Muncie Endurathon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The water was 80 degrees on race morning so no wetsuit which was fine. The water felt like bath water and probably was good to not wear a wetsuit. I was in the 4th wave of swimmers but there was a 9 minute gap between the last wave so really there was not too much traffic up ahead. There was around 100 people in my wave and I seeded myself in the second row back and actually was a pretty clean start with not much traffic. They had intermediate buoys leading up to the turn buoys and followed inside the buoys with little contact. I was swimming pretty well and just a touch under my Oly swim pace. I did start to catch the previous waves on the last leg home but was not an issue.
This is an estimate of my swim time..when I came out of the water I saw 38:xx on my watch and there was a long run up to transition. I was actually a FOP'er for my AG on the swim. I know a lot of people mentioned the swim course being long and based on the times would make sense. I was hoping for 33:00 swim time minus the run to TA. The non-wetsuit swim may have made a difference too.

Nothing

This was a pretty simple transition without having to get a wetsuit off. Got my shoes on, threw on the helmet, popped the garmin on my wrist and took off.

garmin was a bit tough to pop on the quick release but other than that no issues.

My goal for this ride was to keep my HR 10 beats below LTHR which is actually much tougher do than you would think and I partially failed. My HR was elevated from transition and I tried to ride easy to get it back down but the course is just so darn flat you want to hammer it. Once you get on the greenway bike path I tried to get it down to 155. When I would get it there, I would have to push a bit to pass a rider. So the first 20 miles or so I was riding betweenn 155-160 bpm. The last 36 miles I was able to keep it in check pretty good below 155 and acutally closer to the low 150's near the end of the ride. I really wanted to set myself up for a good run.
I was getting new water bottles at the aid stations and already had Infinit (2.5 servings 600 calories) with me in my rear cage. I wanted to get most of my nutrition in by mile 45 and I was able to do that. The course was very nice on closed roadways and aid stations approximately every 9 miles. The roads were in very good condition as well. I was riding very well and did not get passed too often which was good because I thought I was not riding very fast. It is a very hard thing to listen to your HR monitor and try to stay in your target zones when you are on a flat course like this. All I wanted to do was just hammer it but knew if I did that the run would be bad. As I got to the home stretch I was feeling very good and thought a good run was in the cards.

Nothing..paced pretty well.

This transition was really fast and I am usually one of the fastest OA in T2. Everything went well here. socks on, shoes on, visor, gu bottle and off I go.

Nothing.

I started out very well and took about 2 miles before my legs kind of settled underneath me. The course really had some rolling short hills that did not let you get in a rythem and was really a tough course adding in the conditions. It was 85 degrees, sunny, very humid, and little wind so staying cool was a bit of an issue. I was taking shots from GU bottle and taking water at each station. I also took cold towels at a few of the stations. There were very few flat sections but they were so welcome when they came because the rolling sections were tough. As I made the turn I was still feeling pretty good although it was getting hotter it seemed. As I got to about mile 9 was when I started to consider walking. I felt like everybody else was walking but I was passing so many people and having such a great race that I just wanted to push through so I did. As i made the last turn on the roadway to the finish I thought to myself..15 mintues and you are home...

Mile 1: 7:15 m/mi AHR: 159
Mile 2: 7:40 m/mi AHR: 164
Mile 3: 7:33 m/mi AHR: 164
Mile 4: 7:54 m/mi AHR: 167
Mile 5: 7:55 m/mi AHR: 167
Mile 6: 7:45 m/mi AHR: 168
Mile 7: 7:49 m/mi AHR: 170
Mile 8: 7:58 m/mi AHR: 173
Mile 9: 8:03 m/mi AHR: 174
Mile 10: 8:05 m/mi AHR: 175
Mile 11: 8:20 m/mi AHR: 177
Mile 12: 8:02 m/mi AHR: 179
Mile 13: 8:14 m/mi

There was no 0.1 mile :( for me unfortunately. With about a mile to go I started to get dizzy and then with a 1/4 mile left to the finish I was out of it. My wife actually caught me in her arms as she saw me coming towards the finish and got medical attention for me. I do not really want to go into the details of the situation but my core temperature was 105 degrees.
My LTHR is 170 so you can see where problems started.
My total time to that point was 1:43:01 which is a 7:55 m/mi pace which would have been the 5th best run time in my AG (1:43:45 or so).


Where do I start. I was in very good shape for this race and needed to listen to my body when it gave me the signs that I was overheating and needed to walk. I probably should have walked the last 4 aid stations and got ice on my head and took in some additional fluids.

Ugh!


Staying cool and hydrated. Physically I could not have pushed any harder..mentally I have to..have to be smarter.


If I would have got to that finish line 0.1 miles away my time would have been around 4:57:30 which would have been 3rd AG for M 30-34. I was right there in a competitive field so this makes me feel like all the training was worth it even if it does not show up on the final results.

I thought this race was excellent and very well managed. The volunteers were excellent, bike course is great, run course is tough, and the weather was tougher. I hope to come back if my wife will let me :). She was great dealing with me after this situation and providing support. I love her lots.