I'm pretty sure that orange tabby is the one that had my daughter wishing she could have a new cat.

I completely agree with you on this--and that was only doing the half (in '15)!!

Would you like to see this type of format-3 day 'stage' race continue?? At Savageman and maybe other races?

Absolutely- it made it so fun to strategize how hard to push on each leg each day and have to know what the time gaps were. I honestly just wanted to manage my time on Sunday and not let the guys finish too far ahead of me knowing where my cumulative lead was going into it. Crossing the line first for the 70 was icing on the cake.

The prologue was fun, but obviously I’m more of a cyclist, so if I had to change anything I’d make day 1 a super sprint triathlon instead of a swim-run.

Racing multiple days is something I’ve practiced before, just not for cumulative time. I did quite well in the AG Nationals double back in 2014, and I regular race Pumpkinman in Maine which is a Saturday sprint and a Sunday Olympic or Half. I’m actually thinking it’s time to ask Rachel (race director) to turn that one into a stage race!

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Tim Russell, Pro Triathlete

Instagram- @timbikerun

Thank! I was just glad to survive the weekend and had loads of fun doing it.

Great Race! And thanks for opening up to questions! Did you do anything in training to specifically prepare for the 3 days?

Thanks! So to get the energy systems ready for the demands I tried to really stack up my workouts so that I was doing harder, faster stuff one day then longer stuff the next day. Mile repeats on Friday, then a 5-6 hour ride Saturday, for example, instead of taking a rest or easier day between. It helps that my two best training partners were going for Leadville and Kona this year, so it was rarely difficult to find a real strong rider to get out with most weekends (these guys can drop me most days!).

As for specific sessions, I really tailored training to the 70, assuming that strength would translate down. Hardest interval session on the bike was 4x hill repeats (18-19 minute segment, 8-9 minutes downhill to rest). That was a great session, but in hindsight I wish I took it a notch further and did 2x hill repeats up a mountain (~40 minute segment) because Savage mountain was soooo long. Mt Grelock nearby is very similar. Biggest run interval session was a treadmill long run with 5x6’ hill repeats, all around 7:30-8:00 pace, 7% grade. Might have been partially a mental advantage, but going up fire tower I envisioned myself back in that session and felt well prepared. The only training tweak that wasn’t centered around the 70 was a bit more paddle/pull in the pool to prep for the prologue. First time racing with paddles... felt like my lats were tossed in a meat grinder!

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Tim Russell, Pro Triathlete

Instagram- @timbikerun

Nice vid of the 70 from Kinetic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWwPSdT3Ij8

I thought I had paced myself well all weekend but boy was I wrong. . .

It is deceiving on this this course when you see someone just ahead of you. Going up the wall Tim dropped me, but I could see him and John just up the road. I put in a solid effort trying to latch back on but towards the top of big Savage I absolutely blew up where it kicked up on one section. I just watched my power get lower and lower the rest of the ride.

I definitely want to come back for some redemption because it was a very fun weekend with close and exciting racing.

I staffed at the race but found some time on Thursday to ride up the Westernport section a few times. My wife found a silver tabby at the bottom of the wall that jumped in our car twice when I was putting my bike back in... maybe my spirit animal? I digress, I race a 1x as well but there's no way my 54/11-28 would work out on that one climb... what 1x gearing do you run?

Otherwise great racing out there... I was the the run course captain this weekend, so saw you at various stages of the different races. Might like to jump into the mix next year vs. staffing this one although this time of year I'm generally laying low... after Nationals/ITU Worlds. Awesome job!

Well done. I was telling Greg that from what I could tell the courses were all well marked and well staffed, which is no small feat for any of those courses - bike or run.

I'll echo that it is an awesome race. I love it, except for how difficult the course is. I'm a MOP and heavy, so that bike course crushed me. Overall, it's unlike anything else I've done in triathlon and the course is absolutely beautiful. It was a true bucket list race. I didnt' get my brick. I crashed on the wall. I read all the blogs and tips on how to do it. I was on the right side going up and hopped to my left to avoid a big rut. I ended up 3/4 of the way up on the left hand side and couldn't correct. Spill. The wall, however is not even close to the hardest thing on that course.

Also, Kinetic is a GREAT race organizer. So impressed with how they did things. Definitely top notch organization.

I think I know the exact rut you are speaking of... I went around it and over it during my climbs on the Westerport Wall, but it was a pretty good sized crack by the right curb.. the biggest issue I had was tires sort of bouncing on the concret part of the wall, steep and rough. I run tubeless on my road bike and think they were around 90sh psi. I digress, not an easy climb and I hope you try it again!

We love reading stuff like that.

My 1x was a 50x33, I just got SRAM AXS so that new 10 cog lets me do a lot better going downhill (typically where I get dropped or thrown on the ropes at 70.3). I went out for a long recon ride Wednesday and the wall felt so much harder, thought I was having an aneurysm. On race day it seemed like I blinked and it was over, race adrenaline and crowd support can make a huge difference!

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Tim Russell, Pro Triathlete

Instagram- @timbikerun

That rut is called The Pit of Despair. Few who go in come out upright.

during my pre-ride I had 28s tubeless at 70 psi, so any and all cracks didn't phase me. Was one of the reasons I was picking the 28s, since smaller tires don't always have the best feedback for tubeless. But rear tire got a cut the weekend before and I wasn't going to trust a plug/sealant and went with a tubed 26 at like 85 psi, definitely bounced a bit more on that segment.