Race Morning
After a relatively restful night I woke up at 3:45am and did a few stretches to help my body wake up and to see if there were any tight spots to be concerned about throughout the day. Everything felt great so I put on my race kit and morning clothes, then headed out to get some coffee and breakfast. Race morning breakfast for me is always the same: oatmeal with peanut butter, walnuts, and raisins with a cup of coffee and water. While eating, I tried to keep my mind off the race and stay quiet in the kitchen so that I didn't wake up Anna's parents and Chad who were still trying to sleep. I sat down at the table at played a few games of Flick Golf on Chad's iPad to keep myself distracted while everyone got ready to head down to transition. I have to say, if my skills at Flick Golf had any bearing on how the day would go, I was in for a long, terrible, windy day (I just couldn't hit the ball straight!) Anyway, breakfast was finished and Chad, Alex, Anna, Chris, and I headed down to transition about 5:15am.
We walked in, did one last check on our bikes to make sure everything was in working order. Put water bottles on, taped GUs to the top tube, and inflated tires. This was my first time racing on latex tubes and they lose air quite a bit faster than the typical butyl rubber tubes so it is necessary to inflate them before every ride. Anyway, everything seemed ready to go and we headed over to the swim start about 6:00am.
The swim start was at a beach & tennis club about 5min from transition so we followed the throngs of people over there and began to put on our wetsuits. One more hug from the significant others and Chris and I headed to the beach to get in a little swim warm-up. At 6:30am they played the national anthem and there was a fly-over from the Snowbirds, the demonstration squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. These jets were loud! Cool stuff though. A few minutes later the pro men were off and it was time to get in line behind the pro women.
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| The start of a long day |
Swim - 3.8km
My wave was M18-34 so there were several hundred of us squeezing in to the beach start waiting for the clock to hit 6:42am. I lined up to the far right on the beach, right in line with the buoys so that I wouldn't have to merge into traffic to get to the first turn buoy 1800m away. A few words with the guys around me and we all noted that we were hoping to swim about 55min so we were seeded well and planned to work together. With 10s left everyone wished eachother good luck and bon chance and we were off!
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| Fireworks and a cannon to start the race |
The start was relatively clean, there is always some chop in the water and arms and legs flying everywhere but as long as you keep moving forward it will clear out. I found myself right in line with the first buoy and on some feet that were kicking strong. I assumed that since he was actually kicking, unlike most triathletes, that this guy must be a decent swimmer and I decided to catch a ride behind him out to the first turn buoy. There were more than a dozen buoys in line spaced 100-150m apart until we hit the first turn buoy at 1800m. I was feeling comfortable and only got a mouthful of water a few times on the way out. I was still behind the same guy as he was holding a good line and still kicking strong enough that I hardly had to sight at all. Unfortunately, he must not have been sighting much either because we turned at the wrong buoy. The rectangle that we were swimming was 1800m out, right turn, 200m across, right turn, 1800m back to the swim exit. Yellow buoys on the way out, red buoys on the way back. Unfortunately, we turned at the buoy that was in the middle of the 200m section and swam for about a minute until we looked up and didn't see any buoys ahead of us. A kayaker came up beside us and started screaming in French and we looked around and saw that we were off course, merde! Some serious expletives were exchanged quickly but nobody wasted any time pointing fingers or blaming each other, we righted ourselves and backtracked to hit the 2nd turn buoy. This mistake probably cost 2-3 minutes and was disappointing for me because I was primed for a stellar swim based on all my open water training in the months leading up to the race.
After we hit the 2nd turn buoy I saw some yellow caps from the wave behind us so I figured they were swimming strong and would be a good group to get in for the 1800m back to shore. They were swimming fast but I felt I had some time to make up after the buoy mistake so I worked hard to stay in that pack. There were probably 5 of us swimming strong together and we passed some female pros with about 200m left so I was confident that I would still have a decent swim time. I got to shore and did a few dolphin dives in the waist deep water to where I could run comfortably. I saw the clock and it was 7:39am so I knew I still swam under an hour, which is great considering the costly error. I ran out of the water and bypassed the wetsuit strippers because running in your wetsuit is a lot easier than running with your wetsuit in your hands, especially when the change tent is about a quarter mile run from the swim exit. The fastest transitions at this race from the pros the year before were just under 4 minutes. So, I figured if I could get out of the water and out of T1 in under 5, I would be in a good spot in the front of the age-group pack and maybe stuck in there with some of the pro women.
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| Swim Exit |
Swim Stats:
Time: 56:51
Pace: 1:29/100m
Rank (Age Group/Overall/Gender): 4/53/42
Transition 1
I ran strong from swim exit to the change tent. My idea to run with my wetsuit on worked well since I passed several people along the way who were struggling with trying to carry their suits over their shoulders or in their arms. Socks went on first, then GU and Honey Stinger waffles in the jersey pockets, aero helmet, and sunglasses. I grabbed my tri shoes and ran with them in my hand because it's way faster than trying to run through T1 in bike shoes. I came out of T1 right behind Jennie Hansen (2013 Ironman Lake Placid Winner) so I knew I must have been in a good spot on the rest of the field. I had a solid mount and rode off to try to gain some space on the rest of the swimmers. Total time in T1 was 4:41, so I hit my sub-5 minute goal.
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| After bypassing the wetsuit strippers I made my way to the change tent. |
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| One speedy transition later and I'm onto the bike |
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| The first 10 feet (out of 590,552) of the ride |
Bike - 180km
The bike started out well. I felt comfortable in the saddle and my heart rate was coming down steadily from the sprinting I did through T1 to race pace effort on the bike (150-155bpm). I took in some calories right away and tried to keep the appropriate distance between myself and the riders around me. It was tough at the beginning because there was a decent sized group that had different strengths. Some would climb faster than me, especially the pro women, and I would descend faster than them so we were constantly passing each other back and forth for the first 10-15 miles. By the turn around at mile 20 everyone had settled into their respective paces and were riding legally back towards town. The roads on the course at IMMT are in such pristine condition that you don't have to worry one bit about potholes, rocks, glass, frost-heaves, etc. The only time felt a bump on the road was when we rode over a bridge. Additionally, the highway was completely closed to traffic so there were no chances of bike/car crashes that have been all too common this summer.
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| Not a bad position if I do say so myself |
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| Oops...they caught me with my head down. |
Anyway, I was flying along the on the highway feeling smooth and fast. There were stretches along the way from miles 20-35 that I could hardly believe I was biking so fast and at such lower power output that I manually reset my power meter just to make sure the data I was looking at was correct. A long steady hill on the way back to town allowed me to sit up and stretch my back for a little while during the climb since I was riding it so conservatively. Finally after 2 hours on the bike and 1.5L of water and HEED I peed. Being male I have a distinct advantage of aiming and therefore not peeing all over myself. Unfortunately, the women aren't so lucky, nor are the people riding behind the women on downhills when they let it flow (this happened to me...thanks unknown pro woman!) Although, I was ok with it since peeing on the bike is a good sign that you're well hydrated and your body's basic functions are still working properly.
Around mile 35 the course had a little out and back into a small town called St. Jovite where we rode down the main street which was lined with people cheering and signs, cowbells, and music galore. It was Tour de France style just with triathlon gear and without all the performance enhancing drugs. So much fun and great to see all the locals come out and cheer for the thousands of athletes invading their hometown for the weekend.
About 40miles in we were cresting a hill as we made our back back towards transition when I dropped my chain to the inside and couldn't get it back on by shifting towards the big ring. I had to stop and put my chain back on...another costly minute. At 45 miles we passed back by transition where I saw the Sapaks and Chad cheering for me as I made my way through a roundabout (another TdF style aspect of the course).
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| Back through the roundabout the other way. Who says triathletes don't know how to corner? |
The last 10 miles of the lap was the hilly section. There was nothing too long or steep, but it was a lot of up and down for such a short distance. I changed gears here more than anywhere else and was very careful about shifting down to my small ring to prevent any chain drops on this section. While the first time on this out and back wasn't too difficult, I stayed conservative because I knew it was going to be a lot harder on the second loop. Again, these rollers caused a handful of us to clump together on the bike since some of us were better climbers than descenders and so forth. We avoided any drafting calls and even had a few pleasant words to say to each other along the way.
When we got back to transition at mile 56 I saw I had rode the first lap in 2:37:30 with an average speed of 21.3mph. Not bad considering how easy I rode for the first lap. I expected it to be a little slower than this but given my rate of perceived effort on the first loop it must have just been the insanely fast course. The plan was the same for the second loop. Calories coming in every 15 minutes GU, Waffles, HEED, repeat, lots of water, easy on the climbs, hard on the descents, stay in aero, keep the cadence high, and stay relaxed. I did regular mental checks on the major muscle groups and did some stretching on the descents to make sure my calves and hamstrings were staying loose. The rest of the second loop was much the same as the first. I peed 3 more times which was a fantastic sign and unsurprisingly caught some of the people that blew by me on the uphills earlier in the race because they had burned too many matches to stay at an even pace. The wind picked up on the highway on the second time out but it just reminded me how important it was to stay at my goal power and effort levels because it is so easy to feel slow and want to push hard when riding into the wind. I finished the second loop in 2:39:30 which I was very pleased with considering the wind and the fact that I spent some time stretching on downhills when I could have been riding harder.
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| Nearly all alone on the road at some points. |
Bike Stats:
Time - 5:17:18
Speed (Average) - 21.1 mph
Rank (Age Group/Overall/Gender) - 9/73/63
Power (Normalized) - 232 W
Power (20 min max) - 246 W
HR (Average)- 151 bpm
Cadence (Average) - 88 rpm
Elevation Gain - 6,741 ft (seems a bit higher than other files I have seen)
Transition 2
Finally off the bike I started to get a little nervous about the 26 miles ahead. I knew I rode conservatively but would I still be able to run a marathon? Into the change tent again and I grabbed my run gear. Dumped all the GU packets and wrappers from nutrition on the ride. Took off my BTC tri top because it chafes my arms when running and switched to my MSU tri top. This probably took a bit longer than it should have but I would be more comfortable on the run and that translates to time savings in such a long day. The shoes went on and I was ready to go. A quick sunscreen application from volunteers and I was out of the tent and ready to run. Total time in T2 was 2:14, a little slower than I wanted due to the costume change.
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| Getting things adjusted |
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| Still adjusting |
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| ...Still adjusting |
Run - 42.2km
My plan from the very beginning was to run at a Heart Rate of 155bpm or less for the first 20 miles. All my endurance training was at this level and I knew I was able to run at least 20 miles at this effort. With 10km left, I was going to ignore HR and suffer through the final few miles.
I started the run feeling great. It is strange how running can feel so good after biking for 5+ hours but my legs just begged to do something other than cycling. Also, it is such a relief to get off the bike without any serious issues because once on the run, everything is under your own control. On the bike there are outside forces that can affect you (mechanical issues, other racers, vehicles, weather, etc.) However, once you run through T2, the rest of the race is in your hands, for better or for worse.
The first few miles felt easy. I stayed controlled and didn't let people passing me affect my pace or effort. Running out of transition we headed to Old Mont-Tremblant Village where the streets were again lined with locals out supporting the racers. At this point the course differs from other races because you get on Parc Linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord (literally - Linear Park of the Small North Train). Really, it is a multi-use rec trail that used to be a railway but has since been converted to a hard packed dirt trail. The dirt is much more forgiving on the legs than pavement so it was fantastic to get off the roads and onto the shaded trail.
Once on the trail, I was passed by a guy from Team FeXY (Fe = Iron, XY = man...get it?) who also raced Musselman and we chatted for a few minutes before I slowed back to my own pace. I hit the 5k mark at just over 24 minutes, or just under 8min/mile pace. I figured the 155bpm HR would translate to roughly an 8min/mile pace so I was pleased to see that it was working well.
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| About 4mi in and feeling alright |
The trail is about 5km out and 7km back to the village, slightly downhill on the way out and a very gradual uphill on the way back. After the turnaround on the trail at mile 6 I had to hit the bathroom and felt instantly better afterwards. My second 5k split was 25:08 so I was still maintaining roughly an 8min/mi pace. Unfortunately, shortly after that my heart rate monitor started going haywire and was telling me that my HR was only 80bpm or I was about to die and my heart was going to stop beating, though I think the former is more likely. While this was a little annoying there was nothing I could do except maintain pace and run based on perceived effort. The glitch seemed to last only a few miles and it was reading regularly by mile 10 again. Along the trail I saw Colin Martin looking wicked strong. He recognized me from my MSU tri kit that I wore at American Zofingen where he was 2nd Overall, about 10min faster than me, the difference here would be way more than 10 minutes. A solid high-five along the way was exactly what I needed to feel good again and put the HR glitch behind me and continue running strong.
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| Stride still looks strong. I don't know what I'm looking at though |
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| It's always a good sign if you can smile at the halfway point in the run |
I ran up through the final hills and past special needs as I didn't need any salt tabs, ibuprofen, or new socks that I had in my bag. Coming so close to the finish is such a tease but it is fun running through the crowds lining the finishing chute and the start of the 2nd lap. Again we had to run out to the old Tremblant village and the roads contained the daunting hills. At this point I finally saw the first place male Luke Bell struggling up one of the final hills. I was about 14mi in and he had only one left to run...astonishing.
Anyway, I continued through the old village and onto the trail again where I again saw Colin Martin still looking like he was out for a steady tempo run with fresh legs...damn that guy just does not slow down! At this point the trail was crowded with pros and faster age groupers as well as people just starting their first lap. While it was nice to not be alone on the trail, it was a bit crowded as people started finding friends and running partners and many of them ran side-by-side both ways, which led to some congestion. I felt bad for the pros as they were competing for money or Kona points, while the age-groupers impeded their race. My heart rate monitor again went crazy and started saying my HR was up in the 180 range, which it was not. I had a HR alert on my watch and it started beeping at me every 30 seconds to tell me it was too high. So, I stopped and turned that alert off and then hit the lowest point in the race. I knew this was going to happen sometime. This was the pivotal point in the race where I had to decide if I wanted to continue racing or if I would walk the final 10mi. I battled internally for a few minutes, and kept hearing from my body, "this is too hard, you have nothing left, 10mi is too far." I started to think of all my training. I spent 9 months focusing on this race, I put it ahead of my family, friends, my job, and even my relationship with Anna at times. It would all be worth nothing if I gave up now. I would be embarrassed. The distance would beat me again.
Not today.
I started running again and resolved to run from one aid station to the next, relying on coke and water for the rest of the run. My previous 5k split was 29:14 for an average 9:21/mi. I knew I could battle through another hour of running as I had in all my two-a-day negative split runs during training. The hardest part about the final 10 miles was stomaching the coke at the aid stations. Normally, the coke is warm and flat, but this stuff was cold and carbonated, and we all know what happens when you shake up fizzy coke...it wants to expand and release all it's CO2. Well, after every aid station I almost threw up and had to walk for another few seconds to let my stomach settle. My next 5k split was 26:45 at 8:41/mi. The pace was coming down.
10km to go, this is where I was going to abandon all plans and drop the hammer. Well, I hardly had any hammers to drop so all I could do was not stop running. Everything kindof blurs together here in my mind, it was a mix of dodging side-by-side runners, coke and water at aid stations, trying to keep from puking, and forging ahead. With only 2km left km left my pace had stayed constant at 8:40/mi since the last 5km split. If there was anything left, this is where it needs to come out. I saw Chris when he was nearing mile 11 and I was coming in to the finish. He was still cramping really hard but he was in decent spirits. I stopped and said a few encouraging words and then powered on. Time to power up the hills that I walked up last time. Verbal sounds of effort helped ignore the pain of climbing hills and even more when running downhill. One more hit of coke and I had one mile to run.
I came to the last hill where I saw Chad waiting for me. He ran up it with me and helped me stay moving forward. I passed by special needs again and knew that the finish was so close. I was only running 7:30/mi but I felt like I was sprinting as I blew by a guy who passed me long ago in the run. One more aid station at the top of the hill that I ignored and then came into the pedestrian village. The chute to the finish was lined with people and it felt amazing to come down that hill onto the red carpet to finish my race. I gave no high-fives along the way, just gritted my teeth and powered through to the finish line. A fist pump and a yell at the finish and I was done. Finally, I felt redeemed at the Ironman distance.
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| Only a few steps remaining. |
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| Boom goes the dynamite! |
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| Subtract 7 minutes due to wave starts. |
Video of my finish captured by my sister from the live stream:
Run Stats:
Time: 3:42:30
Pace: 8:30/mi
Rank (Age Group/Overall/Gender): 11/91/79
Race totals:
Swim: 56:54
Bike: 5:17:18
Run: 3:42:30
Time: 10:03:34
Rank (Age Group/Overall): 11/91
Overall I feel amazing about how the race went. I made a few costly mistakes but battled through the rough spots and never lost confidence in myself and all the training that I put into this race. I feel vindicated after Ironman Wisconsin and now know that I can race the Ironman distance, rather than just completing it. And a 91st overall finish is something I wasn't even expecting. I guess I knew top 100 was within reach before the race start but that it actually happened is wonderful. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to race Ironman. The course is impeccable, the logistics and accommodations are second to none, and the food at the finish is worth all the hard work you put into Ironman...poutine!
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| Post-race (and shower) poutine...better food has never been created (french fries, gravy, and cheese curds). |
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| I was forced to put down my poutine to take pictures. |
I owe a huge thank you to so many people. My girlfriend Anna for supporting me all year and tolerating all the inconveniences that come with Ironman training. Her parents Tim and Jan for driving so far to watch me race and being there to keep Anna company throughout the day. My friend Chad who drove solo from Michigan for the weekend just to support me. My man Chris for all of our weekend training sessions throughout the winter and summer to prepare for this race. His girlfriend Alex for being so supportive on those weekends and for her enthusiastic cheering during the race. My friend (and stellar endurance athlete) Lauren for chatting with me almost daily about all things Ironman related and offering advice from her Ironman experiences. My teammates at Bethlehem Tri Club for all the support, encouragement, and Open Water training sessions. My cycling club Capital Bike Racing Club and Andy Ruiz for allowing me to borrow the fastest wheel ever created. And last but not least, my coach JP Severin who mentored me through the entire year of training. He advised, supported, listened, and encouraged me every step of the way. I owe you all more than I can say in words. I extend to you all my most sincere appreciation and gratitude. Thank you.
