Savage Training and Celebrating

Our friends Kyle and Laura got married on Saturday and the festivities centered around their home away from home at Deep Creek Lake in MD. This is also home to the Savageman triathlon festival, coming up in September. So we brought our bikes, our swim suits and our running gear and prepared for some "savage" training.

The Savageman Half bike course is probably one of the most difficult rides around. It's something like 6,000 ft of climbing in 56 miles. And most of that falls within miles 20 and 40. The course is gorgeous and goes something like this:

First hour (20 miles), mostly downhill through meadows and along Savage River; miles 5-20 are mostly shaded and cool - arm warmers recommended. Miles 1-15 you can expect to see 1-5 cars. For several miles before Westernport you go through a milling town with lots of truck traffic going to and from the papermill and gravel mines.

Then you hit the town of Westernport, home of the infamous Westernport Wall. You take a quick left and immediately the hill begins. And you take another left and you see a serious of three hills in front of you, each one steeper than the last. My MPH went from 20 to 12 to 8 to 4 in the span of 2 minutes. And then the climbing doesn't end. The next 55 minutes is almost a continuous a climb for 8 miles. And I don't mean 4% grade. I'm talking 15-20% grade the entire way. And then you hit a nice downhill that somehow allows you to cover 10 miles in that second hour.

By this time your legs are toast. And you are thinking a break would be nice. But then you take a left on McAndrews Hill just before New Germany State Park and the hill kicks your butt. Pretty much the only store you find on the route is just out of the park. Both Friday and Saturday we reached the store at about the 2hr 20 min mark. After a quick refill of fluids and calories you hit the next hill immediately. And you find the break has only allowed your legs to stiffen up. Luckily this next climb though steep is only a half mile long. And then you hit some rollers followed by a twisty, turny downhill. The road takes you through a very scenic valley, dotted by hay bales, cows, horses and farm houses. And you think, oh, this is so pretty.

And then you take a left on Miller Road and you see the hill in front of you. And the switchbacks seem to never end. The grade of the hill hits 26% in several spots. And it seems to never end. But it does and the next few miles are nice rollers. You realize looking at your bike computer that you've only gone 42 miles and you are at about the 3 hr mark. The rollers continue until about mile 50 and then, finally, the hill tilts downward and your legs finally get a chance to spin towards the transition area at Deep Creek Lake State Park.


It took us about 3 hrs 45 min both days. Our average pace was almost the same. And somehow Saturday felt better than Friday. We all did a run on Friday and then Saturday Chad and I napped while TJ went for a swim. At 5 o'clock Chad and I had to be at the church for the wedding (we were on time!) so we used that as our excuse for taking the rest of the afternoon off. And then at the reception the drinking started. And today I find myself hung over. So we got up, checked out of our rental house and drove home. Chad drove while I napped.


All in all, a great weekend. Beautiful setting for a wedding, some great training, and well-deserved relaxation. Congrats to Laura and Kyle!