IM Muskoka 70.3 Relay Race Report

A couple of weeks ago, most specifically the day after I completed the epic 107km hilly ride with Sam, a friend from Huntsville contacted me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to participate in the race as part of a relay, since their original cyclist got the shingles (ouch, I hope he's ok). I was flattered and a little apprehensive at first, but after asking if they were competitive and was told that they didn't have any podium plans, I accepted. After all, I had done two hilly rides this year over 90km and a total of 6 rides over 50km. Ha! This was going to be a gongshow. I had never "attacked" a race so undertrained, but I could not resist the calling of "The Beast" and riding the Muskoka rollercoaster roads alongside hubbs, my friends Sam, Emma, Mellen, and a few other friends from out tri club.

On the other hand, I had also promised to volunteer at the finish line, but I was reassured that I'd have enough time to recover and take on my duties for a couple of hours afterwards. After all, our relay swimmer was also the finish line volunteer captain and she understood that I may come with "limitations".

Beat every sunrise

We woke up early on Saturday to drive to Huntsville, with the plan to ride our bikes for 45min and give our legs a spin before the race. I was welcoming the thought since my last ride was with the girls on Canada Day, more than a week before. Alas one hour later, we hit this:


Lovely, just lovely. And so our plans went through the window. We hoped that the rain would stop eventually, but it never did. Since we arrived in town way early to be able to check in, we crashed in a friend's hotel room and watched Le Tour until noon when we went to Deerhurst to pick up our race kits. I met my relay team mates then we all went to Farmer's Daughter for lunch.

The Froome-bullet tearing it down the mountain

Carb loading done right

After lunch we went to the hotel to check in, relaxed for a bit (Zin took a nap), then we went to Walmart to buy large garbage bags and electrical tape. It was clear by then that the bikes were going to spend the night drenched and we wanted to avoid seeing all the greasy parts washed dry. We made it to transition right before it closed and I said goodbye to Trinity after covering her the best I could.

It was still pouring and after a quick stop by Tim Hortons, we went back to the hotel to change into dry clothes, then headed out for dinner at Boston Pizza with our friends Louis and Mellen (who sure knows how to fuel on veggies).

I had some shrimp tacos that didn't impress me much and my only hope was that they would not upset my stomach, Thankfully they were inoffensive. I also stayed away from dessert and booze, which was a first.

Back at the hotel, I organized my transition bag (easy peasy), then watched American Ninja Warrior and took a shower. We turned the lights off around 10:15pm and the next thing I remember is the alarm going off. This was by far, the best sleep I've ever had before a race. I had absolutely no clue that the power went out during the night and that my hubby woke up several times. I don't even think that I moved a limb that night.

We woke up at 5am and 1/2 an hour later we were out the door, meeting with Sam in the lobby. We all went to Tim Hortons for breakfast, where I had a cinnamon raisin bagel and a butter tart that I had bought the day before at Farmer's Daughter. I wasn't that hungry, but a little worried about the lack of protein. Oh well. I was going to eat enough bugs on the bike and I still had a banana and peanut butter for later on.

After making sure that we were caffeinated enough, we drove to the airstrip to park the car, then took the shuttle to transition where we arrived shortly after 6am. I got body marked and headed to the relay racks. Zin came over to inflate my tires, and I could tell that he was already "in the zone". I had to keep the chatting short and sweet because the time was flying by. Kari, our swimmer, was already in transition and thankfully we were a lot more relaxed for being in the last swim wave. We chatted for a bit, took a few pictures and managed to keep the anxiety at bay. See, all smiles!!

When the transition closed at 6:45am, we all went down to the swim start. The lake was calm, beautiful and very inviting. I really wanted to jump in, at least for a few minutes. It'll have to wait for another time...

Serenity now...

The third member of our team, Brent, joined us and we all watched Kari putting her fish skin on. Zin walked by, I gave him a kiss, he gave me his wedding ring in return. I wasn't sure if he just divorced me or wanted me to keep it safe. Hmmm. Pretty much everyone went with option 1.
I also saw Sam and Mellen and snapped another pic to capture their smiles. Gotta catch them all like Pokem..

Ooops, sorry.

Someone got the joke.

Soon enough it was time to part ways and I went down to the beach to watch one or two waves start their day. Look at them go!!


I took in some inspiration and energy from these brave athletes and headed back to T1 for another potty break. Kari said that she was hoping to finish the swim in about 35 minutes and that's when I started to freak out. Brent was planning to run in less than 1:45 and... and... I was nowhere near this kind of times. At the very best I was hoping for a 3h35-3:45 time, but I had already forgotten than my best time in Muskoka was a 3h41, 3 years ago, when I was training seriously and was 15 pounds lighter. Ignorance is bliss they say. But at no time I felt pressured to perform better, so I figured that doing my very best that day was probably going to be good enough. Hey Brent, let's take a pic while I am still smiling.

Kari finished her swim just as she predicted in 35 minutes and now it was my turn to meet my promise. Pressure's on!! I trotted my bike out of transition and started powering on. Did I mention that for the first time ever I was also riding with a power meter? I swore not to check it during the ride though because I was sure that it was going to make me depressed. I had no clue what all the numbers meant anyway since I had not done an FTP test with it yet. It was all about the data porn (and a reference for the future). As a matter of fact, I decided not to check any numbers because they really didn't mean anything given my lack of fitness. The only thing that mattered in my mind was to make it in 3h45.

I rode this course about 5 times in total and while it got better at some point in the past, I knew that I was going to be in for a world of hurt. I tried to stay positive and did not care about all the people who were passing me up on the hills. You gotta work hard to push 148lb up, but at least I knew that I had an advantage going down. Wheeeeee! Watch me zooming by. It's all about gravity, and the junk in the trunk, folks! And maybe a bit of race wheels. The first water station took me by surprise. It really didn't seem that far, but I believe that's where I saw Sue Sitki the photographer and she took the picture below.

I don't think I have seen so many lost bottles, entire hydration systems, bottle holders and even cadence sensors in the middle of the road. It was quite disheartening and I kept wondering how these people were going to manage the course with less nutrition than what they had planned for.

The first challenge that I was apprehending was Dwight Beach Rd, which I missed riding back in May. However, once I made the turn, I didn't find it that bad at all. No gravel, but a few bumps and cracks, just like I remembered them from 2013. I stayed on the left, passed a lot of people who were descending way more carefully than me and enjoyed the scenery. That is a pretty stretch after all, if you can ignore the incline and how hard you are panting (and swearing) at times.

Once I reached the highway I started taking in some calories and playing leapfrog with a few people. Some of them didn't seem to have gotten the memo that it was a non drafting race and were blatantly playing the wheel sucking game. Thankfully not with me because I would have told them to bugger off. And speaking of following too closely, I almost got in an accident when a guy hit my back wheel and made me scream in terror. The guy then manages to pass me and says "sorry, I was looking at my bike". I was pretty furious, but told him politely to look at the road instead. This was probably the closest I got to hitting the ground in a race.

Aside from my heart rate going through the roof during this incident, this part of the course was rather uneventful. I descended as fast as I could, trying to use the momentum to get me over the hills. Repeat ad nauseatum. Reached Dorset and said no to the water and Gatorade, again. For nutrition I had with me a Picky Bar, 2 Fruit3 bars and 2 Gu gels, as well as 2 bottles of Scratch and 1 bottle of water. I was nowhere near to needing a drink, but I made a mental note to drink more. At that point I had only eaten a Fruit bar and 1/2 of my Picky Bar, 1/2 of my water and 1/4 of my Scratch mix.

The second challenge of this route for me was the hill out of Dorset, just before the highway 117. There were lots of people cheering at the top of the hill and I jokingly asked for another gear or two as I had run out of cogs. Alas nobody had a spare to get me out of my misery. I was riding a 28 cog in the back, but I wish I had a 32. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger... oh, shut up. It was super hard and I was already having thoughts of giving up. I was looking forward to the halfway mark, then the turn on Brunel, then the one on South Portage and then the one on North Portage, and finally the one on Deerhurst Rd. Somebody get me a teleporter if cogs is too much to ask for!!

Anyway... keep riding on. And just like that, the hunger stroke. By the time I got to Baysville I had eaten every solid food I had and finished my water bottle. Not much progress on the Scratch, but I was feeling a little gassy and didn't feel like drinking electrolytes. At this point, after 60km I still had not peed. I was wondering if I was drinking enough, once again. So at the aid station there I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and 2 Clif bars. The right hip/IT band/knee/adductor went on vacation and said to my left side "sorry mate, you're on your own - good luck!". I replied with a few expletives and told them that there was going to be no negotiation. We still had 34km ahead and not the easiest either.

Somewhere on Brunel at the top of a hill I saw a photographer. Despite feeling slow as a slug, seeing him there gave me reassurance that it was not too late for him to pack his camera and go home. I gave him a pair of horns and smiled. He said "I got this!" and my next wish became to make it back in one piece to see the photo (I am buying these).

By then I was in survival mode. It was quite hard to push with the right side of my body MIA and I was scared of injuring myself again. But if there is something that I've learned over the past few years is that what I am dealing with is not really an injury, but tightness due to my hips not working properly, from a mechanical standpoint. This requires daily maintenance which I don't do, hence powering through imbalances, depending on which hip decides to take a day off. So anyway, back to my pity party on two wheels.

Back in May when I rode this course, you may remember that I (also) missed the turn on South Portage and continued on Brunel until I reached Huntsville. I rode that day in 3h53, but I was not "racing". About halfway I was still on time to make it back to Deerhurst in 3h45, if I were to maintain a 25kph average that is. Well, once I made the turn on South Portage and I got a painful reminder that a LOT more hills were going to slow me down, my time goal went out the window. I was now hoping to make back it in less than 4h, with a stretch goal of less than 3h53. I hate to think this way, but if it had not been for my relay team, I may have abandoned. I kept telling myself that I could not let them down. They offered me this opportunity, the least I could do was to finish the ride so that Brent can run and we can all get a shiny medal.

It was hard, a lot harder than I thought. But of course, it's been 3 years since I rode the full course! Senility must have kicked in because I could not remember this kind of pain. Nope, I am not going to read that race report again, for sure it will bring me down. So young, so fit, so light!! Aaaargh. Just keep riding, just keep riding... And do NOT, don't you DARE, walk up those hills. Nope, not doing that. Between us, I was also scared to fall off my bike in the process, so it was better to avoid it altogether. As a matter of fact, I saw two guys falling just in front of me while trying to get back on their bikes, on one of the last hills of North Portage. I really hope their day got better afterwards.

With a bit of delay, I made it back to T2. I ended riding the course in 3h50, thus meeting my stretch goal of beating my training time, on a harder course. All this without a mechanical, falling off, passing out from dehydration or worse, dying. You may think that I am over dramatic, but it's always a possibility when you go as fast as you can down the hills and you could hit a bump, a deer or a squirrel that's going to make you fly off your bike head down into the pavement. Every time I say goodbye to Zin before a race I ask him not to die. I am glad that none of us did, even though he had a mechanical (again!) and ended with his worst personal time on this course.

So anyway, back in transition Brent took the chip off my ankle and he started the run. I pretty much collapsed under a tree and stared at the sky for about 15 minutes. I was feeling extremely hot and thirsty and made it a personal mission to find some ice cream. I went inside the Deerhurst building to the gift shop and found a fudgesicle. I could have eaten 5, but I decided to buy one and really savour it. I changed into my capris and flip flops, took off my bike jersey and walked over to the finish line, in a sports bra. At that point I could care less, I knew that I'd get a volunteer tshirt and although I was feeling a bit self-conscious, being among sweaty and tired triathletes walking around like zombies removed the inhibition.

For the next couple of hours I worked mostly under a tent opening water bottles and giving those to finishers. I cannot thank Kari enough for assigning me to this job. Even though I got blisters from opening hundreds of bottles, having my hands in cold water and doing a minimum amount of walking was just perfect after the effort put on the bike.

80yr young and going to the 70.3 Worlds Championships

Tracy receiving her medal and a heartfelt hug from her proud dad

The finish line waiting for the last athlete

My own finish!

I stayed until all finishers crossed the line, with an official time or not. Everyone got a medal. All my friends got a squeeshy hug. I poured water on Emma's back while holding her, I cried with Sam, I lifted Mellen up, wondering how many pounds she lost while putting on a killer effort (8th out of 81 in her age group!), I gave Zin another kiss (that was salty!). I melted when I saw Tracy's dad putting the medal around her neck. I watched in awe the 80yr old finisher sprinting down the chute. Made sure that all my friends finished and were well taken care of. James, Narinder from the FMCT club, Steve and Tammy from our open water swims (Tammy won her age group!). All the Iron Canucks that I knew. Virgil the goofball. Brent, our speedy runner who finished in 1h43, putting us in the 22nd place out of 50 teams with a total time of 6h14. Saw them all crossing the line and once again reinforced my belief that the finish line is the best place to be.

Last bike standing

Many thanks to Kari and Dorothy for being the most awesome team captains and for their warm, non judgmental welcome into the relay team "Help Wanted". I sure had a lot of fun despite pushing through the pain and I hope that I can continue to attend this event year after year for as long as it will bring athletes to the beautiful and challenging Muskoka. Can't wait to see what the rest of the season and next year will bring as we train for Ironman Mt Tremblant 70.3. Yup, I signed up and I will cross the finish line either on two feet, two hands or all fours.

Cheering and volunteering at the inaugural 2015 Ironman Muskoka

If you read my Wasaga Beach Olympic Tri race report, you know in what shape I left for Huntsville. In two words: not pretty. Tired, stinky, hungry, thirsty, and eager to take a shower and relax a little. The drive to Muskoka was quiet and introspective and I reached the destination shortly before 5pm, just as the skies opened up and cleared the muggy air. I joined my friend Wendy at the Super 8 Hotel in Huntsville where we shared a room for the weekend. She was going to race in the Ironman, along with 12 other of my friends and members of the FMCT club, and I was going to be her sherpa and volunteer at the event.

After I settled into our room and took a well needed shower, Wendy and I went to Boston Pizza for dinner and indulged in a healthy meal (salmon, steamed vegetables), and finished with a not so healthy chocolate explosion cake that we shared. Given that I had skipped lunch, I didn't even flinch. Down in ma' belly, decadent calories! We called it a night pretty early afterwards, as the alarm clock was set for 4am.

I slept pretty well myself - but of course, I was completely exhausted and I had no race anxiety to keep me up all night. When the alarm clock went off, I was almost anticipating it. I had no issues waking up and I was ready to go go go, and so excited to see my friends taking on The Beast.

I ate a peanut butter and jelly bagel, while Wendy ate her honey nut cheerios, then we were on our way. I wasn't very hungry, but I made sure to take a lot of snacks with me to have enough to eat until midnight. On site, I waited for Wendy to get her bike ready, then we went inside for a potty break and that's when I noticed that she didn't have her chip on her ankle. I rang the panic bell and together we started running around, asking the volunteers where the Sportstats tent was. To our surprise, there was no Sportstats tent near transition, but I knew from Ironman Mt. Tremblant that they should have chips at the swim start. However, we could not afford to waste too much time going back and forth from the beach to transition with just under 30 minutes to start. After asking half a dozen people, eventually we found a volunteer captain who had the idea of calling Nick Stoehr, the race director (or maybe it was Rich Trenholm), and he confirmed that they had spare timing chips at the swim start. Phew! All we had to do was to run there and hope for the best.

We said our goodbyes on the parking lot near the beach, I took Wendy's flip flops, then I joined the spectators' side with the plan of going as close as possible to the mass of athletes and check on Wendy to make sure that she found a chip. There were lots of athletes and finding friends in the sea of green and pink caps wasn't easy. I managed to see Amanda (from our club) and Kim (from Two Years to Kona), but the music was loud and all my screaming didn't help. I was desperately trying to find my bestie Carol, but to no avail. Big sad face, as I had promised her that I'd give her a big hug before the start.

While I was looking for both of them, Wendy found herself a chip. You can see her picking it up at 20:30 in the live stream video from the swim start (Won with One red top).

I didn't know this until later when I finally saw her walking towards the start. As for Carol, I missed her when she walked just in front of me. But she was in the middle of a group of very tall guys, so I'm not surprised. There she is at the bottom of the screen beside the guy with TEAM on his wetsuit, and I am against the railing near the speaker with my Ironman backpack (30:05).

I saw Wendy just a minute later and I was super stoked to see that the chip situation was under control. You can see me again with my hands in the air calling her at 30:54 (I had no idea that I was on camera). After all athletes entered the water I was somewhat relieved and went to ask whether Wendy's chip remained the same and if I could track her online. I was reassured that her chip has been paired with her bib and that after the swim it will appear in the results. Okay then, that sounded rather promising. And on that note, I walked over to the swim finish.

It was a cool and overcast morning and the temperatures were forecasted in the mid 20s C. Just perfect for racing! I thought about the IMMT athletes and how much they suffered in the heat and told myself that people at IM Muskoka were much luckier, especially while dealing with this grueling course. The flatter part of the race though, the swim in Peninsula Lake, was looking like it was going to be fast. The water was like glass and not even The Beast, that was hiding at the swim exit was going to disturb it. (Who put that thing there?? So fitting.)

Just as I thought, the first athletes started coming out the water around the 54min mark. I saw many of the people I knew finishing the swim and I was so happy to finally see Carol, that I started screaming like an idiot. I ran up after her to give her a hug, which I managed to do just before she hopped on her bike. Then I came back to wait for Wendy and once she came out of the water, I followed her back up. Who said spectating wasn't a sport? It wasn't even 9am and I was spent. She went in transition to her bike, but not before having a swarm of volunteers coming to cover her in sunscreen. I found the scene absolutely hilarious and I could not resist but taking a snapshot.

The Sunscreen team in action

I chose to stay around Deerhurst for the remainder of the day. I waited until everyone else I knew got on the bike, then I went to check out the Ironman store. So much M-Dot swag, my eyes started to bleed. I did buy my husband an IM Muskoka 70.3 backpack because I lost his string bag from a few years ago when we did our first 70.3 there, then I went to sit down and rest for a bit before deciding what to do with my free time. While I was hooked to a plug, charging my phone, I chatted with Paolina Allan from Ignition Fitness about Kim and her spectacular swim, then Paul from my tri club joined me after arriving at the resort for his bike handler volunteer job.

Look who I found in transition! The fantastic Captain Tracy.

Paul and I went to look for the volunteers' tent and we were lucky to find breakfast being served. I had a muffin and a juice, then went back to transition to find the bike handler team captain. It took me about 30 seconds to decide to take on a second volunteer shift that day. I had done bike handling at IMMT and this team looked like they could use some help. We spent the next 1.5h talking about catching bikes, running with bikes, putting bikes on the rack, what to ask the athletes, what to do with the numbers on the rack, with the bike computers, their nutrition, their shoes, where to line up to hand over the bikes, which side athletes were dismounting most on, etc. I quickly realized that this team had very different instructions/opinions than the team at IMMT, so it took me a moment to re-adjust my thinking. It's hard not to judge, knowing that this was a first Ironman for this team, while IMMT had it going on for a few years and it was a well oiled machine. But I gave up on my (strong) opinions and let the captain run the show as he thought was best. Sometimes you just have to trust the people and the process, even if they are different. And guess what? It all worked out very well in the end. Given that this race had 1200 less athletes than IMMT, the stream of bikes was spaced enough that we weren't rushed and we didn't even have to use the spare rack.

Paul showing everyone how it's done

I spent most of the day running with the bikes, leaving the catching to the most eager folks in the team. In the end, while it was a hard job because I had to walk/run a lot, it was also a lot of fun. It allowed me to see all my friends coming in with their bikes, and give them hugs, encouragements, high fives, or just play the paparazzi by taking photos and videos for their friends and family.

Around 5pm I asked to be excused since I was getting tired and I really wanted a little break before starting the next shift. I went inside Deerhurst and noticed that they had dinner food for the athletes and volunteers, but I didn't have a wristband that would give me access to it. Since I joined the bike handlers team impromptu, I was only given a tshirt, but no wristband - so I went over to the finish line where I checked in with Kari and got my wristband. Now I was legit and I could eat. Not even 5 minutes later the same wristband was being cut and I could put some food into my plate. I took a sub, pasta salad, an apple and another banana. I ate the pasta and the fruits and decided to keep the sub for later. I charged my phone again for a bit and spent about 30 minutes catching up on social media, lounging on one of the fancy chairs inside the building.

However the clock was ticking and I was missing all the action at the finish line. I put my backpack away, I said Hi to all my volunteer friends and joined in the fun. It took me a few minutes to understand how this finish line was working and oops, I must have jumped the line before the other volunteers a few times until Dorothy kindly reminded me that I should line up like everybody else. I looked around me and that's when I realized how many of us were there. Whoa, quite the blue and red army!

I was quickly made aware of the rest of the rules (no swearing! - cameras were on us), the Tough Toonie bibs and medal, and the chip strap that people could keep if they wanted to. The rest was just about the same as I knew it. Catch people, make sure they don't collapse, and if they do, use the wheelchair and call a medic. Offer as much support as needed, be it physical or emotional. Don't shy away from sweaty hugs and people crying in your arms. After all, I had done that just the day before and it wasn't even an Ironman. Slaying The Beast must have been a huge challenge and it's totally understandable that the relief of crossing the finish line makes all the bottled emotions spill over.

Personally I had promised a few friends to catch them and/or give them their medals. The first one to cross the finish line was Kim who is on her journey to qualify for Kona. She had a tough run, but she persevered and finished 3rd in her AG (read her blog report here). I could not have been more proud to catch her. I gave her the medal too, then together we took the slow walk towards the massage tent where she had her legs looked after. I don't know who took the picture above, but it's special to me and I know that I'll cherish that moment forever. I am happy to have it immortalized.

As the night fell on Deerhurst, the athletes kept coming in, tired but elated, finishing a journey that may have started months or years before. I was absolutely astounded to see so many first time Ironman finishers that came in under 12h. My mind could not comprehend how come so many of them liked the course. Out of all North American races, Muskoka is in the top 5 for toughness. Yet, people must be gluttons for punishment. Or they trained for it really well, or they were so freaking high on endorphins that they had no clue what they were talking about. Most likely a mix of all.

Our volunteers team kept everyone entertained and welcomed every finisher with a high five and a few words of congratulations. Those two above were a hoot, dancing and singing and pumping up the audience. Even the photographer played along. Nice photobomb, lol! Some friends finished the race before the night fell, others came in after dark. Carol started her run without her chip, so it was hard to track her, but eventually she made it and I felt so relieved (what's it with my friends and their timing chip)!! I gave her a long, teary hug. She is one of the crazies who chose Muskoka as their first Ironman and because of health issues I was nervous that something may have gone wrong. But she is also one of the strongest people that I know and I had no doubts that she'll want to finish no matter what. I was assisting another athlete when she crossed the line because without a chip they could not announce her arrival in advance, but I found her right after she got her medal and the moment we had at the finish line won't be going away from my memory any time soon.

Wendy came in about 1h later. Another fighter who battled injuries and a hectic training schedule the entire season. Wendy and I have known each other for a couple of years now and Ironman is what brought us together. We became training buddies and friends when we realized that we were neighbours, and I could not fathom not being there for her, just like she was for me last year at IMMT. Muskoka was her third Ironman and because of circumstances, her goal was to finish. There she is, looking awesome as usual, a big smile on her face, despite running on huge blood blisters. After giving her too a very sweaty and squeeshy hug, she left to get some food and I continued my shift. There were still 40 min left and about 50 more athletes on the course. Last athlete finished with about 3 minutes to spare and it was rather anticlimactic, since we were told that there were two more to follow, but actually none were left (because of some error).

And just like that, it was over. We watched the fireworks, said our goodbyes, Kari, Dorothy - the most amazing finish line team captains. Got a hug from Rich Thenholm, doc extraordinaire and the life of this event. I'll most likely be back next year, as both athlete (IM Muskoka 70.3 "Redemption") and IM volunteer and I know that no matter what, this place will remain a special one. One day, I may choose to measure myself against The Beast as well, but I am in no hurry - this body of mine is still on the mend.

After leaving the finish line I managed to find Wendy who was chatting with friends made on the course. I checked her bike out, then I left her with her belongings to wait for me to come back with the car from the air strip parking lot. It took me a little while to find the shuttle bus (it has been changing locations every year) and I almost got in a panic, thinking that I may have missed the last one. Thankfully I saw a bus silhouette in the distance and I ran to it just before it closed its doors. Fifteen minutes later I was back with the car and to the hotel shortly thereafter where I collapsed in my bed, happy to be able to rest and appreciate everything that happened.

I will leave you with 2 videos from the event, so you can appreciate as well the way this day unfolded for athletes, volunteers and everyone else who came to witness history being made, right here in Muskoka.

A training update full of goodness

I can't believe that I haven't written a training update since the end of June, but it's the truth. I've been a lot of fun at the races, but I didn't take any time to blog about the behind the scenes. But it's time to change that because I have a few milestones lined up and I can't wait to share them with you.

First and foremost, I have just finished my biggest training week this year, just shy of 10h. And it was full of sweaty goodness, but it may help if I put it within context. Last week we traveled to Mt. Tremblant to volunteer at IMMT.

We spent Saturday on the road, Sunday on the job (bike catchers) and Monday back on the road. By the way, if you want to see what it looks like to be a bike catcher, here is a video from our team captain (you can see me in action at 00:54):

And in the following video is the less fun part where I had to stop people who DNF'd from going over the mat with their chip (Zin caught the bike):


It was hands down the hardest volunteer job that I've done. Over the span of a 5h shift, I walked/run more than10km and it was no joke. I had my Garmin on for about 4h and you can see all the trips around the transition area that I made with the bikes. You could be either at the finish line to catch the bike, then hand it over to a "runner" who would put it back in its place, or the aforementioned bike runner. We rotated between those 2 jobs every hour or so, but both were rather intense. You can see my Strava workout here. The FlyBys are rather hilarious - see all the people that didn't turn off their bike computers and remained in transition for hours, lol.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time on my feet during this trip. And I didn't even mention the run I did right after we arrived at the hotel. We stayed in Ste. Agathe des Monts, a small and charming little city about 30 min out from Tremblant. Zin told me that there was this Strava segment that didn't have a QOM. It was a 1.5km loop around a small peninsula and I said sure, mission accepted. From hotel and back it was going to be a 7km run. What I didn't know about this place was this:

Someone said hills? This place had ALL THE HILLS. And the biggest one was right at the begining of the segment (after the 2km mark). FML. Did I mention it was hot as Satan's balls too? Yeah well... to have suffered on this run is an understatement. It was pretty though...

I did get the QOM, but I finished a drenched, tired and hungry mess.

The trip to Mt. Tremblant was a nice break from work and our routine, but once I made it home, I really needed to stretch my legs. Stretch, spin, move... it led to a trainer workout. Nothing better than a few easy loops on Zwift Island, where I could not help it, but try to break a few PRs up the mountain and in sprints. I was also eager to try my bike after the Retul fit that I had on Friday before our trip. It had become apparent that my previous fit was still hurting my hips/legs, so I had no choice but book another fit, this time with a Retul specialist - and trust the process. The verdict was to bring the saddle back up 3/4 inch and move forward 1.5 inch, and move the handlebars up 1/4 inch. It may not look like much, but it was actually a big deal.

I won't bore you with all the details, but here is my position before and after. Basically, you can see the position of my knee relative to my toes and the angle in my forearms and you will understand that I was too far back and I was not engaging the right muscles in my legs.

Now I feel that I am using my quads more and I am situated on top of my pedals instead of behind them (to an extent, it's like riding a spin bike vs a recumbent bike). I am also more relaxed on the aero bars and I should expect less back and hip pain, for having my hips open more. In the process it also happens that I found a few more watts that were hiding in my engine, so coming back from Tremblant, I was eager to see if they translated in my own setup. I did not have any major revelations during my quick spin that night, but I did break my climbing PR and overall it felt a little easier than before.

On Tuesday morning, Zin and I went to the quarry for a swim. He woke me up at 5:30am, and for not being a morning person, I don't think that I really woke up until half way through my swim. Secretly I was hoping that the quarry would be closed and I could return to bed, but no such luck. I did 2 loops and I felt like eating my arms by the end of it. We stopped for breakfast at Coffee Bean and we had a glorious meal. 3 eggs with Canadian bacon, toast and potatoes, but thankfully I did not finish it all because it was just obscene to eat so much food. Then back home, shower and work - and I could barely function that day - I still wanted my damn nap.

In the evening I did my physio routine because I missed it in the morning. I worked those hips and glutes like a champ, and I could barely walk afterwards. Finally a good sleep, and the next day I was back on the sweat train. Slowly but surely I have been making my way through the Sweet Spot Base Training program from Trainer Road and I had reached the dreaded Palisade workout. 1.5h of over/unders and could barely contain my enthusiasm. However I put on my big girl panties, aka my bike shorts and hopped on the trainer, hoping for the best. It was not easy. I wasn't expecting 30 watts to show up on my graph magically, but it was manageable without me wanting to scream at my screen.

And with that, the hard work in this training program is done. I only have 3 easy workouts left, then I can test my FTP again. After the bike workout I even went out for a run. A quick 20 minute brick, and it was glorious. I have to run more. My next race is an Olympic distance triathlon and the 10K run at the end won't run by itself.

The next day it was swimming again. This time we went to Professor's Lake and I did 3 loops there. At each loop I tried kicking for the 250m between the middle buoys. It was not easy to find a rhythm that helped my stroke. I am too high in the water for kicking without too much drag. The swim wasn't bad in the end, but I am still not convinced that kicking in open water would help my cause. Not even a tiny bit, especially seeing how much energy it sucks out of me. I think I'd rather concentrate on gaining more upper body strength so I can complete each stroke with an increased cadence instead.

On Friday I rested, but on Saturday I was at it again. I took my bike for another 45min spin outdoors, then completed my longest run this year. A full 8km in the scorching heat, carrying my water bottle like in the good ol' days. No pain. Just a little tightness to remind me that I need to be vigilant. That I cannot dream big just yet. My husband may have signed up for an Ironman, but I still have to wait. Another year, maybe. Nobody knows when all this will be just a nightmare of the past, if ever. I have become accustomed to being patient and grateful that I can still move, even if it's not for hours on end.

Sunday was another beautiful day. I started it with a group ride with my tri club, a hilly and windy 60km, but just about perfect from all other aspects. Again, I wasn't sure if my bike fit would deliver enough comfort on rides over 2h, but in the end I came back home with a huge smile on my face and no pain anywhere. Can I have a yay? Make that a yippee ki yay, mother f*er!! (please don't get offended if you don't get the reference). Then in the afternoon, I even went back to the quarry for 2 more loops. I did one loop relaxed, concentrating on my stroke and the second one like a motorboat, high cadence and shit. In the end, the first one was slightly faster, so the proof is still in the pudding. I need to prevent my stroke from falling apart that is.

And this my friends, is an update that I've been waiting to write for long time. Finally, legs are coming around, both in cycling and running. I am making slow but steady progress. I am finally feeling better inside my head too. I did not feel the need to draw semi colons in a while. I am smiling again. I haven't had a bad, terrifying thought in a few weeks, call it months even. I am making new friends. I am giving back as much as I can. I went back on my nutrition program and I lost 6lb in 3 weeks. I feel that things are moving into the right direction, that I am staying positive and I don't worry that much. Maybe this is the right wave, and I'm riding the hell out of it.

Team "Beets and Pickles" IM Muskoka 70.3 Race Report

Last year when I signed up for IM Muskoka 70.3 I was CRAVING another endurance event. I was in the middle of my depression flareup and I needed a goal. Something to get me going, to make me feel that I can. Despite the fact that my body could not, but I didn't know that. A month after I signed up, I attempted to run again, and that was a beautiful disaster. Since then I've had many highs and lows, but after starting working with a physiotherapist to address the weaknesses in my body, I had to abandon the idea of putting any mileage on my legs that would create additional damage. This was the hardest decision of all and it required very painful mental workouts to LET GO.

IM Muskoka 70.3 was the one race that I was hanging on, despite knowing that I would have killed my legs if I chose to race it unprepared. But once May came and went, I had to make the decision to either ask for a partial refund or change it to a relay. At just one week from the deadline, I asked my friends on Facebook if someone was open to be in a relay with me, and to my surprise, Ken and Robin jumped in right away. None of them had an experience with the half Ironman distance, but I knew without doubt that they could do it, and do it brilliantly. And so Team "Beets and Pickle(s)" was born.

The excitement grew as the weeks went on, but for once my race anxiety remained low. A 2km swim? Bring it on! I started swimming in open water more regularly and noticed my times improve significantly. I was secretly hoping that I maybe, just maybe, I would be able to PR this leg. Either way, it was going to be fun because I love, love, love open water swims. Insert all exclamation marks here.

We went to Muskoka on Friday because Zin and I chose to make it a mini vacation. We also needed some time away to relax before the race and thankfully, Canada Day cooperated with our plans and gave us the opportunity of taking 2 vacation days to make it a 5 days break. Hello Muskoka!!

On Saturday we met with Phaedra, her husband, her friends Heather and Dave, and Louis from our FMCT club to go on a short bike ride. I ended riding 1.5h on the Muskoka hills, pretty much at race pace. At first, out of necessity because all these folks were a lot faster than me, then solo because I could not keep up with them and they turned around earlier anyway. I was the only one not racing, so it made sense that I pushed a few extra mile(s).
I found them again at the end of my ride, as they were watching the parade in downtown Huntsville.

For lunch we met with Robin and unfortunately had one of the most disappointing restaurant experiences ever. The food was mediocre, it took forever to get served and it was definitely not appropriate for our appetites. But we had front seats to the city's celebrations, so that explained the inflated prices.

Around 1:30pm we went to Deerhurst to meet with Ken and check our team in for the race. The registration process was rather painless, as this event is a very well oiled machine after a few years in the running. We were in and out in a jiffy. We discussed the time to meet the next morning, paid a visit to Ken's bike in transition, then waited for the athletes' meeting. After saying our goodbyes, I decided to go on a run, since that was in the plan and I had 30 min to spare. Alas I didn't think of taking water with me, and by the first 1/2 km, I was already thirsty as hell. The temperature was at its peak and I was overheating big time. I ran 4km before calling it quits. Knee was a little upset after the morning ride and I ended walking the last km back. It was a perfect reminder that I had made the right decision to leave the bike and run to stronger and better trained people.

I joined the athletes meeting where I finally understood how the relay business was going to work. One thing for sure, it was going to be a long day. What to do, what to do?? I walked over to the volunteers' booth and asked if they needed people still. I was told that places to volunteer on site were limited, but that I could call the transition captain in the morning and check if she needed someone. I took a volunteer t-shirt and hoped for the best.

We went for dinner to Boston Pizza, where the boys carb loaded in style with pizzas bigger than their faces. I chose to eat a salad and dry ribs, but skipped the booze and the dessert (who am I??).  Then we went to bed early and woke up even earlier, so we could check out and make sure that we didn't forget anything. We drove to Tim Hortons for breakfast, but we had to wait a few minutes for it to open. Now that was a first. Then we made our way to the airstrip where we left the car, followed by a ride in the shuttle to Deerhurst.

We were right on time, it was 6am I believe. I went over to Ken's bike and it's like every guy I knew in the race was within a 20 sq feet radius. Of course, I noticed Virgil right away and I went over to say Hi. Photo op!! (and good luck!)

Shortly thereafter, we learned that relays had a special rack in a completely different location in transition. Okay then... let's move our stuff. The relay logistics were clear as mud after all. At the new location I started wrestling with my wetsuit, which is always a painful experience since I put on 10lb and all of a sudden it became two sizes too small. Eventually I managed to squeeze my butt in, took my swim cap and goggles and began the walk towards the swim start. Zin had already left transition since his start was 25 min before mine. I was hoping to get there just in time to see him start and I did just as the gun went off. (I bet he doesn't know this).

The water was warm and it took me by surprise. The lake was quiet and the conditions were just perfect for a swim PR. If only I was not going to fall apart by rushing too much. Not sure if it helped or not, but being in the last wave put my mind even more at ease that no other wave was going to swim over us. After a short warm up, I lined up with everyone else and I just treaded water for a little while...Then the gun went off and I settled into the groove that I'd been practicing for a few weeks already. Fast turnover, complete strokes, thumbs brushing by my hips. It was rather uneventful until the first turn buoy where I ran into a lot of people breast stroking. The next 200m were spent mostly navigating between people, then once I turned another buoy, I found a pair of matching feet and I started following them. The effort seemed adequate, but I could only hope he was going fast enough. Of course I had no idea, it's not like I was going to check my Garmin mid stroke (it was under my cap anyway, so tough luck with it).

I stayed on this guy's feet until the last 100m, where I passed him. I was feeling really bad for touching his feet over and over again, but it's not like I could put on the brakes every time he slowed down. I took a good look at him when I passed him, hoping I could find who he is so I can say thanks. To the gentleman in a ROKA Maverick Pro with colorful goggles, thank you!! Perfect sighting too! (Update: I found him thanks to the race photos and thanked him via Facebook. Such a gentleman, it was a pleasure to exchange a few words with him).

I came out of the water with a 3 minute PR and I was ecstatic!! My fastest time in Muskoka was over 41 minutes and I was only hoping for a 40-something. When I saw 38 and change my eyes popped out of my head. How is this possible?? Apparently like this:

You can tell by the race photos, I could not be happier. Last time I felt like this was when I finished the IM swim in Mt. Tremblant.

Robin saw me right away and she ran up with me towards transition. Since it was a 400m uphill, it was not difficult to follow me. My heart was beating out of my chest, but my mission was complete. I did my best and made my team mates proud. Back in transition, I put the chip on Ken's ankle and off he went!! It felt weird to not have to remove the wetsuit and to stay behind, but now a different kind of mission was starting: Keep calm and cheer on.

I stayed with Robin for another hour and we watched the first pro men coming into T2 and going on their run. For some reason, Ken's splits were not showing in the tracker, when everyone else had no issues with theirs. Of course, we were freaking out big time. Robin went to ask the Sportstats people if they knew of any riders DNFing, and she was reassured that everyone was still in the race. With a bit of relief and a lot of hope that he was going to make it through, I went to the finish line where I joined my catchers family. Earlier in the day I had ran into Kari and Dorothy, the volunteer captains at the finish line and asked them if I could join them like I did in the years prior. They welcomed me with open arms and unknowingly, they made my day.

And while I was unboxing medals and arranging them on the rack, Ken was kicking butt on the hills and was looking sharp doing it!

I kept messaging back and forth with Robin, both of us waiting with baited breath for Ken to finish his ride. Eventually I heard the announcer say his name and I jumped up and down with immense joy. Only one leg remaining. Go Robin, go!!!

Meanwhile, my shift started to get interesting. We saw Lionel Sanders coming through the finish line then getting bored waiting for his competition to show up.  I had the honor of giving him his medal. With a 15 min lead, he completely killed the field. The girls came in much later as well, so the first hour of pros finishing was rather anti climactic. Are they here yet, was the question that we kept asking ourselves. Jeez, what takes them so long? Haha. Well, the heat and the hills are a match made in Hell, so .. respect. At least none of them collapsed like some did in the past.

But the day was only getting worse for those still out there. Temperatures were raising fast and I was wondering how Robin was coping with the heat and the lack of shade on the course. Soon enough, athletes started pouring through the finish line and I was getting sweatier and stinkier by the minute. Being a catcher will do that to you, but I don't mind it at all; helping these athletes find their legs again after leaving it all on the course is a wonderful feeling. I spent my time at the finish line switching between giving out medals, catching people, welcoming all my friends with whatever voice I had left, holding the banner and eventually, handing out finisher t-shirts and caps. I was at the banner post when Robin crossed the finish line and I remember yelling something silly like "Here comes my medal!!".  I was so proud of my team mates and the fact that together we came in under 6h (5h56 more precisely), for a 28th/73 place in relays.

At the end of the day, it was a tough race, especially for Ken and Robin, but they pushed themselves hard and gave it all. I am super happy that both of them had the opportunity to race in an Ironman event and for Robin, to participate in a triathlon (just like her daughter, who loves them). I could not have asked for better team mates. Many thanks to both of them!! You can read Robin's race report here.

My hubby finished the race with a huge PR, and an outstanding time of 5:21, despite a flat. All our racers from the FMCT club made it as well, and for some it was their first ever triathlon. I am so proud!!

Spending the day racing, cheering, volunteering is the best experience one can ask for. I can't wait to go back on August 30 at the full IM Muskoka for a bigger and louder finish line. I love my catcher friends and it's such a treat to spend a few hours with them. They are the most positive, enthusiastic and fun team, you better believe it. Thank you Kari and Dorothy!!

And that's a wrap folks!! Thank you for reading and cheering along. Sometimes, things turn out for the better, despite the obstacles in the way. Now more than ever, it's best to seize the day!