Gearing up For Weyomouth Woods 100K

  So I have spent the last week hacking away with a God awful cough, accompanied by brain searing sinus headaches. An unusual approach to tapering, I must say. I am running the Weymouth Woods 100K trail run this Saturday and for the second year in a row, recovering from an illness a week before the race!

  Last year it was the dreaded stomach flu, with all it's glorious symptoms, so I guess this year's cold was an upgrade.

After 6 days of not running, (taught some spin classes tho)  I finally got in a "test run" yesterday at Umstead State Park. 8 miles along the rolling hills of the bridle trails with my friend Mo. After a wheezy start, I was able to settle in and actually felt quite good the rest of the way, which was comforting because I was slightly terrified that I would not be able to breathe!

  I had a good run last year at Weymouth. I ran with my buddy Lauren, and we basically used it as a long training run. Lauren was in training for the Umstead 100 at the time, as I am now. We took it real easy, lingered at the aid stations longer than we should have and had more outfit changes than a Beyonce show. We finished in just under 17 hours.

Lauren and I along the Trail

Alas, Lauren will not be joining me this year, as she is pregnant. (twins no less!) We ran together the whole way last year, so her company will be sorely missed! 

There are plenty of friends that will be running Weymouth this weekend however, so I will get to catch up with them and chat.

  So now I am packing up the Ultra Crash cart and getting gear, shoes and supplies ready. I have another year of ultra running experience and about 2000 more miles under my belt, and last week's hacking has trickled down to the occasional light cough. I am hoping to trim some time off of last year's result, move through the aid stations and keep on truckin' till the end!

 

The "Crash Cart"

Weapons of Choice!

The Course