My calves feel like they’ve been used for boxing practice. Getting out for long runs rather inconsistently, yesterday’s thirty kilometre run to Canmore and ascent of Ha Ling Peak in the deepest and slushiest snow conditions I’ve ever encountered it in means I’m a little sorer than usual today. To reach Canmore I jogged along the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail, which is much flatter, paved and runnable than what I’m used to running on, so I wasn’t really sure if the benign-ness of my chosen route would destroy me over twenty-five kilometres.
After a big dump — which we just received a weekend of — I’m used to powder piling up on Ha Ling at treeline, resulting in, say, a one-hundred metre stretch of waist deep sugary snow to plow through, with the rest of the peak wind-scoured and barren. Yesterday, however, I found the whole alpine zone of the peak caked with knee-deep isothermal snow from treeline to summit, with a crust that would barely hold your weight with one step and would break through on the next. Of course, what did I really expect at 4pm in the afternoon on a sunny day after, oh, our biggest single snowfall of 2013-14? I rank that as my most arduous ascent of Ha Ling, ever.
Descending Ha Ling wasn’t too difficult; I gained so much momentum on the slushy, muddy lower part of the mountain that I almost ran over Adam Campbell, 5Peaks Race Series organizer, Arc’teryx-sponsored athlete and one of Canada’s strongest male ultramarathoners. We shared gripes about the post-holing nightmare that was the top of Ha Ling and chatted about trail-running, races and the revered New Balance MT110 over a few kilometres through the boulders of Grassi Lakes before my descent into town. A highlight of my day. Peep the Movescount Move for this trip.
Ummm I think I just found my new shoe! I wear two shoes. My New Balance Women’s WT10 Minimus Trail (90% of the time).. which have NOTHING to them and is how i prefer it (except no grip at all). And then my La Sportiva Quantums (the other 10%) bc I love that brand, love the shoe, and figure you need some cushion every once in a while. But this… looks perfect! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve been a huge fan of the New Balance MT110s in the past, which I felt was a perfect balance between a minimal zero-drop runner and something that can actually perform and hold up in the mountains. The Anakondas seem to have similar parameters but look like they’re going to be a bit more protective, although a little heavier and less conforming to the feet. If the snow ever melts around here, we’ll see how they do! 😀