A triathlete's journey

By Isabelle Beaulieu

My name is Isabelle Beaulieu. I’ve been a Liberté representative for three years. I’m also a mom to two boys. Today, I’d like to tell you about my favourite sport: triathlon.

I’ve been taking part in triathlons since the age of 24. The beauty of the sport is that it combines three events, whose distances may vary. For example, the sprint triathlon is 750 m of swimming, 20 km of biking and 5 km of running. At the Olympics, the triathlon is 1,500 m of swimming, 40 km of biking and 10 km of running. Of course, each event requires different training. I prefer the sprints.

When I started out, swimming and cycling were my two worst events. After a year, I found a coach who miraculously improved my swimming in just 12 months. The following year, I worked with a friend and got so much better at cycling and running that I ranked first in my age group.

Two types of training help me to prepare for the season. In the fall and winter, I focus on muscular training and spinning. In the spring and summer, I increase my biking and running distances. I train for one to two hours each day. Diet is key to making sure I don’t tire out. I actually eat all day… in small portions! Proteins are very important, too much fat and sugar is very bad and rest is vital! In fact, two days before a triathlon, I stop all sports.

In the spring, I take a look at the race calendar on the website of Triathlon Québec and choose the triathlons I want to participate in (approximately five per year across Québec).

Triathlon is a complete sport that really challenges me. In my next blog, I’ll tell you about some of my best racing experiences.

Talk to you soon.

Isabelle Beaulieu