Numb, cold, bruised. That's what I feel today after the World Snow Shoe Invitational Championship up in Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver. The Championship came in perfect timing, smack in the middle of the Winter Olympics. So, you really got a feel of the liveliness Olympic Venues bring to local cities. The race organizers along with Mark Elmore the president of USA Snow Shoe Racing put together a great field of athletes. We had the American Snow shoe champ from last year in attendance, along with Wyatt (Multi World Trophy Winner), some of the top Canadian Snow shoe racers including the past two national champions, and a few Elite Snow shoe runners from Italy who came all the way out to represent for their country. Knowing that I would be toeing the line with seasoned veterans of the sport I knew I was in for a battle. This was my second time on snow shoes period, but I had to really accelerate the learning curve if I wanted to compete with this group. The course didn't suit me well being that I have been focusing on road racing so the long grind uphill really took its toll. I had been expecting a total different course, but for some reason the course changed to a new venue the week of the race so my plans were spoiled. The European courses would have been much better for me being that they are similar to Cross Country. Instead I had to fight it out with lots of wet and very DEEP snow throughout the World Invite course. I felt like I was not able to get into a racing/competitive situation due to scrambling 90% of the race. I was able to hold on to 5th (Top American), but definitely many many rookie mistakes were made that I won't make in the future!
After running this course I have alot more respect for the sport of Snow Shoeing. Its tough, plain and simple. You can take a fast track guy and put him in a race like this and he would get blown away by guys he could lap in a 5k. There was alot of talk going on about the different types of snow shoes. Specifically, the difference between the types that are popular here in the US compared to the TSl's in Europe. The TSL is pretty much plastic and super light. I think they are probably border line illegal for competition as they are pretty slim, but I guess that's up for debate! With every snow shoe there are obviously advantages and disadvantages.
The city of Vancouver has been a zoo the entire week. Thousands of people flood the streets and all of the sites including the Olympic Village and the Olympic Cauldron were pristine, also crowded with thousands of people waiting to get a click or two. Walking down the streets in USA gear is probably not the best thing as Canadians were amped about today's Hockey Gold Medal game against America and were quick to yell in your face "GO CANADA". Little did they know, I know nothing about Hockey. In fact, until this weekend I never really watched it, but I now have a new found reverence for Hockey players after watching one game. Their hand-eye coordination is unbelievable. I now await the much anticipated Closing Ceremonies and the festivities that follow! Almost every Canadian I came across told me "Not to miss" the celebrations tonight after the Hockey game and closing ceremony, as if to say something crazy is gonna happen, maybe a riot?
Vancouver has always been a favorite of mine. Its very much an International city even when the Olympics aren't in town. You meet people from all over the world, from the guy working at the local Irish pub from Alabama to the retired Austrian woman who spends her time volunteering for local child care groups. You will most certainly see a ton of people from Asia and even Africa. So many different cultures and so many different countries, its a beautiful thing to witness. This also leads me to another point, the food! With so many different cultural influences you can find foods from almost every country, seriously. Not many cities can really say they have a good selection of food representing so many countries as Vancouver does so naturally. Well I'm off to Nyala Ethiopian Restaurant on the West side of Vancouver to try my taste buds out on some Ethiopian food for the first time. I really loved Kenyan food, but I've heard the two are very different even though the countries are so close.
Stay tuned, more pics from the race and the city to follow.....
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