What a race! I don’t know where to start... We arrived to Mont-Tremblant with great expectations. When I planned this year’s race schedule it was the „A” race of the season.
First of all, I have to start with the race prep. We (my wife and I) arrived on Tuesday evening. Our homestay, John and Cindy were so welcoming, they made my favorite Hungarian dish, Chicken Paprikas for dinner. Thanks to their hospitality I was able to spend a good 4 days at the race venue before the big day and I felt ready for Sunday.
The race scene was absolutely overwhelming. I had heard a
lot of great things about this race beforehand, but it exceeded all my
expectations. John, our host, drove the course with me on Wednesday. And all I
can say that it is a beautiful place with a challenging course. The lake was
not as cold as I thought. It was about 72 degrees for the whole time.
It was very nice to see that the entire city was decorated
by the time we got there. There were Ironman signs everywhere we went. It felt
very welcoming. I could talk about it for a long time; the pro meeting, the
welcome dinner, the volunteers, the host families, the organizing, everything
was perfect.
The race day: In the morning everything went nice and
smooth. Before the race I checked the pro start list and realized that there
were lots of good swimmers in the field. At the start I had to run very
carefully into the water because I twisted my ankle 4 weeks before the race and
it was still not perfect. So I quickly found myself swimming alone and finished
the swim with a 12-minute handicap.
On the bike I felt good, controlled my pace and focused on
the nutrition. On the second loop I caught
up to the third group and passed most of them. I really liked the bike course.
It is a little similar to Kona but there is a whole different section, which is
more challenging with lots of ups and downs. My time was 4 hour 38 minutes that
was only 2 minutes slower than the first group’s pace.
I started the run in 11th position, it felt good
and I didn’t feel fatigued. In the first 10 kilometers everything went as I
planned. Then suddenly I started to feel cramps and stomach ache. I couldn’t
focus on the race anymore because I knew that I had to run a perfect marathon
to finish in the top 3. I was very disappointed and did everything to get back
into the race. Somehow I managed to finish in 14th place and get
some points for Kona but that was the least of my concerns. I hoped for good race
to stabilize my financial situation for the rest of the season.
Although I wasn’t happy with my performance and constantly
looked for clues, I had a great time in Mont-Tremblant, I met wonderful people
and experienced so much support before, during and after the race for which I’m
really thankful.
What is next? I may or may not qualify for, and race in,
Kona but I’m also very thankful to all my sponsors who make it possible for me
to race and fight for my dreams. Special thanks to Zoot, SwiftCarbon, 3T,
Southwest Realty and Property Management, Ignite Naturals, ISM Seat, Xterra
Wetsuits, Spiuk, Continental, DC Ranch Village. I’m very lucky that I have the
chance to work with the best companies and to work with the best coaches: with
my headcoach, Sergio Borges and my swim coach, Frank Sole!
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