IRON BALL 2011

Well a quick report.  Jenny and I drove down to Muncie Indiana for the inaugural Ironman Muncie 70.3 on Friday.  I feel like a dick.  I got a new job 3 weeks ago and have already taken 2 vacation days.  But whatever.  I love racing.

So we got here around 4 on Friday, got our race packets, and racked our bikes.  Water temp was warm (over 80) and it was super hot (mid 90's).  A bit worried I was.  But I continue to tell myself to only worry about what I have control over. 

So Ironman has a new twist on t shirts.  The official T shirt you can buy (not the free one you get) has a big M dot on the back and the m dot is made up of every one's name who signed up for the race.  DAMN COOL so I bought one.

Well here is the report.

Woke up 5 ish and got down to T1 about 6 (race starts at 8, but all roads are closed at 7-it's a closed course for both bike and run--very very cool).  Checked bikes, pumped tires, and then the announcement that it was not wetsuit legal but if you wanted to wear one you could but you would go in the last wave.  Well I just do not have enough confidence to race without it and I already knew there was NO chance I would ever qualify for awards so I opted to wear it and go in the last wave.  After all this is fun for me and I wanted to have a good race.

So we get down to the water, which was awesome with no waves and pretty clear and really a great swim venue, and waves start going at 8.  The 40 of us with wetsuits went at 9:03am.

Swim:

Went great, even though I was the last guy in the water.  The very last guy.  I swam well and it was over before you knew it.  52:12.  I felt great.  Long run up a big hill with carpet on it in to transition.  It was already getting hot.  T1 was uneventful.  Went as fast as I could but didn't want to forget anything.  5:29.

Bike:

Went pretty hard.  We had a good tailwind at first and I had rolled over 20 miles in the first hour.  Then we turned into a really stiff head wind.  I just kept pushing it the whole time.  I passed a lot of people and finally caught up to a couple big groups and passed them.  Being that I was close the back, I knew I wanted to get with some people.  Had another big tailwind section and another head wind section that sucked.  I ate and drank more than I ever have on the bike and it paid off.  I felt hydrated and ready to run.  2:56:56 on the bike for a 19MPH average.  I'm very proud of that.  I worked hard, but I left something in the tank so I was smiling.  T2 was pretty good and I actually had to go pee.  That never happens for me.  Saw Kathy Ball and Adam Ball which was totally unexpected and cool.  It was awesome to have someone cheering for you when you expect no one to be.  5:00 T2 included the pee.

Run:

Africa Hot. Seriously hot (95 degrees and not a cloud in the sky) and not much shade and hilly.  Not super hilly but non stop rollers and a couple big ones.  I felt great.  I had plenty of gas and I made a decision to not risk anything stupid happening with the heat.  I ran all flats and down hills, ran up half way on the hills and walked the rest.  I walked all aid stations (every mile) and filled my hand held bottle, ate oranges and bananas, got cold sponges with water, ice, and whatever I could.  I believe had it been cooler or had this been my A race, I could have ran more and faster but I didn't.

My goals were under 50 for the swim, 3 hours on the bike and a sub 2:45 run.  Met all goals except the swim.  6:44:01 for a half Ironman PR.  I would love to go sub 6:30 which will mean faster swim and faster run at some point but I am very happy with how I performed.  My endurance was better than it ever has been.  I have done Racine 70.3 under similar weather conditions and did 7:30 and walked most of the run. 

I'm hurting tonight though.  My quads and hips suffered a little bit today.  Not sure about my hips but they are a bit sore.

I'm going to bed with smile tonight.