2026 Ironman Ottawa - A Gift in Life

“Considering what you have been through, doing an Ironman is a gift” - My coach 

One month after the bike accident, I finished my 3rd Ironman at Ironman Ottawa this past weekend (Sunday, August 2). 

I was supposed to do this race last year, but #life happened, so I deferred it to this year. Going into the race, I was not sure how it would turn out. Exactly one month before the race, I had a bike accident, broke my front teeth, and had multiple wounds on the face and body. I had to pause the Ironman training for more than a week. Considering that I was undertrained to begin with because I just got back from spending a month in France, I was not sure if I would even start the race. 

Slowly and carefully, my coach and I worked together to rebuild my confidence on the bike. I tried to get as much open water swim practice as possible with two weeks left. Compared to the preparation going into IM Mont Tremblant and Chattanooga, I think the amount of training this time was not even close to 60% of what I used to do. In addition to the accident, I also had busy academic years leading up to this race. However, my goal was only to finish the race and make the cutoffs. So, the bar was already low LOL

Two weeks after the accident, I decided that I would still do this race because asking for another deferral would be difficult, as it was already deferred from last year. I also rode outside with a group once, which was a confidence booster. Considering how flat the bike course was, it would not be too difficult to make the bike cutoff. My coach said, "We just need to get you through the swim and the bike; we know you can run and can suffer". My longest run leading up to the race was only 13 miles. I had to thank my ultramarathon days for teaching me to run/walk on tired legs and endure the pain. 

Then, my mindset changed from anxiety to curiosity. I no longer needed to prove that I could do the distance. I finished it twice before. This time, I was genuinely curious how my body would perform given the (lack of) training and life challenges leading up to the race. And, of course, there was only one way to find out...

We left super early for Ottawa on Thursday, July 30 because the athlete guide said that we had to pick up the packet and timing chip on Thursday if we wanted to do the official swim practice on Friday morning. Because the swim was my main concern in this race, I HAD TO do the practice swim no matter what. Despite the traffic, we arrived in Ottawa around 4:30pm - just in time to pick up the packet (but no time for merchandise shopping LOL). 

I went to swim practice on Friday morning. The good thing about it was that the practice course basically covered the start and finish of the race. So, I was able to feel the water, test my long-sleeve wetsuit one more time, and see how choppy the water was. The water was colder than Lake Medina but not as cold as Mont-Tremblant. It was choppy on the way out to the first buoy. Of course, I choked, panicked, and thought there was no frickin’ way I could do this for 2.4 miles. Then, I told myself to slow down, breathe, and trust the process. It was okay to be slow. Worst-case scenario, I would not make the swim cutoff, but that was okay. At least I tried. After shifting my mindset, I was able to calm down and keep swimming. I was glad I did the swim practice and got the panic out of the way. 

The weather on race day was supposed to be rainy, with a chance of thunderstorms. Oh well, at least, it's better than 100F and it might rain on race day anyway :) Many people were concerned about the rain but I thought it was actually good for me because I struggled more in the heat than in the rain. 

With CTC folks

Swim - Surprisingly the best part of the day

Compared to three years ago, I was nowhere close to the shape I was once in. I was a slow swimmer to begin with, but this time, I was even slower because I did not swim at all in 2024 when we lived in Portugal. So, my goal going into the race was to “not drown” and make the swim cutoff, which was 2 hours and 20 minutes. After several weeks of dealing with tooth and body pain, insurance headaches, and several months of work stress, I felt incredibly fortunate just to be at the swim start line. Based on my practice time, I thought it would take me about 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete the swim. So, I seeded myself in the 1-hour-50-minute-to-2-hour corral.

Then, we took off. The first 500 meters were familiar because I just did this yesterday. This time, I knew what to do. I went out at an almost too easy pace, settled into my breathing rhythm, and thought to myself - one buoy at a time. The water was choppy on the way out as we were swimming against the current. The swim course was only one loop with yellow buoys on the way out and orange buoys after the turnaround. To my surprise, I reached the turnaround point sooner than I expected. Then, on the way back, it was a downstream swim. It was the first time I did not want the swim to end. 

Swim time - 1:39:57 hrs

Bike - Flat, fast, and draft legal? 

The elevation gain for the entire course was only 2,800+ feet. Compared to other races I have done, it was a flat course. The bike course was somewhat confusing if you did not keep track of the mileage. It's basically divided into 3 sections where we went through the first section twice and the other two sections three times. Unlike Chattanooga, where we actually rode outside the city, Ottawa tried to keep us within the city limits because they closed down the entire streets. Thus, it's impossible NOT to draft on the bike. I actually saw a group of fast riders ride in a peloton style like in the Tour de France. I don't know if any penalty cards were given out. I kept the pace and effort consistent (easy to moderate) and paid close attention to my stomach and how I felt after taking in calories. It started to rain around 1pm, around the time I started the back half of the ride. Around Mile 30, I started to feel uncomfortable in my stomach, so I had to slow down on the liquid calorie intake and decided to rely on banana and fig bars that I cut into quarters for easy chewing, and electrolyte tablets for hydration. At Mile 60, somehow I got the second wind and was able to pass many people on the bike and rode strong until the end of the bike leg.

Bike time - 6:50:29 hrs

Run - Pouring rain and another GI issue

When I started the run, it was pouring. Since I already felt uncomfortable in my stomach on the bike and there was still a marathon to go, I took my time and walked the first mile. I looked at my watch, and I had 8 hours to finish the marathon — super doable. This time, I came prepared. I immediately took Tums (antacid chewable tablets) during Mile 1 while other people kept running past me. I ended up walking/slow jogging for the first 9 miles. Then, my stomach started to settle, and I felt like I could run again. I picked up the pace at Mile 10 and was able to run/walk until the end of the marathon. My body knew how to suffer through a marathon/ultramarathon so darn well, and the feeling was not foreign to me. Surprisingly, my legs and other parts of my body were completely fine, especially during the first half of the marathon. However, my stomach was not. My legs started to feel tired after 13 miles, but that’s expected. I haven’t run longer than 13 miles in forever. However, I had no desire to push during the marathon and wanted to keep an easy pace. Now that I look back, I could have pushed a bit to get a better finish time, but oh well...

Run time - 5:55:29 hrs

*Nutrition is still a big puzzle that I need to solve*

This time, I practiced with various nutrition options on the bike — different brands, different ingredients, different timing — but it still did not work. Maybe it’s time to start training my gut so it can handle more carbs/nutrition during long exercise? 

This never happened to me during an ultra. Maybe because I have always been a slow runner, so my gut had more time to digest the food. 

Total time - 14:44:39 hrs

 

My hubby (Chef P.) was a true MVP. He drove me to the race, helped figure out the bike course, prepared pre-race food, and collected the bike and run gear bags for me while I was running the marathon. Although he has never been interested in all the crazy things that I do, he never says no when I ask for help. Chef P. met me at the finish line. Since it was raining all day, the gear bags were all messed up, and hard to find, but he managed to locate my bags, collect my bike, and wheel it back to the hotel. Then, he came back out to meet me at the finish line :)  The picture below shows how chaotic it was trying to find the gear bags. 

Sydney's final thoughts

Given what I had been through, this Ironman finish felt more special than others. I am glad I decided to start the race. Throughout the whole race, all I could think about was how fortunate I was to be healthy and have resources to do an Ironman, to be in Ottawa - a city where I once lived, to have the support of family and friends, and to be alive. Whether I finish in 12 hours or 17 hours, it's still a finish. The only person who cares about my finish time is myself (and maybe my coach). I have no desire to qualify for Kona. Standing on the podium would be great but it's not necessary.

To me, Ironman and endurance sports are a lifestyle. They are not something I need to do to prove my worth to the world (I have my career for that). What draws me to endurance sports is the challenge—the opportunity to problem-solve, adapt when things go wrong, stay calm when things get uncomfortable, and figure out how to keep moving forward. It is not about social media posts or proving how tough I am.

Maybe that is also why this race felt different. I did not go into it trying to prove anything. I already knew I could suffer through hard things. This time, I was simply grateful that I had the chance to be there and curious to see what my body could do on that particular day.

Of course, I still have the Akron marathon at the end of September, and I may sign up for a 50K in November, but these are two big races I have for 2026...for now :)

Will see what 2027 will bring...

Sydney