After The Ironman…
After a few weeks off to rest and recover from my Ironman race in Texas in May/13, I started some very low-volume training…enough to allow me to compete in three sprint triathlons (Huronia, Barrie and Wasaga) over the summer. I also got to see my now-11-year-old son, Philippe, complete his first triathlon in Barrie in August/13. (He also did a duathlon this spring and has registered for two triathlons in Barrie and Orillia this August…he will ride his ‘new’ road bike and has a tri suit!)
In late August/13, I signed up for the Mont Tremblant 70.3 half-ironman distance race to take place in June/14. I wanted to commit to my next race…a shorter distance, but a hillier course…and hopefully not as hot as Texas! My brother decided to do the race as well, as a prelude to his first full ironman distance race at the same location in August/14.
I had a lot of trouble getting motivated to train in the fall. I had decided to try a new coach and was fortunate to find a great fit with Fiona Whitby (at NRG Performance Training), who had been coaching my brother for a number of years. But I kept pushing off my “start” date…November, then December…we finally got going at the end of January, which was the latest we had agreed I could commence training for my race in June.
An NRG training camp in Florida in February was a great kick-start. However, my old foot injury started to cause problems in March and curtailed my run training from then until my race.
I found it very difficult to stay on track with my training through March and April. Constant contact with Coach Fiona at our Toronto Triathlon Club swim group helped a lot…my attendance was very regular! I finally started to feel the pressure of my race about eight weeks out and put in a really hard effort from May onwards.
I was able to arrive early in the week before the race at Mont Tremblant. That gave me the chance to get familiar with the surroundings, ride some of the bike course, drive all of it and enjoy the great atmosphere in the village.
My brother arrived on Friday, along with my parents, JS and Philippe. We went for a practice swim in the lake on Saturday morning and had a briefing with the NRG group. I was feeling quite nervous…I knew that my training level was not where I had hoped it would be when I signed up for the race. However, I felt that, all things considered, being on the start line and knowing I could finish, no matter how long it took, was an accomplishment.
Race Day…
I was very happy with my swim…I did not draft much but I was strong and finished that leg with my best open water swim pace ever.
The bike went pretty well too…I tried to stick to a plan of smart and efficient riding and tried to keep my watts down on the hills. I was at the 60km mark in just over 2 hours! The last 20km were slower, but that was to be expected on the toughest part of the course.
Things fell apart on the run. I started out okay and found a comfortable pace but started feeling nauseous after only a few kilometers. I did a walk-run for the rest of the way. The walk part got longer and longer…but I ran across the finish line with a smile and I was not unhappy with my overall time of just under 7 hours.
I had the same issue with nausea in Texas (although there it started about halfway through the bike…and I thought it was maybe heat stroke)…so I will have to figure out what is going on before my next big race!
I am very thankful for the continuing support of family and friends…
My husband, JS, my son, Philippe, my parents, Fran and Keith, and my brother, Cameron Rose.
Gilles and Josette Couillard, and Jacquie Mattioli, who rounded out our cheering section on race day.
The NRG team—my coach Fiona Whitby, Nigel Gray and Sylvie Dansereau who gave the NRG briefing and provided words of encouragement on the course, and Wolfgang Guembel who rode with me several days at the training camp in Florida.
Dr. Tim Marshall from Bayview Chiropractic and Christine Schloen, massage therapist extraordinaire.
Toronto Triathlon Club swim coach, Kyle Resnick.
Equipment and experience guru, Rick Choy.
And, last but not least, all of my friends and training partners.
Now it’s time to figure out what is next 🙂
Carrie