Snowshoes and running

Well, I finally did it. I ran in snowshoes yesterday at Wisp resort. It's one of the only places close enough around here (Timberline's another) where you snowshoe. Usually, at these resorts, you can downhill ski, but you can't nordic ski or snowshoe around.

Wisp is a pretty neat resort. I was able to rent some fairly high end running snowshoes (can't remember the exact model, but they were Tubb's Catalyst running snowshoes, or something like that). I ran (walked, trudged) 4-ish miles in under an hour, averaging 13:20 (which included walking, stopping, wondering where I was, etc.). At points, I was under a 10 minute mile, but mostly was in the 10-12 minute range when I was running.

Great workout. I highly recommend it.

Why was I in Wisp? Some good friends of ours invited our family plus another family to their place in Deep Creek, Maryland. Lovely house, great location, and great company. All of us had a blast. I wish we could have stayed longer, but no rest for the weary -- as I had to be back at work this morning.

Okay, about 6 weeks to go before the marathon, and I decided to take an entire week off last week. Not good timing. Today, I ran 4-something at a 9:20-something pace. I was slow and creaky. Hopefully, I'll have a good week!