originally, I still would have been about a quarter of a second slower than my all time PR.  Well, I should be satisfied with the fact my effort on this day nearly bettered my previous best, but had I been closer to the finish and knew I was in this situation, I wonder now if I would have been able to muster a little more effort to do even better yet.  Maybe next time I should have a GPS watch on verify the distance myself.

Kaia finally had a kids race following mine which she ran and had a great time.  She took off running well and got herself a medal; she calls it a necklace.  This was her first race that she didn't finish last in.  She finished in the middle of the pack on a couple of loops around an indoor running track.