2012 Skyline Trail race. I had never run the Skyline race before; I was broken in 2010 and conflicted (with a canoe race) in 2011. As my fitness and general health seem to be on the mend, I was really looking forward to the race, though the past two months of training were curtailed due to Gimpy Foot. I had the added challenge of also directing the NEOC local meet at Houghton's Pond/Ponkapoag today, and the start times for the respective races narrowly allowed me to run the Skyline at 8 before assuming director responsibilities at 10.
I showed up at the start feeling reasonably good - my legs were spry, and both feet felt good. Unlike an O-race, a running race has minimal logistics (it turns out). I brought my older pair of X-talons, which were in a more advanced state of disrepair than I expected. The right shoe was particularly shredded, with a three inch gash on the inner edge above the sole.
I had hoped to hang with Ali, though I recognized that this was unlikely. I was in the second group out of the start, and settled into a comfortable groove behind Giacomo and Ali. I was feeling optimistic about my stamina and speed when Ali kicked in her afterburners on the first downhill; she was in sight for the first fifteen minutes, but quickly gained ground and disappeared.
I ran the rest of the race with Giacomo and guy I didn't know; I figured Giacomo was holding back (or it was too early). We rotated the lead, and I milked my comparative speed advantage on the downhill to pull about 50m ahead from 30 mins through the ascent up the hill at 40 min. Giacomo was very strong on the uphills, and while we broke away from the third guy, I couldn't lose him. The ball of my right foot started hurting at around the halfway point - I think due to terrible shoes and rocky impacts rather than ligaments, and my endurance waned. I had eaten a bagel for breakfast, but a Gu would have been very useful. Giacomo finally pulled away on the ascent after the road crossing at min 53, other guy passed me, and I just struggled on by myself in a death slog to the finish with painful foot. My calves tightened up, and I felt pain along the bottom of my right foot at the downhill at 70 mins; I slowed to a controlled, less painful descent to try to prevent lasting damage and was nearly overtaken.
Not a bad effort; I finished in 7th about three minutes back of Giacomo, and decisively nemesis'd by Ali's tremendous performance (68 mins). Stephen carried the day in 63 minutes.
Comparison to Ali's splits:
Split | Ali | Ian | Notes |
Start to first road crossing | 21:59 | 22:35 | Running with Giacomo, holding back a little |
Road to halfway | 12:38 | 13:20 | I was pushing hard; hard to believe I was 5% back. Mostly ahead of Giacomo on this leg. |
Halfway to Road | 14:29 | 15:25 | With Giacomo, still running hard. 6% back. |
Road to finish | 18:54 | 22:31 | Completely spent, just a struggle to the end. Took the big downhill gingerly |