First True Snowshoe Run

I tested out the snowshoes that I got for Christmas last night.  That was only a brief mile run though.  Today, I wanted to do more of a real run.  The roads were a mess anyway, so running in the snowshoes was the best option.

I decided I would start by keeping it easy.  I'd just run a 5k at Jacobsburg.  I haven't been there in some time.  I was glad that they plowed the parking lots.  It was supposed to be pretty cold and windy, but for whatever reason, it was kind of nice there.  I had on a face mask and a jacket over my vest and regular top.  Not all of those layers were needed though.

The biggest key to this run was to make sure I put on the snowshoes correctly.  Last night, they were loose and came undone.  Today, I figured out how to secure them and it worked out very well.

According to the park map you aren't supposed to use the trail down by the creek for cross country skiing, so I assumed the same thing for snowshoe running.  That area is overused and can get icy in the winter time anyway.  Instead, I walked across the street from the parking lot to the trail.

I secured my shoes and began to go.  The problem with starting here is that it is a tough uphill to begin.  Not the ideal way to begin my first snowshoe run.  It is what it is though.

I went nice and easy.  I didn't know how taxing this would be, especially since my snowshoes are kind of big and made for hiking, not running.  It went pretty well, even though it was a slow go.

The run was so peaceful and relaxing.  It was beautiful out there on the snow covered trails, especially with the sun shining brightly.  Almost no on had been on the trails yet either.  I was blazing the way.

The run was harder than a normal run, but not too difficult.  It just seemed to take awhile until I got to the end of the first mile.  Crossing over the creek on the bridge was really cool.  It was such amazing scenery.

This section has small hills, but nothing too bad.  The only thing that was bothering me was that the bottom of my feet were getting sore on the uphill parts of the run.  I often have this problem when running trails in normal conditions, so that was no surprise.  It could limit how far I run in the future though.

I was running out of trail options and I was only out a little over a mile into the run.  I decided to run through a narrower singletrack section.  This taught me an important lesson.  I need to run in snowshoes on smooth trails.  I didn't see the rocks hidden under the snow and often stepped on them awkwardly and twisted my ankle.  That was very uncomfortable.

I didn't last too long in this section.  I decided it was smarter to go back and run on the smoother sections.  Any time I found a short out and back opportunity, I used it to add mileage.

I brought my GoPro with me to take photos.  On the way back, I was able to get some cool photos of my snowshoe prints from the way out.  I didn't run in those, I started a second set.  Some of this time going back was difficult.  There was more uphill and I was breathing heavily and my foot was hurting.  I recovered soon enough once I got to the flats and downhill portions of the route.

I was thrilled to get past mile 2.  When I had the chance, I took an upper route to the red barn.  That wasn't too difficult and allowed me to add about half a mile to run.  I'd now be close to 3 miles when I finished up.

I retraced my path and headed back toward the start.  Now, I had about half a mile to go and I was cruising.  My pace was quite consistent throughout.  It was right around a 10:30.  Hopefully in my lighter running snowshoes, I'll be even faster.

I twisted my ankle a few more times, but I never fell.  I had a blast with the run.  I got to the end of the trail around the 3 mile point.  I ran back out very briefly before finishing up.

This was an awesome run and I can't wait to do it again.  It was refreshing after a lot of cold boring miles on pavement recently.  The workout was solid too.  I was definitely more beat than a normal easy effort 5k, but it wasn't too taxing because it was still a short run.  I can't wait to run in snowshoes again and I really can't wait until I get my new Dion ones.  Hopefully they will come next week.

Tomorrow, I want to get back onto pavement before the Eagles game.  It is supposed to be one of the coldest nights ever tonight, so I'm not sure that I'm going to run with the BCR early in the morning.  I may run on my own later in the morning.  Either way, it should be a nice way to finish the week.  Sunday I'm hoping to run some hills and maybe use the snowshoes again later on in the day.

3.1 miles - 32:32 (10:30 pace)