Savageman 2008

One of the many signs out on the hilly bike course.

EXECUTIVE SUM UP

Savageman Half Iron Triathlon - 9/21/08 - Deep Creek Lake, Western, Maryland

Swim 1.2mi, Bike 55.7mi (1 loop), Run 13.1 (2 loops)

Result - 6:12:37 (6:39:33 last yr)

Overall: 47th out of 223 starters (195 finishers)
Men: 39th out of 182 male starters (162 finishers) (chicked again x8)
AG: 8th out 39th starters; 36 finishers in 35-39AG

No injuries. Did not feel too bad just one week after Nation's Tri. No wind, no humidity, mostly sunny. Lots of aid stations. Shady run. Pretty ideal conditions. Faster (er, not as slow :) across the board in every element this year vs '07. 6hrs was the dream goal. Sub 3hrs 30mins on the bike was one goal hit.

** THE LONG READ **

Foggy swim again this yr. Tough to see buoys on swim course. There were more of them, which helped. Air was warmer in '08, no 38F with ice on the windshield, instead mid-hi 50's at start , hi for the day ~70. Water cooler this year, maybe 65-68F.

I had a weird start. Treaded and stroked around a little for 1-2min waiting for the start gun (~8:30a). But immed felt dizzy when started. Kind like the bedspins (zip it! :). Had to stop and tread, was a mental challenge to stay composed until it (hopefully, and yes) passed, not slip toward panic. Finding a fixed landmark to focus on seemed to help. Been years since I've had any swim start issues roughly like this, maybe since my first open water swim. Started up again slowly, gradually got into a steady rhythm. Never pushed it. Was okay from there on. 5-6 leaky goggle stops didn't help.

Just under 40mins flat when I stood up. 42:02 with run to T1. (47:30 last year)

Hellacious course thereafter. Never ending hills from the start of the bike to the end of the run. I suspect the race organizers would've made the swim uphill if possible. Even having ridden it in August, the ride was more punishing than remembered. Otherwise, fine on the B/R.


Spotted the Mayor an 11min lead before I got on the bike. Passed him around mile 45, got off the bike ~2mins ahead of him, finished 18mins ahead.

Locals and volunteers were more numerous than last year and really got into the spirit. Experienced one ugly bottle exchange (best to be said is I stayed up right), but also one particularly smooth bottle hand up. It' s something of an art to hand an object to cyclist moving at 15-25mph.

At the last bike aid station I shouted ahead my menu selection - "sports drink!" Immediately an arm shot up from the hive crewing the station, bike bottle in hand. I pointed right at him - we locked in as I neared. I kept my arm extended, doing my part, showed all my fingers, palm open. He didn't look too athletic this gent (more like a Korean war VFW happy hr regular, to generalize from appearance). But turned out he was a savvy pro. Started jogging ahead of me along the shoulder before I got to him, getting our relative speeds closer, bottle extended. I slowed almost not at all. He reached toward the road, but not too far in to my path, swinging his arm with me as I grabbed. Voila - smooth, rolling hand up. Had it been a cup of tea not a drop would've spilled. Perfect.

No sympathy.

DATA - 2007 & 2008 Numbers

2008 Savageman

6:12:37 (6:39:33 last yr)

47th out of 223 starters (top 21%); 195 finishers (24th%)
39th out of 182 male starters (22nd%); 162 finishers (24th%) (chicked again, x8)
8th out 39th starters in 35-39AG (21%); 36 finishers (22nd%)

Swim

2007 47:29 (19th in swim/20 AG) (bottom 95th%)

2008 42:02 (30th in swim/39 AG) (77th%) (138/182 men) (76th%)

T1

2007 11:26 (19/20 AG) (bottom 95th%)

2008 10:26 (38/39 in AG) (98th%) (172/182 men) (bottom 95th%)

Bike

2007 3:39:52 (10/20 AG) (15.4mph) (50th%)

2008 3:28:09 (16.1mph) (10/39 AG) (26th%) (44th/182 men) (25th%)

T2

2007 3:06 (16/20 AG) (80th%)

2008 2:43 (20/39 AG) (52%) (88/182 men) (49th%)

Run

2007 1:57:40 (8:59mi pace) (6/20 AG) (top 30th%)

2008 1:49:19 (8:20mi pace) (7/39 AG) (18th%) (23/182 men) (13th%)

Final

2007 6:39:33

2008 6:12:37

(AG -moved from 30th after swim to 16th after bike to 8th (after run))

(Men - from 172 among men after swim to 66th after bike to 39th (after run))

Savage Mtn Challenge

2007:
40:48 (10.29mph)
Overall - 26/158 (men, women, teams) (top 17th%)
Men - 24/133 (men and male teams) (18th%)

2008: (slightly longer climb)
41:07 (10.40mph)
Overall - 23/217 (11th%)
Men - *25/177 (15th%)
AG - 4/36 (12th%)
(teams not included in '08)
*listed as 21st, est'd 25th to include some fast folks among the 177 but who missed the timing mat

Power Geek Info.

Entire workout (176 watts):

Duration: 3:27:19 (3:28:24)

Work: 2188 kJ

TSS: 271.5 (intensity factor 0.887)

Norm Power: 204

VI: 1.16

Pw:HR: 10.86%

Pa:HR: 5.19%

Distance: 55.94 mi

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 438 176 watts

Heart Rate: 101 195 147 bpm

Cadence: 22 114 77 rpm

Speed: 2.4 41.5 16.2 mph

FTP est'd: 225-230w (max 60min ALL out effort)

Peak 1min 362w

Peak 2min 322w

Peak 5min 285w

Peak 10min 275w

Peak 20min 235w

Peak 30min 221w

Peak 60min 213w

Smallwood Oly 6/29 - Peak 20min - 215; Peak 60min - 209w

Northeast Oly 8/17 - Peak 20min - 228; Peak 60min - 221w

Nation's Oly 9/14 - Peak 20min - 219; Peak 60min - 214w

Savageman Half 9/21 - Peak 20min - 235; Peak 60min - 213w