I Still Suck at Running Hills: Skyline 50K Race Report

Well this sucks, I thought. I couldn't run. I could barely walk. I was about 25 miles into my 50K. 2.5 miles in either direction to an aid station. I was moving along fine, a little slower than I had hoped, but otherwise fine. And then my left knee just stopped working. I could put weight on it, but taking a stride was excruciating. Conditions were great. I felt good. But I was here pondering what was starting to look like my first DNF.

The day started at 4:30 AM. I didn't sleep well the night before, which was strange because I didn't feel nervous or anxious. I couldn't seem to get my temperature under control, which I can usually solve by getting some magnesium, orange juice, and water into my system. But I was on the verge of sleep and I (foolishly) couldn't bring myself to get up and address it. Anyway, first thing to take care of was breakfast. 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 scoop of protein powder, 2 eggs, 1 banana, a few almonds (all based on recommendations from The Paleo Diet for Atheletes). Next was to complete the last few items on my pre-race checklist that I didn't do the night before. Recovery drink and cooked yams into the cooler; cooler, drop bag, and gear bag into the car. Jen got up at 5:00 and by 5:30 we were out the door.

It was an easy enough drive to the course. I was in a good mood, a little nervous but not the way I typically might get for a road race.

Arriving at Lake Chabot I took care of the last minute things: sunscreen, body-glide, pockets full of gels, popped one gel right before the start.

I've only done one other trail race (Mt Diablo 25K), and I thought I recognized some folks from there, but I didn't know anyone.

Jen wished me luck, and at 7:00 AM sharp we were off. The course starts with small rolling hills, then a moderate climb to some more rolling hills, then the first aid station (Grass Valley) around mile 4.5. A short descent and then an easy climb to the next aid station (Bort Meadow) around mile 6.25. My target split time at Bort Meadow was 56:31. My actual split was 56:05. Not bad, I thought! Next is a moderate climb to a flat area, to a steep descent, to the Big Bear aid station. Target split: 1:22:52. Actual: ~1:23:00. Looking good!

I feel like all longer races go through similar phases. In the beginning you tend to think about the folks around you, I'm going to pass this guy, I'm going to let this woman pass me because she's fast. It's almost like you're sizing them up. In the middle you become a little more introspective. You've been running around many of the same people for awhile, the nervous energy has burned off a little. You think less about the other runners as your competition and more as your compatriots. It's a nice transition.

In the rolling hills after Big Bear I got into a group that was a little too fast, and then my achilles suddenly flared up. I've suffered from tendonosis in both heels for a few years, but I've mostly got it under control, and they haven't bothered me on a run in awhile. This was a disturbing development. But I stopped to stretch and was happy that the problem seemed to go away (it would happen a couple more times in the race).

On the big climb up to Skyline Gate I spent some time talking to a guy who was training for the Golden Hills Marathon, just out for a training run. It was really nice to break up the silence a little. Shortly after I got passed by a woman near whom I had been running for most of the morning. I'd end up talking to her later.

At Skyline Gate Aid Station Jen was there to greet me! She had organized all of my stuff and filled my water bottle for me. I went through the station quickly, but I forgot to dump my empty gel containers, and I forgot to get a new bag for my soon-to-be-empty gel containers. I realized about 10 mintes later that I would be carrying these for several miles. Oh, and my splits: Target: 2:14:02, Actual: 2:16. Damn, I'm good!

Shortly after Skyline Gate (mile 15) I hit a low point. There are some tough technical descents, followed by climbs, eventually levelling out to a flat path. I was struggling to keep in touch with the folks I left Skyline Gate with, I was feeling bad, and I was not excited about continuing another 15 miles. I thought Look, this is stupid. You're not having fun anymore, and if you drive yourself into the ground you're not going to enjoy this race, which is the whole reason you're here. So I backed off, and a few minutes later I started feeling better. I realized how beautiful the path through the conifer forest was, and how lucky I was to be out here enjoying it.

Next the course goes down some switchbacks, and I worried for a bit that I was off-course, but then some guy with a number flew by me and I assumed I was okay. I arrived at Big Bear the second time (mile 20) in reasonably good shape. I had lost quite a bit of time off my target by slowing down, but I was okay with it. Target: 3:14:52. Actual: 3:23.

I walked up the steep climb out of Big Bear and popped my first caffienated gel. Boy, was I glad I saved those! In my improved mood, I realized that the hard terrain was all behind me, and I was beginning to believe that I was going to finish. I came into Bort Meadow the second time (mile 23), some more time lost. Target: 3:43:50. Actual: 3:57:45.

Disaster struck after I left Bort Meadow. The trail goes to single track down a wooded valley. I knew I had 8 miles left and I figured I would just bang out what I thought were probably 10 minute miles for the rest of the race and be done in an hour and twenty minutes later. I was congratulating myself on having run a smart race. At my 20 minute interval I decided to walk momentarily to give myself a little rest and pop another gel. Then my left knee seized up.

I tried stretching. I tried massaging. I didn't want to try sitting down and didn't think it would help anyway. I limped a few paces and stopped. I felt the seconds slipping away. More limping. Time passing. I found if I walked with a straightened left leg I could make forward progress. I've read that no matter what, in an ultra-distance event you need to force yourself to make relentless forward progress. So that became my mantra, and that's what I did. The knee seemed to get marginally better and I found that if I took really little steps I could run on it.

Some more experimenting: I could handle the uphills and the flats okay, but the downhills just killed me. Once I started the little climbs coming into Honker Bay I was getting passed (literally) left and right. I remember thinking that I had believed myself to be so clever in picking runners who gradually improved their places in previous years' results as a basis for my target split times, because the runners that were getting passed at the end were hurting and not running the race that they had wanted (see my "How Fast" post). And now I was that guy, slipping through the places. Honker Bay splits: Target: 4:35:29. Actual: 5:01.

But I was going to finish, darn it. On the downhills I did a straight-legged long strided walk, and on the flats I did a little jog, and on the uphills I walked or jogged. At the finish my parents and my friend Mark were waiting for me, so it was great to see them there. My final time: Target: 5:04:08. Actual: 5:40:46! Wow, lots of time lost at the end there.

Me at the finish of my first 50K!

I felt great at the finish, besides the knee. I got a chance to talk with the woman with whom I had run near the first half of the race. It was Terrie West, who took something like 30 minutes off her PR, and who incidentally hit my finish target time. She was hitting all of the splits I wanted to hit, which means she ran a smart (and fast) race. Great job!

All in all, I enjoyed my race. I didn't hit the times I wanted to hit, but I mostly had fun and it was so great to be outside on the trails in such perfect weather. My assessment of the injury is that my IT band really flared up. I've been rolling it out at night, and I think I'll know in a few days if it was that or if I need to go to the doctor to get it checked out. On one hand, I could say that none of the things that I was worried about and could have planned for impacted me. But on the other hand, it might be a problem with leg strength or just experience and endurance on hills, both things I may need to work on (and hills being something that I did cite as a concern prior to the race).

On a side note, today I feel fantastic. My quads are a little sore, my knees are a little sore, and my left knee is still hurting, but besides that I feel as good as the day after any workout. I even did a crossfit warmup today, and my situps and pullups felt exceptionally strong. I attribute my recovery to crossfit and to the paleo diet. I'll talk some more about my diet in a future post.