Ironman 70.3 Miami - A Weekend Full of Firsts

This past weekend was a weekend full of firsts for me.  It started with travelling to Miami, on my own, with my bike, to race at Ironman 70.3 Miami, where the swim was in the Ocean, and I was racing as an Ironman Pro Athlete.  

P is for Pro, no age this time.

 Ever since I've had my kids, I've not been a fan of flying.  I realize that is silly, as flying is one of the safest modes of transportation and much safer than driving, however, with young kids I wonder what would happen to them if I didn't make it back?   I'm also afraid of the mysterious monsters of the deep.  Yes, that includes the lakes.  This summer I didn't want to dive in Otisco Lake in New York because it was full of 5 ft long Muskies, can you imagine what I was thinking may be in the dark waters at the Bayfront Park in Miami.  Over the last year I've been learning more about my bike, however, I have a great team at County Cycle, in Beamsville, Ontario that take care of my Devinci and I rely on them a lot to keep her in good shape.  So flying to Miami with my bike in a bike box, partially disassembled with no teammates to help me put her back together was causing me a bit of anxiety as well. On top of this, I decided to race as a Pro Triathlete in a field of amazingly fast women not fully sure of what to expect of them or myself.

And a pool was found with help
from new friend Gus.

Hello Key Biscayne and Florida Coconut 

A friend of mine from University and an amazing triathlete, Amanda Stevens, recommended a bike shop she'd used before to assemble her bike.  So I gave them a call and worked it out that I'd bring my bike directly from the airport to the bike shop.  After a super smooth flight to Miami from Toronto, I grabbed a cab and went directly to South Miami Bike Shop. The owner, Jean, met me as I brought ALL my bags into the shop, I sat down on a stool, took a big breath and felt like I was at home; comfortable in the bike shop.  The people there were amazing, helpful, and super social!  While I was there so many people came in to chat, the shop is an amazing and positive place to be.  They arranged for me to get a ride back to the hotel, with friend Gus, who took me on a tour of the bike routes around the area, and also found me a pool to swim in the next day! Jean met me for a bike ride at Key Biscayne, as they knew I was on my own, and gave me some helpful advice about staying safe in downtown Miami. I do tend to be overly friendly and very trusting and that has the potential to lead to bad situations, or  so I've been told.  They even came to support me at the race;  the South Miami Bike Shop helped make this trip a really great one; not only have I found my bike shop for when I travel to Florida, I've found some great new friends.  

THE RACE EXPERIENCE

Sunday morning at 4:30 am my alarm went off.  I rolled out of bed, put on my race gear, ate breakfast, and walked over to the transition to make sure my bike was ready to go.  While in transition,  fellow Canadian, Miranda Tomenson, was racked next to me.  It was nice to have a familiar someone to talk with, we stuck together until the race started.  

THE SWIM

Me (pink cap) and Leanda Cave

We were informed at the pro meeting the day before that the good news was there were no jellyfish, yeah!, the bad news was there would be no swim warm up.  However, Sunday morning they did allow a short warm up period, for the pro athletes, in the water before the cannon went off for the first wave.   So we jumped off the dock into the very salty ocean, no sea creatures appeared out of the depths to eat us, and did a in water warm up.   Two minutes before the female pro wave start we all began to jostle for our positions, and when the race started I received the biggest shock of the race.  As an age group athlete I was used to swimming through waves of people, as generally I started an hour behind the pros.  I thought swimming through the men was tough as sometimes they would swim off course, or I'd have to swim between people, that seems like a piece of cake now.  Nothing is like swimming with a group of people who are swimming for their livelihood. I'd injured my shoulder two weeks ago and knew it would be tough for me to get out in front early; I was lacking power.  It's an aggressive arena, no holds barred kinda swimming.  There was a point during the swim I actually said to myself, "what am I doing?  I'm in way over my head".  But I calmed myself down, settled in and continued on.  This was an amazing opportunity to finish, not one to give up on.  Finally the swim was complete, and time to transition out onto the road.

THE BIKE

The bike is not yet a strong area for me.  Looking at the other women, I can see where my legs are lacking strength, but it's not something that can't be improved with a little winter weight lifting and lots of power trainer sessions.  My coach told me not to worry about the others and just go race my own race, so that is what I did.  I watched as the other girls passed, admiring their  strength on the bike. My shoulder was aching throughout the ride and I had to leave the aero position multiple times to bring some relief from the pain, however, I held my own and enjoyed the twists and turns out and back into downtown Miami.   My transitions, although not quite where they need to be, were much better than they have ever been thus far.  I threw on my runners and race belt and headed out on the final leg of the race.

THE RUN

The run course was fantastic!  It was certainly a challenge!  We ran over grass, through sand under a bridge, and then over the causeway 4 times!  It was an out and back double loop, and whoever tells you the run will be flat in Miami, slap them!  Going up the causeway was not an easy task the fourth time around, it's a fairly big incline and makes you work.  The first 15km of the run I was moving; I felt great until I hit the turn around aid station with 5km to go, then the piano hit.  I knew with only a relatively short distance to go  I could manage to hold myself somewhat together, however it was a painfully slow finish to what was almost my fastest run.  I still ran a 1:35.04 half marathon which was faster than I thought, and I'm very happy with that.  My time was also within the 12% of the overall winner which qualifies me to compete again next year as a pro!

SUMMARY

Had I come to Ironman 70.3 Miami as an age group athlete, I would have won my age group and qualified for Ironman 70.3 World Championships for 2017.  However, I did not go as an age group athlete this time.  I choose to go as a Pro; I wouldn't change that decision if given the opportunity.  There was no prize cheque for me and I don't get an automatic qualifying spot to World's. What I did get was an opportunity of a life time, a chance to race pro, to meet some incredible people, make new friends, learn that I can go to these events on my own, if I need to, and be okay. The sea monsters didn't get me, my bike made it to and from Florida just fine, and really I was never alone.  My family, coach, teammates, and new found friends provided amazing support throughout the weekend.  It's okay to be afraid of new experiences, of all the 'firsts', it's not okay to let fear keep us from those experiences.

The Decision to Go PRO....at 42

Sketchers Performance Barrelman Triathlon 2016, L to R,  Angela Quick, Miranda  Tomenson,
Jennie Hansen, Sheila Treleaven, Leah Sherriff

When I turned down Kona last month, at Ironman Mont Tremblant, there were some rumblings that I may be a bit crazy. It was a decision I made during the race and one that I am still content with.  However my latest choice has been receiving a few raised eyebrows as well.  A few weeks ago I received my Professional Triathlete designation, raced my first local race, Barrelman Triathlon, as a Pro, and  signed up for Ironman 70.3 Miami, in 2 weeks, racing in the Pro Wave, right up front (with the jellyfish and sharks).

Why would I do this when I'm top of my Age Group in my Ironman races? I'm under no delusions, I will not be top of the podium as an Ironman Pro, yet.  I only started training and racing triathlon just exactly 2 years ago. I could stay as an Age Group athlete and continue to compete as I have been this past year, but at the age of 42, I met all the criteria to go Pro.  I do not have 5 years to build strength in my legs and master my bike skills, get my transitions down to a science and learn to run a little faster before turning pro.  I have only now.  Those needed triathlon skills I am learning and will continue to learn as I go.  I will need to learn them fast because if I don't, I'm certain to take a beating in the rankings by the amazing athletes I get to watch and race against.  

Yes, I have fear

Me and my girls.

Of course I am a little afraid.  There are amazing athletes out there, some that have been competing for a long time, and some fresh and young, all of them fast.  Something that my husband and I try to teach our children is, although you may be a little afraid you still need to try.  Failure is what ultimately leads to success.  Bravery is not being without fear, it's acting even when you are afraid.  I'm stepping into a world I know little about. I'm doing it at the age of 42.  I have three amazing children, a career with a fantastic company, a household to run, and now training to squeeze in.  I don't have the luxury of training as my only job, my career is full time, and getting my kids to their activities is also crazy busy.  I don't get the recovery time that I should.  Luckily I have supportive family, friends to help with advice and driving the kids when needed, and a great coach to work around my crazy life. 

You will not hear me speak of back to back 8 hour training days, or of catching a nap of more than 25 minutes during the day, once or twice a week, however you will see me talk about how it is possible to do things you only imagined were for "other people".    

Continue to Chase Doubt Away

3rd place Multisport Barrleman
 Triathlon

Two years ago I laughed, inside and out, when my coach told me I had talent to go pro.  "Do you know how old I am?" I asked him.  I still sometimes think that, especially when the day has been long at work, sandwiched by 2 workouts, driving the kids to the pool, or picking up my eldest daughter from work at 10 pm when I'd rather be asleep.  My doubts are there, did I make the right choice to go pro?, how badly am I going to get beaten in my first race? How can I improve the way those girls do with my time spread between all my responsibilities?  Then I remember I need to chase them away.

Regardless of whether I am top of the podium or not, I earned the spot as a pro based on my times and overall placings at the Ironman races I've competed in.  My bike will only get better as each month goes by with more and more time in the saddle, and the same with the run.  My swim, it will continue to hold it's own.  

Doubts are always there but shouldn't keep us from striving for goals, reaching, way outside our comfort zone, and taking a shot at something, even if it seems impossible, unrealistic, or a bit crazy.  Sometimes we don't have time to make our doubts go away completely.  Sometimes we only have what's right now.

Who Turns Down Their Ironman World Championship KONA Spot? - ME

#IMMT Ironman Mont Tremblant 40-44 Winners

This past weekend I competed in my first full Ironman event at Mont Tremblant, QC.  For those of you that may not know what this event entails let me explain it briefly.  It begins with a 3.8km open water swim, followed by a 180km bike ride, and finishes up with a full marathon, 42.2 km run.

Before going into this event I had pictured in my mind what I would look like when I finished.  I never pictured not finishing, just the state I'd be in at the end and for the next few days following.  I think the below link may give you an idea of what was running through my brain.

https://youtu.be/MTn1v5TGK_w

Two nights before the event I was unable to sleep.  I awoke at 2:45 am, thinking of crawling across the finish line, stretched, attempted to go back to sleep, failed, so I ended up going down the stairs of our condo and quietly reading some Peter Pan. My mind was going a million miles a minute, as that day we would go for our race warm up and say good-bye to our bikes and gear until the race the next morning.  The reality of what I'd signed up for was really real now and I wondered how it got here so fast! Where did the last 8 months go?  I managed somehow to keep my nerves under control, and my usual multiple, pre-race, bathroom trips did not happen.  Perhaps because I stayed chatty to distract myself, and also perhaps because I met with an old college friend, who had completed many of these events, and she gave me some sound advice.  Regardless, race morning arrived and off my team went to the race venue.

THE RACE

First of all, I have to say, this was the most amazing race experience I have ever had.  Yes, I realize my triathlon experience is limited, however I would think this would be difficult to beat.  The volunteers made everything from setting up my bike, to finding my transition bags, to making sure my bike was racked between transitions, and making every athlete feel like a super star their first priority. I cannot imagine what the race would have been like without all these people and the first class organization of the event overall. A major thank you to all of you, because I know there is no way this event could happen without them. 

THE SWIM

Swim Start, Last Wave Women 40+

There were 2480 athletes competing in Mont Tremblant.  The first Pro Wave left at 6:34 am and the last Women's wave (my wave) left at 7:00am.  There were 2000 people within 26 min in front of me on a 3.8km swim.  I may not be the best cyclist or runner in the field, but I do know that I will be one of the fastest swimmers on the course; regardless of this knowledge I was apprehensive of the swim.  I knew I would be swimming through a lot of large groups of athletes and I was hoping I would come out with my face intact.  The Fireworks went off and our last wave of women 40+ ran into the water. I was able to get some clear space quickly, almost swam into a diver (I've never seen one in the water before at a race), and then within 2 minutes was entering the wave that left in front of ours.  It was choppy and a challenge to move through the white bathing caps, but doable.  But within a few moments it was the men in the Orange Caps, red caps, green caps, and blue caps. It was not an easy swim and navigating through groups of hundreds was a challenge.  I talked myself into staying relaxed and finding the line through the school of swimmers that lay before me.  I was given a couple knocks and bumps but I think I gave a few back as well. 

 The chop in the water on the second half of the course was really quite difficult and I worried for some of my teammates about making it through this part of the swim.  The Pro Female Winner of the race, Mary Beth Ellis, said that the chop in the water was worse than any Ocean swim she had done!

Ultimately, I exited the water with the fastest Woman's time of the day and 10th fastest swim overall. Ran 400m down an awesome red carpet and into the change tent to start the longest bike ride of my life.

THE BIKE

Just to give an idea of the rain.

The weather report for last Sunday was one of a lot of rain.  During the swim the rain was holding off, and for the first little while on the bike it seemed it may stay dry, perhaps just an overcast day.  However that changed rather quickly and for the next 9 hours the rain came teaming down! 

Mont Tremblant bike course has some big hills.  They aren't easy going up but can be super fun and fast going down.  There were points I was hitting over 70km/hr on the down hills and there were people going much faster than me, however by the second loop the large puddles and streaming road rivers made the course a bit treacherous.  On the second loop the Race Director himself was out on the course standing in the middle of the road on Dupliesse telling racers to reduce speed for safety.

The first loop of the course I felt pretty good.  The second loop something happened.  I'm still trying to analyze and figure it out, however my stomach started to hurt and I began to throw up.  At this point I started to panic a bit and wondered how I would make it through the marathon if this was happening to me now.  I don't know if it was the salt tab I took at that moment or if the vomiting episode had run it's course, but I managed to pull myself back together and keep going to the transition area.  

At the bike transition, I got off my bike, a volunteer took it from me, and I tried to run, but my legs said otherwise.  They were completely unsteady!  I took a moment and gathered my wits and slowly and then gradually a bit quicker made my way back down the red carpet to the change tent for the run.

THE RUN

I decided that my wet Tri-Shorts, that had started to cause chaffing, were not what I wanted to run the next 42.2 km in.  So I changed out of my shorts, put on some dry socks that didn't stay dry for long as it was still pouring rain, and surprisingly jogged out of the tent without too much trouble!  I was running really well!  I knew at this point I was in second place for my age group and if I kept up this pace I would catch her by the end of the marathon.  Unfortunately my stomach had other plans, and at 17km I had to make an unplanned stop at the port-a-potty.   After that, I knew the other girl was out of reach, and I settled into my place.  At the 21km I ran passed the fork in the road, one way said "to second loop" the other "to finisher shoot"  I actually wanted to just run down the shoot! Instead I went right and heard my husband yell out to me that I was in second spot.  He was excited because he knew that I would qualify for Kona if I stayed in that spot.  That was the goal going into the race.  I was feeling disappointed because I knew I was struggling mentally to stay motivated to run up that seemingly never ending hill that was just around the next corner.  

Along the path I watched as others, who I knew were incredible competitors and athletes, struggle through their run.  The combination of the weather and the course was taking it's toll.  During the run I decided that even if I made Kona, I would not accept the spot.  It is not an easy thing to explain, but I knew and still know it was the right decision.  At one point I started hoping someone would pass me so I didn't need to make or explain my choice. At this point I knew I needed to get out of the mental funk, so I began to play a little game.  At every kilometre sign I would count down.  "Less than 15km to go....Less than 14 km to go..." and so on. Finally I saw the last hill into the village and knew it was almost done.  When I reached the fork in the road a feeling of euphoria seemed to over take me because I knew I got to take the left fork to the finish.   'Sheila Treleaven, from Grimsby, ON, You are an Ironman". 

THE MIDNIGHT FINISH

Our team stayed to the end, we cheered on our finishing teammates and all those who struggled through the same torrential rains, choppy water and challenging hills.  It was the most inspiring and exciting place to be.  To watch all those people cross the finish line, reach their goal, and celebrate the finish of their Ironman journey for whatever reasons they chose to take on this event, was nothing less than incredible.  It's enough to make almost anyone want to do an Ironman, volunteer at an Ironman, or do another Ironman!

SUMMARY

Division V Team Winners - Tri-Hart Triathlon

At the awards ceremony, almost everyone was encouraging me to take my Kona spot.  My husband and my coach knew that I had made my choice.   I do appreciate their caring because I know they probably thought I would regret my choice the next day.  I do not.  I don't think that will be the only time I will qualify for Kona.  When I go, I want to feel ready, at least more so than I will be in 6 weeks.  I was disappointed in myself, not for how I did in the race, I am very proud of that, I finished and I am not crawling and I'm back in the pool and on the bike, but for how I mentally gave up during the run.  I know I'm not able to explain it so I will not try.  What I do know is that I have a plan, and some new challenges on the horizon that I'm very excited about!  I also know that I made someone very happy as I was able to give her my spot to Kona, it was wonderful to watch her accept. 

This past year has been a journey.  Injuries, exhaustion, struggling with the unknown of what may happen during the race.  Watching my teammates race and finish the Ironman made me feel proud and emotional around their accomplishments.  They worked hard and were rewarded as they can all be called "IRONMAN" and go home knowing that we all contributed to the winning of our Team Division at Mont Tremblant.  Knowing I did it and was able to show my kids that you don't give in you stick it out to reach your goals, I can't measure that.  I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my triathlon journey, and when I qualify for Kona again I will take the spot. For now, I'm content with my decision and have no regrets.  

Team Tri-Hart at Mont Tremblant