On the first leg, I went wide to the right and ended up near the markers for the return leg. I did however catch a great draft for more than 100 meters off the start line and rounded the turtle perfectly. The smoke/mirror goggles were not a help and should have gone with clear.
Near cramp in calves about halfway through. Little to no trouble passing. Could have shaved another minute if I was more regular at the pool.

Practice sighting.

Uphill start on bike -- in correct gear but still a bitch. I took a lot of time to dry off, put on sleeves and a dry jersey and socks so that I would not freeze on bike -- it was in the mid-50s. Didn't matter, I didn't warm up until Big Savage Mountain.


Nothing...move faster. I wasn't worried about the time as much as forgetting something or major discomfort on the ride.

Wore sleeves, gloves and socks -- not quite enough. The wind was chilly a few times and my feet hurt from the cold. Legs, fingers, ears and chest were okay.
I dropped the chain -- I think due to a cross-chain problem right at the UTurn at the base of Killer Miller. It was an annoyance. I didn't really suffer anywhere although several of the climbs were quite hard. Once again, I thought McAndrew's Hill was the most underrated climb of the day...it is very hard. I hit a maximum speed of 45.5 mph and really started to reel in people on the last 10 miles.
Rarely did I pedal more than about 8-10 strokes once I got past about 31-32 mph. I let gravity work and tried to save up for the run. A couple times I pedaled straight through, but it was an exception.

I dropped some 20 minutes off my bike split and think it was well earned. While I don't think the course allows for "saving up" due to all the climbing under 10 mph that takes place, I really wish that I could have given up 10 minutes of speed on the bike in order to get one mile per minute on the run pace. The speed of the bike doesn't matter if you cannot finish the run...and my bike was fast but it really took the fuel out of my fire.
I rode about 20-22 pounds lighter than a year ago. Next year, I should be down to 185 to see what another 5 pounds can do for me over Big Savage Mountain.

I'm not sure why this one took so long. I did fiddle around with the nutrition and the pockets a bit...but not too much.

Simpler, faster.

I felt fine until about mile 10 even though I knew the shine had come off earlier due to the splits. It wasn't ever a death march feeling, but mile 12-13 was a real test.

Run more milage. I did a few bricks...but I don't think I ever did a brick with a hill workout. That is probably called for in order to really prepare.

I stretched for about 2 minutes...then went straight for the ice cream tent. I changed into a dry shirt and then visited with Big Al about the day. I couldn't be bothered to stretch out properly or warm down. After Dan finished, we packed up quickly, went to the house to clean up and left town.


I wasn't ready for the last third of the run. I ran well for several miles, held it together for three more and then the wheels came off. I had good nutrition and good fitness yet even still, no matter how you tackle the bike course it shreds the legs.


4:14:26 in zone 3
95/144/176 heartrate
6,327 calories
Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN4BaOw8rpIfrom about 6:08 to 6:23. I'm in red/white/black jersey with black sleeves.
See also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hb247eT0FUat 13:42 in the background and at about 14:05 through 14:25.
I dropped 57 minutes off of my 2010 debut at Savageman and made it over the Wall for the first time. Next year, I want to go under 6 hours and run under 2 hours.