Ironman Muskoka 70.3 - A Very Dark Place
- jonathanmcmillan12
- Jul 14, 2016
- 4 min read
Leading up to this race I had some high expectations. I felt like I was in great shape and training had been going well. Not to mention it was on the same course that I took my Ironman victory.
In the days leading up to the race, my legs felt heavy. I have been doing a lot of volume to build up my base for Kona. This definitely weighed on my mind as I checked in and registered for the race. Heavy legs, high expectations for myself, as well as the expectations of others created some nervous energy. As I prepared for the race, I continued to run through different race scenarios.
On race morning I woke up and felt a little groggy. Maybe it was the nerves, all in all I was not very chipper until I had my morning coffee. I arrived at the race and prepared my transition space. With my bike, shoes, and area set up I headed down to the water. On the way down I felt much more alert and felt ready to race. I got in the water and waited for the start canon.
The canon went off and all my thoughts went out the window and I started racing. I went hard for the first couple hundred metres all along the while looking for some feet to catch on to. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any and I had to keep the pedal down and fight my way through the swim. This is a funny thing, some days the swim feels effortless and enjoyable. This was not one of those days. I had to fight for every metre and battle my way through the water. I knew it was a tough swim when I started to get a stitch in my abdomen mid swim. Not a normal occurrence but something I just had to overcome. As I passed the last swim buoy, my excitement grew as I was about to get on my new bike and see what I could do on the tough Muskoka bike course.
As I got onto my bike and started the ride my legs felt pretty good. Not 100 percent, but pretty good. As I rode I started to get in some nutrition. The bike nutrition plan had me taking a Gu energy gel at 45 minutes, 1:30 and 2:10. I stuck to this and it seemed to work. My 45 kilometre bike splits were 1:14:57 and 1:14:54. Almost perfect. As the bike drew to a close, my legs felt heavy and my stomach was in a bit of discomfort. I knew the run was going to be a battle.
I came off the bike and was in fourth place. I started the run at a pace that would not further upset my stomach but also allowed me to stay in contention for a podium spot. As I ran along my stomach began to settle. I ran through the downtown and could see third place up the road about 500 metres. At this point I knew I was going to catch him. I moved into third and was starting to feel like I was getting into a groove. I went through the next aid station looking for water and Pepsi. NO PEPSI! This was a bit of an issue as I was counting on some sugar to boost me, but I figured I would pick up some Pepsi at the next aid station. As I went through the next couple of kilometres I started to feeling low. I went through the next aid station, there was still no Pepsi available. With 7k left to go and me already feeling low on energy, I knew I was going to have to suffer to get to the finish. I hit the 16km markers and thought 5k, I can do 5k, 20 minutes and I’m done. 20 minutes no big deal! Little did I know, how much pain the next 20 minutes had in store. As I ran by people going out on the run, people were congratulating me, but I couldn’t do anything in response. No thank you or good job. The very little energy I had left was being put into getting to that finish line.
As I neared the top of the last hill, I heard "Go Duncan! You got him Duncan. He's done, let's go". I thought wait my name isn't Duncan! I looked behind to see the 4th place finisher about 20 seconds back. Already in a very dark place, I turned off my mind and put everything I had left into not giving up my podium spot. Now when I do my hill repeats I think about this scenario. I think about catching and passing someone, or managing the lead as we close in on the line. This training helped me push my body into that dark place without even thinking. I saw my competitor closing and knew I only had a short distance to go. I knew I could suffer and if he wanted my podium spot he was going to have to suffer with me. Like I said, my mind shut off. I don’t remember the finish chute. I remember crossing the line and some volunteers holding me up and carrying me off to the med tent. After some time, and some painful stomach cramps, I recovered enough to go and enjoy a champagne celebration with the other top finishers.
This was a good first race of the season. I am happy with my podium finish. There was nothing left in the tank and there was nothing more I could give. I am also glad that I was pushed into that dark place. I know that in Kona I may have to push that hard again. But now I know that I am capable of going to that place and suffering just a bit more to give 100 percent of what I have.
The race did not go 100 percent as planned but I am very happy with a hard earned 3rd place finish and 1st in my age group.
Congratulations to Andrew Beardshall, the overall race winner, and my sister Melissa French on her first overall female win! Also, a big thank you to Dr Duffy for helping me recover after the race!
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