SavageMan Half Iron Race Report (#2 of 4)

There’s already a race in California that is called “The World’s Toughest Half” but this one is the world’s most “Savage” triathlon. Which is tougher? I doubt it matters. So why is this race called SavageMan?

The race site offers three reasons:
– the course takes athletes along Maryland’s Savage River and through the Savage River State Forest,
– the course crosses the Eastern Continental Divide over Big Savage Mountain, and
– the course requires a “Savage” mentality to complete.

I was nervous about the race.  Could I make it up the hills?  Could I make the race cut-off times?  Could I do so without being sore too long?   Would my achilles act up?  I had to ice it Saturday night as I was experiencing a bit of discomfort.

Race morning brought cold temperatures – 41 degrees. One of the nice things about doing a small race (approximately 200 participants including relay teams and an aqua velo category) is that you don’t have to arrive too early and there are few waves (3 in this case). I was cold and unsure as to what I would wear during the race, after the swim mind you. Here’s a shot pre-swim:

The red caps were in wave 3 and I was ready to go, especially after testing the water to find that it felt much warmer than the air.  But before anyone even began, I wondered if it would be delayed.  Ya see, there was a bit of fog over the lake:

Near the start it seemed to be burning off but word was you couldn’t see the buoys very well, especially at the turn point.

 

So, while I was anxious to get the race started, it was weird to head off toward the fog.  You couldn’t see the first buoy let alone much else.  But I set out while sighting to the left and taking a look at the shoreline with every few breaths.  After a while the first buoy appeared.  But where was the next one?  On it went like this.  And then there appeared to be people swimming back at the red caps.  What the heck?  They made the turn around but didn’t head out away from the shore like you were supposed to in the rectangular-like course.  I stopped at one point when I couldn’t see a buoy or many swimmers and thought, “Where did everybody go?”  But I tried to at least keep the shore at a similar distance as I headed back toward the start.  It started clearing up more as we finished:
 

The Swim:  36:47 (8 of 14, M40-44)

T1 was a long walk up some steps and to the transition area.  I was still undecided about what to wear.  I took several minutes to try to dry myself off as best I could because I knew there was an early descent on the bike that would be cold.  I watched to see what other people were wearing on the bike and finally settled on a bike jersey with arm warmers, a head band, and light tights over my wet tri shorts.

The Bike Course Map and Elevation Profile
Out of the state park we rode and right into a steep but short climb.  And then another gradual climb.  And I’m thinking, “Yeah, good call on the bike clothes…this should be perfect.”  Over some rolling hills I rode until we reached mile 6.5 and hit the 4 mile descent.  The scenery was awesome, the river to the right, a rock wall to the left.  And had I been warm I might have enjoyed it even more.  But I was freezing.  To the bone freezing.  Hurry up and end this descent freezing.  Never before have I wished a descent to end until that day. 

At mile 18.5 we reached to town of Westernport, MD.  Home of the Westernport Wall – The “Westernport Wall” is the new toughest climb in all of triathlon, rising 800 feet over one mile for an average of 15%, including one block at over 25% pitch, on a road so steep it has long since been closed to traffic.  I was worried about this one.  The climb had several cross streets so it was similar to stair-stepping.  Up a steep pitch, cross a street, up the next steep pitch, etc.  I settled back on the saddle and attacked the hill.  My strategy was to go straight up, not criss-cross the road as I could see people trying to do and I could also see people stopped along the road.  For the first two blocks or so, this strategy worked.  Until it got even steeper and my front wheel came off the ground.  I leaned forward and then prepared to stand for the final, brutal block.   

I stood and stomped on the pedals, and probably uttered a few cuss words.  I looked down at the road because I didn’t want to see what was ahead.  I gritted my teeth and used anger and determination to make it up without stopping.

It’s hard to really tell from the pictures just how steep it was but make no mistake, it was far and away the toughest thing I’ve climbed. Those who did make it up will be regarded as True Savages on a plaque atop Westernport Wall. Pretty cool, eh?  I was jacked up after realizing I made it and I shouted and slapped some hands of the spectators that were lining the street and I was happy until I realized that it wasn’t over.  Up some more.  And around a corner and climb even more.  At that point the view was spectacular but the legs were burning.

This went on for about 6.5 miles, minus a couple of short flat or downhill sections.  Just before the real top of Big Savage Mountain, there was another cruel climb.  As you crest one hill you see the next one staring you in the face.  And it was almost as steep as Westernport. 

And finally, another descent.  Three miles this time but full of “S” curves.  I was wishing I could be as confident in my descending skill as the guy that shot away from me.  Until I happened upon him on one of the curves, dusting himself off after a spill.  Too much speed into a corner but he said he was okay so on I went.  It was a great trip down this time…not nearly as cold as the first.  Then a long, gradual climb through New Germany State Park.  When who rides up beside me?  Mayor of DC, Adrian Fenty.  He was also at Annapolis the week before so we were chatting about both races and the courses. 

Then the climb got tough again and it was back to business.  At the top, I stopped to make room for more fluids.  Another nice descent followed before another climb.  You get the idea.  Sometime after mile 40 I thought to myself, “hmmm, you might be able to break 4 hours on the bike.”  That didn’t last too long before I thought, “I don’t recall a sub-4 hour SavageMan bike split being one of the goals of Challenge 2 Help so let’s just keep on going and don’t push it too much.”  The final 10 miles were mostly rolling hills, nothing too major but I was hoping for a 4 mile descent to the end.  Didn’t happen.  I did see the family around mile 52 as they drove out to a spot on the course and then busted tail back to the State Park so they could see me on the run.  I pulled into the transition area just under 4 hours and wondering how my beat-up legs would survive the run.

The Bike: 3:58:15 (14.2 mph, 9 of 14)

The Run Course Map and Elevation Profile
Time to run, or shuffle until the legs felt like they could run.  The first mile or so was close to the lake and then the course followed campground roads up hills through the campsites before turning onto a trail.  Which at first was okay but would become a trail of rocks and roots causing uneven footing.  Not a good recipe for legs that were already chewed up during the bike.  And then around mile 3, the fun began. A hike straight up a nasty hill of almost a mile. I knew I couldn’t run it but I tried to get up it as best I could. Things flattened out for awhile at the top and I reached an aid station where I downed my secret weapon – double caffeine espresso PowerGel. It hit the spot and I was moving along the 1.5 mile gradual descent. It too was difficult because most of it was a gravel fire road with an occasional quad-burning decline. I was thankful to finally reach the road around mile 5 and make the completion of lap 1 after the rolling hills back to the start/finish area. Time to go again. I told the family that it would probably be an hour and 15 minutes. I was off and still feeling pretty good. But the legs were hurting and I had to walk more of the hills on loop 2.

With each mile I passed, I was counting what was left. When I got to the aid station at the top again, I stopped for a minute and contemplated Oreos and Coke or an espresso gel. I went with the gel and grabbed a couple of pretzels. Time to start the descent to the road for the final time. I left gravity do the work but a couple of times the steeper sections were really putting a hurting on the quads. If I tried to hold back, it hurt. If I let it go, it hurt. So I let it go and let out an “Oooh, ouch, ahhh” with every landing. But I was getting closer to the finish. Finally, I reached the road and I knew I would beat my guestimate time of 7:15-7:30. On I pushed, up and down the final rolling hills. A right turn, down a hill, around a corner and there was the final stretch. No great sprint to the finish, just a hand-slap from each son and across the line I went.

The Run: 2:20:56 (6 of 14, 10:45 pace) 

Finish: 7:06:33 (7 of 14) – by way of comparison, this time was over an hour slower than the slowest of my 5 previous half ironman races.  But none of them compare to SavageMan.  The race was tough. But it was also very rewarding and worth every painful climb and painful step.