MONT-TREMBLANT IRONMAN 2015 – RACE REPORTS
Mont-Tremblant is truly a fantastic venue for an Ironman. Once again I was impressed by the organization, the volunteers and the spectators. With everyone in there, there was a lot of energy in the air.
After doing the IM 70.3 Mont-Tremblant 5x, I feIt like I knew the course really well but now that I was about do to the full, pacing myself well in the first loop was very important in order to stay as strong for the second loop. This was my 6th Ironman, my last one being Kona, Hawaii in 2012. Knowing that the race day was going to be a really warm day, I made sure to hydrate well the days prior to the race.
PRE-RACE
The day started very early at 4am. I woke up feeling great! I had breakfast and slowly walked toward the transition around 5am before heading down to the beach around 6h15am.
SWIM – One Loop – 4k – 1:15:20 – 15th in AG, 173 Gender, 959 Overall
All the Ironmans that I have done so far were a mass-start. This was a coral-start which was nice.
While waiting just before the canon went off at 7am, I felt some butterflies in my stomach but still I was feeling pretty relaxed thinking that I have done this many times before. I quickly settled into a nice steady pace. The water temperature was perfect but it was very foggy that morning and sighting the buoy with foggy goggles was very challenging. I ended up zigzagging a bit trying to stay in line with the buoy.
T1- 6:05
BIKE – 2 Loops – 180k in 5:26:09
This is where the race started!! I couldn’t get the signal on my computer to work so I did it by feel the whole way while staying focused on my hydration and my nutrition at every 5 min. I felt strong as I kept passing lots and lots of people.
T2 – 2:33
RUN – 2 Loops – 42.5 in 4:01:30
Running off the bike, my legs were very tight and at the 2k mark, I was able to find a pace I could keep up. I saw my teammates quite a few times during the run and with their support and encouragements, it really made a difference, it was awesome! During the first loop, I saw a person from my AG. She was about 200 meters in front of me but I kept going at the same pace. After the halfway point, when I passed in front of the Cervélo tent, I was told I was 4th, my chances now were very slim to qualify for Kona. I decided then to at least try to catch one and when I did I was thinking that maybe the others were not that far ahead, I eventually catched a second one. Now that I was second, I couldn’t see any women in sight but I kept running at a steady pace. After the turn around, at about 8k from the end, I hear “Go Get Her” and as I looked I realized she was the one I thought was still in front of me the whole time and now she was only 100 meters behind me. Thinking that I might be first, I picked up the pace as I was now chased by 3 women in my AG. I ran thru the water station without stopping and I kept going while I imagined the 3 still right behind me. As I entered the village, the cheers from the crowd was unbelievable!! I sprinted down the chute before crossing the finish line. I celebrated the day with a poutine and a coconut beer!
RESULTS – 10:51:37 – 1st in AG , 24th Gender, 206 overall
Qualifying for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii on October 10,2015.
This race taught me to never give up your dream and with patience and perseverance we can all achieve what seems impossible. I’m so grateful for the support I got from my family, my friends, and training partners. A special thank you to Eric Fabian Humes and Debra Lazaro, the journey leading up to this race was amazing and holds lots of great memories.
