Muncie Endurathon Sprint Triathlon Race Report

The weekend before last, my Dad and I competed in the Muncie Endurathon. It's name derives from the fact that it has a half-iron, 2 duathlons, aqua bike, and sprint tri all rolled into one event. The sprint distance is actually one of the newer events, so the field was pretty small (192 triathletes compared to the 663 doing the half-iron).

So on with the race report!

We woke up at 4am and had to drive almost 2 hours to the race, so we were all a little tired.


The race took place in and around a reservoir in central Indiana.



The first race I've ever been to where I had my own spot on the bike rack!


All set up and ready to go. I always use my pink striped towel for races because it's the only way I can spot my bike as I come running into transition.



This was my Dad and I's 3rd race together. My 6th triathlon ever.



Ryan came along as official photographer, dog-watcher, cheerleader, and gear check.


Maggie came along as official race mascot and to distract people from watching the race with her cuteness.


It was such a small race that all the women doing the sprint were in the same swim heat. I'm in the middle (in the black bathing suit and gray sports bra) putting on my goggles...


And we're off!


The swim course was in an "L" shape, which helped lessen the usual congestion at the turn-around.


Story: About 1/3 of the way into my swim, I look up to site the buoy, and there is a man swimming in front of me. But he wasn't swimming with the crowd. He was swimming perpendicular to the crowd. Not only that, but he didn't seem as if he was in any rush. He was just FLOATING on his back! Right as he floated in front of me, I gave him a good shove. He jumped up, looked around in shock and confusion. I yelled, "watch out!" (what? It was the only thing I could think of at the moment), and slithered around him.

He was wearing a blue swim cap (the color for men doing the sprint triathlon), so I'm not sure if he got lost maybe? But he didn't seem to be in any rush to find his way to the finish line.

A little while later, I was finally done with the swim. It was an unusually short swim (only 400 meters), but I hadn't done as much swimming this year as I should have, so I felt a bit winded as I climbed onto shore.






I found it extremely hard to concentrate during transition. My bike rack was positioned right next to a gigantic speaker blasting pop music. It was so loud that I could feel my brain rattling. I couldn't think straight long enough to figure out what on earth I was doing.



Eventually, I got all my stuff together and headed out on the bike.


The bike wasn't too bad. It had hills, but for every torturous uphill, it had an awesomely steep downhill. This was the first race with my aerobars, and I felt like my speed was really good.




In second transition, the speaker was still blasting. "SHUT UP!" I yelled at it...



I headed off for my run. I had a hard time getting my Garmin on my wrist, so I fidgeted with it as I left transition...


Once I got my Garmin on, I realized I had forgotten to turn off my heart rate alarm. It was set to beep if I went over 155 bpm. Ha! I was over that within 30 seconds of my run. The beeping was annoying (to others more than myself, I'm sure), so I had to flip through the menus mid-run to get the alarm turned off.

The run went pretty well. I loved having my Garmin with me. I always knew exactly how far I had run, how far I had left to go, and how fast I was going. It was extremely helpful in keeping me under 11 minute miles for the majority of the run.

The run course was an out-and-back, so when I passed my Dad (he was on his way in), I timed myself to see how far behind him I was (his swim wave started 5 minutes before me). When I passed the same spot again, it was 8 minutes later. Ouch. So much for beating him this race.

When I neared the finish line, Ryan, my mom, Maggie, and my Dad were all there cheering for me. There's my Dad on the right...



Done!


Post-race was good. They had water immediately when you crossed the finish line. They also gave you a ticket for free lunch (catered by Noodles & Co... yummm!), and a free ice cream (from Baskin Robbins). All that along with the regular post-race snacks, drinks, and even a finishers plaque!


My Dad and I compared our times. He was the obvious winner...



So here are my stats...

Swim 11:15 (115/192)
T1 2:47
Bike 44:54 (149/192)
T2 2:10
Run 33:29 (161/192)
Overall 1:34:32

149/192 Overall
51/85 Females
12/19 AG (25-29)

How do I feel about my race? Well... I was slightly disappointed the bike wasn't faster. It said I had a 16.4 mph average. I really thought it was over 17 (which would have been a PR). But I was so close that I know if I just had a slightly flatter course, I could have done it.

The swim was good. It's obviously my best leg (at least compared to everyone else). I definitely could have gone through transition faster (stupid speaker!). If I had cut a minute off each transition, I would have been neck-and-neck with my Dad.

Side note: One of my coworkers did this triathlon also. It was her first one ever, and she was in my age group. She beat me by 40 seconds. Being beat by a newbie is a hurt that only hardcore training can take away. But don't worry, I was perfectly nice and congratulated her when I saw her at work on Monday.

What's next? The Chicago Triathlon!!! My first olympic-distance triathlon, with a whopping 1 mile swim!

Kill me now.

I've Lost It

I just signed up for the 2010 Chicago Triathlon. My Dad and I will be competing in it together (his 4th triathlon ever, my 6th). It was my first triathlon ever back in 2008 (a supersprint), so it'll be nice to return 2 years later and gauge my vast improvement.

But I'm not doing the Supersprint...

I'm not even doing the Sprint...

I'll be completing the Olympic Distance race (for all you non-triathletes, that's roughly 1 mile swimming, 25 miles biking, and 6 miles running). And I'll be doing it all at the world's largest triathlon in the middle of a sweltering Chicago summer.

Here's where my stupidity comes in: I've been going around telling people the swim was a HALF mile. That's what I thought. I swear I checked and double-checked. I think it's a giant conspiracy, and the moment I clicked the "Register" button, they made the course longer. And now I'm really nervous.

To put this in perspective, the longest I have ever swam without stopping was 875 yards. And that was in a pool. For the triathlon, I have to swim TWICE that far... in Lake Michigan... with hundreds of other flailing triathletes around me.

Oh... and boats.



Apparently there are BOATS I have to avoid also.

This was a horrible idea, but it's done and the money (an exorbitant amount) has been paid. So it's time to go big, or go home. Time to put my money where my mouth is... and all those other inspirational sayings.

I have 7 1/2 months to prepare for this, and a 5-month training plan to get me there. I definitely think I'll be putting off my intentions to cancel my Y membership. I have a lot of pool hours ahead of me!

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme courtesy NikeMom.)

Last weekend, Ryan, Maggie, and I drove up to Michigan to stay at a cabin with some family. We thought there would only be 6 or 7 of us up there... but at some points, there were more than 15 people at the cabin. Phew!

So here is our weekend in pictures...

"Are we there yet?"


A view of the cabin from the dock.


One of my cousins braved the water... but it was 60 degrees out, and so windy that there were white-caps.


The rest of us stayed warm and dry.


I forgot pants, so I had to wear borrowed sweatpants all weekend.


We are a family who likes to eat.





Maggie loved the cabin and the wonderful smelling woods surrounding it.


On Saturday night, the power went out. We played Balderdash in the dark.


It was a little warmer on Sunday.


My Dad insisted the water wasn't that bad.


But my mom knew better. She stayed on the dock.


Sunday afternoon, it was time for Maggie's swimming debut. I bought her an adorable life vest so she wouldn't drown.


And she's off!


We even tried it without the vest, and she did pretty good (but headed straight for shore).


Despite the chill in the air, it's not a weekend on the lake without a little boating.


Maggie loved the boat. So peaceful and windy.


It was nice and warm in the sun.


My Dad jumped off the boat and went for a little swim.


It was his open-water swim training.


Maggie saw my Dad in the water and it peaked her interest.


In she goes.


Swimming like a pro.


And she gets to wrap up in a big towel on the way home.


Overall, it was a fun weekend. And I'm proud to say that I DID workout while I was up there...

• On Saturday, we went biking. I used my mom's hybrid, which was hard to get used to. I thought we would be biking along the roads, but next thing I know, my cousin has led us straight into the woods. I officially had my first mountain-biking experience. How was it? Horrifying! It was hard to go up hill, it was hard to go downhill, and every time I hit a patch of sand, I was DOWN. 7 miles later, I was totally exhausted.
• After the bike ride, someone convinced me to go for a run. So, in keeping with the Michigan-style of working out, I went for a 3-mile cross country run in the rain. WOO!
• On Sunday, Ryan and I went for a leisurely 8 mile bike ride around part of the lake.
  

My overall training has been going really well. I finally stepped it up and I'm starting to feel better about where this is headed. I've done 9 workouts in the past 9 days (not every day of course). We only have about a week until our race. My only goal is to beat my Dad!