We arrived to MT early Friday afternoon and were able to check right into our hotel at La Place St. Bernard - Delauriers. If you do this race next year and have a reservation here, see if you can specifically get room 341 as we had a balcony that overlooked the last half mile leading down to the finish! After checking in to the hotel, I went through my first IM athlete check-in process. I stood in line with a very nice woman from Ontario who helped calm my nerves about the back half of the bike loop(s). As I walked from station to station, my anxiety built, finally it was time for my wristband. As the volunteer grabbed my hand to affix the blue band, she noted how freezing cold my hands were, I told her how nervous I was. With that, she grasped both of my hands, looked into my eyes and said, "You are going to be great!" And cue the first of many spontaneous episodes of the waterworks.
After athlete check-in, my husband Mark and I biked the Montee Ryan for about an hour. The hills were a little challenging, but nothing that couldn't be handled. I went for a short run afterwards and then it was on to the Athlete Banquet. I was so lucky that my mother, in-laws, brother-in-law, and husband were able to join me. We ate with good friends Sue, Jill and Jill's niece Allison. The dinner ran a little long (happens when you must say things in English and French), but had some great moments. For instance, the worlds fastest ice carvers...not sure what it was about this, but it just seemed oh-so-Canadian. The most interesting part was where everyone was from, how many countries were represented, what people do for a living that do these events, made it seem like such a small community, but yet so global. My mom stayed with me through the Athlete Meeting. Of all the sports I played growing up and all of the rules she had to learn and gear she had to purchase, triathlon was never one of those sports. So just like she did when I was little, she sat and intently listened to better understand. One of the most moving moments for me, was when my mom (who was a swimmer and diver growing up) said to me, "If this was around when I was your age, I'm sure I would have done this." Having not known my mom as anyone more than a seemingly non-athletic mother, this was such a cool thing to think about and that she totally understood the appeal of it.
Saturday my mom and I got up early and she accompanied my friend Heather and I to the practice swim. The water was cold and it was very foggy out, making visibility difficult. I was happy I was able to practice in those conditions. And my mom, just like she did when I swam the 500 in middle school, grabbed a cup of coffee and waited.
After that we dropped our bags off and did a quick drive of the course which allowed me to see for the first time the Chemin Duplessis. Wow. Hills. Steep ones. I knew I'd have no problem on round 1, but on tired legs (I had never before bike 100 miles), I could see it being a struggle.
Dinner that night was at La Forge (highly recommended!). I ordered, on recommendation of my friend Vinny's daughter Gabrielle, the filet tips with rigatoni and it didn't disappoint. As my friend Jill and I sat there, trying to not let our nerves get the best of us, in walked Mike Reilly. We were so excited and took this as a sign that tomorrow MUST be a great day. He was nice enough to take a photo with us before enjoying his dinner. After the application of race-day tattoos, final preparations and a nice glass of wine it was off to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment