January 16, 2008

Next Up: The Yeti Snowshoe Race Series








Wow it's been a week already since my last posting, how time can truly fly when you are enjoying yourself so much!

With all the fun I seem to be having lately, through ski touring mainly, I am also noticing that my body seems a bit more broken then it has been in previous years. I am unsure as to if it is simply just taking me a bit longer to get into the swing of things, that I am utilizing somewhat different muscles while touring, or that I still have some lingering issues from 07...or even that I am being far too lazy on my stretching and general upkeep! Whatever the cause, I had to stay off the spin bike tonight as my back has been screaming at me all day long. My good buddy Aaron and I had a solid 2hr run at 6:30am today, although he did bail in a big way during that run and for a fraction of a second I thought I'd be carrying him home!

Yesterday I went ski touring with three friends before work and it was one of the most spectacular starts to a day that I've ever seen. Notice the posted pics!

This coming weekend marks the first Yeti Snowshoe race of the season, on Mt Wash, Vancouver Island. The Yeti is a great, fun, winter racing series with four venues to choose from, Mt Wash, Cypress, Grouse, Seymour. For the first time ever there will be a race on all three Vancouver Peaks, and they will award a true King and Queen of The Mountains!

2008 looks like it could be the most competitive year The Yeti has ever seen. If even a fraction of the runner's who are 'threatening' to show up do, I'll be fighting for a top ten placing! I have raced three Yeti's to date and finished 5th in all of them. It looks like my 'ego' is about to take a beating this weekend.

No matter where I place during the event...I am always near the top in the post race alcohol consumption...must be my Newfoundland roots...and a lifetime of beer training, verses just a few years with this running stuff!

Some exciting personal news is that I had my first ever published magazine article appear in Impact Magazine just a few weeks ago! Check out the latest edition for all my not so secret snowshoe destinations in AB and BC.

Raid The North Extreme had their network television debut this past weekend as well. My team Helly Hansen-MOMAR were definitely presented with our fair share of airtime. Having said that, we were probably the team to face the greatest issues througout the race. Much of the footage was almost painful for us to watch as it brought back such a mix of emotions. However, I think they did a great job at showcasing a top notch expedition adventure race in an incredible location, and for the sake of the sport, I sincerely hope we get to see more events like this on National t.v. in the coming years!

I'm sure my post race report from Mt Wash will be all about me getting hammered on and feeling lots of lactic acid build up over the 10k 'sprint' snowshoe event!

GR

No comments: