DAY 96 – IRONMAN MONT TREMBLANT : THE FINAL RESULT

Part 1 – The Day Before the Race

My last blog post was just some of the things on my mind before the race. I had so many emotions going through me. I was super stressed for this race and my mind was having its own race. “Did I train enough?” was constantly on my mind. As I worked full time and went to school full time, I still managed to train but not as much as I wanted. On the last day before the race, I didn’t do anything (suggested by a local who trained triathletes). I just stayed in the hotel, ate, and went to sleep very early. I knew I would not be able to sleep so I hit the sack around 8-9pm to force myself to sleep. It worked.

Part 2 – The morning before the race

I woke up around 3:30 am and the first thing I did was open up a can of Red Bull to clean my system. Before any workout or intense training day, I take a pre-workout, energy drink, or espresso shots to force myself to go to the washroom. This works every time. I then have no need to use the washroom during my long grueling sessions. The fear of crapping my pants during a workout is real. On this day, I made one gigantic mistake. I drank Red Bull. I never drink Red Bull. I drink monster energy non carbonated, a known pre workout, or 4 shots of espresso. I did not bring any of those with me and the grocery store in Mont Tremblant did not have my usual drinks, only Red Bull. I was forced to use that. I threw up 3 times that morning all because it upset my stomach. I had three sips of that drink and called it quits. I felt sick. This was a scary moment. I packed my things and accepted my fate. I felt nauseous going to the race.

My sister drove me to the resort and I arrived around 4:30 am. I threw up again in a public washroom and felt alleviated. Luckily, I went to the washroom again and my system was cleaned. The Red Bull and the combination of stress probably caused all of this. I then walked around the transition area before the transition check-in, The transition check-in started at 5:00 am. It was quiet and I was surprised there weren’t others like me roaming around super early and looking anxious for the race. There were a bunch of drunk people roaming the streets. I’m guessing from a wild Saturday night.

5 am arrives and I enter the transition zone and started preparing my bike. I took my bike off the bike rack and brought it to a mechanic. The mechanic put air on both tyres, well over 100 psi. I then put on my Garmin computer, and added the water bottle to my bike. I then went off to the lake to put on my wetsuit. Since I came so early, I was at the lake waiting for everyone else to show up. I eventually put on my wetsuit, put all of my remaining gear in an ironman bag (phone, shoes, wallet) and gave it to a volunteer. The bag is given back once the race is done.

Part 3 – The Swim

Finished: 1 hour and 23 minutes

Let me just say. I stressed hard on this. I have never swam this much in my life. I have never done it consistently. I did it once at Lake Ontario but I took rests. It took me 2 hours and 17 minutes to complete the Ironman distance in Lake Ontario. The cut off time for the swim is 2 hours and 20 minutes. I was stressing out. I dreaded a DNF (did not finish). For the past weeks leading up to the race, I had gone almost everyday to the beach to do 1000 – 1500 yards of swimming. I met a gentlemen who told me he felt the same on his first Ironman and told me to relax and I would be fine. I met a bunch of other people during this race who said the same. The Ironman community was fantastic on providing me tips and telling me how they felt the same during their first race. Overall a great community.

The pros started and as they started, I went into the water and just focused on my breathing. I was also able to acclimate to the water. The water was tolerable and my confidence began to increase before starting the race. I strongly suggest everyone to do this, it helps you prepare while giving you a warmup. I then got out of the water and lined up to prepare for my swim. I expected to finish the swim in 1 hour and 50 minutes.

I entered the open water and I started swimming. My arms were getting sore but I kept going. I did not stop once. I stayed away from the washing machine and swam more towards the kayakers. Around 1200 yards in the swim, I got confident and got closer to the buoys and the large swimming crowd surrounding them. At the 1500 yard line I was in the washing machine. I was swimming with a swarm of people around me. I was doing it and surviving it! I was fighting my fear and I was loving it. It still felt like an eternity. I did not dare check my watch for the time. I then started turning at the 2000 yard point. At 2000 yards, you’re turning around and heading to the finish line of the swim. Don’t ask me how but I passed multiple people! I was also going much faster towards the end of the race. I started saying to myself this was a race and this is what I trained for. I became my own hype man. I stopped kicking and I became more buoyant from the wet suit and used the power of my shoulders to pass tons of people. This new super power excited me. I could see the finish line and I pushed even harder. My fear was being conquered and it goes to show what you can do by taking on your fears.

Before getting out of the water, I took off my wetsuit since it was easier to take it off in the water. I looked at my watch and it showed 1 hour and 21 minutes. I couldn’t believe the time I completed the swim. I didn’t break down and cry. I almost did though. I then ran to T1 to prepare for the bike. My sister mentioned multiple people came out of the water looking delirious, wiped, blue lips, but I looked confident. Training definitely helped and next time I will aim for 1 hour.

Part 4 – Cycling Tremblant

Finished: 6 hours and 20 minutes

Cycling is my strongest. I barely cycled this year and I was not concerned about 180km at all. It sounded like a cake walk to me. I promised myself not to go hard on the bike. I was told that if you go hard on the bike, you’ll blowout on the run. It was incredibly hard not to go fast. I believe I could have gone a bit faster but I conserved my energy just in case. The amount of people I passed was unreal. I was descending like a mad man and I was climbing the hills and passing many more individuals. My road bike was dominating the roads. I now wonder if it’s worth getting a tri bike.

The climbing was insane. I did 1700 meters of climbing. Towards the end, you have do a torturous climb. My quads were giving out but mentally I didn’t stop. I pushed through the pain that eventually went away. It then started to rain and I lived dangerously, I descended at dangerous speeds while it poured. As someone who always crashes in the rain, I was taking a big risk but I was loving it all.

This ride is beautiful, torturous, and I cannot wait to do it again. If you like climbing, you’ll love this ride. There are also flats and when you’re on those flats, you’re flying. I then finished the ride not feeling tired at all.

Before going to part 5, I’ll point out I only took one washroom break. I also stopped at every pit stop to fill up my bottle with Gatorade. I then grabbed a bottle of water and used it on myself since it was hot. I drank every hour and ensured I was hydrated. I also had a banana at every pit stop. Strava shows me averaging at 28.8 kph. I was told to not focus on speed but my heart rate. I stuck around 150-160 HR. I did not look at my speed while riding, it was all me making sure I wasn’t going overboard on my heart rate.

Part 5 – Crawling/walking/running Mont Tremblant

Finished: 5 hours 22 minutes

I did not train enough for the run. I love running but I put a strong emphasis on the swim during my training. This run is hilly. I did what I was told from a fellow Ironman. Walk the hills and run whatever you can. No one runs this whole thing (unless you’re a pro) and walking the hills will allow you not to get injured. I saw tons of people walking.

I stopped at every pit stop, drank Coca Cola, Gatorade, and towards the end I added pretzels. I walked a lot. I got passed a lot. This will need to be improved on for next time. I can definitely see myself doing it within 2.5-3 hours. I finished it. The struggle was real but that’s what happens when you don’t train enough in the running department. Towards the end of the race I sped up my pace since I was so excited to finish. The people who cheered us on were amazing. The volunteers were amazing. I loved it all and we need those people to make this great or it’s nothing.

Part 6 – Finishing the race and post recovery

Finished: 13 hours 20 minutes

I completed the race. I’m happy I did it. I fell in love with the sport and this is just the start. If you want to do it, do it. You can do it. Anything is possible. My goal is to lose 25lb, become a faster runner, faster swimmer, and super fast cyclist and get 10 hours or lower.

It has been three days since the Ironman and I’ve been in bed for 3 days. Recovery is brutal. Remember that if you do this, you will need days off to recover. Feel free to email, comment if you have any questions.