The day started off warm but not hot. It didn't take long for the warm to turn into HOT! And the humidity....I forgot what that felt like. Once out on the course, I fell into my rhythm and the 2 miles flew by.

Nothing

Not far from the timing mats to the bike rack, but with 1:33, you would think I took a leisurely stroll. Not sure what took so long.

Hurry up

The race crew did a good job with covering the expansion joints on the bridge. This year those on the downhill sections were textured aluminum instead of the plywood like the incline portion. Made for a faster downhill without the jarring from the plywood.

Once again, not sure what took so long here. Didn't feel like I was moving that slowly. This was my first race to go completely sockless. I think powdering the feet/shoes first might have helped them slide on easier.

Hurry up!

This was HOT and HUMID! Water station at the turn around. I had to get 2 cups. Felt parched despite drinking my bottle on the bike. Not sure if I was a bit dehydrated from the day before (we spent a few hours laid out by the pool drinking cocktails).

Avoid the sun if I was really serious about racing this event. This is a final small race prior to my 70.3 next month.

Walked around, waited for J.S. to finish. Sat in the shade, drank water. Didn't eat although the food looked great...grilled chicken, jambalaya, salad, beer.


Great race crew and support staff. Gretna Police did an awesome job with traffic (course was closed...biked over the bridge on the HOV lanes). Good post race party. Would (and plan to) do this race again next year.