Muncie Endurathon Race Report

This was my last 70.3 before focusing all of my attention to IML. I had set two goals for this race - 1) to finish and 2) break the 5 hour barrier.

I arrived in Muncie on Friday afternoon and picked up my race packet at the convention center. I then checked into the student hotel on the campus of Ball State U. I unpacked my stuff and headed off for a 30 minute bike ride to loosen up the legs. I then met some friends for dinner. I got back to the hotel around 10:00. I drank 2 bottles of water before going to bed at 11:00. I finally fell asleep around 2:00 a.m. !@#@! This seems to be a problem I have before every race...

Race morning: I got up at 5:00 and arrived at the Endurathon at 6:00. Race conditions were breezy with lots of humidity. When I arrived to the race site, I learned that the race was wetsuit legal. I decided not to wear mine since I was not going to be able to wear one at Louisville; however, I did wear my swimskin. I knew I was going to give up approximately 5-minutes in the swim because of this, but it was okay since this race was just preparation for Louisville.

My swim wave started at 7:18. The swim was pretty uneventful - there was the usual elbow to the face and hand on my back. I was able to settle into a pretty solid rhythm after about 200 meters. There were two occasions when I got slightly off course because I was trying to avoid some of the slower swimmers. When I finished the swim, I headed off to T1 which was about a quarter mile up hill. All the way up the hill, I kept telling myself to take off the swimskin so I could avoid the debacle that occurred in Michigan. Luckily this worked - no swimskin on the bike this time.

I got on the bike and took in some fluids and a gel pack. As I headed off out of the park, I had about 10 people pass me who were hammering out of the park. I never liked to be passed on the bike, but I knew that I would probably pass them later on the bike course. I felt great on the bike and there were plenty of water stops. This race had better support than the Ford Ironman 70.3 in Florida!!!! I was surprised on the bike that I only took in 3 bottles of water - apparently this would haunt me on the run. I assume I took in little water on the bike since the temps were on the cooler side. The bike course was uneventful until the monsoons hit around the 40 mile marker. The rain felt like pins and needles on my face and shoulders. Around mile 52 the rain stopped and it appeared the sun was going to come out. I passed about 25 people on the bike including 8 of the 10 individuals in my age group who passed me in the first mile. When I headed to T2 the rain started again.

I hate running in the rain!!!! I hate running in wet shoes!!!! After I put on my wet socks and wet shoes, I headed out to the run course. Of course the rain started to come down harder and the roads were flooded. I had to run in the middle of the road to avoid the 3 inches of rain on the sides of the road. I felt great on the run for the first 5 miles - I think I was averaging 7:50 min miles according to my Garmin (this is good for me). At the turn around, I got to see where all of my competition was. I was happy that I had at least a mile on some of the other guys in my age group. Then around mile marker 8 the wheels came off. My left calf started cramping up. I have never experienced this before. I began to think what could have caused this - then I realized that I did not take in enough water on the bike and I was dehydrated. So at every water stop I took in a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water, but I think this was too much too late. Not only was I cramping, but now I had a full belly with liquids sloshing around. At mile 10 I had to stop and stretch and WALK - ouch!!!!! That's when about 20 people caught me and passed me. Around mile 11 I was able to pick up the pace again and blocked the pain in my calf. Finally, when I passed mile marker 13 I knew I only had .1 miles to go - UP HILL!!!! That's when my friend squirrel passed me and beat me by a few seconds!!!

Results:

Swim Time: 37:35 (2 minutes slower than my average without a wetsuit)
Bike Time: 2:34 (on par with my average)
Run Time: 1:54 (!@#$%$#@!)
Total Time: 5:09

I still did not break the 5 hour mark - but I had fun and I am excited about IML! Only 7 more weeks to go.

Lessons learned:

1. Drink on the bike even if it's cold and rainy
2. Running with wet shoes and socks is not that bad
3. I still have plenty of time to break 5 hours