Monday, December 12, 2005

Fun Weekend Training Runs in the Snow




















On Saturday, Six of us decided to run on the snowy trails instead of the pavement at the annual Chili Run at Wyandotte County Park. This is the 3rd year in a row that we've run this on the Chili Run day. I led the way, breaking through the 9" of new snow for 10 miles. The newer singletrack section of trail was hard to find with all of the snow, so we ended up doing some bushwhacking, too. You can see by the "before" and "after" photos above that it was a good workout. Photo on top: Kyle, Alex, Caleb, BadBen, Mike. Photo on bottom: Jason, Caleb, BadBen, Mike, Kyle.
For Sunday's run in SM Park, only me and a trailrunning newby (Christian) ran. He did fine in tougher than normal conditions on a 9-mile trail run. He'll be back for more, probably on Tuesday.
Only 19 miles total for the weekend, but I can justify the "short mileage" because of the effort expended to run through deep snow. One of the runners on Saturday said it was the hardest run they had run, to date. The "long and the short of it" is: I think my training is still on track.

Homebrew update:
My Imperial Rye IPA is still fermenting like crazy in the primary fermenter. The Christmas Belgian Tripel, which I finally named, is finally mature enough to drink. It turned out to be a wonderful (sipping) beverage. I had about 4 brandy snifters of it while watching six hours of football, yesterday. Yum, yum. A meal in itself.

10 comments:

Mark said...

Looking like Canada!

Ben, aka BadBen said...

Yes, it is starting to look like Canada, eh?

Unknown said...

Looks like a great time. I am hoping to get up into the snow sometime soon as well. I will have to drive a bit, but it is worth it. Also I have to deal with the worrying of my wife. She thinks I will get snowed in by a blizzard and never be found.

Ben, aka BadBen said...

Tell her that you will take a cellphone, (even though it may not work in the mountains).
In the Winter, I always tell my wife exactly where I'm going, and she knows that I take a "basic survival kit" consisting of:

- Extra calories (bar or gel form)
- Water
- Space Blanket
- 4" wide Ankle/broken bone tape
- 2 chemical hand warmer packs
- extra glove liners
- small but sharp knife

For night runs, I also carry an extra (small) 7-LED flashlight. I'm usually leading a group of trailrunners, and have had to use at least one thing on the above list at least once per month (for one of the other runners, usually).

psbowe said...

Hmmm, I don't know..from looking at the pics, don't look like you hardly broke a sweat! Kidding
10 miles, that's awesome.

D said...

I am missing out on the snow!!!! It is melting. Nice run!

shliknik said...

Ben is one of the most prepared people I've met! I was (still am) a newbie to serious trail running and mostly did it alone before I met up with the KC group. Anyway, he's taught me tons about race preparation and his love of running is nothing but inspirational!

thanks Bad Ben!
Jason

David Larsen, fine artist said...

I've never made a brew with rye. It is always something that I wanted to try.

Ben, aka BadBen said...

Rye Malt is one of my favorite ingredients. It adds a crisp, slightly spicy flavor to IPAs, Roggen's, etc.
I also use Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt that has been roasted to SRM 190-300. I use it in porters for "that special something."

Ben, aka BadBen said...

Yes, I'll share Belgian Recipes. Just e-mail me. You can find my e-mail address at the "contact me" on my website:
http://www.psychowyco.com