Race Result

Racer:	Steve Smith
Race:	Reston Triathlon
Date:	Sunday, September 12, 2004
Location:	Reston, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Male 30 - 34
Time:	1:54:16
Overall Place:	1
Comment:	Wow! Too exciting 22:55/53:53/36:02

Race Report:

Just a quick/rough note before I head out for my two-week road-trip to wrap up my A-race season (Nationals in Shreveport and the Half Iron Championship in Kansas City).

I got a good swim start but, for some reason, didn't glom onto the chase pack. As expected, Orton dusted everyone on the swim. A group of five or so formed up behind Orton, on the outside of the swim course. I chose to swim on my own, not sure if this group was fast or not. They were; I chose poorly (even though I *think* I took the better line). Just before the turn-around I see some guy swimming backstroke. Mind you I'm in seventh or eight place right now. And, mind you, he's keeping pace with me :( That was impressive. I see that Dave Cascio is right on my feet at the turn around. That probably worked out well, because he swatted my feet once or twice & that kept my pace going.

Obviously, the swim was slow this year. For one, they started us much further back. Usually we're waist-deep in the water for the start, not on the boat ramp. Compared to last year's swim (22:30) I probably swam a little bit faster, only longer :) I'd say this year's effort would have produced a 22:00 if not a tad faster. Orton had a huge swim year in college this year and he was nearly 40 seconds slower than last year. Well, that's triathlon, always a little fuzzy :) I think I could have held onto the pack of five guys that came in at 21:10-21:30. Maybe. We'll never know.

I had a decent transition, no serious issues, but I did lose a few seconds. As I ran out I got the one piece of information I really needed for the whole race: Three. Three minutes behind the leader. I didn't care about how many other folks were there, I knew this was a race between Mike, myself, and Tim, who would probably be (and was) behind me on the swim). Three. Not great, but within the range I was expecting.

Out on the bike course, I had a decent first loop, which is important because the roads are clean, and a great second loop. My third loop slowed a bit, due in part to the additional cyclists, but mostly due to lack of focus and other issues on my end. I think I can bike a little faster on this course; I thought I could break 53:30 this year. I think I've just spread myself too thin with the increased run volume for IM-Florida, travel, and work. Maybe next year.

I came off the bike 0:55 down and thought to myself, "Oh god, not again." This was the exact scenario last year: down on the swim, make up some on the bike, 0:55 to run 'em down. But I felt much better in the first half-mile this year, and I was running strong. Unlike last year, where the times never seemed to drop, each time check I got was smaller and smaller (just barely, but enough to be a trend). As I approached the turn-around I put on my best "Sunday Jog" face as I ran down the slight incline. Mike looked very strong as he ran up the hill, and he was obviously putting in a great run.

I benefited greatly, imho, from running the course six or seven times in the last six weeks, including one three-loop run and a couple of doubles. As I headed back to the Reston Community Center, I caught a glimpse of Mike. He was far enough away to keep me scared. At this point, I started worrying about Tim behind me. I was pretty sure I would lose some time to Tim on the run; he's a great runner. The race was shaking out just like I thought: Mike leading the race on the swim, me in the middle with a strong bike, and Tim chasing us down with his run speed. At some point I thought, "God, this is cutting it close." I didn't do any math, I just had a gut feel, based on my knowledge of the course, my pace, and my visual sightings of Mike, that this was going to be close.

At the last wooden bridge, I picked up speed. Partly because I could, partly because I had to. I've been doing 1000m repeats for the last 5-6 weeks, in the ball park of 3:18s (33:00 10k). I suspect I held just that pace for the last mile. I was running pretty hard, not flat out, but I could only hold that pace for two miles, if that. Thankfully, there was only one left.

As I went under the last tunnel I didn't think I could get Mike ... and I knew I could. Both emotions at the same time. That's the best I can describe it. It did occur to me that *someone* from Reston was going to win, and that was cool. As I hit That Damn Hill, I just tucked my head down and focused on keeping my turn-over, my heel lift, and not thinking about the hill. As I got to the top, and peered over the hill, I could still see Mike where, last year, my shoulders sagged as I realized Marek was out of reach, where, two years ago, Mike passed me, to take second place by 8 seconds. I thought to myself: He did this to you two years ago. Don't give up! There's still a chance!

I pushed hard as I crested the hill. I saw Mike go onto the track at about the same distance ahead of me he had two years ago. If the track is a clock, we enter at six o'clock and run counter-clockwise to nine o'clock. I pulled close to Mike at three o'clock and pulled away at noon, just outside of Mike in Lane 2. Once I got around him, I evened out my stride, open my closed fists into the flat, straight hands of a sprinter, and pumped my arms. I kept just a little bit in reserve; I wasn't in 100m sprint pace, more like 400m sprint pace. I could probably drop into an all-out sprint, but I would have lost consciousness in, or at least memory of, the last few feet before the finish :) My run split of 36:02 was a run PR by 1:25! and, I think, my 10K PR open or multi-sport (I don't run many open 10K races these days).

What a great race. It's just cool that two Restonians could really push this race to the max. Mike pushed me to my absolute limits and for that I'm incredibly grateful. He ran a gutsy race on the front for 99.6% of the race. I didn't plan to sneak up on him at the end, those were just the dynamics of the race. He PR'd by a sizeable margin and he's got an amazing career ahead of him. Me, I'm getting old and I'll take the win and hope I can sneak in another one in the near future :)

I gotta admit, the crowds were great. I got a huge lift from Aaron & V on the race course, just before hitting the run. And the cheering as we hit the track was amazing. Thanks to everyone who was there, especially the volunteers. Congrats to everyone who raced and I look forward to the race reports.

--stv

I pretty much hit my goals, except for the bike ... I PR'd the race by 1:36, which at this stage in my career is huge. I finally hit the run at this race, and that may have something to do with my modest bike split improvement. With a swim course similar to last year's I would have broken 1:54 easily.

Goals (as of 08-Aug-04):

(Weather permitting)

PR the swim (sub 22:30)
PR the bike, riding sub 53:30, take a stab at course record
PR the run, running sub 36:30

Shoot for a sub 1:54:00 for one of the three fastest times ever; if someone else can go faster, then so be it. But I think that's good enough for the win (2002: 3rd, 2003: 2nd, 2004: ???)