2017 Skyline 50k: Getting the Full Ultra Experience
I told Nick at some point after the 2016 edition of the Skyline 50k that I didn’t feel like I got the full experience because I didn’t hit a low patch.
In 2017, I got the full experience.
The long road to Ultra #2.
I had big plans to knock out my 2nd ultra quickly after last year’s great experience. I ran well at Rock and Roll San Jose 1/2 in October and was ready to get another 50k under my belt. ITR’s Woodside Ramble in December would be it!
Buuuut we had a legit bro-down brewing and I couldn’t justify missing out on an hour or two of extra hanging out so I opted for the 35k.
Next on the list after missing out of the Miwok 100k lottery was the good news of winning(?) the Lake Sonoma 50 mile lottery. This means I should probably get in a 50k in the training block. Boom. ITR’s Red Tail Ridge race at Lake Chabot in Feb. Had a solid block but felt a pain in my groin/abs after a speed workout and decided not to push it and dropped down the the 30k on race morning. Plus got in some extra bro-down time with Jay-bird.
Finally Ultra #2. The Lake Sonoma 50 mile…uhhh, actually the nag turned into something lingering so I played it safe and planned to drop at mile 25 and watch the pros finish. Still super fun but a bit of a tease.
At this point I think I am just being a baby. This nagging pain doesn’t get better but also doesn’t get worse… After a bunch of time off, I did a little training for RTO and ran that mostly pain-free. Just to be sure, I took the rest of June off and made the deal with myself that if I am running pain-free on July 1, I’ll do Skyline.
Ran a bit at the end of June. Still nagging but close enough. Let’s train and see how it goes.
Blah, blah, blah had a month of decent training and a bunch of unsatisfying trips to Kaiser with no info and I signed up a week before the race. Finally getting Ultra #2 in the books!
Okay, let’s do this.
Totally spaced on the alarm on race morning and had to rush a bit. Stacy, Holly and I boogied and they dropped me off at Lake Chabot around 6:40am for the 7am start and they headed up to hike at Redwood Regional where they would meet me at mile 14.
Jogged to the start, checked in, pinned my number and bumped into some Gallo friends, Geoff and Jenny. Jenny was running today as a tune up for Cuyamaca 100k in October.
I mentioned this in my pre-race thoughts, but my only real check-point was I made it to Skyline (mile 14) in 1:50 last year. So that would give me a decent indication of where I was at. I wasn’t quite in the same shape with the stops and starts of training but I was looking forward to a fun, hard effort.
The 1st Half (the good half)
The first half of the race was great (famous last words). I caught up with Lance Doherty. Super nice guy and we always seem to run together. He is moving to Ireland in the next few weeks so he was enjoying his last race in the bay for a while. We leap frogged a bit the first half of the race. Legs felt pretty good for the most part. I was actually descending pretty well but I definitely was laboring a bit on the climbs.
We had a pretty tight pack heading into Skyline (mile 14) with myself, Lance, another guy Andy who went out hard with YiOu Wang and decided that pace was a little too hot for him and Cliff running 5th-8th place. We came in at exactly 1:50. Same as last year.
Saw Stacy and Holly there after their hike. Got a smooch or two. Hubba hubba.
Side Note: It was almost tropical with the humidity and every inch of me was soaked with sweat. Definitely had some droopy drawers trailing me all day.
The 2nd Half (not as good)
After a quick refuel (PB&J) at Skyline, Cliff was out quick in front of us and Lance, Andy and I left together and were chatting up west ridge heading towards Tres Sendes trail to connect with French in the north part of Redwood Regional.
We hit a super technical downhill section and Lance and I flew down it and dropped Andy, we felt great as we hopped onto the French trail. Once we hit the first of a few steep climbs on French, Lance was gone and I felt like Geoff Roes.
“I can’t run up hills today— Geoff Roes” — David Weisgerber
Legs were pretty sapped. In my rose colored glasses of hindsight from last year’s race, I forgot about all these steep ass climbs on the French trail. Getting through the 6 miles between Skyline and Big Bear aid was rough. Saw Stacy and Holly again at Big Bear which was fun.
I had a nice stretch from 22ish-25 with some smooth downhill from Bort Meadow to stone bridge but I knew Jean Pommier was closing on me because he was on my tail at the last aid.
Jean passed me heading up the climb in miles 26–27 and I had nothing in my legs to respond. It was probably mostly mental but there is something to be said about a solid training block not only being good for your legs but also for your mind.
This was that low point that everyone talks about in ultras.
I was cursing the course change which added this long, miserable climb (which probably wasn’t bad at all it just felt like it).
Pulled my life together for the last 5k which included a big downhill and 2 miles on the bike path back to the marina.
Wrap Up
Finished in 8th place in 4:16 (7th male because YiOu Wang was 6th OA) in which was about 10 minutes slower than last year. Overall, I am really happy with how the day went even though I wasn’t at my best.
Lance crushed it and PR’d at the race finishing 4th OA in 4:05 which is super impressive with the added climb at the end.
My Strava Data
I am stoked to get another ultra under my belt. I am appreciative to learn a ton about nutrition, racing and dealing with low patches in later stages of the race. That is one of the fun parts about racing. I don’t think I responded that well to those challenges this time but that is for sure something I am excited about attacking for the next race.
I didn’t try any of the gu flavors before and they had the gu brew electrolyte drink at aids which I had a lot of during the race which I wasn’t too fond of. I will probably practice more with nutrition during training. I got sick of the sweetness. Are there any fuels that aren’t sweet? I need to look into that.
The one thing I already kind of knew but was confirmed:
Salt pills are magical drugs that fix everything.
As usual, Skyline 50k is such a fun race. So low key but also incredibly well marked with volunteers at every key intersection. Plus, the post race BBQ at Skyline was dope. So much delicious food.
As for what is next. I don’t really know. I had a MRI a few weeks before the race but my Dr. was on vacation for a month so I never got the results which is pretty standard Kaiser-ness. So when she eventually returns I’ll deal with my injury and see what comes of it. It didn’t really bother me much during the race and two days post-race I just have standard soreness. We’ll see what the damage is in a few days.
Gear, etc.
Feet: Nike Kiger 4 and Injini socks. No issues.
Bod: Nike Aeroswift Shorts, Nike Miler Singlet and a scena performance trucker hat (basically wearing the shirt of the band I’m going to see). I had body glide in all the normal spots but had some rough chaffing on the back of the shorts where I had the gels stored. Need to remember to body glide that area.
Belly: I ate a picky bar in the car to the race. I had probably 4 gus (salted caramel, salted watermelon, plain, strawberry banana), a few glasses of coke, some electrolyte drinks and a few handfuls of goldfish and a 1/4 PB&J at Skyline.
