I did this Full Ironman race last year and it was a bit of a grueling experience. So much so that at mile 18 of the marathon I told myself that I wouldn’t do this race again no matter how many people in the Pasadena Triathlon Club (PTC) signed up for it next year! Well so much for that! My race calendar was pretty heavy this year with 3 Half Ironmans so when Mont Tremblant’s race date got closer and closer, I was really torn. In the end I decided it was only an extra 5 weeks of training from my last half iron race so I decided to do it and race with a bunch of fellow club members. My wife also got tired of me asking her if I should do it or not! She said just do it and get it over with already!
Last year was very hot and humid but this year, much like Ironman St George 70.3, we got the exact opposite! It would pour rain on us throughout the day on the bike and the run. On the bike it made for some dangerous conditions and I came across a pretty bad accident where a rider descending Chemin Duplessis lost control and took out a number of racers climbing on the other side of the street. Other than that, the heavy rain made for some cool, wet and interesting racing!
Goals:
Main goal was to PR and best last year's time of 12:58. That said, I had a few levels of satisfaction with the possible outcomes of my race.
< 12:45 = Very, very satisfied
12:45-12:58 = Happy to be able to PR
12:58-13:05 = Meh
> 13:05 = Happy to finish but something went wrong.
Race Morning
Got up at 4:30 am. I was happy that I managed to get 3-4 hours sleep! Breakfast consisted of Ensure, Blueberry muffin, and a banana. I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade leading up to race start along with a gel. I went down to the bike transition to put my nutrition on my bike and drop off my special needs bag. I then went back to the room and grabbed my wetsuit and headed to the swim start.
Swim (2.4 miles) - 1:32:20
Canadians really rolled out all the stops with an F-18 fighter jet flyover at the race start. I didn't see it coming and it flew pretty low and really caught me off guard! It was loud! (I jumped!) Got to the swim start line with just enough time to get into the water to warm up for like 2 minutes. I saw Joe and Zack at the race start, gave them a high five, and off we went into the water. The swim was uneventful. We did hit some swells the farther we got out but not any different than last year. I’m a bit disappointed to come out 2 minutes slower than last year. I was hoping for a 3-5 minute improvement!
T1 - 11:03
Wetsuit strippers were great. They helped me out of my wetsuit and was off to the changing tent. There was a bit of a run to get to the tent, maybe ¼ mile, but it was on carpet so that was cool. I was a bit indecisive on what to wear for the bike with the coming rain storm. I decided on arm warmers and full fingered gloves. I took time lubing up my feet with liquid Body Glide thinking I would be wearing the same socks during the run. Turns out that I would have to change out of my wet socks in T2. Oh well. My transition time was slower than last year. I have to prepare better!
Bike (112 miles) - 6:06:36
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| Soaking wet! |
The bike started out dry and I left my arm warmers rolled down. It was congested getting out to the highway and not much room to pass as the lane was only 2 bike widths wide. Once on the highway I settled into my race pace around 160-180 watts. The rain started coming down and it wouldn’t quit for the rest of the bike. It didn't bother me too much except for the descents. Especially on the hilly Chemin Duplessis where there were some pretty bad accidents. The second loop I began to feel a bit fatigued and decreased watts a bit as I backed off in preparation for the run. My tri jersey would be an issue as it was a bit loose and even more so wet from the rain. It would hang down and catch the wind with a parachute effect. Oh well.
T2 - 6:32
I got into T2 soaking wet and had to decide what/if I was going to change. I stripped off my wet socks and bike shoes and put on fresh socks after I lubed up my feet with Aquaphor. I was a bit unsure if I wanted to change into running shorts or leave on my trishorts but decided I didn’t need to change because my running shorts would get soaked from the rain anyways. I then slipped on my running shoes, chugged down a bottle of Ensure, and got under way. I’m not sure why my transition time was so slow! Two minutes slower than last year! Maybe it is from when I stopped to pee which seemed like it took forever. I’m not sure if the port-o-potty was before or after the timing mat though. Either way, I have to speed up my transition times!
Run (26.2 miles) - 4:33:51
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| Still raining on the run! |
The run was really tough for me last year as it was hot and humid. This year the cool rain made it a lot easier. The first 6 miles I felt really good at a 9-9:30 pace which really lifted my spirits. If I could keep a decent pace I should be able to kill my 5 hr marathon time from last year. Around mile 10-11 I started to get a bit of a stomach cramp and the whole last half of the marathon I would be visiting the port-o-potty every other aid station. One didn't have any toilet paper left but someone had left their glove liners in there so..... I had to make do! Easily spent 10 minutes or more overall in port-o-potties! Around mile 22-23 I started to think I might break the 12:30 mark and tried to pick up my pace. When I got into the town the finishing chute was rocking with all the spectators cheering! What a great feeling to finish! Overall I'm pretty happy with my run even with all the bathroom visits. I had no muscle cramping issues whatsoever which is a first for me. I missed the sub 12:30 mark by 22 seconds! Ugh! Oh well I'll take my 12:30:22 as it is still a great PR time for me!
Final Race Time: 12:30:22
It was great racing with friends from the Pasadena Tri Club and VOLT. Passing a few them and getting passed by others. It really made for a great race experience and I’m glad I did it. Wondering the “what if’s”, my swim definitely could use some improvement. I also know that I could have definitely done better on the run had I not had bathroom issues, but I guess that’s part of the game. I think going with mostly gels for nutrition was the culprit. Either that or the Chicken\Cheese crepes I had for dinner the night before. (Not the best idea) The pain\agony factor never reached the level of last year's race. I may even do another Full Ironman in the future if the stars align correctly! Most likely though it will be Half Ironmans as it's hard to devote so much time to training! Now back to regular life and trying not to get too fat in the off season!
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