GSSS#4: Sidehiller

Center Sandwich, NEW HAMPSHIRE--The Sidehiller Snowshoe Race was the fourth race in the Granite State Snowshoe Series and my fourth snowshoe race of the winter. The rain that followed our race at King Pine put a damper (literally & figuratively) on the snowshoe racing conditions throughout southern and central New Hampshire. RD Paul Kirsch did his best to eek out the full four mile course, but the conditions on the opposite side of Bean Road just didn't cooperate. He settled for a modified course which included three roughly 1.7 mile loops on the Sandwich Fairgrounds. Maddie & Avery once again made the trip with me. We arrived by 9:30 am and found my teammate Rich Lavers and former US Champion Double D already there. It was great to see Dave back on the mend after recent back troubles threatened his 2010 snowshoe racing season. Before long the rest of the aR gang had arrived including Geoff Cunningham. But today Geoff would be taking pictures instead of battling for a podium finish. Some of the same problems that caused him to miss the entire 2009 competitive season have started to creep back up and he wisely took the day off. When Paul told me about the course at registration I did my best to put a positive spin on it. The reality was...I let the loath of loop courses get in my head. As Rich & I finished our warm-up we discussed strategy. I quickly made the decision to go out "easy" on the first lap (it was 5 frickin' miles after all!), pick it up on lap #2, and then see what happened on the bell lap. With an incredibly loaded field at the front I was content to position myself in the 2nd row. I hadn't thought about it until right at this moment, but I think this also reinforced my negative energy about the race. When the GO command was given the field SHOT off the line like it was a 100 meter dash! All at once at least 25 snowshoers were ahead of me and pushing hard. This was not what I had in mind. As I attempted to regain my bearings and assess who was ahead of me I recognized a couple of folks including Trail Monster Ryan Triffitt and teammates Ri Fahnestock, Jerry Fitzgibbon, and Rich! What the heck was Rich doing AHEAD of me?! Damn. He must have taken advantage of our conversation when I told him I was "going out easy". He was killin' it on the first lap! I have no problem losing to Rich, but he was going to have to earn the win over me. By the time we finished the first lap (:11 and change) I had passed Ryan & Jerry and was in the pull with Ri & Rich. As we started the 2nd lap I eased around Rich and settled in behind Ri. Easily one of the strongest competitors (mentally & physically) in any endurance event he's in...Ri Fahnestock is a warrior and it's always a pleasure to compete against him. The three of us held our position through the 2nd lap and began the last lap without any real threat from behind and the lead group too far ahead to catch. As we were racing my prevailing thought was that my legs felt empty and that I was content to stay with Ri and ahead of Rich. I think the two of them knew I was vulnerable and both attempted to exploit it in their own way. The only real "hill" (a 6-7 meter climb to a leach field) comes roughly a 1/3 of the way through the lap. It was here that Ri decided that his 2 meter lead on me was too close for comfort. I felt him accelerate as we climbed. I didn't have an answer. As he pulled away all I could do was watch. Now the focus turned squarely on holding off a highly motivated and incredibly fit Rich (I've been training with him for a month now). I must have spied over my shoulder 20 times in that last km. I crossed the finish line in 19th place (36:35). Rich missed out on a Top 20 finish by 8 seconds! It's hard to be disappointed when you get beat by the guys who are suppose to beat you, but I just didn't feel like myself. My first subpar performance in...well, in a very long time. It certainly made me realize that my subconscious sets the pace. That's something I need to continue to work on. Another great team turnout by my teammates from aR! Charlie Therriault, Tim Cox, and Danny Ferreira all finished in the Top 10. Amber Cullen won her 4th GSSS race in a row and Ann Rasmussen again joined her on the podium! Another HUGE aR showing (17 snowshoers) helped us take home another team title. This time over the emerging CMS Polar Bears.

Next Up: Horsehill 7k Snowshoe Race (Saturday) & Frosty's Dash (Sunday)

[Photo cred: Geoff Cunningham]

Sidehiller Results

Sidehiller 4-Mile Snowshoe Race

Center Sandwich, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Although I've been racing for the better part of the past twenty years, this weekend will mark something I've never done...pull a double. I know full well that racing twice in the same weekend is by no means rare, unusual, or exceptionally heroic but for me it's uncharted territory. Part of the motivation comes from my desire to support the other races in the GSSS series, some of it is just pure curiosity. As it turns out, 24 hours ago the prospects of me doing a single were in serious doubt. I took Thursday & Friday as zero days because of a new and quite uncomfortable case of anterior tibial tendonitis (self diagnosis) in my right lower leg. This morning when I got up I was feeling considerably better and felt confident that the rest had at least put me in a position to race the Sidehiller 4-Mile Snowshoe Race today in Center Sandwich, NH. I decided to arrive at the race site early to help fellow RD Paul Kirsch set up. When I pulled into the Sandwich Library Parking lot the big dogs (Double J, Double D, and Jim Pawlicki) had already marked their territory. Actually, they too had arrived early to also help Paul. As both a WMAC & GSSS points race this event promised to draw some of the best regional snowshoers and it didn't disappoint (more on that in a moment). As usual, Scotty G. was third car in the lot and he and I chatted a bit while I shared my knowledge of the course. It wasn't long before the rest of the acidotic RACING snowshoeing team began to arrive. I'm happy to say that we had a very strong showing once again represented by Ri, Leslie, Jay M, Scott, Michael, Steve W., Ted & Liz, Danny, Joe, Gary, and Steve S.. I'm sure I must have missed someone but the point is we had a great turnout. I suspect that we stayed ahead of Dungeon Rock Racing at the very least. They too had a very good turnout and it was nice to be able to catch up with all of them. If there's a greater bunch of competitors, I haven't met them yet. I love those guys. With the "GO" command the race was off and immediately a group of about 10 snowshoers made a very fast break. I wasn't in that group. But I did keep the tail end of that hurtin' train well in sight. Just before we crossed the road, Scotty G. came up hard to my inside and pulled ahead of me. For me this would have been perfect. I was hoping to have someone to pace with to help pull me through the rough sections (and I knew they would come). Sadly, before we crossed the road either he let me move ahead or I picked up the pace and moved up ahead of him. As we began to make our way toward the only elevation on the course a guy ahead of me had fallen and was lying by the side of the trail. As I got to him and offered a hand to help him up I noticed he had stepped on his other shoe and had wedged it hopelessly behind his other cleat. We struggled for a moment and finally freed his 'shoe. After helping him up I pushed him ahead of me. I believe in trail karma and that what comes around goes around. I never hesitate to help someone in need because you never know when you might need the favor returned. When I finally arrived at the climb I was pleased to feel some of the folks ahead of me come back toward me and I actually passed two 'shoers before the end of the climb. Training at Mt. Blue Job had definitely paid dividends in the hill climbing category. As most others have reported the snow was fairly slow going and I, like everyone else, plodded along trying to catch the folks ahead and stay in front of the folks behind. I was firmly in the 10th overall spot behind Steve W. the last 2/3 of the race. While I've witnessed him perform at snowshoe races this would be my first time feeling him race a snowshoe race. The guy is a machine. I know how strong he is (I've seen his race pace at various distances), but you can't truly appreciate a person's metabolic engine until you give everything you've got and he still pulls away. Thus was my experience racing behind Steve today. I managed to maintain the 25-50 meter gap for most of the other side of the road, but after the last open field and before the descent he pulled away. Although I once again fell on my face climbing over a stone wall, he honestly was widening the gap before that. When we arrived back on the fairgrounds I checked back over my shoulder to gauge the chase group that I knew was coming. Happily I saw only one individual but he seemed to be closing the margin I had developed as quickly as Steve had moved away. With 100 meters to go I could hear him. In a flash he was beside and beyond as I meagerly tried a half-hearted attempt at a kick. The combination of soft snow, low snowshoe-specific fitness, and a general lack of will contributed to my 11th place overall finish in a time just over 40:00. For the past two years I had logged third place finishes here at Sidehiller. Now, I am a year older and undoubtedly slower, but I promise that if I raced this event 10 more times with this field I'd have a hard time placing any higher. This field was deep and fast. All in all, I'm very pleased with the effort. I felt very strong on the climb, maintained an even pace, and had no measurable heath issues. As a bonus, I had the opportunity to get to know Danny & Amber a little better on our cool-down. Recoverite, two of my latest handcrafted Sovereign Trail Ale's, and 600 mg of IBU and I'll do it all again tomorrow at Frosty's. This double thing's not that bad.