First 2015 Snowshoe Run

We had so much snow last year.  So far this year, we've had next to nothing.  Finally, we got a pretty big storm on Friday night.  It was somewhere in the ballpark of 6 to 8 inches of powder.  I had to get out for my first snowshoe run of 2015.  I ran a few times last year, but I found it so hard.

I didn't get going until late in the afternoon.  My dad came along to hike in his snowshoes.  We went to the Appalachian Trail at Route 191.  I ran there yesterday, but there wasn't much snow and that was in trail shoes.  We were surprised to see the parking area was cleared of snow.

Dressing was tricky.  I know from experience that my shoes kick up a ton of snow on to my behind.  That happened and it got wet again.  However, I couldn't wear more than one layer there.  It was too warm.  It was nearly 40 degrees.  There was no wind.  The conditions were perfect really.  I wore a light weight short sleeve shirt and put on my gloves and headband.

Putting on my snowshoes is always tough.  They slip over my shoes tightly.  It is also tough to put them on in the deep snow.  I did it successfully though, across from the parking area. 

I was planning to head northbound toward the Delaware Water Gap.  I knew going southbound would be better running and smoother, but I was hoping I could run a mile out to the open view.  I ran downhill on the singletrack for a bit.

After maybe a quarter mile, I realized that I had not started my watch.  I got it going now.  I continued out.  However, running this part was frustrating.  It was a narrow rolling singletrack.  My one foot kept slipping and the hidden rocks were tough.  I didn't get out very far and I just turned around.

I hiked a lot of the way back to the road.  I then walked across the road.  I started running southbound now.  This was tough early, because it was uphill.  It was so much smoother though.

My dad had gone out this way and I followed his tracks.  I caught him pretty early, since he was hiking.  I continued on.  The hills were a lot of work.  I couldn't really even run a quarter mile and I'd have to walk again.

My shin was bothering me.  I worked on my form and found that picking up my legs more seemed to help and made running slightly easier.  It was still hard though.  The surroundings were beautiful, but I had to focus most of my attention on my footing.

I wanted to get out past 1.5 miles.  I did that and then turned around at about 1.7 miles.  Coming back was still tough, but a little easier.  There was more downhill.  I also had my tracks to follow.  On the way out, I made the first tracks in the snow.

I was walking when I got to the 2 miles point.  I saw that and began running.  After this point, it was a lot more downhill.  Coming across my dad's tracks made it even easier too.  A groomed trail is definitely much easier to run on.  I wish I knew where they actually groomed trails at.

I ran and ran and ran.  It was slow, but at least I could keep running.  I continuously ran all the way back to the car.  There was some really nice downhill near the end.  I saw my dad back at the car.

I had my dad take a few photos.  I ran a few short out and backs.  I wanted to get over 3 miles and I did that.  I wish I could've run more, but it takes some practice.  It was a fun and challenging workout.

Tomorrow, Ryan and I are going to an Eastern States 100 training run in Central Pennsylvania.  Tom, Flo and David were supposed to go, but they bailed on us.  The run should be about 17 miles with a lot of climbing.  It should be tough, as they have snow out there too.  I think it will be a lot of fun though.  I'm looking forward to it.

3.06 - 50:50 (16:37 pace) 282 feet of elevation gain