I'm sitting in my hotel in Paris after a wonderful day with my wife, Catherine. Most of the soreness in my legs is gone and all I have left to show for battle scars is the chafing on my neck from the wetsuit. I have been thinking about my Ironman France race with a mixture of pride and disappointment. While I am thrilled to have become an Ironman and happy with my mental strength during the race, I feel like I am capable of much more.
I had some trepidation about this race and, because of my achilles issues, no idea what to expect on the run. I could only hope that my prior training and overall fitness level would allow me to run when the time came. In the days before the race, I swung between feelings of excitement / confidence and worries about my achilles and the bike course descents.
I woke up at 3 am on race day after only a few hours sleep and had a good breakfast. I checked in for the race at 5 am, organized my gear and lined up with the faster swimmers. I had planned to do a good warm up but was disappointed to see that the warm up area was way off to the side and, had I gone there, I would have had to line up at the back of the beach. I chose to stay in the second row and forego the warm up. The swim was in the Mediteranean sea, just off the coast of Nice. The water was quite calm and the weather was perfect.
The gun went off at 6:30 am and I hit the water flying. I was quickly able to get to some open water and then looked for a good draft. I settled in and began enjoying the swim. I felt comfortable and strong and was pretty excited to be in my first Ironman race. I figured it was going to be a good day. I kept a steady pace throughout and completed the swim in 57 minutes, which was about I expected. I was 66th out of the water out of 2500 athletes. More importantly, I kept calm and held my heart rate in check throughout the swim.
The run up through transition took a bit of time. I threw on a bike jersey, grabbed my nutrition and headed out on the bike course. The first 20 kms of the bike ride felt amazing. I was riding with mostly pros and young guys. I was going about 40 km / hour and it felt effortless. At 20 km, we hit a 500 m, 12% grade hill. I went up in a controlled way, doing my best to stay under threshhold. A 6 km, 4.2% grade climb followed and then a nice flat section. I was still feeling good. At about 50 kms, we started the tough 20 km climb, with over 900 metres of elevation gain. I had planned to take this section slowly and then gradually pick up pace on the last half of the course. Unfortunately, about half way up the hill I bonked hard. I lost all power in my legs and struggled to get up the last 10 km in my lowest gear. It was a disaster and I started getting passed by everyone.
When I got to the top of the climb, I was thrashed and hit a very low point, with visions of a DNF or 15 hour race. I spent the next 50 kms trying to get my legs back. It was not pretty. The descents on the back half of the course were looping with tricky turns and narrow, winding roads. In fact, this course was a former leg of the Tour de France and is a true bike riders' course. I let some of the packs of speeding Europeans go by, opting to stay safe. I did manage to pick up some time on the back part of the course and eventually felt some strength come back in my legs.
By this point, though, I started feeling throbbing in my back and achilles, and began thinking about the run. I finished the bike in 5:54, a pace that was slower than all of my big training rides and far off my expectations.
When I hit the transition area, I hopped off my bike and started running with it. I immediately felt the pain in my achilles and had a flashback to my Wildflower race. I did not think I would be able to run the marathon. I sat in transition for 9 minutes trying to decide what to do. I put on a pair of compression socks, massaged my calves a bit, ate some gels and then decided to start walking.
When I got to the start of the run course I started jogging and felt shooting pain up my calves with every step. I just kept moving and hoped it would settle down. I was not thinking too much about my pace, as I was focused on my achilles and back. As I completed the first 10.5 km lap, I saw my wife Catherine and friends Doug and Claire, which gave me a boost. I thought that if I could get through one more lap, I'd be able to walk the last half of the marathon and still finish.
I just kept plugging away at the same pace and at about 20 kms my achilles started feeling numb, which made it easier to run. Great, now I could focus on other things. The weather was about 25 degrees celsius but with the sun it felt much warmer. I used every mental trick in my arsenal - counting steps, thinking about special people in my life, reeling in other runners with my magic rubber band, being in the moment, etc.
At the end of the third lap, I knew I was going to be able to hold it together and started thinking about crossing the finish line. I pictured my kids checking the updates at home and watching the live webcam. I felt an incredible wave of appreciation that I was able to be here, running, being part of an Ironman race, living life. I also thought about all of the training and discipline it took to get here as well as the many people who had supported me in this quest.
I pushed to the finish line and crossed in 11:14:57. I was about 470th out of 2500 people. My marathon time was 4:09 (far off my personal best of 2:57), but I was able to run a consistent pace for the entire race, walking only at the aid stations. I crossed the line with a huge smile on my face and felt pretty emotional. I was now an Ironman.
I am, of course, thrilled that I was able to accomplish this goal. When I phoned home, my 5 year old daughter said: "Daddy Tetreault - YOU ARE AN IRONMAN", which is about the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I am proud of how I fought through the run, I am glad I did not crash on the descents or have any mechanical issues on the bike, I am thankful for the wonderful weather and spectacular course. I am extremely appreciative of the support of my family and many others. It was fun to be able to share this experience in France with my wife, my coach Todd, his wife Claire and our friend Doug.
However, I am also disappointed with my time. I did not achieve my goal of qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman World Championship race. I genuinely believe that I am capable of a sub-10 hour Ironman race - but it did not happen today.
I don't understand my bonk on the bike course - I felt I had the fitness, nutrition strategy and ability to do better. The course highlighted my relative cycling inexperience. While I worked hard this year at getting leaner, building my leg strength and developing endurance, I did not get enough outside riding. I remain frustrated with the achilles issues and the impact that had on my training and race. In short, I feel I can do much better.
I am not going to let those feelings ruin my joy and satisfaction at having achieved my goal of becoming an Ironman. I have truly enjoyed the journey and did the best I could on this day.
I've gotta go now - there is a cafe in Paris calling my name...
Myron
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