SavageCamp

Friday, May 29, 2009

Rapha Diabolical Double

Yup, it happened. The writeup of the Rapha Diabolical Double by the Rapha crew should appear soon at http://rapha.cc/rapha-continental

129 miles, 16323 feet of climbing, a crisp and cool day in the mountains ideal for cycling, too late a start and just minutes of daylight left at finish. But, Sean and I completed it, and it left quite the impression on the Rapha crew.

Long story short, the ride is hard as hell. The stretch from Friendsville (mile 27) to Howe's Market (mile 67) in particular is simply cruel with Old Morgantown Rd, Everly, Collier, Pigs Ear, Devils Half Acre, Bowman Hill, and Killer Miller, all extended climbs in excess of 15% in that stretch. The second half of the ride has as much total climbing as the first, but I found it marginally easier as the pitches seemed only slightly more sane.

The Rapha crew was super strong. I was not super enthused that morning when they showed up to find they were all racers and all climbers. Clearly they were having tough rides thrown at them (what do they expect, advertising for Epic Rides?), but I expected the Diabolical Double would be at a different level and would put a serious hurt on them. Early in the ride there was a good bit of big ring climbing going on and big ring sprints over little rises that I was sure they would come to regret in 7 hours time.

But, by the end of the day it was very apparent that Sean and I were the weak links in the cog. The final 35 mostly uphill miles home from Westernport did seem to beat down a few of the guys, particularly Steve from Vermont who bonked hard on the North Hill climb. And Graham and Jeremy seemed more than content to ride my pace at this point. However, Ben and Dan disappeared on these final climbs to not be seen again until we limped in at 8:30pm just before dark.

The Rapha riders would not come out and say it was their toughest ride, preferring to say that there are different aspects to different rides that make them tough in different ways - and surely this is true - but I saw a lot of strained faces that evening when getting out of chairs, and the video crew said unequivicobly that this ride hurt the riders more than any one they'd seen yet. And Sam's massage services were quite in demand that evening as well....

The night ended with bbq catered by Grizzly and massages provided by Sam. Poor Sean and Sam were up at 4am to drive home the next day, while Rapha crew, Laura, and I all slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and watched the assembly line of Rapha crew clean and tune up all bikes before heading up to State College, PA in the afternoon.

All in all, an amazing day and a ride to earn anyone's respect.

And, here is a very good blog writeup with excellent pictures by Karlo Gesner who was a support driver for the Rapha crew
http://karlophoto.blogspot.com/2009/05/deep-creek-diabolical-double.html

Here is what appeared in the local paper about it; we were big news in Garrett County!
http://www.therepublicannews.com/articlepage.aspx?id=3618 (front page)
http://www.therepublicannews.com/articlepage.aspx?id=3622 (sports page)
http://www.therepublicannews.com/articlepage.aspx?id=3617 (sports page)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Memorial Day Mini-Savage Update

48 hours ago Sean and I were in the midst of riding the Diabolical Double, and here I am already planning more epic Deep Creek riding. Ugh.

We're going to have two full houses and an awesome weekend of training and fun. I've rented the house across the street for Fri-Sun nights and we've hired Grizzly to bbq for us on Sunday night, so these expenses plus any other "shared" expenses will be split up amongst all.

Due to the number of us we're not planning on cooking for ourselves either night. So, as far as stuff to bring, I'd suggest breakfast and lunch and chips/snacks stuff. Refrigerator space is particularly limited, so bring non-perishables please. Beer, for example. Or, maybe beer. Also, as we are going to be crowded and living space is limited, please try and minimize excess "stuff". We've got plenty of Hammer gels, HEED, Recoverite, etc....

Here's the plan:
There is no plan! The DD wiped me out pretty good, so instead of Sat and Mon big rides, I'm just planning on doing the 120 mile extended version (Thomas, WV climb addition) of the Monongahela Massacre on Sunday. I'll be up for shorter 35-60 rides on Sat and Mon, but nothing epic. As always, am happy to provide cue sheets / Garmins for those looking to go big on a day other than Sunday.

Saturday:
On Saturday, I'll be looking to get in a swim (expect COLD water) and a long run and have my workouts done in time to spend the afternoon at ASCI at this: http://www.hartforanimals.org/ktb. There is also at the same time a "Rails Jam" on WISP where they've got a whole bunch of snow kept under hay that they'll be opening up for some freestyle ski tournament. Might be cool, but Laura, Riley, and I'll probably be at the beer and bluegrass party. Saturday night we should plan on going out for dinner. There's too many of us to plan to cook.

Sunday:
Sunday will be the big ride to Thomas and Monongahela. 120 from Happy Endings. 70 or 85 from Oakland depending on whether the Thomas climb addition is included. Post-ride we've got Grizzly's Grill'n doing burgers and fresh-cut fries for us. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Monday:
Monday I'll probably do a nice 35 miler around the lake and a good run. And that'll do it for 2009 Memorial Day Mini-Savage.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

SavageCamp Update 5/3/09

Here is the final Diabolical Double route. It is very similar to last year's route; just a slight diversion down Sam Friend Rd and up Everly Rd added, because, well, it's there.

The Rapha Continental crew is coming to ride the Diabolical Double on 5/18. You can read their online journal of their rides here: http://rapha.cc/continental/

Here's the tentative SavageCamp schedule:

Every day: swim

6/27: drive to Oakland, race in the new MountainMan Oly Triathlon. Post-race, from Oakland, ride the 70 miles of the Monongahela Massacre from there, possibly adding on the Thomas climb for bonus SavagePoints. Those not racing MountainMan can ride from DCL adding ~30 miles roundtrip.

6/28: long run - 16-18miles

6/29: 80 mile ride including Bowman Hill Bike/Run Match Play Races

6/30: SavageMan Intl bike + 6-9 run

7/1: 80 mile ride + short run

7/2: swim + run / recover

7/3: Diabolical Double

7/4: swim + run / recover

7/5 long run (16-20m) and leave

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

SavageCamp 2009 and Memorial Day Mini-Savage

RSVP please using the following evite links for SavageCamp and Memorial Day Mini-Savage

It's time to start thinking about Memorial Day Mini-Savage and SavageCamp. In particular, we need to figure out whether we have enough beds for everyone or whether we need to take advantage of the rental across the street.

I believe Happy Endings is at capacity for Memorial Day Mini-Savage. I have not reserved the rental across the street, so need to act fast if it's needed.

Happy Endings is almost definitely full for the week of SavageCamp, and we have the rental across the street reserved for the second weekend. I need to find out soon whether we actually need the rental for the first weekend and/or the entire week as well.

Please RSVP via the following evite links, regardless of whether you have previously informed me of your plans:

Memorial Day Mini-Savage
SavageCamp (if you plan to attend any portion)

SavageCamp update 3/31/09

Big news on the SavageCamp front! The Diabolical Double has been selected as one of Rapha Continental's Top 25 Epic Rides. They will be sending out their team and support vehicle and photographer to document the ride on May 20. Unfortunately for me, this means two things.
1 - I have to be in shape to do the Double by 5/20.
2 - There ain't no way I'm doing it again during Memorial Day Mini-Savage a few days later.

SavageCamp Schedule
After much deliberation and concern that SavageCamp is too close to Lake Placid, I have decided that three weeks recovery from a hard week culminating in the Diabolical Double is perfect. So, the SavageCamp schedule remains 6/26 - 7/5. For those attending just one or both weekends, the plan is to ride big on Saturday 6/27 (will include the Bowman Hill Run/Bike Match Races), the Monongahela Massacre (112) on 7/2, and the Diabolical Double on 7/4. If you're looking to maximize experience and minimize vacation time, plan on both weekends and arriving Weds night.

SavagePoints
There has been much off-season SavagePoint trash talking. Yes, it's true. Sean took the 2008 title by the narrowest of margins (yes, the blueberry pancakes made the difference), but he has his work cut out for him in 2009.

Here's how SavagePoints are allocated:
1 pt per mile on bike
2 pts per 1K feet elevation on bike
7 pts per mile run
25pts per hour swim
10pts stage KOM winner
10pts stage winner

Point system TBD for special events like the Bowman Hill Bike/Run Match Races and time-handicapped Big Savage Mountain Time Trial.

Points are also given and deducted as ChiefSavage sees fit. Extraordinary actions like blueberry pancake breakfasts for all or fetching Kyle a beer while he recovers in the hammock are rewarded handsomely. Pathetic actions like staying home to eat healthy while we go out to eat wings or cutting a ride short because of a little rain are worthy of SavagePoint deductions.

Current SavagePoint scores
SavageCamp may still be months away, but already the Yosts have found a way to the front of the field and others have managed SavagePoint deductions.

At the Deep Creek Dunk there were 100 SavagePoints per sex to be divied up to all who participated, plus 10 points for anyone going for a full submersion and 10 points for the Savage who was last to leave the frozen lake. Last second pathetic bail-outs by Ashley, Sean, and Adrianne earned them each 20 pt deductions. In addition, Sean has twice earned additional 10 pt deductions for trying to play the role of ChiefSavage and hand out points himself. A 5 point redemption was given for his willingness to ride at 10pm midweek instead of 5am.

This leaves us at:

110 pts: Laura Yost
70 pts: Kyle Yost
60 pts: Pete Warner
-20 pts: Ashley McWilliams
-20 pts: Adrianne Kroepsch
-35 pts: Sean Ward

As is already apparent, this competition has a home-field advantage!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

SavageCamp 2008 – Going to the Edge…

On Friday, June 13, I departed for my first ever weeklong training camp up in Deep Creek Maryland. I would be staying at the lake home of Kyle & Laura Yost (wedding bells are a coming). Kyle is also the evil mastermind behind this endeavor and he was able to get a great group of triathletes together for an unbelievable week of suffering, torture, fun and camaraderie before most of us embark on our Ironman journey in the coming month.

Oh, yeah, there was also the coveted SavageCamp award for winning the most Savage points which mainly derived from a point system designed to reward overall volume in all 3 disciplines. You could also add or subtract points for good behavior (Sean making killer pancakes for the group) or bad behavior (me staying home to run and eating sweet potatoes vs. stuffing myself with pizza at Smiley’s and not being social – shame on me!) or just generally going above and beyond . Needless to say, Sean walked away with Savagecamp bragging rights as the winner. It had to be the pancakes!

As an added bonus to all the training, we were fortunate enough to have a soigner on board, Samantha Galpin. Sam was a savior. Not only would she train all day, but she would also find time to provide massages to the needy group of sore athletes. She helped flush our muscles and was a tremendous help with our recovery between our harder days.

It’s now July 3 as I’m writing this, and honestly, it has taken me a few weeks to wrap my brain around everything we did. My pre-camp thoughts on the week were this:

How cool! A full week of uninterrupted training without any distractions. I get to ride/run/swim to my hearts content.
I’m in just about the best shape of my life, so this should just be icing on the cake.
I’ll have lots of time to soak in recovery between workouts, so the riding shouldn’t be too bad.
Heck, hopefully I’ll be able to shed a few more pounds during the week so I can get down to my race weight goal.
Really, how hard can it be? I’ve read a lot about Epic Camps and it always sounds like more fun than hard work.
My mantra for the week was “Go Long or Go Home!”

Oh, boy. How wrong I was about a few things! I think it’s also about time I preface the nature of cycling out in the Deep Creek region since we are in the mountains after all. Climbs, Steep Climbs, and when you thought you’d seen it all, you’d hit the REALLY Steep Climbs; some short while others felt never ending. The beauty of the region is exceptional. Throw in lots of great, winding descents on well maintained roads and you end up with many extraordinary days of cycling. So, suffice it to say, every ride we embarked on we had to be mentally prepared to suffer at some point or many points. Thank god for my 39-27!!!

I ended up bringing both my tri-bike and road bike. I figured it would be nice to mix things up a bit. I also never realized the gravity of how hungry I would be during the week! I don’t think I ever passed the kitchen without grabbing something to eat. I also blame Haig for some of it since he found this incredible bag of lucky charm marshmallows at Candyland which I couldn’t stop eating! Who knew you could just buy the lucky charm marshmallows? I was in heaven! I even picked up a bag on my way home. My weight loss plan was thrown out the window. I just figured it was more important to have fuel in the tank than trying to lose those final few pounds.

Here’s a quick (ok not so short) rundown for how my week went:

Saturday:

On the first Saturday morning, it was finally time to get the show on the road. Kyle led us on a 6 hour, 97 mile ride to soften us up and provide the introduction for what was to come throughout the week. I felt good after wrapping this first ride up albeit my Powertap (PT) showed that it was the hardest ride I’ve ridden to date (400 TSS/ NP 256). We also had to endure some pretty nasty rain for much of this ride.

Another pretty cool thing Kyle did was in introducing us to the use of Garmin GPS tracking units. Some already had GPS units but since there were quite a few of us, it starts to be become almost impossible to keep together throughout the day. Kyle had purchased a few extras to pass around for those of us not addicted to the powers of Garmin, yet. He would load the courses in the Garmin’s and unless you couldn’t read, all you had to do was follow the instructions to stay on course. Very nifty!

Early in the evening, I decided a short 30 minute EZ run would probably help my legs feel better and get the blood flowing again.

Time to hit the rack. I also don’t think many made it past 10 p.m. the entire week. Although I must say, I believe there were times where my body was so tired that I couldn’t fall asleep. I really didn’t sleep all that well the entire week which was weird because I’m generally a very heavy sleeper. Maybe it was my bunkmate’s snoring? Sean, next year that is a deduction!;-)

Sunday:

A.M.: Run 1 loop around lake (10.4 mile) with Sean, Kyle and Ashley. A pretty good clip. 7:30:40 pace. Finished running the last 30 minutes or so around the park with Kyle. A good effort. Legs felt pretty good considering the ride yesterday. Sam hooked me up on a massage afterward which helped a lot! Swum later in the afternoon to the bridge and back twice for about an hour.

Monday:

A.M.:62 mile Ride. (4 hrs, TSS=268, NP=256) Dang, rain again! I lost more Savage points for cutting this ride short as Sam and I headed home early.

P.M.: Short 4 mile run followed by 25 minute swim to bridge and back.

Tuesday:

A.M: Savageman course with 50min run afterward NP=262 TSS=240. Legs actually felt pretty good once I got going so I was able to get a gap on the crew which I knew I would need to fend Sean off for KOM points up Savage Mountain. Low and behold, as I’m about a mile from the top, I glance back and see Sean coming like a bat out of hell. Sh!t! I REALLY start working hard to fend him off. He finally catches me about 200 yards from the top. I figure my only chance is to go like mad the second he reaches my wheel and hope he doesn’t have any bullets left. I drop the hammer and after about 10 seconds look back to see if Sean is still glued on. He popped. Thank heavens! I think I earned my first and last KOM points for the trip. So much for any easy climbing! Thanks, Sean. I really needed that.

We also had a nice little drag race back to the house. You see, Kyle had this perverse idea that you earned Savage points if you were the first to arrive back at home. So, yes, after a grueling day, you had to look forward to one last leg searing dash to home. Today, I decided since I felt good that I would try to escape about 5 miles from home. The escape part worked, but I had some serious horses in chase (Tom, Kyle & Sean). I was hoping they would give me a little more leash, but they let me dangle out there for some time before Tom decided enough was enough and shut it down. At that point, it quickly became evident that whoever had the burst to climb that little roller before the park would take it. We hit that little climb and Sean bolted. Tom and I popped. Kyle made a valiant fight but Sean was gone. Victory awarded to Sean!

Wednesday:

A.M.: Run 1 hr 30min trail run with Sam

P.M.: Swim- bridge and back 2 ½ times. 40 minute recovery ride around the lake.

Thursday:

*Probably my hardest day (legs were feeling some serious fatigue)

A.M.: Swim- to bridge and back.

Cycle: Monongahela Massacre (109 miles - Time= 6 h 17 min, Calories burned= 4720, ~NP= 250)

We also had the welcome addition of Ted who did a ton of pulling us around! Amy & Matt from England joined us, too. Ted was climbing like a man possessed.

Friday:

A.M.: Cycle the Savageman Olympic course. I took it pretty easy and followed it up with a 45 minute transition run. Getting ready for the DD!

P.M.: Massage and Swim to the bridge and back twice.

Saturday: The day of reckoning!

A.M.: The Diabolical Double- start time 8 a.m.

At this point in camp, it felt just like yesterday that we were starting this madness. It seemed to fly by so fast. It’s at this point which I realized that this past week had been a lot of work! I originally thought I would have all this free time to take naps and enjoy a few books I brought along. Well, it didn’t exactly work out that way. The week was about to culminate in the toughest ride I’ve ever done and imaginable. And it’s coming at the end of a full week of training harder than I ever have before.

It was odd, the evening before I had hard time relaxing enough to sleep. I was definitely having a case of pre-race anxiety! In the back of my mind, I really didn’t know how I would fare. I figured if I paced myself appropriately and stayed on top of my nutrition I should be able to pull through it in good shape. But in reality, I had no idea how it would go. I guess it was just a fear of the unknown which was causing my anxiety.

The day started with some nice easy riding. This was the warm up and I knew this was no indication for what was to come. After a brief stop roughly 20 miles in at Sheetz, we headed out where would start to hit the first of 10 categorized (by Kyle’s rating system). My mile estimates aren’t precise but I’m just noting for reference purposes. Miles 20-40 begin with the nice introduction to some nasty little climbs. I really didn’t feel all that great on the first one and was suffering a little bit more than I thought I would be at this point. I kept reminding myself to pace it. Don’t redline and climb at your own speed.

The second checkpoint (stop and refuel) came around mile 40. The next segment was going to be one of the toughest. It included the notorious Bowman Hill and the Miller Road climbs. The good news was that I felt like my legs were coming around.

We then arrived at the general store which you pass on the Savageman Half course (~65 miles?) I was so damn hungry at this point. We all ordered sandwiches and raided the store for nutrition. After a nice little break for lunch, it was time to get back in the saddle. Onward we rode.

The climbs kept smacking you in the face. The scenery was incredible. It’s also at this point I realized that all I needed to do was reach the descent to Westernport in decent shape and this ride would almost be in the books. Oh, how wrong I would be! Ted, Kyle and Matias crushed this section and as Sean and I came barreling into Westernport, we notice Kyle at the top of The Wall! He’s goating us on to ride up the Wall! At first, I thought he was nuts. But then peer pressure sunk in by the time Sean and I rolled around to the bottom. The better part of my brain suddenly shut down. The next thing I know, I’m halfway up the Wall barely managing to turn my pedals over as I slowly grind away. Holy cow! I made it. Sweet. The home stretch is here and I’m still on my bike and not in some ditch in the middle of no man’s land completely shattered!

We stop at the Westernport market store for one last refuel. Everyone is excited to smell the finish line in the distance. It’s at this point, too, that our resident Ironman veteran and training angel, Tom, volunteers to escort Katie back to Happy Endings so she gets back safe and sound. According to Kyle, this was the unknown portion of the ride which had never been riden, at least the way we were riding it. He knew there was some climbing left, but not sure how tough it would be. Well let me tell you. It was brutal!

It wasn’t that it was so steep, but the climb out of Westernport seemed to last for about an hour. It was unrelenting. My Powertap revealed this to be the hardest hour of the entire ride. By this time, I think I became numb to the pain. My sole focus was just “keep spinning the pedals over. The end will come!”

With about 13 miles to go, I realized I had completely drained my 3 bottles. We’d left Westernport about 2 hrs prior and had only covered approximately 25 miles. My avg speed for this portion was around 13.5 mph. I remember saying to Sean that I think I needed to stop for water or else I wouldn’t make it. I think Sean was also close to his breaking point because he quickly responded that he would be all for stopping, too.

Low and behold, as we approach an old, tired looking gas station, we see Kyle in the road waving us down. Hallelujah!!! I pounded a coke and got some water. We decided to wait for the others since it was getting pretty late. I think it was around 5:30 p.m. at this point. We were growing a little concerned about Laura and Amy since everyone else had made it to the final stop. Had they made a wrong turn? After waiting awhile, we decided to head out and hope Laura and Amy found the way home.

Those last 9 miles weren’t exactly child’s play. Every bump in the road hurt. I did manage enough energy to keep Kyle halfway honest during the finishing sprint, but I proved no match for him in the end. Out of everyone, I would have to say, Kyle just kept getting stronger the more we rode throughout the week. You can tell he’s got a lot of miles in those legs.

HOME!!! We made it! It was really exhilarating to conquer such a challenging ride. It was weird, though. In a strange way, all the accumulated fatigue seemed to dissipate as I sat with my bike reflecting on the day with the gang. Yes, I was extremely tired, but the thrill of finishing seemed to evaporate all those tough times throughout the day. I guess that’s what one of my more euphoric moments ever!

Thanks, Kyle. It was an awesome day!

Power #’s: Distance= 127 miles. Time=8:21 ride time. TSS= 548. NP= 251

Everyone rushed to shower up and head up to the Honi-Honi for some much needed beer, food and viewing of the local talent show contest. What a way to cap the day off!

Sunday:

A.M.: 11 mile run around the lake. The end….

Reflection:

What an incredible week! I’ve always heard about people going to “the edge” in their training by pushing themselves to the tipping point of overtraining where no real fitness gains are made and the risk of future poor performance is staring you in the face. I knew it was a fine line to walk, but I never thought I’d have the time or training partners to get me there. Well, let me tell you, I wouldn’t like to go there often, but I now know what “the edge” feels like. I know I’m stronger for it.

No matter how my race goes at IMLP, I know I will draw on my experiences during this week to pull me through the tough times. It’s almost as if the race itself will be anticlimactic compared to this camp. It’s this bond of suffering through training which I also know will help motivate myself to push to a higher level. It’s going to be incredible towing the line at LP with the confidence I gained during Savagecamp.

Good luck to all,

Pete