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 16th
in my AG (top 10%) and 79th 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 57th in my age group out of the
water to 16th. 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!
