Ironman Mont Tremblant

This was my second time back to Mont Tremblant.  My first was in 2012 when I finished 3rd.  This year in Tremblant the race was labeled North America Championships.  Most of the athletes that were racing needed points in order to qualify for Kona.  Tremblant had a lot of points(4000) and this was one of the last races to gather points before the last 10 slots were picked for Kona.  Thankfully I did not need any points because I had already qualified for Kona.  I'm often asked why I race so much. The answer is simple. Because I love to race! This race was relatively easy for me to get to as my father only lives 3 hours away from the race.  My father still lives in northern NY which is my hometown.  I always look forward to heading back to my hometown to see family and enjoy the quiet solitude the area offers.  In Tremblant I had the same homestay as I did in 2012.  Sandra and Peter were great hosts and company as well!

On race day I felt calm and ready.  Since I have been racing a lot I haven't been able to train like I should leading up to an Ironman. I was not super fit, nor fresh but thought it was possible to reach my goal of getting in the top 5.

In the swim I was able to draft off of 3 other guys to conserve some energy. I swam one loop of 2.4 miles in 57 minutes.  Onto the bike I pushed the first hour at a fairly good effort and didn't loose any time on the lead pack of swimmers that swam 8 minutes faster than me.  After the first hour on the bike I settled into my Ironman pace.  I rode the first loop in 2:20 solo.  The second loop I was able to catch some guys and finished with a total time of 4:43 in 6th place.

I quickly changed into my American flag shorts and Skechers shoes.  My legs felt alright as I rolled along.  I was able to take over 5th place 8 miles into the run.  At mile 14 I was passed by another athlete which moved me back to 6th again.  I started to feel the lack of run miles in my legs on the second loop but I continued to push...along with a few porta-John stops. With 3 miles to go I was able to pass a different athlete that bumped me up to 5th place again. I held on to run a 2:59 marathon and finish in 8:46 with an ALS Blazeman roll.  Considering my fitness I was happy with finishing 5th in a competitive field of athletes.  I was only 10 minutes off of 2nd place and I feel like I could have been there if I was well rested with proper training.  I realize that I race a lot and that I can not show up to every Ironman in tip-top shape since Ive raced 5 full Ironmans in the last 5 months.  I do it because I love to race.  Next year things will change as I do not plan to race as much and really focus on a few key races to be more competitive.