On the Ferry!
Once at Tremblant we were greeted by the extremely friendly Pierre and Sylvie from Auberge Le Lupin B&B (www.lelupin.com). From the moment we arrived we knew we were in good hands. Pierre brewed many amazing americanos for us any time we wanted, made a special pre-race dinner of delicious pasta, let us dry our wetsuits in his personal laundry room and did many other helpful things. Both him and Sylvie were always going above and beyond to make sure we were well prepared for our race. Sylvie even made us delicious oatmeal cookies to enjoy after our race! Le Lupin was located about 1km from transition (in the village) so an easy walk and away from the noise - it was the perfect location. I will definitely be staying at Le Lupin the next time I am in Mont Tremblant.
After a day and a half of the usual pre-race routine (check-in, super intimidating Pro pre-race meeting, taper swim, bike and run) there was nothing left to do but relax and get mentally prepared for the race. I chose to watch an inspirational movie called "Coach Carter". This movie is based on the true story of a basketball team who made it to the state championship tournament, despite many odds against them. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and a number of cute actors (bonus!). There are many inspirational quotes from that movie, but this one is probably the best (and my favourite):
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
I replayed this line from the movie several times. What I took away from it was this: during my race I should not be scared to show off my fitness, I should not be scared to really try hard, and I should not be too scared to give the race everything I had. The latter part of the quote didn't apply as specifically to my race tomorrow, but a long term goal of mine is to serve as an ambassador for the sport of triathlon and get as many people involved as I can (especially kids). If I can "shine" tomorrow I thought, maybe I can inspire others to as well (just hopefully not my competition!).
After finishing the movie I fell asleep visualizing the the race in my head. I visualized the best case scenario, the worst case scenario and I troubleshot my actions should something go wrong.
It seemed like I blinked and then my phone alarm was going off, signaling the start of Race Day. I scrambled in the dark to get my gear together without waking Rikki. I went down to breakfast and Pierre had my americano ready for me :) I chose to stick to my usual pre-race breakfast of bagel and PB with banana, but added one of Sylvie's homemade muffins to the mix (couldn't pass them up!). Can't hurt right?
Not much later I was biking over to transition with Suzanne. Weather was forecast to be hot and sunny all day, so I didn't need arm warmers! Good thing! After setting up transition I headed over to the swim start with my coach (who came all this way to watch the race! Great support!) and Rikki. I did my usual swim tubing set to activate those powerful (?) muscles in my arms. Coach said that turned a few heads and people looked intimidated..good! Standing at only 5'4 and 115lbs means I need a scare tactic! hah.
Swim Tubing - Intimidating?
Next, I put on my awesome Blue Seventy Helix! It has less material around the shoulder area, so makes it super easy to rotate the shoulders. This is especially beneficial as it doesn't make wearing a wetsuit too different than swimming in a regular swimsuit. This allows you to maintain a good swim stroke. I would totally recommend this wetsuit (and you get them at my favourite Toronto Tri Shop, Enduro Sport!).
After a cool pre-race show, featuring the Snowbirds demonstration team, we were lining up for the swim start. I tried to stand by Magali as I knew she was just 20s ahead of me in the swim at Mooseman, so I would be able to swim with her. A cannon signaled the start of the race (cool!). It was a lot more chaotic than the start at Mooseman - not only was this a beach start, but we were also starting with the men. I was swum over by men and they cut me off from the lead pack of swimmers. It was quite frustrating. The first 200m or so I spent trying to get around swim packs that had passed me at the beginning of the race. Eventually I found myself in the lead of the second pack and then I was somehow alone and watching as the lead group (all men) swam about 75m ahead of me. I felt great in the water, but I was disappointed that I didn't have a fast pair of feet to follow in order to conserve my energy. Oh well. As I approached the last buoy before heading back into shore I was a bit blinded by the sun and actually had to stop, take off my goggles, and figure out which way to go. Damn. This allowed the two girls behind me to catch up and now they were drafting off me. My next mistake was veering to the wrong side of the swim exit. I headed left and the other girls headed right. I quickly got back on course, but was in second place now. It would have been cool to exit the water first. A possible goal for Rhode Island.
Exiting the Swim
The run from the swim exit to the bike was about 500m. I was sprinting the whole way, wetsuit still half on, with my coach running beside me! My heart rate reached 192bpm and this was definitely the most intense part of the day. Luckily T1 went way smoother than in Mooseman - got my wetsuit off while putting on my sunglasses and helmet. BOOM! I saw Suzanne approaching her bike while I was leaving T1 so I knew she must've had an awesome swim. She learned to swim just over 5 years ago. For all of you out there who think you need to have begun swimming at a young age to be good at it - erase that thought from your mind!!!
The bike course was just beautiful - newly paved roads, wide shoulders to ride in, great scenery. Not only this, but I was feeling really great. It's hard not to feel great on a Cervelo P3, but I felt extra great. I had energy in my legs and a desire to really push this leg of the bike. After Mooseman 70.3, my coach and I decided that this race would be all about the bike: a 90K time trial and then see what I had left for the run. With this thought in my head I kept pounding on those pedals. I also used the advice I learned from Pro Cyclist, Ed Veal (www.realdealracing.ca). Thanks to him I was able to ride smarter: I knew how to approach a corner with speed, knew how to descend fast and knew to approach those hills. Ed taught me "free speed" which is almost as crucial for these races as bike fitness is. The last 20km of the bike course is a series of rolling hills and is probably the most technical and difficult part of the course. Since I had already rode this part of the race in a pre-race easy bike, I was extra confident that I could finish the bike leg super strong. The fact that I was still in 3rd was also a huge boost! The last 5km I got passed by an amazing cyclist, Jessie Donavan (also on a P3). I still got off the bike in 4th which was HUGE for me! T2 was pretty quick (except didn't get my feet out my bike shoes in time for the dismount line!) and before I knew it I was off on the run.
Heading into T2
The run started with a lot of uphills in the first few kms before settling into a gradual downhill on a nice trail. Jessie had to serve a drafting penalty after the bike (which I actually witnessed and don't agree with) so that meant I started the run in 3rd. At around the 4th km I had actually moved into 2nd! I couldn't believe it. I was feeling pretty good, but I knew that I was fading fast. Unfortunately the thought of taking any gel or sugary drink made me nauseous so I stuck to water. At the 10km turnaround I was still in 2nd but the girls in 3rd and 4th were closing in on me. The gradual uphill on the way back was making my quads burn and my legs were feeling more like bricks than springs. The nauseous feeling in my stomach was growing and I knew that it would take everything I had just to finish the race. I wish I had been able to find that extra energy to stay in second, but I am hoping that will come with experience and more run training. I got passed during the 14th - 17th km, but held on to 4th till the finish. The last km is usually the hardest, but luckily at this race it takes you through Mont Tremblant Village and is all downhill to the finish! My final time was 4:40, just 2 minutes behind second place!
Suzanne finished in 10th even though she had been doing hard training up to the race (and then she ran another 9K when it was over!) and fellow team mate, Faye, came 13th in her age group in her first ever half-ironman! Other WattsUp athletes also had great performances at Tremblant, Welland Tri and Half and I wish them huge CONGRATS!
To sum up the weekend: I couldn't believe that I managed to make the podium in my second Pro race. In my mind, I was true to the quote in Coach Carter. I gave the race everything I had in the hopes that I would "shine" and I think I did. I know that if I learn to dig a little a deeper I can shine a little brighter. And if I'm lucky - those of you reading this might be inspired to do the same.
Endless thank you to my sponsors: Turner-Tomenson Wealth Management, WattsUp Cycling, Enduro Sport, Cervelo, Steve's Ebars, Blue Seventy AND to my absolutely amazing husband for being the most understanding and patient man I have ever met (Rikki, please don't sell me for beer like the shirt says!)
SOME MORE PHOTOS:
Suzanne in Transition
Snowbirds!
Coach with his athletes (me and Faye)
On the podium
Cool bridge!
