Friday after work, I headed down to Southern Pines, North Carolina to participate in the Weymouth Woods 100K. I was pretty excited, because I have never done a 100K before and I was able to get in this one at the last minute. The only negative (other than a 6 hour drive to get there) was that the course was a 4.47 mile loop that you had to do 14 times-- Yikes! I decided that small loops has its advantages too. You would not need a crew (which was good, because my crew chief is in Texas) and you would not have to carry a lot of gear. :-)
As I arrived at the park, I went inside the heated Visitor Center for packet pick up and trail briefing (a plus- as it was 24 degrees at start time.) I met the race director, got my gym bag, Patagonia tech shirt, and timing chip. At 8:00 am, we headed off into the woods. I ran the first lap with a lady named Lynn from Tennessee. We chatted about races that we have done in the past and generally just got a feel for the trail. Lynn decided that we ran the first loop faster than she needed to do, so we parted ways. Along the way I met a lot of runners from all over the country. Of course I became known as the "Texas runner"- I wore my Sunmart hat - just so no one forgot. I wore a tech shirt that has "Don't worry, I am not in your age group" on the back. That shirt definitely got a lot of laughs and comments on the trail. What a great choice.
This course was almost a carbon copy of Hunstville State Park trails. It was unbelievable- the roots, the elevation, the wooden bridges and even sandy areas. Needless to say, I felt right at home. :-) My plan was to run the flats and downhills and walk significant hills. This plan worked very well- I even managed to run up a few of the steep hills - thanks to great running songs on my ipod. The trail was pretty varied, from very rooty and hilly, to very runnable flat sections. There was still a bit of snow on the trail at the start; but throughout the day the snow melted (it got up to almost 50 degrees.) Large chunks of ice were also falling from the trees all day. It was not unusual to have ice drop on your head as you pass by- talk about incentive to go faster.
I kept a pretty consistent pace throughout the race. I kept checking the results board on each loop and noticed that I was inching up with every loop. I managed to do about 10.75 loops in the daylight- but the night loops were pretty hard. It is really hard to judge those roots and I was pretty tired at this point. Just before dark I checked the board and I was 4th place female. I kept plugging along the best I could- trying to avoid being passed (at least by women). I managed to finish in 13:14- which was good enough for 3rd place female and first place masters women. I was so happy- what a great surprise. I got to choose from several beautiful homemade platters for my award. What a great end to a wonderful race.
A few words about the race. This was one of the best organized events that I have ever attended. The RD (Marie Lewis) was incredible and she was there to greet every runner as he/she finished. The food was awesome- pizza, grilled cheese, hamburgers, quesadillas- you name it. The volunteers were also amazing. I could not believe how helpful and friendly they were. My biggest problem is that I wanted to linger and chat with them instead of getting back on the trail. I would definitely recommend this race to others, you will have a hard time finding a race where you are treated better.
Bonehead mistakes: As in the Stone Mill 50, late in the race I was going up a hill and I felt my right calf "pull and seize up" - I thought I tore something. It was unbelievably painful- I was limping and could barely make it up hills. I made it to the aid station, looked at it and on the advice on the volunteers, planned to go on, but at a slower rate. I was extremely worried that my training season was over- not to mention that WS would be in jeopardy. About 1/4 mile from the aid station it dawned on me that I had not taken salt in a while. I popped (2) Endurolites and within 1/2 mile I could run without limping. I was just dehydrated! I took another with my next GU and I was back in business. You should have seen the surprised looks on the faces of the guys at the aid station when I ran in on the next loop- until I told them about my stupid lapse. I have learned that I need more GU than I used to take ( I try to take at least 1 per hour) and I have started taking Enduralites. I am not sure if my body has changes, or if I am pushing harder. I never needed salt supplements before, but I definitely do now.
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