The Creemore Snow Run

With 2 weeks before the big event, it was time to trial the course in snow.  How hard could it be?  There is barely a foot of snow, quite compressed and some of it even had footprints.  Easy, right?  Wrong.  I would not compare it to the toughest running conditions, but the old heart rate shot up and stayed there.  I did not clock the run, but it took circa 2 hour and 10 minutes to run 2 loops (14.5K).  There seemed to be little recovery on the roads, as they had 1 - 2 inches of slush.  The kind that results in slip-back on every step.  So, the "recovery" turned out to be a slow run with wasted effort.  Marvelous!

Running downhill on the trails was no picnic either.  Normally, you can let fly and the foot strikes are elongated commas in the soft snow.  Unfortunately, my knees are acting up and under 4 inches of soft snow is quite hard snow (not quite ice) that shakes up the legs and sends the feet in wild directions.  Although the knees took a beating, it was true trail running, never knowing which way the feet will land and spending great effort in continuously correcting the line of attack.

The effort to cover 15K (I'm going to round up here - if you run CSR you will empathise) was startling.  I would compare it to a 20K hill run.  I lay down to rest after the run!

So now all we can do is wait and see what the weather gods send our way.  Will it be 4 inches of slush, or 4 feet of powder?  I'm hoping for something in the middle.  No, not 2 feet of slush, but a bit more than 1 foot of semi-packed snow would be about right.  And today's weather would be quite nice, on February 4.  It was -7, clear skies, little wind and bright sunshine.  The kind of day where going for that extra loop is fine, just fine.

It was nice to beat myself up a bit today in what has become a relatively long run for me.  I was on the treadmill on Thursday and running was not happening.  Both runs (today and Thursday) were without Advil (I run much better with the anti-inflammatory) but Thursday's run was very disappointing.  I covered 5K in 28 minutes and did not enjoy the run.  Much resistance and considerable knee pain.

I see a sports doctor on Monday to assess my good (right) knee.  I am experiencing sharp pain in my right knee on every heel strike.  The "feeling" is bone on bone and I am not looking forward to the diagnosis.  I have had a few knee injuries (right!) and it is not IT band, inner cartilage, tendinitis (I don't think), ACL, patella tendon, or a fractured knee cap...  On today's run, I was wondering if it is causing me pain because I have favoured my left (bad) knee for 35 years.  I guess I wait and see!

So if you have nothing to do on Saturday, Feb. 4 and enjoying the thrill of hyperventilation (I tried hard to find a positive about running in a foot of snow) come on up to Creemore for a fun run with a bunch of crazies!