Smithfield Triathlon

On Saturday, April 4 I participated in a nice short triathlon in Smithfield, VA with a 300 meter pool swim, 10 mile bike and a 5k run. Since this was a pool swim, the registration form requested an estimated swim time for 100 yards for seeding. I didn't know if this was the time one could do a 100 yard sprint or the average 100 yard time for the 300 meter swim. (Note the mixed units!) I figured that the time was for an average so I put an estimate of 1:20/100 yards, which means I should finish the 300 meter swim in about 4:30. About a week before the event, I received an email from the race organizers making sure I entered a correct time since the time entered would seed me towards the front. In short, they wanted to make sure I didn't put in a 50 yard estimated time. I explained that I swam competitively, albeit many years ago, and gave them a swim time from a tri last fall. I greatly appreciate the diligence of the organizers since the last thing I want to do was to hold up a faster swimmer, nor do I want to be held up. I ended up seeded 17.



I entered in the Master Clydesdale category since it was offered, even though some of the category participants could be as much as thirteen years younger then me. But what the heck! The race started at 10 so I could just drive from home in Richmond. Also, my wife came with me to keep me company and also because we had some friends from church who also participated. The weather was nice albeit windy. The race started without problem. I started the swim and kept pace with the person who started before me and the person behind feel somewhat behind. The swim went smoothly and I finished with a time of 4:35, just 5 seconds off the estimate.



The first transition was okay, not great. The air was cool but I warmed up quickly. However, the bike leg started slow with a major headwind. The middle part of the race had a major crosswind, which made it hard to stay on the aerobars. The final leg was fast with the tail wind. The bike time was under my goal of 30:00 minutes and I was feeling pretty good.



T2 was okay like the first transition and I started on the run. Immediately, my calves started to cramp and I had to stop to stretch them out. The run started slow but then I found my rhythm but being a master clydesdale, I was passed by some really fast runners and not so fast runners! The run time was 27:19 and slower than my goal of 27 minutes but still not bad for me. My final time was 1:03:43, under my goal of 1:05. I ended up second in the master clydesdale category.

I felt good about the race and optimistic about future races. Next race is the National Duathlon race in Richmond and then Rocketts Landing.