Non-Cooking: Ironman Mont Tremblant 70.3 Race Report

Just shy of a month ago, I headed up to Mont Tremblant to do the 70.3 or Half Ironman (which follows the same course as the Ironman). I did this for two reasons. First, Ironman gave you an option to register early for the race if you registered for both the 70.3 and full Ironman and I was super paranoid it would sell out. Second, I learned from Wisconsin that it is really great to preview the race course and the venue in order to figure out the logistics of the trip/race day and to give you some perspective on what to expect on race day. However, as the trip came up, I got more and more stressed out and I was not looking forward to it. That week was super stressful at work and between that and the stress of the trip/Ironman training, I ended up breaking down in tears in front of my boss. Woops! (As a 32 year old ex frat boy, this REALLY freaked him out but he handled it well. Don't worry - it's just that time in Ironman training!) Time for a vacation.

I have to give a major shout out to my mom and dad. I had already roped them into coming for the full Ironman, and had planned on doing the half ironman trip solo (including the 13+ hour drive home the Monday after the race). About a month ago, however, I was at our Sunday dinner solo (the brother/sister-in-law/baby nephew had other plans) and they volunteered to come up with me. Hallelujah! It was fantastic to have them there during the weekend to help take care of all of the logistics. It really made the short break feel like much more of a vacation. 

Papa Bear and Lead (only) Driver

Momma Bear and Lead Navigator

We left early Friday morning, and the trip up was LONG (13+ hours) but not too bad. Other than passport control, our first sign we were in Canada was when we ran into a Tim Horton's at the rest stop.  

We arrived at the B&B in St. Jovite around 8:30, and checked in with the lovely owner from Switzerland, Andres. It was really cheap, so when I booked it for both the half and full I was a little nervous I would get up there in June and have to switch to the non-existent Plan B for the full race.   This was definitely a mom and pop operation (converted motel) that was not high on modernity but was quite comfortable. It is about a 15 minute drive from the face venue, but there is parking at the race venue and a shuttle that goes from St. Jovite to the pedestrian village. Plus, they do a great breakfast not on race day!

Saturday, we went to the pedestrian village early. I registered, got my bike checked out by the mechanics and checked into transition, walked around the village, and met up with the team for an early dinner (half of whom weren't racing and previewed the course that day). My overwhelming sense was that this field was SERIOUS, which makes sense since the 70.3 world championship will be held here in September. It was a very different vibe than the local set up races. We headed back to the hotel around 8 and I got ready for bed. Andres brought by a wonderful fruit tray for the morning as the racers would have to leave before the start of breakfast the next day.

Why yes! Those are mountains in the background.

I had been freaked out by the speaker saying at the race meeting that if you want to get parking at the race venue you should be there by 4:30. So, much to my mother's dismay, we were up at 3:45 and on the road by 4:10. Thankfully, we passed by a Tim Horton's on the way that was open so I could get my coffee. Of course, we pull into the lot at 4:30, and find ourselves surrounded...by open parking spaces. GRRRR. Oh well, better safe than sorry. After reading a few minutes in the car, I got up and headed to transition. 

Race day nerves!

It took about 10 minutes to set everything up in transition, then I sat with my parents on a park bench and read until it was time to meet up with the Team for the pre-race picture at 6. My mother asked me recently "why do you keep signing up for these things?!" which I thought was hilarious. (Don't worry - my parents are 100% supportive about the crazy things I choose to do and as noted above fully come through in helping me do them, they just don't quite understand why I choose to do them.) I probably didn't help ease her mind by asking her/everyone else the same question about 40 times before the race. 

Team Z!

Swim (49:47)

We headed to the swim  around 6:30, but my swim wave did not start til 8:08. Talk about a lot of time for nervousness! I got on my wetsuit, and dismissed my parents so they could reclaim their morning. Of course, I totally forgot they had my prerace snack (Ironman brain strikes again!), but luckily a teammate came to the rescue with some granola. Thankfully John was there to see us off and helped me calm my nerves before the race. I love racing once I get done with the swim, but I hate the thought of having to swim and always find myself dreading the race before it starts.

Swim Start - check out the beautiful mountains!

The lake really reminded me of Glacier National Park, with the crystal clear water surrounded by beautiful mountains. It was also 65ish degrees! Brrr. About 10 minutes before my start, I got in the water and got the cold shock over with before heading to the beach to line up with my wave. Apparently despite dismissing them much earlier, timing allowed my parents to see me start before heading back to St. Jovite for breakfast. My dad apparently pointed me out to my mom with the statement "She is the one dancing [on the beach]." Of course I was! I am who I am :)

During the swim, I thought it was going really well and much better than Kinetic. The buoys were close together and I didn't have much trouble sighting. The only down part was when the relay wave of strong swimmers behind me completely swam over me. Overall, I stayed calm and just kept going. When I got out of the water, I was shocked to realize my swim was almost 5 minutes longer than kinetic. Talk about disappointing! Oh well, I shook it off, got my wetsuit stripped off, and headed to transition.

T1 (8:03)

The run from the swim to the transition is LONG (at least a quarter mile, but they lay out the red carpet for you). After a quick bathroom pit stop, I found my bike, got sunscreened up, and headed out on the bike. 

Bike (3:54:50)

I wish I could say I got on the bike and everything started coming together and the rest of the race was blissful, but I can't. Being in one of the last swim waves, and being a slow swimmer, I headed out on the bike as one of the last 30 or so racers. It took me awhile to get my heart rate under control and I struggled from the start. The start of the bike is about 5ish miles of rollers to the main highway. It's then an out and back on the highway and is full of long rollers, luckily with no sharp turns or technical pieces. The climbs on the way out were not steep, but they were long, and I just settled in my granny gear and worked my way up them trying to keep my heart rate under control. I saw pretty much the entire field coming back on my way out, and it was a little nerve racking to see the field bunched together. As one of the last bikers, I was grateful to have pretty much the road to myself so I didn't have to worry about drafting/bunching up. I reached the turnaround and headed back, and as one of the last bikers I was not grateful to feel pretty much alone out there. On the way back, there was one hill that almost stopped my in my tracks (steep and long!) but otherwise it was pretty much the same as the way out. On the way out, I had thought there would be way more downhills on the way back, but I guess it's all a matter of perspective. The downhills seem long when you are climbing up them and short when you are going down them.

After the stretch on the highway, we headed into St. Jovite where my parents had planned to try to catch me after breakfast. I had given them a general sense of when I would be there, and I was pretty much right on the money. Through this point of the bike, my legs felt really heavy and I was just struggling mentally. When I saw my parents (yay!!) I just remember asking them, "Can I be done yet?!" (Probably didn't further help answer my mother's earlier question.) St. Jovite was relatively flat but after a short bit it was time to climb back to the pedestrian village. 

Once we got there though, we had a 5 mile out/back (for a total of 10) to finish the race that I had been warned about  by my teammates who rode the course the day before.  When I started the out and back, I saw John and told him my legs just weren't working right. He said something to the effect of "well, tell them to start" and miraculously, they did! Finally, on the hardest part of the course, my legs decided to show up. Based on their description, I anctipated steep climbing all five miles to the turnaround. Luckily, I had focused on holding back the first part of the course to save myself for this bit. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the climbs were relatively short/steep and were broken up by some nice downhills. Thanks to Mountains of Misery, my perspective of hills has shifted and I felt well prepared for the climbs. There were definitely people walking their bikes, but I had finally started to enjoy myself, and finished the bike feeling strong.

T2 (3:17)

Nothing really to report here. Bike shoes/helmet off, sneakers/visor on, and sunscreen reapplied (but apparently not well enough - OUCH). 

Run (2:08:24)

I started the run and one of the first things I saw were Lisa and Janet. Lisa yelled at me "this is your strength!" and I thought "You know what, it is!" and turned it on. The first 2-3 miles and last 2-3 miles have some steep rollers, with the middle section pretty much flat (with some false flats) on a bike trail. After feeling all day like I was the last person in the race, I passed a ton of people on the run and was only passed by 1 person I remember (a relay runner with fresh legs). I relied on the aid stations on the course, and found them early and often.  I really enjoyed cheering on the Team in Training folks along the course, as my first marathon was with them. 

I ran strong through the first 8 miles, and then the wheels started falling off a bit (luckily right PAST the Team Z tent). I managed to keep it together though, and ran a sub-10 minute half marathon! My favorite part was near the end, when one guy yelled I was looking good. I thanked him for lying, only to have him reply "No, seriously, you are the strongest looking runner I have seen in ten minutes." Woah!! The final quarter mile was downhill through the pedestrian village, and I loved running through it collecting high fives. I even saw my parents again!! I almost didn't recognize my dad as he was wearing a hat that made him look like he was either on a safari or living in a retirement village in Florida. 

Total Time (7:04:21)

Overall, I had pretty mixed feelings about the race right after (right while I was refueling with fries). The course was beautiful and really well organized, but honestly I was a bit disappointed my time was much worse than Kinetic, which made me rethink my dream goal for the Ironman of taking a significant amount of time off my Wisconsin time. (Andres, however, thought my time boded well for the race. I like that he checked up on the racers staying at his B&B. Talk about personal touch!) However, I wasn't tapered, the bike course is more difficult than Kinetic but less difficult than Wisconsin, I felt strong the last "hard" 10 miles, and I finished with a really great run. I think my strategy of holding back on the bike worked despite it leading to a slower bike split than I would have liked. For the full race, I will have a few more days up there ahead of time to help my legs wake up earlier. The hills on the course were nothing I can't handle, and the real key will be patience because it would be easy to go too hard on them. Previewing the hotel/race venue/course was a great idea as I am now much more calm about the whole Ironman thing.

Again, huge thanks to my parents and teammates who supported me race weekend. I couldn't do/wouldn't want to do any of this without you!

Now, a random picture of baby nephew because he makes me laugh and I can't help but share.

Like the rest of my family, he is not sure about me either. Pre-Ironman in training I say!