2Young2BBald
Footbaldguy
First off, my son's allstar team won, advancing them to the District Finals starting tomorrow!
Muncie Endrathon - Half Ironman Race Report:
Drove down there Friday afternoon and just made it in time to attend a mandatory race meeting at 4pm (there were others, but I wanted to have the evening to relax). From the time we got there, it just felt different. I've done several 1/2 marathons where the field was 25,000 or so runners, but the 1,300 + triathletes in one place had a much more serious and intense "tone" (plus, everyone was so damn fit). In the meeting, they stressed the USAT Rules (especially drafting) and you could tell they meant it, including having USAT Officials on site. Grabbed some dinner early and went to the hotel to get things set.
Up at 4:45 am after a decent pre-race sleep, for me. Up a bunch, but with a couple of good hours of sleep as well. Started to load my drinks on my bike and realized that one of the velcro supports off my aerodrink bottle was lost on the drive. Spent a panicked few moment MacGivering a support with athletic tape. Loaded up the car and realized right away that the humidity that was supposed to move out later in the day was certainly still there. Got to the race site about 45:00 minutes before the race start and had 24:00 more minutes until my wave, which was #7 of 10 (and they had one wave for men 40-44, as this group was so large-right around 100 guys).
I spent much more time setting up transition than normal to be sure it was right. Space was tight, but I found it very cool that there was a sticker with my name, age and bib on my spot, versus just a number (another "this is big" thing). Once done, I headed down to the beach to get in a warm up swim and get a feel for how to exit the water and head up to transition. Having done a few Olys, I didn't think the swim would look all that different, but a 1.2 mile swim course laid out in front of me look WAY long.
SWIM: You couldn't just enter the water, they had us lined up in waves behind someone holding a poster with the cap color (baby blue, quite manly). The counted us in on the grass, walked us in to the water and the horn sounded, not sure I was quite ready, but it was time to go. Clockwise swim with 3 long legs. I started wide left to avoid the fray, but quickly worked my way to an inside line along the buoys. I right side breathe, so this was perfect. With so many boats and rescue craft on the inside, I found it easy to right side spot, versus having to look ahead. I nailed the 2nd & 3rd leg straight as an arrow, but got a bit inside the course on the out leg. I thrashed a bit, but mostly on the leg in when I had caught the waves in front of me. Garmin had me at 38:00 minutes for the swim, official time was 40:00, which may have included the long run up the hill from the beach to transition. Made a very good decision to shed the suit at the beach and carry it up the hill to transition and think I might do this all the time. I had given my wife best & worse case scenarios for each leg so she could be there waiting. I had put the swim at 40 as my best, so I was very happy (and had the loudest, proudest wife screaming for me).
T1 With the long bike ahead, I took my time to be sure I had everything and my feet were fully clean. It was a long one of almost 3:00 minutes (felt like tri-man :X ).
Bike: WOW I felt good. I had held back a bit on the swim and was ready to go. Who ever called the bike and run course flat IS A LIAR. The courses rolled all the time and I don'r recall many flat sections. They started us out on a short, rough stretch, but then put us on a bike path (in the shade, which was nice as highs ended up at 86, high humidity never left and clouds were few and far between). The path ran for about 7 or 8 miles before they turned us out on to two lane roads. I'd held about 23 MPH on the path and knew this was way too fast, but it felt okay, so I went with it. Out on the 2 lane roads, they had several motorcycles with officials on the back rapidly writing down numbers for drafting penalties. I had to be hyper-aware, when passed to either back off 3 bike lengths or reclaim my place. When I was passed, the rider that passed would immediately move to the right in a cool little ballet. Held my speed well to the turn around where I had averaged about 20.5 MPH. I knew I'd drop off a bit as I was going back in to the wind for the return trip. I was doing okay, taking water and gels and feeling good until about mile 48. At that point, the hand I smashed in the crash had gone numb in one part and was getting sore in another, the shoulder I landed on in the crash was starting to ache too. I figured the best way to make them feel better was to keep pushing to the end of the bike and work them out on the run. I finished the 56 miles on the bike averaging 19.9 MPH. Best case scenario I'd set here was 20 MPH.
T2: Much quicker at 2:03. Had to get a cup of ice for my head as it was peak heat of the day and still very humid.
Run: (
& 
). Having biked at my near best time, I didn't see my wife coming in and was worried I'd missed her. Not to be, she was there cheering as I exited and it was great to see her after almost 3 hours out on the bike. I started out the first mile strong, but man was hot. I still ran the first mile in around 8:30 (way to fast). Did the second mile slower and noticed that the pain in my hand had not gone away and in fact had become a stabbing pain and the numbness had gone all the way up to my elbow in parts. The hand itself had swollen so much I could not see the veins anymore. At the third mile, It hurt so bad I had to get a cup of ice and hold some in the hand and more on top. There was no way I could run like this, so I walked for the better part of a mile. People were cramping and walking all over the place, which I suppose made me feel a little better. Once the hand was numb, I tried to start running again. This is where the next pain from the crash started to become an issue. I have had a knot and some soreness on the top of my left knee cap. It also started to swell and would lock a bit as I would try and run. So, there I am 4 miles out, on an out and back course and really can't run. I came in with the mindset, that I was going to end the day a 1/2 Ironman, if I could do it for the most part healthy, no matter what. There were racers walking for a while, then running for a while and it was like a slow pulse on the course. I could only muster to run about a 3rd of a mile, before I would have to walk again. Even with the walking, there was no shade and I was sweating like crazy and burning up. They had cold towels and ice every stop, so I would get a fresh towel and fill my suit with ice. I did the flat Coke on ice thing a few times and really liked it. I struggled through and summoned up the energy to run up the hill the last 1/2 mile to the finish. I had exceed worse case scenario by about 7 minutes, so there was a very nervous, yet very excited wife there to cheer for me as I crossed the line.
I ended up with 6:21 of total time. While I know it could have been better, I never had a moment of woe is me about the run. I am very proud of what I accomplished and in the end am a 1/2 Ironman regardless. I sat on a chair in a misting test and thought about the last 3 weeks, going from the crash, where I thought I wouldn't even race, to winning my AG the following week, to what I had just done. I am so lucky to have discovered this sport and very thankful to everyone here for the support and knowledge I have gained. I am probably going to stick to sprints & Olys (and spend more time with my family) for the next few years, but unlike the marathon (which I wasn't all that fond of), I loved the training for this and the race and am pretty sure I'll be back to do another.
I am quite sore all over, but nothing real severe. I have an hour and a half sports massage planned for tomorrow and then a few days rest before I resume my sprint tri career.
eta, not only could I not figure out how to post from my phone, I entirely botched this race report set up. Pardon my clean up for a few moments.
Muncie Endrathon - Half Ironman Race Report:
Drove down there Friday afternoon and just made it in time to attend a mandatory race meeting at 4pm (there were others, but I wanted to have the evening to relax). From the time we got there, it just felt different. I've done several 1/2 marathons where the field was 25,000 or so runners, but the 1,300 + triathletes in one place had a much more serious and intense "tone" (plus, everyone was so damn fit). In the meeting, they stressed the USAT Rules (especially drafting) and you could tell they meant it, including having USAT Officials on site. Grabbed some dinner early and went to the hotel to get things set.
Up at 4:45 am after a decent pre-race sleep, for me. Up a bunch, but with a couple of good hours of sleep as well. Started to load my drinks on my bike and realized that one of the velcro supports off my aerodrink bottle was lost on the drive. Spent a panicked few moment MacGivering a support with athletic tape. Loaded up the car and realized right away that the humidity that was supposed to move out later in the day was certainly still there. Got to the race site about 45:00 minutes before the race start and had 24:00 more minutes until my wave, which was #7 of 10 (and they had one wave for men 40-44, as this group was so large-right around 100 guys).
I spent much more time setting up transition than normal to be sure it was right. Space was tight, but I found it very cool that there was a sticker with my name, age and bib on my spot, versus just a number (another "this is big" thing). Once done, I headed down to the beach to get in a warm up swim and get a feel for how to exit the water and head up to transition. Having done a few Olys, I didn't think the swim would look all that different, but a 1.2 mile swim course laid out in front of me look WAY long.
SWIM: You couldn't just enter the water, they had us lined up in waves behind someone holding a poster with the cap color (baby blue, quite manly). The counted us in on the grass, walked us in to the water and the horn sounded, not sure I was quite ready, but it was time to go. Clockwise swim with 3 long legs. I started wide left to avoid the fray, but quickly worked my way to an inside line along the buoys. I right side breathe, so this was perfect. With so many boats and rescue craft on the inside, I found it easy to right side spot, versus having to look ahead. I nailed the 2nd & 3rd leg straight as an arrow, but got a bit inside the course on the out leg. I thrashed a bit, but mostly on the leg in when I had caught the waves in front of me. Garmin had me at 38:00 minutes for the swim, official time was 40:00, which may have included the long run up the hill from the beach to transition. Made a very good decision to shed the suit at the beach and carry it up the hill to transition and think I might do this all the time. I had given my wife best & worse case scenarios for each leg so she could be there waiting. I had put the swim at 40 as my best, so I was very happy (and had the loudest, proudest wife screaming for me).
T1 With the long bike ahead, I took my time to be sure I had everything and my feet were fully clean. It was a long one of almost 3:00 minutes (felt like tri-man :X ).
Bike: WOW I felt good. I had held back a bit on the swim and was ready to go. Who ever called the bike and run course flat IS A LIAR. The courses rolled all the time and I don'r recall many flat sections. They started us out on a short, rough stretch, but then put us on a bike path (in the shade, which was nice as highs ended up at 86, high humidity never left and clouds were few and far between). The path ran for about 7 or 8 miles before they turned us out on to two lane roads. I'd held about 23 MPH on the path and knew this was way too fast, but it felt okay, so I went with it. Out on the 2 lane roads, they had several motorcycles with officials on the back rapidly writing down numbers for drafting penalties. I had to be hyper-aware, when passed to either back off 3 bike lengths or reclaim my place. When I was passed, the rider that passed would immediately move to the right in a cool little ballet. Held my speed well to the turn around where I had averaged about 20.5 MPH. I knew I'd drop off a bit as I was going back in to the wind for the return trip. I was doing okay, taking water and gels and feeling good until about mile 48. At that point, the hand I smashed in the crash had gone numb in one part and was getting sore in another, the shoulder I landed on in the crash was starting to ache too. I figured the best way to make them feel better was to keep pushing to the end of the bike and work them out on the run. I finished the 56 miles on the bike averaging 19.9 MPH. Best case scenario I'd set here was 20 MPH.
T2: Much quicker at 2:03. Had to get a cup of ice for my head as it was peak heat of the day and still very humid.
Run: (
& ). Having biked at my near best time, I didn't see my wife coming in and was worried I'd missed her. Not to be, she was there cheering as I exited and it was great to see her after almost 3 hours out on the bike. I started out the first mile strong, but man was hot. I still ran the first mile in around 8:30 (way to fast). Did the second mile slower and noticed that the pain in my hand had not gone away and in fact had become a stabbing pain and the numbness had gone all the way up to my elbow in parts. The hand itself had swollen so much I could not see the veins anymore. At the third mile, It hurt so bad I had to get a cup of ice and hold some in the hand and more on top. There was no way I could run like this, so I walked for the better part of a mile. People were cramping and walking all over the place, which I suppose made me feel a little better. Once the hand was numb, I tried to start running again. This is where the next pain from the crash started to become an issue. I have had a knot and some soreness on the top of my left knee cap. It also started to swell and would lock a bit as I would try and run. So, there I am 4 miles out, on an out and back course and really can't run. I came in with the mindset, that I was going to end the day a 1/2 Ironman, if I could do it for the most part healthy, no matter what. There were racers walking for a while, then running for a while and it was like a slow pulse on the course. I could only muster to run about a 3rd of a mile, before I would have to walk again. Even with the walking, there was no shade and I was sweating like crazy and burning up. They had cold towels and ice every stop, so I would get a fresh towel and fill my suit with ice. I did the flat Coke on ice thing a few times and really liked it. I struggled through and summoned up the energy to run up the hill the last 1/2 mile to the finish. I had exceed worse case scenario by about 7 minutes, so there was a very nervous, yet very excited wife there to cheer for me as I crossed the line.I ended up with 6:21 of total time. While I know it could have been better, I never had a moment of woe is me about the run. I am very proud of what I accomplished and in the end am a 1/2 Ironman regardless. I sat on a chair in a misting test and thought about the last 3 weeks, going from the crash, where I thought I wouldn't even race, to winning my AG the following week, to what I had just done. I am so lucky to have discovered this sport and very thankful to everyone here for the support and knowledge I have gained. I am probably going to stick to sprints & Olys (and spend more time with my family) for the next few years, but unlike the marathon (which I wasn't all that fond of), I loved the training for this and the race and am pretty sure I'll be back to do another.
I am quite sore all over, but nothing real severe. I have an hour and a half sports massage planned for tomorrow and then a few days rest before I resume my sprint tri career.
eta, not only could I not figure out how to post from my phone, I entirely botched this race report set up. Pardon my clean up for a few moments.
Last edited by a moderator:
). Weather was sunny and quite hot and humid.
.
). Weather was sunny and quite hot and humid.
Just fantastic stuff. Thanks for the great Race Reports and congrats. Really impressive. Makes my ordinary training runs of the weekend sound very .... ordinary. Just plugging away, trying to get healthy and continue training at the same time. 24 miles last week and 25 this week, now I'm in a stepback week, followed by another three-week cycle that doesn't go past 30 mpw. Seems so easy, I'm hoping I'm feeling all better by the time things start getting tough around August 10.
DIBS ON THE FLATS 
mb, The_Man, 2Young, Sand, Wraith, liquors, tri-man, Dexter, Harris, Gruecd (if he has balls!)
) ! For future races, my training will have to focus more time on the bike – plain and simple. A stronger bike leg would not only cut my time there, but have me better prepared for the run leg.
. And 
at gruecd's restart. Hopefully they'll be looking for a new race director next time around.
post race, back at the hotel, which meant I lost about 8 pounds or more during the tri. I've roared back to 156 with plenty of beer & a 1/2 pound burger with blue cheese & bacon the night of the race.
