Redman Triathlon - Half Redman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim was good. I got clobbered more in this swim than I have in any other swim I have done. I caught four or five hard hits to head. Pretty weird considering it was a wave start. I even swam off the buoys about 50 yards to try and stay away from the melee. I finished in 35 something which is good for me but was where I thought I could be based on a swim I did that week in the pool. This was a 4 minute pr over New Orleans.

The bike was wet. The course was rolling hills and the roads were fairly bad. One section of road you only had enough room for one bike some of the times because of road erosion on the side next to the curb. Before I go any further, the volunteers were incredible. They were out in the rain sweeping water and mud off the streets. Incredible job. I followed my heart rate on the bike solely. I never looked at my speed. On the way out I was being passed by an enormous amount of people. I also had to pee really bad. By the turnaround riding aero was becoming very uncomfortable. I was still aero but I was coasting more than I was pedaling. So at the next aid station they had a port a john that I stopped and used. This is also where I saw Boggs pushing his bike to a race vehicle. I said a quick prayer that it was just a flat and not a wreck. After the pit stop I felt like I was flying. I felt really good on the way in. I was having trouble keeping my heart rate down because I felt good. I was wanting to stand on the gas but I knew I had a run coming up. The last two or three miles, I lowered my heart rate down about 8 bpm so I could get ready for the run. So I am happy with the bike. I lost right at 3 minutes from stopping by my cycling computer but I more than made that up by being comfortable I have no doubt. So bike was 2:58. That is a 2 minute PR from New Orleans.

The run. The run course was two loops. There were several places on the loop that was under water. We were running on a multiuse path around the lake. It was still raining off and on which on the run is great. Our feet stayed wet the whole time but I didn’t get any blisters so no harm no foul. I felt great on the run. I kept my heart rate about 7 bpm under my target hr to be conservative on the first lap. I was tired but mentally I felt really good. I took a gel every two miles on the run like I had planned. The first loop zoomed by and I ran it in a 56 something. About half way through the first lap I needed to pee again. I guess since I rely on liquid nutrition on the bike and it never got hot, I never sweated out any of the fluid I was taking in. At the turn around I saw Jennifer and I busted into the biggest grin. I felt really good but I knew that could go away quickly. At the beginning of the second loop I found a port a john and stopped and waited for what seemed like forever and no one ever came out. I finally just started running again. I found one two miles later and took care of business. So two stops on the second loop. At mile 7, I remember thinking that I had only 5 miles left to run. Then at mile 8, I thought that I only have 5 miles left. Wow, my math skills while tired stink. My hamstrings started feeling like they were going to cramp. They never cramped just that twinge feeling you can get. I started drinking some Gatorade at the opposite aid stations from my gels which I was washing down with water. I tried to encourage everyone I passed. I got accused of being a good liar several times when I would tell them that they were looking good. I actually picked up the pace to go down the finish chute but slowed down for the guy in front of me at the end to not mess up his finish picture. I finished the second loop in 1:01 something. So the run total was 1:58. That is a 25 minute pr from New Orleans. I really couldn’t believe how good I felt. I was tired but I felt great. I walked long enough through each aid station to get my liquid down and didn’t walk at any other time. That was my main goal coming in.

My race time goal was to try and break 6 hours. I went 6:11 in New Orleans. After the bike and swim went good, I thought I had an outside shot at my secret goal of 5:45. I never even looked at the race clock when I finished. Jennifer had timed me on her watch and showed it to me later. I had no idea I had surpassed all my dreams. I had finished in 5:36. I figured I was around high 5:40s.