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Tri-Umphs (Triathlons & Duathlons)
Triathlon: Race Support: Everyone Needs a “Happy Person” on Their Shoulder
By Margie Shapiro
September/Ocotber 2011
(Editor’s note: Below is an adaptation of Margie’s Muncie 70.3 Race Report that took place on July 9, 2011.)
After my June 24th Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 race in Lubbock, TX, my husband, Brendan, calculated that I could not qualify for the Ironman World Championship 70.3 to be held in Nevada on September 11th with only three results toward a ranking system that allowed for five. After a few days, I decided that I would make a quick turnaround and race Ironman Muncie 70.3 on July 9th.
Muncie, Indiana is a small town about an hour and a half from Indianapolis. The race takes place on country roads and highways around a beautiful, warm water reservoir. It is a 750-point race in the same time zone as Virginia and only a 90-minute flight; how could I resist? But racing three out of four weekends in a row was somewhat daunting. I had a simple mission: to finish and place as high as I could, no matter how my body felt.
My wonderful big sister Cathy accompanied me. I told her she was my manager for the weekend; she took the job quite seriously.
Immediately upon landing in Indianapolis, we drove the 60 plus miles to the race venue. I built my bike in the race course parking lot, went for a swim in the lake, and then rode about an hour of the course with Cathy driving nearby. We finished with just enough time to scope out the nearby campsite (where we intended to shower the next day) and went straight to the pre-race meeting.
I tried to take note of the competition and Cathy was thinking ahead of other things I would need. She went out to find a banana (for my breakfast) and a towel (for our campsite shower) at a nearby Wal-Mart. After dinner, Cathy looked at Google maps to figure out our best route on race morning and I was sound asleep by 10:00 P.M.
At the 5:00 A.M. wake-up call I went down to breakfast: two eggs, a package of oatmeal along with my banana with peanut butter, and coffee, of course. It was very tough to get it all down, as I was still full from dinner, but eventually I finished and we headed off to the venue.
I had my tires pumped by the mechanic, set up my transition and was able to relax before my warm up. I felt surprisingly calm. At this point I knew that all I could do was what I could do.
This race had a number of strong swimmers, so my goal was to stay with them for as long as possible. I started out well for about 800 meters, but by the time we got to the first turn, they had dropped me. The swim back was tough, the sun was in our eyes and I couldn’t see the buoys, but I did my best to swim straight. When I exited, Cathy yelled to me, “Your swim was good!” She said I was fifth out of the water and the leaders were not too far ahead. This was so helpful to get a sense of how much time I needed to cover on the bike.
The bike course was flat (not pancake flat, but flat) and the winds were light. My only issues were my achy quads and glutes. I wanted to be gaining more on the leaders and I was not doing it. Cathy told me that when the mental demons came, she’d be the happy angel on my other shoulder.
It was a fun bike course, especially the last 10 miles, with a lot of turns through small neighborhoods on slightly hillier roads. I transitioned to the run pretty quickly and a woman who had passed me at the end of the bike was going out like a flash. By the time I went through mile 1, she had already put a minute on me and eventually went on to win the race.
The run course was nice--rolling hilly--which I usually enjoy when my legs respond well, but my quad issues and overall fatigue meant I did not run efficiently. I took water at every aid station, ate all the gels I was carrying, and started to bonk with about two miles to go. The last mile was an eternity . . . isn’t that always the case?
I tried to look happy when I finished, because I was happy---not only to be done with the race but that I had made the trip and I was really happy that Cathy was there to share the experience. Never underestimate the importance of having a “happy person” to help you through any race, whatever the distance.
Margie Shapiro is co-owner of Potomac River Running stores where she coaches runners and triathletes through the =PR= Training Programs. A professional triathlete, she is currently on the USA Triathlon Project 2012 Team (for Olympic hopefuls) and has been a U.S. National Elite Team member (2007-08) and Elite World Championships Team Member (2007).
Editor’s note: Margie did qualify for the Ironman World Championship 70.3 by doing Muncie and also qualified for the Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship to be held the week before in Des Moines, IA, on September 4.