I’m sitting in a shitty hotel room alone on the eve of Ironman 70.3 Muncie after a long day of travel. The main topic for today unless you live under a rock is still the weather. As I was getting close to Muncie, Indiana the temps kept increasing. It was 106 in Fort Wayne, which I thought was unreal until I got to Muncie where my car read a temp of 108. It has been 108 since I entered this town. I went to the convention center 2x, once for packet pick up and then again for an athlete’s meeting, then I went to dinner. At this point, I’m hoping the thermometer on my car is just stuck/broken because the thought of 108 in INDIANA at 8pm is ridiculous.

If you haven’t heard people bitching talking about the weather than I know you’ve heard them talking about the fact that Ironman has GASP decided to shorten the race. Yes, shorten the 70.3 mile race (1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run) to a mere 37.2 miles (1 mi swim, 30 mi bike, 6.2 mi run). The health officials here in Muncie are warning people to not go outside tomorrow and not to exercise outdoors. Apparently, today isn’t “hot” but tomorrow is gonna be a real scortcher with expected temps between 110 and 114 degrees. Yep, I’m still gonna be in Muncie, INDIANA tomorrow. No, I didn’t type that incorrectly. Yes, people are really f’ing pissed that the race is being shortened. Ummmmm, okay. As I was driving here, I half expected to pick up my packet and be sent home but no, we are racing. It will just be the modified distance due to EXTENUATING circumstances. I personally don’t think this is unreasonable. Yes, it stinks that people trained months for this race and now will not be completing the full distance but I’d like to think that a reasonable adult would consider this decision to be in the best interest of the athletes. Thanks for thinking of me, Ironman!

They still gave us a cool swag bag with gender specific tech shirts, plus a few other goodies.

They are still holding the race. They just want us out of here and in the safety of cooler temps as soon as possible. So far, I like the way they have handled the situation. They are even offering us a 50% discount to some of the upcoming 70.3 events which are not yet full. They are also still using this race as a qualifier for the 70.3 championships. They are doing what they can do and I like it and I picked up a couple water bottles to commemorate this event since it will surely go down in history.

I’m smiling and happy to be here.

I will race my 996 as far as they will let me and I’m so veeerrrrrry thankful that I know myself well enough left my running shoes at home. I only have my bike shoes and flip flops. I did that on purpose so that I wouldn’t even contemplate the run. I know I can’t do it. I know it would do more harm to my torn tendon but with the run now shortened to 6.2 miles, it would have been very difficult for me to not give it a shot. However, its not even an option since I am without running shoes!

When I travel for races, I like to eat. However, I have to be careful with my pre-race meal. I need to keep it pretty safe, not spicy, not too rich, and this normally equates to a pretty boring dinner. Tonight I stopped at a locally owned place, Amazing Joes, not to far from the convention center to throw a little business at the community which will shut down for tomorrow’s race.

And it was amazing! Really amazing! First I open the menu and pickle chips POPPED out to greet me. Why, yes, I will! I only ate half of them. I was told the place had wonderful steaks but I knew that was a bit much for my crazy tummy so I picked the most bland pasta dish on the menu, an angel hair pomadoro with chicken. Wow, was I surprised. The dish was packed with flavor and absolutely delicious. I know that was a stellar description but that’s all I got. It was awesome.

Stop at Amazing Joes on Wheeling Avenue if you head to Muncie, Indiana!

So far, a huge thumbs up to Ironman and Muncie for their “warmth” and hospitality.

** Stay Cool ** Amanda – TooTallFritz ** amanda@tootallfritz.com