Ironman Mont-Tremblant North American Championship - Triathlon

Borrowed a friends sleeveless wetsuit as my shoulders were super tired when I was training in my full wetsuit and it made a huge difference in training times so decided to go with it on race day. Started on the far right about half way back and stuck to the inside of the buoys for the first half of the swim to avoid the chaos. Sighting was a bit difficult as the fog and mist off the lake made it hard to see. Found some clear water and was moving along pretty well, found a few sets of feet to draft for short times. Was swum over a couple times from waves coming behind me. Hit the lap at the half way mark, which was 1.9 km, so sighting must have be right on the mark. Hoping for something between a 1:10 and 1:15 which was right on target. Second half was not as straight according to the split and almost 5 mins slower. All in all, happy with the swim split, shoulders felt great and was only a little tired by the time I got out of the water.

Still learning to sight properly as I apparently seem to always drift to the right or perhaps take a look at my swim mechanics and balance? Always things to improve....

Got help from the wetsuit strippers and then ran to transition. This is one of the first times I ran the entire way to transition without walking as I am usually a bit dizzy and out of breath from suddenly going vertical. The calf held up nicely which made me very happy/hopeful for the marathon later.

Made it to the tent, got the gear bag, Decided on a full change into bike shorts this time as I had huge chaffing at my last IM.(Best decision ever!!) Trying to put on dry bike stuff on a wet body proved surprisingly difficult and this took way longer than it should have. Ran to the bike and out the other side of transition

Overall, went well, not super fast but it was going to be a hot day and I wanted to be comfortable and made sure I had everything I needed (ie. salt)

Started out nice and steady, it was still foggy moving away from transition and the glasses fogged/misted up quickly, so put them on the helmet. Tried riding nice and smooth, average pace was pretty high at 36 km/hr but felt easy. Hit the turn around and realized that it was a tail wind so a bit slower coming back, but at least it made me feel better knowing I didn't push too hard too early. Passed a bunch of people in the town of St. Jovite as people really slow down for turn arounds and corners. Able to pass 3 people on a corner and 2 on a turn around because they were taking them super wide. Hit the hilly section to Lac Superior and just spun the uphills and got up to speed on the down hills. Grab my extra bottle at special needs, which took 30 secs and then on my way. On the second lap my shifting started to get sloppy and I noticed that my rear derailed cable was fraying at the adjuster so I was unable to change into my two smallest cogs and there was serious lag when shifting. Also the wind picked up on the second lap and the sun started to really kick up the heat. Made sure to keep the salt and fluids coming, water over the head, lots of food and gatorade. The Lac Superior section the second time around was tough and tried to smooth my effort as best I could to not cook myself for the marathon as I didn't know how that would go. Definitely thankful I put on a climbing cassette for this section and for the long climb out on the 117 which I was just able to spin up and keep the heart rate low.

Special needs worked wonderfully, keep the salt and fluid coming, this ride went very smoothly except for the sloppy shifting.

They had volunteers to catch your bike for you, so you didn't have to rack it However, there were people trying to take off their shoes at the dismount line and I wasn't able to get through for almost 45 secs. Changed to run shorts and fresh socks for the run as last time I had a massive blister afterwords. Quick stop for sunscreen. Also noticed that I had some major chaffing in my armpits and it was stinging, so dosed with water as I didn't want to make it worse.

Perhaps not have to wait for someone to take off their shoes....still not bad all things considered.

So due to the calf strain 7 weeks ago, I figured that I might have to walk a large section of the entire marathon. I was already happy with my bike and swim times and anything faster than my previous run time would be a victory. IT WAS HOT!!! made it to the first aid station (400 m) and needed ice and water already...not a good sign. I do not do well in the heat as I am 6'3 and 225 lbs. This is going to be a long run. Run/jogged trying to keep the HR down but was very difficult and had to walk sections mainly the uphills to do so. The bike path was nice and shaded so I was able to run a little bit more here, still struggling with the heat and trying to keep cool, but also remembering that water in the shoes gave me a huge blister last time. Lots of ice in the shorts and jersey. Got sick of gels by about 10 km in and went to pretzels and chomps. This helped for a while but then the solids were not sitting well. Took a coke and banana which worked well for a couple of aid stations. Then back to gatorade and pretzels with coke. At about 15 km I could feel the blisters forming under the ball of each foot. Made the halfway mark and was exhausted, heat was killing me but the crowd in the village really lifts you up and I was able to run again for a little while. More walk/jogging and with 7 km to go, the blister under my left foot popped! WOW!! that hurts! kept walking....I now know what the "Ironman shuffle" feels like. it hurts the legs every time you start to run again but once you are running it isn't too bad. At 3 km to go the blister under the other foot pops! That hurt just as much if not more than the left foot! Definitely limped for a couple hundred meters. I knew I could make it home but was trying to do that math in my head to see if I could still be under 13 hours......this is going to be close.
From 3 km away you can hear Mike Reilly calling people home and "You are an Ironman!" with the music and it gives you the energy to keep moving. 2 big hills to go, once in the finishing chute the crowd brings you home. Ran the entire finishing chute, high giving people and a huge smile on my face. Cross the line and am so happy to have accomplished this goal. It wasn't until later that my wife told me an athlete was proposing to his girlfriend at the finish line and I walked right past it and didn't even notice! I guess I just had tunnel vision for the finish line.

not get hurt again?!?!? Run training is definitely going to be a goal during the off season. Mole skin for the feet as I can still hardly walk from the blisters. This is twice now that blisters have been a factor during the run. Pray for a cooler day and a better run nutrition plan as I didn't get enough long runs to dial it in properly.

As soon as I crossed the line I was spent. Both feet were killing me and my legs were just done. Found my wife and lay down for a while.....tried getting up and got super dizzy and pins and needles in the hands. Oh shit! Eventual got some medical attention and food (no IV) and was feeling better. Could hardly walk from the blisters but gathered my stuff, went back to the hotel, shower and "licked my wounds". Got weighed in the med tent and was 5.5 lbs lighter than at registration...


Lack of run fitness and a calf strain. The heat was a big factor and I think a lot of people suffered out there because of it. Saw a lot of people walking on the second loop of the run and they ran out of pretzels at a lot of aid stations as athletes were just trying to take in as much salt as possible.


This was an awesome race!! Highly recommended, I have done this race twice now and it is great. Everything you need is right there at the village, the volunteers were amazing as were the medical staff. The course is beautiful and challenging and everyone make you feel like royalty the entire day. If you are on the fence about signing up, you should without a doubt do it!