Mont Tremblant 70.3 Pre-race (2)

My dependents were just getting up.  We readied for the scheduled adventure.  The girls and I were booked for the Via Ferrata du Diable at the National Park.  They mounted climbing rungs all over the rockface.  You get a climbing harness for safety, and a guide.  It's as easy as climbing a ladder, but you are on a sheer cliff 200 ft. up.  The harness is a fall arrest.  If you lose your balance it will catch you on the way down, but doesn't provide any support for the climb.  It's not like the climbing wall at the water park where the attendant is pulling so hard that you are being hoisted up.  I don't go for easy sit with your feet up vacations.  You have to work for it.  Our beginner-level trail took about 3 hours.  The girls were great, with no problems traversing the course.  We were all very tired when we got back to the condo for dinner.  This was the only location in the entire trip where insects were noticeable.  It wasn't a problem.  We expected this and wore repellent along with plenty of sunscreen.  On my usual long-run route back home, there's a short swampy section where black flies attack.  I had some concern that either the Lac Superieur bike leg or the P'tit Train du Nord rail trail, since it is right by the lake, would have swarms of bugs, but there weren't any to be noticed at all.

Via Ferrata du Diable rockface

Bridge obstacle

Saturday morning was another early one for me.  I took the bike out for a short jaunt around the neighbourhood.  The village of Mont Tremblant, not to be confused with the resort's pedestrian village, is about 5 km away.  I would be biking and running through it again during the race.  It has a much smaller supermarket that St Jovite does.  For full-service banks and shops, you need to go all the way to St Jovite.  

Jen heads up

Looking down

No fear kid 1

No fear kid 2

Meghan reaches the bridge

Bridge obstacle #2

Saturday was a rest day. My time was taken up by registration, bike check-in, and benevole orientation.  That plus eating.  Lots of eating.  Bagels and a ton of white rice.  I've tried other day-before foods, including the typical pasta dinner, and I find that rice gives me the best carbohydrate fueling.  My dependents amused themselves around the resort, riding the gondola, riding the luge, browsing for souvenirs. I went up the gondola with them later in the afternoon. There it is.  I'm swimming there, biking over there, running there.

Orientation meeting

View from the mountain