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What was your race? Where? How did you train?

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I did the Tremblant Ironman 70.3 in Tremblant, Quebec. Going a bit off topic, I started training for this because last summer I was training for my first trail ultra and I sprained my ankle badly enough that I knew I wasn't going to be able to run again until the fall. That created a need for a new goal to keep me motivated, and I've always enjoyed biking and swimming. I signed up for this race the same week I got hurt. From there I rehabbed my ankle with PT and very importantly with my training at WT. It took almost 2 months to get my first PT appointment, and when I got in, the therapist was very pleased with all of the work I'd been doing with Crystal and all the progress I'd already made. 

      Back to the initial question, I do two workouts a week via Zoom with WT year round regardless of any additional goals. I started training more seriously for this race in December, and have been swimming once a week, running twice a week, and cycling three times a week in addition to my WT workouts. For my cycling and running, I have had knee problems in the past, and kept most of my training to zone 2 and built a really strong endurance base. I tried to keep a lot of my intensity during my Zoom work outs with Crystal, since I'd have someone there to correct my form. For swimming, I hadn't been in a pool in many years, and was never a competitive swimmer so I focused entirely on form, getting down to doing a 2:00 min/ 100 meter pace on race day.

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How long have you been training at WT? On zoom?

I've been training with WT since I believe the summer of 2019? I'm not confident about that. I've been on Zoom since COVID happened, I had already moved away, and couldn't find a gym or a trainer that I trusted like Crystal and her team. 

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How does strength training help you prepare for these races?

Strength training gave me the base to build on all three sports. For Running I was coming off of that ankle injury, and all the strength work I did meant that when I started running again I was able to get right back into it. For swimming, the base strength that I had from my training allowed me to focus on form, and not have to worry about my conditioning on day one in the pool. This was a consistent theme for my swimming where I was able to fully focus on form. For cycling, specifically on race day, miles 45-55 had the 4 steepest hills on the course, and I was actively thanking every single bulgarian split squat that I had done through summer fit as I got out of the saddle and pushed to the top of those hills. It meant that I had gas in the tank when I got to the run.

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Recovery?

Recovery was the part of all of this that caught me the most off guard. I'm just over a week out from my race, and I'm back into my training cycle, I did a 32 mile bike ride yesterday, and have no residual effects from the race. I was in the pool 2 days out, and back in class 3 days out from my race. I was definitely a bit sore, but I was shocked at how quickly my body bounced back after an almost 7 hour effort. 

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How did you fuel your body?

I fueled with a lot of carbs, I had bars, gummies, candy, and carb drink. I found that I did better when I changed up how I got my carbs, I get bored easily and having a lot of options was very helpful to me. On race day I fueled less than I would have liked because it was in the 80's and humid and I'd done no heat acclimatization prior to the race, it's hard to complain about having perfect weather to train in, but this time it bit me. So I spent a lot of the race just getting liquid and electrolytes into my body.

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What was the highlight of the race? 

The highlight of the race was how good I felt through most of it. Getting off the bike and knowing I had legs for the run. Well that and the swim, the swim was super fun, and I came in 6 minutes faster than my stated goal. 

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Mentally how did it go?

I felt great mentally until mile 6 of the run, that was when I overheated. That led to 90 minutes of walking a bit then running as long as I could, the whole time negotiating with myself for every yard. I knew I had gas in the tank, but I was just too hot. All in all it was an amazing day out, and one that I recommend highly. I set reasonable goals, and made sure I enjoyed my training as much as I knew I would enjoy my race. The excuse to get out and swim in the open water, and ride my bike more was awesome, and the reminder to push a bit harder in class kept me honest. 

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