I Run 24 (ummm... Make that 16)

The last weekend in September, I went for a run. When I finished, I had put in a total of 54 miles, which while a lot, it was 9 miles less than my goal. This is the epic tale of my failed attempt at 100K at The Hinson Lake 24 Hour Classic. 

Have you ever had a race where you had so much FOMO every year, that even though everything about it seemed crazy, you just HAD to do it. That was Hinson Lake for me. As long as I have been a runner, I have had friends that ran and loved Hinson Lake. And this year, things finally lined up for me to participate. 

The race consists of a 1.5 mile loop around a beautiful lake in the Rockingham, NC woods. It starts at 8:00 am Saturday morning and ends 8:00 am Sunday morning. You run as much as you could/wanted to in that 24 hour period. Your distance was totally up to you. All you had to do was not stop. 

Spoiler alert: I stopped.

On the Friday before the race, my fellow Fleet Feet Fort Mill runners Robin, Katie, Bonnie, Nicole, Gail and Pat arrived to Hinson Lake and set up camp. We had a camp area a bit away from the loop so we could get some sleep on Friday overnight while others set up and if we so desired during the race. For dinner we ate wood fired personal pizzas from a food truck on site and hung out at camp with a shot of peanut butter whiskey and all went to bed fairly early. We had a big day ahead of us. Everyone in our group had a goal to finish 50K. 2 of us were shooting for 100K (Katie and me). 

The intrepid Fleet Feet Fort Mill Team

At 8:00 am sharp Saturday September 30th, the race started. There were around 450 runners, which you can image made for tight squeeze for a 1.5 mile loop, so the first half mile or so, I kind of fast walked/jogged until it thinned out enough to get a run going. After than, for the first Half Marathon (or 9 loops) I kept a steady run. After that, I took a short break. The muscles along my right knee were starting to bother me already which kind of freaked me out a bit, so I stopped in to see the onsite massage therapist to stretch it out for me. Luckily for me, after a quick session, it didn't bother me again, and I set out for another Half Marathon distance, this time run/walking. 

My strategy was this: For the 1.5 mile loop, after crossing the timing mat, I walked .25 mile. This area contained the "Hinson Buffet" 2 table flanking the course that had tons of food, glorious food and every manner of beverage. The left side was many processed foods (cookies, candy, crackers, chips and sodas) and the right side freshly cooked foods that rotated throughout the day like sandwiches, quesadillas, burgers, pizza, pancakes and more and your Gatorades and water. I tried to grab a bit of something plus a drink every time I walked through. After the food were the team tents. My team's tent was overlooking the lake and had a few chairs, our drop bags (mine had sunscreen, some snack and Vaseline) plus a white board for us to mark off our loops. There was a big dip right before the first turn in this section and at the top was my friend Shannon's tent. I stashed some water there as well in case I forgot to grab some in the excitement of the Start Area (which I did more than I should have). 

I would then run the next just over a half mile until I crossed the long bridge over the lake. Right after the bridge was the longest hill which at the top was a rather sandy area. I walked this .25 mile stretch. Then, I ran the next half mile back to the timing mat. So for the next 9 loops it became, walk .25, run .5, walk .25, run .5. At 18 loops total, I had surpassed a Marathon distance and it was time to take a bit of a longer break. I walked 1 full loop with no running and then set out back to camp.

The Bridge at the halfway point of the loop

By then is was almost 2:00 and my strategy had been to break the run into four 6 hour segments. I made my way back to our campsite area, and into my tent to get undressed. I did my best to dry out, not to be gross or overshare, but I was hella sweaty as I was 6 hours and 27+ miles in and the day was heating up. I laid on my air mattress for about 30 minutes sipping water. I had grabbed a half a burger when I went through the buffet as well. I didn't want to stay out of it too long so, begrudgingly, I got dressed in fresh everything and set back out. I was back on course around 3:00. 

Post Wardrobe Change, ready for 6 more hours

I kept to the strategy that I had planned before, walk .25, walk .25, run .5, walk .25, run .5. Every few loops, I took a 5-10 minute break at the team tent on the lake. No real rhyme or reason to when, just when I felt like it. The hours kind of blended together during this part and soon it was 8:00 pm, time for me to take another trip to the campsite to change clothes and grab my lights as the sun was setting. 

I didn't say in camp long as by then I was coming to terms with just how tough this race was. And if I am being 100% honest, I wasn't doing so well as far as keeping myself fed and hydrated. I was forgetting to grab food. I was eating a few bites, a couple of gummy bears, a sip of Coke. By then my plan was to keep moving as best I could until Midnight. I was still run/walking but not as strict as my previous strategy. For example, some laps I'd just run as much as I could. Or I would run the bridges, as they were solid footing. I never walked a full lap until the last one before midnight, managing to run a bit here and there. But it became a blurry slog of just keep moving around in the dark, illuminated by my chest light. The number of people on the course had greatly thinned and most were walking. 

I did some quick math and figured that I could get in 36 loops, which totaled 54 miles by Midnight. And if I could start loop 36 by 11:30, I would let myself walk it completely. At 11:29 I crossed the timing mat. I walked a final 1.5 mile loop and at 11:58 I crossed the mat and walked over to my team tent and promptly sat down. Shortly after, one of my friends, Katie, arrived, also with 36 loops completed. "Let's go get some sleep," she said. "Gladly," I weakly replied.

This is where, dear readers, our hero is defeated. Around 12:30 I had made my way back to my tent. The camp was quiet except for Katie and I. The rest of our group had tapped out earlier for the night and were already sleeping. I again undressed in my tent, but rather than changing into running gear, I put on some cozy leggings and a t-shirt, intending to sleep for a few hours. I figured I had 9 miles left, if I got back on the course by 4:30 - 5:00 am I would be golden. But alas, it was not to be. 

Full Moon over Hinson Lake

After laying there for an hour trying to calm myself down enough to relax, I realized that sleep was not going to come easy. I couldn't get warm. I couldn't stop shaking. I kept randomly cramping different places in my legs. My mind was frantically racing about everything and I felt like a panic attack was just on the horizon. And most importantly, I WAS NOT SLEEPING!

I laid there for 3.5 hours like that. I heard Katie get up and go to the bathroom and realized that she was getting ready to head back out at 4:30 like she planned. I tried to get up. I fell back down. I tried again. Fell again. I texted her saying that I was going to try to get some rest still and go out in an hour. I thought if only I could get ANY sleep, I could knock out those 9 more if I was out at 5:30 am. Just let me get a SINGLE HOUR of sleep. 

I didn't take many night pics, so here's a daytime shot of our campsite

Another hour passed and whelp, more of the same. It was then, at 5:30 am I made the decision that I was done. And you know what, I was strangely ok with it. It was over and I knew it. And that acceptance, is what I think finally let me fall asleep. HARD. As in the rest of my camp got up and ready and headed out for some final laps and I heard NOTHING. I had finally just completely shut down. 

I slept for about an hour and a half, waking around 7:00 am. At this point, I made my second major decision concerning the race - I had an hour left still, I could have gotten dressed and back on course and knocked out 2-3 more laps. Nope, I decided. I'd come to terms with being done so that was it. I'd rather my results say I competed 54 miles in 16 hours than 56 or 57 in 24 hours. I slipped on my sandals and made my way to the team tent so I could watch my friends finish (and hopefully find some coffee). I sat down at the team tent, took a deep breath and the promptly broke out hysterically sobbing. 

Sitting in the Team Tent, just finished a nice long cry

Apparently all of me was not 100% on board with the "I am ok with this" mentality. Mostly I think it was the exhaustion finding the only outlet that it had. I was, and I still am okay with the decision I made to not go back out. I honestly do not think I could have made it back on course without incident. I had made too many mistakes in my preparation and execution of the race. And you know, 54 miles really was a lot of miles. Like a lot. Was I happy, no, I can't say that, but I was okay. I do not think I honestly could have done more than I did. 

Final Results

I will be going back to Hinson Lake in 2024 and next time, next time I bring home a medal (only 100K finishers get a medal). I learned a lot from this first experience that  I will use to make some changes that will better prepare me for success. This post is long enough already, so I will do another about what I plan to do differently next time.

Peace Out til next year, Hinson Lake

The Ultra that WAS

Once upon a time ago in early 2020, back before the world came to a halt due to Covid, I trained for an Ultra that I never got the chance to run. The story of that adventure is here: https://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-ultra-that-wasnt.html. Well just over 3 years later, I can now finally say that I am an Ultra runner as last weekend, I ran the Landsford Canal 50K.

Much like the previous Ultra I trained for, I did not speak or write much about doing this. I tend to do that when I am going to attempt something scary. Enough people already think I am crazy. So other than the couple of friends I was running the race with, I didn't talk about it much. I mean, I was planning to run 50K (31.5 miles) in August, in South Carolina, with nowhere near adequate training. Even I knew this was all a bad idea! 

THE IDEA

It all started in the most unlikely place, one of my saner friends, Marlene. I was included in group text saying she heard about a free 50K that was coming up soon and would any of us be interested in doing it with her. Of those in the group text, I was the only one crazy enough to take her up on it. I then of course contacted some others to see if they wanted in, because of course misery loves company. A few of my Fleet Feet friends were also in. Honestly a few more than I actually expected! All in all, there were about 12 people I knew that said yes to this adventure, though a few went in knowing for sure that they would not do the entire 50K.

For timing reference, I received the original text message on June 25th. Race day was August 12th. And I was planning to be out of town about half of the days in between me registering for an running the race. So yeah, extra bad idea. But we were all taking the attitude of we plan to do what we could and if we didn't finish the full 50K, then so be it. But deep down I knew that if I started, I wouldn't let myself not finish. 

THE TRAINING

I was not a fan of these stairs
on the trail portion

I wish I could tell you all about how I jumped into an intensive training program like last time where I put in lots of hours and miles preparing. I did not. I traveled a bunch and ran very little. A couple of long runs here and there, but nothing really over 9 miles during that time frame. The closest to any kind of preparation whatsoever were two runs a the site of the race. 

The week of July 4th, the company I work for closed for the full week. I took advantage of that and planned a mid-week visit to Landsford Canal State Park, the site of the race. I had never been there before so I decided to check out the terrain. Armed with a Garmin Course map that I found that claimed to be the Landsford Canal 50K route from several years ago, I did my best to follow the course and document for the others what we were in for. I knew the course was a just over 4 mile loop and that the beginning had a weird out and back portion in order to get the correct milage, but I wasn't sure on the correct direction of the loop. 

You can see just how UP the Up was! 

Turns out, I chose wrong that first time. I ran the loop clockwise, first running the trail portion along the canal, then up a hill to the main road, down the main road to the park entrance and down the hill back to the canal. My watch kept telling me I was off course, but according to the map I wasn't. That's how I kind of figured out that I was running the incorrect direction. Plus, after running the loop and ending at around 4 miles, I started to figure out about the out and back portion, which was UP the steep hill leading from the park entrance to the main road, not down it, twice before running the loop counterclockwise. So I ran that up and back plus a bit more to get the lay of the area. Overall I ran about 8 miles and took a ton of photos. 

The only other run that I would consider a purposeful Landsford Canal training run would be 2 weeks before the race, I met another runner at Landsford Canal to run the course. The plan was to run 2 loops - the up, down up and up again followed by 2 loops. It did not go that way. We didn't start until almost Noon and it was HOT. I managed 1 loop and it was rough going. I was not feeling so awesome about this race. But I wasn't backing out. 

THE RACE

Team Fleet Feet

The Landsford Canal 50K started at 7:00 am on August 12th. It was 70 degrees out, but the sun was hiding in a thick fog that morning, making it not super hot, but super humid. The race capped at 50 runners, and I believe 45 runners actually started the race including me and 8 of my friends. I came to the race armed with a bag of clothes to change into as needed, an extra pair of shoes, my Drankful Adventure Pack full of water plus an extra gallon to refill and a bag full of snacks (pretzels, peanut butter crackers, krispie treats and 4 UCAN Edge gels. Oh, and a mild panic attack. I had that as well. Just kidding - a little. There may have been a few tears before the start. I knew I wasn't really ready, but it was now or never. My Fleet Feet crew snapped a quick picture (you can see how happy I am in it on the end) and we made our way to the start. 

The 5 members of Team Fleet Feet headed out together, planning to hang together the best we could. We started out going up for a mile. Then back down a mile. Up again and then embarking on the loop. Most of the run was on road so it was faster going than your typical trail 50K but we tried hard not to go out too fast knowing it was going to be a long day. We walked the steepest parts of the mile up even on this first loop. After 6 miles, 2 of which were very much uphill and 1.5 on trail, we were finished with our first loop with 6 more to go. 2 of the group hit the bathroom and 3 continued for loop 2. On loop 2 I started to fall back on the trail portion so when Katie and Robin stopped to use the bathroom, I kept going knowing that they would catch up to me, which they did. I'll spare you the complete play by play, but the 5 of us ended up being 3 groups the majority of the race - Katie and Robin leading, me in the middle, and Nicole and Gail behind. 

One of the few pics I took during the race
My phone was too wet most of the time

After 3 loops I had to stop and change my socks and shoes. I was sweating so much due to the heat (the sun fully out by now and nearing 85 degrees) that my socks and shoes were soaked through and squishing. I changed my shirt also but didn't bother with anything else. By this time I was mostly running on my own but saw a few others on the course. I ran as much as I could and walked when I had to. I tried to eat a little bit each time I went through the aid station/loop check point, but eventually settled on mostly drinking Coke for calories and caffeine. Another friend had set up a cheering station at the top of the big hill and I checked in with him after loops 5 and 6 for some fruit snacks and peanuts. On loop 6 a friend who came to check in on my met me on the trail portion of the loop and kept me company (very much appreciated) for about a mile before making it back to the checkpoint where I finally embarked on loop 7, the final loop. 

By loop 7, I was walking a lot, but still did my best to run when I felt I could. It was hot, I was exhausted, I was soaking wet, my shoes and socks were squishing again (I didn't have another pair) but I knew this was it. One more time around and I would be finished. I would be an Ultra Marathon runner. All my brain could think at this point was Run 20 steps, Walk 10 steps. Just keep moving forward. 

THE AFTER

I was deliriously happy to finally see the finish line and a couple of my friends there, one who had volunteered at the race and another who had finished before me (Katie) and her husband and kids. I gulped down a huge cup of Coke but couldn't bring myself to eat anything quite yet. I knew I shouldn't sit down but did anyway. My main thought was I HAD to get my wet shoes and socks off. Even if that meant walking around barefoot, I didn't care. I was halfway through pulling off my 2nd shoe when the RD came over and handed me my finisher plaque. I tried to text my mom to tell her I had finished but the cell signal was spotty and my phone and fingers both too wet to make the touchscreen work. My quads started cramping terrible. But, despite all of that, I had done it. I was an Ultra Marathoner!! 

I AM AN ULTRA MARATHONER!! 

So did I learn anything? I learned I am really stubborn, though I pretty much knew that already. I learned that I should have better prepared, which I also knew as well. I learned that in the would of Ultra running, endurance is vastly favored over speed. Finishing was way more mental than physical. Of the 45 that started, only 24 finished. I was one of them. And I wasn't the last one even, though I would have been proud of myself even if I had been. 

I was asked after if would do another. I am actually registered for another Ultra event next month, though it is a different sort of race - a 24-hour event where you put in as many miles as you can - The Hinson Lake 24 Hour Classic. It is a sort of choose your own adventure style race. Want to run 5K, go for it. Want to run 100 miles, best of luck to you. I've not decided my goal yet, but I am toying with the idea of 100K. Many of the same runners from this past week will be there. Plus tents for potential napping. And hopefully, some more training before.

But after Hinson Lake, I may retire from these long distance style races. After the race, I felt great. But during, during I felt pretty garbage. And 7+ hours is a long to time feel bad like that. I am just not sure if the after is worth the during. Maybe for others, but I don't think it is for me. So while I am looking forward to Hinson, I've watched other do it for several years and always wanted to, I think that might be the end of my Utra Marathoning career. I may change my mind at some point, but currently, my head space is not where it needs to be to be an Ultra runner. 

The Ultra that Wasn't

I've been putting off this post for just over a week now. Well, to be totally honest, I've been putting it off for a lot longer really. See, I had registered for a race, that I hadn't talked about it much. Part of it was it was a bit of a crazy goal that I was trying to wrap my own head around. Part of it was that if  didn't talk about it, then I couldn't get talked out of it. Instead I mainly just vaguely referenced a crazy race I was preparing for. If I did happen to mention what it was, most everyone, with the exception of my craziest running friends reacted the same way - WHY?!

See I registered for a Trail Ultra... in February. Cause apparently it wasn't enough for me to be running a crazy distance, but I had to do it the worst part of the year as well. In the woods. On a very technical trail. Go big or go home, right?

Well, if you haven't guessed from the title, the Ultra didn't end up happening for me. I trained, I was ready, I still think I could have done it, but alas, the universe decided otherwise. So here's the short, disappointing story of my first Ultra attempt. 

I honestly cannot remember how it came up in conversation. Two of my friends signed up for the Millstone 50K, an Ultra that was held each February at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill. I am very well acquainted with the ASC Greenway, I ran the Ragnar Relay there in the Fall. But I had no interest in the Millstone. First of all, I had strongly proclaimed I'd never do another marathon even, and this, this was 6 more miles. On trails. Technical trails. Plus, if you know me, you know that I HATE HATE HATE being cold. Like really hate it. And I still had pretty awful memories of last winter when I was marathon training and doing long runs in the cold and rain. No thank you, not interested,

And then... I started thinking. Could I? Maybe... I mean, why not? 

First I floated the idea past a few of my regular running/Burn crew. "You're crazy." I heard and expected. I didn't even bother with my family, I knew what that reaction would be. So for the ultimate test, I ran the idea past my craziest running friend. You know that guy who is game for anything? Who will say yes to any dumb idea you come up with and have a few of his own even? Well I asked him and his response was... a bit lukewarm to be honest - up to you if that's what you want. Then, about an hour later I got a message from him - You know what, go do it. Sounds crazy but you can totally do anything and I fully support you. So with the blessing of my craziest friend, I registered.

... and was put on the wait list. Apparently, the Millstone 50K was chosen as the SC State Ultra Championship race so there were more registrants than in past years. So I decided that it were up to the fates if I'd run it. If I made it off the wait list, I'd do it, if not, it wasn't meant to be. Either way to help prepare, I changed my annual New Years Day Trail 5K race to the 20K distance thinking the extra distance would be good training. 

My Friend pointing out we are
on the Most Difficult Trails

And train I did. First couple of weeks I ran the Baxter Trails that the 20K would be on. I've run these before, but not 20K on them (12 miles) and not some of the sections the race covered. They were hard. Really hard. Way more technical than the Anne Springs Trails even. The average climb was about 100 ft for each mile. And the first/last 3 miles were the hardest. I met up with some friends and did a preview run of the course and we promptly got lost. A few times. In fact everyone who ran the preview run that day got lost. But surely race day they would be well marked. 

Cheers to an Extra K

So yeah, on race day, I was doing really well actually. I've found I am more comfortable on trails when I am not in a group so I didn't mind running alone. I felt pretty great actually. Until... in the last mile I came to an intersection that had multiple signs. I chose poorly and my 20K became a 21K (luckily, the way I choose looped back so I didn't get too lost). But I was pissed. And I'll admit, I cried a bit. But I drank some beer, had some BBQ and sucked it up. After all, Anne Springs Trails were much easier to run than these. 

This became a common sighting

Shortly after this race, I got an email. I was off the wait list. I had an official registration for Millstone 50K if I wanted it. With only a little hesitation, I confirmed. I had just over a month to train. That mean every weekend until Feb. 8th, I got to spend hours in the woods training the Millstone Loop. See the race consisted of three 10.5 mile loops. I didn't yet know the route very well, so I was meeting more experienced runners to help me figure them out. Unfortunately we had the added challenge of part of the loop being closed when started training, so we had to be creative with putting in the miles. One day we'd start on the Lake Hagler side and run that portion, plus some add on and visit the Horse Farm. 

Horse Break!

Then we'd go to the Adventure Center side and run over there, plus add on Paradise (ugh) and some other trails. One day, we ventured over by the closed section and low and behold, it was open! We had already run some add on miles so we didn't do the full loop, but we did run new portions and upped our mileage. 

This happened a lot. Map break to find some add on miles 

It was now 3 weeks before the race and I had not run a full unbroken loop yet. I made arrangements to meet up with 2 friends who knew the loop really well, both who were doing the race and we were going to run not 1, but 2 loops full through. 

You may have noticed I haven't mentioned much about the weather. Well, part of my "official training" was that I couldn't complain about the cold. But it was. And wet. For the last month of training, there was a steady weather pattern. During the week, it would rain and get the trails all sloppy wet. On the weekend, the temperatures would drop below freezing for the days I would train. This day was no exception. I believe it was 31 degrees when we started. There was frost on the ground for sure. 

You can see the frost on the tall grass of the Prairie Loop

We started slow, but steady with the me and another girl waiting at trail change overs for the girl in the rear to catch up. She seemed to be struggling a bit, but we were doing pretty good I thought. The lead girl, who knew the trails best and I kept steady pace and conversation. On the Prairie Loop there is a place to take a bathroom break. We took it. We passed the Millstone around mile 5.5. You gotta touch it, or else. At mile 7, the worst part of the loop starts, 3 trails back to back that climb up and have the roughest terrain - Trestle, Billy's Walk and then Wild Azalea. I always joke that one day, I am just going to quit trails all together and it will be because of Wild Azalea. I'll just stop randomly on it, sit down and wait for a horse to pass by to take me back in (it's a horse trail as well). We got past those rough 3 miles and just had a bit of flat around the lake before the climb back out to the Rush Pavilion and loop 1 would be done. 

Finally made it out to the Grist Mill!!

Taken near the end of my 2nd, solo loop

We we finished the first loop, one of the other girls told me she was done. As in DONE. Not just not doing another loop, she wasn't going to do the 50K any more. She had decided to drop down to the 8K. The other girl said she was quitting the race as well, but completely. I tried not to take it as an ominous sign that both my partners decided to quit the race during my first ever completed loop, so I pressed on and did a second one alone. Again, I actually enjoy trails alone so it seemed to go by fairly fast. 21 miles done, 2 loops and I was feeling good.

It was now the week before the race. I met a friend who was still actually running it, but hadn't put in a full loop yet and another friend who was volunteering for the race and just along for the run. The plan was 1 loop. I was lead since by now, I knew it. We stopped a lot, a bit to play around and a bit due to my friend having some hip issues, but it was a good loop. Time had run out, next weekend was the race so we were as prepared as we could be.

Last visit to the Millstone before race day... so we thought...

Except... That Thursday, a massive storm system swept through the area. Schools were cancelled for 2 days. It POURED rain nonstop for 24 hours. There was thunder and lightening, and tornadoes! On Friday, when the storm had moved on and the trail was evaluated... the call was made to postpone the race. Millstone 50K was cancelled. 

Mood like... 

Fingers crossed I anxiously awaited a decision on a new date. They picked March 7th, the day that I was registered to run the Myrtle Beach Marathon, out of town, with me providing lodging for some other runners. Long story short, I couldn't run the new date. My Ultra adventure had come to a crashing halt. 

Let me say real quick, while I was DEVASTATED that I couldn't run the race I had trained for, it was the right call to cancel. The trails were a MESS of flooding and downed trees and were in no way safe. Not to mention, it SNOWED on the actual day the race would have taken place. Rock Hill Striders did the right thing. They gave us a chance to transfer our entries (which luckily my one friend who trained with us who was going to volunteer did take my entry so it didn't go to waste) or defer till the next year at a discounted rate.  

And with a few more weeks before the new date, this weekend, I was back on the trail with my friends to help them train for their race, no longer mine. Ironically, the trails were in amazing shape yesterday, just a week after the race-cancelling storm. In fact, with a few exceptions, there were better than they have been in months. Less mud for sure. (Though we did have to remove a small downed tree from across the trail on Billy's Walk). 

So, here's the big question for me know I suppose. Will I try again. I honestly do not know. Training was hard. It took a lot out of me and was super time consuming. Trails are MUCH harder than road. The elevation changes and switchbacks and running over rock and root hit your body in a different way. I was cold, and wet a lot and hated that. But there is part of me that still thinks I need to prove that I could have done it. Maybe, when the weather is nicer and I am through my insane Spring racing calendar, I'll pick a day and do my own Ultra. 

Until then, I wish those still doing the Millstone 50K good luck. I can honestly say I now know the trails out there really well and I will for sure be back on them again, even if it's not for 31.5 miles!