Winter Update

Random "mid"-winter notes and thoughts, from the mind of raving lunatic.

1) Anyone want to cross-county ski this Saturday morning? I think the snow will hold up at Highland Forest and we'll be able to go there. $3 if you have skis, $13-$18 if you need to rent, depending on how long you want to ski for. (90 minutes for the $13 total price is usually enough for inexperienced skiers.) I promise to help beginners survive the day and lead you on a trail suitable to your skills. You can also rent snowshoes and downhill sled (BYOS) there. Link.

2) Anyone looking for a wintertime volunteer activity? I'm looking to sign a group up to volunteer at the New York State Special Olympics Winter Games. No idea what we would be assigned to do - anything from parking lots, to setting up/tearing down, to just being cheerleaders at the activities. The deadline is the 27th, so please let me know by the end of this week and I'll coordinate further before the deadline. The event itself is Feb 5-6. I'm planning to volunteer on Saturday the 6th, with an eye towards the skiing events at Highland Forest. Link to the games here. Or if you want to volunteer on your own here. If we get enough people, I think they would assign us a group, if not, then we may get split up. Come out and help support some of those in our community that can't do what we take for granted every moment of every day. (For you LMCOers - one of the poster children is our concierge's nephew...and she is the person who put the mention of this event in our in brief emails. She helped me set up at the Relay for Life event last summer so I'm hoping to repay her a little at her event.)

3) A reminder that there are a few winter races (and spring races) coming up:
a) Snowshoe race at Beaver Lake on January 30th. (5K)
b) Chilly Chili 5k in Cazenovia on February 7th. (You'll have to somewhat rush to your Super Bowl parties after that -- but you'll be able to chow down guilt free.)
c) All you lonely hearts, pay attention to this one! The "Cupid's Chase" 5K run at the Liverpool park on February 13th. It mentions it is "...the best way to make a love connection in the new year." So, for those in need of a love connection, you know where to go. You're welcome, and please, quit asking me out on dates! I'm not interested. And for me, I'm wondering what the heck that means? Are they going to do something unique at the race? (There is a "skirt chaser" series of races gaining popularity where women get a head start and the men are supposed to [try to] run them down. [Timewise, not literally run them down] I wonder if there is some quirk in this event for them to make such a bold statement.)
d) Tipperary Hill 4 Miler (Shamrock Run) on March 6th
e) And the Mountain Goat is looming (10 miler on May 2nd). Only 2 months til the training runs start! I have in my mind to do the entire course every week, so if you want to join in for that, be ready to run 10 hilly miles by March 20th.
f) Other winter races are around the area as well. There is always a link to the Fleet Feet running calendar on the side of the blog.
g) Some TRYers are already training for the Boston (Katie's bona-fide!) and Cleveland marathons, so they are skipping their winter hibernation. Join in if you are looking for running partners. (Information available on request.)

Miscellaneous stuff that you may not know:
1) Beaver Lake has moonlight skiing and snowshoeing coming up in the next several days and stay open til 9 (9:30?) under the light of the fullish moon. (I may set up a group for that some night -- people have to let me know if they want in. Snowshoe rentals are available there, skis are not.) They'll do that again in late February around the full moon.
2) You can cross-country ski anywhere there is snow, of course, but they have trails/tracks available at the Erie canal parks in various places, at Long Branch Park, at Oneida Shores, at Green Lakes State Park (free to get in this time of year), Beaver Lake, Highland Forest, golf courses, etc... So for those looking for an inexpensive alternative to running outside, cross-country skiing really is an excellent choice. (Ok, so you have to buy the equipment, but after that its very cheap outings.) If there isn't enough snow around Syracuse itself, there are multiple places north of here within an hours drive that always have plenty of snow. If you want to try before you buy, Highland Forest has rentals and I've heard a rumor that EMS has rentals as well. (The northern places have rentals as well. Salmon Hills (This page says it's closed!!!?? can anyone confirm that for me?) and Osceola ski center.
3) I thought there was a third thing you may not know, but I guess not. You are very smart people! You only don't know two things. That's amazing, actually!

This gets it's own paragraph -- The Relay For Life event is June 18th and 19th. So, for those who want to do it, block it off. (For all you planners out there that actually commit to things more than 2 days ahead of time! But, don't forget my credo - "Indecision is the key to flexibility!" Or, "Why commit to something today, that you may not feel like doing tomorrow?").