Last Sunday I completed the Savage-Man Half-Ironman (HIM) in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. As my first HIM and second ever triathlon, I was stoked that it took place in such a gorgeous setting. This is part of a longer RR that i sent out to family and friends, so there may be some editing hiccups. If so, i apologize in advance. Anyway, here is my account of the race...

Sunday / Race Report

We woke up at 5:15 and hit the road by 6:00 to get to the race and parked by 6:15. It was a cold (46 F), dark, and foggy ride over to the race. However parking was less than 100 yards from transition…nice! We got to transition and ran into a bunch of DCers that we knew and eventually found the time to set up. It was a challenge planning for the swim-to-bike transition because uncertainty and variance in temperatures that we would face during the bike ride. At 6:30 AM I overheard someone mention that it was 48 F; however the forecast called for a day in the high 60’s. I was confused and had no idea what to wear for the bike. I ended up preparing to wear my shell/jacket and over-gloves since during the first 18 miles of ride there would be some long, cold descents in shaded areas.

By 7:50 we exited transition and headed to the swim start. We were stuck in the fourth swim wave (out of four waves) spaced seven minutes apart and I was not happy about this, given the chilly temperature. Just before the first wave, the race director announced a 20 minute delay due to the heavy fog, meaning another 45 minutes before our start. Soon enough we were in the water which felt incredibly warm (not certain of the actual temp though).

Swim 1.2 miles

Goal: Under 40 min.

Actual: 38:17 (10/25 AG, 91st Overall)

Grade: B Overall (C on the first half, A on the second half)

My plan was to take my time, simple as that. The previous week I really sucked it up at the swim in the Nations Triathlon (31:00 min swim) because I couldn’t get into a rhythm and kept pulling of course to the left. During the Savage-swim I was pulling to the right during the first half of the rectangular swim course. What the hell! On the way back I was able to swim a straight path, focusing on the plentiful number of buoys spaced 30 meters apart. I actually touched or grazed all of the buoys on the way home which was my plan, not bad. By my watch the second half of the swim was completed in 17:30. I think this is very telling of my swimming. To achieve a good swim pace I really need to do a proper warmup prior to racing. I knew this going in from my time-splits in pool workouts as I generally start very slow and gradually work my pace up after about 1000 meters. However I didn’t want to hop in the water and then have to wait 30 minutes in the cold before my heat started.

On a side note, about a minute prior to starting we saw the top three elite swimmers from the first heat coming to the finish. I looked at the clock and saw 18:00! I turned to some guys and said no way this was right. It turns out there was some confusion on the swim course and the top three (including Savage Champion, Bjorn Andersson) were told to swim the 1.5 K Olympic route by an on-course kayaker. Bjorn actually stopped before crossing the timing mat to discuss this snafu with a race official. They ended up penalizing him 8 minutes, not including the 1:30 that he spent talking to the officials.

First Transition

Goal: No idea

Actual: 6:36 (17/25 AG, 120 Overall)

Grade: D

The run to TI was a bear – it was uphill, cold, and the rough blacktop did not feel great on the feet. And there were stairs as well. I was out of the wetsuit and into my bike shorts with no issues but the bulk of time wasted was due to uncertainty in what to wear. I saw the gamut of cycling gear leaving transition as my station was right near bike-out. Some people were bundled up with leggings, windbreaker, neck warmers, booties, etc. Others just had their tri-suits on. I saw one lady leave in a one-piece bathing suit. Come to think of it, I probably spent way too much time watching her. I opted to wear just a bike jersey on top (Bud-Dry, anyone?) and bring along arm warmers but no over-gloves. The problem was that I was planning on wearing my jacket so I had to transfer my nutrition products over to my jersey. Rookie mistake #1. In addition, Brendon came into transition a few minutes behind me and on my way out he mentioned that he couldn’t find his sunglasses. I ended up giving him my cycling glasses (which I was planning to take with me) and I wore my raybans. This was a big mistake as I would soon find out…

Bike 56 miles w/ 5,900 ft of elevation gain

Goal: Survive first, then anything under 3:45

Actual: 3:39:02 (9/25 AG, 70th Overall)

Grade: C

Right out of transition, I noticed that my bike computer was not working. The bike had apparently gotten knocked by another athlete on their way out since it had been working the night before when i tested it. I should have secured it better on the rack before taking off to the swim, but oh well. Rookie mistake #2. I hopped off the Red Raider and tried to fix the computer but gave up after a minute or so. Oh well, time to ride with only my HR monitor (on my watch, thankfully). The first climb was the “Toothpick” a ¼ mile Category 4. I cruised up it with no problems and my HR only got into Zone3. Not much to report for the next 18 miles as the cruise down to Westernport was fairly easy. However I really wished I had my orange lens glasses as the descent was shaded and it was tough seeing bumps and any moisture on the pavement. The sunglasses were much too dark but removing them was out of the question because my eyes are quite sensitive to wind, especially moving at 40+ mph. Rookie Mistake #3.

Before arriving in Westernport, I had passed a large contingent of cyclists who were clearly drafting. Cheaters. It was sweet flying by them solo but as I was patting myself on the back I did not realize I was still in my big ring while moving up towards Rock Street. I panicked a bit and shifted too abruptly, causing me to drop the chain on the driveshaft. This was terrible considering that I have dropped my chain maybe 3 times since I have owned the Red Rocket who has about 3,500 miles on him. Rookie mistake #4. I was laughing at myself as I pulled over to fix it and watched the drafters pass by. Damn. Once fixed, I made my way up, grabbed a fresh bottle of Heed and gel at the aide station and then turned towards The Wall (Cat HC, 1.25 miles). I know you all want details on this, but it went by so fast and I was so focused that I don’t remember ever last detail. Halfway up I had passed most of the drafters but there was a cluster-f*ck of people on final 2 blocks of Wall. As I approached I had to once again trackstand on the final crossing street before The Wall to get a clean shot. A few onlookers thought this was cool, and a few thought that I was thinking about opting for the detour, so they encouraged me. I laughed a bit and once the carnage cleared out I began to make my way up. All of the sudden a few guys shot past me on the left, doomed for failure. I caught them halfway up and out of the corner of my eye they stalled and then crashed, thankfully not into me. Once I heard Survivor's Eye of the Tiger blaring, I pumped the quads and made it up with no real issue. As I crested The Wall, I gave a minor fist pump to let the crowd know that I appreciated their support. I didn’t want to do anything outlandish that would stand out or would jeopardize my balance with a few meters to go. “Act like you’ve been there before” was what I was going after. Ha.

I had planned to stop after The Wall to bring down my heart rate, but I felt great and began to make my way up Big Savage (Cat 1, 2.5 miles of fun). A combination of a spiking heart rate (in the 190’s) and the flushing of lactic acid finally making its way into my legs after the Wall made this climb bru-tal. One guy was able to pass me, but that would be it for the day. I ended up climbing with another DC guy until we reached the last stretch and I just hammered past. I stopped at the top once crossing the timing mat and chilled for a few minutes to pop some endurolytes, refuel the water bottles and grab some gel at the aide station. All the female volunteers up here were dressed in red/orange wigs with devil horns and pitchforks. Hot.

Next up was a sick 3-mile descent where I must have passed 15 people…I stopped counting after 7 because I couldn’t concentrate on riding and counting at the same time. I must have been damn close to pushing 45 mph on the Red Rocket. I then hit McAndrews Hill (Cat 2 0.6 miles), no big deal, but the next hitter just after an aide station (Otto Lane – Cat 2, 0.6) really kicked my ass. A bunch of people actually passed me here, as I was hurting bigtime. I caught up with them eventually and passed them on the descent that led into a cyclists worst nightmare…Miller Road – aka “Killer Miller” (1.2 mile Cat HC). Looking up at it after climbing the first bend was really intimidating and I felt like I needed some mountaineering equipment just to have a shot at cresting this mother. I found a rhythm by tacking up the steep parts and finally made it to the top. This was the toughest hill I’ve ever ridden, hands down. The rest of the ride wasn’t too bad with the exception of Maynardier Ridge (Cat 3, 0.25 miles) which was an unexpected azz-kicker. I ran into a gal I know from DC who was pushing her bike up. As I rode past and said hi, I looked over my shoulder and noticed that everyone else behind me was walking up too! One cruel individual observing the race was standing on the side laughing at us. Sick. After playing cat and mouse with a Canuck that I met on the last 5 miles, I made it to T2 just under 3:39. Not bad considering I did hold back on some of the flats towards the beginning and end to preserve the legs for running as well as the minor computer and chain problems that cost me a few minutes.

Second Transition

Goal: Sub-2 minutes

Actual: 2:59

Grade:D

I have no idea where I lost time in T2. I did end up lubing my toes with body glide and put on socks, but I didn’t feel that took a substantial amount of time. Oh well. I took off the jersey, threw on a cut-off New England Pats t-shirt (thanks, Monkey) and headed out.

Run Half-marathon, 13.1 miles

Goal: 2 hours.

Actual: 2:04:19

Grade: B

I had to hit the port-o-potty just after passing the mat. I drank too much Heed on the bike. After that the run meandered along the lake for a half mile or so and my legs felt like….well, they felt like I had just biked 5,800 feet of grueling hills. The path crossed over the main road into Deep Creek Lake and continued into a wooded area and at times it was a bit unclear if I was even on the right path. My pace was fine after hitting up the first aide station, but then came a tiny hill that forced me to walk. I watched as a few people passed, as well as two studs in my age group who were on their second laps. I looked for a modest pace runner to follow once I recovered and ended up meeting this nice gal who was part of relay team and was aiming for a 2-hour half-mary. Perfect. We moved along for a few miles and finally my legs were back to good and I left her behind (she was on her 2nd lap). A few people who were in front of me passed by going the other way and warned me of the firetower path that coming up. When I finally got there I couldn’t continue running on the unpaved path. In fact nobody was running it. At the top of the hill was a turnaround, and an aide station. The volunteers were all friendly and hooked me up with some snacks but didn’t have a cell phone to order the large pizza I requested. I opted for my 11th gel of the day (disgusting) and some coke. How many cokes you ask? Four or five. The trip down the firetower path was just as bad…the rocky terrain set the stage for a turned ankle which I was careful to avoid. I actually ended up walking down some portions just to be safe. Once down, it was another mile of rolling terrain to the end of the first lap. I was stoked when they announced that I was on pace to capture 8th place in my AG as I passed through the finishing area (1:04 for my first lap).

I ramped up the pace a bit and began to pick off people left and right. Sniper. I eased into a solid run with a 30-something guy whose Garmin forerunner had us at an 8:15 pace. Not bad! He ended up slowing down a bit too much and I realized that I was too so I left him behind. According to my watch I was at 6 hours, so going under 6:30 was feasible, even considering one last trip up the firetower path. Once I got there, I ran halfway up it, walked for 1 minute and then ran the rest of the way. With a mile to go I needed a 9:00 mile to finished under 6 ½ hours. I caught up to Brendon who was on his first lap. At about the same time, I felt my right calf begin to cramp. B hooked it up with some water and a few endurolytes and I felt much better. I picked up the pace, and made my way to the finish. I couldn’t hear what the race announcer said of my finishing time, my watch had 6:29:50, just under 6 ½ hours and a sub-1 hour final lap! I found out later that my official time was 6:31:06. Evidently, something was either wrong with my stopwatch or theirs…I think it is probably mine.

Post-race

I headed straight to the food pavilion where I snacked on a pulled pork and coleslaw sandwich and some graham cracker crust and creamsicle flavored ice cream cone. I talked to a few folks, cleaned up in the bathroom (no showers though) and then packed up my crap from transition. I talked to this one guy in my AG who had a sick race and absolutely crushed the bike leg with a sub-3 hour split. Unreal. Once Brendon finished I had my 2nd post-race pork sandwich and then we packed up and hit the road for the 3+ hour ride back home. I found out later that I finished 6th out of 25 in my AG (25-29 M), and 57th Overall. Not too shabby for a first-timer! For those of you gauging 6 ½ as a weak time, consider that the winning time of about 4:42 by Bjorn was about 50 minutes longer than that of a winning time for a “non-Savage” HIM course. What a great weekend and great race. With some swimming lessons and perhaps an actual triathlon bike from Santa Claus, I am hoping to crack 5 hours for this distance next year (on a less insane course, that is....)

In loving memory of our family dog Buddy K., who kicked the bucket at about the same time I was feeling the wrath of "Killer Miller". He was thirteen; a solid life for a solid beagle. Thanks for the memories Budster, you will be missed.