Endurance Rush: September 2014

Last race of 2014 with my first Ironman 70.3 World Championship and I looked forward to it. I qualified at IM 70.3 Miami last year (4:25:17), and have been looking forward to this race for almost a year.

This year marked the first year IM 70.3 Worlds were being hosted outside of the USA. And for this occasion, the beautiful town of Mt Tremblant was chosen to host the competition. After a week spent there, I had my best IM 70.3 race to date, taking 12min7sec off my previous PR to clock in at 4:13:10, finishing 16^th in my AG (top 10%) and 79^th OA (top 3%). Most importantly, I PR’d in all 3 legs! Psyched by my performance, and excited about 2015.

Here is my race report, detailed and long as usual, but I hope you’ll enjoy the read.

New Race Kit for the race…Capco is awesome!

My company really wanted to be part of my first Ironman 70.3 World Championship, and they worked really hard to get me a race kit for the occasion. It arrived on Friday, looked great and ready for race day! Thank you, team for making it happen!

It may be just a race kit, but to me it’s a lot more than that. I am extremely thankful to work for such a great place, and here is why…

I do not talk much about my results unless people ask me questions. When Capcoites like Ismail or Angela ask me questions, I feel the genuine interest from them to learn more about what I do outside of work, how much I train, how I did at races, my goals, etc…Seeing their face when I tell them my results or my daily/weekly training speaks for itself. They are genuinely interested. They are as engaged in my progression at the firm as they are with my progression in the sport of triathlon, fully understanding that both are very important to me. That’s all it takes for me to work hard for them and help the firm grow. Not only does it give me the motivation to work hard for the company, but it also makes me want to represent the firm at its best every time I am given the opportunity. Let’s hope I can do just that on Sunday!

Race Day

Surprisingly I was not nervous at all during the week. Mariesa even asked me if I was okay during the week, because I was not acting as I usually do, ie. In my bubble and super stressed. At some point I thought something was wrong, and questioned my motivation. After thinking about it, though, I think I simply learned a lot from Ironman Zurich. I am more confident in my abilities after having a great first ironman race, and feel like I can go much faster.

Though my wave did not start until 8:40am, I woke up at 4:45 and had a huge breakfast. We drove to the start around 5:45, and again, to my surprise, I only spent 15 minutes in transition. Everything was ready: transition bags, helmet, bike, etc…This was the first time I felt like everything was coming into place nicely and quickly…weird! I looked around and admired some of the bikes there. Everybody is fit, and have their game face on! The atmosphere in the transition area was like I’ve never experienced before. You could tell people were there to push themselves hard, yet everyone was super nice.

Swim start

I knew the beach for having swum 3 times during the week. It was incredible. They have an “Ironman training center” where they have buoys all summer long for athletes to swim safely in the lake. Amazing! This week they had a “coffee boat” about 500 yards from the beach where you could drink a free coffee while in the water. It couldn’t get any better than this. What an amazing organization!

The Men’s pro field started at 8. A fighter jet flew over the start at the same time as the gun went off! Sick! 8:40am - Here we go!

Swim: 28’03 – PR!!!!

Surprisingly, for a beach start I did not feel like people were over aggressive. I took a 5-hour energy 30 min before the start, hoping I’ll get the magical kick and excitement to have a great swim. And I did! I felt great from the get-go. I told myself that it was the last race of the season, and also the World Championships. I got into a really good pace, found some fast feet, but did not make the mistake to burn myself out too quickly. I remembered thinking to myself that I was swimming fast, but that’s how I felt at Eagleman earlier this year and the clock did not show that, so I kept pushing. No elbows to the nose of kicks in the face, I had a good swim!

I got out of the water and immediately looked at my watch to see….27’45! YESSSSS was my first reaction! All the hours spent in the pool finally paid off. That felt great. I was very pleased with my time. The official time was 28’03, but I was so happy to see this time that I did not care much. I knew it’d set me up for a great bike leg. Volunteers were at the swim exit to help take off our wetsuits.

T1: 4’36

What a long transition! There was a long run to the changing tent (400 yards), and a crowded tent.

Bike: 2’13”37 – PR!!!

Sunny with temperatures in the high 50s, it was the perfect conditions for a great ride. The course had 3,000 feet of climbing with some steep climbs in the last stretch of the course. The rest of it was rolling hills, a terrain that I like a lot.

After a crowded first 10 miles on Montee Royale, we rode North for 10 miles on Route Transcanadienne 117. The legs felt amazing, and despite the high wattage goal that we set up with Kevin, I was feeling great. After biking for 10 miles in strong headwinds on route 117, it was time to have some fun. Rolling hills, sun, and beautiful scenery made for an amazing ride.

I managed to maintain a decent HR, at around 156 throughout the ride. That was a good indication that I was feeling good.

I knew that, for me to have a great race and bank on a great swim already, it would hurt. I was prepared for it mentally. There were lots of athletes on the road until we arrived at that U-turn, and to be honest, it was a bit of a draft fest at times. You just could not avoid it. It was a bit dangerous at times, so to stay out of troubles, I would make an effort to get in front of the pack. I was more concerned about a group crash than the officials at that point. We hit 45mph on a downhill on route 117, yet we were still very close to each other. My eyes were riveted on the road. I was hoping that no one would fall. Riding at 45mph was fun though, and hearing those wheels cutting through the wind was awesome. Not having sunglasses was not the best. My sight was a bit affected, but I just had to deal with it.

Groups started to spread out, mostly thanks to the officials patrolling and giving away penalties. I witnessed an official timing an athlete. I looked at my watch and he drafted for a good 25 seconds. When the official blew his whistle and handed him a 4-min penalty, the athlete complained for a minute, arguing with the official.

As we rode back into town, we rode passed the transition and started what I thought was the hardest section. You have about 46 miles in the legs and are facing with 15% climbs. The pace for most of us was slow, but I was thinking about the fun I was going to have on the way back.

56 miles later, I reached transition for the second time of the day, and to my delight, I saw 2’13ish on my computer! That’s 4 minutes faster than my PR in the flat course of Miami. 25.1mph. I went from 57^th in my age group out of the water to 16^th. I was hoping I’d be able to have a good run.

T2: 1’05

It was good to feel fast in transition, and it was awesome to hand your bike off to a volunteer and not to worry about it. The transition was fast. I took off my helmet, put my bib, shoes, and visor on and off I was to my last half marathon of the year.

Run: 1’25”42

The run was 2 loops with some major hills. The first one came .3 miles after transition, and after that we had a long 1-mile climb. I still had the adrenaline from the good bike rushing through my legs and fueling my muscles. I felt good. I swallowed that first hill and did maintain a good pace on the second climb. I maintained a decent HR at around 160, and a good pace at around 6:10. The first u-turn came quickly, and before I knew it, I was already on the way back towards the lake. I could feel that my form was good in the first 5 miles.

The climb in the village was steep. 6 miles into the run, they made us go up a steep cobble-stone street before running back down towards the finish chute. After that descent, I made that right turn that sent me right back into the run. Off I was to the last 6.5 miles of the race, finishing the first loop in 41 minutes, right in the 1’23 target we had we Kevin.

Reality set in

The second loop got a lot more difficult. That first climb was treacherous, despite all the people on the side cheering us on. I got slower by the minute, feeling every stride in my legs and lower back. The second climb was difficult, but I tried to stay focused. I was slowing down, but I did not want that to spoil my race. I could not push much more, though I wish I still had 1 or 2 more matches to burn. I burnt them all already. After the U-turn, there was a false flat before running downhill towards the lake. I picked up my pace, but not to the pace I hoped. The HR dropped to 155, and though I really wanted to push more, I just did not have anything left.

After passing the last climb before the village, I could hear and see the finish chute, but I still had to go around and run up that cobble-stone street. I wasn’t moving much, but the crowd’s encouragement lifted me up a bit. I ran up the street and the rest was pure enjoyment.

Last few yards

I ran down towards the chute, with a big smile on my face, knowing that I’d probably have a PR. I saw my parents, brother, nephew and Mariesa after I made that left towards the finish. I had the biggest smile on my face, and if not visible, at least I felt like I had the biggest smile ever, similar to the one at IM Zurich. I saw 4:53 on the official clock, which meant 4:13 for me since my wave started 40 minutes after the pros.

My goal this year was to run the half marathon in 1:25, and I reached it. Granted I’m closer to 1’26, but I made some strong progress on my run. There is a big room for improvement, but if anything, it’s very exciting and motivating for 2015.

A huge Thank You to…

My company, Capco and Ismail who supported me in this race. They provided me with this awesome race kit and more importantly, they’ve shown incredible support and interest in my passion. I look forward to racing many more events representing my firm!

Kevin Danahy & TriCoach for taking me onboard, and Kevin for his incredible work with me this year. I had high hopes and he delivered by giving the right training, providing his expert eyes and being a good support when I had my downs

Papa bear (aka Jared Tootell), because he’s always been highly involved in my progression and believes in me. He never shies away from giving advice or sharing his experience

Will, because of his comment on facebook “your bike split is sexy”. Just like papa bear, he is always here in time I need him, and always believes in me.

Glenn, because he was my training buddy, and has been a huge inspiration after his tragic accident.

My training partners, Matt, and everyone I got on bike rides, runs, and swim.

Everyone involved and interested in my progression, because talking to triathlon is just as fun as training for one or racing one!

And to the below folks, as they hugely contributed to a great 2014 season already!

It's race week again!

And this time it's the last Tri of the season with Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

After spending Labor Day weekend in Lake George, NY where Mariesa completed her second Olympic tri of the season, we drove up to Canada yesterday for IM 70.3 Worlds.
We stopped in Montreal for lunch and arrived in Mt Tremblant around 4. Though still quiet, you can tell the village is getting excited for the event. Ironman signs everywhere, the Ironman village is already up and the transition area is already set up. Awesome!

Mt Tremblant is beautiful! The village is very charming, with lots of restaurants, shops, and a gondola that takes you over the village and up at the top of the mountain behind it. You see hydro planes landing in Lake Tremblant, Canoe and kayak rentals, hiking and MTDing trails all around. All that adds up to the quintessential cliche I have of Canada. Everything is at walking distance. the locals are (so far) very nice and welcoming.
A nice surprise awaited us at our rental: a deer was patiently waiting for us to feed it with carrots.

Endurance Rush

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Huub Design Ambassador in 2015!!

IM 70.3 World Championship Race Report

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Vacation in St Maarteen

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Off season - Muffin ride with Mariesa!

Saturday, September 13, 2014

IM 70.3 Worlds - 79th in the WORLD!!

Friday, September 5, 2014

IM 70.3 WC - Swim and get Coffee half way in!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

World Championship Week! Arrived in Mt Tremblant, Canada