Ironman 70.3 Muncie Recap - Part 2

This is part 2 of my recap of Ironman Muncie 2015. If you missed it you can check out part 1 here.

The Bike
     Goal: Under 4 hours (14 mph avg)
     Actual: 3:44:45 (14.95 mph)

I felt good getting out on the bike course. It was pretty crowded, which is totally unusual for me since I'm always in the back of the pack. The course took you out some (Crappy) country roads and onto the main 'highway' for two loops. It was hard finding a place on the course at this point with everyone passing me. I just tried to settle in and find my rhythm.

I was super conscious at this point of going out too fast. I felt good and was wary of burning out. I'd never really hit the wall on my bike and I wasn't interested in doing it now. The first 10k(it) was strong but according to my splits the first 28 were super strong overall, averaging 16.4mph.

The course was essentially two loops along the highway. Getting to the first turnaround was basically a breeze. The route back from there was more downhill so it was also not so bad. The first 25 miles weren't bad at all. The last 25 were another story. After about mile 30ish I started getting wary. My butt - and other lovely lady parts - was sore. My hips were tight and when I attempted to stretch my right hip even locked up on me. Ok, not doing that again.

The second loop was rough. After I hit the turnaround it felt like I went 50 miles just to get back to the turnoff. There were very few people behind me at this point and the course got a little lonely. Luckily, the temps were still low and I didn't feel like I was baking on the bike. Nutritionally, I nailed the bike. I drank every 10 minutes - thirsty or not - alternating between GuBrew and water. Every hour I ate some bonk breaker, every half hour I ate a Cliff Chomp. Basically, I was full. I brought two bonk breakers but only got through one and couldn't really force myself to eat the other.

Once I made it to mile 35 I realized I could essentially walk the bike and still make it back within the 5:20 cutoff. I was at about 2:15 and that put me at 3:00hrs overall. Yeah, I was gonna finish the last 15 in that amount of time. But how fast? My legs weren't tired so much as I was tired. I was tired of the bike, I was mentally tired. I just kept telling myself, "This isn't about your body, this is about your head. Pedal, pedal, pedal." I started feeling sick to my stomach. Looking back on it now I can't figure out how I felt so bad, because I remember it so fondly. But I was in bad shape. Later I realized the sickness was emotion - I needed to cry. Not cry, but sob. That achy feeling your stomach gets before you just let loose all anger and frustration and sadness. That's what I needed. But I couldn't do it.

Finally I hit the turnaround and turned, right this time back to transition. The 6 miles back to transition were brutal. The road was crap, it was hilly, I was over it. I rested in granny gear a little bit. Someone passed me and as he did he said, "Just keep going, we're almost there." We. Yeah, you're passing me. YOU are almost there. I"m still back here!

Finally I made the long turn onto the Reservoir road and I knew I was close. I slid into granny gear not for rest but for Cadence. I knew I needed to get my cadence up high to prep my legs for the run.

And there it was! The Bike in! And all the people and....and Hubz! He was there, waiting for me. (There was also some asshat with a baby stroller just walking around in the road on his cell phone that I damn near plowed over just out of principle).

As I approached the ladies at the dismount line I chuckled and said, "please god get me off this thing." Hubz was right on the other side of the barrier, smiling at me. In that moment I felt lower than I've ever felt. He was there, sweating his a*s off all day to watch me do this - and i might not finish. It was the first time the thought crept through my head. I couldn't look at him. I just kept pushing my bike back to my rack

T2

     Goal: 4 minutes

     Actual: 4:28

I knew I needed to keep it short because I was losing energy. That sick, dry-heave feeling was sticking with me. All I wanted to do was sit down and cry in the grass and never get up. Just as I racked my bike I heard a familiar sound. It was Tom Petty....and it was a song I loved. A lesser known, unpopular song, but one of my favorites. And as he sang, "not me baby, I've got you to save me," I pulled on my shoes. Between choking, sobs of air, I sang along. I smiled. I moved out of transition. 

The Run

     Goal: Under 3 hours

     Actual: 3:04

Hubz was along the partition as I moved out of T2. He said, "you can walk the whole thing - you're crushing your goal!!". I just wanted to stop and hug him and have him tell me again that I was going to do it. I just tried to keep moving. 

 The run course is an out-and-back along a country road. A hilly country road. As I was starting out I saw everyone coming back. All headed for the finish line. I knew I'd get there, but I wasn't sure how long. I'd been moving for 4:30 when I started the run so I knew I had 4 hours to complete the run. Then it hit me - who cares if I walk this whole damn thing? Not me. This part is for me. This is my victory lap.

So I did. I walked almost all of the first three miles. Just get to each aid station, I told myself. I shuffled a little bit down the hills, from cone to cone. But I mostly just walked. Somewhere after the 4th mile or so I started talking to the woman in front of me who was run/walking. We laughed that it looked like we were gonna be seeing a lot of each other. She offered to run/walk with me and I told her I'd see her at the turnaround, then I would.

I kept my word on that. After 6.55 miles Colleen and I were best friends and determined to finish the race together. It was her first too, and she and her husband were both racing. Her son, Miles, was waiting for her at the finish. Colleen gave me something to focus on. I was going to get her to the finish line, and in the process get myself there too.

I ran into Stef after mile 7 or so and she was in bad shape. She was as broken as I was when I got off the bike. She stopped and hugged me hard, but I steered her back on course. I knew she would finish if she just kept going. "Just keep walking, one foot at a time," I told her. I pushed her on her way.

Colleen and I ran and walked. We stopped at each aid station getting ice, sponges, and gatorade. I grabbed some chews eventually to combat the sloshy belly that comes with so many fluids. My nutrition plan was essentially this: HYDRATE. It was getting really hot and the sun was out in force in parts of the course. We just kept going.

Finally we came to the final hill. I asked her, 'Do you want to go first through the finish chute?". "No," She said, "Go for it." So I did. Once I got to the top I could see Hubz sitting in his chair near the finish and I just lost it. That choky, nauseous, sobby feeling was back - but for a whole new reason. I'd done it. I'd flipping done it. I wanted to run the finish chute but I also wanted it never to end. And then, suddenly, it did. I went through the Finish Line at 7:37. I was a (half)Ironman.

I found Hubz and just latched on to him. I showed him my medal. I walked around. I was dazed. I went back to find Colleen. I wanted to thank her. Thank her for helping me help her through those last miles. For helping me find the strength in myself.

I met up with Missy - who was lightning fast at 6:03 finish - and she asked about Stef. I told her I thought Stef would make it but it would be awhile. It really wasn't. 20 minutes later Stef made her own dash through the finisher's chute. We'd all done it.

And just like that, after 7 long hours, I'd done it. I met all of my goals (though I was a little over on the run). I crushed my overall goal. And I'm a half-Ironman. There's no way to describe the feeling of accomplishing something like that. It's the worst best thing i've ever done. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ironman 70.3 Muncie Recap - part 1

There's enough to talk about here that I'm going to split it into two parts. I know, how dare I keep you on the edge of your seat? Sorry, dear reader.

Friday - the day before the race
Friday Hubz and I packed up the car and headed to Muncie. I took Ghost out for a pre-trip ride to get a feel for the tune up. Glad I had her worked on; her gears shifted much nicer and the breaks were sound. Also I hadn't been on a bike in over a week and, well, I was a little bit nervous with race day being my first re-try on the bike.

After a quick stop at IHop we were on the road. It rained almost every single mile up to Muncie. I'm not kidding. We found our hotel pretty easily, got checked in, and headed to the race site. While the athlete guide suggested otherwise, many had said that the athlete briefing wasn't mandatory. Either way, I wanted to make sure I attended just to hear the rules and get a feel for everything. The expo was a little insane! I met up with Stef & Missy - two friends from the Landshark group who were also  first timers - then got myself all checked in.

After I got all my stuff Hubz and I checked out the water start. I loved the easy beach access and the water looked super calm. Also, water temp was at about 75 degrees - 3 degrees lower than the day before and wetsuit legal! With the rain expected later and the cooler temps it was almost assuredly wetsuit legal.

We got Ghost all checked in to transition and I walked the bike-in and bike-out. Then I said goodbye to her for the night and we headed to dinner. Honestly at this point nothing sounded good - I was nervous! I knew apples had some pasta options and it was on the way back so we stopped there. I had some alfredo thing that actually tasted pretty good. After dinner we went back to the hotel and relaxed (watching Despicable me!). I filled up my bottles for the morning, stuck them in the fridge and set my alarm. 

Pre- Race Carbo Load

Ironman Swag - I'm a sucker for the M-Dot

Race Morning

 I woke up a bit before my alarm went off in nervous anticipation. I immediately started drinking water and ate my BelVita Cookies. Those things travel great and taste perfect on a nervous stomach. Luckily I did one last pack of my tri bag the night before so everything was ready to go. It was surprisingly cool - only 57 degrees! - because of an overnight storm. I was glad I'd packed a throwaway sweatshirt to wear. I pulled on my coeur kit and we headed to Prairie Creek Reservoir.

It was much easier to find this time because there was essentially a caravan to the reservoir. Not a lot of traffic in Muncie at 5:00am on a Saturday morning! We parked in a second "lot" a little bit away from transition. I was really glad I'd checked Ghost early because it was muddy and slippery and the last thing I would've wanted to deal with was my bike. I ate a honey stinger waffle as we walked and tried to keep my nerves down. 

I got body marked quickly and easily and set up transition. The person next to me never showed up so I had plenty of space to lay out my stuff. I chatted with some of the girls on my rack and my friend Stef showed up a little bit after. I took time to set up everything but didn't want to obsess over it  - as long as I had two pairs of shoes, a helmet and a bike I could finish this race!

Stef & Missy had to lug their stuff back to their car so Hubz and I waited at the Landshark area. A lot of the tri clubs participating had tents and were set up pretty comfortably by the finish line. I used the port-a-potty and waited around for Stef and Missy to come back. They announced they were starting the race 15 minutes late because of traffic issues so my 7:40 start time was now 7:55. Ugh. I was really nervous at this point - more so than I thought I would be. I saw my friend Jessie who was a few  waves ahead of me and wished her good luck. Finally it was time to pull on my wet suit and get ready to swim.  I kissed Hubz goodbye and he wished me good luck. Then it was off to line up with my wave. 

Stef, Missy & I were all in the same wave which was nice. We talked and I took my last gel and threw away my flip flops. Pretty soon we were "on deck" and the announcer was saying our wave! As we waded into the water the DJ started playing "Single Ladies" and everyone started laughing. It really helped to break the tension. Before too long the clock hit 7:55 and the bullhorn rang out signaling our start - and off we went!

The Swim

       Goal: Under 50 minutes

       Actual: 38:04

Since my wave was pretty big the initial frenzy at the start was a little rough. I let the wetsuit hold me and just tried to find some space. I was really proud of myself for not panicking (something many had warned me about). I kept moving left and looking for an opening. The course is kind of a floppy rectangle with a longer out to Turn 1, then a short section, then Turn 2 and back to the beach. My goal was to really stretch and relax in the "out" or the first side. 

It was hard to find a groove at first because people were super aggressive. I'd never had that problem in a race so It was a little disarming. At one point some woman kept pushing me to the right, practically swimming on top of me. I finally sat up and let her go. Little did she know she was swimming completely off course and into the middle of the lake. I took some sick pleasure in knowing that she'd get payback for her rudeness. I Kept counting buoy's and was at Turn 1 in a breeze. The reservoir was calm and still with almost no wind - sighting was a breeze! The short side went by super fast and before long I made the turn to home. I knew there were about 6 buoy's on this side so I decided I'd build to the 4th one before really digging in to home. I nailed the plan there. I kicked it into high gear at # 4 just in time to see the "Swim Out" sign. I pushed my turnover and really gunned it, passing a couple of the speedy dudes from the wave behind us. Before I knew it my fingers touched sand and I stood up. I looked down at my watch, 

37?

wtf?

I was shocked. If you'll recall I thought I could do a 47min swim but wasn't sure. 37 minutes was a complete shock to me. What a great way to start! After I saw that the butterflies went away. As all of the speedsters zipped past me, racing into T1, I just strutted. I swam a 37 min 1.2, I can do whatever the hell I want from here on out. 

Transition 1 - Swim to Bike

    Goal - under 4 minutes

    Actual - 5:50

From the beach and swim out to my bike it was about a quarter of a mile. I walked every bit of it and couldn't have cared less. I felt good knowing I had 13 extra minutes to play with in transition and on the bike. Also my heart rate was still pretty high coming out of the water and I wanted to start as close to neutral on the bike as possible. 

It was super muddy and dusty getting up to my bike. Luckily i'd anticipated this so I left extra towel available to stand on and wipe my feet off. I put on my helmet and glasses, strapped on my shoes and tucked away my bonk breakers. I walked to the bike out sign and up to the mount line. I took a deep breath and clipped in, pushed off, and headed out for 56 miles!

Week 8 Recap - Half Way!

Done with my base building phase and officially half way through with Muncie training. It was an unremarkable week otherwise. Lets check it out.

52 miles? Okay!

I skipped my Tuesday swim. I was still feeling pretty sore from the race last weekend and my friends from work were up for a run. Just can't do two morning workouts at the gym a week with work and carpooling. Luckily, I got in a great run with the girls after work. Some of my workouts got goofed around, which I'm ok with. For instance, we ran for 1:00 on Tuesday so I didn't do my 15 min run on Wednesday. Instead, I did my longer ride Wednesday and shorter one before work on Thursday. Whatever it takes to get it in (healthy and without injury), right? Right.

Best Workout of the Week
Probably my long run today, but I'm going to go with my ride yesterday. I rode with the Louisville Bicycle Club for the first time. It was so intimidating and nerve-wracking. I was so anxious about the whole thing - never having ridden in a group or done the route before. I'm also, well, slow. Luckily, one of the gals from the Triathlon club was there and made me feel at home before we left off. They offered a long ride (35 miles) and a short ride (21 miles) both for relative beginners. The short ride was a lot of fun and I wasn't too far behind the pack. In fact, I wouldn't have been behind at all if not for a few poorly timed lights. Next week I hope to do the long ride.

New route through a new part of town 

From today's sunrise 9 miler

Best Meal of the Week
Nothing really stood out to me this week. I made a batch of my amazing Chuy's knockoff Creamy Jalapeño sauce and we ate it on Fajitas and with Quesadillas. That was awesome. So probably those quesadillas with the leftover veggies, chicken and jalapeno sauce. yum yum.

The Hubz is in Los Angeles for the week on a "work" trip. I say work because he's with people from work and supposedly attending a work related conference. I say "work" because I know damn well they'll be on the beach drinking beer 99% of the time. Jerk.

This week begins the "peak training" phase of my plan. Eek! Workouts get longer and more intense. Time for speed work! I think I've put in the effort though and hopefully my body is ready to adapt.  According to Garmin, here are my totals for the first 8 weeks of training:

296 miles. On to the next 200!

Happy Running!

Did you eat anything particularly scrumptious last week? 
What's on your "plate" for next week?
Does your spouse get to go to exotic locations without you? How much do you hate them?