Ironman Mont-Tremblant - Triathlon

This was my first experience with a wave start in IM, and overall I thought it went pretty well. There was some contact over the first couple hundred meters, but after that, there was only a very occasional inadvertent thunk as I swam into the back of another wave, or a subsequent wave swam into me. The water was clear, and I had my best success of any race in finding good feet from which to draft.

The course was fairly easy to navigate, with numbered buoys. My Garmin had only 2.55 mi total, so I was happy with that. My time- just over 1:10- was on the quick end of my expected range, and more importantly, I came to the swim exit feeling fresh and ready to go for the bike. Overall the swim felt very smooth and relaxed.

Possibly find a slightly faster pair of feet, but this was definitely one of my better-executed swims.

Slow as usual. I didn't change shorts this time, which helped, but I did put on a jersey and arm warmers. The 1/4 mile run from the swim exit definitely resulted in a slower transition, but I can do better than this. I need to execute better to pick up free minutes. Quicker transitions could have helped me get closer to the sub-12 I was hoping for.

As advertised, the bike course was very pretty, which I noticed more the first lap than the second. The course was also a little more challenging than I had anticipated based on some of the reviews I had read.

Things started out inauspiciously when- despite investing in a neurotic pre-race tune by the race mechanics- my FD wouldn't downshift properly on the very first hill and the chain dropped out. Fortunately, things settled down after that with only one more similar incident early in the race.

My goal was to keep power no more than 150 watts ave, minimizing spikes as much as possible. I ran an 11-28 on the back to help with this, though there were a couple of areas on the course where I couldn't help pegging high.

I did the first half in about 3:05 and felt OK at the turn, but the wind picked up on the 2nd lap and I started to fade. I was dreading the last 20km run up Ch. Duplessis, but that actually wasn't too bad; more difficult for me was the wind out on 117, which seemed to go on forever during the second loop.

A nice unexpected (for me) feature was the trip through St. Jovite during the latter part of each loop- after the lonely ride up and down 117, it was great to have a couple of miles of really vocal crowd support.

I used Infinit (2 concentrated bottles of 800 cal) for my nutrition strategy as I'd practiced, but I'm not convinced it's working for me the way I'd like- it was OK on the bike, but nutrition was definitely an issue on the run. I also added a 100 cal fruit bar during the ride.

Total ave power was 141, less than I'd hoped, and NP was 159. Execution was only fair on the bike; this continues to be my weak spot and something I need to keep working on.

More hills in training; more practice keeping consistent power

This was longer than it needed to be, as well.. I did use the bathroom, change clothes, and spend a few seconds collecting myself.. but 10+ min is too long.

The run- especially the last half- was most definitely a mental battle. I intentionally held back and was feeling pretty good for the first half mile or so. But then the issues with nutrition started. I tried using gels I had brought with me- which worked fine on training runs- but my stomach just couldn't take it.

So I tried other things that have worked in the past- coke and chicken broth- with only moderate success. After a while, I couldn't even drink water anymore without feeling sick. I also took in some tums and salt tabs, which maybe had some limited positive impact, but it was pretty miserable. And frustrating, as my legs actually felt OK.

I did like the gravel trail out and back, as it was pretty easy on the legs and brought everyone in pretty close proximity to each other.

Because of the stomach issues, I had to walk for a couple of minutes at several points, but ultimately was able to pound through it. I didn't feel that much better walking than running, and running would result in a quicker finish.. so it was really a pragmatic decision more than anything.

The finish line was awesome- great crowd, and running through the pedestrian village was electrifying.

MUST figure out the run nutrition.

Went up to the hotel and laid down for awhile. Didn't feel like eating anything- or moving around much- so I wasn't great company for the wife and kids.


Nutrition and bike readiness


This was definitely my favorite IM of the 4 I have done (LP, AZ, and KY as the others). While they were all great, the venue, organization, and spirit of IMMT were a cut above. Absolutely top-notch. And if you have kids, I can't imagine there is a better IM venue out there.