70.3 World
Championships – Mont Tremblant, Quebec
For the first
time in many opportunities I had the chance to race in the World Championships
of the Half Ironman distance (70.3 miles). When I received the slot in St.
Croix it was overshadowed by the craziness of getting a chance to compete in
the Kona at the Ironman World Championships. Every day since I eat, sleep,
breath and train for Kona. This race I never viewed as my “A” race. I didn’t
taper in true fashion 1 to 2 weeks out. I didn’t even get nervous until race
morning. I don’t regret going into the 70.3 Worlds with the training attitude
that I did, but I do regret not giving it the serious acknowledgement that it
deserves.
My intentions for
the race:
·
Stay
focused on my training plan for Kona. Last week was supposed to be my biggest
volume week to date, but with the race I made a few tweaks in the days leading
up to the race.
·
Get
my workouts in! I was nervous and fearful of training in a new place, by myself,
with foreign roads, a language I can barely speak, and being completely disorientated.
·
Eat
Well! No pastries no matter how great they smelled.
·
Take
in the scale of the race, the incredible athletes and their egos, all in
preparation for Kona.
·
Use
race day to put my fitness to a test but no over do it and set myself back. I
was asked upon my return from St. Croix how I would manage a Half so close to
Kona. My response was, “I don’t know, but it’s too late now.” In the weeks
leading up to it I said I’d race the swim and the bike and try to manage an
easy run pace. There are a bunch of you out there that are rolling your eyes
and laughing because you knew as well as I did that wasn’t going to happen!
·
Use
my T1 & T2 prep and race day execution to mentally ease the anxiety of what
Kona will bring.
What actually
happened:
·
I
stayed focused and got my workouts in. The plan was to swim, 40minutes on
Friday, ride 2 hours and run 1 hour on Saturday. I flipped the workouts and was
VERY glad I did. I also didn’t get a full 2 hours in on the bike. The wind was
nasty and blowing me all over the road on a bike course that can only be
equated to riding on I-91. Large trucks, crosswinds, and large shoulders do not mix.
I was nervous and turned around as soon as I could telling myself the whole
time I’d just deal with it on race day.
I am very glad that I met up with Doug Guertin on our way back into town
and did the last out and back up Mont Ryan. A great 3-4mile climb that allowed
me to make up some time on the ladies in front of me.
·
I ate
as well as I could in a place that is full of incredible restaurants and
temptations. I’ll admit it, I only had half of a chocolate croissant and
chocolate chip cookie in the 2 days leading up to the race.
·
Staying
in the athlete village did not allow me to escape the crazies, as I like to
call them. The uber triathlete that likes to strut around like they are gods
gift to the sport. Their egos and thousands of dollars of equipment do nothing
but freak me out. Regardless, I tried to stay as confident as possible in my
training and spent as little time in transition and bag drop as possible.
·
The
course tested my fitness and I responded well. There was nothing flat about any
section of the course except for the swim. And no, I did not take the run easy.
It was hard not to find a pace that was comparable to what everyone around me
was doing. I felt good so I let myself go. If worse came to worse the finish
line was at the bottom of the hill so I’d just roll down if I had to. :)
·
T1
& T2 were great prep. These transitions were nothing like the like smaller
tri’s I’ve done or other 70.3 races where all of your crap (and everyone
else’s) is stashed around your bike. It was far more civilized. I liked it!
I learned:
·
Everyone
racing in BIG EVENTS like this one will be FIT, look FIT, act FIT. But, then
again…so am I.
·
There
will always be men and women more talented than me. I CAN NOT let the BIG
gears, BIG wheels, and BIG egos get to me.
·
Do
not accidentally throw my swim goggles in the wash a few days out from the
race. Foggy goggles = no visibility and complete trust in the flapping arms in
front of me.
·
T1 –
do not wear bike shoes to my bike; put them on at the bike. The floor is
slippery! Also, remember my race number and bike location. Its helpful not to
run 10 bikes passed it.
·
T2 –
Pee breaks are a good thing…they help me run faster. ;)
·
Feel
comfortable in what I’m putting out (heart rate, effort, speed, pace) but stick
to the plan as much a possible. Nutrition especially!
·
A
Half Ironman is NOT an IRONMAN. Five weeks from Saturday will be a very
different race but I think I’m ready!
To sum it all up
I had a great race. I finished with a time of 4:50, good enough for 8th
overall in my age group. I was able to stay within myself as much as I could
and never felt as if I was tapping myself out too early. In my humble opinion
Ironman put on a great race on a very challenging course. The village of Mont
Tremblant has a quaint picture perfect European ski village feel. The food was
great, especially the post race poutine. The beer was cold and delicious. The
people of Tremblant were incredibly supportive and understanding that 4 years
of high school French only gets you so far.
I can not forget to mention the other Cyclonaut teammates that raced this weekend as well. Mary Guertin, Elena Massa, Paul Mikuszewski, and Amy Parent. Without them I would have been a nervous wreck and can't thank them enough for the calming words of encouragement and on course high fives. Elena and I have one more race and I have a feeling we will both do incredibly well!
For all of the Nauts that
signed up for the 2015 Mont Tremblant Ironman you are in for a real treat. Who knows, if
I have any money left at the end of all of this maybe I’ll be back.
SK
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