Another Ironman Mt. Tremblant Race Report

WARNING! This write-up contains no drama or body fluids

First, let's hit rewind for a bit of comparison.

It's Sunday The year 2004, July 25th in Lake Placid NY. I'm doing my first Ironman. I'm not really excited, I'm petrified. I'm also a bit injured and perhaps even over trained.

Swim :1:06  Bike: 6:20   Run: 4:30

Fast forward eleven years later. I toe the IM line again. The course is different, I have vertical lip lines that I need Botox-ed. AARP won't leave me alone and the skin on my knees is sagging along other parts of my body.

Swim: 1:03  Bike 6:08 Run: 4:41

Let me remind you  I signed up in late April for this event with Carmen Monks who, unfortunately, didn't make it to the race with me. (sad face)

I had no expectations going in, due to the short build up. This alone made this journey that much more fun. Self-coached, no pressure, get in what I could and stay INJURY FREE. Simple and very attainable goals.

 A massive thank you to my sister Paula Davies who made this race possible for me in too many ways to mention. She is my rock and I was so proud to have her there to support me on race day. She had never experienced Ironman before and we had 5 solid days of laughing and shopping, eating and drinking (just a little) at one of the cutest little places on the planet.

I slept great the night before my race. I enjoyed every second of my swim. Thank you, Sue Phetteplace-Sotir for the feet and navigating our last wave through the masses of bodies out there.

I held back on the first loop of the bike so I wouldn't uncoil on the second. My nutrition plan, solid. At the 2 hour mark, I begin tightening up my intake to 15-minute intervals of either drinking or eating. I used a super concentrated mix of Ucan starch base fuel that contains bit of protein as my main source of fuel.

I only had 2 mishaps: My goggle strap broke right before I tried to get in the water for a few strokes before my wave went off. (my mini-meltdown was quickly resolved with a knot)

My wireless sensor wasn't picking up my wheel suddenly at mile 3, so I took the chance of slicing my finger off with a spoke and coasted a bit to move it ever so gently.  It subsequently went into the spoke (brappity brap) and I almost lost sed spoke. (shutter).  Pulled over, tore it off, handed it to a volunteer. Catastrophe avoided.

Then there came that run... oh yes, THAT run. Someone/something decided it would be better for us if it turned tropical like 7 hours north of Boston at a ski resort. You know, spice things up a bit, relish the handwringing of the athletes in calf compression. Witness the terror in their eyes the day before as they shop for IM trinkets and chat about the impending doom we were to face. This is when you exit stage right and shut down the energy zapping noise with Happy Hour by the pool.(with age comes wisdom punctuated with cocktails)

So we ran and we walked and we sucked it up. Some better than others.

Frankly when I saw my sister's face before beginning the second loop, I wanted to crawl over the fencing and just be done with it. Happy Hour was in full swing and we were missing it goddamnit. I was tired of the little voice saying,"Lainey... you have NO BUSINESS being out on this marathon run course. You know those 3 days of running a week and that one 15 miler you punched out? No good girly girl."  And as cute as it sounds, smiles and waves don't get you through the hot mess of a long sweltering marathon, just sayin'.

That being said, I wouldn't change a thing. The suffering was good for me. When I crossed that finish line, all I could mutter was "That was the hardest f-ing thing I have ever done." Here I am 36 hours later reneging my premature announcement that I'm NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN.

I wonder if I can get room 307 again and my sister back down to the midnight finish line party minus the broken goggles and a marathon that almost broke me.

Thanks also goes to The Monsters In the Basement cycling group out of West Concord. They were an integral part in whipping  my sorry self into the best cycling shape I have ever been in. Also, Lauren Scafidi for her friendship and epic rides. Carmen and Karen Monks for the encouragement, Katie O'dair my second sister always giving it to me straight and Jen Marinofsky for looking at my training, giving me feedback, and also training with me. I can't leave out Caroline Kavanaugh for helping me with diet changes to become more metabolically efficient with food and training.

Thanks for reading!