3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run. August 21, 2016 in beautiful Quebec.
So this account of my Ironman race in Mont Tremblant will be one of soften edges as I haven't written it the day afterwards. It is written with fond memories of that rainy day. I have to say, there are advantages to naiveté. I didn't this race lightly. I knew what I signed up for. For good or for ill, I only had time to ponder my decision for 6 weeks (sign up until race) as I rode the long bike rides, one being 7 hours, and I was told I couldn't miss one ride. (I am relatively new to cycling and went from riding 3 hour rides to 4.5 to 7 hours.) It's not an all out effort for the level of competition I was trying to achieve. I am just a rookie jumping in, so I had no illusions of a smoking fast race day.
Since I have nothing to compare this race to, I am pretty content with my accomplishment. It rained for most of the race. Really rained. Conditions were less than ideal, at times a little nerve wracking on the bike. There was a big crash just before the 90 km mark along some roller coaster hills. Thankfully I didn't see it. Course officials were warning everyone to slow down. I just saw the pile of bikes cleared to the side of the course and hoped that whoever was on them weren't hurt too badly.
I have never rode 180 km in a rain storm before, let alone up and down long hills. Did I say long? I mean really long hills that grow bigger when you do the second loop of the course. My bike stayed together and so did I. I am pretty happy to say I finished in 13 hours and 45 minutes.
So the opinion held by those I know who have raced this race before is that the swim this year was wavy. As this was my first IM swim, I can say I didn't mind the waves. I just rolled with it. Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed the swim. Of course, it's something I love to do anyways. I get in the zone and fall in love with the rhythm of open water swimming and have to remind myself, oh yeah, after I swim 3.8 km, I have to bike 180 km after this and run a marathon. It's the bike part that gets me. I know it's going to be long. Period.
It's a little chaotic in the race amid the sea of athletes making their way through the water and being a 39 years young woman, I started in the second last wave. So I know I will have to weave through other swimmers. Thankfully, I was told by some wise athletes to stay to the near side of the buoys going out where there is less congestion because you're on the edge of the sea of swimmers.
When you come out of the water, you go to a stripper. Hey! A wetsuit stripper. They pull off your wetsuit for you instead of trying to wrestle out of your wetsuit yourself. Best idea ever as long as they don't puncture your wetsuit. Mine were great! They had me out of my wetsuit and running to the changing tent for my bike stuff in no time.
So I took some pretty heavy teasing for my transition times because I hurried up to get to the tent and stop and chat. But hey, I was doing this race to finish, not to make any land speed records and it is important to me to thank volunteers and maybe make their day better. My first transition was close to 20 minutes. I had a nice chat with a couple of the volunteers and tried to psych myself up for the bike ride. I stopped at a few aid stations too on the bike to chat, thank volunteers (without them there's no race), to get hydration because I am not so good at catching the water bottles as I ride by (rookie remember), eat some snacks and to visit a porta-potty (important business). Slow and steady finishes the race. No muscle cramps for me. I did an excellent job making sure I took in enough food and fluids to get through the bike ride. My second transition was a little shorter. I was just relieved to be off the bike! I took my time to be sure I had all my gear and nutrition that I planned on using for the run.
The marathon was what I expected. A whole lot of running with one foot in front of the other. I did have some walk breaks after the first 10 km because I started to have the sensation I was floating away. Low blood sugar. I drank but didn't eat anything in the first 10 km. Another rookie mistake. I wouldn't normally eat anything in the first 10km of a running race and I thought I did an excellent job of eating and drinking during the bike portion of the race and was feeling pretty good going into the run. I had to walk for a km or so and talked to some seasoned athletes to get some advice and ate the best granola bar of my life! It anchored me back down to earth so I could keep shuffling along.
Did you know they serve chicken broth during the marathon portion a IM? It tastes pretty good for the while and then for some reason for me anyways, it lost it's appeal.
One of the things I enjoyed most was the comradery of the race. At that length of race, the people I was with are in it to finish. It's about reaching the end and hearing those words "You are an Ironman!". Why not enjoy the other people racing with you and share some good conversation? I met some cool people. I enjoy the banter. I hope Joe's last 7 km went well and the lady who did IM Florida enjoyed of her race. Everyone is smiling as you're coming in the chute. The crowd is cheering. I crossed the line and realized how exhausted I was.
I have never been so glad to be done a race. Check it off the bucket list. It was a wonderful experience and now I can say "I am an Ironman!" At this point, I don't know for sure if there will be another full ironman in my future, maybe 2018 or beyond. I love participating in the half ironman and shorter distances. It's more family friendly as far as training time required. My wonderful husband supported me all along the way to this race and helped make it possible for me to participate in. He was there at every loop in the Tremblant village to cheer me on and give me much needed encouragement. ( I love you Jeremie!)
And a big thank you to my friend, training buddy, encourager, enabler and unofficial coach, Daphne Wilkenson! You got me ready to complete this race in 6 weeks and put up with all my nervous questions. And to Nelson Dawley for putting up with Jeremie and I for almost a week in the village! We had a great time! We couldn't have had this experience without you both!
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