Options
Keith Shireman IM 70.3 Muncie Race report
This race was my 4th 70.3 that I have raced in since beginning triathlon in 2013. My training had actually began back in the Outseason last year in preparation for Ironman Texas. But soon after we finished football season (I'm a certified/licensed athletic trainer - I deal with all the rehab and sports medicine injuries) I herniated a couple of discs in my back. I was devastated as I was really looking forward to competing in my first full Ironman. So I had a good cry about it (lol) and began rehabbing and also looking at what race I could do in its' place. It took 2 months to get into the back surgeon to see what my options were at that time. No surgery so I put my head down and started training again as my back would allow. After I got clearance I looked and decided on competing Muncie. My training went great and I was superpumped at my results thus far. I knew I wanted to improve on all disciplines to have an opportunity to compete well. I'm not a great age grouper or do I score any points in my age group but nonetheless I work hard. So on to the race......
I can honestly say that all my training from EN, my diet, core/muscluar workouts and brand ambassador support from companies that took me in this year were awesome. Yes it all does make a difference to have your program on another level. Plus I finally got on a tri bike that I can be happy with and setup to my liking. My nutrition on the bike was also on point and that's something that really made me happy.
For this race, I came into it the calmest I have ever been. I was never nervous or scared, just entirely focused on what I had to do. Just remember..... it is what it is at this point. The swim started off like all swims do. I started mid pack of my age group and held back a little due to everybody else swimming the wrong direction and climbing all over each other. I also started this race on the inside buoy so I could sight better since this was a clockwise swim. Basically I just got into a rhythm and remembered my stroke rate and remained calm. At the half way point I still felt great and not taxed from a cardiovascular standpoint. I did however have a tough time coming back into the finish since the sun was in our eyes which made it difficult to sight the buoys. I finished the swim with a 45:34! That's a 12 minute PR from the last 70.3 that I did in Lubbock! Finally a breakthrough! The transition was about a 200m run uphill after getting my wetsuit off. I probably took too much time in transition as it ended up being 7 minutes but I wanted to remain calm and not worry about getting in a huge hurry. Onto the bike......
I use HR on the bike as I don't have a power meter yet (my next purchase). Riding the course the day before the race I went through a race simulation so I would remind myself not to go hard on the bike and not blowup my legs for the run. It was a great bike course that I knew I could do well on. My last race rehearsal two weeks ago I clocked a 56 mile ride in 3:02. I knew I could do better but remember not to blowup for the run. There's no such thing as a good bike and a bad run. So I let the course come to me and kept it at 19 mph and backed off alittle bit towards the end of the bike for the run. I kept watching my time and I knew I could do a sub 3 hr bike. Nutrition plan on the bike was working to perfection. I couldn't have asked for a better result. So I cam in off the bike with a 2:58:23! Yes! Superpumped!!!! A 12 minute PR!! Onto the run.....
I took my time in transition just like in training and took about 5 minutes in transition and headed out on the run. My plan for the run was to take the first 3 miles at Z2 pace alittle slower and stop at every aid station long enough to eat an energy chew and a a drink of water or Base Performance that I carried with me. Then go onto Z2 for miles 4-10 and then try to start racing for the last 5K of the course. Nutrition plan worked great for the run just like in training as well. I kept an eye on the time and felt like I could make the sub 6hr time. After mile 3 I had a little trouble keeping my pace that I wanted to be at but the rollers on the course were more than what I had trained on. But no excuses, put your head down and keep going. I started to get a cramp right at the last mile on the hill towards the finish but you just gut it out and be happy you made it. I came into the run at 2:15:13! Another 10 minute PR!! I missed the sub 6 finish by 11 minutes. 6:11:40 was my official finish time! I didn't know my finish time for sure till I got back to my truck. yes I had a Garmin on but wasn't sure if it was the correct time or not. Wow what a day it was!!
I'm still running on an all time high for one simple reason.... I get it now! I know what it takes and what to work on to make more improvements. I got to meet some Team EN members and supported them all on the course as we passed each other. Here we are 4 days later and I feel great and even had a 1500 yard post race swim yesterday. I'm going to finish resting this week and hopefully start on Monday training for an Olympic distance event in 5 weeks. Then work on some 6 week bike focus and run focus. Outseason is not far off and then comes the big one. I've already signed up again for Ironman Texas and I'm ready to tackle the big one! Sorry for the long read! I'm just superpumped!!! And to top it all off, EN won the Tri Club Division!!
I can honestly say that all my training from EN, my diet, core/muscluar workouts and brand ambassador support from companies that took me in this year were awesome. Yes it all does make a difference to have your program on another level. Plus I finally got on a tri bike that I can be happy with and setup to my liking. My nutrition on the bike was also on point and that's something that really made me happy.
For this race, I came into it the calmest I have ever been. I was never nervous or scared, just entirely focused on what I had to do. Just remember..... it is what it is at this point. The swim started off like all swims do. I started mid pack of my age group and held back a little due to everybody else swimming the wrong direction and climbing all over each other. I also started this race on the inside buoy so I could sight better since this was a clockwise swim. Basically I just got into a rhythm and remembered my stroke rate and remained calm. At the half way point I still felt great and not taxed from a cardiovascular standpoint. I did however have a tough time coming back into the finish since the sun was in our eyes which made it difficult to sight the buoys. I finished the swim with a 45:34! That's a 12 minute PR from the last 70.3 that I did in Lubbock! Finally a breakthrough! The transition was about a 200m run uphill after getting my wetsuit off. I probably took too much time in transition as it ended up being 7 minutes but I wanted to remain calm and not worry about getting in a huge hurry. Onto the bike......
I use HR on the bike as I don't have a power meter yet (my next purchase). Riding the course the day before the race I went through a race simulation so I would remind myself not to go hard on the bike and not blowup my legs for the run. It was a great bike course that I knew I could do well on. My last race rehearsal two weeks ago I clocked a 56 mile ride in 3:02. I knew I could do better but remember not to blowup for the run. There's no such thing as a good bike and a bad run. So I let the course come to me and kept it at 19 mph and backed off alittle bit towards the end of the bike for the run. I kept watching my time and I knew I could do a sub 3 hr bike. Nutrition plan on the bike was working to perfection. I couldn't have asked for a better result. So I cam in off the bike with a 2:58:23! Yes! Superpumped!!!! A 12 minute PR!! Onto the run.....
I took my time in transition just like in training and took about 5 minutes in transition and headed out on the run. My plan for the run was to take the first 3 miles at Z2 pace alittle slower and stop at every aid station long enough to eat an energy chew and a a drink of water or Base Performance that I carried with me. Then go onto Z2 for miles 4-10 and then try to start racing for the last 5K of the course. Nutrition plan worked great for the run just like in training as well. I kept an eye on the time and felt like I could make the sub 6hr time. After mile 3 I had a little trouble keeping my pace that I wanted to be at but the rollers on the course were more than what I had trained on. But no excuses, put your head down and keep going. I started to get a cramp right at the last mile on the hill towards the finish but you just gut it out and be happy you made it. I came into the run at 2:15:13! Another 10 minute PR!! I missed the sub 6 finish by 11 minutes. 6:11:40 was my official finish time! I didn't know my finish time for sure till I got back to my truck. yes I had a Garmin on but wasn't sure if it was the correct time or not. Wow what a day it was!!
I'm still running on an all time high for one simple reason.... I get it now! I know what it takes and what to work on to make more improvements. I got to meet some Team EN members and supported them all on the course as we passed each other. Here we are 4 days later and I feel great and even had a 1500 yard post race swim yesterday. I'm going to finish resting this week and hopefully start on Monday training for an Olympic distance event in 5 weeks. Then work on some 6 week bike focus and run focus. Outseason is not far off and then comes the big one. I've already signed up again for Ironman Texas and I'm ready to tackle the big one! Sorry for the long read! I'm just superpumped!!! And to top it all off, EN won the Tri Club Division!!
2
Comments