Brenda Ross 2017 Ironman Mont Tremblant Race Report
Short Version
| SPLIT TIME | PACE | DIVISION RANK | GENDER RANK | OVERALL RANK | |
| Swim | 1:39:19 | 02:34/100m | 53 | 414 | 1654 |
| T1 | 11:46 | ||||
| Bike | 6:29:17 | 17.26 mph | 19 | 157 | 987 |
| T2 | 9:27 | ||||
| Run | 4:17:08 | 09:48/mi | 4 | 77 | 440 |
| Long Version This year I seriously hacked my out season (with the blessing of Coach Patrick). I had decided that all running in the winter would be snowshoe (you read that right) and I also took part in the Sufferfest again this year, but this time striving for 95% of my FTP with no running or swimming during the 9 days. I think this helped me not find the out season so long. I really am not a winter person, so I needed to find something that got me through the winter. Although I did not do any tests for my run this year, I did participate in the World Snowshoe Championships in Lake Placid, and did a 16mile run on April 16 where I got an idea of what my run paces were and then solidified that with a Half Marathon in Toledo on April 23. Although I had my run paces after that last race, I have to admit that I do not use them for training because I often get injured when I do speed work, so the plan was to continue to snowshoe run until the snow disappeared and then switch to Trail running with a local club. They are fast, and that would be my speed work with hills on Tuesday nights. I also decided to do all my long runs in the Gatineau hills, but on the road and this seemed to have paid off for me in my race this weekend. For me, hills are speed work. I also decided to change up my fueling. I had no issues in races but was having blood sugar issues in day to day life, so switched from a High Carb Low Fat plant based athlete to a High Fat Low Carb plant based Athlete (not Keto, just higher fat). I started that journey in September 2016. That can be a whole different post, so I will leave it at that. This not only made me less fatigued but also allowed me to shift my body composition. Steve and I usually take part in a Half Ironman before an Ironman to test out our fitness, but nothing fit into our schedule and budget, so we were only able to partake in a small local triathlon on the July 1st weekend. We both had great races and felt that the path we were on was in the right direction. Race Week We stayed in a condo that we had stayed in before, with a location that was perfect. We arrived on Thursday and checked in around 1pm. Our house mate and team member Natalie Pilon arrived just behind us with her posse. We did Athlete check in, went to St Jovite, picked up some food for the condo, and then went to the team dinner. What a great turn out and I felt the restaurant did a great job handling our large party of approximately 50 people. Friday The weather was wet and windy, so the team swim was postponed until 10:30am. Did a quick swim. Found the water very cold. Freaked out and quickly got put back into place by Mariah (she can be scary). I DNF'd the last time I was in Tremblant due to hypothermia and may have panicked just a bit about the cold water. Team 4 Keys talk was cancelled, so just went back to the condo, did my little run and then went out on the bike to test out the gears. All was good, so stretched and waited for Coach P to record a Live Facebook feed of the talk and once it was uploaded watched it and made mental notes. Watched Ironman Hawaii and a great documentary about Olympics and doping and then hit the sack. Saturday Slept in, ate breakfast, packed up bags, checked in with bike, bags etc... Saw some locals.  Sunday - Race Day Woke up at 4:15 am - ingested my GenUCan pudding and coffee. Packed up Special needs bags and left condo at 5 am. Got to transition by 5:05 am, pumped tires, put Garmin and fuel on the bike, dropped off special needs bags, got body marked and collected Mariah to head over to swim start to wait for the team to arrive for team pic. Swim After team pic headed down to the water, ingest 1 serving of GenUcan Chocolate with Protein, went to the bathroom and seeded myself in the 1:30-1:40 swim start. This year I swam more open water long swims than I had ever done and I had predicted that I would come out of the water closer to the 1:40 than 1:30 and I was right. The swim was very uneventful. Water was warm (phew) and I had very little contact. The swim did not feel long like previous years so that was a plus. I felt great coming out of the water. Saw team mate Michelle Swanson, super sherpa Cheryl Turpin, Coach P's daughters and wife and heard many more call my name. T1 - Tim Cronk would say I was baking cookies, but I had to shammy up, put sunscreen on, put arm warmers on etc...and besides its a long run from the water. Nothing to report here except that I pee'd standing up. Bike Now, it was onto the bike. Saw Mariah and said that I was now in my element. I love the bike. I am a Taurus and feel the land is where I feel most comfortable and in control. I had biked this course at least 3 times and knew what was ahead of me, so I was ready to go out and do the bike I should. I told my Sherpa that I would be between 6:30-6:45. I had a meeting with Coach Patrick the week of the race, so I had a plan on what numbers to shoot for and when. Although my undercarriage did not feel comfortable from the onset, I still managed to enjoy the bike. I stuck to my fueling plan and although Coach P was not going to be asking me "Did you pee on the bike" I was ready to tell anyone who asked (Mariah?) that yes I had pee'd x2 on the bike. I was 6min slower on my second loop. Considering the strong winds on the second loop I was happy that those results and that I did a sub 6:30 bike.  T2 Ouchy. Coming off the bike I had some serious tightness in my upper hamstrings, so I kind of jogged into the tent. I had a full change of clothes. Bib shorts, sports bra, arm warmers, bike jersey, socks all off. Stark naked in T2. Reapplied suncreen, new bra, shorts, top, redid my hair (need the pony to fly) and then put the visor on and I was ready to rock. Race saver bag in hand, porta potty break, homemade hydrate in hand and off I went. Once I started to run I knew I was going to have a good day. I do not race with a Garmin so was just using my Timex Ironman watch just to get overall time to keep me on track.  Saw Michelle Swanson and family coming out of T1, followed by super sherpa Cheryl Turpin, and team mate Doug Sutherland an Ed Eovin's wife Connie on the first hill. Got a hug from Cheryl and off I went. Noticed the first km I was way too fast, but my convo with Coach P was to go with it if I felt I could hold it, so I did. Saw Coach P around the 4km mark followed by all the fast peeps (Shaughn, Edwin, Francis, Ed, Dawn, etc...) and hubby of course. Got a kiss and off I went. Saw Trent at the 6km mark and shortly after that my house mate and friend Natalie Pilon. Have to say it sure is great seeing everyone out there. So much mojo that you can not help but keep going. According to my watch I finished the first loop in 2:08. A little faster than I thought I would come in, and I was feeling it. Although I do not wear a heart rate monitor I knew my HR was to high, so I made decision to walk the hills and run the down until I got to the flat area and then run there and do the same on the way back, but I had also decided as part of my race plan to ingest coke on the second loop. Since I have not consumed sugar on a regular basis since September 2016 things were going to go one of two ways - 1. I would get a strong adverse reaction (insert porta potty tour) or it would act like rocket fuel. Happy to report it was the 2nd. I knew I would have to continue to ingest the stuff at every aid station, but I was okay with if it was doing its job and it did. I felt super strong and was not only able to run the flat part but the hills into town and finish with a personal best Ironman marathon.  Thank you to Coach Patrick for helping me hack my outseason and for instilling in me the confidence to believe I can push in an Ironman and not blow up, to my team mates for making this experience one to remember, but I have to say the highlight was when I got to go up and collect our Triclub award outfitted with my husbands EN jacket and Coach Patricks hat.  Now, I recover and think about doing some Trail races for the fall and then onto snowshoe running for the winter. Farmers Almanac says it is going to be a snowy winter. Yes!!!! |
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Comments
Many congrats on an overall outstanding race. If I read through the details above you clearly thought about how to execute on race day and made it happen. I can tell you from seeing you many times on the run....you looked like you were floating on air and having a great time. When you see someone so strong and in control on the run, you know they are having a great day.
Enjoy the result and it was fantastic to meet and see you again in Tremblant! I look forward to next time.
Rest up and recover....and keep up with that smile!
Thank you for being a super nice Canadian host, and for all you do in supporting EN!
And what's with this quote from a Canadian, eh? "I really am not a winter person, so I needed to find something that got me through the winter."
Great to see you and Steve out the taking names all day long! HUGE performance making it all stick with that run throw down smiling all the while!
Congratulations Ironman!
SS