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Oh Canada, I love your politics, your people and your landscape

I just got back from a long weekend trip to Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

Oh, how I love Canada – my friends to the north. Loved traveling through your countryside. However, Montreal, your highway is a bit of a mess. 

About a year ago I registered for Ironman Mont Tremblant thinking what a great location for a race. I’d never been west of Montreal.

What was I thinking?

I was thinking that Mary wanted to go and Mark followed suit. Why the heck not. I can drive to the race and not fly. With my bike in the car I could bring all the gear I needed. My plan was to train like heck on the hills in Concord and run all the hills in the mountains. 

Sweet!

Heading into the weekend I thought I was prepared. Kind of. Well…….. hmmm. I’m not sure…. Some things didn’t go as planned such as motivation and sticking to a training plan. I forget that when it comes to my plans and future goals  – it  is truly a crapshoot.

Crapshoot definition: a risky or uncertain matter.

Yep sounds like my life. And I’m okay with it. Really, really I am. 

Okay – truth: I’ve DNF my last two big races in the last 12 months leading up to the weekend in Mont Tremblant. Ego wise – I needed to finish the %^&$#@%^ thing and retire from Ironman.

Again ….. Well …… I didn’t finish this race, but I had a wicked, awesome vacation and swam 2.4 miles and biked a crazy, hilly 56 miles (I still can’t convert to metric despite loving me some Canada). Holy schnikes Batman, those hills were obscene. I admire every single person who crossed that finish line. Well deserved kudos to every… single …. one!

I’m breaking up with Ironman. I have fallen out of love with you  Ironman – it’s not you, it’s me.

Mont Tremblant had a little to do with it but I was not in love with the bike course. However, I do have to call out the race director, who hugged me and told me how I have to come back soon, after I crashed the finish line with the pros.

Here are the highlights of the road trip north with some pretty cool people. I’d say I’d try it again but I’m retired.

Marianne & Richard – Two peas in a pod. Fun. Adventurous. Kind. Thoughtful. Silly. Richard is a comedian and Marianne gets punchy at 10 pm. They helped me turn the DNF into sherpa-ing and, seriously, it was probably easier to finish the race. 


Mark #13 Ironman. Headed to Kona. Driven. Kind. Accomplished. Steadfast. Travel Buddy. Friend. I admire Mark’s tenacity and his single minded pursuit of a goal. 

The village at Mont Tremblant – so European and beautiful. Am I in Paris or Mont Tremblant? You decide.

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Mountain Towns

“I leave Park City grateful for my years there, for the comfort I found in a place where every nook and cranny became as familiar to me as drawing a breath. … but I did learn something anyway about what’s important in life: a stand of aspen trees, still green but just about to go golden, and first turns on a bright, blue morning after the high desert and angels have been making powder all day.” Pam Houston (83)

Substitute Park City with every mountain town (east and west) that I’ve lived in.  I miss that life. I like where I live now but living in rural towns in the east and west seem like a simpler more beautiful life. I remember driving up Killington’s access road to the ah ha moment you see the peak. I loved driving south on Route 40 in Grand County and see the Continental Divide in the distance; colors always changing. I remember the rocky summits that surrounded Tucson and how surprised I was that the hiking and mountain biking were so good.

I remember dogs running off and getting into trouble,  making list of trails to hike, hiking above treeline for miles above Winter Park.

And road trips with dogs, now both gone to dog heaven. I miss it all.

 

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Cardigan Mountain, Swim In the Merrimack – A perfect summer day

Cardigan-Summit-View August 2018

Today began with a hike to the top of Mount Cardigan at 3,155 feet.

I met a woman, and her dog, who is an ultra runner and former Ironman athlete. I love it when you meet your people. It doesn’t happen much for me but when you do, you learn so much. I didn’t snap a photo of her but I hope to see her on the trail again.

Here is the top – the view was great, a little hazy in the distance but after all the rains the last few days it’s understandable. The streams were running throughout the hike; it was glorious.

Mount Cardigan Summit

And as I made my way down the slabs of rock and into the forest, the streams were so cool and nice!

Once I got home it was a hot, 90 degrees in Concord so I took the Winnie-dog to the Merrimack River (Sorry, no pics).

It was a good day to be a New Hampshire resident. #hikeNH #swimNH