Chesapeakeman
Aquavelo, Steamtown, and Savage Century
As usual, I’ve procrastinated on keeping up with the
blog. So, I thought I would write about
three events in one blog. Over a 3 week
period I completed 3 events: the Chesapeakeman Aquavelo, Steamtown Marathon, and the
Savage Century.
The Chesapeakeman Aquavelo was a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile
bike. I had planned to do this and
Steamtown as Ironman preparation. My
friend, Kate was also doing this race but at the last minute she switched over
to doing the full ultra-distance. This
meant she would be doing the 26.2 mile run at the end. We had to drive down and pick up our race
bibs and rack our bikes the day before.
The race was organized by Tricolumbia and they do a fantastic job! Of course we had to pack everything possibly
needed and the shuttle was full. We had
the cooler, each had two wetsuits (depending on water temperatures), and lots
of nutrition. After going to packet pick
up, we headed over to Great Marsh Park to rack our bikes and check out
transition. The water looked calm and
Kate mentioned that the swim did not look that far….but we had to do two
laps. Bikes were racked and I used my
new gadget the “rack jacket” to cover my seat and handlebars in the event of
rain…..good thing I did. After checking
into the hotel, we headed over to the pre-race talk and dinner. Of course we had to enjoy an adult beverage
with dinner, just to calm the nerves.
After returning to the room we each spent lots of time organizing our
transition and ‘special needs’ bags.
Race day morning and getting up at the butt crack of
dawn. My new favorite channel to keep on
during hotel stays…TV Land. Three’s
Company on again at 4am! After having
some breakfast we are off to the races.
The shuttle to the start went smoothly and before we knew it we were at
the race start, about an hour early.
Unfortunately the water was not so calm, instead it was quite choppy and
the winds were gusty. I was starting to
second guess my decision to wear the sleeveless wetsuit, but too late to change
my mind now. Finally it came time to
start and we slowly waded into the water.
It was a mass start, about 400 people and we were off! Two laps to equal 2.4 miles. The swim had its ups and downs. Turns out the water temperature was perfect
for the sleeveless wetsuit. However this
did not help the choppy water from whacking me in the face quite often. I got off course a few times, but managed to
finish the first loop feeling pretty good.
That was when I got clobbered over the head from another swimmers
arm/hand. Fortunately the water was
shallow enough to stand up because it knocked me off my game for a moment. After taking a moment, I was back to the second
loop. My swim turned out to be
great! I was able to accomplish my goal
with a time of 1 hour 19 minutes.
On to the bike! After
a quick transition I was ready to take on the 112 miles of biking. The ride started out great…lots of passing
other athletes in the first portion. As
we headed out into the blackwater reserve, the headwind also started to make
its presence known! The bike course was
two loops and it couldn’t get any flatter.
Overall the course was great, expect for one section of really bumpy
road and that god awful headwind. I
finished the first loop and headed into the special needs tent to replace water
bottles. The second loop was a little
more quiet, not as many racers to be seen.
I didn’t see many other women on the course, however there was one
female doing the aquavelo and in my age group.
I passed her on the first loop and she must have passed me during the
special needs stop. Heading out on the
second loop I passed her again. Secretly
I have the goal in my head to have the least amount of women pass me on the bike;
therefore I had to stay ahead. Unfortunately I slowed down a few times to
relieve myself from all the fluids I took in and she caught me. I decided to just stay behind her for a
little bit before making my pass closer to the finish. I was heading into the last 15 miles on the
course and made my move. At this point I
decided to just hunker down in aero and push to the finish. Fortunately I did because she finished 20
seconds behind me!! I must admit that
after finishing the swim and bike I had a hard time imagining doing a marathon,
but that will soon happen.
I stayed around after finishing watching Kate finish the
bike and head out for the run.
Fortunately they offered the high school locker room to shower because I
was kind of disgusting and couldn’t even stand my own stench! I was able to take a quick shower and head
back out to support Kate. It was a great
race and fun to cheer everyone on till the end!
Kate did awesome in the run and finished strong. I must also give a shout out to the all the
volunteers for the race….they are what make the race successful and fun!!! Below are some pics of Kate finishing the bike and during the run:
The next weekend I was registered to do the Steamtown
Marathon. I wasn’t sure whether I was
really ready to run a marathon, but thought I would give it a shot. We had a great group up for the race
including Kate, Karen, Mary Ellen, David, and Andy. After visiting a local candy shop that Kate
was familiar with we went to pack pick up for our race numbers. What a smooth and easy process, most likely
because the race was a smaller one, only 2000 people running. We all got together for a great dinner at a
local Italian restaurant called Sibios.
We enjoyed a great dinner and great company! Of course when you put a bunch of athletes
together most discussions are on the topic of races, training, food, and drink….and
this night did not disappoint!! After
getting back to the room, Kate, Karen, and I decided to call it an early night
and were all in bed by 9:30pm!!
We were up nice and early for race morning, which included
coffee, breakfast, organizing our race attire, and for me…making sure I put
enough blister powder in my running shoes.
It turned out to be great weather, a cool 40 degrees at the start and
overcast. Getting to the start was
smooth, taking the bus from the finish to the starting line. Upon arriving to Forest City High School was
great, we were welcomed by the students cheering us on!! It was great to be able to take shelter from
the cold before the start in the school.
Before we knew it we were ready for the start of the race. David and Andy were way ahead of us, as they
were trying to run a Boston Qualifying time.
Kate, Karen, Mary Ellen, and I hung together for the first half and then
slowly separated for the second half. I
definitely could tell that I have not been running or trained for this
race. I was pretty sore by the halfway
mark, to include a nagging hip/IT pain and feeling achy all over. I figured I would run at least 20-22 miles
and walk the rest. By the time I reached
22 miles I figured that walking would only prolong the pain, so I decided to
keep up the slow jog pace to finish in 4 hours and 40 minutes. Not my best time, but not my worst. At least I know I can run that distance J As for the race, it
was beautiful. All the leaves were
beautiful fall colors and there was great support from locals along the
way. They also had the best post-race
food….pizza and pierogies!!! This would
definitely be a marathon I would do again!
A week later, and I decided to do the Savage Century bike
ride. I had some company with Dave, a fellow
master swimmer from the YMCA. The Savage
Century is known for having some intense climbs and it did not disappoint! The cue sheet said that over the 103.9 miles
there was 8,900 feet of climbing….that’s a lot of climbing! It was a pretty chilly morning, I think the
temperature read 30 degrees on my drive down.
I had 3 shirts, a bike jersey, winter run pants underneath bike shorts,
two pairs of gloves, running hat and helmet, and shoe covers. I was still pretty cold for the first half!
The first quarter of the ride was pretty flat with some rollers, nothing too
difficult. We hit the first rest stop,
loaded up on food and drink, and off we went for the hardest ride I’ve ever
done! The website for this ride
describes 4 tough climbs, they lied, it was more like 6 or 7! I managed to tackle the first 3 climbs pretty
well. We got a little bit of a break and
had some flat road riding along one of the dams. It was a beautiful day and I was lucky enough
to see an Eagle flying over the water and secure itself a fish! Just before the 4th and hardest
climb we had an unplanned pit stop for Dave to fix a flat. After getting the tire changed we were off to
tackle Duck Hill. This was a 16% grade
climb and it did not disappoint. My legs
were screaming and I was getting up the hill in my lowest gear. I was thinking to walk up the hill, but
wanted to keep trying the climb. There
were several other bikers walking up and then another rider passed me and
decided to hop off his bike right in front of me. This was it….my excuse to hop off my bike and
walk the rest. I thought I would not
have to walk a hill, but I had no shame in walking this one! The next rest stop was shortly after this
massive hill and it was needed!
Unfortunately Dave had some more technical issues with his bike and his
front derailer was no longer shifting to the big ring. Fortunately it was not the other way around
or he would not have been able to finish the remaining hills. We headed out from the rest stop and
encountered a long, slow climb on Red Hill.
After completing this one it was mostly just rolling hills on the way
home. Both Dave and I were pretty spent
by the time we hit the last rest stop and about 20 miles from the finish. We decided to make the stop quick because it
would be that much more difficult to get back on the bike and ride to the
finish. This last stretch of riding
proved to be some intense character building!
My right knee hurt from the climbing and at times brought tears to my
eyes when I hit even a small hill. My
legs were toast and my chest started to feel congested. I had to dig deeper than ever before to
finish this ride, but I did! I tried to
pull some motivation from the athletes that were racing Kona Ironman World
Championship at the same time….thousands of miles away. By the time we got back to the finish I was
spent… Let’s just say that this was
first AND last time that I will do that ride!!!!!
The White Clay Bicycle Club invites you
to come out and take the challenge as it once again hosts the 34th annual Savage
Century ride, one of the most scenic and challenging rides in our area
(especially if you choose one of the longer routes). Select a route – 40, 60, 75
or 100 miles – and enjoy one of the premier rides in the mid-Atlantic region
hosted by the White Clay Bicycle Club. The 40- and 60-mile loops have a few
shorter climbs, while the major hills are on the 75- and 100-mile loops!
Many have enjoyed the challenge of the Savage as a “ride of
passage”, while others return year after year to simply enjoy the rural beauty
of Chester and Lancaster Counties – from the simple charm of Pennsylvania Dutch
and Amish farmlands to the scenic vistas from the hills along the Susquehanna
River. Warm up on the rolling hills heading west out of Newark, DE toward
Nottingham, PA. Then head for the hills and put your training to the test, on
the infamous Bald Eagle Hill, Fishing Creek Hill, and Duck Hill!
For those new to the Savage Century, it is recommended for the
longer routes that bikes be equipped with a low gear of about 40 gear-inches
(e.g. 28 tooth rear sprocket and 42-tooth chain ring on a typical road bike with
a 27 inch tire) or lower to prevent undue straining of your knees on the major
hills. Come for the ride, ride for the challenge!
| Duck Hill | ||||
| Fishing Creek | ||||
| Bald Eagle | ||||
| Red Hill |
So I am officially done racing until Arizona Ironman on
11/18/12! Let’s just hope I can recover
from these last few weeks and pump out 4 more weeks of training!!!!
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