I know that lots of time has passed but I needed some time to think about the race I had in Mont Tremblant. This was definitely a world class event and because it was the event's first time outside of the US there was a faster and more competitive field than ever before. All of these racers were truly world class athletes and I am so honored to have shared this experience with them. This race was a very humbling experience and because I have only ever raced in the Southwestern US area it turns out I was missing out on A LOT.
Swim-29:29
The water in Lac Tremblant was the cleanest and clearest water I have ever swam in. It didn't even taste bad and you could see all the way to the bottom of the lake for the entire swim which is not something I am used to for sure! I came out of the water in 10th place and about 3 minutes back from the leader. Marcos job is to always tell me what place I am in and how far back I am because I know I will always have to chase. I was probably easy to spot because I was one of the only people there in a sleeveless wetsuit. My Xterra Sleeveless Volt suit is my favorite suit of all time and I have been racing in it for 4 seasons. The buoys were easy to sight and I had a pretty good swim for me. In a normal tri I am swimming alone somewhere between the crazy fast swimmers but ahead of the rest of my wave but at this race I was never alone and the swim was no exception.
T1- This was the second leg of the race because this transition was so long! .7 kilometer to the transition tent where we had to grab our bag and run to another place to open it and put on helmet while putting our wetsuit and goggles into the bag and handing it to a volunteer and a run out to our bikes before running out of transition to the mount line.
Bike- 2:36
This is the part of the race that I really keep kicking myself for. Because I have Marco telling me how many girls I have to pass I usually just pick them off and this is usually done in the first few miles of the bike portion of the race. Well.... I tried to do this but the field was so crowded and there were so many people on the roads it was hard to even make a pass. In
the first mile I hit a cone because some guy wouldn't let me pass!!!!! I was so scared and pissed but I did not fall
which was nice. I continued to pass at a steady rate heading out on the climb to the main highway and turned onto the road. Now, what I saw surprised me and really aggravated me: there were drafting pelotons forty to fifty people large on the main highways. There were officials jumping in the street and waving red cards at these large packs but none of them even got penalties. My wave was one of the last to start and so I was continuously passing people on the bike but there was no way I was going to catch some of the larger/faster pelotons to catch a good ride. I was trying my best just to ride legally and pass as fast as I could but as you passed people they would hang on to your wheel and use you to sling shot forward just so you could pass them again. I am used to racing in the southwest and the races here are small and hot and hilly and hard. Usually I am racing alone with nobody in sight so this style of racing just shocked the heck out of me. Behind me a group of girls in my AG kept hanging onto my wheel and I knew they were working together. My hope was that on the last out and back in the extreme hills I could get away and that is exactly what happened. It was really frustrating but I just kept sticking to my number because that was my plan in the first place!!! I had 3 Powergels and 2 bottles with Skratch (matcha tea yum!) and 2 endurolytes broken into each and a bottle of Powerbar Perform. Praise Jesus for sea level my heart rate was it's usual 160 but I was riding 40 watts higher!!!! YIIIIPPPP!!!!
Run- 1:38:06 (7:30 mile)
Transition into run was much faster and smaller than the first thank god!!! The first loop of the run I felt great and had passed a few girls that were ahead of me. I had a gel about half way through and sipped on the Perform and Coke at aid stations. I was making good time for me and knew I would be under 1:40. It wasn't until mid second-loop that the group of girls working together on the bike passed me one by one. It was sort of frustrating to see but I know that running is my weakness and also what I need to work on for next year. I had also taken a 3 week break from running due to a hip and foot injury that was very painful and I was not sure how it was going to hold up. I was in pain on the downhill and cobble sections but it was as good as I could have hoped for. My plan was to just tell my self "shut up legs" if they started hurting. I was going to finish strong no matter what!!!!!
Altogether I had a successful race for me but yes I am a bit unhappy with how I placed. I have never placed this low at a race and it is definitely humbling and some fuel for the fire as I go into next year. My entire race I just kept remembering how grateful I was for the amazing community I have around me in Albuquerque and how I am so thankful for all the supportive people I have had around me throughout the season. Cheers.
