2023 Smithfield Sprint Triathlon

Race Report

56:05

 1/10 AG     20/345 Overall

April 1, 2023 – My 2022 race season ended in Williamsburg in September at the Patriot’s Olympic Triathlon. I did nothing but sprint and Olympic distance triathlons in 2022, and it was my lowest training volume since 2015. Even so, I finished the season totally burned out and unmotivated. One hour long runs on Sundays felt like eternities, even though those would have been recovery week long runs in years past. While I did go 4/4 in age group podiums in triathlons in 2022, there were no first place finishes, and my fitness – particularly my run fitness – wasn’t where it needed to be.

To be clear, this was 100% on me, not my coaches. Between work and kids’ activities, I was typically burning the candle at both ends before even factoring in training. Its hard to get home at 9 p.m. from Boy Scouts or soccer practice and then climb out of bed at 4:30 – 5:00 a.m. to get in a workout before having to get the kids up for school at 6 a.m. I’ve done it before, but its much easier to stay motivated and resist the urge to re-set the alarm when I have a goal race on my calendar. After the One City Marathon in March of 2022, none of the races I’d signed up for were giving me that level of motivation. I really love long course racing, but hadn’t done a 70.3 or 140.6 since Ironman Louisville in October of 2019. My schedule still won’t allow me to train properly for a 140.6, so motivation for 2023 came in the form of making it the year of the 70.3.

After the Patriot’s race in September 2022, I took about five weeks of doing very little training-wise to reset. I’d always had my eye on Ironman North Carolina 70.3 in Wilmington, and signed up for it when registration opened in the Fall. I also targeted the Rev3 70.3 in Williamsburg in July, but Wilmington is the real goal for the year.

In addition, I was invited to join the Flo Factory Competition Team for 2023, which was exciting in and of itself. I’ve ridden Flo wheels for years, so it was a good fit. I’m still training with Karen and Erin, the only real change is the color of my tri-suit on race day. So, with a little rest and change at the end of 2022, I headed into 2023 with a renewed sense of purpose.

The first race on the 2023 itinerary was the Smithfield Sprint Triathlon. Which, if I must say, has one of the greatest trophies in sport. The green jacket at The Masters has nothing on a golden pig perched atop a tower of marble and plastic. A prize pig indeed. In any event, I’d won two third place AG trophies at Smithfield in the past, and I was determined to bring home a first place hog this time around.

The forecast for race morning was calling for insane amounts of wind, with gusts up to 50 mph. Thankfully it wasn’t quite as bad as forecasted, but it was a pretty steady 20+ mph with some gusts in the 30s and 40s. I chose not to ride with a disc wheel for fear of getting blown over. It was so windy, that my bike would only stay on the rack if I put my transition bag on the downwind side of the bike to keep it from swaying. Temperature-wise though, it was fine.

Swim- 5:12  (1:44/100m)    2/10 AG

The 300 meter swim takes place in the YMCA pool. Athletes are supposed to self-seed themselves based upon their projected swim time, with faster swimmers going off first. In years past, they’ve had us lined up for 10-15 minutes before starting, which gives everyone a fair amount of time to self-seed. For whatever reason, we only had a few minutes to line up, which caused the swim to be a jumbled mess.

I self seeded a little under 5:00 minutes, knowing that it takes about 10-15 seconds to get out of the pool, to exit the building and to finally hit the timing mat that formally ends your swim. Unfortunately, I began overtaking swimmers in front of me by the second lap. It can be hard to pass people in a pool swim, particularly if they don’t stop at the wall once you catch them. Due to the backup, I felt like I lost 20-30 seconds on my time.

T1 – 1:08  1/10 AG

T1 is a long sprint along the side of the transition area down towards the finish line, then you take a hard left and head inside the barricades to the bikes. Its a bit painful to run on the asphalt in bare feet, but I managed to get to my bike without incident. I really try to hustle in transition, particularly in shorter races when every second matters, so I was pleased to be 1/10 in my age group in T1.

Bike – 26:46  (22.4 mph)    2/10 AG

The bike course is an out-and-back “lollipop” course, with one major hill at the turnaround point. The wind was generally against me from my left going out and with me from my right coming back in. For the most part, I didn’t have too many issues controlling the bike, even in aero. There were a few gusts that made things a bit squirrelly though, and I was glad that I chose to leave the disc wheel in my car. I only saw one person riding a disc, but he made it through without incident. Incidentally, he is another member of the Flo team.

I pushed hard on the bike, but didn’t really have anyone to work with out on the course. Oddly, my bike split of 26:46 was the fastest time in my four or five years of racing at Smithfield – even with the wind. That was pretty surprising, but I was happy to take it.

T2 – 1:03 1/10AG

T2 was uneventful, and after racking my bike, I put on my running shoes, and grabbed my hat and race belt with my bib. I snapped on the race belt as I headed out of the transition area and was first in my age group again in T2. I often lose time to faster people on the run, so I need all the “free” time I can get.

Run – 21:57 (7:04 min/mile) 1/10 AG

My goal for the run was to average as close to 7-minute miles as possible. I’d gotten some Hoka Mach 5’s recently, which were much lighter than the Hoka Bondis that I’d been training and racing in for several years. I was anxious to see if they’d help my run. They definitely felt lighter.

Mile 1 (7:24)

There was crosswind for most of the run. It was coming from my right on the way out, and my legs felt really heavy out of transition. I couldn’t make the pace I wanted, but I knew from prior experience that I should get faster as I went on. That kept me from worrying too much, and by the end of the first mile, I was feeling pretty good.

Mile 2 (7:13)

There was a little uphill portion at the start of the second mile, and the wind was still coming from my right, so it wasn’t too much of a factor. I took a left turn to head towards the turnaround cone, which put the wind at my back. All of a sudden, I was rolling, but I knew that it was only temporary. I hit the turnaround cone and headed directly back into the wind. It was so strong that I had to hold on to my hat so it didn’t fly off my head, and it felt like I was running into a wall. I finally took a right turn, and headed back down the hill, with the wind at my left. I finished the second mile in 7:13, and was still feeling OK. I definitely had some juice left in the tank for the last mile.

Mile 3 (6:51)

The final mile is mostly, flat, and thankfully, the wind was mostly coming from my left, so it wasn’t a huge deal. I sped up as much as I could, but I was sucking a lot of wind at that point. There’s a long straightaway that leads to the finish line, and it just seemed to go on forever. Eventually I got there, and finished the run in 21:57, which was a 7:04 pace. I was very happy with that effort.

Post-Race

Ultimately I learned that I finished 1/10 in my age group, so I had finally captured the long-coveted first place pig trophy. it was also my first race in the Flo blue tri-suit, so it felt good to represent the team and to make the podium.