Let the snow fly

The Snow Cheap Winter Trail series starts in one week and we are still waiting for some real snow to fly. No worries as the races will be a blast with or without the white stuff.

Playing outside in the winter is one of my favorite things to do. Maybe it goes back to being a kid in Rochester. We never were lacking for snow in my youth. We would go sledding for hours, build forts, play some ice hockey. I even used to nordic ski to school in 6th grade. It really didn't matter as long as we were outside having fun. Heck even in college it became a tradition that with the first decent snow fall the team headed into Mt Hope Cemetary for an epic snowball/fartlek battle.

After college it was time to look for more fun ways to enjoy the winter. I was training a ton for duathlons and wanted something that would work the cycling legs as well as the lungs. I had read how Ray Browning, a stud pro triathlete and fellow Pearl Izumi sponsored athlete, would snowshoe in the Rockies. It must have been 1994 or so when I purchased my first pair of running snowshoes. I've been snowshoeing since.

I can't forget my first time trying to run in snowshoes. It was Thanksgiving and we had gotten dumped on with snow, a good foot or so. I won the Webster Turkey Trot in the am and after the race I headed into the park to snowshoe a little more. I think I made it about 200 yards before I was beant over trying to suck in air. I learned real quick that you have to go by effort, not your running pace. Man that was a painful leason to learn, but I was the only person I knew that ran in snowshoes so how was I supposed to know.

Now that I'm old and out of shape I like to use them differently. I don't try to go as hard or as far as I can. I don't use them to "workout" per say. I use them to enjoy the outdoors with some friends. I love getting a few friends together (and all our dogs) to head out and have some fun on the trails. We all have different abilities but that works out fine. The faster ones go ahead and charge up the hills. The slower ones always catch up as the speedsters are catching their breath or just messing around in the powder. We all have a blast and we do get in a great workout at the same time. Really, what is better then being outside, working out with friends?

If you've never ran in snowshoes before give it a try. You won't believe how much fun you can have with it.

In my next entry I will write about my favorite brand of snowshoes, Crescent Moon. That's Jake the owner of Crescent Moon with a fury friend in the photo above. He builds great environmentally conscious snowshoes right here in the USA.

Now get outside and

Live FIT.