{"id":1306,"date":"2015-01-04T19:31:19","date_gmt":"2015-01-05T00:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2015-01-04T19:31:19","modified_gmt":"2015-01-05T00:31:19","slug":"are-you-mad-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/?p=1306","title":{"rendered":"Are You Mad Enough???"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_3799\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not angry mad… just crazy mad? \u00a0Because if you think you are crazy mad, why not take up snowshoe racing? \u00a0And if you live in Eastern Ontario or Western Quebec there is no excuse not to try thanks to the Mad Trapper Races<\/a>, \u00a0where crazy snowshoers (and trail runners when the snow is gone) can gather to race, eat food and drink beer, with an emphasis on the last activities.<\/p>\n

My husband and I tried our first Mad Trapper event last night and we are planning on going back for more. \u00a0The races take place on the trails of race organizer Mike Caldwell and his wife Monique’s property, just north of Wakefield, Quebec. \u00a0I am quite sure it is a beautiful property, but since last night’s run was in the dark with only enough snow to partially cover rocks and branches, I spent more time looking down than enjoying the scenery. \u00a0I can tell you for sure though that there were some hills despite the fact it is not<\/em> their “hilly” course! \u00a0The big challenge last night was definitely the conditions. \u00a0The snow was coming down but our complete thaw\u00a0over the holidays meant that there just wasn’t the ideal base for the snowshoes. \u00a0I went over on my ankles several times and somehow managed to save myself from two potential face plants as I tripped over rocks or branches. \u00a0We were told it was probably the worst conditions to have, so our theory is if we survived that we have to go back to experience it with more snow.<\/p>\n

If you read anything on snowshoe running they will tell you that if you can run you can snowshoe run. \u00a0Technically they are not lying to you. \u00a0They just don’t tell the whole truth. \u00a0If you are a road runner be prepared for the fact that you might, well… completely suck at snowshoe running! \u00a0I am going to assume that much like running, you do improve with practice. \u00a0At least I hope that is the case. \u00a0Let’s just say that if this were a snowshoeing blog I would have to call it “Blog For a Way Back of the Pack Snowshoer Who is Just Trying to Survive”. \u00a0To give you an \u00a0idea of the difference; I can now run a 10k in about 53 minutes. \u00a0Last night I completed the 5k snowshoe race in 43 minutes. \u00a0Wait…it gets better (or worse?). \u00a0The course was about half a km short. \u00a0So I only completed 4.5k in 43 minutes! \u00a0I also finished at the same time as the 10k winner… yes he did two laps in the time it took me to do one. \u00a0And when I say the same time, he actually passed me in the last few metres.<\/p>\n

I made it through the first three km at a somewhat steady pace. \u00a0There was a lovely flat field in the middle of the course where I felt like I had a nice run going. \u00a0By the 3k mark though, I was feeling like I had done 10k. \u00a0I was more than happy to spend some time walking, thinking I would pick up the pace later on the course. \u00a0Little did I know that the hill we started at was actually the baby hill, the real hill was still ahead. \u00a0I got to it, looked up and realized that I couldn’t see the top. \u00a0I kind of laughed to myself and realized there would be no running up that mountain. \u00a0OK, it wasn’t a mountain but it felt like it by the time I was half way up! \u00a0Shortly after cresting the hill I realized I was almost at the finish and I managed a final run to the line to meet my husband who had finished 3 minutes before me.<\/p>\n

\"Really,<\/a>

Really, that is me in the snow and dark.<\/p><\/div>\n

So why, you ask, do I recommend trying this? \u00a0Honestly, snowshoe running is a blast. \u00a0I find I just let go of any expectations and take it for what it is – a great time outdoors and a perfect winter workout. \u00a0But if that isn’t enough fun for you, the Mad Trapper races also throw in a fun indoor social event with a woodstove, draw prizes and great food and beer, all for an entry fee of $35. \u00a0You have to admit that beats the\u00a0heat sheet, dry bagel and warm yogurt of a road race event. \u00a0There are even draw prizes, so you don’t have to win the race to go home with\u00a0a prize.<\/p>\n

\"Warm<\/a>

Warm and smiling after the event!<\/p><\/div>\n

Last night was also a fundraiser for i2P or impossible 2 Possible, an organization that funds\u00a0youths to set off on amazing adventures to push their own limits and to make positive changes in\u00a0the\u00a0world. \u00a0To support i2P there were items up for auction and I scored a certificate for a full gait and footwear analysis at SoleFit, something I have wanted to do for the last year. \u00a0I will definitely be booking that appointment soon.<\/p>\n

Have you decided if you are mad enough? \u00a0If so, the next Mad Trapper snowshoe race is January 24th. \u00a0If it is your first time they will even lend you a pair of Atlas running snowshoes for free. Be ready to let go of any pace expectations and enjoy a fun way to cross train in winter. \u00a0If nothing else, it should make spring running on the roads seem a little bit easier!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not angry mad… just crazy mad? \u00a0Because if you think you are crazy mad, why not take up snowshoe racing? \u00a0And if you live in Eastern Ontario or Western Quebec there is no excuse not to try thanks to the Mad Trapper Races, \u00a0where crazy snowshoers (and trail runners when the snow is gone) can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-running"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3amQ2-l4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1306"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions\/1314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}