Race Result

Racer:	Chip Shewbridge
Race:	Savageman
Date:	Sunday, September 20, 2009
Location:	Deep Creek, MD
Race Type:	Triathlon - Half Ironman
Age Group:	Male 40 - 44
Time:	6:57:31
Overall Place:	125 / 257
Age Group Place:	19 / 48
Comment:	I finished! Big time leg cramps at the end of the bike and on the run killed me. Truly an EPIC ride!

Race Report:

Pre-Race
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Nice and relaxed.

We used the trip to Deep Creek as an excuse for a mini-family getaway with my wife’s family, which was great. I went to check-in early on Saturday while they all went hiking at Swallow Falls…a beautiful area you shouldn’t miss if you’re at Deep Creek. Check-in and bike racking was a breeze, kudos to organizers and volunteers for that! Jumped in the water & swam to the first buoy & back; water felt great, and glad I did it so I knew about the rocks on the way in, and the grass patch right at the starting line.

Met the family for lunch, then back to the house to catch the end of the Hokies-Cornhuskers game…what a finish for the Hokies! Then a great dinner of chicken parmesan with homemade Caesar salad, followed by homemade black raspberry ice cream from Lakeside Creamery...the perfect pre-race meal! Gathered up all my stuff, jumped in the hot tub for a bit, then off to bed.

Have to say it was nice (although felt strange) not getting up at 4am for race day! First wave wasn’t going until 8:30, with my wave at 8:51, so plenty of time to sleep in a little, and get to transition to get everything set up. Rolled out of bed around 5:30, ate a PB&J and banana, and headed over to the park. Once again, strange to be driving to transition in the light of day. There was a slight chill in the air, so I decided I’d wear my long-sleeve bike jersey over my tri top for the big descent into Westernport, then drop it there at the clothing drop...I hate being cold on my bike! Chatted with my “transition neighbors” while we all set up our stuff, then donned the wet suit and headed over to the beach…here we go!!

Swim [35:58, 133/257]
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I warned a couple friends I was chatting with about the serious rocks we’d have to walk over to get in the water, and about the 20 feet of thick grass waiting for right at the start. Watched the first 2 waves go off, then carefully got in the water (over the rocks) as early as I could to swim around a little before we started. Positioned myself near the back of our group…I am a very average swimmer, and have enough trouble getting into a rhythm without the kicking & fighting for position that comes with starting in the pack. Before I knew it, we were off! As usual, the first 500 yards or so were all about settling into a comfortable rhythm and pace. Have to work through getting the breathing steady, getting through the couple minutes of shoulders hurting, etc. There’s always that point in the swim when I think “why am I doing this?” I encountered a few folks along the way, but not too bad…seemed like our group spread out pretty quickly.

Once I settled in, I felt good on the swim. In fact, I felt like I was gliding through the water better than all my previous races…which was a great mental boost. As I made the turn around the “swan boat” (yes, a real boat shaped like a swan), I knew I only had about 200 yards to go, and was still feeling pretty good. Got to the beach and looked at my HRM, just under 36 mins. Nowhere near the strong swimmers in these races, but a best for me by 2.5 mins, so I’m happy!

T1 & Bike [T1 5:27, 143/257; Bike 3:45:40, 113/257, 14.8mph]
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Knowing I was in for a long ride on those hills, I took my time in T1. Got the wetsuit off, dried off as much as possible, pulled on socks (always fun with wet feet) and bike shoes…I also added in some toe warmers inside the shoes (did I mention I don’t like being cold on the bike?), pulled on my long sleeve jersey over my tri top (also a challenge when wet), a blob of chamois butter, and I’m off!

There’s a steep climb, pretty short but steep, just after leaving the park…just a little teaser for the ride ahead. Certainly woke me up, now the game is on! The first 17 or so miles are fun, some rolling hills, and a long very technical (5 miles?) descent as you get close to Westernport. The road on this descent is curvy, but I actually thought the more technical part of it was the roughness of the road. There are curves you have to slow down to make it around for sure, but trying to hang on to the handle bars tight enough but still stay relaxed enough to steer effectively was tough! As my bike went bumping down the hill over rough road and tons of rocks & pebbles, all I could think was “please don’t flat, please don’t flat…” I passed a fair number of people coming down, which made me wonder “are they going slow or am I going too fast?” Also passed someone rolling around in the grass with his bike next to him…asked if he was OK, then heard the ambulance coming. Learned from my friend later that he had seen him crash; he went down pretty hard but ended up OK.

As we came into Westernport I knew the ride was really getting read to start. Took it nice & easy getting into town, getting ready for the climb up “The Westernport Wall”. The Wall is a 4-block series of 4 hills, steadily increasing in pitch, with an average grade of 25%, and the final block at 31%. If you can clear it without having to put your foot down, they engrave your name on a brick in a wall by the road. As you come up the first hill, you also turn right, then you can see the other 3. Wow do they look tough! Made it up the second one no problem, then the 3rd gets tough. Have to stand to get up. There’s an almost flat cross-street before hitting the 4th hill - 31% grade. I looked up the hill and saw 2 cyclists already trying, so I circled around at the base of the hill to let them get out of the way. One made it, one didn’t…oh boy here I go! About ½ way up I wasn’t sure I’d make it…I was cranking hard (12/27 and not compacts for you bikers), the bike was moving but barely…I knew if I missed one stroke that was it. Then the Devil (yes, guy in a devil costume) started chasing me…he and the crowd at The Wall were screaming loud! Finally I made it to the top…yeah I get my brick!!! Then I look ahead, and there’s a long steep hill in front of me. Oh-oh…

So starts the 7-mile climb up Big Savage Mountain…after just frying myself to get a stupid brick…hmm why am I doing this race?? I took a much-needed 30 second break to drop off my long sleeve jersey at the clothing drop, then continued with the long slow climb. The first mile or so of the climb is pretty tough and steep. Then it’s a few miles of steady but more gradual uphill. Then there’s the last pitch to get to the top…another big steep…ouch.

From the top of Savage Mountain we get a nice long descent, although technical with sharp turns and switchbacks. This was fun, and I managed to pass a few more folks by pushing the speed but staying safe on the curves. Once down the mountain, the course becomes more rolling, but there are some steep climbs thrown in every few miles that really hit hard, then around mile 40 comes “Killer Miller” – a 1.2 mile climb with max grade of 22%. Ouch that one hurt…and I knew at this point that I was having to exert too much on the bike and it was really going to impact the run. One more big steep between Killer Miller and the finish, then I was almost finished.

In races of this distance, I try to stand up a fair amount for the last 5 miles to start stretching the legs out for the run. So I stood up and started to stretch my right leg, and my quad seized up with a cramp…uh-oh, now I’m in trouble. Tried the left leg, same result. OK, so much for stretching out. Then with about 2 miles left, both quads really seized up on me. Managed to coast in with a little pedaling to try to work the cramps out, but my legs were really hurting. Got the bike racked and walked around a little, shook the cramps off but couldn’t stretch…when I tried to stretch one muscle, another would seize up. Oh boy, this run is gonna be no fun now!

T2 and Run [T2 2:46, 102/257; Run 2:27:42, 164/257, 11:16 min/mile]
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This was my 8th triathlon ever, 4th half-ironman distance, with 1 marathon and a few other running races thrown in there, and I’d never had cramping problems before. I took some time in T2 to try to walk/shake the leg cramps off. Took a big drink at the aid stop just out of transition…I wasn’t sure if the cramps were because I didn’t drink enough, or just from sheer exertion on the bike which exceeded any training ride I’d done. I was able to get the legs moving to start running, and after a mile or so felt a little better. I took a big drink at every aid stop…trying to balance between stomach being too full and taking in as much fluid as possible. Seemed to work OK, I made it to the 5-ish mile point running the whole way, which starts the steep ¼ mile climb up the fire road. Walked the steep part of this, then ran back down…I was encouraged that my quads didn’t cramp running downhill. Made it through the first loop not feeling too bad…OK maybe I can do this. A little into the second loop, my legs started cramping again. Oh boy, here we go. Still drank as much as possible at every stop, and took extra salt tablets (which I’d taken all the way on the bike and run), but I was now having to walk/run, and the amount of walking was quickly overtaking the amount of running. I was really feeling the exertion on the bike, running out of gas and legs really starting to cramp up. I walked up the fire road again, and this time also walked down…running downhill was sure to cramp my quads again. I walked most of the distance back to the lake near the finish, and I was watching my watch closely because I knew I was close to the 7-hour mark and I really wanted to come in under that. I ran it in for the last .2 miles or so, just in time to beat 7 hours by 2-1/2 minutes…whew!!

Wrap Up
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I didn’t have any time expectations for Savageman, because I knew I was in for a tougher ride than anything I’d experienced. 7 hours feels long, but this was far and above tougher than any race I’ve done before, so I’m happy I finished…at least I know I’m Savage enough! And I get my brick in Westernport…which feels like a good accomplishment!
Now, to try to figure out what caused the legs to cramp so badly, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s what I love about this sport…every swim, ride, run, and race is a good learning experience for the next one!
Congrats to everyone else from Savageman 2009, and to Kyle Yost for designing a course that is truly Savage! And a big shout out to the volunteers who put the signs all over the bike course…a few got a laugh out of me – when I could pick my head up long enough to read them!