Mighty Magali

I chose to race in Providence because I remember having seen the race as a spectator and having wished that I would be there one day, running on the –very alive- finishing stretch. A few years back, when Lisa Bentley had won, I was watching,  jaw to the ground, as the champion’s confetti burst into the air. I remember dreaming to be one day in her place. I also was excited about a trip to Providence because Fuel Belt headquarters are about 20 minutes from the race site and I was going to finally get to meet the crew. Another great thing was that mom could drive up and meet me there and Alice would be reunited with Wiener cousins –Evita and Icar- (little Lucas an Simeon had to stay home this time). Providence also was not quite as deep a field as the other races I have done so far this year and I figured, THIS WAS GOING TO BE MY CANDY RACE. A present to myself. Less pressure, fun in the sun.

Well…it did turn out to be a Candy race in many ways. First, mom did come down and was cheering LOUD as usual , that always helps. Then My visit with Fuel Belt really made my trip! On the Thursday before the race, I was invited to the Fuel Belt offices. Mom and I entered the sea shell covered parking lot and soon met  -the great and very TALENTED- Vinu Malik, founder and CEO of Fuel Belt, Publisher and CEO  of Xtri.com, 7-time Hawaii Ironman Finisher, 32-time Ironman Finisher and father of three. I also had the pleasure to meet his partner and charming wife, Ann Malik.  Vinu and Ann have surrounded themselves with a group of amazing people. The very sparkly Colleen Grace was my guide for most of the trip, she took such great care of me all week-end and even was there taking pictures during the race. Like a queen, I was escorted to the neighboring  -TT bike fit-shop (WWW.TTBIKEFIT.COM), where Todd took care of checking the Blue (I was pleased to see they sell Blue bikes!). Todd made sure it was race ready and made final adjustments.

Later, mom and I along with little Alice and mom’s two pups were invited to come upstairs and go meet –the Fuel Belt  family- thank goodness they love dogs!  We opened the door and saw nothing but smiles and bright colors. I was discovering the magical, creative environment of the crew.  The –Wonka- offices of triathlon. The offices were on the smaller side (considering the number of products sold around the world, I expected a huge industrial office setting, gray carpets and neon lamps and way too serious faces.)

I think is quite appropriate to speak of the Fuel Belt team as a CREW. Once you have hiked up to the office, you are standing on a wooden floor and can easily look out the windows and see the ocean. You can then turn around and see smiley faces and bright colored triathlon goodies that fit perfectly in the rest of the fun décor. A  kitchen is also a central part of the display.It almost makes you want to as where are the guest rooms. If you had been there with us, you would also have noticed a few wiener dogs snooping around and maybe even Alice peeing on my Pro wheel bag. That was embarrassing but at least she knew not to go on the floor (though she did end up climbing onto a desk at one point).

So that is how it seems, the Fuel Belt ship sails. With everyone close, on deck, looking out and smiling in the same direction, whether it be on the computer screen or through the window.

Meeting everyone was just great, we had lunch and I even got to meet Tara Costa from -biggest loser- who was also invited, a very special girl, loaded with great energy and who fearlessly intended to do her first half Ironman on the week-end. (She did really good actualy, finishing in 5:58:40).

That day was a treat and it was only the beginning of a week-end of fun with the crew.

Sunday was race day, five of us Pro girls stood on the beach at Olney pond (I wish we could have swam in the ocean but this was okay too), the water was warm! The feel before the race was quite relaxed. I guess it is nice to see how you race in different environments. This one was definitely more on the relaxed side and I was looking forward to a sunny day of going hard in Rhode Island!

Gun went off and we went, for the first time, I was leading the swim from the start and it felt awesome. BUT it also lead me to quickly realize that it is harder to swim fast when leading than it is when you are following and hard at war! First, the morning sun made it impossible to see the buoys in that swim! It was quite stressful as for most of the swim I could just pray I was actually headed in the direction of the next buoys. Only when I got close enough to each one did I have a moment of relief when I saw…a slight shadow of the inflatable figure. As I approached the second turn buoy, I wasn’t sure which one it would be (no way of even telling if it was yellow or orange!) Did I have to keep straight and wish for a buoy or was this the one on which to make the right turn….uh oh. I yelled (a few times): -…DO I TURN HERE??? (thank goodness for the kayak volunteers that I FINALY understood  and re-oriented in the right direction (3 times!!!) I finally made it back to the beach and realized I had almost caught up with one of the pro men. I gave the crowd a few cheers back and followed into transition.

On the Blue I went, two of the pro men were now ahead and I caught glimpses of them once in a while.

But I was also trying to ignore that my legs were not feeling quite as good as usual.  I had had a big block of training and it felt like I had gone a little too easy on the taper and I could just feel my legs screaming to let them sleep just a little more. Anyways, I said yes to pain and maybe just gave them a tiny bit of time to come around but I wanted to gage on the boys and there was no way I would let them ride out of sight as they were the only reference I had at this point.

Through the mid-point of the bike, I could still catch glimpses of them when there was a hill and at one point, I could see three ahead but two of them slowly got away as I only caught one of them in the end. The course was rolling to hilly all the way with a fun pass over a damn. Then there was a rough patch of road all the way to the finish and I entered transition behind the 5 first male pros. As my legs felt quite bad on the bike, I hoped they would feel better on the run. They did feel a little better and by the time I made it to mile 2, it started feeling more comfortable and movements started flowing, I could concentrate on cadence and get into a comfortable rhythm. Now I was on my own with no other choice but to focus on my own effort.

On the run, I saw some of the Fuel Belt crew and BOY WHERE THEY CHEERING GOOD!!! They really helped me stay in the game and stay focused. There was a hill on the course that we had to go up and down twice and I definitely focused on that hill as it reminds me of the hill on the run course in Vegas and every race is a practice round!!!! The run course was beautiful and the crowd (especially near the finish line area) was so alive!

I crossed the line in first with a big smile and soon found out the men’s title had gone to my teammate David Kahn, his first 70.3 win and certainly not his last. We made a double or what Siri called the –MightyMiracle- as a combination of David and I’s nicknames. FUN TIMES. This was also special because Siri went to Brown University and some of the run course was right in that area!

Fellow Quebecer Annie Gervais took second place and that was great for her too. Actually, there were so many people from Quebec on the course, it was great to see them out there doing so good.

But the party wasn’t over. I resumed the day with David and his Family (mom had left already to drive home) with a huge desert at the cheesecake factory.

On Monday, Alice and I stayed in bed all morning, just being lazy and then had a real treat in the afternoon! MORE GREAT TIMES WITH FUEL BELT FRIENDS!!! First, Colleen picked me up and fuel belt treated me to a massage, followed by a little photoshoot with Ann and Colleen along the water. (oh and Alice was also in the shoot!!!!!!!). Then we went to meet the Fuel Belt team for an open water swim in the ocean (I LOVE THOSE). Alice recently discovered the beach and was just thrilled to stay on the beach and play with Indira, Jasmine and Vinu Jr.(Vinu and Ann’s children) while momy swam.

We then went back to Vinu’s and had a barBQ, great exchanges and EVEN A CAKE with ONE candle on it. I got to make a nice wish. J

A perfect end to a perfect week-end. I left the Fuel Belt crew feeling inspired, glad I had discovered such a unique group of people and knowing I would come back next year.

YES, THE VISION OF THE CANDY RACE HAD TURNED OUT TO BE A CANDY WEEK-END.

WHEW!

BACK TO WORK!!!