IRONMAN 70.3 Muncie

I did it! I signed up to compete in my first Ironman branded triathlon on Saturday, July 9th, 2016 in Muncie, Indiana. It's a half Iron distance or 70.3 miles. That's 1.2 miles of swimming in Prairie Creek Reservoir, 56 miles of cycling along flat rural Indiana highways and 13.1 miles of running over rolling country roads along the reservoir.

I completed my first local sprint Triathlon (swim .5 mile, bike 14 miles and run 3 miles) in 2012. Two years later in Stillwater, I finished the 2014 Square Lake Triathlon long course (swim 1.2 miles, bike 54 miles and run 13 miles) in 7:12:07.

Saturday, July 9th, 2015

The breakout of my times for the 2014 Square Lake Triathlon long course:

Swim - 40:55/2:17 per 100 yards average
Transition 1 - 4:55
Bike - 3:15:49/16.5 miles per hour average
Transition 2 - 6:03
Run - 184:26/14:12 minutes per mile average
Total Time - 7:12:07

My goal is to complete Muncie in less time than Square even though the mileage is slightly more. Can I finish in 6.5 hours? That is the average finishing time for female athletes in the 45-49 age bracket.

The Square Lake bike course is notoriously challenging with rolling hills and some great climbs. Muncie is flat. Right off the bat, I can expect a faster bike time. I love to cycle, and I am determined to increase my speed and efficiency over longer distances in the coming months.

The run at Square Lake was brutal. There was no escape from the beating hot sun on that shadeless course. I was woefully unprepared due to a strained calf muscle earlier in the season. I was forced to quit running for five weeks. I continued to cylce and swim. Those activities didn't seem to bother my calf. Ultimately, I was unable to build up to a half marathon running distance. My farthest training run prior to the Square Lake Triathlon was nine miles. Additionally, I didn't fuel properly on the bike so my energy on the run was in the pits. I definitely need to run faster at Muncie if I want to improve my overall time. That means staying true to a workout schedule and not skipping the runs which admittedly happens way too often.

I joined a local triclub sponsored by Tri Fitness in White Bear Lake offering one coached swim, bike and run per week. In addition, I have a coach that plans my workouts, posts them to Training Peaks and meets with me on a regular basis to train and evaluate my progress. I continue to workout regularly at Bodies By Burgoon in Minneapolis with a personal trainer where I am improving my strength and cardio. There is no doubt in my mind that my training at Bodies By Burgoon is essential to my success. In fact, owner and personal trainer Jason Burgoon signed up to do Muncie, too!

I am actively working to shed more body weight. My race weight goal is somewhere between 150 and 170 pounds. My weight loss stalled a couple years ago, but I remained relatively fit. Then, after my husband's death I managed to gain 20 pounds. Yikes! It definitely showed in my race times this past summer.

It's now time to lose my luggage and get to the finish line at a decent time.