Ironman Mont-Tremblant - Triathlon

As I headed over to the swim I was very nervous. I'll be honest I'm not a good swimmer. I mean I can swim but I'm not fast and I always have issues with my confidence when it comes to swimming. The funny thing is I did IMWI last year and the swim conditions were brutal and I was able to finish the swim. You'd think after that I'd have more confidence in myself but at times it does wane.

So off I go and I'm walking with my wife and dog and my wife steps on the back of my flip flop accidentally and my right one breaks. So now I'm thinking great I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come with my swim. I walk down to the swim with one flip flop and one bare foot and I look like an idiot. I finally get there and get my top on over the bibjohn and my wife comes down with the dog gives me a kiss and wishes me luck.

I head over to the start and I run into my friend Jillian who is doing her first Ironman and she is an excellent swimmer. I'm standing right next to her and I'm thinking please let some of Jillian's swim magic like rub off on me today. Please swim gods grant me this one wish! Seriously though I was so nervous it was good to see Jill and talk with her before the start. I was starting in wave 5 and didn't have much time so I squeezed my way through and got to the warm up area as we were up next and jumped in the water just to get wet. It was cold but it was good to get in there. I then proceeded to my group and off we went as we were up next. Each wave was going 3 minutes apart.

Sure enough we make it up and I'm on the beach to the left. My plan is to stay outside and just swim slow and easy. I'm not getting in the fray and I'm not wasting any energy that I don't have to in the swim. Then we are off so in I go and stay outside and it wound up being a great move for me. Hardly any contact or obstruction during the entire swim. I head out and just try and get into a rhythm and not let the demons of doubt get into my head. As I continue to swim I start to get into a decent rhythm and I'm swimming fairly straight and well for the first half of the swim going out. Amazing I know.

About half way on the out leg the waves start kicking up and I'm bouncing a lot so I'm thinking maybe I got into a crowd or pack or maybe there is a boat nearby so I stop and nope I'm all alone on the outside. So I start swimming and the conditions are getting tougher now on the second half of the out leg of the swim. I'm bouncing around and I'm trying to just swim slow and easy and time my breathing with the waves. Slowly but surely I make my way to the first turn around buoy and I'm thinking awesome I'm getting there. You can do this.

I find though I got myself way inside for this little short leg heading to the second turn around buoy so I decided to stop and swim to the outside and I do. There is some contact but not very much and I make it to the second buoy and I stop and I check the time, 57 minutes. Ok not too bad I lost time with the tougher conditions but that's ok the wind will be at my back and it will push me in.

So I start swimming back in but I'm starting to slow down. My technique is starting to break down and I'm getting a little tired and a little cold but I feel like I'm moving faster as I head back in. Even though I am swimming horribly I am making progress. I am stopping some more as well and losing precious time. I remember swimming and someone behind me grab my leg so I stop to see if I'm in the way and woman behind me also pops up and apologizes. I laugh and say no worries as you have to expect that stuff to happen. So off we go and I'm slowly progressing to the swim finish.

Several times I'm asked by the volunteers if I'm ok and I respond yes I'm fine and for the most part I was but the last half of the swim is very tough for me. The mind games begin, the doubt starts to surface and you begin to think maybe I can't do this. I'm so close now but maybe I can't finish this. Then the essence of your being that believes the one that understand exactly what it took for you to get here takes over and pushes you on. I keep telling myself you can do this, you're almost done just keep swimming. Swim slow and easy don't waste energy you are on the pace that you'd thought you'd be.

I knew it would be a long swim so I continue onwards getting closer to the finish and then I see the rocks and I try and stand and almost bust my behind as I slip on them. I'm like man they didn't tell us about this at the athlete briefing. One of the volunteers says to me just keep swimming you'll get there faster and it's easier. She was right, I was hitting bottom but I modified my stroke and I got into the sand and I stand up and I'm done.

I think to myself the worse is over, you've once again conquered your nemesis the swim now get your butt moving to the transition. I run over and I make sure I throw two thumbs up and smile when they take my picture. I was the happiest guys in the world at that very moment. As I head up to transition I see my wife Joyce there and I run over because I know she is getting worried it's taking so long and give her a kiss and let her know I am good to go. I'm thanking God at the same time for getting me through that ordeal and for not being traumatized like I was when I got out of the water in Wisconsin. Transition here I come.

I don't think there is much I could've done differently based on my swim training and the conditions. Many people struggled and I certainly lost 5 to 10 minutes on the swim easy so my target of 1:45 was not really far off. I think I could have done as well as 1:30-1:35ish. Still an 18 minute improvement over Wisconsin but hard to put a lot of stock into that the conditions last year there were bad for the swim.

My swimming is holding me back from progressing at the Ironman distance. I'm leaving way too much time on the table. I think for me unless I improve my swimming I won't be doing another Ironman until I do. I'm giving up way too much here.

I also didn't swim as much as I did when training for Wisconsin and it hurt me. The schedule didn't allow for it early on and I didn't do enough longer distance swims that I should've. Lot's to take away from this for me.

So the transition from the swim exit to the transition tent is pretty long so I knew my time was going to be long. I figured 20 minutes easy so this isn't that bad. I'm not racing for any awards and to me it's more important to make sure I have everything which I did when I left. The biggest decision here was should I wear a jacket or just go with the arm warmers? It was cold and rainy all week and it was overcast. I decided on arm warmers and I think it was the right call. I also hit the restroom here before I got onto the bike and since there were only two porta johns here I had to wait a couple of minutes.

Not much, I got dry, composed myself and didn't forget anything that I needed when I headed out to transition to get my bike. So I'm not losing any sleep over my transition times.

I get my bike out of transition as the volunteer was kind enough to get my bike and hand it off to me. I place my Garmin 910XT on the mount on the bike and clip in and off I go. My plan is to stay 60 to 65% of FTP for the race. So the first loop would be sort of JRA (just ride along) a bit and get a feel for where in that range I could ride.

So I head out on Montee Ryan and the wind is kicking up so I'm thinking I may have to hold back today. As I ride out a bit I see my friend Teresa and I'm very happy to see she made it through the swim and she is out on the bike. I wish her well when I see her and she does the same for me and then I settle into my ride as I know this will be long.

I hit highway 117 soon enough and BAM right into the headwind we go so I already know I'm not going to be riding at the high end of my range today. I just put my head down and get into aero and stay there as much as I can, 117 is not flat it is an up and down highway so you get some nice downhills heading out north to Labelle where the turnaround is but you also have to do some climbing. I was very cognizant of not hammering into the wind and to just ride a pace that I felt comfortable holding. I was eying my normalized power the entire ride. Going out on 117 was uneventful. I think it helped me get a good feel for the course get acclimated to the wind.

I did many, many, many training rides into the wind so while there were varying degrees of demoralization in training there was none during this ride. I totally accepted it and just pretended it was there and rode on. As I'm heading out I see my friend Derrick and he calls out to me and I do the same. He looks like he's having a great time and I'm happy to see that. I'm looking for my other friends as I'm riding on.

We had a small group of 8 of us from Long Island who trained together and called ourselves Don Quixote Triathlon so we were all looking out for each other on the course. I hit the turn around in Labelle and I felt good. I was eating, I was drinking I was riding below my targeted NP. I hit the porta john on the way back south on 117 as well. As I head back on 117 going south there was one very long steep climb towards the end. I don't remember much about it on the first loop but I couldn't forget it after the second one. I ended 117 and the short little out and back into St. Jovite and then haeded back to Montee Ryan feeling good and moving forward. I think I may have heard one of my friends call out to me on Montee Ryan but I didn't catch who it was as we went by each other in opposite directions.

I knew things were about to change once I hit Chemin Duplessis and it did. It got much tougher climbing up those steep little hills but I managed to do it and not blow up my power numbers. I tried to keep it under 300 watts and just go with the 34/28 combo and spin as much as I could even if I was crawling at 4 or 5 mph. I didn't care I was not going to blow up and sacrifice my run or my race on Chemin Duplessis trying to put on a Tour De France climbing clinic. I never once got out of my seat and I believe my HR and efforts were reasonable the first time around.

Once I got to the turn around on Chemin Duplessis I headed back. This is actually a fun part on the course as you get to bomb the downhills on Chemin Duplessis and bomb them I did. I got through that and had to use the porta john for the second time. I'm guessing cooler temps I don't know. I only went once when on the bike at IMWI and drank about the same amount. I hit special needs to get my bottles reloaded with Infinit right after that and headed out for my second loop.

It seemed windier on the second loop heading out north on 117 but the sun had come out so it was warmer and a lot nicer out. I tried to take in the scenery of the course as much as I could. I also felt pretty good riding out. I did have stop to fill up my bottles with water which the volunteers helped me out with. They were awesome all day. With all bottles filled I made my way uneventfully to the turn around in Labelle into the headwind. I was really looking forward to trying to push a little harder with the tailwind after the turn around. As I was heading back south I once again saw my friend Teresa as she was heading to Labelle for the turn around and once again looking very strong on the bike.

On the way back I started passing a lot of people on that second loop especially heading south on 117. Then I hit that steep climb and I just remember it being hot with the sun right on me and this climb just seemed endless. I felt like I was just pedaling and going along at 5 mph for an eternity. Finally I get past that and do the that short out and back in St. Jovite and I'm on my way back to Montee Ryan.

The one great thing about the Mont Tremblant bike course is that you can really break it up into sections so you can deal with it better mentally. I was trying to do just that instead of counting the miles or worrying about the time. After I got through Montee Ryan it was onward to Chemin Duplessis again and I was really thinking about it as I was riding on my way to it. I was only hoping once again I would pace myself well enough and not burn my remaining matches which I sorely needed for the run.

As I started heading out on Chemin Duplessis I got that boost from the crowd as you head in and you know you just have to get through this and you'll be back and heading out for the run. So I'm looking at the time and I'm thinking I can get this done, hit transition and be on the run by 4 PM. That's an hour earlier than I did at Wisconsin. I though well let me get this done and over with and not kill myself in the process.

Once again I hit the hills and I must admit it was tougher the second time around but I stuck to my guns and kept the wattage down as I slowly climbed each hill. I coasted where I needed to in order to gain some recovery and pushed onward. At this point I kept trading positions with a few people. As I made it closer to the turnaround one woman said to me "Only 10K more to go and then we get to run a marathon". We both laughed and rode on to the turn around.

At this point the clouds and wind rolled in and sure enough the rain came down and it poured. I was like why now? I just got through the hills now I've got to tackle all these downhills on wet roads. Man I couldn't have had worse luck there but what can you do? I just figured I'm so close now so don't worry about the lost time, be careful taking the downhills and don't do anything stupid now you're almost done. So that's exactly what I did. I proceeded with caution and carried as much speed as I safely could on the downhills.

It worked out well because I made it to the last right turn back to the transition area. Even though I was soaking wet I was so happy to be done. Two down and one more segment to go, the run. I knew I had this in the bag now. I got in before 4 PM, I had legs and I knew I had 8 hours to get this done.

Not much, again I think I was smart pulling back and adjusting my game plan. I think I may have been able to push a little harder but my run would have suffered. I had a good bike leg. If you take all the time lost to stopping I did a 6:38 according to my Garmin so I'm pretty happy with that. I gave up something on the bike and saved it for the run.

My fellow Asphalt Junkie and friend Warren likes to call me the execution ninja lol I'm not so sure about that but I would agree I pulled out the ninja skills for this bike ride and executed well. I learned from the best in training with my friend Wynn. That man knows how to execute and I've learned the lessons from him well.

Not bad for my first 100 mile bike ride this year either. My longest was 94 miles. I did a lot of back to back bike rides using the Endurance Nation training plan so I was doing 9 to 10 plus hours a weekend and upwards of 150 miles. I can say this philosophy totally worked for me at IMMT.

I probably took a little longer in T2 then I should have but I was soaking wet and didn't put a towel in my bike to run transition bag which was a mistake on my part. I didn't want to go out there with my feet wet and my socks wet so I let them dry out a little and had something to eat. In hindsight it didn't matter because I got wet again when the rain came on the first loop of the run.

I would have had the towel for sure but not sure if I would have saved that much time. I did stop to eat and I really did need to eat at that point as much stomach was growling. I also had to make another restroom stop.

Heading out of transition to the run I once again had to use the bathroom so I did that first and then on I went. The plan was to try and stay in the 11 mpm range for the first 10K and then start getting that down into the 10 to 11 mpm range. I started out too fast I was running under 10 mpm to start and I definitely started backing it off. The first part of the run through the villag to the old village is hilly and I didn't want to walk that but I didn't want to blow there either so I slowed my pace down and keep running.

Shortly into the run I started seeing all my DT comrades. First it was Wynn, followed by Bobby then Jill and then Dan and then Bobby Moore. That was awesome seeing everyone heading back from their first loop. We were encouraging each other and high fiving one another it was pretty cool and got me fired up seeing everybody looking strong and determined. I remember Bobby Mac yelling out to me if I've seen Derrick and I hadn't seen him on the run yet. I was a little concerned about that at the time but it turns out Derrick was blazing his own trail.

So onward I went past the hills and through the old village and to the train path. I was thinking for the first loop let's just run and take it all in. Enjoy the sights, don't count the miles and scope out the course for the second loop. The train path is very flat and well paved so I knew I was going to make my time up here. I made sure I pushed here when I felt I could do that. I believe the path crosses over 2 roads before the turn around so I kept that in mind knowing that the mental warfare would be playing out in my head.

As I'm running on the first or second segment of the train path once again the clouds rolled in and the downpour began, more rain. I was thinking this sucks because my feet are now in wet socks and shoes, I have 20 miles to go which means I'm going to have blisters on my feet when this is all over and I did.

I managed to run what seemed an endless train path. I though I was going to wind up in Montreal but I did make the turn around and worked my way back. That's when I saw Teresa for the first time on the run. I could not believe how strong she was looking. I told myself I better keep moving because if I don't she is going to run right by me. Teresa really motivated me to keep my pace up and to keep pushing forward.

I wound up finishing the train path and the short out and back in Linear Park and headed back to through the old village back to the village where many athletes were heading down the chute for the finish. I stopped and hit my special needs bag. I took my Amrita bar and my Kit Kat. I forgot about that. My stomach was growling at that point and I was sooooo happy to have a Kit Kat to eat. I ran up the hill through the chute to towards the right to start loop two all the while enjoying my Kit Kat. That was the best Kit Kat I ever ate. My only regret was that I didn't put two in my SN bag.

At this point my thoughts were to just keep running as best I could. I was managing to keep my pace pretty steady varying between 10 and 11 plus mpm. I was trying to be smart on the hills again and I was going to try and take advantage of the flat train path. Once again on loop two I ran into all my friends and more high fives and words of encouragement were shared. It really helped keep me going knowing I was not the only one struggling to keep it together and to keep push forward.

As I'm heading out to the old village and going up hill I see I guy running down hill with a cup and food in his hand and all of a sudden he trips and nearly goes face down. There are like 5 of us now running over to him to see if he is alright. Thankfully he was and one of the others helps him back up. That totally scared the hell out of me. I was very cognizant about my footing the rest of the race especially so when it got dark. I thought about this all the way to the end.

When I hit the train path I was trying to break it up in my mind again. It seemed endless and this is where I really had to fight off those thoughts of stopping or walking. I've been able to develop a pretty good ability to suffer over the last few years. I've also continually improved mentally being able to tune out the pain and hurt and to just keep going. I was in that battle with myself once again.

I knew I was not yet suffering physically that bad. I could still run so I didn't need to walk and I could run well. My form was good I was keeping a good pace it was all mental. The mind was starting it's insurrection trying to conspire against me but I just wouldn't allow that to happen. I kept thinking I could walk I don't have to run you'll still finish. I knew I would not allow myself to do that. I didn't train for 7 plus months to walk the run.

I took a long stop at the turnaround on the train path. This was it, I was heading back I had about 7 or 8 miles to go from this point. I ate and I drank and prepared myself to make the final push. I saw Teresa one more time on the path and she was still going strong. Once again this totally motivated me to keep running onward and keep my pace up.

As I got through the train path and the last out and back in Linear Park I had to make one more bathroom stop. I think I went 5 times during the race. I couldn't believe that. I started back through the old village to the village I just kept telling myself to keep running. Remember how hard you've worked for this, remember how much time you've put into this and all the sacrifices you and your family have made, think about all your family and friends who are supporting you at this moment. Don't let them or yourself down. These were the thoughts that were going through me head as I was running back to the village towards the finish.

I had a new found resolve and that I would keep running and run as fast a pace as I could. I knew I was getting to the point where I'd be running out of gas soon but I knew I had enough to get me to the end so I kept the pedal down and kept moving to the finish. I took the hills head on and attacked them. I thought why walk now you're almost done. Isn't this what you've been training for the last year?

As I made my way towards the last big hill and came up and over I'm heading towards the last hill and I see Wynn and he yells out "Just one more hill to go Tony" and with that I'm already fired up because I'm starting to head in but hearing Wynn cheer me on gave me that final burst to bring it on home.

The chute at Mont Tremblant is so cool it winds through the village. You go uphill and then down hill to the finish. You hear the music and you see the crowds and the village is lit up and you can feel the energy of the crowd as people are cheering you on and your coming down to the finish.

As I'm heading in I want to dash in but there are two people in front of me so I am trying to slow down and back off so there is enough spacing between us. I don't want to ruin the finishing moment of the woman in front of me. So I hold back, slow down and let her get in then I burst up the ramp to the chute I hear Mike Reilly announce my name and my hometown and say "You are an Ironman!" as I do my sideways leap and I'm through the finish line. BOOM - 2x Ironman

I hang on that stage just for second after I land on my two feet and soak it all in and I realize I gave everything I had today. I am an Ironman once again.

Run faster? No, really nothing I felt I nailed the run. It was validation of all the hard work I put into my running and I took 17 minutes off my run at Wisconsin and this was a much harder run course. I'm most proud of this and for running the entire course with the exception of the aid stations which I even ran by a few of those.

Once I finished I got my medal the volunteer told me he loved my finished lol. I had to laugh and thanked him. My handler took care of me and they took the timing chip and I grabbed a chocolate milk. After that I took my finishers picture and I looked for my wife but she was no where to be found. It was getting cold out so I head back to the condo. Walking up the hill totally sucked but I got changed and headed back to the village and I quickly found my wife.

We saw my friend Teresa finish which was very awesome so I then head over to transition to get me bike and bags and meet my wife and my dog back at the condo. At that point I was totally done. Mission Accomplished Ironman number 2 in the books.


I'm a slow old guy with very little athletic ability. Everything I have is the product of hard work. I'm like the domestiques in the Tour de France. Those guys work hard but never get any credit publicly yet without them you can't win a the tour. That's how I see myself, just an average hard worker who does his best to get the most out of what little ability I do have.

I've only been doing triathlons for 3 years this is my 10th one lol. Two of which were Ironman races and 3 are HIM's. So I'm still learning but after 3 years of consistently training and training with like minded hard working people I've improved by leaps and bounds and I believe I can continue to get better. I've also been very fortunate to train with some very experienced triathletes, my friends who have shared their knowledge and experience with him. They pretty much been my mentors for the last 3 years.

Mont Tremblant is a tough course, it's a fast course but tough nonetheless. I think I did a very good job executing my race. It resulted in a 48 minute PR over Wisconsin and I will say MT is a tougher course.


I loved this race and loved Mont Tremblant. It's like a swim, bike, run mecca up there. This race is like a hidden gem how it doesn't sell out day one is beyond me. Just awesome logistics for this race and a great venue with great hospitality.

I have to thank God for keep me safe and watching over me all day.

I have to say thank you to the organizers who did a great job this year along with the volunteers who were awesome. The supporters were great and out in force cheering on the athletes. The town really embraces this race. Thank you to all the emergency personal who supported the race as well and helped keep the athletes safe through out the event.

I also have to thank my wife Joyce and my three kids Kayla, Erynn and Austin for their help and support without which I'd not have been able to do this. There is lot's I can say but it just doesn't seem like it'd be enough. I love them all.

Thank you once again to my Beginner Triathlete mentoring group the Asphalt Junkies. They're more then a mentoring group they are my friends. I love you guys.

Thank you again to my local tri club the Wildwood Warriors. It was an honor to represent at IMMT on your behalf. This is an amazing group of Long Island athletes and awesome group of people. I love you guys and this group.

Thank you to my training partners and good friends, Don Quixote Triathlon. What an amazing ride it has been this year. You guys were the reason I did IMMT. It's been an honor and privilege to train and race with you all. Not only am I a better triathlete but a better person too. I love guys, can't wait to chase and tilt more windmills with you all.

I highly recommend this race. Challenging course, beautiful place and friendly people what more could you ask for.