Oil on the fire

  

 

Racing Olympic Distance (non draft) this year has been a learning experience. There definitely were some moments of "sweet frustration", but I thrive on those, they motivate me.
During the 7 years of my professional career, I have almost only ever raced 70.3. This year, I added 3 Olympic Distance races to my schedule.
It might seem I am taking a strange route here, at 33, but I need to prove to myself that I can be good at this. It's feels like a step I didn't take, something I missed along the way. I am loving how this new challenge is impacting my motivation and how it allows me to race more, while I keep on focusing on 70.3. What I learn from racing shorter can certainly transfer to better Half Ironman distance racing.



(Mag's Micro 2015 "short course" racing update:

Cardiff 10Km run: 3rd (PB time of 34:34)
Escape from Alcatraz (5th)
St Anthony's triathlon (2nd)
Beijing International (4th))


And here so, here goes the tale of my most recent challenge:



The Beijing International Triathlon

 

      Eric and I had a toast upon take off. This would be the third time this year that we got to head out together to race! This would also be the second IMG event we would attend (both Beijing and Alcatraz are IMG).

I moderated my excitement a tiny bit after talking with Eric about his previous Chinese ordeals. But the idea of eating too much safe food (rice), experiencing potential side effects of faulty sign language communication and facing organizational hicks were all easily brushed aside as our plane directed itself towards China and my giddyness took over.

                                               (Trying real hard to make smart choices look fancy with my Compressport socks and long leg compression)

 

Once in China, apart for a very short lived bike box scare, we easily found the men holding up signs with our names. They waved. We followed. Eric and I looked at each other with a grin as they lit cigarettes or laughed, pointing at us, mimiking a Christian prayer.

It was nothing but good entertainment though. Our quiet driver got us to the spectacular looking -Beijing Riverside Hotel- in under an hour. The taxi had traveled through the night with little interruption other then a hysteric phone call in Chinese that resulted in a U turn. There had been no reaction on our part but an open eye or two, we were too exhausted to worry.

China DAY 1

We woke up the next morning and it was already Thursday. A trip was planned to visit the great wall of China. Unfortunately we had to bail on this first opportunity as we had arrived late and
had a big day of building bikes, getting some trainings done and recovering from the previous day's 16 hours of traveling.
 The best of Thursday was about riding bikes with Eric on an improvised China route. I enjoyed negotiating traffic under new rules. I mean no rules. I gave my pre-race ego a boost, blowing by Chinese scooters and such. I also got to understand that a honk was not an aggression, even when it made your heart pop out of your throat. To be serious though, and because you do need to know how great this event is, I have to mention how we could bike right out of the hotel onto the bike course. Very well planned venue.
After  our ride together, we got to meet up in the lobby with our coordinator Florencia and the other pros. A ride was organized to take us to the pool. A 45min trip through the crowded Beijing rings got us to a fancy 50m pool equipped with Palm trees and hot tubs. There, our personal spa assistants pointed us to our lockers and walked us to the pool. I kid you not. ;)

China DAY 2
 The light of Friday was a run on the course. We got lost hunting for arrows in a magnificent Chinese garden and caught a glimpse of the epic stairs at the heart of the run course.

 

There was also a guided bike course tour planned. Then we would meet the IMG crew for an evening of celebration. After an introduction on stage it was time for the costumed dancers to come out and for the party to attack the buffet.
The funniest moment of Friday was when Matty Reed threatened some of us with a -Duck foot- from the buffet, which luckily saved us from innocently putting it on our plates, (my hungry eyes had seen mistaken it for delicious pasta). Because I do need to be serious again, I should mention that as this buffet featured such duck feet and other exotic dishes, there were also foods I was familiar with and we EVEN ended up eating pasta dinners the two nights leading up to the race.

China DAY 3: Saturday

Saturday, the tension was higher. It was the day of the pre-race interviews, two light trainings and as much rest as we could get.

China DAY 4: RACE DAY.

 

I was pleased but not satisfied with how the day went. My swim was disappointing; I have had some very good swims this year and this would not be one of them. After a good dive start, I swam for a bit with the front pack before getting dropped. For most of the swim, I was in a pack of four with
Ricarda Lisk, Felicity Sheedy-Ryan, Caroline Steffen. In this field of nine, I was at the very back of the race after the swim. On the bike, I knew it was time to play packman!
It ended up being my strongest leg. I loved the hilly, technical course and was proud to have layed down the best bike split on the day.
By the time the run started, I had moved up from 9th to 4th and was chasing after Radka Vodikova, who ran up to 2nd. I did end up catching Laura Bennett and was in third with about 600m to go but a fast charging Felicity would challenge me in that last stretch, beating me to the line by 7 seconds.

                                  

I came back from that experience very inspired. Frustrated to not have managed to pull through with that third place but also motivated. I LOVED the raw feeling that came with close racing, being on the red line, coming into the finishing shoot at a sprint. Feeling how much strategy can impact racing and how sharp the race dynamics have to be. This was so exciting and what an adventure.
I certainly hope to have the opportunity for another shot at the title at this race in the next few years.

Oh and...this happened!!!!!!  

I am loving how this new challenge is impacting my motivation and how it allows me to race more, while I keep on focusing on 70.3. and how what I learn from racing shorter can certainly transfer to better Half Ironman distance racing.

But I'll let Eric's next video explain it all! Stay tuned! It should be out in the next few days!
Happy training everyone and thanks for following!
Mags.

Out of St. George

I will not be able to take the start in St George. This was definitely an “A” race for me and yes, I am frustrated of course… 

I had planned on racing St Anthony’s last week-end andthen St-George this weekend, thinking that  the double would be nice and St. Anthony’s would be a good dose of speed prior to the big show.

I loved St Anthony’s and finished 2nd, facing a few challenges during the race. The most significant of which was when I crashed my bike out of transition. I slippe don the saddle and landed with my chest on the bars. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t feel much and kept on going, though my chest and collar bone were certainly feeling a bit sore.

It wasn’t until after the race that I felt a slight discomfort at the costo vertebral junction at the level of my fourth rib(between my shoulder blad and spine). I iced it and still didn’t think much of it.

I traveled to St George , arriving late Monday night andmet up with my Mom at the RV camp ground where She had found a cool spot overlooking transition. 

Her part of the race was already successfully completed;She he had done the epic drive from Quebec solo in 4 days, (a drive filled with adventure….with her own obstacles to overcome). We had planned a nice week out there, getting ready for the race.

It’s only after I tried to swim the next day that things started to seem more serious. That day, I didn’t push it. I called a local physio that was nice enough to see me right away.  I  got some anti inflammatory treatment and did the bike and run workouts I had to do. I had pain during training that day but nothing that crazy. The next morning though….Iknew I was in trouble.

It was time to call Gino Cinco (Function Smart Physiotherapy), the guy that we (Triathlon Squad mates) rely on to keep us going strong all year. He evaluated me  as much as he could on the phone and  we agreed to wait a little bit and see how the situation would evolved.

Sadly, yesterday morning, Paulo and I decided that the race was not going to happen. I am convinced we made the right call. However important that race was to me, having a good season is more important.

Mom insisted to take her adventure west and drive me all the way back to California in the RV.  We were back on the same day (last night).

I am back in Poway this morning and well….I have to just be patient at this point and see how this will evolve. 

I am very determined to get back to racing soon. Hopefully, I can get well enough to take the start at challenge Knoxville. I will keep you posted!

I would agree with my coach Paulo. It’s only when the shit hits the fan that you truly get tested. I’ll take that for motivation.

I’ll be watching my friends and teammates Heather and Trevor Wurteles race on Saturday. 

Take care and thanks for following.

;)

Mags.

Disappointment in Oceanside: Getting Back to the Routine

Because I want to keep you posted, even when things don't go as planned, here is my Oceanside 70.3 post race video!

Disappointment in Oceanside: Getting Back to the Routine from Eric Lagerstrom on Vimeo.

Also, Thank-you all so much for all the encouraging posts! Here's a few more things I have coming up on the schedule:

Aero testing in L.A (April 8th)
Betty Designs Fashion Show (April 23rd)
St Anthony's triathlon (April 26th)
St-George 70.3 (May 2nd)

All good stuff :)

Ironman 70.3 Monterrey Race Report

Thank you so much for all the encouragement and support after my race last weekend! Here's a quick recap video I put together, hope you enjoy!

Magali Tisseyre: "I want to win 70.3 World Championships"

With just a little more then a week to go before the season begins at Ironman 70.3 Monterrey, I am very excited to share this season intro video. It's an update on my current training context in California and some thoughts on that goal I have been chasing for so long. Hope you enjoy!

CAMP #1: December in Poway

     The season efforts began in Poway. 

A few days before it all began, I packed my car with everything triathlon I owned + a surf board that I swore I would finally baptize one day in California. The drive down from Victoria to San Diego was nice and the highlight was a fun stop in Portland. Later during the drive I spotted Mount Shasta from the highway. Mount Shasta had been mentioned in the last book I was reading  (Wild: From lost to found on the pacific crest trail by Sheryl Strayed) and I got very curious.    

I decided I had time to stop at the foothill, savor some local chocolate, stare up and think I would love to find the road that could take me higher up that blue sky, on a bike. 

Then I took that thought and that taste with me, closed the door , cranked the music and made my way on the final stretch of road.

Flashes from the camp: 

Camp mode started  right after I arrived. It always is a camp here in Poway. The real efforts though, started with a solid wake up call on the first ride back with the Wurteles. Then there were some great long ride thrills.

 New roads to discover, fast riding with great people, getting excited about biking, starting Strava. There was also action to do with the ocean: A swim across a bay holding on to feet and not thinking of sharks.

La Jolla: My first swim here with Summer Cook and Greg Billington. Left from this beach and swam all the way to another and back.

Later in the camp, there was another swim across a bay not holding feet and thinking of sharks.

There was also.....an evening on a yacht.

On the yacht with the triathlon Squad.

Among camp guests was also a friend for Alice. Kiddo Wurtele.

Here's Kiddo on his way home in his private jet. Will be missed.

Other flashes from the camp include having pain in a climb on the bike and doing it over and over.

PLEASURABLE SUFFERING AT IT'S GREATEST

Flashes of running on some new trains, of swimming with fins, of bilateral breathing, of

swallowing water, of witnessing how a failed attempt at tacky Christmas sweater party could turn

into a great evening.

Flashes of more climbing up the darn hill, (pedals turning slow, pain coming fast).

Climbing up the darn hill with Heather.

Christmas in Poway: 

I stayed around here for Christmas. I had just had time to start getting organized at camp and there was still work to do so going back to Quebec to visit family could not be an option. We had the idea to make the best of it and got a family skype going between Mom, Grandpa and Grandma in Quebec, my sister Ariane and her husband Sean in Florida, my brother Pierre in Brazil, Most if that idea worked out. It was just very calm here on the 24th, just cooking, listening to Christmas music with Alice and a glass of wine and the skype call in the evening. The next day, was a nice surprise. I got invited by Andrew Duggan and his family and just ended up having a great Christmas day away from home…

I got a few lighter days of training around Christmas, it was great to get to recover after the first few weeks of harder work. It’s back to work now! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and I wish you all the best for the new year. Thank you for reading !!! 

4 November 2014 - Miami

As I sat in the plane to Victoria, about to take off, I could feel the rhythm of the last 5 days was still with me. I was still living on the crescendo of emotion that had lead me to the raucous finish line in Miami. The music of my favorite Florida station still echoed as the soundtrack to the recent  events. I was recalling as I checked in for my flight, I was offered a sweet Cafe Cubano that had amped me up one last time. And so, a delicious last shooter had symbolicly concluded a very exhilarating 5 days.

So..here goes the story:

After a camp in San Diego……arrived in Miami on the Wednesday before the race.

Here I am arriving in Miami (Selfie...lol)

Walked a while through the airport,  got the rental car, drove to the same hotel I had been to 3 years ago, an apartment  in Miami beach 15mins away from race site. Loved it there.

The only problem with the place is that there is very limited parking. So when I arrived around 2am, I had to unload my car in a dark parking lot a few minutes walk from the hotel. Two strange men were hanging out  when I pulled in and I remember thinking I had to look TOUGH...just to be extra safe, you know ;)

So I, (some sort of overplayed trigeek / Miami thug) got out of the BLACK mid-sized rental car, emptied the twice as heavy s me bike box and proceeded to drag the multiple bags and boxes ungracefully to the hotel room. (I may have laughed at myself also).

The next morning, it was time to go pick up mom. I was excited as I hadn’t seen her in way too long. The morning started with a Miami hood gift that I truly enjoyed on the way to the airport (a random CD left in the door handle of my car).

Though ….on the way back, the volume went down. Mom did not enjoy it as much as I did. That was okay, just needed to give her a few hours in Miami and she would get into the beat.

After that it was all about getting ready for the race. It rained a lot, it poured actually, and around my hotel was not ideal for bike training. So, I found a place I could rent a bike trainer by the day and it worked out super well. As for the run, well…..running in the rain was fun.

I also found a pool 5mins from the hotel, that worked out great and leading up to the race, I started feeling like the taper was just perfect.

We were invited to the Fit2Run- store for a Press Conference on Saturday. It was good fun.

By Saturday I was SO ready to go! I just had so much energy! I don't remember ever feeling so charged up before a race. The build up and taper had been ideal.

So on SUNDAY I gave it what I just was CRAVING - getting on the race course!
Here’s how the day went: (Numbers are there to prevent too many words!)
#1 Setting up transition

#2 Walk to the swim start!  I made myself laugh with a cannon ball from the dock and then good swim warm-up in.

#3 Time to start: Good start, couldn’t believe it, at the front, swimming with Amanda Stevens, Lauren Goss, Leanda Cave and two other girls.

#4 EVENT: Getting pulled down under water by someone who grabbed my shoulder, swam over me and pushed me down. I don't think there is ANY advantage in racing that way and to stay polite, I will go on to point #5.

#5 Closing the gap back up to Leanda, swimming side by side, then fading again and swimming in her feet back to the finish and getting out of the water 38s from the front of a really strong swim group. Stoked, moment to remember.

#6 Happy with my transition.

#7 Felt good on the bike so hammered to the front. Once I was there, I kept on hammering against the wind all the way to the turnaround. I focused on staying as aero as I could in the wind. I tried and tried to get away but at the turnaround, I saw that Leanda, Lauren and Amanda were still close. I changed my strategy and was less aggressive on the way back with the tailwind as I was starting to see the race would happen on the run. I got up a few times to get my legs to loosen up. Towards the end, I had very good energy so I picked it up again into transition.

#8 Transition was good and smooth.

#9 I started running and it felt pretty light from the start. At about a mile, Lauren Goss passed me, she was flying. But I passed her back in the second mile and was leading again.

I loved running up and over that long bridge, my effort felt even smoother and I opened up some more. On the way back from the turnaround on the far side of the bridge, I was lead to the wrong side of the road and I was going to start running the opposite side on the highway!!!! Thankfully, I noticed soon enough and ran back to where I was supposed to be running. It was one of those scary –uh oh- race moments. Particularly because it was still early in the run and I had not built a solid enough gap to feel safe….at all.

#10 But after the second turnaround, I started feeling I had first place secured. But as you know, it’s never done until it’s done so I had to stay very focused and keep the rhythm going.

I didn't feel safe until the second half of the second loop. There was some tough competitors on that course and when I saw them, they looked strong!

In the last two miles, I let a smile hike it’s way up my cheeks and I let myself believe that this was going to happen….I was going to win in Miami!! I started taking it in, feeling all the cheering and smiles, absorbing as much as I could. Savouring every second of that moment I work so hard for. The Miami finishing stretch is a real treat, it was just great ambiance. I crossed the line under a rain of confetti and just lived that moment of pure happiness. Loved having mom there, smiling at the finish.

With race director Wilber Anderson. Great job to you too Wilber.

My lane mate and Paulo's athlete: Juanca Torres, Age group champion on the day! Smoking fast time and always a great smile!

The day after the race, mom and I drove to Wellington, Florida to go visit my sister (Ariane St-John). Ariane stays in Wellington part of the year where she pursues her own obsession: Horseback riding! She's quite a strong, dedicated rider, tough competitor, and  it was great to get to see the environment she thrives in.

Mom (left) and Ariane (right) at the barn.

My nephew, Alex with Ariane's horse (Fidel).

I got to see my nephew, little Alex and just relax with the family. Good times! I also got to celebrate my birthday with them. I turned 33 on October 27th.

After the few days in Florida, it was time to head to Canada for a few weeks of the off season! First, I would head back to Victoria and then  to Quebec to visit the rest of my family!

For the first time, I wish I could have kept on racing instead of calling it a season. But I am excited for 2015 and soon will be focusing on the season to come.

As the season ends of a wonderful note, I would like to thank all of those who were close to me and kept me strong during the long stretch dealing with the injury. We made it back! Thank you for having kept on believing with me. Thank you to my sponsors who kept on supporting me through the tougher times. ARGON 18, PEARL IZUMI, SHIMANO, AQUA SPHERE, POWERBAR, RUDY PROJECT, COMPUTRAINER.

I am also thinking of those who helped build things back in the last few months: Marie-Claude Bozek, Francois St-Onge, Gino Cinco and the coach who made me trust the work: Paulo Sousa. I got so much great energy training with the triathlon Squad in the last few months and am very grateful. Lastly, I would like to thank T and H for their help and ideas that changed so many things.