Alpine Loop Winter Run

I began the week with spinning and yoga on Monday, then a 6.2 mile run on Tuesday and 8 mile run on Thursday, both on the treadmill. The Tivo is set to record re-runs of Stargate SG-1, giving me something to pass the time indoors. I have been building my speed a little, finishing the 8 miles at an 8:13 min/mile pace.

[Right: ]This week I returned to the Alpine Loop for my Winter snowshoe training. It had snowed a few feet during the week and the road hadn't been grated yet, so it was still fairly powdery. Many snowmobiles helped to pack the road, but 3 miles above Aspen Grove, nobody had broken the new snow, so I decided it was time to turn around. I had started out thinking I would do 16 miles (Pine Hollow to Aspen Grove and back), but ended up doing just under 10 miles in just under 3 hours. The snow was fresh enough to still be challenging and this was my first outing with snowshoes this season.

[Left: video running downhill to the turnaround] As is always a challenge in the Winter, I varied between too hot and too cold. I started about 1pm, so it was beginning to get chilly as the sun hid behind the mountains on the return trip. My left gaiter creeped up and some snow got into my shoe, bringing back concerns of getting frostbite from last season. Overall I did well, and only started to get really cold a couple times.