Savageman Triathlon 2013

Savageman Triathlon, 2013

Savageman was my favorite triathlon, and my favorite race, of all that I have done.  The organization was superb, the venue perfect, and the challenge/reward ratio excellent.  I signed up for both the Olympic Triathlon on Saturday and the Half-Ironman on Sunday, and I recommend that pairing to anyone.

The main goal of Savageman is to get a brick, and that is not a sure shot by any means.  Dave Scott, the champion of Kona, failed to get up the short section of cobblestone and gravel that decides the issue, and about 30% of the riders overall fail to ascend cleanly.  I was confident that I could do it, but I was traveling east a few months before the race and I stayed in nearby Frostburg so that I could reconnoiter the course.  My practice run was NOT encouraging.

My first try at the Westernport Wall.

My first run up I clipped out at exactly the point where I had seen others fail on YouTube videos.  It happened so fast I was down before I knew it.  I tried a second time and succeeded so I figured I just had bad luck on the first try, but no.  I fell off my bike on the third try, and was one for three.  By the end I had ridden it seven times and ultimately got up four times and fell three times.  I knew that anything could happen on race day, but success was dependent on my legs –shaky – and the nearby riders at the time I hit the hill.  I saw so many videos of people taking down their neighbors with them that I knew it was best to be alone if possible.  My practice session is below:

My son got up three times without much effort and never fell.

This is the section that will do you in.  Go as hard as you can.

The Swim:

I got to do it twice, once at Olympic distance and once at half-Ironman distance.  The second day the water was warm and the air cold, so the lake was incredibly misty and foggy.  No one could see anywhere and we all just tried to follow the pack.  I actually swam directly into a buoy that I simply couldn’t see until I was right on it.  The fog made Sunday’s swim fun, but both days were nicely laid out.  They have a turtle and a swan as the turnaround buoys and those were had to mistake.

The swan is in the background.  The air was cold, the water warm.

The Bike:

Of course this is what it is all about.  The main climb consists of four parts with the hardest being the last.  On my practice runs I did the final street that decides the brick 7 times but I would have had a better idea of how to handle it if I had started from the very bottom each time.  By the time I got to the final section on race day I had been exhausted by the three smaller preceding climbs.  Getting over the top took everything I had.  I made it, but just barely.  Looking at the video of me ascending makes my climb look even worse than I remember it.

After the main climb there were plenty more to come.  It was truly savage, but that is what we all signed up for.  I was happy to get off the bike at the end, and very happy that I had bricked.  Really, after that, I didn’t care what else happened.

Road bikes way outnumbered triathlon bikes.

The Run:

Normally the run portion of a triathlon is flat.  Not this one.  We ran up a seriously steep dirt road that I think I would not have been able to climb on my mountain bike, and overall I think there were many three hundred yards of flat road.

You'll be glad when it's done.

The Swag:

You have to pay for it, but you can get a brick for your office.  I have one and I treasure it.  The shirts were also very good: cotton, well fitting, and comfortable. Surprisingly there were no finisher medals.  I would have liked one.

Finisher's shirt.

Conclusion:

Do it!  This is a race that anyone will be glad they did, and if you get a brick you will be especially happy.

Posted by Undercover Athlete Reporter #001