Muncie 70.3 - OODA is Key
This was an interesting race for me. I signed up last year after IMWI thinking that I wanted an early season race so that I could enjoy a little more freedom over the summer. Well...I learned several things about this decision.
Pre-Race
Arrived Friday, got checked in and whatnot, and did pasta dinner with my mom. Got up and headed to race start. Tried drinking my naked juice, but was having a lot of GI trouble. 
Took in maybe 300 cals worth, but struggled all the way up to the start. I was concerned about how my GI system was going to act in the race.
Swim
Original goal: 35 minutes
Adjusted goal: continuous smooth swimming without stopping
Due to some financial concerns, I had to drop my gym membership with pool access at the beginning of this year. I wasn't too worried because I figured that when it started to warm up I'd just swim in Lake Michigan. Of course I didn't count on June being the worst ever with thunderstorms, cold weather, etc. So my total pre-race swim count was 1. Just slightly underprepared 
I knew I'd be ok as I'm comfortable in the water, but figured my time goal was out. Once they announced no wetsuits, I knew I'd be slower. The water temp was 81 and it was like swimming in bath water. I've never done a swim this long with no wetsuit and was pleasantly surprised with my swim. In planning my season in the coming years I definitely need to take into consideration my goals in the swim with my likely access to practice in the lake.
Swim- 46:23
T1: 3:09 Not awful considering I took a spectacular spill on the mats into transition trying to get around a girl that was bobbing and weaving. Hopefully it provided some entertainment to the spectators!
Bike
Original goal: 120 watts, ~17mph or better, 3:10
Adjusted goal: don't throw up, stay mentally focused, get to the run
Unfortunately some knee issues forced me to shut down my bike for several months, so I had to end my OS early and only started training for the race about a month out. I was comfortable with my prep, and my race rehearsal went really well where I hit my watts, had good nutrition, and had a good run. I felt prepared. My only potential issue was that I left for vacation to the Grand Canyon two days after, so I didn't have a chance to bike between the RR and the actual race. I was concerned this would be a problem, but hoped the running and hiking would suffice in keeping me prepared. I was a calculated decision and I knew that there was a good possibility that my race would suffer, but I've never been to the GC and it's been on the top of my list for a while (and it didn't disappoint!). I started off the bike feeling good and hitting my target watts of 120. But, by about 15 minutes in my legs just weren't loosening up and I knew there was going to be trouble. At 45 minutes I was becoming concerned because I couldn't take down any nutrition without being nauseous and my knees were starting to hurt which is a clear indicator for me that my leg muscles weren't working fully. At 1 hour I was still managing to hold my watts and I was averaging 20 mph, but then things started to fall apart as I could feel my energy lagging. I struggled to make it to the halfway point. I pulled over at the aid station and stopped to assess my situation. I needed calories for sure and I was unable to handle my infinit. I also was concerned about becoming dehydrated as the sun was beating down and I could feel the sunburn forming. I considered DNF, but knowing I'd have to still get back to transition anyway, I decided to finish the bike and reassess then. I took a gel from the station, and downed a bottle of water and headed out. The return trip was tough and I was only able to manage 70-90 watts. I know another EN racer mentioned that the wind at their back was so strong they couldn't hit their watts but I don't know if that's what happened, if I was just so weak, or if something was wrong with my PT. It definitely felt like I was really pushing so I was surprised to see the watts so low. I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
Bike- 3:15, 17 mph
* Considering my trouble I was surprised that my bike time wasn't that far off what I hoped for time-wise. My final watts ended up around 100 with an VI of 1.07 and an IF of .66 so I clearly wasn't close to those goals.
T2: 6:04 Was trying to regroup here and decide what to do. I took another gel with a ton of water and went to the bathroom. I decided to run and see how it went. At this point I could technically walk and still finish in time, though I did not want to walk a half marathon.
Run
Original goal: 8:30 pace
Adjusted goal: run entire way, walking only aid stations
Since my knees hurt so much after the bike and because I was able to take in so little nutrition I knew my run was going to suffer. I used it as a mental challenge to walk only at the aid stations, no matter how slow I was running otherwise. When I signed up I thought that the run course was going to be more shaded (it being July and all) but it wasn't, and at 88 degrees the heat on the run was just stagnant and awful. I was starting to become pretty dehydrated by the halfway point, and hadn't managed anything but water before then. So at mile 7 I took a minute to take down a s-cap and a gel with a bunch of water and walked a tenth of a mile to let it settle. Then I started up again. The new jerseys back pocket is STELLAR in holding ice in the perfect place to keep you cool and pull from to eat. Very nice! About mile 11 I started feeling the chills, so I focused on getting to the finish ASAP. I wasn't able to pick up my pace, but I tried to tune everything else out. I hit the finisher's chute and happily crossed the line.
Run- 2:37, 12 min/mi pace
Final time: 6:49
Thoughts:
Nutrition- Tallying up my nutrition afterwards I took in 300 cals before the race, 200 cals at most on the bike, and 200 cals on the run. Clearly not enough to fuel a HIM. I was lucky in managing it well enough to move me forward on the course and not trying to push harder than the nutrition I took in allowed. I finished the race clearly dehydrated, though I just started getting the chills, so not severe enough to need medical attention.
Race planning- Clearly because of where I live and the funky weather that occurs here, I need to plan races for later in the season for several reasons. First, so that I can actually practice swimming and perhaps actually improve on that leg. Second, my allergies are so severe that they can restrict my breathing and in the heat of high summer on a course with no shade with allergens everywhere I struggled mightily breathing on the run. I have handled this ok before, but this race was the toughest conditions for breathing by far. If I'm going to do a mid-summer race the running cannot be on non-shaded roads in a prairie. I can handle one or the other, but not both together. Also, I might have reconsidered this race had I know the start time was 8am instead of 7am (meaning my wave didn't go off until 8:25). This was just too late as I spent a majority of the day baking in the sun. I don't know why WTC decided to do a sprint beforehand and start the HIM at 8, but I think it was a very poor decision for a July race with no shade.
Mental aspect- This is probably the aspect of my race that I'm most proud of. Transitioning from team sports to such an individual and solitary sport was difficult for me in overcoming the mental hurdles. There were many races where I would have trouble and would end up walking because I was unable to break through. When I was reflecting after this race I noted that I took the issues as they occurred, dealt with them, and continued moving forward. I didn't dwell or get lost in the negative, but managed to stay in my box. I was really pleased that I kept running through the whole half marathon. In the last two years, this is the one thing I've improved on the most and I'm very happy about that.
Dedication- This is where I'm currently struggling the most at the moment. I love long course triathlon for so many reasons but the inability to put together the seperate components at the level I should be able to compete at in a race is starting to frustrate me. I know that circumstances and life choices have affected my races, but I suppose some of my concern is that even with full dedication the race will not come together for me. I signed up for another HIM at the beginning of September and should be able to focus on fully training for the next 8 weeks. After that I will have to reassess my own goals and motivations to determine where to go from there.
Comments
Nice to meet you and look forward to the team pic.
I experienced the same issue hitting my watts on the way back in (miles 34-50). Yes, I noted that it is almost entirely due to the wind (in my mind - have had some of the same issues in training). I was pushing gears I never have in training and was spending a surprising amount of time with my cadence >100 and still not holding my target of 173.
I think you have done a very thorough and honest review of the day. It seems you have a plan on what to tweak next time.
And I am open water swim all the time girl. Let me know if you ever want company at Ohio Street Beach!
Sorry to hear you had such a rough day but you did an amazing job getting through all of the challenges. So many people would have quit but you stuck it out and should be very proud of yourself. It was a tough day out there.
Thanks for getting us together for the phote and I totally agree that it was dumb to have the sprint start first and then the 70.3 after it was over.
A couple of thoughts for you:
- What you and Jeff said about the bike seemed to be very common. I noticed that a TON of people seemed to die on the bike after the turn north at mile 35 ish. My theory is until then we had a cross or head wind that was very cooling for the first 35 miles. It felt great out and I think people went too hard into the wind for the day. Plus for the 6 miles or so before that part where directly into a headwind and I watched so many people destroy themselves in that section. Once we had the tailwind at mile 35ish, the temp seemed to drastically increase and it was about 15 miles of direct sun. I think the combination of these factors drained a lot of people.
- Nutrition, you already caught this, but just to share. Weight and size wise I'm pretty much a EN lil peep. I took in 550 calories for breakfast, a bottle of perform and gel per swim (about 250 calories), 625 calories of infinit on the bike, two gels on the run (about 200 calories), and coke at every other aid station (maybe another 100-150 cal). Therefore I took in at lesat 1200 calories during the race and I was only racing for 4 hours.... about 300 cal per hour. Not to mention I had 4 full water bottles during the bike and a full cup of water at every single aid station on the run.
- The run was much more difficult than it seemed. I think of it like the IMWI bike course, i.e. death by a hundred rolling hills/turns. There really was only hill I would consider a challenge on the run course, but there was a small roller like every half mile. I think all the slight up and down just adds up and has a much bigger impact than we think it would.
- This course is setup to blow people up. Flat and Fast Bike, then a run that is a net downhil for the first few miles, then all of a sudden it is hot with rolling hills. To make it more fun aronud mile 10-12 is up hill.
Tough day but a great report. Glad you shared it. The reports on bad races are the most valuable.