Ice, Snow, and Dirt

I just returned from a fun 5 miles on the Ossipee Trails. The terrain was constantly changing, making for an interesting run. I wore my screw shoes and started out on the popular River Run Trail. This has been heavily used this winter by myself and Kevin, but other members of the community have also discovered what an awesome trail it is. They have been out in force on snow shoes and in hiking boots. The surface today was about 25% dirt and 75% well packed hard snow. It was fantastic fast running!

Then I hit soft uneven and unpredictable snow for a short stretch before getting to "The Clencher". Deer have been using the nicely benched Clencher to get across a steep sloped area above the river bank. It has turned into some sort of deer super highway. The surface is rock hard ice with convenient little hoof prints frozen all through it to provide some nice traction!

I did the Pollywog Loop, which was covered with about 6 inches of soft snow. This is a low area and doesn't get much sun, causing the snow to melt slower through there. This was very slow and difficult running, more like a fast march at times. I returned on snowmobile trails. They were sheer shining smooth ice for long stretches interspersed with rock hard tracked stretches, kind of slippery even with the screw shoes. I ran fast down the steep slope behind the middle school, only because I didn't have enough traction to stop my forward momentum. I somehow managed to not fall on my ass. (Thanks to the screw shoes!)

I'm told that there is a snowstorm predicted for tomorrow. Yay, I love snow! Tomorrow is the day I plan to do my long run. I guess it might end up being run in snowshoes.