Muncie 70.3

Speed 'Stache

The goal this year was to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. After this year the event will be traveling around the world (2015 Austria, 2016 Australia) so it would be my only shot for a while. Plus the location promised to be cool and hilly, qualities that serve my strengths. Thus Dave Smith and I picked Muncie, Indiana for our 70.3 qualifier, which was the second weekend in July. It's more motivating to have a training partner as well as splitting travel costs.

We arrived the day before and were very pleased the weather forecast was calling for low 70s. The course promised to be flat, with great views of corn and soybeans. I grew a special "speed stache" for this event. Everyone loved it, however recommended that I stay away from schools and small children. Conveniently enough, Ball State had a university hotel that Dave and I stayed at for only $80!

The race was wave start and luckily the 25-29 was first after the pros. Based on slot allocation I guessed there were going to be 2 or 3 slots for my AG. As usual my mentality for the swim was "just get this done" and exited the water in 31 minutes. Once on my bike I discovered my powermeter was not functioning and spent a good 5 minutes trying to make it work, but to no avail. So it was racing by feel for me. About a half hour in there were two guys in my age group that went by so I decided to hang off the back and pace on them. We entered T2 together, myself having biked 2:19.

Of the bike group I was the first out of T2, but was unsure how many guys were up the road. I had taken in almost 800 calories on the bike and my stomach wasn't feeling the best so I settled into the run and a comfortable effort. The two guys I had biked with passed me in the first few miles of the run, before settling in only 30ish seconds up the road. The run was slight rolling hills, with significant shade. I was very happy it wasn't hot out. I hate the heat.

Eventually I could see the turn around and learned there were only three guys in front of me and one was really suffering. I passed him right before the turn around and then steadily reeled the other two in before mile 7. I was in the lead! I continued a steady effort and gained ground. I crossed the finish line in a PR of 4:12:44, having run 1:19:53. Which put me first for my AG, 14th Overall and qualified me for the 70.3WC. Dave finished 3rd in his AG so we both qualified for a trip to Canada in September!


It is worth noting that I skipped a family reunion to do this race. When I posted a picture of my ugly facial hair to FB my friend Russ, his wife, father and grandmother as well as their two kids posted pictures to show their support. My family decided to follow suit. I have some quality pictures. Enjoy

I have a classy family.

Dave and I post race awards before 6hr drive home in thunderstorms.