2016: Year in Review

The year of 2016 was a busy, but wonderful year.  I have traveled a bunch, running in some cool places. I have also had the chance to race a decent amount with some decent finishes. I am eager to take the lessons that I have learned into the new year. I also was able to tie the knot with the love of my life, Ashlee which was the most incredible moment of my life.

Some Highlights of the year:

1. Got married!!!
2. Ran in all kinds of cool places
3. Have an awesome job
4. Have made so many new friends
5. I am in good health
6. Nothing to complain about only happy memories of the year.



With my job at Nathan, I have traveled as far west as California for work trip and as far south as Texas and Florida. It has been such a wild time. I am looking forward to a fun 2017 with the company. Here is my photo montage of the year as the Nathan Eastern Region Tech Rep:

Ragnar with the Salomon Crew. Photo Credits: Cole C.

Nathan at USB Sales Conference. Photo Creds: Dan Suher

Ragnar events. Photo Cred: Cole C.

Weekend getaway with Ashlee at Letchworth State Park. Photo Credits: Ashlee Prewitt Crosby

Demo with Finger Lakes Run Co and Robert K. Photo Credits: Cole C.

Demo run in Asheville, NC. Photo Credits: Andrew Snow

The Perfect Oklahoma Wedding. Photo Credits: Bailey Salisbury.

Demo in Hotlanta. Photo Credits: Cole C.

Fun DC Demo run with Fire Up Your Run night and Johnathan. Photo Credits: Cole C.

Fall Running in Princeton, NJ. Photo Credits Cole C.

Christmas long run. Photo Credits: Cole C.

For my races in 2016: I ran 6 Key races/events and here is how they went:

Febuary I ran the Cast-A-Shadow race which is usually a snowshoe race but instead was a 6 hour muddy trail run.

I placed 1st running about 42 miles in the 6 hours.

Running strong. Photo Credits: Ron Herkins JR.

March: Caumsett 50k: 7th place
Then I raced the Caumsett 50k, a USATF 50k road championship. I placed 7th in a PR run of 3:11 which I was happy with due to no specific speedwork in training and some nutrition issues during the race.

Running with the Pack and friend, Eric Senseman. Photo Credits: Charles Crosby

April: Hyner View Challenge  3rd Place.

A Race where I had no expectations as I had not gotten any elevation training in months, the effort paid off. I ran with Mike Daigeaun and Adam Russel and helped push the pace to all three of us besting the old course record. Quite a day. And it was a blast hanging with the Nathan crew.

1st big climb. Photo Credits: Momentum Photography.

Chasing the leaders at the first climb. Photo Credits: Mark Lengel




June: Cayuga Trails 50 mile: US Trail Champs DNF
DNF at mile 28. Puking my guts out. I came into this race primed and fit. I left it broken after having pre-race nutrition mis-cues. No whole fruit with the skins EVER AGAIN! It was great to see so many great performances even with the heat.

3 cool dudes. Photo Credits: Lauren Ashley.




 

September: I Run For Half Marathon and Marathon : 1st in 2:38

This race I used as training for Tussey Mountainback but it went as well as it could have gone with me bonking pretty hard at mile 18 but great effort given the hills.

Myself with Anne. Photo Credits: VPPhoto.com




October: Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile/USATF 50 mile road champs: 3rd place in 6:22
 

This race for me I had a solid training block for it but was a physical and mental wreck come race day and fell apart at mile 21. The hardest I have ever fought in a race to come out holding on to third place was by far the race of the year for me.

Last long run before Tussey. Photo Credit: Cole C.

 

 

 

Tussey Pre-race gear. Photo Credits: Cole C.

SO what does that mean for 2017 you ask? Well, I hope to mix things up. I feel more comfortable in my current job with Nathan and will be looking to add some great races to the mix.

Here are a list of goals and races I on my radar to run in 2017:

Some Snowshoe Races: This would include the World Champs in Saranac Lake, NY and National Champs at Bend, Oregon.

Setting some FKTs around some of the larger Finger Lakes: Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka etc.

Syracuse Half-Marathon

Hyner View Challenge 25k

Breakneck 42k

Binghamton Bridge Run Half Marathon

UROC 100k in Virginia or Dirty German 50 mile

Ontario Summit Trail Marathon

Herald of Victory Marathon: Guinness World Record for Marathon in Toga

Maybe Cayuga Trails 50

Finger Lakes 50 Mile

Twisted Branch 100k


Fall 100 miler or 100k

Tesla Hertz 100k or 100 mile

Stonemill 50

Hellgate 100k


I want to thank everyone who has been with me this incredible journey in 2016.

Thank you to my lovely Wife, Ashlee.

Thank you to my friends, family and the whole team at Nathan and USB!

Thank you to my sponsors who have helped me become the person I am today:

Mammut North America: for being with me every step of the way with the best shoes, apparel, and gear in the industry.

Nathan for being not only my employer but also with aiding me with the best in hydration, visibility, gear and runner's care essentials.

Team RNRMPF for allowing me to be on a roster with some of the best and most kindhearted trails runners in the East.

Boom Nutrition for helping to fuel me with the all-natural fruit power of Boom gels.

Fits Socks for making the best merino wool socks that fit better than a glove.

Redfeather snowshoes for the ColeVapor shoe and the best in snowshoes.

Karhu NA for great road shoes for all of my ultra training and road running exploits.

Craft NA for the best baselayers, running tights and winter gear.





Here is to what has been an incredible 2016 and I will raise a glass to 2017. Time to make some dreams and turn them into reality!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hyner View Challenge: 3rd Place, The View was Worth the Challenge

Alright, it has taken me a long time to write a post on this race so I will make it short and sweet for everyone but to sum up the whole experience, it was a true confidence booster for myself and a truly incredible event.



For all of those out there: Hyner is a tough race. With 5 long arduous climbs all 800ft-1200ft ascents with similar descents on Rocky and technical Central PA terrain, this race truly...Hard! 

I was unsure how this race would go for me as I had come from places such as Savanna, Georgia where the running is pretty flat so my dedicated hill-training was at an all-time low. Running this race was a great opportunity as preparation for Cayuga Trails 50.  With running with the Nathan Team, this was an even more exciting opportunity.  After my events in DC during that week, I took the Nathan car out to Lock Haven, PA for the race. I camped in my car at the starting line and arrived at the race site around 10pm. I rolled the windows down as it was a beautiful April evening and quickly grabbed some zzzzzz.

The morning came quickly and as I lounged around and almost missed getting my bib and had some contact with the Nathan crew: Maggie, and Brent; and then I was off with the crew for 50k of some of the most brutal trails around.

The race went out comfortable and sadly I could not get that darn GPS of mine to sync up. Time to race by feel. To say that the course record was not on my mind would be a lie. I really felt that with such a solid crew of runners and with some smart pacing, that the record could go down.

To see the top 3 including myself break the record, was something special!








The Top 3: Myself, Adam and Mike!



 

We hit the first climb and the run now became a hike. I was breathing a little heavy but was to be expected with running hardly any hills like this in quite some time.

I latched onto Adam Russell and Mike D, who are very accomplished Ultra runners. Adam recently was second to Ben Nephew at Breakneck and was the past course record holder of Hyner. As For Mike D, he has all kinds of fast times out in the East Coast trail scene such as A victory at Umstead 100, both course records at Green Lakes 50k and 100k and numerous other fast times. I knew that if I could run relaxed with these two for as long as possible, great things would come from it.

 

After the first climb, it was us three the whole way. Mike and Myself had to work hard to match Adam's strong downhill running. That guy knows how to fly on steep technical terrain! I felt pretty solid making sure to drink often and take my Boom gel every 45 mins. This worked great to keep my legs and body feeling strong. I felt strong on the climbs and even worked a few of them pretty well to test how Mike and Adam felt.

 

 

Making the first big climb at Hyner!

 

On climb number 3, I made a little move up the long gradual climb before running a little harder on the flat section and then into a nice runnable downhill. I gained some separation on the two but the goal was to test the waters and see how they would respond. Eventually, the two matched my pace on a steeper downhill section.

 

I still managed to feel fresh. We hit this creek section that was the next climb and Adam decided to ease off the pace as I led Mike into the wet rocky footing ahead. It was hard to run fast on this section and I felt like we were crawling but I could look back and it seemed that our pace was consistent. Remember, with no GPS, I had no idea if we were on record pace or not or any pace really. Towards the top of the climb, Mike caught to me on my shoulder and we talked how we were running close to 4:30 50k pace which was stellar as the old record was 4:52. I told Mike if we keep working together here, good things will come from it. It was fun running with Mike as we rocked the NJ love pretty well growing up only 7 miles from one another. Mike was also the man I attempted to break his incredible 3:28 Green Lakes 50k time so it was a pleasure to connect with him during the race.

 

I lost contact with Mike at one of the Aid stations. I stopped, he kept going. I lost about 20-30 seconds on him here as we made our way at the top of a ridge. I kept Mike in my sights as we began another descent. Once we finished the descent, we were now mixed in with the 25k runners. I knew that I wanted to catch Mike as this would be the final home stretch and we had one more crazy climb before the finish. I pushed hard on the wet rocky footing trying to pass the 25k runners as best as possible. To put it in perspective, this part of the course is wet slick rock and one bad false misstep and you could fracture an ankle. It is a trail designed for a few hikers every so often. Passing a conga line of runners was difficult as there was no place for the runners to step off to the side of the trail. A little frustrated as I was losing Mike in the crowd, I tried to maneuver off the course running as hard as I could to pass as many people as I could. With each strong pass, my body was getting exhausted. I could feel myself creeping into severe fatigue at this point as the small gap to Mike felt like an eternity.

 

I eventually gave up to trying to maneuver on this course and began to hike slowly behind the line of runners. I felt that all of this extra effort just was hurting my cause so I began to fuel up for the final miles of the race. I began to lose sight of Mike but knew that if I kept it within a few minutes, that I could close well. Maybe a few minutes go by and then I see Adam as he passes by on the trail. At this point I am just trying to stay upright as my legs have cramped on me.

 

Once out of the Creek Bed, I was able to run more as the trail allowed some passing but I was just frustrated that I gave up. I mixed in some run-walk to get the legs to have me power-up the last SOB climb. I have heard this one is a tough one. I clenched my teeth and gave it one last push. Once up the ski slope 40% type of ascent up the SOB, I fueled at the top of the climb and saw Brent. We chatted a little and then off I was running. This portion of the trail was more runnable and now after losing about 15 minutes I felt on the last few miles from Mike and Adam, I began to gain my energy and kicked it into high-gear. My GPS watch finally kicked on. Okay, let's see how fast I can go!

 

My last 4 miles, I split: 7:38, 7:15, 7:49, and 6:23.

 

I ran through the trail hard and was yelping "50k runner flying" the whole way to the finish. I was on a mission to catch Adam and Mike if I could and felt great the last few miles. As soon as I hit the road section, I opened up my stride and kicked it to the finish.

 

I hit the 3rd place mark in 4:47:27. I was 10 minutes behind Adam and 15 behind Mike.

 

We all broke the course record and my body handled the hills incredibly well. I was truly pleased with this performance and know that if I was to run this race again, I could improve upon that last section on the creek and serve up an even faster time.

 

The views of this course was unbelievable. This is a true mountain ultra. For me, it was a very technical race with rocky and loose footing but cannot express how incredible the experience was.

 

Thank you to all of my sponsors that help to power me through all of my running adventures:

Mammut North America

Nathan Sports

Team MPF/RNR

Fits Socks

Boom Nutrition

Mcdavid USA

Redfeather Snowshoes

KarhuNA

Craft NA

 

 

All the gear used from a solid race:

*Nathan Sports Fireball Hydration Pack with Exo shot 12 oz Flask and Speedraw Plus Insulated Handheld

*Mammut MTR 141 Zip Shirt, MTR 71 shorts, MTR 201-II Max Shoes

*Fits socks Runner Low Sock (No Blisters, No Problem)

*Boom Gels (Consumed one gel every 45 mins for perfect energy levels)

*Mcdavid Compression 10k Run sleeves!

*MPF/RNR Apparel for the race and cool down!

*Karhu Flow Trainer: Cool down shoes

*Craft Focus Shorts: Cool down shorts

 

 

http://www.parunners.com/index.php?option=com_jevents&task=icalrepeat.detail&evid=734&Itemid=53&year=2016&month=04&day=23&title=hyner-view-trail-challenge&uid=3c9f54a4d02a6c2fb4f3b7022285f62c

 

 

 

 

 

The Attempt: Trying to Run Down Michael Wardian's World Record Indoor Track 50k---Close But No Cigar in 3:16:43

3:06:03

This is the World Record Ultra-running extraordinaire, Michael Wardian set last year in December of 2014. The pace per mile equates to roughly 5:59/6 minutes a mile. To run the time, a runner must split 45.0 seconds every 200 meters for the allotted 250 laps required for a 50k (31.1) miles while not using pacers or switching directions of the track.

I had heard about this record based on an article that was published all over the main ultra running media outlets about Michael Wardian running a World Record 50k on a treadmill while on a cruise ship where he later found out he just missed the record and 7 hours later attempted a second go at the record besting the time.  An even more incredible accomplishment.  I felt that with having my first ultra this year at Cayuga Trails 50 at the end of May, I was looking for an event that I could run without the risk of harming myself as I did almost a year ago at the Tom B Run 52k in Dryden, NY where I harmed a ligament that connects into my ankle and was not at full strength for 6 months.  In the beginning of March, I had the idea that I felt I was fit enough to attempt for Michael Wardian’s 3:06:03 50k time and so I prepared. I was able to secure the Ithaca College Indoor Track with the help of my boss of the Finger Lakes Running Company, Ian Golden, on Sunday April 19^th yet had to start early at 6am due to a tennis group that uses the facility on Sunday Mornings around 9:30/10am. Most of my ultras begin around a time as such so it was nothing that I am not used to.  The week leading up to the race went well. I was able to rest-up on sleep and eat a lot to get my fuel stores ready for the 6 minute pace.

The Race:

We awoke at 4:30 and then headed out to the Ithaca Indoor Track Facility. I had all of my gear: Mammut running shorts and Zip shirt, my pairs of Fits Socks, Tailwind Nutrition, Ultimate Direction 10 oz bottles, my Karhu Flow Trainers, and my Red Newt Racing/MPF shorts and shirt. We stopped at Dunkin Doughnuts, grabbed some glazed doughnuts and coffee and off we went. My fiancé and father and I all arrived at the Ithaca Events Center around 5:40am just as the lights were coming on. We took to the track. It was exciting to realize I would be attempting such a crazy idea of running 6 minutes a mile for 31.1 miles (250 laps) around an indoor track.  Ashlee, my fiancé, and my father prepared ourselves with the lap counter and I went over specific instructions to make the attempt go as smooth as possible. By 6:05am, I was off running. The sun had yet to come up and it was not too bad going through the first 10 miles as I went back in my head to the 10 mile indoor track workouts I was running at close to 5:31 per mile  on one day and 5:45 per mile the next workout and felt that this should feel progressively easier. I went through my first lap in 38 seconds (too fast) but soon settled the pace into a consistent barrage of 43-44 seconds a lap.  I felt strong yet knew this would be a hard record to get as running 6 minute-flat to sub-6 minute pace for 31 so odd miles surely would take the wind out of anyone’s sails. I was running hard but not red-lining it and felt this pace was something you find when the goal is to run as consistent as possible without blazing the tempo.

The first 10 miles felt smooth and controlled. I ran most laps in 44 seconds if not faster. I was on pace and building a cushion of time.  I went through 10 miles near 58 minutes, as I will have to check the books for the exact split. I was feeling strong. I kept going joking how this was going to take a long time and about what was I thinking about getting myself involved with such a crazy record. I took a gel every 35 minutes and used a 10 oz bottle of Tailwind every 6 miles. I kept my splits consistent. It was a nice thing to have a whole track facility all to yourself, with your family there to give you the splits and support. I enjoyed the moment and was staying focused on keeping the pace hot so that I could relax after the marathon distance and work on my time cushion. That was my goal—survive through the marathon mark and then surge the last 2 miles.  I hit a low point near mile 18. But as friends started coming into the facility, my sugar levels improved and soon I was splitting 43 second laps from high 45’s/46’s.  It was great to see all kinds of people checking out what I was doing. Some of the Ithaca College athletic trainers were up and at it giving me great words of encouragement. I continued to run around the track, hitting each lap split on pace and running strong though this was definitely much harder than I thought it would be.

Red Newt Racing/Mountain Peak Fitness Trail Running Team Gear!

The Race Part II:

 I was getting tired at this point (Mile 18-Finish) as the turns had made my arms clench and tighten up. I spent many laps massaging my arms to have them relax. I continued my solid pace with some laps at 45-46 seconds but for the most part I was hitting 44 seconds a lap. In 27 miles of running, I hit over 44 seconds in the 45+ range 12 times.  I went through the marathon near 2:36 and under perhaps closer to 2:34 but I still need to calculate my exact time but a PR for me. I was hanging tough taking in my gels and Tailwind. Soon I felt like I was over-heating a little as my face felt flushed and my throat felt parched. I motioned to my Father to grab me a bottle. On the next lap, I received a bottle of Gatorade, which I was hoping for the Tailwind as that was working incredibly well but I figured I could use some of the sweet sugar found in Gatorade. Boy was I wrong!  After consuming 5 out of the 10 ounces of the Gatorade, I felt the drink too strong and handed it back. I asked for more Tailwind. This would be the pivotal mistake. My lap time now became a string of 45 + to 50’s. My body was feeling tired and worst of all; my stomach started feeling like it was expanding like a blimp. It was BAD!  With each passing lap, I began to feel worse and worse. I still had a chance to beat the time of 3:06:03 but my early lead was almost out of time. It was with 9 laps to go, I felt so weak, my stomach forced me to throw up. It was embarrassing. I tried to walk some more but then I threw up again.  And….AGAIN.  My race attempt was over. I would finish to run a PR for myself and as I came so close but always tough to manage 30 miles to only fail on the last one.  

I finished my final lap with a 47 second split.  My overall time:     3:16:43!

It was a personal best for the distance and my first time running an ultra marathon on a track. 

Summary:

Michael Wardian’s record for the indoor track 50k is no joke. The pace of 5:59/6 minutes a mile is RELENTLESS. It is a pace that on an indoor track you can keep it going but those last few miles are beyond a struggle. I found this out the hard way.  I learned so much from this run.  I feel that with another attempt in the future that the time of 3:06:03 is within my limits.  I came so close this time and I think that running this event during the winter, in the afternoon or evening may help my body in terms of being sharp for the relentless lap times of 44 seconds a lap.  I was very pleased with how though I did not feel fantastic throughout the run, I was able to run so consistently and even throughout the attempt that I am impressed with how I was able to run under the record pace yet could hold my own. 

I am so pleased I had the opportunity to run the event. It was such a wild and crazy experience but it was interesting how running on that track for so long really exposes your weaknesses as an athlete. For myself, it is remaining poised the last few miles of a race. I think that if I were to remain relaxed, perhaps I could have held onto my pace and stomach from exploding on me. I will let this run sit with me for awhile. I still have more work to go and would like to focus on the race for a December attempt next winter. I think by that point, I will be a little wiser and stronger and eager to go for this record. Who knows though. Maybe Michael Wardian wakes up one day and runs a new record for the indoor track 50k in 2:52. If so, I will be ready to give it my best shot!

Thank you to my amazing friends, family, sponsors: Redfeather Snowshoes, Karhu North America, Craft North America, Boom Nutrition, Fits Socks, Confluence Running/Finger Lakes Running,  and of course  Mammut and Red Newt Racing/Mountain Peak Fitness especially for the incredible support for this attempt.  Now, I prepare for Cayuga Trails, a 50 mile event that is one of the most scenic and fun-filled 50 milers I have ever run.  Thanks again!

My Splits:  

  

  

  

  

  

   

USA SNOWSHOE NATIONALS----Eau Claire, Wisconsin From 13th one day to 5th the next day! The Longer the Better!

Well, it has been about a month since my race at Snowshoe Nationals, and I have found that I have a little time to start working on my thoughts on the whole trip and the race weekend!

Some cool links to the Race Weekend: http://snowshoenationals.com/web/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Half-Marathon-Division-Results.pdf

http://snowshoenationals.com/


The trip was a wonderful 5 days and it was great to see another part of the country.  I began my trip boarding a plane from Syracuse Int. Airport around 7am to Philadelphia then off to Minneapolis. I had some flight delays which cost me some extra hours of settling in hence why I flew 2 days before the first race. I ate plenty of Auntie Anne's pretzels as I awaited my arrival in Minneapolis.

Once I made it the Minneapolis around 4pm Central time, I was pleased to be greeted with plenty of sunshine but they had almost no snow maybe a half an inch. I thought... "I hope there will be enough snow in Eau Claire to even have a race." I picked up my sweet luxury Toyota Corolla with back-up camera and fancy headlights and headed out to Eau Claire, WI.  After my 90 minute drive, I picked-up some pizza for dinner and then checked into my room for the next four days and headed to Walmart to pick-up some few items. I was settling in.

The next day was nice as I had the whole morning of Friday to kill some time before registration at 1pm. What was nice was that my hotel was a mile from the race site so I had plenty of time to explore Eau Claire. The city/town of Eau Claire reminds me of any typical 70k Midwestern town.  There was a shopping mall, tons of franchise eateries, a state college which I had the opportunity to check out a little, a nice downtown with some cool shops and boutiques and fairly easy driving.  I began my morning with a 4 mile jog around town as their was maybe 2-3 inches of snow on the ground but we had perfect sunshine and very  cold temps hovering -20 in around 7 am warming to about 11 by midday.  It was fun to explore town and to get myself prepped for the 10k/half marathon double.

Once it was close to 1pm and I had explored the University of Eau Claire, the downtown, the shopping mall, etc, I made my way to the race site. I hit the highway and took the exit near all of these car dealerships to the Expo Center. I parked my car and proceeded to head in.

I was pleased to meet Bob and Denise Dion, Owners of Dion Snowshoes, Mark Elmore, Director of the USA Snowshoe Association and my new friends at Redfeather Snowshoes who I joined their athlete team this winter. It was great to spend some time chatting with everyone and catching up. By the way, I was amazed with how Redfeather operates as a Non-Profit Organization and the amount of creativity they put into all of their snowshoes. I was pleased to have my Redfeather Vapors adjusted with a better crampon for the hardly packed snow of this race.  After meeting with everyone, I decided to preview the course.

I was treated to a wonderful course of open vistas, some hills, and wonderful winding single-track and double-track trails. The snow was fast. I jogged the 10k in 47 minutes. This would be a solid winning time in any NY State snowshoe race this season as we received our fair share of snow I could not even believe what the pace would be tomorrow. I felt that a PR would be what would happen over the weekend.

I headed to the athlete Meet-N-Greet at the Local Store and V1 gallery. The food and wine samples were great. I also picked-up some great souvenirs. We found out that 2016 Nationals would take place in Ogden, Utah...time for altitude training. It was a fun social event then off I headed for bed for the bid day.

I felt primed for a top performance in the 10k and Half Marathon and was hoping to place top 5 if I had a great day in both events.
The morning of the 10k, it was a cold morning with temps in the below zero range with things warming to about 10 degrees by mid-afternoon. I had all of my awesome Mammut gear ready to go such as my Denali Tights, Anergy Thermo Vest, and MTR 141 Thermo Half Zip. I had two pairs of Fits Socks on my feet, and Acidotic Racing Beanie, Sunglasses, a Craft Thermal Baselayer and Gunde Shorts, and some Boom gels to power me through.

RACE DAY-----10k National Championships  Hosted by Dion Snowshoes

It was cold!!!! -10 degrees to start out the morning. Not too much wind, just straight cold air. I had a nice warm-up and felt as ready as I ever would. I had great snowshoe training this winter and had some solid races even with feeling tired at both events. I knew this would be more like a track race than a snowshoe race so I was prepared to let the race come to me. I wanted to run as relaxed as possible and to maintain contact with the top 5-7 positions to be in contention for the National Team. The field was very strong so I knew I would have to put up a really solid run to place top 5. Guys like Eric Hartmark(MN), Scott Gall(IA), Zach Rivers (NY), Jeff Quednow(WI) and many more. 
The race went out hard. Our first kilometer went through in 3:08
 (5 minute pace!)  We then slowed to a 3:20 kilometer for the second k.  It was a fast pace from the get-go and I was in great position but the pace was tough! I felt like this pace could not be maintained the whole time as it was a relentless pace but the top guys were able to manage a fairly decent average not too far off from the first few k's.

Photo Credits (Skymotion Media)

Photo Credits (Skymotion Media)

The first 2k of the 10k race!

 

Photo Credits (Brandon Nall)

 

Photo Credits (Brandon Nall)

Photo Credits (Brandon Nall)

Coming around the woods loop at 8k

 

 

As you can see, we ran a blistering pace. I think the first mile was in 5:20 or so. With that pace and the cold air, I was foolish enough to not wear anything to cover my face as the cold air seemed to almost shock my system by 5k into the race. I stayed in a solid place 5-8 but soon I felt my chest seize up on me like I was having a heart attack. What was going on??? Physically, my body felt ok but my lungs were trying to power myself as much as possible but I felt like I was running backwards. Was I running underwater? I hoped it was a cramp so I pressed on but my chest never really improved. It sucked. I started to look all pale and was struggling so bad. Like any ultra runner I let the things that happen be as they are and work through the kinks so that hopefully I can improve. Though I never felt better. I went from National Team contention to just trying not to make myself look like a fool out there.

 I  was passed by a couple of guys as I had no response to even move-up. I finished in 13th in the race and ran about 42:30.  It was disappointing to run not so well but it happens in sports. My thought as I reflected on the race was that the cold air at that fast pace zapped my chest a little too much as I had a hard time breathing and warming up the air.  The course was beautiful though it was hard to enjoy while suffering the way I did. I am glad I hung on tough as all of my gear performed great!  I wore all the right layers, my Karhu Flow Trails kick but and my Redfeather Vapors have changed my snowshoe racing for the better. As I reflected on the race I felt that some form of warm face mask would have kept me in the game but you never know when it comes to competition. I felt hungry for the next day as I wanted to run solid for the Half Marathon and go for the win. I fueled up and got some rest for the big day.

 

Redfeather Snowshoes National Half Marathon Championship!!!

 

 What a perfect day to snowshoe. It was cold but around mid teens and snowing which was much better than the other day. I warmed-up as per usual and physically felt as fresh as could be. Maybe suffering in the 10k was good to prep my body for feeling well-rested for a race I had been waiting for since I found out last summer. As I hit the start line, I noticed all of the top 5 guys from yesterday's 10k on the line too. Dang! Well, my hope was to go for the win but maybe this race was going to be harder than expected. I took to the lead of the race and began to run a fast but comfortable tempo. The top guys followed suit. I think my wardrobe change to the grey Mammut Hoody and Green Beanie plus a face wrag was a great move. I fueled with Boom Raspberry gels during the race: one before the start and one past the 10k.  That worked great. On this day I was a different Cole Crosby.

 

Photo Credits (Brandon Nall)

 

 

The pace was still fast for a half marathon but we went out much more controlled. It was going to be a battle of attrition. Who could hold on to the pace set in the beginning the longest?  As you can see I soon dropped the lead pack of three as I was red-lining a little bit too much so I felt that I had to run a little more within myself. I dropped back but still had plenty of steam to go.

 

 I am off in the distance in fourth.

Photo Credits (Brandon Nall)

 

From there, Eric Hartmark pulled up on me and I let him pass but still wanted to maintain eye-sight of him. Was I going to be passed again like yesterday. The answer would be...NO! 

I hung tough and went through the first lap in about 47:50. I grabbed some water and then kept going after my Boom gel. I knew that 5th and 6th were closing on me. I was in no-man's land so I told myself to kick it in gear if I wanted that 5th team position. I rallied in the last 10k. I started to gain my second wind and pretty soon I was whipping through the trails smiling enjoying the peacefulness of the race fueling at the aid stations and closing on 4th and 3rd even. Eric at the 10k had about a minute and a half of a lead on me. By the end of the race, it was 30 seconds!  My last 4k was amazing. I felt like I was flying with a big old smile on my face as the Half Marathon felt more like my race. The peaceful snow falling and my focus on my own running was intense and vibrant.  I continued to push the pace until the final circuit around the stadium into the finish. I came across the line in 5th place a National Team spot in 1:34:37 where I negative split the last 10k pretty well. I was so pleased to run well in the Half Marathon as the 10k the day before was not a good performance at all. The guys in front of me deserved their placing and props to Scott Gall who won both the 10k and Half Marathon!  I still have a lot of work to do in the sport of snowshoe running. I do not have the speed for the 10k yet. Maybe I can get there. For year three of snowshoe racing, it was a good one.

 

I got to spend the rest of my time in Eau Claire, hanging out with buddies Jon and Matt Grey who drove to see me on a whim and man was it great to see those guys. It had been too long but they have always been like family to me and I think we will always be close till our dying days. Monday, I flew back to Upstate New York, Land of deep snow and cold.

 

Overall, this was an incredible trip. I loved every moment of it. I did miss Ashlee like crazy but I hope for next year we can get her to come along to Ogden, Utah.  I am excited to race the new Marathon Distance Snowshoe Race in 2016 as the longer running is more of my style. What a great season of Snowshoe Racing and I am very grateful for the opportunity to race and represent such awesome companies.

 

Thank you Mammut North America: Your support as my Title Sponsor has been tremendous and I am so luckily and blessed to be apart of the team!

Thank you Fits Socks for the best fitted Merino Wool socks on the market.

Thank you Acidotic Racing and Chris Dunn for your continued support and connections in beautiful New Hampshire.

Thank you Boom Nutrition as your gels are not only the best tasting but have the best packaging, serving size, real-fruit, calories, and everything else that just plain works for athletes.

Thank you to Karhu and Craft North America for great road running shoes for my training and apparel that is great for training and your "cashmere of baselayers" fabric technology.

Thank you to the Finger Lakes Running Company and Confluence Running for keeping me going with gear and a wonderful career in Run Specialty.

Thank you to USATF Niagara.

 

Thank you to Redfeather Snowshoes for the best racing snowshoes I have ever owned. I had so much fun hanging with the crew and it was such an honor to represent the company at Nationals.

 

To a great winter!  Now it is time for Ultra season.  I feel my winter running in snowshoes has given me more strength than ever before. Onward!  

 

Next up will be to break Michael Wardian's 50k indoor track world record of 3:06:03! 6 minutes a mile for 31.1 miles. I plan on an attempt at the end of April!  Wish me luck!  Then it will be Cayuga Trails 50 in May!

2015 Cockadoodle Shoe--A new Year---A new Cole

Well it is now officially 2015 and I am very excited to be transitioning into higher mileage, more vertical running and snowshoe running to prepare myself for a wonderful 2015 of ultra running. 


I am very happy to write to you that I have finished my first snowshoe race of the year this past weekend at Saranac, NY in the Adirondack Region and I was able to pull out a victory to start 2015 off right.  I really love this race from last year and with RD Jeremy Drowne at the helm, he puts on a well-thought-out snowshoe race through a wonderful course that I feel suits my strengths well.

Ashlee and myself made the fun trip in our new car, a 2013 Ford Fusion as we gathered our belongings and made the 4-5 hour trip to the North Country. We had a hotel room in Plattsburgh, NY and we were excited to spend some alone-time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday Cortland.
We were able to push out of town around 1:30pm or so as blowing snow was making getting out of town a little difficult. 


We had such a blast on the way out talking and singing songs in the car, and being at awe with the majestic mountains of the Adirondack Region.

We go in late to our hotel room which was a fantastic suite. We headed into Downtown Plattsburgh for some grub. It was super cold in the North Country with temps near or below zero. We walked around and then stopped at a delicious Thai restaurant and had a delicious meal and then stopped at the Stewart's gas station/convenience store for some drinks and late-night snacks before relaxing in the hotel room. 

 

This is a photo from last year (Credits New Land Trust)

We awoke in the morning before a 10 am start to a freezing cold but cloudless sky with plenty of sunshine. The temps marked about -15 which is darn cold and would be the coldest snowshoe race I ever raced in. I was so happy to be back and to see everyone I met from last year again. I also had unfinished business with the course as last year the weak snow caused for me to post-hole in the snow way too often and cost me  a solid race performance that had me disappointed in the outcome.

Ashlee was being such a great sport being all bundled up as we checked in and proceeded to prepare for the race. I had with me my magic weapon: Stewart's Raspberry Iced Tea which uses no High Fructose Corn Syrup and tastes delicious so I was ready to go. I also before the race took a Grape-Pomegranate Boom Gel to give the necessary energy needed for a 40-60 minute snowshoe effort.

The snow on the course looked incredible and I felt times would be fast like last year.

(Credits New Land Trust)  Pre-race photo with Jacob Malcomb

It was great to hang out with Jacob, Jeremy, and Matt again as we prepped for another Cockadoodle Shoe. I had like 7 layers on so with a little running, I felt nice and toasty.

I would be debuting my Mammut Snowshoe Race Kit (as I call it) this year with my Mammut Aenergy Thermo Vest and my Grey Thermo Running Half Zip with a matching beanie and Denali Power-stretch Tights.  I wore two pairs of running Fits Socks to help insulate my feet and man with that Merino wool, my feet felt perfect. After the kids fun-run, it was race time.

We jogged the half mile or so to the starting line and prepared for another fun race.

With a solid warm-up in, the Boom gel coursing through my veins, and a kiss from Ashlee, I was ready to go for it.

With a "Go" we were off.  It felt great to race again after a nice hiatus of a month or so. I settled behind a group of guys and with all the snow flying in my face decided to move up front more so I was not plagued by the frost beard.

This photo was taken by Ashlee as we hit the trails of Limehollow Nature Center the one other day to snowshoe. I have been testing out my modified pair of Redfeather Vapor 21s which I have been getting used to the binding but have been loving the shape of the snowshoe and the traction of the cleats.  Plus the Limegreen and Black I feel is an excellent color choice.

* As far as the race went, I got behind Jacob in the first mile or so and took the lead into the downhill loop into the steep and short uphill. Once we hit the first hill, I began to feel pretty solid through the snow conditions and felt like I was floating on-top of the snow. This was fantastic as I had a comfortable gap of about 15-20 seconds on second place.  I knew with a lot of fast guys in this race, that the tempo of the race could easily change as the distance progressed.  I remained calm and comfortable in my effort.  I came through the first 5k quick in about sub 21 pace and felt really solid. Second place was still about 10-15 seconds behind me so I knew I had to put the hammer-down the second 5k. The course winds through all kinds of lush wooded forest and is just what an Adirondack snowshoe race is all about.

The second 5k was a lot tougher as the snow had drifted over the trail in most of the sections so I was forced to break-trail and use-up more of my energy stores to power myself through the un-even snow. My Mammut apparel kept me the perfect temperature as well as shedding off the snow that I was kicking-up. I pushed harder through the thick spots of snow often every third step, loosing my balance as I began to sink into the deeper pockets of white powder. I wanted to run fast like the first 5k and grew a little impatient, okay, really impatient with the deeper, slower snow conditions. I still had second place hovering near me. I was hoping that the deep snow was giving them the same trouble but you can never be certain. I hit the meadow in around 32 minutes and thought the race was almost over. I could not see second behind me but took nothing for granted and continued to push through.

I was getting pretty winded and was so ready to finish, though I think I had about 2 more miles to go. My pace slowed big time as I was practically treading water, ready to just finish. I toughed it out and then came to the finish.

Ashlee snapped this amazing photo of myself finishing all decked-out in my Mammut and Redfeather gear!  My gear worked to perfection in super cold conditions and I felt amazing. As always, I love the green and am excited to wear the gear so more this winter.

I finished in 51:03 a big positive split but was happy to survive through a tough course and felt truly blessed to have run a solid race with some awesome people.

Thank you to all of the volunteers for cheering us on: especially Bob Bolton!  Ashlee was truly incredible for coming with me on this adventure. Thank you to Jeremy Drowne for another amazing race and his family for working so hard with the Land Trust to produce another top-notch event. The Dak Bars were yummy and you should check those out.

1st and second place (Credits New Land Trust)

As far as prizes go: It is always nice to win some cash with $150 in prize money, a sweet snow-globe and some Darn Tough socks for Ashlee in purple.


Thank you to my sponsors: Mammut North America (MTR), Fits Socks, Boom Nutrition, Red Newt Racing/ MPF Endurance Team, Redfeather snowshoes, Craft/Karhu North America.

Thank you Ashlee for the support along the trip, I had a blast with you exploring Lake Placid and the Adirondack Region. I am hopeful for many more trips out this way.

Here is to a solid 2015. I am so thrilled to have energy reserves the whole way in my snowshoe race and feel that the sickness is all behind me now. I am truly ready to race tough! 

See you out on the trails!  And if you have questions about snowshoe running or are curious about what Mammut offers in terms of amazing gear, you can email me at colecrosby88@gmail.com.