Caroline St-Pierre

Training for the next triathlon season is on its way. On Friday nights, I'm devastated ! I had lost the ability to plan every minute of every day : plan 10 snacks, plan diners for the week, plan all the clothes for a full day of training, take a 3-minute shower, etc. To keep myself grounded, I joined a gaelic football team. You know, to take away the self-centred attitude coming from individual sports and bring back the team spirit. But... What is Gaelic Football ? It's the Irish national sport. Quickly, it's a mix between american football, soccer, rugby, basketball, volleyball, handball. Yeah... Everything ! However, not for everyone. It's a very complete sport : technical, tactical, physical. For now, we're playing with the men. But, it would be awesome to build a women team. If you're interested, write to me ;)  Thanks PATRIOTES ! ABÙ !!

The first time I saw a triathlon was in Taupo, New Zealand, in 2006. I was running my first half-marathon that weekend, which was the same as Taupo Ironman. I learnt about the Ironman distances and I thought those athletes were crazy. But I remember feeling a little light of excitement inside me. A few months later, I started training for triathlons in Quebec. In 2008, I went to Lake Placid Ironman to cheer some friends. The weather was terrible : rain, cold, falls, hypothermia. Numerous athletes did not finish. I remember seing Hilary Biscay getting off the bike first, but losing on the run. She had such a short and fast stride. Her knees were low. I couldn't believe this stride could make her run a 3 h30 marathon. I had cheered the whole day, mostly on the run course, yelling the name of every runner passing by. That day, even with the worst weather, even if I saw so many struggling bodies, I swore I would do an Ironman. Because even though these athletes were suffering,