Muncie Race Report

Saturday’s Endurathon went pretty well. I felt strong during the entire race, and despite the very windy conditions on the bike, finished within three minutes of last year’s time in five hours and fifteen minutes. The race results are posted here. Also similar to last year, I finished second in my age group. Very consistent, indeed.

The temperature on Saturday was in the mid-80’s most of the day, which is surprisingly cool for Muncie in July and made for a much more comfortable half-marathon than last year. The swim was alright. I didn’t feel very strong, which definitely made me realize that I need to incorporate more open water swimming into my training. Primarily, my swim training has taken place in the pool over my lunch break. In fact, I think I’ve only done one open water swim this season. The last leg of the swim portion was also tough because the sun was glaring in my eyes, which made it nearly impossible to see anything. I felt strong on the bike, despite an incessant head wind, but I’m afraid that I backed off during the last ten miles, which was just too soon. I always like to take it in a bit easier to ease into the transition, but I think those last ten miles really slowed down my bike split.

Overall, good race. I feel happy with where I’m at with Ironman training. In the coming weeks, I’d like to get in some great long rides on the Ironman course and more open water swimming. Additionally, I’d love to get over this plantar fasciatis running injury once and for all and start incorporating more speed training into my running.