Well - it's official I am now, and forever more an Ironman! August 17th, 2014 at 6:57am the horn went for my wave officially starting my Ironman race day journey. It's funny, the amount of work that goes into getting ready for an Ironman, you sign up a year in advance, train hard, swim, bike and run crazy distances on a regular basis and then all of a sudden, BANG you are off!
Rewind a bit, we got to Tremblant on the Thursday before the race. The town was already buzzing with excitement. Everyone walking around in Ironman gear (clearly drinking the kook-aid) sporting M-dot tattoo's and looking insanely fit. The IM crew in Tremblant do such an amazing job - Everywhere you look is Ironman. And the finish line, already set up and ready to hopefully welcome us in on Sunday at some point. Try to stay calm in that atmosphere, it's not easy. Luckily I had the absolute BEST support crew ever and that helped a lot.
We checked in on the Thursday, minimal line very relaxed and quick thanks to the AMAZING volunteers. We got our Backpacks, wristbands and of course all the bag's required for race day. This being my first Ironman it was all a little daunting but honestly - it was pretty simple. Put what you need at each transition point (Swim-bike, bike to run) in the right coloured bag, then anything you might want halfway into those disciplines into another (special needs) bag. We had to drop the bags off by 4pm on Saturday as well as our bikes. Again, Trent and I went earlier to do this and had almost no lines to contend with. Oh and the volunteers at every single step of the process - AMAZING. When I went to bring my bike to it's pre-assigned spot a lovely volunteer actually took my bike for me and brought me (and my bike) to where it needed to be. She was super nice! Even took a picture of me, with my bike, in transition (yes - I am a nerd in case you are wondering).
Leading up to race day, really just tried to stay calm - alcohol helped a bit - and keep my mind from obsessing, got a massage, some ART, bought ridiculously overpriced gear and then before I knew it, it's Sunday morning and I'm standing on the beach 'ready' to go.
The gun went off and I bolted into the water. I got into some clear water pretty quick and ended up at the front of my wave with some of the quicker swimmers. The clear water didn't last. With waves starting only 3 min apart before the second bouy we had caught up to the 50+ AG men who started ahead of us. And from that point on I was battered, swum into sideways (I swim straight, so every time this happens I think 'you know you'd swim a lot faster if you learn to swim straight') and just beat up in general. I really think they need to get a better system. Maybe get the waves to start further apart or something. Anyhow, I kept plugging along, I'm not prone to panic, and I do give as good as I get - just a tip, not a good idea to grab onto me in the swim. About 5 bouys before the turn I realized that it had gotten super choppy. But for me that wasn't much of an issue, slowed me down a bit I'm sure but everyone had the same conditions to contend with so it wasn't that big a deal. I'm pretty sure by the time all was said and done in the swim I had caught at least one person from every wave. In some ways yes that is fun, but in others it sucks. So come out of the water after what felt like a pretty long swim (it wasn't) in 1:03. I was pretty happy as that was very close to my 1 hour goal for the swim. The crowd at the swim finish was LOUD. They were awesome, the wetsuit strippers were great and efficient and even better my sister and cousin and a few friends were manning the water station at the swim exit so they were super excited to see me and cheered really loud.
So off to the change tent I went, saw a few people along the way, but man, that run up to transition is just packed with people cheering. Talk about feeling like a rock star. Saw my Dad, as well as Barrie Shepley. Got into the change tent, and fairly quickly was off to get my bike and start on my 180k trek. It was chilly when I got on the bike, I had arm warmers in my pocket but never did put them on. There were definitely points where I wish I had, but at the same time I didn't feel cold enough to actually stop and fiddle with them. I managed to stay on track with my nutrition plan and got into a groove fairly quick. That first loop (of 2) was a little depressing, seeing the signs for the second loop milage and knowing I still had a long way to go before I got there. But the roads are incredibly well maintained and smooth and I had a great ride. The section up Duplissee (Lac Superior) wasn't too bad but I tried to spin up it as much as I could knowing it would be nasty the second time around. As I got there I saw Lisa Bentley and her husband Dave. It was amazing, having Lisa Bentley, Ironman royalty cheering ME on during my first Ironman. It is a moment I will never forget thats for sure (got a few cheers from her and Dave Cracknell as well throughout the day) kinda surreal. So the first loop actually did go by relatively fast, I was actually at the 90k marker in 3:24, which was pretty awesome given my split at the 70.3 in June at Tremblant was 3:28. What made it even more impressive (at least to me) was that I had stopped twice to use the bathroom in the first loop. I knew I was on track for a good ride so at that point I just kept plugging away. Heading back out on 117 we had a pretty nasty headwind on the way to the turn around, which is also primarily uphill. So that sucked but once I made that turn it was a tailwind and mostly downhill (except for the one fairly nasty climb) coming back. I felt great and really got through the rest of the ride without incident. The climb up Duplissee the second time around was just as nasty as I expected, but it is only about 6-7k worth of nasty (and its not consistent nasty, just nasty in spots then a bit of a rest, then nasty again) and once again before I knew it I was flying downhill toward the end of the bike. Coming back into town was pretty awesome as there were tons of people cheering and finally getting off my bike felt REALLY good (although that was short-lived once I remembered I still had a MARATHON to do) I handed my bike to the bike catchers (that was also awesome) and had a bit of a brain fart thinking I had to go to where my bike was racked. Luckily the volunteers quickly guided me back on track "Follow the red carpet" duh... I guess after a 4k swim, and 180k bike the brain isn't working as well as it should. The great thing was just as I turned the corner to head into the change tent my cheering section was out in full force with awesome signs and boy were they ever LOUD! Definitely gave me the boost I needed heading out to run a marathon. I changed shoes quickly and off to the run course I went.
Just as I made my way out of town the rain started to come down. Honestly it was warm enough that I didn't mind. In fact I was grateful to be off the bike before the rain came, since I knew there were lots of others still finishing up their bike rides when the rain hit.
So this is where things started to suck just a little bit. I started to jog lightly to get my legs under me but very early into the run my glut started to seize up on me. It literally stopped me in my tracks, and forced me to walk. Luckily my long legs mean I walk fairly quickly so while I kept trying to run, each time my glut reminded me it was angry and back to walking I went. But there were quite a few people out on the course that I ended up walking with and chatting with so that made the time go by quickly. I just kept up my power walk and ticked away the kilometres. Actually at one point a girl I had seen and talked to a few times earlier on the bike came by and actually couldn't keep up with me walking as my walking pace was quite quick. She ended up jogging past me but later on in the run I ended up going by her again and did in fact finish ahead of her :) As I got back into town at the halfway point I saw my fan club again and they gave me a much needed boost. Coming through the shute in town (you pass right by the finish on your way out to lap 2) was awesome. So many people yelling and cheering, it's just amazing. The second loop actually went by pretty quick. There is a fairly long out and back section on a trail and that part got a little lonely, especially as the sun set and it got dark out. But the out and back sections allow you to see and cheer on your fellow competitors and I really enjoyed that part. Even saw a few C3 friends out there which really helped boost my spirits. The aid stations were always stocked and the volunteers were great. I met a lot of people and chatted while I walked (still kept up my brisk power walk pace of course). It was awesome. Before I knew it I was heading back into town and up into the finishing shute for real this time. I saw my dad just before I got into town, which was great. At that point the finishing shute became somewhat magical I was actually able to run and honestly felt zero pain coming down towards the finish line (of course it all came screaming back once I stopped after the finish line). I got VERY lucky in that there wasn't anyone directly in front or behind me so I had the final stretch to the finish line all to myself. It was amazing, so many people cheering and high fiving - it was UNREAL. I loved every second of that last 500m or so. Then before I knew it the finish line was in front of me and Mike Rielly was calling me an Ironman - talk about a dream come true!!!!
As a first time Ironman I could not have asked for a better experience. I carried a picture of my mom with me all day so while she couldn't physically be there to greet me at the finish line, I 100% believe she was with me through every single step of my Ironman journey. I was able to get off the bike before any rain started, and honestly despite having to walk most of the run because of an injury I ended up having an amazing day. I finished my Ironman Journey in 14:40 and I couldn't be happier. I am very thankful to my coach Sean Bechtal, to Barrie Shepley for all his help and for being there cheering with the lovely Caron Shepley. I'm also incredibly thankful to my dad, my sister, my cousin and my friends who all came up to be my sherpa's and biggest cheerleaders. And of course my training buddies especially Kim Nelson and Trent Dilkie - I could not have done it without you guys.
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