Muncie Not What We Expected
It was a little difficult to get my head into the game at Muncie. When I first heard the rumor that the race had been shortened because of heat, I didn't believe it. The day was indeed hot, something like 100 degrees. I left town before it got really hot.
The first obstacle was the bath water reservoir. I honestly think my mind must have thought I was taking a bath because there is no way that I was swimming with the time I made. Out of the water I got in the transition line to "run" up the hill. The line was moving slow, but to pass I had to run off the carpet in a mixture of gravel and grass. I tried it a couple of times then gave up and stayed in line. T1 was routine and off I went on the bike. Well, I don't know exactly what happened here. I hadn't ridden (or run) for ten days leading up to Muncie (I won't go into detail about the reasons for missing training, but is has to do with hosting a wonderful exchange student and the Boy Scouts) so I didn't know quite what to expect. As it turns out, I felt like I had to dial down the power a little because of the heat, but I still had a ride over 24 MPH, which surprised me. I guess it's an EN perk. I drank water for about 30 minutes then sports drink. I also pounded down 4 salt stick capsules.
OK, moving along here. Out on the run it took me about 3 miles to get my legs back; longer than usual. I drank a lot of cold water, no sports drink. I felt a little dehydrated going into the run from the bike. Once I got my legs, I started passing, and it felt pretty good. I mugged a guy in the chute to take 18th in my age group. Paul Hough was outside the chute yelling "work works" as I went by. Afterword, I checked in with Paul, had a pulled pork sandwich with some excellent baked beans, than got back in my little car and drove back to Michigan.
Thanks for reading.
Comments