Ironman 70.3 Muncie - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Muncie 70.3
July 9, 2011


Swim – 35.16
T1 – 3:13
Bike – 2:33:28
T2 – 2:30
Run – 1:52:25

5:06:49


Place – 8/84 age division


Race Report

Friday – pre-race.
Met up with David and Dan at athlete registration. It was wonderful hanging with them. I also met up with a few other BTers and friends from Cincy. I was tired, so I had a quiet night in the hotel after leaving the athlete village.

I was up early (3:30AM). Packed up the car and ate my normal pre-race breakfast of orange juice and a bagel with PB & honey. It is about a 20-030 minute drive from the hotels to the race site. There were more participants in the race this year with it now being an “ironman” race. Muncie has always been a well organized race with lots of volunteers. Although the race has lost some of the “small town feel,” ironman did a great job with organization and volunteers. There were lots of friends racing. It was fun racing with so many great people. I set up my transition area and talked with friends. Holly and I did the pre-race routine of standing in line multiple times for the port-a-potty. We saw Val, Nik, and Jodie at the swim start. They were cheering and had signs, etc. Seeing them made for a great race start. Thank you for being there!

The water temperature was 81.5 degrees. No wetsuits – yes!  The start is a wave start standing in knee deep water. I started toward the front of the pack, but was very quickly dropped. I suddenly had no feet to follow. Oh well. This left me with smooth water and no need to fight for space. I started the swim feeling very sluggish. I noticed I was breathing every stroke and my body felt heavy. This feeling continued until after the turn for the back section. I finally started to feel like a “swimmer” the last half of the swim. Breathing relaxed and my body didn’t feel as sluggish. I was too far back and was not even close to catching the front pack of my wave. Swim was below average.

I ran out of the water and up the hill on the mats to T1. It felt good running into T1. I am still slow in transition. Made a fast stop in the port-a-potty and was ready to start the bike.

The bike course was changed this year. It is still a very flat and fast course. Closed roads and great volunteer support. It was windy and hot this year. The strong tailwind was great, but the headwind was rough. I felt great on the bike. I was in my “happy” zone. I saw Nik running and cheering when I was around mile 54. Then I saw Jodie cheering and waving signs. Val was cheering just outside of transition. It was a wonderful boost in spirit seeing them.

I entered transition and prepared for the run. Val was yelling and screaming. I stopped for another port-a-potty stop. Val was screaming at me to hurry. LOL!

I started the run feeling happy. I felt good off the bike and knew I had the right amount of effort on the bike. I have noticed my run feeling “flat” and not having any pop the past several weeks. Not sure why, but it felt the same during this run course. I could maintain a steady pace and could have continued running at this pace, but just didn’t have any speed. I couldn’t push and go any faster. After a few miles I accepted the fact that this was going to be my pace. It was hot and humid. The aid stations and the volunteers were great. With an out and back course, it is nice seeing friends and familiar faces. Val ran out to the run course and was cheering. She even ran a bit next to me and I enjoyed chatting. I know I was racing, but I really wasn’t able to move any faster. I was in a happy spot, but didn’t have any speed.

The finish line was great! I missed a PR (needed to be under 5:05), but had a good race. Although I felt sluggish and limited on speed, I could have maintained the pace I was holding for a longer distance. I had a fun day racing. I will take my season PR at ironman in Louisville in August!