I should preface this recap with the following:
- I’ve been on my bike 4 times this year
- I’ve been to the pool 5 times this year
- I’ve completed 0 brick workouts this year
- I’ve logged hundreds, thousands, of (running) miles this year
Savageman Triathlon is my favorite triathlon of the year (and my only one in 2012). I always look forward to this weekend of racing, friends, and post-race hot tub & wine. This race is low-key, so there’s not a ton of pressure, but it’s so well organized that it feels like a large-scale event. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again: Kyle Yost & team put on a great race!
Pre-race: It was a little chilly in the morning, but I knew it was going to be a perfect day for racing – the high was 66 degrees and sunny. I know not all races have the luxury of starting “late”, but I love that Savageman starts at 9:30am, with transition closing at 9:15am. (That means I get to sleep until 7am on race morning!) I don’t feel rushed, there are no frantic wake-ups at 2am, 3am, 4am, and finally 4:15am, and I hardly feel nervous.
Swim: The swim started with me ripping my wetsuit at the seam (by my knee); not an ideal way to start a race but I just went with it. I had no expectations for the swim but was hoping that I could finish right around the 30-minute mark. The water felt great (70.4 degrees) and I love that I can see the bottom of the lake – it’s totally mental, but seeing the bottom makes me feel faster. I felt strong at the turnaround and my sighting was spot-on for the last 0.5 miles. Time: 30:18
T1: 2:27 (1st out of transition)
Bike: Again, very little expectations for the bike – I’ve been on my bike 4 times in 2012, averaging 18-20 miles/ride. The temperature was up by the time I finished my swim and I decided to forego arm warmers, overall a good choice with the exception of 2 downhill’s at the beginning of the ride. I felt really good considering I haven’t trained much. Time: 1:24:06
T2: 2:05 (took my time here, and made a quick stop to the porta-potty)
Run: My sweet spot and (probably) the only reason I do triathlons. I felt really strong on the run; I promised myself and BJ that I wouldn’t leave anything out on the (run) course. The run is one of my favorites in triathlon courses – it’s the perfect combination of hilly, flat, challenging, and really rewarding. I’m really happy with my run performance. Time: 49:22 (7:57 pace & #1 in my AG)
Overall Time: 2:48:15
Overall Place: 115/383
Female Place: 21/127
Age Group Place: 3/15 (I finally got 3rd place!!)
Final Thoughts: After 4 years of 4th place, I finally nabbed an age group award! I hardly trained for the swim & bike so I’d love to see what I could do if I actually trained for all three events…maybe next year. Overall, I had a great race weekend – we all PR’ed from last year and really enjoyed our time in Deep Creek. I’ll be back again next year!
A HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers – you make a huge difference, and this race wouldn’t go as smoothly without you. Thank you for your time!
awesome job – way to rock it! third place in your age group is fantastic!
Congrats on the AG win!
Haha! You are such an amazing athlete and such a tough competitor. I love that you got 3rd without seiously training. Exactly…imagine what you could do if you did train! Congratulations!
Beautiful! Nice job and, getting that AG award was the icing on the cake! You look so strong Melody… Congratulations!
Congratulations! Deep Creek is so pretty and it’s the perfect environment for a tri.
awesome, congratulations!
Congrats on third place! If you’ve trained before and always gotten fourth, then maybe the secret is in the non-training. 🙂
Congrats!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! 🙂
you are such an amazing athlete. little training for swim & bike and PR – nice!
Sounds like a fun race and congrats on your 3rd AG placing! Your swim and bike times were fantastic for such little training! That run course must be really hard! I must look into this race for next year…maybe I’ll see you there!
Wow, imagine what you can do if you actually train! 🙂 Congrats!!!