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Savageman HIM - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Deep Creek Lake, Maryland
United States
"Tri-to-Win" Melanoma Foundation
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 31m 1s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I woke up (on my own at midnight and three, and then by my cell phone alarm at 5:00) and ate a bowl of oatmeal. I got dressed in my tri suit, and then put on a long sleeved shirt, jacket, and sweatpants. I woke up James and we left for the course at quarter to six. Transition opened at 6:00 and we were one of the first people there.

Then I got marked: 111 on each arm, and a 26 on my right calf:

Then to transition to set up everything at my bike.

At this point it was 6:30 and we had an hour and a half to kill. James and I wandered around for a while and walked out on the floating dock. I was nervous and excited but more of the latter and I was so ready to get started.

I went back to transition and put on sunblock, Body Glide, and my wetsuit. I bought a skull cap (don't laugh, I look awesome in it) to wear under my helmet for the first 18 miles of the ride.
Swim
  • 38m 51s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim start was delayed 30 minutes, so all the athletes were standing around - barefoot - and shivering. I struck up a conversation with a woman who was doing this race to redeem herself after DNFing at IM Lake Placid this year due to hypothermia ... nevermind that she's completed 5 IMs before that! We finally walked over the timing mat and got into the water. I was in the first wave: women and elite males (note: I am a woman, not an elite male).

And.... we're off!! It was a little foggy but not too bad, and I had no problem spotting. The course was straight out and back so it was pretty easy to keep track of where I was. I could see the bottom at points and there were a lot of water plants that came up high and I kept thinking about Harry Potter being in the lake during the tri-wizard tournament but fortunantly I just had to swim 1.2 miles and not save anyone from mermaids.

I rounded the halfway point at 18:00 which was pretty much on schedule for me. The way back was a bit bouncy due to the boats but the waves weren't too high. I came out of the water, looking and feeling drunk and stumbled up and out of the water.
What would you do differently?:

nothing!
Transition 1
  • 08m 7s
Comments:

I crossed the time chip mat right out of the water, so my transition time includes the long run up to transition -- hill AND stairs (of course, what else could I expect from Savageman?). I took my time in transition -- got my wetsuit off, dried off with a towel, put on my skull cap, helmet, arm warmers, and gloves and left for a very long and very painful bike ride.
Bike
  • 4h 58m 38s
  • 56 miles
  • 11.25 mile/hr
Comments:

Okay, have my gloves, my socks, my cleats, nutrition, hydration, helmet, arm warmers jacket ... at mile 2: WHERE THE EFF ARE MY SUNGLASSES? Oh well, couldn't do anything about it then. The first 18 miles are a net downhill. It's an absolutely stunning bike ride -- through the mountains, through farms, next to a stream. Perfect weather, too -- could not have asked for a prettier bike ride. My Luna Moons were frozen and extra chewy, and I almost fell off my bike trying to get them out of the package.

At mile 18 I hit the town of Westernport (the bottom of the route elevation map) and began a steep steep climb. The three blocks up to the wall are at a 15-20 deg. incline, so when I finally got to the wall, I was exhuasted. I DID try the wall, but fell over about halfway through and was pulled to the side by a nice lady who also grabbed my bike. I walked up the rest of the wall (the first time I walked my bike ... but certainly not the last!) and then went on to climb Mount Savage (the first big peak on the elevation map).

On this bike course you are either climbing or free falling -- there really isn't a lot of inbetween ground. The course was well marked with helpful SLOW: SHARP DECENT signs to prevent riders from flying off their bikes and a hilarious NO DRAFTING! sign on a 10 deg. climb (near the top of Savage Mountain). I got to the top of the mountain and was met by volunteers in devil costumes, telling me that I was in HELL (like I couldn't figure that out from the pain in every muscle in my body).. and refilling my bottles with Heed and Water and giving me electrolyte pills.


A nice 3-4 mile decent follows the peak of Savage, but it's short lived. I did talk to a cow (I was getting a little delicious at this point) and was paced by a jack russel that ran out barking at me and ran besdies my bike for 15 feet. There were a few people (locals) out on the course, cheering and waving, which was very nice.


I thought I was lost more than once -- although the course is well marked, there were a few miles were I didn't see any people or any signs and I was sure I was off the course... and was thrilled when I was passed because at least it meant that I was on the course.


After coming around a very sharp left turn (really, it was a u-turn) I looked up a Killer Miller (the second big peak on the map) -- a 1.2 climb of about 9*. Yeah, right. My legs were SO fried at this point that I just hopped off and walked up the entire hill, and was relieved to see a few people doing the exact same thing behind me. I was greeted at the top by angels and some more water.

The rest of the course, I was told, was "flat" but these people have such an effed up defintion of "hills" that I should have known that flat = not HUGE hills. The last 10 miles took forever and the thought of running 13.1 mi was making me ill... well, that and the several GUs and Luna Moons I ate. I was so sick of sugary sweet foods and drinks and my stomach was not thriled with me. Finally, mile 55, and then, a couple minutes later, I was finished.


What would you do differently?:

pick a course with less hills ;)
(train on more hills)
Transition 2
  • 04m 1s
Comments:

I almost cried when I came into transition. Almost every single bike was back and it was SO disheartening. Still, I saw James, got off my bike, and re racked it. I changed from cleates to running shoes, turned on my Garmin, and put on my hat, and was off to run/ shuffle/ walk/ crawl 13.1 mi.
Run
  • 2h 41m 45s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 21s  min/mile
Comments:

The run is evil -- you cross next to the finish line TWICE before actually running through the finish. I set off at around a 10:30 pace -- a far cry from my usual 8:10s for a HIM -- and took several walk breaks. My carefully planned nutrition plan was shot to hell as I ate a cookie and drank some coke at each aid station. At this point, it was about one thing: survival. I was going to drag my broken body across the finish line if it killed me (and it almost did). I finished the first lap and set off to do the second. There was almost NO ONE on the course at this time -- everyone I saw while I was on my first loop was on their second, and they had actually crossed the finish line while I was running next to it on to lap 2.

My ego was almost as sore as my butt -- I am not, by any means, a fast runner, but I normally place in the top 25%ish of women. What was I doing in the back of the pack? I reminded myself of my goals: finish and have fun, and I sucked it up and kept going forward. One step at a time, one mile at a time. There was this horrible run up a fire hill... and we did it twice. I met up with a woman and we walked the last 4 miles together. We did walk them at about a 13:30 pace, so it's not like we were strolling, but I couldn't believe how slow I was moving. We turned a corner and picked up a pace fast enough to call a jog, I think ... and booked it - as best we could - to the finish.

(compare my time to my HM PR of 1:47!!)
Post race
Warm down:

I crossed the finish line to a cheering group of people (I was shocked anyone was left, but it turns out they were waiting for their awards. Yeah, me too.). I got a metal and a coke and some pretzels and my James.

Then we went to McDonalds, where I had a McFlurry (m&m), quarter double pounder with cheese, fries, and a coke. Oh, and I changed into the race tshirt, and yes, I wore my metal.

I could not have done this without my wonderful husband, who drove to and from Deep Creek, stayed with me at a shady motel, came with me to packet pickup and sat through the pre race meeting, woke up at 5:30 with me to go to the course, carried my bike, cheered me on, took pictures, told me I could do it, told me he was proud of me, and made me laugh when I felt like crying.

Event comments:

Oh, and finishers:
Number of female athletes: 41
Number of DNF female athletes: 8
Number of male athletes: 182
Number of DNF male athletes: 20

Crazy amout of DNFs + not a lot of females that even attempted it = one happy Trish for even starting this race and crossing the finish line.



Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-07-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:51 | 2112 yards | 01m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: sleeveless long wetsuit
Course:
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 08:07
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
04:58:38 | 56 miles | 11.25 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:01
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:41:45 | 13.1 miles | 12m 21s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2008-09-24 9:58 AM

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Pro
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Burbs
Subject: Savageman HIM


2008-09-24 10:11 AM
in reply to: #1692909

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Master
2021
2000
Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Savageman HIM
Way to hang in there to the end! Congrats on the finish, and not becoming another DNF!!
2008-09-24 10:23 AM
in reply to: #1692909

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Master
2436
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Apex, north carolina
Subject: RE: Savageman HIM
I was racing the International as my first ever olympic distance.  What a day hu?  Wouldn't a Nimbus 2000 have been nice out there?  And can you believe that fire station hill?  I can't imagine doing it twice.  Outstanding race. I agree on the sweets, I would have loved some salty chips at an aide station. You did fantastic. Great Race!
2008-09-24 11:55 AM
in reply to: #1692994

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Champion
9060
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Charlottesville, Virginia
Subject: RE: Savageman HIM
Congratulations, way to stick with it.  Sounds damn tough.
2008-09-24 3:23 PM
in reply to: #1692909

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Expert
856
5001001001002525
Pittsburgh
Subject: RE: Savageman HIM
Congratulations on your perserverance and finishing such a tough race!  Definitely something you should be proud of!
2008-09-24 7:19 PM
in reply to: #1692909

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Master
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NJ
Subject: RE: Savageman HIM
What a great race report - way to stick with it!!


2008-09-24 8:12 PM
in reply to: #1692909

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Master
1671
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West Bend, WI
Subject: RE: Savageman HIM

That was an awesome race report!  You did great and should be proud.

I really need to do this race

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