Hinson Lake 24 Hour Preview

Coworker: Are you pumped??!
Me: No.
Coworker: Why? Shouldn't your adrenaline be flowing? Isn't it good to get a little nervous.
Me: No. Adrenaline might be good if I were racing 800 meters, but 24 hours of adrenaline doesn't work.
Coworker: But aren't you excited?
Me: Trying not to be.
Coworker: You don't make any sense. I still don't understand why you do this stuff.
Me: Cause.

I'm running the Hinson Lake 24 Hour Race Saturday & Sunday. I put a lot of pressure on myself in my 100 mile race this year, but this time, I'm just getting in what I can get in. You never know what can happen, but 50-60 miles is in the bag, barring injury or illness. I'll be satisfied with anything over 70 miles. 100 would be very nice.

My training hasn't been anything like it was leading up to the 100 miler in February. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I developed some problems due to overtraining in December. This summer, my training has been OK, but few really long runs. I did run 12 hours at night 6 weeks ago & felt fine. Ran a marathon 4 weeks ago. Not much over 2-3 hours besides that. I think I'll be fine though.

I've had some foot issues this summer. Haven't made much of it & it really doesn't bother me while running, but I've had some plantar fasciitis and pain on the side/top of my foot which may or may not be connected to the PF. Also have a stone bruise that hurts a lot when I'm barefoot or step on a rock. All of this is on the same foot. That said, I don't think it'll effect my run this weekend... that may be a dumb thing to say.

I've never been to Hinson Lake, but it's a 1.52 mile loop you do all day & night. Sounds exciting, right? Pictures are actually nice- you run around a lake the whole time. Looks like a relatively flat, wide, smooth dirt trail. Not my favorite type of running, but it'll be good for getting the maxiumum number of miles possible. Sue Norwood posted a lot of good photos & a race report from 2008's race. Click 2008 on the left.

Supposed to be around 83 degrees for the high & 60 for the low. I don't do well in the heat, so I may take it a little easier between noon & 6 PM on day 1. I tested out a new (to me) product to help me out in the heat- Liquid Endurance. Always thought about using it when I did triathlons but never did. It's main ingredient is glycerol which helps you absorb liquid prior to the race (3 day pre-race loading process). Theory is you have more to sweat out this way. It also helps metabolize fat. I'm also planning on trying some different methods of staying cool like ice under a hat & an ice-filled bandana.

Maybe I should be nervous, but I'm not. Just going out for a very long run & we'll see how it goes.

(after a XC meet this weekend)
Me: Next week at this time, I'll be getting kinda tired.
Girl on my team: Which one will be more fun for you, eating lunch with us now or running that race all day & night?
Me: Fun?? At the time I'm doing each of them, I'm sure lunch will be more fun, but this lunch won't be a highlight of my year & possibly more. This sandwich isn't exactly character-building.