What an exciting day of racing for Team Triumph! We started the race at 11:20 am in the stinking, hot and humid Montreal heat so the debate was on to wetsuit or not to wetsuit? Two of us decided to go without, which in a 750m swim you can save time by not taking the suit off but how much time do you lose without it on? My choice was to go without to bring down my core temperature which was already high. The swim was lovely; not too wavy and well spread out. The bike was super fun!! It was a 5 x 4 km loop and was very technical with tight turning descents and a descent into a sharp, short steep hill. Each time you could play with how to take the turns a bit faster and tighter. When we hit the run at midday under the hot sun it was like hitting a wall of heat. It was a case of push as hard as you can and hang on for dear life until you get to the finish line. The run times were generally slow but the victory was a sweet reward!
Debi Zaret placed 1st in her age category and Sue Bennett placed 2nd. Coach placed 2nd and we all qualified for the 2020 World Championships in Edmonton. I was so proud to stand on the podium with these two inspiring and strong triathletes!!
It was also nice to see Erin McRae out on the course. Erin swam with us when she was in high school. She came in 5th overall in the women and 2nd in her age group.
I then watched the women's and men's elite races and we cheered loud for Team Canada. Joanna Brown placed 12th after getting a 10-second penalty for dropping her swim cap by the river. Tyler Mislawchuk won the bronze in an incredibly exciting sprint to the finish line. These two are our Olympic Team hopefuls. I look forward to seeing them race again at the World Championships in Lausanne at the end of August.
TUPPER LAKE TINMAN 70.3
Brenda Ross and Cheryl Turpin were out at Tupper Lake on the weekend. They both came back with top 10 finishes! Brenda was 6th and Cheryl was 9th! Congrats gals!! We look forward to your race report.
Suzanne Rivest was out supporting a worthy cause last weekend. Congrats Suzanne for completing your 5km in a faster time than last year after recovering from colon cancer.
I love the accountability and the structure of the Virtual 70.3 Half Ironman training program. I don't think I would have gotten this far without the program. The accountability is huge for me!
Deborah Jackman
My coach Kevin Willis is amazing. His swim practices have been a real game-changer for me. A great communicator regardless of your swim level. The whole club is supportive of everything you do. You don't need to be an Ironman to benefit from their programs. 5 stars all around!!! - Denise Pittuck
I just wanted to thank you and your team (Gabi! Brenda! Maggie! Dawn!) for making last weekend's event so amazing. I had tried to do a try-a-tri on my own last summer, and the experience was night and day.
Even though I didn't make every virtual session, I felt so prepared... I knew where to go for information, and I knew I had a team of people (coaches and our beginner tri group!) who were all there to support me.
It was interesting to watch Eric train on his own (without access to the TrainingPeaks workouts and without the weekly meetings to ask questions and learn more about proper form and race-day stuff). When we left on Sunday, he looked at me and was like "we're DEFINITELY doing the training with Julia if we decide to go for the olympic distance, right?".
So glad to have found this club and looking forward to many more triathlons in the near future!!! Tai Teleso
