Pre-read:
This will not be a typical race recap for me. I participated in Ironman Mont-Tremblant 2023 but was not able to complete the race. This was my first ever DNF (did not finish) in a race. I will write about my experiences leading up to race day and the highlights of the Ironman experience below, but I will share ahead of the recap that I had an accident during the bike portion which resulted in me ending up in hospital. I know I am lucky to be here writing my recap and on my road to recovery.
For those not familiar with an Ironman triathlon event, this is a race combining the following activities and distances:
2.4 mile (3.9 kilometer) swim, 112 mile (180 kilometer) bike ride, 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) run for a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km).
I began my journey to Ironman Mont-Tremblant by signing up for the event in October 2022. My training plan was 39 weeks long (I used a plan from MyProCoach) and was optimized for a ‘Masters’ athlete (40+ years of age) with a career and a family. It was a good fit and allowed for some flexibility which would permit me to work around my family obligations. I picked this specific race based upon the timing (late August) as both my boys would be away together at overnight camp during the heaviest training period of the plan (the 6 hour bike rides and long swims and runs) between June and August, and race day was before they went back to school so not interfering with everyday life. While I recognize triathlon is a very selfish sport, I did my best to balance life, family and work, and this plan worked best. I would highly recommend MyProCoach as the plans available are numerous and the coaches were very responsive and informative.
I also chose Mont-Tremblant as a location as I would be able to drive there. This would minimize logistics for me (it was roughly a 500 mile/8 hour drive) eliminating the need to plan flights as I didn’t know initially if any family would be coming with me. As it ended up, my wife and youngest son were able to join me, but unfortunately my eldest son had obligations with his school marching band. We were lucky that he had recently obtained his driver’s license and was able to stay with family and drive himself to and from school.
It was announced just ahead of the race that, after 10 years, this would be the last full Ironman event to be held at Mont-Tremblant, although the half Ironman (IM70.3) would continue. This was going to be a very special weekend for everyone involved.
In terms of getting my bike to Mont-Tremblant, I chose TriBikeTransport to ship my bike to the race location. While I have always taken my bike to races on my own using my bike rack, having a trusted service provider really took a lot of stress out my weekend. I found a local bike shop from the TriBikeTransport list of approved locations and arranged with the bike shop to perform a thorough bike tune up in advance of pick up. All worked out well.
We set out for Mont-Tremblant on Thursday August 17th. It was an incident free drive with no major traffic issues. All the passengers (aka my wife and son) were happily relaxed and entertained and my only job was to drive and get there safe. We did stop at a quaint town in upstate New York for lunch which looked like an old movie set, before arriving in Canada in the early afternoon. The border crossing/passport control was really our only slow down but we made it through there and headed on to our final destination in the early evening. The scenery was fantastic. I know now why this was considered one of the best locations to do an Ironman race. As we arrived in Mont-Tremblant, our home for the next few days, we were surrounded by many cyclists riding the course (which was well marked by signs along the road) and the most wonderful rainbow. We thought (at the time) that this was a sign for a great adventure and good luck for the weekend.
After checking in our hotel (Tour des Voyageurs), which was full of athletes, we spent the evening walking around the village and finding a place for dinner. Our hotel was walking distance to the Ironman Village and the finish line. This was recommended as a hotel through a number of reviews and I’d made sure to book it as soon as I signed up for the race. After dinner we took a stroll down to the finish line that I would hopefully be crossing on Sunday evening before heading back to our hotel for the night.
We woke up on Friday morning to rain. My plan was to do a practice swim in the designated swimming area to get familiar with the water temperature and to make sure I was comfortable in my wetsuit. After rubbing my neck fairly raw during my last half ironman event I was testing out using some KT tape on the back of my neck while swimming. My wife had planned to go for a run (we were in training for the Atlantic City, NJ marathon) and she seemed okay to be running in the rain. As I was swimming, the rain didn’t really bother me.
I signed in at the swim beach and got myself all suited up to swim. My wife zipped my wetsuit up and headed out for her run as I headed to the lake. Once I entered the water I was shocked by how cold the water actually felt and once I was starting my swim I found my breathing rate elevated as I was struggling to maintain my composure in the water. I had planned to do 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back but I had to stop and tread water a couple of times to slow my breathing down and my planned out and back swim ended up to be only 15 minutes.
I was a little startled by the water conditions as all my swimming had been in a pool and I hadn’t done an open water swim since my last half Ironman back in 2021. I’m glad I made the time to practice and figure out conditions, but I’m also glad that my open water swim freak out happened on the Friday rather than on race day. At least I could mentally prepare for what I would face on Sunday. As I got out of the water to walk back to the hotel the heavens opened and the rain became really heavy. Let’s just say I think I got wetter walking back to the hotel than actually swimming. My wife was still out running and she was as equally soaked (dedicated but soaked).
After a hot shower back in my room, I left my family getting ready for the day and headed to the race registration area to check in for the race. Race registration was held in a building by the side of the finish line. As the half Ironman had been postponed from July due to the Canadian wildfires, it was also taking place on the Sunday and the registration area was split into two sides. Once I showed my registration information at the front I was guided to the full Ironman area and given my race number, my Ironman wristband and all my gear bags for race day. I quickly went over to the Ironman village to pick up my official race backpack but did not want to shop until I was with my wife so I headed back to the hotel.
After getting all my race provisions, I picked up my bike from the TriBikeTransport area by the side of the transition area and headed back to the hotel. On my way back I passed the unofficial underwear runners which is a tradition at Ironman events. Due to the weather I think this was a pretty small but determined group. I declined to join!!!
Following a quick shop in the official Ironman Store with my family, noting that they still had not received all the race specific gear, I headed over to the mandatory athlete briefing while my wife and son enjoyed time in the village.
We headed to St-Jovite, a nearby village, for lunch and to investigate the area before heading back to Mont-Tremblant for a rest and a walk around the host village. I headed back to the hotel to get my gear bags packed ahead of Saturday’s mandatory bike check in and gear drop before meeting up again with my family for dinner and an early night.
Having read many Ironman race reviews I followed advice and made sure my bags were decorated with identifiable marks to find them easier to spot on race day. I did have to raid my son’s art supplies but I made my bags easily identifiable.
On Saturday morning my wife headed out for a 13 mile run, and following some advice from other athletes in a race specific Facebook group, she was able to follow most of the marked race route that I would be running the next day. There were so many people out running, swimming and biking all over the area each day we were there leading up to the race. I double and triple checked my gear bags and headed over to the athletes village just after 10am when mandatory bike check in and gear drop off started.
I racked my bike and dropped my bags off and timed it perfectly that I got to the official store just as my wife finished her run. The official race merchandise had been delivered that morning (they sent a note through the official Ironman race app) and we stopped by the store to buy some race specific headwear before heading back to the hotel.
After lunch at a great spot in the village, I headed back to the hotel for a rest while my wife and son entertained themselves around the village now that the sun had finally come out. I met up with them for an early dinner reservation and headed back to the hotel alone to get my special needs, race morning gear and bike food and fluids ready before heading to bed for an early night. I had packed ear plugs and an eye mask so my family knew they wouldn’t disturb me when they came back to the hotel. I just hope I did not disturb them when I woke up at 3:30am the next day. Judging by my Garmin data I managed to get about six and a half hours of sleep so I was happy with that.
Having woken up early, I ate my breakfast, had a cup of coffee and dressed for the day. I had been as strategic as possible in positioning my supplies so not to wake anyone and around 4:45am I headed out for the big day.
Once in transition I headed over to my bike to add my water bottles and pump up my tires. Bike transition was super crowded and busy but it was fairly straightforward where to drop my special needs bags for later in the day and even though it was dark when I arrived I was able to get everything ready without much issue.
Having dropped off all my gear, all that was left was to walk to the swim start. There I would change out of my morning clothes and into my wetsuit, drop off my morning gear bag and hope I had time for a short practice swim and at least get some water into my wetsuit to get used to the day’s temperature.
The walk was a bit longer than I expected and by the time I got to the race start it was crowded. I quickly got into my wetsuit but just as I finished zipping up they announced that practice swim time was over and participants should get out of the water. Oh man!!! Luckily I had a bottle of water at room temperature in my morning bag and I had read in all my preparation for the race that if you cannot swim, pour a bottle of water down the wetsuit to get a layer of water between your skin and the wetsuit to provide a layer of insulation. With that done I headed to the beach to line up for the start of the race.
Based upon my training speed and my most recent long swim I lined up with the 1 hour 40 minute to 1 hour to 50 minute swimmers. My goal was to swim under 1 hour 50 minutes with a stretch goal of 1 hour 45 minutes. I put in my ear plugs and put on my swim cap and my goggles, said a quick personal prayer, and followed the mass of competitors to the front. While the half Ironman was also taking place on the same day, they would be starting 2 hours behind us so this was all full Ironman participants. I wondered how many first timers there were like me as there was no way to identify that in the mass of swimmers.
Rather than a mass start, like Ironman races traditionally had, I preferred the timed corrals as it was much less intimidating, especially for a first timer. We funneled down the chutes which were divided into 6 lanes and swimmers were sent off every 7 seconds. The weather was glorious and I was just excited to have made it to the start line of an Ironman race after all my training.
My wife, unbeknown to me, had heard me leave and headed down to the start area before venturing out for her morning run and took photos of the swim start and had even caught me entering the water.
Once in the water, knowing my experience from Friday’s practice swim, I had prepared mentally to keep calm, breathe slowly and just get into a consistent rhythm with my stroke, imaging I was in a swimming pool. The water was fairly clear and allowed me to follow the feet of swimmers ahead of me so I was not constantly having to look up and sight the buoys. The KT tape I had applied to my neck when dressing in the morning seemed to be holding up in the water and I just focused on my stroke and my breathing.
Below is my GPS tracking for the swim. I swam pretty much the exact distance of the course without veering too far off the line. After swimming in a pool for the whole of my training cycle I am very proud of this.
However, what I am more proud of is my swim time. Based upon my watch, I swam around 1 hour 30 minutes, and according to the official Ironman timing I actually swam 1:29:20! 15 minutes ahead of my goal time.
During the race briefing on Friday, competitors were advised to keep swimming until they touched the bottom of the lake before standing up and from there it was quite a short walk to the swim exit. Once I touched the bottom I stood up and looked at my competitors around me and said “I did it! I swam the Ironman swim course!” I was so happy I was grinning from ear to ear. A fellow competitor nearby smiled back and said “Yes you did!”.
There were stairs to climb out of the lake and we were assisted up by volunteers. I quickly went to the nearest wetsuit peelers and two volunteers helped me out of the wetsuit in no time. I was so excited I could not stop smiling. What was more, I saw my wife at the side of the barriers cheering me on as I ran to transition. What a lovely surprise and a great start to my day.
The run to transition was about a half mile and was fully carpeted to the transition area. I quickly ran to pick up my bike gear back and was led into the changing tent and guided to a seat by the race volunteers. It was a hive of activity with so many athletes getting changed and ready for the next leg of the race. Once I had dried off, changed into my bike gear and stored my swim gear I made sure to stop to eat food I had packed and grab water as well as making a quick bathroom stop before dropping of my swim gear bag and heading to my bike.
After grabbing my bike, I gave my wife a quick kiss before heading out to the bike mounting area and heading on my way.
The Mont-Tremblant bike course was a challenging ride but with some spectacular scenery. Below is the course map from the Athlete Guide and the elevation chart of the course. It has approximately 4,800 feet of elevation. This is when you remember the race is based in a ski resort. I had done all my training using my bike trainer and the Fulgaz application as you could ride the Ironman course in the app. My training plan also synced to the app so I was getting my power and speed workouts simulated over the course.
The volunteers on the course were exceptional and also entertaining. Ironman events have strict rules on littering and athletes can only drop litter in a designated area without incurring a penalty. This is clearly sign posted at each aid station. Being in Canada, the litter throwing areas at some of the aid stations were hockey nets and being manned by volunteers with hockey sticks. Funny!
The hardest part of the course for me was the climb to Lac Superior between miles 45 to 50. A solid 5 mile stretch with several “stair step” climbs. Whatever speed I had been averaging was easily sapped in this stretch.
Based upon my Garmin data I did the first loop in just over 4 hours which would be cutting the time allowed close. This was my slowest ride in any of my triathlon events and may have been a combination of just how hard the hills were for me and the heat that was rising. It was the hottest day of the weekend so far. Luckily for me I had gained around 40 minutes from my swim but it would be tight with the overall time limit for the race. Cycling is my weakest part of the three sports of the events and I’m not really speedy on two wheels, however, with the elevation I was hitting speeds just over 40 miles per hour on the downhill portions of the course.
After negotiating the climb up to Lac Superior there is a steep downhill which takes you to the halfway turnaround point by the side of the bike transition area. It was here that I saw and was cheered on by my wife and son as I turned around and headed back out for my second lap.
I felt a little more confident having gone through the course one time already and knew where I could push and where I could take it a little easier. But before heading back on the course my first stop was at my special needs bag located on the course about half a mile past the transition area. I grabbed replacement liquid fuel that I had packed and more gels and bars, but primarily I stopped to read the notes that my family (including my eldest son who wasn’t with us) had written for me and had put in my bag to give me a boost at the halfway mark. They had even thrown a few pieces of candy in there for me. From there it was back out for miles 57 through 112.
This is where my memory gets a little sketchy. Based on the course map and my Garmin data I made it to Route 117 and completed the three mile climb to the turnaround point where I crossed over the official timing sensor at mile 60 (96km) and started my decent down La Conception…
…the next thing I recall was being in an emergency room in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts surrounded by medical staff with my wife and son nearby. Based upon the conversations I’ve had with my wife since the event I have very little recollection of what was going on. For that, I am glad and at peace that I do not remember my experience.
I’d had a bike accident which resulted in a concussion with a brain bleed, I broke my right clavicle in 2 places, I had 5 broken ribs and had a punctured lung in addition to a lot of skin abrasions across my body and over my face. It could have been so much worse and I know how very lucky I am. While my bike helmet is damaged to the point it is no longer practical, it no doubt saved me. Let this be a PSA for bike helmets.
After the accident, the Ironman crew contacted my wife and she and my son were able to get transport to the trauma center to see me before I was then moved to Sacred Heart Hospital in Montreal about 90 minutes away, where they had appropriate facilities to care for me. I don’t remember which location took CT scans and X-rays but I do remember being moved a lot.
From what I have been able to piece together from my GPS data and members of the race specific Facebook group I was part of, my watch stopped recording at mile 66.98. Eye witnesses tell me I was descending La Conception at high velocity when a wind gust caught my front wheel causing me to lose control and I went over the front of my bike and rolled over and over down the road about 10 times before ending up lying on my back in the middle of the road.
Thankfully I was close to an on course medical team and they responded immediately to stabilize me until an ambulance arrived. I have since connected with the first responder who filled in more of the gaps. He was the person who got to me first and stabilized me before calling for the ambulance. He said I was disoriented and only responded to physical stimulation and had difficulty breathing.
While we should have been returning home to the USA on Monday August 21st, my wife had to pack up our room in Mont-Tremblant and relocate to a hotel In Montreal. Fortunately my father in law flew up on the Tuesday when I was being discharged and between him and my wife they were able to drive me home that night.
It was on the Thursday night after we got home when my concussion/head injury finally raised its ugly self and I ended up in an emergency room for more head CT scans and was admitted into the ICU on the Friday. I had an additional CT scan the following morning and the doctors were okay to discharge me on the Saturday afternoon but I had yet another visit to the same ER on the following Tuesday for changes in my vision leading to more CT scans and X-rays. Thankfully I was not readmitted and have been home sleeping in my own bed since August 29th.
I saw an ophthalmologist the day after my ER visit who confirmed there was no damage to my eye and the vision change was a result of pressure on my optic nerve as a result of the head injury and hopefully will go away as my head recovers. Later that week I was back for some additional X-rays on my chest and my ribs but was allowed to go home.
Since then I have been recuperating at home and getting better. I received home visits twice a week through mid-September from a nurse, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. I have been doing physical therapy at home 3 times a day as I build back my stamina. I was discharged by the neurosurgeon and referred to a neurologist for follow up. My appointment with the neurologist was positive.
I have made progress and on my recent visit with the orthopedic surgeon, he decided (for now) not to operate on my shoulder based upon my hard work and instead has prescribed ‘aggressive’ physical therapy which I recently began. I have a follow up with the surgeon in mid-November and hoping the good news continues. I’m finally able to sleep on my back again after having to be propped up on pillows since the accident.
During a follow up visit with my primary doctor he sent me for an X-ray on my right hip and it isn’t fractured, there’s just some muscle and nerve damage which will get better with time. Similarly, my vision is about 99% back to normal and the neurologist says it should return to normal with a little more time.
I wear my Garmin Forerunner 955 device 24/7 and rely on my Garmin for health data. My watch was pretty much beaten up in the accident. I contacted Garmin and for a small fee was able to replace it with a refurbished version of the same device. I have gradually seen my health data return to near normal. I’m still a little away from my pre-race condition but all metrics are moving back to where they should be.
As I write this post it is 8 weeks from the event and I have just been cleared to go back to work, albeit with some restrictions for the near term. I am finally sleeping through the night again and my ribs are no longer bothering me, although if you make me laugh, sneeze or cough I will remember very quickly that they were broken.
My triathlon adventures are now over for good and personally I am fine with that. I will continue to swim for fitness once I am back to full health. As soon as I am fit enough I will be back to running, chasing my marathon goals and will continue to travel and run to races with my wife. My goal is to be fit enough to participate in our local Thanksgiving 5 miler. So much to look forward to. My wife wrote to all the races that were scheduled for October and November and was able to have me deferred until next year. My wife and I were scheduled to run the Atlantic City, NJ Marathon in late October and I was scheduled to run the Princeton Half Marathon and Philadelphia Marathon in November. I have goals and something to work for in 2024.
Personally I’m at peace with the fact that I will never cross an Ironman finish line and be declared “You are an ‘Ironman’!”. I’m proud that I have completed 5 half Ironman races and even more proud that I trained for and toed the line for a full Ironman. How many people can claim they have done that. The training showed me I was capable and unfortunately the race didn’t work out as planned. I don’t feel that I have to prove it to myself. Considering where I began my health journey back in 2010 I have accomplished so many amazing things and had fun doing them.
Throughout all this, my wife, family and friends have been incredible. The kind attention of friends who put meals together for us, called, texted and visited showed me how lucky I really am. For this I’m so grateful.
Thank you for reading and please make sure you wear a helmet when riding a bike.