Sugar Snow

The USSSA National Championships were held on March 13 in Cable, Wisconsin. Jeff Beck, from Rochester NY, finished fourth overall (42:54) and secured a spot on the National Team. Michelle Weiler, a local phenom, was the sixth place woman, missing a spot on the National Team by one place. Michelle was the first master finisher (55:34). Charlie Andrews finished in 49 minutes and took second in the 50-54 age group.

Reports on the race compared snow conditions from last year's race, held near Syracuse, NY to this year. As one who struggled mightily in last years race it was nice to read that conditions may, indeed, affect some snowshoe racers. The 2011 race was in "Sugar Snow" which makes snowshoeing difficult and frustrating, it doesn't hold your weight well and has been known to make it feel like you are "running on ball bearings." "Sugar snow and hills sucked the life out of many a ‘shoer in the 2010 National Championship" (quote from Brad Canham, Snow Wars: Return of the Marathoners, 2011 National Championship report, Alford publishing).

The race in Wisconsin was hard packed, making it more suitable to road runners.

Apparently there are different cleats or snowshoes that will assist with the variable conditions and choosing the right ones for the course is important.
Dion Snowshoes, the title sponsor of the championships, offers customizable configurations – ex. deep cleat, versus standard cleat – depending on snow conditions. Made of Teflon Coated Aluminum Alloy, these durable cleats are interchangeable and can be easily removed to sharpen or replace.

Begin planning now for the 2012 championship, already scheduled for Frisco, CO, on February 24, 2012 with a starting elevation of 9,100 feet. Yes, 9,100 feet.

The Track

There is no better place to measure your speed, or lack thereof, than the track. Now that the snow has finally melted and it's light out until 7pm, I was able to head to the Spencerport high school track after work last night.

The high school team was gone and no one else was on the track. It was just me, my Garmin and the 400m oval. My plan was to run 4/800 with a 400 jog recovery. I didn't need to go all out, but wanted the effort to be on the edge. Time is getting short for conditioning to race a decent 1/2 marathon at Lake Placid in June.

Yasso 800's, created years ago by Bart Yasso from Runner's World magazine, is still one of my favorite 1/2 and full marathon workouts. Simply build up from 3-4 800's, adding 1-2 per week until you can do 10/800 about 10-12 days before the goal race. The speed should be equivalent to your marathon goal pace (or faster for the 1/2). Want a 3:30 marathon? Then run the 800 repeats at 3:30, 3:50 marathon, repeats at 3:50, and so on. Simple in concept.

I checked the Garmin after the first 800. Wow was I glad no one was there. Well, maybe I was just getting warmed up? Second 800, faster, but geez I'm slow and maybe I can't do all four? Heck, four was an arbitrary number I picked anyhow. I'll change to 2/400. No, don't be a wimp, no one's here to judge me, another 800, who cares what the time is? Go out at a decent pace for 400m, then push it the last 400m, that's doable, right?

Third one done, hey, same time as number two. Well, that's okay, slow but consistent. The Bear came out at 600m, not good. No speed or endurance is not a great combination. But only one more, I can do one more, right? Again I take off at a good pace and pick it up for the last 400m, the Bear joining me at 600m, wow I am so noisy, this is ridiculous. Fat, old and slow. My new motto, maybe a tattoo?

The good news is I hit the same time again. I have a lot of work to do, and most of it will be alone, behind the scenes, hard work. If I don't have hope then I might as well forget about racing again. Next week will be 4/800 again, but hopefully at a much faster pace.

Oil Prices

While we’re paying more to fill up, the three largest publicly traded oil companies based in the United States have been raking in the profits.

Three companies, ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, made $58.3 billion in profits in 2010! (after all expenses).

ExxonMobil: $30.5 billion, up $11 billion from 2009.
Chevron: $19 billion, up from $10.5 billion in 2009.
ConocoPhillips: $8.8 billion, up from $4.9 billion in 2009.

Read more: http://technorati.com/business/article/as-gas-prices-rise-oil-companies/#ixzz1Fv5xZeUC

I hope you all have stock in these companies. As for me, once winter is over, if it ever is in Upstate NY, I will be biking home from work 2x/week and hopefully running home another day.

Here's a question; Why does Kwik-Fill, which likes to advertise itself as an American Gas Company, charge as much as companies using "foreign" oil? Shouldn't their prices be lower?

Spencerport Running Secret

There is a path beginning off of Slayton Avenue, near the new Top's Market. It is just past the wooden stairway leading to the canal, which is north of Tops, and behind the smaller strip mall with 4-6 stores. The path heads east, towards Gillett road. It is a dirt and grass trail that is yet to be fully developed, mostly due to too many governments, the railroad and utility companies being involved.

The path is still runable though. The original Town of Ogden plan called for it to be a smooth surface so that senior citizens could access it from the Glenn Haven road area of homes. At one time there were even supposed to be lights. You can climb up a small hill near the Gillett road overpass, get on Gillett, cross the canal bridge and come down to the canal path back into the village. This route would be about three miles.

For a year the path continued under Gillett road and through some nice woods and farmland to Manitou road, giving mtn bikers, runners and walkers another mile + of off road experience. Unfortunately one (1!!) neighbor complained (even though the path wasn't on his property, in fact is probably 100 yards from his house) and someone in a state agency authorized an 8' high steel fence be built. This was done without the Town of Ogden's knowledge.

A little government can be a bad thing. Too much government definitely is.

Road ID

Use the link to the right to connect directly to Road ID. Every runner or biker should wear an ID.

Coupon Number: ThanksMichael4203467

This coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days.

Mike's News and Tips

10. The Boston Celtics have been my NBA team since the 60's. Yes, the 1960's. But...with Carmelo Anthony now a NY Knick I have a new second fav team. As an 18 year old frosh he won the NCAA title for Syracuse, now he could win a championship for NY. this is exciting!
9. The Ironman Kona lottery is closing soon. Pay your money ($40 for a chance at an entry-makes Lotto look like a bargain) and maybe your name will get drawn. Then all you have to do is finish at least a 1/2 IM before Kona (paying $225 or more for the entry), pay for the trip to Hawaii, and the entry fee ($650). A bargain.
8. The first NY State Snowshoe Championship is March 5 at Camp Gorham in the Adirondacks. Course designed and timed by Fleet Feet Sports and YellowJacket Racing of Rochester NY.
7. Do not take your sailing vessel or yacht in the seas off the coast of Somalia! This is a bad idea. Stay in the FingerLakes, as of now it is safe. Wait for summer though.
6. IMHO any ship in the waters infested by Somalian pirates should be fully armed and use deadly force immediately.
5. The CEO of Kodak just got named to a task force on jobs by President Obama! This should be part of a stand-up comedy routine, but unfortunately it's true. I don't know where to begin on the lunacy of this.
4. Losing weight is difficult. My muffin top is being stubborn.
3. I finally got on the bike this week. 12 miles. Whippee!
2. If you become a politician do not take off your shirt and post on Craig's List, do not have tickle fights with co-workers, do not hire prostitutes, do not steal our money.
1. This is the "Year of Running Well".

Just how many are doping for the weekend? Races struggle with weekend warriors’ use of drugs in their events.

This link is to an interesting story about age groupers in running and triathlon races possibly using drugs. Frank Shorter, who founded the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is, of course, heavily involved in this debate.