Poor Old Fluffy

Man, when did the shortest month of the year become the busiest?  I'm starting to feel the overwhelming need for a nap.  The third weekend of February is my survivor weekend.  Starting with the 5km snowshoe race at Silver Star Mtn. on Saturday evening and finishing with the Hypothermic Half Marathon in Kamloops Sunday morning.

So to get through the race weekend I started by sleeping in 3 extra hrs Saturday morning. Even the cat on the bed was getting restless.

Meet Luna Dragon, she's my side-kick on the North side of the apartment.

And Bilbo, floor guardian of the Southside.

Mid-afternoon my carpool arrived and we headed off down the road towards Vernon, picking up the other two members of the snowshoe adventure along the way.  We made good time on the drive and arrived with enough leftover to grab a drink and a snack before the race.

An absolutely beautiful evening on the mountain.

Pre-race Preload (Icebox, Jen, Steve & Amy) Photo: Amy K

My uber supportive husband - Brian

Race conditions were good, sadly there had not been any fresh powder in awhile, but there was ample hard packed coverage on the trails.  The real treat of the evening was watching the colors of the sunset in the sky as the race began.  Shortly we were in darkness and headlamps became necessary to avoid the hazards of tree wells and uneven surfaces.  

Being a warm, -4C night on the mountain, I quickly shed my big puffy gloves and ended up carrying them for the 2nd half of the race.  Now last year at this race I found myself in the lead of a small group of runners and unfortunately took a wrong turn coming out of the downhill portion of the course.  About 5 of us lost time back-tracking to where things went wrong and resuming the race in a frazzled state.

Run Buddies - Icebox & Jodi

This year, bless Dirty Feet, there were flashing lights and flags at the major points of direction change.  No repeat of last year.  I cruised through the course shaving about 5 minutes off my previous performance! And managed a 2nd place finish for the women's 5km.

Overall, another fantastic snowshoe race for 2015.  I really love going to these events and seeing all the familiar faces, having the time to visit and of course getting a little sweaty.

The race day bling (Silver) and swag.