Rev3: Salute Sprint 2017 Race Report

Rev3’s Salute to the Military Trithlon is the second race of the 2017 Rev3 Virginia Sprint Series. Sprint races that allow a quick recovery fit in perfectly as short fun events, as my two main goals for this year is to race in one XTERRA race and do one long course race which is scheduled later this year in October. What makes Rev3’s Sprint series so appealing is all the races are close to home (except for the newly added Williamsburg Sprint on June 8th). By combining some short speed work in the beginning of the season, then changing to long distance work after July, this will keep me strong all the way through October¹.

Salute is held at Larry Weeks outdoor pool in Vint Hill, VA. If you ever get a chance to visit, don’t forget there is a great winery and brewery right across the street as both places are excellent at their craft, and are also open to kids (as we have done MANY times). As for race conditions, I couldn’t have asked for better weather as it was a mostly cloud day, with amost no wind, and the temperature started at 60° and peaked around 70° just after I crossed the finish line. I was not going to be overheated and become dehydrated today, I was here to give everything!

Race Breakdown

Swim

Larry Weeks is a 25 meter outdoor pool, so we completed 12 laps for the total 300m swim of the sprint race. Self seeding was done at pool side which allows people to place themselves near a clearly marked sign that signifies their expected time for a 100y pace. I wanted to push myself a little towards the middle of the 1:30/100y and 1:45/100y section, but I eventually got pushed back. This was fine, as I always get anxious if people are tapping my feet/legs as I don’t want to be the reason in slowing other racers down. The one downside to Larry Weeks pool is it’s really only six lanes wide, so swimmers had to stay to one side of a lane to make sure they didn’t have a head-on collision with another racer. This made passing VERY difficult and dangerous… which is exactly what happened on lap four. A guy behind me tried to sprint around myself and the lady in front, but instead he ran into another racer (teammate Federico). When we got to the wall, the lady (who I was tapping during the lap) kindly let me pass while the race director had a “talk” with the attempted passer about pool safety.

• Training Peaks Swim Data

Bike

The bike route is mostly flat, so you follow Rule #90 and keep it in the big ring! I was able to keep a good pace and maintained a 3.08 W/kg average, then pushed a little harder on the second loop with a 3.20 W/kg average. I might have been able to shave off a couple more seconds on the total time, but during the 2nd loop slower riders were on the course and the neighborhood residents were venturing out to enjoy the holiday weekend. A truck was keeping safe by going slow behind the slower riders, but then I was being held back by the slower truck. Half way through the second loop I was a little worried what was going to happen on the run, as my right calf was telling me I was pushing a little hard. Aptly, I replied with “Shut up legs, deal with it! This is a sprint race and there is no time for falling apart!”

• Training Peaks Bike Data

Run

The run course was different this year as there was construction in the Vint Hill neighborhood. Excluding the small section on the side of the main field, we were on nicely paved residential sidewalks for a “snake” patter that went out and back. There were some sections that had a small incline such as the last 1/3 mile to get to the turnaround point, but what was great is the last mile was mostly downhill so you could really push yourself and negative split the run. My right calf gave me little reminders that it was not happy with me, but it didn’t have any affect on my performance… simply made some slight form corrections to make sure everything stayed happy.

• Training Peaks Run Data

Post Race Thoughts

I can confidently say that I gave it everything! I pushed myself on all three sports to the point where I was becoming uncomfortable, almost puking at the finish line. The last quarter mile I pushed myself so hard that I was running below a 7:00/mi pace and my heart rate peaked at 182bpm.

Once again big thanks to Rev3 for a great time and a great race! Course was well marked, which always makes people happy that they didn’t miss a turn! The event was STACKED with some really great athletes. Racing against Speed Sherpa teammates Josh and Federico made this even better! We were so well matched against each other there was just over 2 minutes separating between the three of us on our total times.

Relive Video

Race Results

Rankings

• Overall: Placed 13th out of 191 (top 7%).
• Gender: Placed 12th out of 116 (top 10%).
• Male 40-44: Placed 2nd² out of 21 (top 10%).

Among the Male 40-44 category there were 21 athletes:

• Swim: Ranked 4th
• Bike: Ranked 3rd
• Run: Ranked 6th

Updated 2016-06-02 (Race Photos)

Splits

Rev3 Sprint	300m Swim	T1	12.4 Mile Bike	T2	5k Run	Total
Goal Times3	6:00	2:00	33:50	1:00	22:50	1:05:40
Actual Times4	5:40	1:36	34:24	0:41	21:58	1:04:19

Footnotes

1. I’ve noticed a trend that I get tired of training/racing in September. This year will be a mental challenge along with a physical challenge. ↩

2. Ok, really 3rd in Age Group (AG)… but the guy who won my AG was the 2nd fastest person overall! Therefore, he was bumped up to the “Overall Winner” group. ↩

3. Goal Times were based on 2:00/100m, 22mph bike, 7:21/mi pace run ↩

4. Official Race Results available at Rev3 Salute Results page. ↩