hinson lake 24 hour race report

at hour 20 of a 24 hour race, if you are still on the course and moving forward, it is ridiculous to feel anything but blessed. it is almost as if a tornado has swept through town, taking out 80% of the houses, leaving your own, wildly untouched. it is not always a function of good training or natural talent that enables you to continue longer than most, but is more often due to good decisions or just plain luck. as numbers dwindled, i felt incredibly lucky to not be limping, puking, crying or wishing i had never been born.

hinson lake 24 was exactly what i wanted - the antithesis of northcoast 24 - laid back, scenic, fun and gentle, and my bad memories have been thoroughly replaced by new ones of singing my lungs out walking under the stars and tall pines, hours of soft foot falls on course sand, a barn owl hooting through the night, peace and gratitude. i thought for a long time about my goals for the race and decided that i wanted to, first - be happy, while working the course and with my end result. and second - to move for the whole event. i succeeded at one, at the expense of the other and i am more than okay with the result.

friday we drove into rockingham along the wide, green, graceful highways of north carolina. we had a leisurely evening of packet pickup, dinner and walking the course. it was more hilly than expected but i couldn't imagine it being anything other than a good thing. it is extremely difficult to work your muscles and feet on a totally flat course. true to the description, it was packed earth covered in course sand with 16 wooden foot bridges. the course traverses 1.5 miles around hinson lake under soaring southern pines and rhododendrons as tall as maple trees. i was excited to get started in the morning.

saturday was so humid that upon exiting the car or a building, my anti-fog eye glasses, would fog up. temperature management would be paramount. my plan was to go slower than whale poop right from the get-go, knowing that my strategy at NC 24 of 'run hard as long as possible' was foolish and painful. it worked. throughout the day as i saw people flag and puke and stop their race, i hiked hard 14-15 minute miles with short spurts of jogging. i listened to my heart rate and didn't let it ascend above a certain level. in the heat, there is a competition for blood and energy. if all of my juice is going to my legs and to keeping myself cool, there will be none left for digesting. i did not want to spend the day nauseous or dehydrated and my plan worked very well. by 12 hours i had 30 easy laps down. i took time to stretch every couple hours, take pictures, eat, sit and enjoy my surroundings. when the sun was down and i was ready to go.

jim had decided that he would do 50 miles and call it a day, so i spent 2 hours walking at a slowed clip with him, knowing i was going to lose my only company. this is the only part of my race that was lacking and in the end what made me stop. i love timed races for their camaraderie, but at hinson lake i found hardly any. i tried my best to be friendly, and say 'hi' to everyone. but besides one awesome guy i know from the kickrunners forum and 3 other dudes, no one spoke back. this saddened me and i struggled with loneliness into the night. i didn't know any of these folks, the ultrarunners in the south are a totally different bunch than the mid atlantic/ northeast gang. things were unfamiliar, i felt a bit like an outsider.

at 14 hours, the temps were cooler, my body felt great, i put on my music and now it was time to run. i ran hard for 3 straight laps. i giggled as i whizzed by all the lead females who were worked- some hobbling, most shuffling, perhaps worried that i had sandbagged all day and was going to push hard all night. but i knew i was only riding a wave until it's completion. after walking and jogging most of the day, running fast felt so good to my legs and i was having a blast! after 3 laps of that nonsense, i did some recovery hiking and then had an extended stretch on the gazebo positioned in the middle of the lake, at the center of a footbridge. i lay on my back doing some yoga, gazing out at the stars, listening to distant coyote pups yap, while their parents sounded their mournful call.

after 2 more hours of walking and more breaks, i was beginning to grow tired and my feet were swelling. my pace had slowed to a crawl and the course was now desolate, with only a handful of people left. i longed for company. a year ago i would have chastised myself, called myself weak for giving in to that need, but i view it differently now. i was honoring what i needed, no longer having cause to prove my abilities to myself or anyone else, i stopped on my terms when the adventure ceased to be fun.

in just over 21 hours i had reached a comfortable and enjoyable 72.5 miles. so grateful that my body wasn't wrecked and proud that i completed my own race on my own terms. i lay down on a picnic table and called jim (who was back at the hotel resting) to come and pick me up.

after our flight was delayed on sunday night, we were forced to stay an extra night in the south. i very much missed my girls and was so excited to see them yesterday. i took a bike ride while i waited for the school bus to arrive, and besides the water retention and swollen feet, i feel as though nothing ever happened. this is a grand thing for me. i have decided over these last months that i didn't want my adventures as an ultrarunner to be marked by suffering any longer. the pain will inevitably have a bit part in the drama, but the enjoyment has to be the main attraction. i don't know if i was punishing myself, trying to prove something, or just trying to fit in - but i determined i was not willing to continue participating to the detriment of my mental or physical health. if that means i am last every time, then so be it. i am last, without apology. odds are that i will continue to be right where i was, in the middle of the pack - but now, i will not hate myself for it.

hinson lake was the highlight of a year filled with learning and growth. i have another wonderful event on my horizon to look towards that i'll tell you about later in the week and i carry the blessings of the tar heel state forward.