By Atlas Athlete, Jeanne
Unfamiliar territory created through chosen ignorance.
That is how I would describe my first snowshoe race after a 3 year hiatus.
Brand new snowshoes, frozen hydration system, and questionable clothing issues.
Taking a wrong turn on a well marked course.
I am a huge liability on any race course, let along a 30k snowshoe race at high altitude.
I swear that I am a seasoned athlete, yet I manifest situations that mirror those of rookies.
Maybe I like the adventure of figuring it out.
Maybe I am a glutton for punishment
Maybe I miss the days of being completely unaware of what I get myself into.
Maybe life is so crazy that I dismiss important details
Maybe I don’t want to take my passions, my sport seriously enough.
Maybe I am just a fool.
It took over two weeks to write this.
The day feels fresh as did I for the 4 hrs and 39 minutes that I was out on the course.
I am proud of how I ran, walked and suffered for that time.
I laughed and smiled through it all.
However, I am not quite sure how to explain it.
And I also wonder whether I need to.
My toes are still suffering from frostbite or may be broken.
I can only speculate do to my stubborn nature.
I have avoided doctors as much as I have avoided sharing my journeys.
Now that I am 40 I thought things would be different.
But they are very much the same.
And I like it that way.
The wind.
The snow.
The athletes.
The finish line.
That is all that I am looking for.
And the chance to do it again.