Snowshoe Running

I have a nice pair of Tubbs 10K running snowshoes and you would think with the record setting snow this year I would have been using them a lot this winter. Well, I haven't even strapped them on for a couple of years. Today however, I took them out for a run with Steve W. in Merrimack at the newly opened Horse Hill Nature Preserve. Now I remember how fun they were to run on! Steve has been using his snowshoes a bit more than me so I tagged along and tried to keep up. It is amazing how quickly the heart rate moves up! We did almost 4 miles I think at about a 10 minute per mile pace. It was fun although my left hip was jamming up the whole time- making my stride very awkward. That is strange because I remembered how my stride usually felt better when snowshoe running. Could it be because I was doing some hamstring and quadricep stretches in the afternoon? I sometimes feel worse after stretching.

Anyhow, I need to do this more often. The trails were nice. I usually have just snowshoed in Mine Falls Park. The hills here weren't bad at all, but they got the ticker thumping and the few quick downhills were fun. There were a lot of turns and tiny stream crossings: jump or cross on a narrow "bridge". It was a good afternoon, Maybe I'll try it again tomorrow.