Ironman Mont Tremblant Race Report - 9th Place

Another IM in the books and I'm happy to report that I'm seeing some improvements on the run and am optimistic for more improvement all around!!

This was my first trip up to Mont Tremblant, in beautiful Quebec, Canada.  I was lucky enough to be able to stay VERY close to race start with Marks college friend, Chris Boettcher.

Leading up to the race was nice and relaxed, getting in some easy swims, bikes and a run while getting comfortable in Mont Tremblant.  On Thursday I rode the short hilly out and back (which is at the end of each loop - map on right) and decided I for sure had the wrong cassette on my bike.  Now usually last minute bike changes are not a good idea, but when you have a 12/25 and it's challenging to climb when you're rested and only riding an hour it's for sure going to suck (be impossible) at the end of an ironman.  I took my bike straight on over to the Shimano tent and had them throw on an 11/28.  Best decision EVER.

Saturday morning swim 

Ok, we are ready!!  

Pulled out the red carpet for the Pro bike racks! 

AND our own personal transition chairs!

WAY at the end, but still a good spot :)

We got everything checked in on Saturday and decided all we had to do on Sunday was show up :)  The transition area was awesome, one of the nicest set-up's I have ever seen!!

Race day: 

SO thankful to be staying within walking distance to the start!!  No hassle with parking, we woke up, breakfast, and headed down the hill.  Threw our special needs bags in the buckets, pumped up tires, put bottles on the bike, and started the 10ish min walk to the swim start.

I think this is my 'YIKES!' face :)  Taken just a couple minutes before swim start.

Swim:  This race is a beach start, which makes me pretty nervous...I really like to avoid contact in the swim at all costs.  So, I let everyone go and swam a nice clear path :)  It worked...I found my friend Jess Smith's feet a couple buoys in and just hung out there for the whole swim.  Thinking in my head it might be a bit easy, but hey, Ironman is a long day and I want to be strong on the bike and run!  

56:14

Heading out on the bike!

Bike:  Best part about this was that they were handing out Honey Stinger Waffles...this was a surprise to me!   I love my nutrition plan, but also enjoy waffles during training...so I went with it :)  YUM.  Legs were alright, had some shining moments, but also plenty of 'blah' moments when getting passed by a few of the slower swimmers.  I just hung in there and kept it rollin' steady, and stayed on top of eating drinking.  It is such a different day out there depending where you start the race, can be pretty lonely for much of the ride and it's tough seeing the packs of people on the opposite side of the road.   Just gotta put the head down and ride!  5:22

Run: Here is where I was looking to really be strong and test myself.  This is the first race since 2011 that I have really been able to train the run correctly (no injury, etc.).  I felt pretty great most of the time.  It was fun not having mile markers or any real idea of pace, or at first, how many K's I had to go :)  I just ran along at what felt like a solid clip and worked on keeping form in tact.  I know I can be faster here and am excited to keep pushing the limits!!   3:13

Overall, I am happy with this race.  It was a strong field, as it was the North American Ironman Championships, as well as the last big point race for the pro's.  It's tough to leave empty handed (one spot out the money) but is very motivating to keep working and improving.  I want to race where the competition is strong, but may mix in a little more 'cherry picking' next year :)  

9th place woman overall, 9:38:09.  

BIG HUGE THANKS to my friends and sponsors for being there for me.  Namely:  Mark, Timex, Endurance House, QR, Powerbar, Shimano (the Di2 shifting on the bullhorns was KEY on this course), Tri-Bike Transport, Rudy Project, Champion System, Nathan Hydration, Cliff English Coaching, Blue Seventy, Speed Cycling

Cracked a smile in the finish chute :)  Always feels good to run in strong!

Done... and pretty happy about it.

Great to see the town from up high :) LOVE this place!!

IM Mont Tremblant

Well, I'm sitting here in Mont Tremblant, Quebec Canada and finally feel like getting a blog out!  I don't really know what to say or think about this Ironman that's looming....somehow almost a year between this distance race is just too long for me!

Here's what I CAN say:

- I have come a LONG way since training camp in February.  I built my run up slowly and carefully and am finally getting back to decent form here.  Just sticking to the consistent work day in and day out, and not forcing the racing before I'm ready, has allowed me to have a nice fitness progression.

- I have a fire in my belly to race and my body is capable.  I felt it for the first time this year in Racine.  The legs were working and I was able to actually race.  I still have a lot of improvement to do on the bike, but it's coming around.

- I have a great support system in Madison and LOVE my busy life.  I am finally in a place where I am enjoying all parts of life and am truly grateful for everything and everyone that is a part of it.

It's been a relaxing afternoon working on my computer here in a little bed and breakfast outside of town.  I may not have done much 'race prep' today, but there is something to be said about getting the travel done and having a couple days to settle into where you are racing.  I took today completely off of exercise and it feels awesome :)

Hope you are having a great week!!  I gotta run, the guy at the front desk, who is also the owner, and the chef, just made me some sausages for dinner.  I will have some pictures to post as the week goes....stay tuned.

Santé!

SUMMER FUN!

Hi Friends!!

Wow, summer is busy!  So much coaching, swimming, biking, running, camping, grilling, and fun I have just not gotten around to posting.  SO, what's the update?

1.  Triathlon - training has been going well and I think I have crawled out of the depths of out of shape-ness and am starting to get back into my groove!  I am racing Racine 70.3 this weekend, which I would really consider the kick-off of some bigger races for the year.  After that it's Ironman Mont Tremblant Aug 18, Ironman WI Sept 8th, and either IM Florida or Cozumel at the end of the year.   Whew, I will be a tired girl come December!!  But man do I love racing :)

Love this girl!  Whitney and me after Kansas 70.3...she rocked it, I got the cobwebs out...

2.  Coaching - I've been busy this summer w/ Open water swim training, individual coaching, and the Fourier Fitness Youth Tri Team! 

This is the 3rd year for Tri-Swim Madison open water group and we just keep growing.  It really becomes a close-knit group and I am so happy to spend the early mornings and evenings with such fun people.

Plenty of time in the Kayak and on the Paddleboard this summer! 

For individual coaching I partnered with Endurance House this year to be able to provide more group workout opportunities as well as store discounts and a real team atmosphere.  I have a great group of athletes and have enjoyed getting to know each person better and work toward goals.  It's crazy how much you become invested in your athletes as a coach, and I'm excited (and nervous) every time they race!

The youth tri team is a new adventure for me this summer.  The team has 25 members, ages 10-15, and meets twice a week for practice. Our team races are coming up quick:
August 10 
Oregon Kids Tri, Oregon

August 17 
Tri 4 Schools, Middleton

August 24 
IronKids Madison

3.  Other stuff-  I have an amazing boyfriend and we have been just doing as much as we can this summer!  It's great to have someone with a similar lifestyle and goals to spend time and go on adventures with.  We are pretty much packing up my car to the brim each weekend and heading out to race, camp, spend time with family, or sometimes all 3!!  I am a lucky girl :)

THANKS for reading and I hope to see you at the races or out training!!  There will be many race reports coming soon :) 

Sponsor Spotlight - Timex!

Timex is my main sponsor and I am so excited to be with them this year, for the 5th year!



I came on to the Timex Multisport team as an age-grouper with only 1 year of 'real' racing under my belt (2008 Racine 1/2 Ironman and Ironman WI).  Timex took a chance on me and I am still SO THANKFUL for that :)  The Multisport Team offered so much more than product and discounts, it offered a triathlon family.  The depth of knowledge and experience on the team is unreal and really the greatest resource a new, aspiring triathlete can ask for.  If there is one thing I have learned in this sport is that you have to be ALWAYS open to learning, criticism and growing.  There is no one person that 'knows all' and we can really all learn from each other.

I spent 2 years on the team as an age-grouper, both years making the podium at Kona, and then with Timex's support, transitioned to the professional ranks in 2011.  This is my third year racing as a pro and I can say I have continued to learn and grow each and every race I do.  I have dealt with injury, family changes, ups and downs and through everything my Timex family has been there, knowing that not every race season is your best but that with every struggle we come back even stronger.

I'm excited to race in the Timex colors again this year and hope to keep being a positive ambassador for the team I truly love :)

First year on the team!  2009 Timex team camp in sunny California :)

Fun racing w/Teammates...here Leadman Vegas 2012 :) 

2012 Team Awards - Given at our annual Team Camp!

Fun Team photo from camp, 2011

2013 Timex Ladies :)

Sponsor Spotlight - RACC

I'm starting a new series of posts here on my blog...not committing to a frequency, but rather just want to make a special post about each of my sponsors for this year!

My first Sponsor Spotlight is going to a new sponsor and partner this year, RACC - Racers Against Childhood Cancer.  The team's "Mission is to use the passion and competitive spirit of Races to raise awareness and money for research and the fight to defeat childhood cancer".  Learn more here: RACC Story.   RACC is based out of Milwaukee, WI and is my charity partner for the year!  If you would like to help me support the cause please let me know.  I will be racing with the RACC logo on my kits in hope of raising awareness and funds for the families and children affected by cancer.  I'm excited to have a cause 'bigger' than me to be racing for this year :)  

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend and happy training!! 

Mark and me at the Great Lakes Multisport - Cooney Duathlon (to benefit RACC) this last weekend, so fun and SO MANY RACC racers! 

2nd Annual Tri Camp Success!

Madison Triathlon camp 2013, hosted by Speed Cycling Madison with nutrition support from Powerbar was a hit!!

It was a weekend filled with swimming, biking, running, eating, laughing and sharing stories.  We had some returners from the previous year as well as some 'new blood'.  We were also lucky enough to have our friends from Peak Performance Massage provide some much appreciated massage to the campers on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

I am so thankful to be surrounded and supported by such great businesses and athletes here in Madison that truly love the sport and want to have FUN doing it.  So THANK YOU to everyone that made this camp work so smoothly!  An extra special thanks to: Petra for helping organize, plan and facilitate the camp, Gordy Paulson for the talks on Friday, my awesome boyfriend Mark who manned the grill for us on Saturday and helped out with the bike ride Sunday,  Mark Provenzano for planning the route and sagging for the windiest ride EVER on Saturday, Lindsey for the awesome SAG (including those awesome homemade pop tarts) for the Ironman loop on Sunday.

I don't have much else to say, so here's a recap in pictures:

Still smiling after hill repeats on Observatory!  

Day 1:  Gordy gave talks on Riding with Power and Recovery.  Very useful info!!

Clearly this is Day 3 and we are all very friendly :) 

It was chilly biking all weekend, but everyone was tough!!

Functional Strength session...I watched.  This looked ROUGH!

Me and Petra (Owner of Speed Cycling) at the Pool for our technique session. 

Swimming in formation = great open water practice!

Getting some insight from the campers :)

Hope you can join us next year!!!

Wildflower 2013 - Can't wait 'till next year!

Thanks to Endurance House Middleton I was able to travel out to sunny California for the 31st year of the Wildflower Triathlon.  This race has been on my 'to do' list since I started in the sport, so I couldn't resist this chance to head out there.  Heat, hills, trails, tough conditions...this race is right in my wheel house.  Unfortunately, there are some things we don't have control over...and one of those is getting sick.

I am not one for excuses.  I am not one to just drop out of a race.  I traveled to CA with a bad cold, cough, and barely a voice with the hope (and encouragement of everyone) that it would somehow be gone by race day (Saturday).  I had my doubts and was unable to do any real training the entire week before the race...and I mean I seriously couldn't breath.  I couldn't run for more than a mile, couldn't swim more than a 200 easy at a time, and could ride, but slowly.  I'm all for rest before a race, so this didn't drag on me too bad, but it was more the concern that how would I race if I couldn't push at all?

So I went out to Wildflower.  Sick.  Coughing all night each night I was there.  I woke up race morning feeling my worst yet and was thinking I shouldn't race...what would be the point anyway?  I messaged with coach Cliff and talked with Mark and decided that it would be a good learning experience for me to try to go out easy and treat it more like a training day than a race.  This seems good, in theory, but I am a racer.  Even if I'm not in the mood, when the gun goes off I somehow a magically in race mode and will go hard, as hard as I can 'till the finish.

Swim Start - from the top of the hill you have to run up to get to transition!

Transition- All set up and 'ready' to race

So after plenty of debate, I made it down to the race start.  The swim was called non-wetsuit, which didn't really matter one way or the other to me.  The men's wave started first and looked BRUTAL!  To keep my breathing under control I was going to have to take it very easy at the start.  Gun went off and I just let everyone go fight for the front.  I hung in the back, swimming easy heads-up and found some clean water to the side of the group.  This made for a very calm start and after the first buoy I found myself feeling ok, relaxed, and starting to pass the back group.  I swam entirely my own race and just worked my way up the field the entire swim.  I was thankful for the pre-race swim on Friday w/Heather where we really worked on sighting for the finish....I can't stress enough how important this is.  Having a landmark (other than a buoy) can be crucial for making it smoothly to the finish and this is one of the most important things to practice before the race.

Friday morning CEC Team swim!   Heather, me and Chris Bagg

Wow, so I felt great about making it out of the swim without any breathing episodes and feeling generally relaxed the entire time.   It's a steep uphill run to transition...which I also took easy.

Possibly my first time using rubber bands on my shoes...so pro :)

Onto the bike - goal:  just ride, don't try to race.  This was very tough.  I was feeling ok, riding conservative, especially on the climbs.  My breathing was steady for the first 25-ish miles, and it was then that I think I tried to start picking it up.  Unfortunately my body was not having it...particularly my lungs.  Extremely frustrating because I could feel my legs and body were well rested, but I just couldn't get air.  This led to an eventual couple times stopping on the ride to try and get my breathing under control.  Not good.

Top of 'Nasty Grade'...this picture doesn't even do it's nastiness justice.

I finished the bike, but not without plenty of slow going.  I knew it was medically safest to stop racing.  There wasn't even a question in my mind about continuing after the bike ride...It would not have been possible.  I headed straight to medical, wheezing for air, and was administered plenty of hits of an inhaler to try and get my breathing back to normal.

Top of a climb on the bike course- probably one of best views of the entire ride. 

Didn't get to use this stuff!!!  Bummer. 

Getting sick sucks.  Getting sick before a race sucks.  Being sick and having to stop during a race sucks, but somehow I know that I didn't 'quit' the race.  This is my first DNF.  I pride myself on being mentally tough during the last part of difficult races and really just keeping going when it would be much easier to stop.  This was a different situation....where my body gave me no choice but to stop.  I don't regret starting the race because of what I learned/felt during the swim and bike and am even more motivated to get well and throw down at the next one!

Kids Race on Friday-  so fun to watch!! 

Take home thoughts and Thank-you's :

-  HUGE THANKS to:  Our Timex team manager Tristan for getting me wheels, gear, and all of my last minute requests, Endurance House (again) for the support, Tri-Bike Transport for making travel SO easy without lugging my bike around, Coach Cliff English for getting me into shape and race ready, my awesome boyfriend Mark for the pre-race pep talk and just everything :)....Also sponsors for my killer gear:  QR, Shimano -love the Di2!!!, Powerbar, and Rudy Project.

-Wildflower is awesome, I'm going back next year!  They treat their pro's so well and make you feel like a real VIP.  It is a bit of a pain for travel, but the venue, people, and vibe is what I wish every race had.  It was fun to see friends and teammates....to catch up and see some of them do so well :)

Thanks for reading.  Stay healthy.

Just the standard view from the road heading to Oak Shores (where I was staying this weekend).

Relaxing at Oak Shores after the race