Savageman Triathlon 70.0 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was the best drafting I've ever experienced in a race. The fast field provided a lot of feet to follow. Plus, conditions were perfect for a fast swim: Glass smooth water with a breeze from the south which aided for the long straight from the turtle to the swan. Even allowing for the course being between 50 and 100 yds short, this was still a good swim for me.

Nothing.

I thought this transition was only average today, but it was 4th/64 in my AG and 30th/390 overall. Because it was about 50 degrees, I threw on a long sleeve pullover that was snug enough not to flap during the ride, but loose enough to get on easily. In the end, this proved to be the right choice.

Nothing.

My pacing seemed to be perfect. To deal with the cold, and be prepared for the Wall, I tried to keep spinning during the 18 miles from T1 to Westernport.

I took it really easy on the 3 blocks leading up to the wall, trying to both conserve energy and position myself to avoid being taken out by another rider. When I hit the 31% face, it was surprisingly easy. I never redlined, and actually only put out about a 90% effort on the worst part. BRICK EARNED!!!!

For nutrition and hydration, I consumed approximately 70 calories of Gatorade in the form of a 50/50 water/Gatorade mix, 190 calories of Gel Blasts, 300 calories in 3 gels, 1/2 of a Clif Bar worth about 125 calories, and a little less than 2.5 bottles of water for a total of between 650 and 700 calories during the roughly 4 hour ride. This is an average of only about 170 calories / hour, but it seemed to be the right amount in the end.

My conservative pacing paid off well, with all the other hills being a steady effort, and even Killer Miller not maiming me and leaving me for dead the way it did during my training ride several weeks ago. With about 10 miles to go, I started increasing my effort level a little, because I felt so good. This resulted in passing quite a few people during the final miles.

Nothing.

This was another good transition: 6th/64 in my AG, and 43rd/390 overall.

With the consistently quick transition times in recent races, I may have to consider changing my screen name to TransitionGuy!

Nothing.

Any doubts I had about my pacing quickly evaporated during the run. I felt good out of T2, turning the first 3 miles in 30 minutes, and maintaining that pace for a first loop split of 1:06:xx. I decided to walk up all the steeper hills to avoid blowing up, and was able to maintain a good run pace everywhere else.

I pretty much held onto the same pace for the rest of the run, turning in a second loop split of a little over 1:07:xx with only the last 3 miles hurting badly. It's good this race wasn't any longer, because I was redlining for the last 30 minutes, and I'm not sure how much longer I could have held onto this pace.

Coming out of T2 37th in my AG and finishing 35th is a victory for me, considering that only 2 years ago, I still stuggled on the run, being passed by almost everyone, and routinely posting run splits near the bottom of my AG. I'm not fast, but I'm not as slow as I used to be!

For hydration and nutrition during the run, I ran through all but 2 aid stations without stopping. At 1 I grabbed a Coke, and at another, I got a HEED. With a temperature of about 65-70, this was plenty for the length of this race.

Nothing. Out of the 4 HIM's I've done, this was my 2nd fastest run split. I'm ecstatic with this result after that bike course!

Walked around a little while wrapped in a space blanket to stay warm.


Fitness. I feel that I ran a smart race for my fitness level, and could not have squeezed out much better performance.


This course is as challenging as it's reputation, and this attracts a bunch of studs, so if you want to challenge yourself against a brutal course and a fast field, this is the race for you.

This event is well run with only a few suggestions for improvement, and those relate more to spectators than athletes. There should be a few more port-o-potties at the race venue, and there should be some at the Westernport Wall (There weren't any at all for the spectators who were there for several hours). Also, something playing in additin to the theme from Rocky on a continuous loop at the Wall wouldn't hurt. My wife said she wanted to rip her own ears off after hearing it several dozen times without a break. Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall comes to mind immediately as another option, and I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to come up with a few more for some fun variety.

The post-race food was awesome! I had a pork bbq sandwich with some side dishes.