Ironman Mont-Tremblant : Official Thread (Page 9)

Good job on getting to week 6!  Woo hoo!

For me, I don't really get energized and motivated about the workouts except maybe at the beginning of the schedule, at the end of the schedule, and maybe before the races in the schedule.  For the most part I just settle into the routine.  Get up, brush teeth, go to work, go work out.  It's Tuesday?  Swim night.  There's no motivation needed because it's just what I do on Tuesdays. It's a lot like college in that respect, as well as "what do I do now with all this time?" when it's all over.

What's amazing is when you get towards the latter part of the training, you can feel the rest day in your next couple of workouts.  The swim after the rest day is significantly easier than the swim at the end of the week.  At least it is for me.

Also towards the end of the season when you first get that feeling of "wow I am actually ready, I can do this today", it can be very exciting and motivating.  The body gets into a form that it never sees otherwise, and feels more like a machine than ever before.  Pretty neat time. 

Another thing I like to do for motivation is to find a picture of the race start, and put it as my wallpaper on my computer at work.  That way, every day I am reminded of that excitement that awaits us all.  It helps maintain focus; to help make decisions.  Ideally it would be a picture of everyone waiting to swim at MT, or actively swimming.  That picture might be hard to come by for this race.  I may just have to settle for the beach pic.  But I'll be able to look at the pic, and it'll be the same scenery as we stand there ourselves, about to start.  2000+ people there, most with a look of "what did I get myself into?", the music is blaring, people are getting into their mind zone, the helicopter is overhead, there's talk about SCUBA divers at the turns, the cannon is about to go off, etc.. there's nothing else like it.

If anyone sees a pic that might fit this description for MT, please let me know. :-)

the pic I posted on page 8 of this thread is as close as I got when I was there in Nov

You might be able to get some reasonable facsimiles after the 70.3 in June .... not quite the same but you can get people in action on the course.  I think a picture of the swim start will make me too nervous at this point!

Visualizing crossing the finish line ALWAYS gets me jazzed

Having sub goals leading up to the race always keeps me motivated while having the eye on the big prize. I am racing a Half Marathon in two weeks and I am aiming to have a big PR out of that one, then a 10K in April, then a HIM in May, then its cruise control June, July, and August in Ironman specific mode.

August is still a ways off, but I have a feeling its gonna be here sooner than we think!

Westchstertriathlete:  I live off the Taconic near route 55.  The town is called Lagrange.  When I bike, I always go north.  If I go south towards putnam county, its high traffic.  Going north is very scenic.  I have a few rides mapped out that have very long stretches where the only form of life I see are cows and deer.  No traffic, no lights, and most importantly, very little flat sections.  It's pretty hilly.  I go through some small towns like milbrook, amenia, pine plains, windale, and some I never even heard of.  Once the weather is nice, we'll get some rides in as I think you will find it very enjoyable and challenging.  

btw, are you doing sleepy hollow half in a few weeks?  a few of us are doing that as well.

wow, are you riding nearly to Massachusetts? I like rides that get me into traffic free middle of nowhere areas. Your area seems perfect.

I am not racing the Sleepy Hollow Half. Will be down in DC running one instead that weekend. Good luck!

Latter part of training?! Ha! As an IM newbie, I have just had my keister handed to me by my first official week of training. Today's my first rest day, and I'm not even thinking ahead to the next few workouts! With luck, it will recharge this old corpse of mine enough to face the second week.

Looking forward to evolving into what you described, kalalau, as what sounds like the best shape of our lives...

Funny you should ask! I'm OCD enough to have searched out the region's weather history for the August 19ths in the past decade, and came up with this (sans humidity readings) - sorry it's in metric... but hey, that can help give you a flavour of what's in store in August!

Av. High 23.9   *zaugfear - this translates out to 75.2F!!

Av Low 7.8

Av Mean 15.9

precip half of the days, av. amount 4.6mm

 ------------------------- 

Max Temp: 24.9 °C

Max Temp.Date: Aug.19 2010

Min temp: 7.3 °C

Min Temp. Date: Aug.19 2010

Precip Accumulation: 2 mm

=========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2009

Max Temp: 24.9 °C

Min Temp: 11.5 °C

Mean Temp: 18.2 °C

Precip Accumulation: 0 mm 

=========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2008

Max Temp: 18.4 °C

Min Temp: 4.1 °C

Mean Temp: 11.3 °C

Precip Accumulation: 0 mm 

=========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2007

Max Temp: 18.7 °C

Min Temp: 2.2 °C

Mean Temp: 10.4 °C

Precip Accumulation: 1 mm 

==========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2006

Max Temp: 28.4 °C

Min Temp: 13.5 °C

Mean Temp: 20.9 °C

Precip Accumulation: 0 mm 

==========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2005

Max Temp: 23 °C

Min Temp: 8.9 °C

Mean Temp: 15.9 °C

Precip Accumulation: 7 mm

===========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2004

Max Temp: 23.1 °C

Min Temp: 5 °C

Mean Temp: 14.1 °C

Precip Accumulation: 7 mm 

==========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2003

Max Temp: 27.8 °C

Min Temp: 8.4 °C

Mean Temp: 18.1 °C

Precip Accumulation: 0 mm 

===========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2002

Max Temp: 22.8 °C

Min Temp: 8.8 °C

Mean Temp: 15.8 °C

Precip Accumulation: 0 mm 

==========================

Search Results: August 19 , 2001

Max Temp: 26.6 °C

Min Temp: 8.2 °C

Mean Temp: 17.4 °C

Precip Accumulation: 6 mm 

Getting back from a 2:50 bike ride wraps up week 9 of the Fink plan. Time is flying by and the race will be here before we know it. I've done remarkably well with putting in the time with some support from my wife that pushed me out when I was about to bag a training day for scheduling reason.

Recall those of us in the US require a Passport or Passport Card. Get on that and or check your expiration dates.

Good call on the passport thing! I didn't realize that within 6 months of your passport expiration, that some countries won't let you in. Not sure about Canada, but not worth messing with. Fortunately I just renewed mine last year and am good for the next 9 years.

Can't believe its almost April already!!

For the Americas, as far as i know you don't need a passport to enter Canada - a drivers licence is sufficient but to get back into the US you do require a passport.  Either way it's a good idea to get on top of that!

ETA: here's some info: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/ifvc-rpvc-eng.html#a1 

You also don't need a passport to re-enter by land or sea but I'm sure it would be a whole lot easier with one. 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1082.html

When returning to the United States from Canada, it is very important to note that all U.S. citizens are required to present a valid U.S. passport to enter or re-enter the United States via air. For entry into the United States via land and sea borders, U.S. citizens must present either a U.S. passport, passport card, NEXUS card, Enhanced Drivers License, or other Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)-compliant document. The only exception to this requirement is for U.S. citizens under the age of 16 (or under 19, if traveling with a school, religious, or other youth group) who need only present a birth certificate (original, photocopy or certified copy), Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or naturalization certificate.

is the change the out back portion at the southern most point?

http://ironmanmonttremblant.com/course/bike/

makes no difference to me. Still includes those hills up to the Lac