2022 Season Recap

Do people still blog? Well, here we go.

2022 was the first year I dedicated my entire training to triathlon.  I did my first triathlon (Olympic distance) in the fall of 2020 & won my Age Group! I had no idea what I was doing but I had a lot of fun with the training and was excited to try my first 70.3 in the summer of 2021. But I was still convinced that I was a runner. I scaled back the swim & bike training and set out to run a spring marathon in 2021. I got injured in the build up, ran the race, and ran my worst marathon since the fall of 2016. I was so disappointed and hopped in a duathlon on limited training the following decision. It was a reckless decision but I finished 3rd. It was here that I decided to go all-in on triathlon. I qualified for the 70.3 World Champs in my debut 70.3. I raced as many triathlons as I could & gained invaluable experience in a sport where I'm still learning new things each day. The governing body for the sport, USAT, gives you a score rating every time you race. At the end of 2021, my best mark was a 99 and 104 was what you needed to turn professional. I had my heart set on a new goal in 2022 -- see how close you can get to the pro standard -- and went to work.

I kicked off the year with an olympic triathlon (St. Anthony's) in Florida in May. The winter months were tough, after a bout with COVID, but I ended up running a 1:13 half marathon personal best in March. My swimming & biking was coming along nicely. St. Anthony's is a big spring race. They have an elite field, which I was able to register for. I ended up finishing 8th in the elite field -- a very good season opener. I swam about as well as I could have. My bike showed me that I have more work to do in that discipline (theme in 2022). My run leveled up from the year before. I had the 3rd fastest run & broke 35:00 for 10k in the heat. I received a 101 score rating, my best to this point, but USAT moved the goalposts in 2022. You now need a 105.9 to become professional. I thought my result would score higher but the scores are based on how well the middle of a race does from one year to the next. So if weather is more favorable from one year to the next then it's hard to score high. If you travel from the northeast where it's 40 degrees and then race in 80 degrees when that's spring for everyone else then that can factor in too. I was starting to understand how the scoring worked but my season schedule was set. I just had to go out and do my best at the races I had already picked out.

My first big goal race of the season was 70.3 Oregon in early July. I finished 2nd overall at a local Olympic and 1st overall at a local sprint. The latter gave me my first overall win in a multi-sport event. It also gave me a 104.4 score rating. Why the jump from 101 to 104.4 in one month? Was I a different athlete? I don't think so. The race I won was on one of the first really warm days of summer close to where I live. I did well in those conditions relative to the field. It was also a sprint triathlon, which suits me better than an olympic because the swim/bike are proportionally less of the race distance. As someone newer to those disciplines, the olympic harder for me to score higher in. I really like that distance but a 104 is different from a 101. When you need to score a 106, details matter. I went into Oregon with a lot of confidence and I had a great race. The swim was downriver & I went 18:34 (10th AG). I biked 2:28 (11th AG). I ran 1:19 (1st AG). All of that adds up to a 4th place AG finish & 14th OA. The year before that sort of placing got you very close to the elite standard. This year? A 101. It was frustrating after putting together such a good race. The reason for the low score was tied to the swim not really mattering (short for everyone), the bike mattering a lot, and racing in cool conditions. I finished in 4:12. That's fast even with the downriver swim! I missed 3rd AG by 10 seconds but, because of the time trial start, I finished in front of 3rd. If we started together, I would have seen them on the run. My bike simply is not elite. I feel like I'm pushing good power but not getting the fast split because of handling skills & maybe not weighing more. Outside of the 1st & last 5k, I rode @ 2:25 pace. I didn't get up to speed fast enough with some technical parts getting out of transition & I slowed down too much on my way in. I did myself no favors because I rode hard enough to get a better bike split but left time out there. It wasn't like I was more fresh heading out onto the run. I was as tired as I would have been if I had biked a little faster. I had kind of an uncharacteristic run. I had the fastest run but I went out too fast. I tried to run 1:15 & ran 1:19-flat. I probably had 1:17 in me on the day. So I was ~5:00 off of a more complete race. That would have gotten me a 103 score rating, 2nd in the AG, and top-5 overall. I was 1% away from having a much better day. I gave it my all but small mistakes prevented a slightly better outcome.

I had already signed up for Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee so flew there just 4 weeks after Oregon. I took some time off after Oregon and knew I wasn't going to be sharp. It was very warm for the Olympic race. I went 2:07, good for 16th AG. I did the Super Sprint the next day and finished 8th AG. AG Nationals is one of the most competitive races in the US. It was tough being there without full fitness but, get this, I ended up getting a 102 score rating from the Olympic -- higher than 70.3 Oregon. I had a better day in Oregon but, compared to the field, I did better in Milwaukee. Go figure. I had trained pretty hard in the two weeks before Milwaukee, trying to cram in some workouts. I came off of the race motivated for 70.3 Worlds at the end of October. I started to overtrain and felt horrible for several weeks. I raced and won a sprint triathlon but got a mechanical on the bike. I got a 99 score rating but lost more than 2:00. It probably would have been a 104-105. The race finished with a 3.6 mile run and I ran 5:20 pace on a warm day. I felt horrible before and after the race and had nothing to show for it. I finally got my energy back in the last month before 70.3 Worlds.

Having done 70.3 Worlds the year before in Utah, I was excited to go back. With the race being a month later than the previous year, we were greeted by cool temps on race morning. I executed a really solid race. I swam a PB of 30:35 (let's get under 30:00 in 2023!). I biked a 2:31 on a hilly course. I ran 1:21 on an equally hilly run course. I measured my effort better on the run here versus Oregon. I had my fastest miles of the race in the last 5k and ended up with the 25th fastest run in a very competitive age group. I ended up with a 104.9 score rating!! That would have been an elite mark in 2021... 

With one race left on the calendar, I thought I had a reasonable chance at the pro standard in 2022. My last race of the season would be a big one -- my full distance Ironman debut. Similar to Oregon 70.3, I came so close to having a much better day. I swam 1:04 which was right on target and then had the fastest transition 1 in the age group field. I was in position to be in position. I biked 5:26. The effort was right but the split just wasn't fast. I came out of T2 at ~6:39:00 total time. I trained for a sub-3:00 marathon and went after it. That's elite territory in an Ironman. I went to AZ to test my limits. I set out at a strong pace and went through halfway in 1:28. I was on 2:56 marathon pace. It ended up being ~9:35:00 to get the pro standard. I was on pace for 9:36 and then fell off. It wasn't a pacing/fitness issue. It was a stomach issue. I haven't mentioned it but I've been having stomach issues for more than a year. I think it's some combo of the swimming/biking & amount of calories I need to eat each day in training (possibly under-fueling). My stomach hurt so much over the second half of the race. My legs felt great but I was force to stop multiple times from mile 15-23 or so. My last 5k ended up back on pace. Like I said, it wasn't a fitness issue. I broke 10 hours in my debut and finished in 9:51 -- good for a 103 score rating.

2023 Goals: I talked about score ratings a lot throughout this recap. It's a little boring but that's what's on my mind heading into the 2023 season. I scored 104 twice. I'm ~1 point away from the elite rating. It's doable. My swimming/biking should naturally get better the further I get into the sport. At 70.3 Worlds & at IM AZ nobody in front of me had a slower bike split. I repeat: Nobody had a slower bike split. My swimming is approaching passable. It's actually the bike that needs the most work just because of how much time you spend there in a race. I've got 70.3 Worlds in Finland in August. That's a big race but also my only travel race in 2023. I'm racing as many local races as I can. I think local travel and weather conditions I'm used to is my best path to the elite standard. I've got a mix of sprint triathlons & 70.3s -- no olympic distance races. I need to play to my strengths and pick race distances that match that. The blueprint is there for 2023. Elite standard or bust. I know that I'm going after an ambitious goal but it's all I want. I want to be a professional triathlete and compete in pro fields against the best. I'm likely going to get smoked if/when I get there but I'm going to give it my 100% & work to get better each day. I have never been a talented athlete. Fast times never came naturally to me but the effort has always been there. I feel like triathlon rewards that more than pure running ever did. I can reach a level in this sport I couldn't sniff in running. This year is all about pushing my limits. For someone who was overweight as a kid, never broke 20:00 for 5k in high school, had a blood clot at 24, and is 30 now, I never thought I would get to this point in any endurance sport. I don't think I'm supposed to be here. I think plenty of people would have much better results with my training but this is my path. I'm enjoying the journey and am committed to seeing where we can take this. Let's see where we get to by the end of August -- maybe we can get in a pro race or two at the end of the year.