AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY ABOUT
NEVER GIVING UP!
My friend Lucie and I traveled to Quebec City to participate in the ITU Winter Triathlon which was held on the Plains of Abraham. The distances were a 5km snowshoe (3 laps), an 11km skate (30 laps) of a skating oval and a 9.5 km ski (3laps).
The day started off somewhat on the cool side with some blustery winds but we optimistically thought that the weather would improve and that we would have a pleasant afternoon in the sun. That turned out to be overly wishful thinking!
By the 3rd lap of the snowshoe, a winter weather system moved in with blizzard-like conditions, howling winds, blowing snow and poor visibility. The skate portion of the race went reasonably well despite the snow piling up fast. The ice was in perfect condition and there was a large screen which displayed your name and how many laps you had done.
The transition to the ski was not exactly speedy but when I finally got going, I thought that this is how it must feel on the top of Mt. Everest!! Glasses were totally useless and had been ditched before the skate. My eyes were almost iced shut, my hands were totally frozen with my inner gloves and over mitts blocks of ice and my buff had icicles hanging from it. Thoughts of DNFing occurred to me more than once and a few tears were shed!
When I passed a few people on the ski including one of my competitors, I decided that yes, I can do this! By the 2nd lap of the ski, my cold state did not seem to be getting any worse and was relieved and ecstatic to reach the finish line! Results: Lucie 1st, Patricia 2nd, Carmen from Orford 3rd. We were all within a few minutes of each other.
After retrieving my gear from the transition area which by this time was totally buried in snow, thawing out, changing and eating some food, I decided that I had had a great time, loved the event and would definitely be back next year to do the Pentathlon cycle/run/ski/skate/snowshoe. How awesome is that?!
Anyone looking for a winter event next year needs to put this one on their
Bucket List!
A year ago I could only tread water and had not run since childhood. With the amazing Virtual Olympic course, support, guidance, and tips from of all the folks at Team Triumph I've ended the season with my first Olympic distance triathlon under my belt and am hooked! Really looking forward to the 2025 season and even to the hard work over the winter to prepare. Karen Houle
I wanted to let you know that the Perth triathlon was a great experience, I somehow placed third in my age group! What a supportive group of participants (including Team Triumph athletes), cheering bystanders and volunteers.
Thanks to your swim lessons, I learned the technical basics and gained confidence to get back in the pool after decades. And it was really special doing this with Ann Laidlaw, my bestie for many years. We did a couple of additional swims with Kevin and Team Triumph people, also a great way to continue learning and practicing good technical form.
I will continue with lane swimming and who knows, maybe there's another triathlon in my future!
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