The Savageman triathlon is pretty aptly named. The bike course for the 70 covers 55.7 miles with an elevation gain of 6717 feet. Most of the major climbs have max grades between 15 and 25%, with one max grade of 31%.
The 31% grade is called the Westernport Wall. The wall itself is not very long, but the pavement is rough and is famous for riders falling attempting to climb it. If a rider makes it up the wall during the tri without putting a foot down, they will get a brick laid into the top of the wall with their name on it.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon and I went out for a quick run to shake off the drive. I saw a few arrows for the savageman course and remembered thinking hmm these are some serious hills! Well those were baby hills compared to what was in store. Friday morning we headed over to Deep Creek Lake to do an open water swim. Brian and I were swimming fairly relaxed out to the bridge, and then on the way back we ran into Coach T. She had me swim behind her (and then Brian behind me) so I could practice staying on fast feet (something I've had trouble with). With some difficulty (and I doubt she was even swimming hard :P) I managed to hang on..until Tara got on the feet of John Kenny, the camp's swim coach and excellent open water swimmer. After we had dried off and changed, I headed out with a few of the guys, including Brian and the camp's run coach Josh, to do the Savageman 70 run course (two loops). The run course goes through a campground that has quite a few good hills and then rolls for a bit before going up a steep dirt incline to the turn around point. I was running pretty well considering and enjoying the company and getting some tips from Josh. Kyle (the race director) was waiting for us at the turn around with water, nutrition and was nice enough to take some of our shed, sweaty shirts. The course winds back along the lake and is tough but it really is beautiful.
trying to hang on to coach's feet
the group headed out to run
We were able to head back to the hotel and get some food and a quick nap (we almost slept through the ride!) before meeting to ride the 30 (olympic) bike course. It was a really fun ride, great company and awesome scenery. After a really fast downhill (I got up to 45mph and was being a bit conservative even though it wasn't technical), we went up the few shorter, steep climbs. Josh and John gave us some input on the course since they have both raced the half multiple times.
Beautiful courses, we are the little specks on the road at the right
On Saturday, we met at the lake in the morning to start the Savageman 70 course. The start of the course is along the river and mostly descends with a few smaller undulations. This part was really fun, we were flying (though I was still taking it slower on some of the more technical areas) and the river was very pretty. As it started to flatten out, we could see the smoke stacks that marked the town of Westernport. Heading into town, John warned me to get into my small chain ring and start taking it easy.
start of the 70 ride
This was the part of the course that I was most intimidated by, but it did not end up being the hardest section. Coach Tara and John had advised us to take it easy leading up to the wall. The wall is at about mile 18 and is sandwiched between two 20% grade climbs. Once we were at the climb leading to the wall, John, Brian and I (and a few others) started to zigzag up. Right before the wall a little dog came out of nowhere and started chasing John. He had no choice but to start gunning it up the hill, and I followed close behind. I There is no sitting while climbing up Westernport, you're in the small chainring and last gear in the back going as hard as you can and leaning forward so you don't tip backwards. I was so excited to make it up without putting a foot down, and stopped at the top to cheer on the other campers. Once wasn't enough for Brian and John so they went back down and climbed it a few more times.
John in front up the wall and then me at the base, coach Tara at the top cheering
Brian and John going up...for the 4th time
Once everyone was through, we started the climb up Big Savage Mountain. This was a long, slow climb, mostly in that last gear still, with several very steep areas. I have my watch set to auto pause once it gets under I think 4mph, and it paused several times during the climbs. Towards the top of the mountain I had worked my way back to John and Brian (climbs have a way of evening the playing field) and we rode the rest of the course more or less together. Coming up on Coach T's aid station around mile 40 or so I remember saying "this is challenging but its manageable!" She then told me the section we were coming up on is where she realized she had asthma. Little did I know that we hadn't hit what I considered (after the ride) the hardest section. "Killer Miller" climb is sandwiched between two other pretty difficult climbs and is very steep. All three of us were cranking away and all going about the same speed...which was around 4-5 mph... Made it though, and then once those few climbs were done, it was smooth rollers for the last 8-10 miles. Once we made it back to the lake, Brian and John headed out for some more punishment on the bike and I headed out to run up the fire escape road (that steep gravel road followed by a nice winding trail). I was able to see some of the other campers finishing the bike and it was very inspiring to watch everyone finish up a really tough ride. Once my stomach stopped being angry at me for not nailing my nutrition, I had a very enjoyable run and was surprised that my legs felt pretty good.
top of Big Savage Mountain
After the run, I had to hurry back to where we were staying so that I could eat something and then listen to the talks by the coaches. Tara spoke about climbing/descending, as well as mental strategies. A lot of the mental strategies she talked about are things she and I have discussed and implemented in my own training. I love having a coach with the depth of experience she has, and she has been a very positive, encouraging, supportive influence on my training and racing.
Next up was coach AJ Morrison, a USAT level 2 coach, and she spoke about nutrition. She was also nice enough to speak with me outside of the seminar about my own nutrition. She gave me some pointers that I tried out in my last ride and I think they will help. Last up was John Kenny, the camps swim coach. We all had our swim stroke video taped and he went through each video and gave tips on how to improve. It was nice to hear what he said about each swimmer and not just our own tapes. It gave me a better sense of what a good swim stroke is supposed to look like. He was also nice enough to take some time to give me some additional advice on open water swimming and descending hills (baby steps on this whole descending fast thing :P). Josh had videoed everyone's running stride and went over them individually. I didn't have a chance to go over mine with him but he handed the video over to Tara and she was able to give me some pointers.
Swimmers getting videod and also getting pointers from coaches on deck and in the water
Saturday culminated in a fun dinner out with everyone, lots of laughing and good conversation, as well as much needed calories.
camp dinner, pizza and beer at Big Mountain Brewing Company
Sunday started out with our last open water swim. I almost thought I was getting off the hook when I didn't see Tara at the start :P (just kidding coach) but she met up with us on our way back from the bridge. She and I worked on deep water swim starts, with me trying to jump on her feet right away. I was really happy that we were able to do this and hope to continue to work on it with a few fast lady swimmers in my area (looking at you Michelle, Sarah, Morgan!).
After the swim I headed out for one loop of the run course. The legs were a little heavy, but seeing all the other campers gutting it out definitely lightened them up a bit. The camp ended at noon, but John, Brian and I headed out for another ride in the afternoon: the Fabulous 44, one of the gran fondo rides. We were a little delayed by John getting stuck in the elevator... but I was happy we made it out for the ride. The ride usually ends on a climb up Wisp mountain, but we started it with that climb. There are some steep climbs after Wisp, but are fairly spread apart. About midway through we got into a little town hoping to refill water bottles. Everything was closed, but some very nice xterra athletes were going by and gave us the rest of their water and gatorade. So if you are by some slim chance reading this, very nice strangers, thank you again! After the town we started a long very gradual climb. This climb culminated in Bowman's hill. At the bottom of the hill, the word pain with an up arrow is spray painted onto the road. I looked up the hill and thought well this is steep but at least its short.... but I couldn't see around the bend...it kept going up. Midway through was another word and arrow "suffering" and then closer to the top "agony." I'm not sure if it was because my legs were fatigued, but that hill was pretty tough. The rest of the ride was pretty nice rollers, we weren't riding very hard (except for the climbs since you don't really have a choice) so we were able to chat and joke around. After we returned to the dorm, we said goodbye to John, hoping to meet up for more training together in the future, packed up and went to say goodbye to Coach T.
I am so happy I was able to spend some time with Coach T and her family (Bruce and Maya), they are all so wonderful (Maya is just the cutest) and I'm so happy that Tara has been not only a great coach the last couple years but also a great friend. We will be back to Garrett County Maryland to either race or train again!
photos by Kyle Yost (Savageman and gran fondo race director)
trying to hang on to coach's feet
the group headed out to run
We were able to head back to the hotel and get some food and a quick nap (we almost slept through the ride!) before meeting to ride the 30 (olympic) bike course. It was a really fun ride, great company and awesome scenery. After a really fast downhill (I got up to 45mph and was being a bit conservative even though it wasn't technical), we went up the few shorter, steep climbs. Josh and John gave us some input on the course since they have both raced the half multiple times.
Beautiful courses, we are the little specks on the road at the right
On Saturday, we met at the lake in the morning to start the Savageman 70 course. The start of the course is along the river and mostly descends with a few smaller undulations. This part was really fun, we were flying (though I was still taking it slower on some of the more technical areas) and the river was very pretty. As it started to flatten out, we could see the smoke stacks that marked the town of Westernport. Heading into town, John warned me to get into my small chain ring and start taking it easy.
start of the 70 ride
This was the part of the course that I was most intimidated by, but it did not end up being the hardest section. Coach Tara and John had advised us to take it easy leading up to the wall. The wall is at about mile 18 and is sandwiched between two 20% grade climbs. Once we were at the climb leading to the wall, John, Brian and I (and a few others) started to zigzag up. Right before the wall a little dog came out of nowhere and started chasing John. He had no choice but to start gunning it up the hill, and I followed close behind. I There is no sitting while climbing up Westernport, you're in the small chainring and last gear in the back going as hard as you can and leaning forward so you don't tip backwards. I was so excited to make it up without putting a foot down, and stopped at the top to cheer on the other campers. Once wasn't enough for Brian and John so they went back down and climbed it a few more times.
John in front up the wall and then me at the base, coach Tara at the top cheering
Brian and John going up...for the 4th time
Once everyone was through, we started the climb up Big Savage Mountain. This was a long, slow climb, mostly in that last gear still, with several very steep areas. I have my watch set to auto pause once it gets under I think 4mph, and it paused several times during the climbs. Towards the top of the mountain I had worked my way back to John and Brian (climbs have a way of evening the playing field) and we rode the rest of the course more or less together. Coming up on Coach T's aid station around mile 40 or so I remember saying "this is challenging but its manageable!" She then told me the section we were coming up on is where she realized she had asthma. Little did I know that we hadn't hit what I considered (after the ride) the hardest section. "Killer Miller" climb is sandwiched between two other pretty difficult climbs and is very steep. All three of us were cranking away and all going about the same speed...which was around 4-5 mph... Made it though, and then once those few climbs were done, it was smooth rollers for the last 8-10 miles. Once we made it back to the lake, Brian and John headed out for some more punishment on the bike and I headed out to run up the fire escape road (that steep gravel road followed by a nice winding trail). I was able to see some of the other campers finishing the bike and it was very inspiring to watch everyone finish up a really tough ride. Once my stomach stopped being angry at me for not nailing my nutrition, I had a very enjoyable run and was surprised that my legs felt pretty good.
top of Big Savage Mountain
After the run, I had to hurry back to where we were staying so that I could eat something and then listen to the talks by the coaches. Tara spoke about climbing/descending, as well as mental strategies. A lot of the mental strategies she talked about are things she and I have discussed and implemented in my own training. I love having a coach with the depth of experience she has, and she has been a very positive, encouraging, supportive influence on my training and racing.
Next up was coach AJ Morrison, a USAT level 2 coach, and she spoke about nutrition. She was also nice enough to speak with me outside of the seminar about my own nutrition. She gave me some pointers that I tried out in my last ride and I think they will help. Last up was John Kenny, the camps swim coach. We all had our swim stroke video taped and he went through each video and gave tips on how to improve. It was nice to hear what he said about each swimmer and not just our own tapes. It gave me a better sense of what a good swim stroke is supposed to look like. He was also nice enough to take some time to give me some additional advice on open water swimming and descending hills (baby steps on this whole descending fast thing :P). Josh had videoed everyone's running stride and went over them individually. I didn't have a chance to go over mine with him but he handed the video over to Tara and she was able to give me some pointers.
Swimmers getting videod and also getting pointers from coaches on deck and in the water
Saturday culminated in a fun dinner out with everyone, lots of laughing and good conversation, as well as much needed calories.
camp dinner, pizza and beer at Big Mountain Brewing Company
Sunday started out with our last open water swim. I almost thought I was getting off the hook when I didn't see Tara at the start :P (just kidding coach) but she met up with us on our way back from the bridge. She and I worked on deep water swim starts, with me trying to jump on her feet right away. I was really happy that we were able to do this and hope to continue to work on it with a few fast lady swimmers in my area (looking at you Michelle, Sarah, Morgan!).
After the swim I headed out for one loop of the run course. The legs were a little heavy, but seeing all the other campers gutting it out definitely lightened them up a bit. The camp ended at noon, but John, Brian and I headed out for another ride in the afternoon: the Fabulous 44, one of the gran fondo rides. We were a little delayed by John getting stuck in the elevator... but I was happy we made it out for the ride. The ride usually ends on a climb up Wisp mountain, but we started it with that climb. There are some steep climbs after Wisp, but are fairly spread apart. About midway through we got into a little town hoping to refill water bottles. Everything was closed, but some very nice xterra athletes were going by and gave us the rest of their water and gatorade. So if you are by some slim chance reading this, very nice strangers, thank you again! After the town we started a long very gradual climb. This climb culminated in Bowman's hill. At the bottom of the hill, the word pain with an up arrow is spray painted onto the road. I looked up the hill and thought well this is steep but at least its short.... but I couldn't see around the bend...it kept going up. Midway through was another word and arrow "suffering" and then closer to the top "agony." I'm not sure if it was because my legs were fatigued, but that hill was pretty tough. The rest of the ride was pretty nice rollers, we weren't riding very hard (except for the climbs since you don't really have a choice) so we were able to chat and joke around. After we returned to the dorm, we said goodbye to John, hoping to meet up for more training together in the future, packed up and went to say goodbye to Coach T.
I am so happy I was able to spend some time with Coach T and her family (Bruce and Maya), they are all so wonderful (Maya is just the cutest) and I'm so happy that Tara has been not only a great coach the last couple years but also a great friend. We will be back to Garrett County Maryland to either race or train again!
photos by Kyle Yost (Savageman and gran fondo race director)
