A look at the 2014 Multisports Race Season

What happened to the 2014 Triathlon Season? It went super fast and, although not completely over, was filled with new adventures and experiences.

What I realized over my years of training, setting goals, is that racing is very enjoyable, exciting, expensive and hard, but also that it requires consistency and focus to stay at a high competitive level year after year.

To have consistency and focus in your training you need a stable life and when things are not too stable workouts are missed, motivation is low and the results show!

 With 2014 looking like an unstable life I decided to try new adventures and experiences in racing, and it was wonderful, hard and exciting!



The first adventure I tried was the Tour of the Battenkill in Cambridge NY. A 100k very hilly bike race, on tons of dirt roads! I asked around in our training group who wanted to join me, and only Steve Mettler said yes!

The race was really hard, and the weather was freezing cold, but finished reasonably well with a feeling of a great accomplishment.



 Part of the fun of racing is to try new places and at the end of June I went to Cohasset, MA, and did a great large sprint triathlon and won my age group!

After several local triathlons with respectable results it was time for my second adventure, one of those dream experiences!

On July 20, I climbed the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees and participated in one of the biggest bicycle race I have ever done! 10000 riders from all over the world gathered in Pau, Pyrenees to ride one of the stage of the Tour de France, 4 days before the actual tour de France pro riders and on the exact same course!

It was a fantastic experience, but unfortunately not perfect! The ride was great with so many people around you were never alone and could pick who to draft with no issues. I was not planning to race but enjoy the experience.

The weather started warm, but the mountains were nowhere to be seen behind clouds. When we arrived at the bottom of the first major climb, le col du Tourmalet, rain started to pour on us...No big deal, as it was finally the "famous" climb, so exciting that I did not notice the fog, the drop in temperature and the rain. The legs were feeling awesome, the atmosphere awesome.

Finally at the top, I stopped for a picture and noticed I was getting cold, like freezing cold...it was 3C almost snowing! The descent was so steep, so wet, so cold I could not stop shaking and was getting numb everywhere even in my head...I stopped in a small village, not an official stop, but a disaster zone, where hundred of cyclists like me where freezing cold....

I am not too proud of myself but I never managed to go back on my bike. I tried several times and each time I was shaking uncontrollably :-(

So I climbed the Tourmalet, rode about 110K, but never climbed Hautacam the final col. I will have to come back on a nicer day!

My third adventure of the summer was Nationals in Milwaukee! I love the race and this year it was huge, with so many fast athletes but a good reality check. there were almost 200 women registered in my own age group!

My bike travelled in style in Chris Swift RV with Chris Thomas!

My race was good, but the lack of consistency in my training showed with the swim and run portions! So even if I finished in the top 20% of my age group, I did not qualified for Worlds 2015 in Chicago. I have been to numerous nationals in previous years and had always qualified for Worlds, but not this time around ;-(

I wished I had raced the next day for the sprint triathlon as I would have qualified easily! Oh well, there is always next year and I am planning to be consistent in my training and cannot wait for the facility at Swim 70 to be finished!

The great thing about racing is to see old friends and competitors and share a drink after the race!

Tomorrow is my last local race at the Hammerfest Triathlon in Branford and will try to finish in style!

My last adventure of the year 2014 for me will be the Bimblers Bluff 50k Trail Race in Gilford CT in October. Pascal Fuchs pushed me to register and the Whipple's family inspired me! I am not 100% sure how I will tackle that one, but will have a first taste next Sunday at the Goodwin Forest Trail Run 30k of trails!

So now thinking of next year's goals:

- nationals, qualify for worlds 2016
- 70.3 somewhere new?
- another Ironman in the horizon?

And a new training facility to manage and develop at Swim70 in Norwalk! I cannot wait for this new adventure!

 Our triathlon training center will be on the mezzanine overlooking the 50 meter pool!