It was the best of times, (IMMT Race Report)!

This is a long one folks (no surprises there), so grab your favourite hot or cold bevvie, have a seat and put your feet up, OR, just read the "By the numbers" section

By the numbers:

Swim: 1:29:15 (6:57 a.m. Start)
T1: 14:25
Bike: 6:47:42
T2: 14:15
Run: 5:23:52
Total: 14:09:29 (9:07 p.m.)
Overall: 1336/1936 athletes
Gender: 1041/1436
Category (M50-54): 165/223

The back story:

As many you already know, I NEVER planned to do a triathlon, having almost drowned twice as a kid and once as an adult, it was the furthest thing from my mind.  I had developed a fear of the water over the years and never really felt comfortable on or around it, not even with a life jacket on.

Then one fall day in 2011, I was doing a trainer ride indoors and watching the 1989 Ironman World Championship broadcast.  It was the year of the Iron War with Dave Scott and Mark Allen, but that was not what inspired me at the time.  It was also the 2^nd year that Rick and Dick Hoyte competed at Kona (they had failed to meet the swim cut-off the first year), seeing Rick tow his son in the dingy for the 3.8km swim, my fear no longer seemed to hold water.  I decided on that ride that I was going to do an Ironman…but I knew nothing about Triathlon or swimming, so I decided I would do it the year I turned 50, that would give me just over 5 years to prepare, mentally and physically.  I know quite a few people who have prepared for and completed an Ironman with much less time, but as a project manager by trade, given the hurdles I felt I needed to overcome,  this time line seemed reasonable to me.

From everything I had heard from friends, I KNEW that the Ottawa Triathlon Club was the right group to help me to overcome my fear of the water and train for triathlon. I have never regretted that decision and I have been rewarded with amazing friendships, shared some fantastic experiences in training, racing and travel and made some incredible memories along the way.  This Club really is so much more, it is a community so if it takes a village to raise a child, and if by correlation it takes a (tri) community to build an Ironman, THIS community was a PERFECT fit!

The long of it:

Wednesday evening:

We were very fortunate to have the Pak clan offer to take care of Molly for us since the whole family was going to be in Tremblant for the race. This worked out amazingly for Molly as she already knows Dan, Kiera, Mei Ling, Lia and Shade. We knew Molly was in good hands with a loving family and that meant no need to stress while I prepped for race weekend.

Thursday:

Packed up EVERYTHING and headed up to Mont-Tremblant in the early afternoon to get the condo we rented all setup for the family and take care of my last minute lists, reading and planning activities so that I could feel less stressed.

It POURED rain Thursday night, did not check the weather reports, I've learned over the years to try and not stress the things that are out of my control when it comes to a race and weather tops that list, hence the reason I pack EVERYTHING

Friday:

After breakfast at the condo, I met up with the OTC crew, Julie, Peter, Rob, Carl and swam out to the coffee boat in Lac Tremblant, we floated around and chatted with other athletes as we sipped on a nice warm coffee.

Attended the Pro Athlete press conference at noon, always so impressed by how humble and approachable these world class athletes are.

Checked in, things started feeling real, went through with Julie, and got to chat with Nathalie Diagle who was volunteering there.  On the way out we bumped into Brenda, Steve, Sean, Nicole, Natalie and Brent. Got two great pieces of advice. Natalie suggested taking a moment alone on the beach after pictures and chatting with friends and family to reflect on all the work it took to get here, on the accomplishment of getting to the start line and on the beauty of the lake (I'm paraphrasing from what I remember, but the tip was greatly appreciated). Tip 2 (I wish I could remember who told me this so I could thank them by name, but someone in that group suggested that in the finishing chute, when the urge is to sprint down and across that finish line, that I slow things down, bask in the moment and ensure that I get to cross on my own and not in a crowd, so that I get that photo and to make sure I hear Mike Reilly announcing me as I cross.

Nat volunteering at check-in

The bands say it all

OTC IMMT2017 Crew

Head to the Official Ironman store to spend LOTS of $$$

Attended the athlete Banquet and athlete briefing and then headed back to the condo to prep fuel and other race day bags. 

Athlete banquet/briefing

Prepping the bags

SOME of the fuel for race day

Early to bed once again, it POURED rain again, go ahead skies, empty everything you've got before race day

Saturday:

Had a small equipment malfunction, when I broke the zipper on one of my fuel belt pouches during my preparations. Spent some time walking through the expo looking for a replacement to no avail, but I did bump into the OTC strippers and THAT made the trip down to the expo completely worth it.

OTC Strippers

Sonia, Riana and Elrik arrived in the afternoon and we spent some time walking through the race venue finding spots where they could cheer me on and grab some photos and figuring out the estimated times when they've would see me at those spots.

Thankfully that was the time of day

Bike check-in and Gear Bag drop-off with the family

We went through the expo together once more looking for the fuel belt pouch, just in case my taper brain had missed it, still no dice, but we did bump into some more OTC folks and got a few more hugs and words of encouragement from Jenn P, Andrew, Julie and Deb.

It was an early night with supper in the condo with the family and a fairly good night's rest all things considered.

Sunday, RACE DAY!!!

The alarmed sounded at 4:00, but I had been up for about 30 minutes, getting my brain in the game.

I had prepared a list of EVERYTHING I needed to do on race morning, and followed it pretty much to a T, line by line, I spent a great deal of time drafting, re-drafting and finalizing this list so that I could feel as relaxed and prepared as possible on race day and I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

It went something like this:

Breakfast of oatmeal with maple syrup and banana, Sesame seed bagel with PB and water.

Grab ALL the bags and head to T-zone with Sonia (we let the kids sleep in a bit) to load up and prep Rasher for the day ahead, drop-off special needs bags and add food and other nutrition to the gear bags.

Bumped into Julie and Peter, got our last hugs in and wished each other well.

Once all those prep activities were taken care of, we headed over to body marking and met up with Riana and Elrik, with the family all together, we started the walk over to the beach, so far, everything was according to the time table.

Sonia helped with getting body glide and my wetsuit on (partially) so that I could stress a little less, but I was definitely starting to feel the nerves on the walk over.

At the beach we saw some of the OTC strippers, their smiles and hugs helped to calm the butterflies a wee bit, then we saw Brenda and Steve and Brent and their calmness and words of advice and encouragement helped settle me even more.

IM Power couple, Brenda and Steve

All that calmness relaxed things a bit too much and gave my bladder time to send signals to the brain, headed to the porta loo line which was LOOOOONG, cue stress, thankfully the line moved relatively quickly and I was able to meet back up with the family and head to the water for my warm-up and to take a few moments to follow Natalie's advice and look out upon the lake, around at the other athletes and really focus on being in the moment.

All of that took a bit longer than expected, so I missed the self-seeding time I had hoped for and ended up back a bit, not a big deal at all, and as a result, I got to chat with Carl and walk all the way to the swim start with him, getting a few pics along the way. 

Water wings

Some of us relax by being goofy

We saw Debra, Jesse and Tanya as we made our way to our start and before long; we were ushered into our starting lanes and sent on our way.

Swim - 1:29:15

As I waded into the water, I reminded myself that my goal was to stay focused, stick to my plan of sighting every 4 breaths and stay in the moment. The yellow buoys were easy to spot and aside from a few t-bone collisions (I'm not sure who was swimming zig zag, me or other swimmers) it was relatively uneventful up to the red buoy that signaled the first turn, a bit more contact with other swimmers here and a fair amount of changing lines to avoid feet, but not the worst I've experienced in a race.

I noticed lots and lots of SUPs and Kayaks on the course and that reassured me that no matter what I was safe.

As we made the second turn and headed towards the beach (still about 1.5k to go) the orange buoys were harder to sight with the position of the sun, thankfully coach Dave had prepared me for this with some other sighting cues and I was able to spot the cell tower and use that when I couldn't locate a buoy.

I'm not sure where I was in that last stretch, but at some point I thought, man, how much longer is this going to be? Then I realized for the first time, this would be the longest swim I had ever done, holy crap, I have never swam this far before...ok ok, time to push that aside, get back in the moment and go back to the process, 4 breaths then sight, 4 breaths then sight...ahhh there it is, the arch of the swim exit...why does it always seem to get farther away once you first spot it?

Finally I was close enough to see the bottom, and the exit was close, I could hear the muffled sounds of the announcer and the cheers from the spectators and volunteers, I got to the point where my fingers were touching, stood, unzipped the wetsuit and pulled it down to my waist.

I glanced at my watch, I MADE THE CUTOFF!!! Wooohooo! Such a relief, and then, I spotted the OTC strippers, I headed straight for them and lay down and let them do their thing, I got a hand up from Erik that practically launched me to T1 and headed on my way, jogging and soaking in the fact that I had just completed my longest swim ever, in an Ironman, under the cut-off time..what an amazing feeling!!

SOOOOO happy to be out of the water!!

Amazed and elated

Somewhere on my way from swim exit to T1, I saw Gwyn and pulled over for a quick hug. Gwyn was the first person I spoke with at the Ottawa Triathlon Club, she made me feel welcome from the first e-mail and patiently answered all of my questions. Her empathy and warmth set the tone for my OTC and triathlon experience, and I will be forever grateful!

T1 - 14:25

I certainly didn’t break any land speed records here, made a quick stop at the porta loo and then took my time to prep for the bike ride ahead by putting on a cycling jersey, sunscreen, lots of Chammie cream, stocked my jersey pockets with my homemade maple syrup gels, slipped on my cycling shoes and helmet and then jogged to the bike racks to grab Rasher and head out on the bike course.

Bike – 6:47:42

The focus on the bike for me was to stick to the plan, stay controlled and within the power numbers and really hold back on the effort for loop 1.  I managed to spot my family and Michelle and pose for pics on the bike just before headlining out to Montée Ryan for some of the rollers.  My bike comp was not displaying power at this point, so I was using cadence and perceived effort, but when I glanced at my watch, it showed 30kph, too fast for me for loop 1, eased off a bit and got into a steady groove as I turned onto the 117.

Still enough energy to pose

Once on the 117 it was execute the plan, initial climb, then feed at the top and settle in for the climb up Conception, that was over before I knew it and I was heading to the “veggie stand”, time to feed again.  Once you get past the veggie stand, there’s about 15k of nothing but farmland and highway, right in the middle of this was an older gentleman on a lawn chair, he was setup with a cooler beside his chair and he was enthusiastically ringing on old school bell with a huge smile on his face and a sandwich in the other hand, it brought a smile to my face and was a welcome distraction.  From there the next objective was get to the aid station/turnaround at Labelle and grab some water to cool down as things were beginning to heat up.

Just after passing the guy with the bell, my bike comp started displaying power, so I could better gauge my effort and keep things steady and to the plan, especially on the climb to Labelle and the turnaround.  Everything was going according to plan, if not a little ahead of schedule.

Uneventful at the turnaround and aid station at Labelle, past smiling lawn chair bell guy and focusing on keeping things steady and easy for the climb on the flip side of Conception.

Heading towards St.Jovite now where I knew Emma and Riaz would be cheering, smiling thinking about getting to see some familiar faces, and they do not disappoint, Big smiles, loud cheers and did I mention Emma was just weeks (or was it days) from giving birth, aaaaamazing!

Re-energized in St.Jovite and heading back to Montée Ryan and back towards the village, I don’t manage to spot my family coming past the roundabout, but I am a bit ahead of schedule, so not surprising.  I DO manage to spot the OTC crew (who could miss the orange crush) and their cheers are incredibly loud and just what I needed to get me pumped for Duplesis.

Focusing on harnessing that energy and not going too fast or hard up Duplesis, keeping in mind there is another lap ahead, glancing at the power numbers to keep things steady. An uneventful climb, just like training, challenging, but not a killer, having ridden this route so often in the lead up, I know where the tough spots are for me, both physically and mentally and I am ready for them, I just grin and pedal, “been here, rode this” with friends and I recall the things that kept us going, ice cream sandwhiches, cans of coke, fresh guac and mango salsa…just keep pedalling, ready, steady, go, and just like that, I’m at the turnaround (closer than where we rode to in training, and that feel GREAT!).

Now the focus turns to the downhills, carrying momentum through for the ups, but not burning out the legs. Only one “ugly” climb on the way back down, stay focused, keep smiling, very familiar turf and knowing that lap one is nearly done.  Past the ugly climb and it is (mostly) downhill from here to the village and the turnaround for lap 2.

Slow through the U-turn and then just as I head back out for lap 2, the OTC Orange Crush is doing the wave, AWESOME, feeling stoked, but keeping things in check, ear-to-ear grin and then I spot my family just before I head out on Montée Ryan for the second time, so stoked right now, knowing they are here, breathe, easy gear for the slight climb onto Monté Ryan and then only a few pedal strokes before special needs…chips, new bottles, gels chammy cream…ahhhh ready to head out on that highway!

Lap 2 of the 117, the plan is to carry that energy from friends and family with me for as long as possible, but to really reign in the bike and save it for the run. There’s a headwind on the way out, so need to keep within the power numbers and in aero for the climbs.

Conception climbs, veggie stand, bell guy, woohoo smile, hunker down and keep pushing into the wind.  Just 3k from the turnaround in Labelle now and thinking about how great that tailwind is going to feel on the way back, as will the porta potty! A quick bio stop, refuel with water and cool down with one over the head and back out onto the 117 heading to St. Jovite.

The climb feels harder this time around and it’s getting hot and the humidity is rising, that tailwind I was looking forward to, somehow became a headwind, a little discouraging, but I don’t dwell on that thought, can’t change it, so just accept and focus on the next landmark.  Remembering Coach Dave’s words facing this boring section, you just have to get through it, break it down, for me that means, belly guy, ugly climb, veggie stand, downhill to St. Jovite, all bite sized pieces, focus on one at a time, and then the next and the next and…

A little longer and slower at this point, but once I spotted the Ultramar at Montée Ryan, the smile got a little bigger, I know this course, not far from seeing Emma and Riaz, this time I managed to get a high five…on the bike…woohoo, using that energy to fuel the turnaround and head back out to Montée Ryan while still trying to keep things in check.

Heading back on Montée Ryan, got some great support at the spot where the run course goes under the road, including Rachel who was headed to her volunteer spot at the run aid station (found this out later on the run course), managed to spot my family coming into the village before heading up Duplesis for round 2.

Things are a little slower this time around, but keeping things positive and focusing on one climb at a time, playlist song “Ring of Fire” pops into my head, can’t imagine why, and I muster a smile

So happy to see the turnaround, coasted a little more on the downhills this time around, but sped up a bit on the downhill before that nasty climb, once over that, I just kept the legs spinning trying to prep for the run.

Pulling into transition, I did (what felt like) a flying dismount, possibly the slowest in the history of flying dismounts, and then was jogging into T2, heard them call my name as I went by the stage in transition and got a little boost from that.

T2 - 14:15

Didn’t shave much time off T1, but I did get a chance to chat with a few athletes about the multi-directional headwinds while changing shorts, shirt, socks and shoes in prep for the run. Grabbed my race belt with fuel for the first half of the marathon and a handful of Miss Vickie’s chips before slathering on sunscreen and applying anti-chafe cream to “strategic” areas. 

On the way out of T2, I spotted Gwyn again and got another hug and then spotted Tanya and Jesse before turning onto Rue de la Chapel, which leads to the first hill.  The OTC crew was out in full force on the hill high fiving and cheering me on as I headed up.  I stopped at the top to get hugs from Elrik, Riana and Sonia, and started to tear up but Sonia reminded me to “Save that for the finish line, you’ve got a marathon to run”, so off I went.

Love, friendship, calm, energy

OTC Strippers cheering at the top of the T2 hill

Spotted Jen Poth at the bottom of the hill and then a wee bit later, there was Nathalie Daigle in her grass skirt hooting and hollering and fuelling everyone with energy, almost didn’t recognize her, but she called out my name and gave an extra loud cheer.

The plan was to run the flats and walk/run the hills as needed saving energy for lap two. Saw/heard Athena on the one of the climbs towards the old village and got some words of encouragement from her and her cheer crew, a little extra pep in the step. 

Managed to get high fives from Simon, Peter, Rob and Julie who were all crushing the run waayyyy ahead of me and looking pretty strong.

The petit train flat part of the course was tougher than I thought it would be and I needed more walk breaks than planned, but I was moving ever forward.  Had a nice boost from Jeff when I heard him shout out from behind “looking good, and moving well”  I didn’t feel it, but it helped trick the mind for a bit.

A few minutes later Carl blasted past me like I was standing still, he looked strong and unstoppable!

Reaching the turnaround point, I get a high five and a HUGE shout out from Rachel.  Rachel had just completed Lake Placid IM the month before.  Pretty spectacular when you consider that she had been given a rare cancer diagnosis just a few years before and was not expected to live, had been told she would never run again and most definitely not run fast, yeah, she proved them sooo wrong, Rachel is one of our Imerman Angels rare cancer mentors and so her presence and energy kept me moving even though it was starting to get dark and I was starting to wonder if I would actually make the cut off or have the energy to finish.

Coming back to that hill just outside of the resort and Elrik is at the bottom, ready to run it with me, I let him know that the plan is to walk it and so he walks with me to the top, offering words of encouragement and when we crest the top, he says, ok dad, time to run, let’s do this and gets me running again.  He and Riana (not sure when she joined us) run me to the bottom of the hill, cheering me on and send me on my way to the village.

One of the BEST moments of the day, running with my kids

I grabbed a chair as I sorted through the bag grabbing full bottles, gels and a handful of Miss Vickie’s chips.  One of the spectators starts chatting with me and telling me how great I am doing, he says “Dude, you could walk the rest and still make the cut-off”, that was both great to hear and not so great as I really had to struggle to get moving and NOT walk the whole thing, but it was comforting to know that I could actually make the cut-off barring something very wrong happening out there.

I had been forewarned about how tough it was to run through the village, see the finish chute on your left and have to go back out, I had decided that I would not even glance to the left, I ran down the hill keeping eyes right and focused on getting back out there for loop two. A quick stop at the porta loos near transition and I am back out there for loop two.

Up that hill and walking so I can actually read the signs my family and others had prepared. Sonia is holding one that says “Today you will become and Ironman!” I’m super tired and feeling even more emotional than usual, but I’m thinking HELL YEAH, I will…5 years in the making, so much fear and anxiety and its actually happening, this is GOING to happen…ok, back in the moment, there’s still a ½ marathon to get through.

The kids run me down that hill and send me off, the last time I get to see them before the finish chute.

The second lap is mostly a blur, but I get to see all/most of the same folks again get a few high fives again.

During one of my walk breaks, I started chatting with one of the other athletes, he and I were walk/running on different timings so we kept passing and catching each other, but for a few moments every few minutes we were either walking or running together and were able to reassure each other that we were going to get this done.

As I was nearing the ski village and the last climb up that hill just outside of T2, I knew I was close, the spectators had thinned, my family had left so they could be in the finish chute and the OTC Strippers were all at the finish line volunteering as “Catchers”, so it was a little tougher this time.  Up and over, focus, just one more climb and then downhill to the finish.

Just before the last hill I start hearing "BRENT! BRENT! BRENT! BRENT!", It's Evelyne and she's walking beside me as I make my way slowly up the hill and then we catch up with Chad and Heather and they're cheering and offering words of encouragement, reminding me that I am almost there and I manage to start jogging up the hill...at least until I am out of their sight line, shhh don't tell them.

I get up and over that last hill and I make the turn into the village, all downhill to the finish, my Coach Dave Harding spots me, yells out some encouraging words and I manage to get a high five from him on the way.

The end (of the race) is near

This time, I am looking left at the fork in the road, knowing I get to run down the finish chute, as I veer left, I slow it down, get a few high fives and soak in the finish line, make sure I’ve got some space and then arms raised, Imerman Angels wings spread, I cross the finish line, and Mike Reilly belts out the six words I’ve been working towards hearing for 5 years “Brent Smyth, You ARE AN IRONMAN!

I am AN IRONMAN

Crossing the finish line, I pointed to Mike (well towards where his voice was coming from) and then I looked left, I saw the whole OTC crew (Erik, Deb, Jessica, Annick, Sue) standing there smiling, and just in front of them, Rachel with a medal, MY medal, my IRONMAN medal and a wave of emotion came over me, I was all out sobbing as Rachel placed that medal over my neck and her and the whole crew gave me a group hug, more sobbing, uncontrollable at this point.

I will forever remember the huge smiles of that finish line crew, I’m tearing up now just thinking of it.

There was much hugging and high fiving exchanged between that crew, my training partners Julie and Peter as well as Simon, Carl , Mona, Rob and pretty much anyone who even looked familiar, emotions were running high and raw.

After a few photos a quick bite to eat and some more coke, I was itching to see my family, coming out of the recovery area and spotting them, I was overwhelmed by emotion again and their smiles, hugs and elation are forever imprinted. 

#IronFriends

As tiring as this day was, it was in every way PERFECT and the photos (at least most of them) bear that out with the smile on my face throughout.

It took far too long to write this report and I am sure that I have missed some memories and some individuals who no doubt had great impact before and during the event, and for that I apologize, but please know that you and your encouragement and support have been truly appreciated.

I am so very grateful to have met so many incredible people on this journey, your friedship, experiences and company enriched this experience in ways I simply cannot express in words and you may never know the full impact of the simplest of gestures along the way, but please know that if you are reading this, then you contributed in some way to this goal and that I am truly thankful for having you in my life.

Thank you for reading, and for those of you taking on the Mont-Tremblant Ironman next Sunday, I will be there volunteering and cheering for you and hope to have as great an impact on your day as you had on mine.

Have fun and git'r done!