Lake Waramug 50 Miler: a Lot of Pretty, a Lot of Wind, a Lot of Pain, and a Lot of Fun

I knew Lake Waramug wouldn't be the same without running with Tony, but I was still excited and hopeful to run the Lake Waramug 50 Miler. I was hopeful for a PR, for a good race, and knew I'd have lots of fun with so many familiar faces out there on the course.

Lake Waramug is a 50k, 50 miler, and 100k on a loop course around a pretty lake in CT. There are rolling hills, but nothing crazy. The lake is notoriously windy, so while my friends were enjoying a perfect-to-be-outside spring day in NYC, I was shivering in two long sleeved shirts and pants at Lake Waramug.

I started out with a bunch of my friends, running at a pretty good pace - I was sub 9 minute miles for the first 14 or so miles, and then up to sub 10 minutes miles for quite a bit longer. 

I was wearing a water bottle on waist belt because I had gloves on; when I use a handheld with gloves, I end up having issues with my hands getting cold. However, the waist belt was bothering my back, which caused me some issues. I also had pain occasionally in my lower left shin.

I started feeling like crap, but mostly kept up a somewhat decent pace. My eating was weird; I had zero appetite for things I normally love there, like grilled cheese, but I kept up a steady intake of pumpkin pie. I believe pumpkin pie is the secret weapon to this race - and I ate plenty of it to prove it.

The aid stations are good and fun. The volunteers are friendly. With aid every 2ish miles, you are never far from a friendly face and nutrition. 

I finished the 50 mile in 9:06 - far from what I was hoping to achieve, but not a bad time at all. I was shivering almost instantly, and changed into warm dry clothes. They had post-race food (burgers, veggie burgers, rice and beans) and I ate some with Mary (who ran the 50k) while we huddled in the warmth of Ray's car, waiting for him to finish his 100k.

Overall, it's a great course, perfect for a PR. The volunteers are great, the RD is great (though there will be an RD change for next year), and it's a lot of fun. 

The road surprisingly beat me up; I was more sore the day after Waramug than I was the day after the Umstead 100 Miler!