ARRIVING IN MONT-TREMBLANT

After many hours of traffic-ridden driving (especially, through Montreal), I have finally arrived in Mont-Tremblant for the race this Sunday. And what a picturesque resort community Tremblant is. I wish I could upload the pictures I took today to the blog. Well, they will be coming soon.

It has been a hot day today but much more comfortable than the last two we had. The temperature hovered around the mid 80's with a northerly breeze which made swimming in the Tremblant Lake quite challenging. The chop was high enough to obscure sighting while swimming against the surf, and making it difficult to breath while swimming with it. Since most of the athletes will probably arrive tomorrow, those swimming today had a lot of open water to enjoy. There are about 2,100 triathletes registered to compete on Sunday.

After registering (BIB #1702 and Swim Wave #9 starting at 7:40AM), I explored Tremblant's beautifully developed and landscaped mountain side. It really looks like the pictures embedded in my previous blog. I rode the gondola above the roofs and admired the breathtaking vistas. People here are extremely nice and friendly. The Bread and Breakfast at which I am staying is located about 800 meters from the swim start and 1,600 meters from the transition areas, so some logistical planning for the race morning will need to be considered. The B&B's owner is most helpful and accommodating to all the guests. Most of those staying here will also be racing on Sunday, hence, triathlon seems to be the predominant topic of the the conversation.

TIME TO RACE AGAIN

This weekend I will be traveling to a beautiful town of Mont-Tremblant, Canada, for my second race of the season, the Ironman Mont-Tremblant 70.3. A picturesque place, indeed.

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Pictures courtesy of http://ironmanmonttremblant.com/

SOLD ON REV3 RACING

Last Sunday, June 3rd, I competed in my first race of the 2012 season – the Rev3 Quassy 70.3. It was definitely not the race where one would set a personal record, but rather, a great opportunity to leave everything on the course. In the postings preceding the race I wrote about the inclement weather that was forecasted for that weekend. In the end, however, we could not ask for better race-day conditions. So, all we had to do was to deal with the relentless hills on the bike and the run.

After a refreshing swim in the lake I exited in the time of 34 minutes, which placed me among the first ten athletes in my age group. Next, came the bike through some beautiful parts of the Connecticut country side which I completed in 2 hours and 54 minutes. A bit slower than I have wanted, but content, nevertheless. After the bike leg I moved up a couple of positions and followed it up with a solid run split of 1 hour and 44 minutes – finishing 6^th in the M50-54 age group - final time 5 hours  and 20 minutes.

The picturesque countryside. The organizers did a great job keeping all the race venues clean and safe.

This race attracted some of the best professional triathletes in the world, including Ironman world champions and multiple Ironman race winners. None of them broke 4 hours on that day – an honest course, indeed. 

Many of the best world triathletes were there

With Jesse Thomas - 4th among the pros

In two weeks I will be in Canada racing at Ironman Mont-Tremblant 70.3 and hope this little Quassy gift will heal before the race.

SO FAR, A WET REV3 70.3

I woke up this morning to buckets of rain outside my hotel window. The sky has opened up last night and I definitely do not envy those racing the Rev3 Olympic-distance race this morning. The forecast, however, calls for a slightly better day tomorrow. We will see about that.

I drove through the bike and run courses yesterday (56 + 13 miles). Both are very nice, taking athletes through some picturesque country and residential neighborhoods of Middlebury, Connecticut. The bike course is quite technical (may get tricky on a wet asphalt) and I have managed to miss a couple of turns, yesterday. Hope to avoid repeating it tomorrow ;o)

What is left today, is to do a short training run, check-in the bike, have a restful afternoon, hope for a better tomorrow, then wake up charged up, and .......... have a good race ;o)