Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant - Triathlon

I am not sure what I was doing here. I just lolly-gagged along. This was so easy and I never really thought about the fact that I wasn't breathing hard, wasn't working hard and wasn't swimming fast. I felt really comfortable in the water and this was really, really easy.

I need to learn to swim hard in open water. Without the visual cues of the pool I tend to just take it easy. A swim like today's will probably serve me very well in Boulder or Tahoe but I could have worked much more on this swim.

Push harder in the water. I have learned that pushing really hard and burning myself up in the water is not a good idea. Conversely, taking it too easy is a recipe to be really, really slow.

This is about a 400 meter run from the Beach to transition. Wetsuit strippers are right at the swim exit so you are running about a 1/4 of a mile carrying your wetsuit. I passed a ton of people on the run to transition but in retrospect I could have run faster and cut some time out of this transition. I wore a new pair of cycling shoes with a BOA closure system that took a little longer to get on. I knew this would be the case and I was willing to accept the extra 20-30 seconds that this might have taken me. I did not leave my shoes clipped in as I kind of think it might have taken me more time/been more dangerous.

I got a great jump on to my bike and was up to speed in seconds. I probably passed 10-12 people in the first 100 yards on the bike.

Love my new shoes. Need to practice getting them on faster.

So, my next big goof-up after swimming too easy..... My cycling computer would not pair up with my Powertap. It worked great the day before when I took the bike out for about 30 minutes of riding. I assumed that the torrential rain that soaked the bike in transition had done something to the power tap. I decided that I would just have to ride by feel which is what I did for about the first 15 miles or so. Then I had the brilliant idea of trying to "pair" the Powertap again, which it did and voila, I had cycling data. I have no idea what my first 15 miles looked like as far as power goes. Part of me wishes that I would not have paired the computer because I think that looking at the numbers actually made me hold back some on the ride. I still don't quite know how to make myself hurt on the bike. I am always worried that I will burn up my legs and then not be able to have the kind of run that I want. Well, sometimes I think worrying like that just holds me back too much. I don't think I hit my goal power numbers and I rode too conservatively/slow. I still think I could have had a nice run if I had pushed a little more on the bike.

Following the Powertap meant that I had to hold bask on the ascents. I was passing people like crazy on the descents but by capping my power numbers people were going by me like I was standing still on the climbs. Very disappointing. I guess it was the right thing to do.

I drank two, 20 ounce bottles of Infinit-Ucan at 400+/- calories per bottle + about 1.5 bottles of water. This was the perfect amount of calories and fluids for this course on this day.

Overall, this course is fantastic. Smooth roads. Challenging hills. Screaming fast descents. Beautiful scenery.

Be willing to push harder.

Fast. When I hopped off the bike my shoes hit the ground and started spinning. This messed things up a bit but I just picked the bike up and ran.

Shoes went right on and I grabbed the visor and belt and put them on on the fly.

No muss, no fuss.

I was hurting when I started this run. I did not really feel like running 13.1 miles coming off of the bike, but the conditions could not have been better for this run. Overcast. Temperature in the high 60s. Of course I had to make major mistake number three, which I actually had made three days before..... I left my Garmin at home in Michigan. I have been doing all of my training using the Garmin for pacing so this was a bitter pill to swallow. However, of all of the legs of a triathlon, running is my best.

I took it a little bit easy out of transition. I was not sure how much the bike had taken out of my legs. I loved that the run was marked in kilometers. Somehow seeing a kilometer come and go every 4:30 made it seem like I was doing something. I had figured out that I needed to run 4:26/Km to be at around 7:00/mile so that was my worst case goal.

As we got further and further in to the race I felt better and better. Doing the mental math of converting Ks to Miles helped occupy my mind for the race. When I saw the sign for 6 K (approximately 3.6 miles) I knew I had the legs and the energy to finish strong. I just opened things up and tried to empty the tank. There was a lot of passing going on. Unfortunately, as fast as I was running, a guy blew by me at this point like I was standing still. I tried to go with him and kept him in sight all of the way to the finish but no way I could keep up with him.

I was passed by three total people on this run and I was able to pass one of the guys back at around the 17K mark. The first guy passed me at about the 1K mark and probably put close to a mile on me by the end. The last guy was the one who passed me in the final stretch.

Nutrition: Coke and water at every aid station I could get it. I probably took in 6 small cups of coke and probably 8 cups of water. Water and ice in my tri top as often as I could get it.

Maybe start a little faster. However, my somewhat conservative start may be what allowed me to finish strong.

The timing is messed up for everyone over the last 11.5 K. It says I took 28 minutes to go 5K and then 19 minutes to go the next 6K. If you look at everyone's results, they look the same way. No way I finished running 3:13/K. I was moving, but not that fast. Look at the results..... everyone else has the same skewed results.

Felt better than I should have. Found my wife pretty much immediately.

Beer and poutine as recovery food is highly recommended. In fact, the best post-race eats I have had yet.


Mental toughness. I am a slow swimmer. Need to learn to suffer on the bike.


One of the best races I have ever done. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to do a great 70.3 race. The people of the Mont Tremblant community were great. Volunteers were great. Race organization was great.