Muncie Endurathon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Muncie, Indiana
United States
Muncie Endurathon
Total Time = 6h 54m 8s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

First...I know you are wondering why I traveled from Arizona to Indiana for a race. We had some family doing the race already and when my step-mom invited me to go with her I jumped at the opportunity to race in a new town and new scenery! Once the trip was a go (about 8 weeks out) I had to decide if I had enough time to build to the half iron distance. My bike base was on the way to being solidly in place but the swim and run would definitely be a challenge. In the end I decided that if I was going to travel and have a half iron available that I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do. I was 25 pounds lighter than my first half ironman and stronger than ever from strength training consistently for the first time ever. So the challenge was set. This was going to be a training day for my A race this year...Soma half ironman. It was time to get some of my mental nerves and garbage under control and test a new mental game plan.

Set the alarm for 3:30 am which is 12:30 my time back home....brutal but it was doable. Who knew that all those early wake ups for bike rides this summer would pay off just in being able to get up so early and function!! Ate my usual oatmeal and had some coffee in the hotel room. I also added one piece of peanut butter bread to my breakfast since I knew it would be a long day and I didn't have my usual pre-race nerves churning in my stomach yet. I am always amazed at how fast time slips through my fingers on race morning and pretty soon it was time to get in the car and drive out to the race venue.
Swim
  • 57m
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 42s / 100 yards
Comments:

Much of the chatter at the expo seemed to be about the race being wetsuit legal. On Friday the water temperature was 82 degrees so odds were that it would not be. I knew that I could swim the distance without my wetsuit but I really wanted to have a positive mental experience so I couldn't decide what to do. I consulted with Kelly back home and Wes and DeeDee and decided in the end that I didn't really need the wetsuit and would go for it. I knew it would be slow but I would get through it.

At long last it was time for my wave to hit the water. I was excited and ready. Seeing as how most of my racing takes place in Tempe Town Lake the beach start was a bit different for me. Do I run? Dive? Walk? I took a few steps and just started swimming...it worked even though I could still touch the bottom. LOL I hung in my wave for a bit...after a few minutes though I decided to let them go and just swim my own speed. It would be a long swim if I didn't pay attention to my pacing and heart rate. Most of them slipped away and I was perfectly comfortable swimming back on my own. That first turn still looked awfully far off though. Unfortunately before I knew it the next wave...a male wave...caught up to me. Caught in their washing machine I was totally thrashed around and kicked and grabbed. My heart rate skyrocketed as I just tried to survive that few minutes. Finally the faster ones from that wave passed and it was me and stragglers from several other waves left to our own devices. I settled back in and was finally making forward progress. First buoy done! Finally!!! I should mention that the course was clockwise..since I sight on my left I knew that there was potential for this to be problematic. It turned out that once I rounded the first buoy I could not swim in a straight line to save my life. I just wanted to swim and make some serious forward progress and I keep veering left no matter what I did! I must have added 300-400 yards on that back stretch just from swimming left and then correcting right over and over again. Frustrating!!! Finally I made it to the last turn and tried to pick up the pace a bit. I was only about 5-10 min off of my goal time at that point but it just took forever to get back and I ended up about 15 min off my goal time by the time I hit the swim exit.

At one point I came up to this guy that was having a terrible time breathing...you know the look..the suffering...the fear. I swam up to him and said "you got this!!"..tried to encourage him a bit before swimming on. As soon as I turned and left....yes, I kicked him. Swear I have kicked every one of my friends and now this poor guy swimming!!!

I got out of the water pretty displeased...ok, I was mad....with how the whole swim went but I knew I had to shake it off and get busy with the bike. That was what I was looking forward to anyway!!!
What would you do differently?:

I have to learn to breathe on both sides!!! No excuses this time!!
Transition 1
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

No problems...I can't even remember if I sat down or not!!
Bike
  • 3h 13m 36s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.36 mile/hr
Comments:

Loved the bike course!!! We started out on this greenbelt that I think had a slight downgrade to it so my speed started out good from the beginning. Once I saw that my speed was averaging up over 17 at about 10 miles in I decided to see how long I could hold that average. If my hr went up or my legs started to fatigue I would back off. Just ended up being a really nice ride. I loved every bit of the scenery and tried to take it all in. We passed everything from farms to old stores to corn fields. I loved seeing the people out working on their properties....got a good solid chuckle out of the man mowing his lawn with a lawnmower on a rope!! Loved hearing the insects in the trees and riding up and down the rolling hills.

The last few miles I started getting anxious to get off...not because I wanted to get off the bike but because I was ready to see what the run would hold for me! I kept running numbers in my head and was ready to see if I could crack 7 hours!

What would you do differently?:

It was a good ride for me...long term goal of mine has been to average 17 mph and I finally did it on this course!
Transition 2
  • 04m 17s
Comments:

Ugh!!! I got back to transition and couldn't find my running socks! Dang!!! I swear they were both there when I left things that morning! Grrr...sat down and decided to run in my bike socks but was not happy about that. Put one shoe on and then found my running socks! Dang..what had happened!??? Felt like I had a tea party there putting socks and shoes on and off. Finally was ready to run!
Run
  • 2h 37m 14s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m  min/mile
Comments:

The goal was to get as far as I could without walking. I knew that as long as I kept the pace between 11-12 minutes that it was possible. My pacing was going to be huge and I was ready.

What would you do differently?:

I didn't ever think to preview the run course and I am glad now because I am sure I might have done the aquabike had I realized how hilly this was!!! Totally reminded me of Lost Dutchman!

You know, I am not that upset about the time itself...if I had run 12 min/miles without walking I would be happy.


Post race
Warm down:

They have cool little printouts just minutes after you finish so I got mine and called home and a few friends. :>)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was thrilled to make some huge mental strides and shave a big chunk of time off of my first half ironman!!

From here I am going to move forward with a solid plan for Soma and hope to trim a little bit of time off of the swim and just correct the problem on the run (possibly a hip problem...weak on left side??). I am excited about the progress that I am making and can't wait to see what Soma brings!!!

Event comments:

Loved this race!!! Great venue and very well organized!! We are already contemplating making this an annual event!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-05-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:57:00 | 2112 yards | 02m 42s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:04
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:13:36 | 56 miles | 17.36 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 04:17
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:37:14 | 13.1 miles | 12m  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5