Saturday I trekked up to Deep Creek Maryland to participate in a relay for the OLY distance Savageman.
Savageman is a race where you can't fake the training. It's intense. But I was going to try anyways.
So this all started with a Happy Hour in Georgetown. Over pizza Supersnail and I talked about doing a relay with me swimming , tri friend N biking, and SS running.
N ended up having to bail. Later I got an email from J asking if I would want to relay with them as the biker. Ummmm, no? Somehow it came out as yes, and brainstorming of obnoxious team names ensued.
Options we didn't go with:
Three Slick Chicks
Cold, Hard Bitches
Chicks with Attitudes
Back Off, We're Triathletes
Hard, Harder, Hardest
Bitches on a Mission
Black and white and sore all over
Legs, boobs, and booty
Something for everyone
Ridden hard and put away wet
We'll tri anything once
What we went with was: 3 legs and 6 boobs
(It's a grenade joke)
Since the OTP crowd has some truly awesome people in it, I got to just go along for the ride as everyone else planned the stay and the food. Sandy was Queen Bee and Master Organizer, and Ryan was the Iron Chef. Seriously dude, marry me.
A little about the course:
Savageman is The. Hardest. Course. Period.
The swim:
I have never been so happy not to have to swim in my life. The lake was covered in fog, it was freezing, and the first few finishers were actually DQ'ed because of a mix-up with the buoy colors (allegedly yellow for the OLY, orange for the HIM), and because they couldn't see anything.
The bike:
Sigh. We drove the bike course the day before. Someone said not to worry because it always seems harder in the car. Challenge. The pre-race briefing included telling us that aerobars were verboten because the descent were technical and they didn't want you screaming to your death. And several warnings about where to shift down, and where to be prepared to hold on for dear life.
On one hand I was glad we saw the course, so I knew where I was later. On the other, it really made me so much more nervous.
I was trying to rationalize that it was only five miles longer than the bike at IronGirl and I wasn't swimming or running, so I could handle it, right?
Let's just say I ended up wheels up 3 times. Stupid chain.
The run:
Crazy, crazy hilly. The HIM took racers past the finish line 3 times. That is just cruel. And more than a few people turned down the finish chute by accident.
SS did a great job despite the heat and hills, and J and I got to run in with her.
They actually refused to announce our team name since it's a family show ...
Post race:
S gave me a ride back to the house and made popcorn, and I got a shower in before the boys came home.
No vacation time meant a long drive home late with a slight detour. I still need to take my wheels to get trued.
Showing posts with label Race Reports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Race Reports. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Needs more cowbell
A few weeks ago, I ran/ gallumphed the Baltimore-Annapolis Trail half marathon.
I dragged my happy butt to Annapolis just barely making it in time to sign up.
In fact, I sold out the half marathon, which the race director deemed lucky.
For being lucky, she gave me green Mardi Gras beads and a neon green running hat. Then it was the hour and a half long drive back to Vienna and sushi with John and Beth.
I like to eat some odd things as pre-race dinners. When running at home at the beach, I usually have spanikopita the night before. Race day it's all liquids until the race is over.
Sushi was a bad call. I had been sick that week and hadn't really eaten much on Saturday. For dinner, I had veggie tempura and miso soup, and forced down a bowl of rice, so I'd at least have some carbs in my system. Not so smart.
Sunday, I argued with myself for about an hour as to whether or not to head up to Annapolis to run the race. I was tired, it was cold outside, and I still wasn't feeling 100%. I decided that at the very least, I needed a long run to prep for the Shamrock half, and that sleeping in wasn't productive. So I dragged my butt out of bed and up to Annapolis to run.
It was cold and windy.
Wearing my red UnderArmour tank top (yes, I'm superstitious), a long sleeve UnderArmour t-shirt from the Baltimore half, my lucky green Mardi Gras beads, and a black cotton Gap sweater, shorts, and track pants, and I was freezing. I was so glad I had remembered my gloves.
The "trail" run was entirely paved and gently uphill the whole way out on the out-and-back course. I like continual inclines better than hills, and Yoda makes me run on an incline at the gym, so I didn't mind so much. What did really suck was that on the way back, where I had been hoping I would have a negative split even if it was artificial, was into a headwind. And my lack of food the day before caught up to me. I was tired, and my pace was shameful. I knew I wasn't anywhere close to making my time goal, and just settled in for having a nice day out in the (cold) sunshine.
Overall, it was a pretty (cold) day, and it was good to run, and I'm glad I did it. However, I definitely enjoy larger races better. I'm a solid back of the packer, and there were large stints where I was running essentially by myself, and I like the cheering and noise of bigger runs. And there tend to be more people finishing late at those events. It's a little demoralizing when they are packing up the water station when you get there, and people are leaving the parking lot when you finish.
Hats off to Jen who ran a true trail marathon on Saturday, then ran the half on Sunday and still beat me in. And who managed to take a shower in the ice-cold water at the gym. You are a champion!
I dragged my happy butt to Annapolis just barely making it in time to sign up.
In fact, I sold out the half marathon, which the race director deemed lucky.
For being lucky, she gave me green Mardi Gras beads and a neon green running hat. Then it was the hour and a half long drive back to Vienna and sushi with John and Beth.
I like to eat some odd things as pre-race dinners. When running at home at the beach, I usually have spanikopita the night before. Race day it's all liquids until the race is over.
Sushi was a bad call. I had been sick that week and hadn't really eaten much on Saturday. For dinner, I had veggie tempura and miso soup, and forced down a bowl of rice, so I'd at least have some carbs in my system. Not so smart.
Sunday, I argued with myself for about an hour as to whether or not to head up to Annapolis to run the race. I was tired, it was cold outside, and I still wasn't feeling 100%. I decided that at the very least, I needed a long run to prep for the Shamrock half, and that sleeping in wasn't productive. So I dragged my butt out of bed and up to Annapolis to run.
It was cold and windy.
Wearing my red UnderArmour tank top (yes, I'm superstitious), a long sleeve UnderArmour t-shirt from the Baltimore half, my lucky green Mardi Gras beads, and a black cotton Gap sweater, shorts, and track pants, and I was freezing. I was so glad I had remembered my gloves.
The "trail" run was entirely paved and gently uphill the whole way out on the out-and-back course. I like continual inclines better than hills, and Yoda makes me run on an incline at the gym, so I didn't mind so much. What did really suck was that on the way back, where I had been hoping I would have a negative split even if it was artificial, was into a headwind. And my lack of food the day before caught up to me. I was tired, and my pace was shameful. I knew I wasn't anywhere close to making my time goal, and just settled in for having a nice day out in the (cold) sunshine.
Overall, it was a pretty (cold) day, and it was good to run, and I'm glad I did it. However, I definitely enjoy larger races better. I'm a solid back of the packer, and there were large stints where I was running essentially by myself, and I like the cheering and noise of bigger runs. And there tend to be more people finishing late at those events. It's a little demoralizing when they are packing up the water station when you get there, and people are leaving the parking lot when you finish.
Hats off to Jen who ran a true trail marathon on Saturday, then ran the half on Sunday and still beat me in. And who managed to take a shower in the ice-cold water at the gym. You are a champion!
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