Umstead

This weekend was the Umstead 100 mile Endurance Run. I did not run. I had told myself that when[ever] I do my first or any one-hundred, it wouldn't be this one. It's 8 laps of a 12.5 mile loop, with a couple of out-and-back type sections. However, I may be eating my words. Last Wednesday I had to opportunity to volunteer with some of the race setup. I'll admit, I was drawn to the energy and excitement of the other volunteers (many who were also running the race) and the race director. You could tell they had a well-oiled machine. Also, the volunteer "swag" doesn't distinguish me as a volunteer (vs. a competitor), which of course makes me feel obligated to "earn" the right to don the gear.

The past couple weeks I've much more running at Umstead than I have in the past. Last weekend was a pre-dawn long run in the dark and rain. Needless to say I got lost. Yesterday I was out there again, during the mid-afternoon, so getting lost was much harder... but not impossible. Though I worried about not getting enough in, of course I ended up doing a little too much. It was ok, I was able to see a little bit of the race. And I just got smittened by the sheer scope of Umstead. You can really feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere. I was excited to experience so much single-track trails. I look forward to doing a lot more trail- and ultra running.

I'm also enjoying the taste of the Diet Mtn. Dew Supernova. It's part of the marketing scheme to choose the next diet soda, between the strawberry-melon Supernova and berry Voltage. Personally: I like the Supernova. It tastes like Skittles.