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When: 5/9/20
Where: Blue Hills Reservation, MA
Goal: run further than the single 18-mile out and back
Result: FKT on 36-mile double out and back
Intro:
The Skyline Trail FKTs are something that I have been thinking about ever since I discovered the idea of an FKT last year. They are the perfect culmination of two activities that I love- hiking and running. And what do you know, there is an FKT right next to my house, in the Blue Hills where I have run and trained for years, on MY trails. This was instantly an FKT that I really wanted.
But the Skyline Trail has not come easy. Sure, I've only been training on trails again for a couple months now, but the best I have managed is a 2:38, still a whole 20 minutes off of FKT pace. And as for the double FKT, well I had never even run farther than 22 miles. Surely the 36-miler was even further beyond my abilities?
So last night, feeling extra inspired, I decided that I wanted to try and do something big. I've been feeling good lately, finally back up to some decent mileage after my two-month break thanks to a strange, nagging hip injury. Sure it's been three weeks of hard running in a row, but I wanted to finish these three weeks off with something good before my chill week, and my legs felt good enough to push it. Plus, fresh Lone Peaks had just arrived in the mail the day prior. The double out-and-back was in the back of my mind, but I was so sure that this was beyond my current abilities that I was not planning on it.
The Run:
I woke up nice and early at 5:30 to the sound of rain hitting the window. Thirty Degrees and Raining. In retrospect I should have checked the weather in advance, but that might have kept this whole thing from happening so I'm not complaining. Plus the weather kept all the other people away. I ate some cereal, gathered my stuff, and, by 6:25, I was in the Shea Rink parking lot ready to go.
The first half mile of the run is a good warmup, as the trail meanders around the St. Moritz ponds for a bit before disappearing up into the hills. As I climbed up Rattlesnake Hill, the first hill of many, the rain turned to snow. Too much fun! To be honest, I think the slick rocks over the start of this run actually helped me to stay slow and avoid going too hard too soon. Wompatuck Hill passed by without incident, and then I began the long, gentle climb up and over the Chickatawbut hill group. This climb is one of the main reasons that I like to start my runs at the eastern terminus rather than the western terminus- most of these hills are so steep that I power hike up them no matter how fresh my legs are. But gaining Chickatawbut from the East is long, drawn-out, and absolutely runable.
Up and over Buck Hill, and the snow has really picked up. You can see Boston from here most days, but today everything is shrouded in mist. Much of the trail here is on bedrock, and a large puddle through the surrounding scrub oak marks my trail. Hikers before me have trampled down a new, dry trail right next to the old one, but where is the fun in that?
I pass over Tucker Hill and make it down to the Police Station in 58 minutes. I'm shocked, as this is only 10 minutes slower than my fastest time to the Station, yet I feel relaxed and fresh. Here I take the South fork of the Skyline trail- going East on the longer North fork is significantly faster for me when I have energy because it has lots of short, steep climbs with long descents, but it is significantly slower and riskier when I am tired because of the extremely rocky terrain. Thus, my plan is to go East on the North fork on the first lap, but then go West on it during the second lap to get it over and done with first.
I pass over Houghton Hill and then climb the long rock staircase up to Big Blue- the trails' high point at 635'. This is where the North and South forks reconnect. Finally, a (comparatively) long descent brings to me to the gentle mile-long downhill to the West terminus. This is the only stretch of trail where you can really open up your stride and run, and it is very refreshing- the rest of the Skyline is just controlled uphill tripping followed by less controlled downhill tripping. I turn around at the final, double-blazed tree by the guard rail of the highway on-ramp. My watch says 1:30- I cannot believe that I am on 3:00 pace and feel so good.
I go back over Big Blue and take the North fork, heading down an extremely treacherous stone staircase. A series of abrupt rocky scrambles brings me over Boyce Hill and then to the top of Hancock Hill, followed by another long, treacherous descent to the Police Station.
From here back to the top of Chickatawbut is what I call "The Rollercoaster", as it features four drawn-out climbs up Tucker, Hemingway, Buck, and Chickatawbut, along with steep drops off of each. You get no time to recover between each climb, and need to stay very focused on each descent to avoid a huge fall. This section is always the one that kills me when I run the Skyline, and it was the same today. As I descend from the Chickatawbut group- Nahanton, Kitcha'makin, Fenna, and Chickatawbut itself- my feet are sore and my hamstrings are complaining a bit too. This does not bode well for a second lap. I was truly planning on stopping after 18 miles at this point in the run. On the plus side, the snow finally stops and the rocks start to dry out, counteracting my tiredness with grippiness.
I make it back to Shea Rink in 3:06, where I drink the Gatorade that I had cached at the trail's start. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing on this run in terms of refueling, but it worked well enough- a clif bar and bean/cheese burrito during the first lap, and a banana and clif bar on the second lap. I only had half a liter of water on me though, which was not smart at all.
I decide not to end my run, but I also decide not to do an entire lap again- I am just going to run down the Skyline until it seems smart to turn around. So I set out and start running. Here we go again.
But as I climb over Rattlesnake Hill for the third time that day, my legs start to feel remarkably fresh once again. Maybe it is the bean burrito kicking into action, maybe I am more relaxed without the pressure of knowing that every step on the trail will be repeated a second time, I do not know. But I absolutely cruise.
I'm not sure of when I actually decide to do the entire second lap- I'm not sure if I ever did decide that, I just keep on running and not thinking. I don't pay much attention to time through this section, and I hit the West terminus at 4:36- I have run exactly 1:30 again, but this time on the North fork. Marathon PR: 4:36. I also run out of water.
The fourth climb up Big Blue kills me, wiping out any strength that I had stored up through the easy section at the turnaround. I start feeling pretty lightheaded as I make my way through the rollercoaster. I seriously should have brought more water. But at the top of Chickatawbut, the end is in sight. Holy shit, I could do this.
My mind plays in loop of I'm thirsty, my legs hurt, and wow this is awesome through the homestretch. I fly down into St. Moritz Ponds (8-minute pace), reaching the Eastern terminus in 6:10. It is done. My first FKT.
Wow that ended up long-winded for all of 6 hours of running. If you actually read it all the way through props to you. Today was a lot of firsts- first time recording a run with GPS, first time running a marathon, first FKT. And now, first trip report! It was a freaking adventure and I can't wait to have many more!!
-Shane Berry