Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

After watching all the previous waves tackle the shallow water of the first 100 yds, I decided to take it very slowly and walk until I got about waist deep. Once I started swimming, the waves really became apparent. I'm not used to swimming in very choppy conditions and this caught me off guard. Between rounding the first buoy, fighting through the pack, and trying to sight/breathe, the first 250 yards or so was pure chaos. Unfortunately in never got that much better.

At every other race I've done before I've always been able to find clear water to swim in and get in a good rhythm. I had the hardest time getting into my normal groove of 8 strokes than sighting...it was more like 3 strokes then sight, then 4 strokes then sight, than 2 strokes then sight! All stroke mechanics went out the window and I just kept chugging along as quick as I could to get this thing over with. I zig-zagged my way along Lake Ponchetrain, taking it all in, literally...must've drank 3 or 4 good sized waves along the way!

Near the end the of the swim, I got really off course and had one of the guys in a canoe yelling and pointing for me to go the other way. I finally could see the swim exit and was absolutely thrilled to be out of the water. Being a relatively good swimmer (using a triathlon measuring stick!) I knew that if I had that much trouble on the swim, then my fellow competitors probably had it pretty rough too.

Not much I could differently today. I didn't overexert myself like I do sometimes. I swam hard, but under control. My sighting technique could probably use some work, but I'm not sure I would want to go out and practice in conditions like this.

I knew transition times would be slower than usual due to the size of the transition area. Being the 1st race of the season I was also pretty rusty...these times will drop as the season progresses.

Probably should have practiced transitions a little before the race. I kind of froze up and forgot the order of how I usually do things.

Before the race I could not find my HR monitor, so I decided what better time to learn to race on RPE! The wind had picked up to about 10 mph and the first 8-10 miles were straight into it along Lake Ponchetrain. My legs felt great from tapering and so I started pushing right away. This section was also extremely bumpy and so you had to be aware of water bottles, tools, and gels all over the road.

I never felt like my HR was getting too high, but I think I overcooked the 1st 10 miles or so. Psychologically, it was very difficult to be working hard and only see 18 mph on the Garmin. Toward the end of this stretch I started to feel really tight in my hip flexors. All the way until the halfway point I continually had to stand up in the pedals and stretch my hips out...very strange, as this had never happened it training. At the halfway turnaround I'd had enough and pulled over and tried adjusting my saddle. I don't know if it actually moved at all, but the placebo effect helped me!

The rest of the ride saw a little bit better roads and not nearly as much headwind. Although I was riding my new (to me) racewheels (HED disc and Jet 6 front) I never really had any problems with crosswinds. My avg mph continued to creep up until reaching the stretch along the lake that had the headwinds on the way out. This time there was a nice tailwind! I avg'd about 22-23 mph for this section with some miles over 24 mph...very strong for me. Another cool thing along the lake is I passed by sister Madonna Buder. For those who don't know who she is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_Buder She is pretty much a bigger stud than I am in my wildest dreams! She's completed 36 IMs and is freaking 80 yrs old! She's always featured on the NBC special of Kona. Anyway, so I passed by her and said "keep up the good work" and she smiled and said "ok, thank you." I should've asked her to send up a prayer for the upcoming run, cause man I needed every bit of divine intervention to finish!



-Use a HR monitor. Didn't have it, so couldn't change it, but I think it would have helped me temper the 1st section into the headwind.

-Check my pride at the door. So the Garmin says 18 mph and I'm working my tail off...slow down idiot, your overcooking your legs!

Other than that, nutrition (Perpetuem and 1 gel) and hydration (water only) were solid.

Overall, I was very pleased to have an avg over 20 mph.

Was feeling a little wobbly getting off the bike. Took a little longer than usual getting my running shoes on and getting out of transition.

Put on sunscreen.

My legs already felt pretty fatigued starting the run, but I figured I'd still be able to gut out a decent showing. My plan was to click off 8 min miles as long as I could and adjust as needed. Unfortunately, the adjustments were frequent and started very early!

Mile 1- 8:03
Mile 2- 8:11
Mile 3- 8:05

Ok, not so bad the first 3 miles. But then the wheels started to come off! The heat was definitely a factor, but I felt like I was on the verge of serious cramping from mile 4 on. The feeling was that if I even bent down to scratch my calf I could potentially totally seize up. On top of this, my stomach started feeling extremely upset. I won't get into the usual race report bathroom details, but I took about a 2-2:30 minute pitstop during my sixth mile (hence the 11:04 mile split!). After the stop, my stomach felt better but I was still fighting the cramps.

Mile 4- 8:45
Mile 5- 9:01
Mile 6- 11:04!

From about the halfway point on, I just wanted to finish without having to walk anything but the aid stations. I knew I would have a hard time starting back running if I did. I was able to keep running, but not nearly at the pace I originally intended to. 9 min miles felt like an all out effort for my muscles, although my HR & breathing never got out of control.

Mile 7- 9:08
Mile 8- 9:07
Mile 9- 8:52
Mile 10- 9:03
Mile 11- 9:02
Mile 12- 8:40
Mile 13- 8:20
Last .2- 7:40 pace

As you can see I sped up knowing I was close to finishing. The finish line was pretty cool with a massive crowd lining the street, but the whole time I was focused on not cramping before finishing. I was absolutely spent at the end and a bit delirious from the mental & physical effort.

Not much I could've done as far as run pacing or strategy. I gave every drop of effort I had left in the tank and finished running on fumes!

After the race I caught up with Jamal and talked about his 1st HIM (congrats btw!). I then saw Bethany finish and we got something to eat and drink and hung out with Jamal and Paul & Jim Linck. None of us had done as well as we had wanted and all had difficulties with the course conditions. Nonetheless, it was fun to commiserate and to just be done with what was a big accomplishment.


Bike fitness, plain and simple. I had what for me was a great bike split, but I did it at the expense of my running legs. The constant battle (and beauty) of this sport is finding out how hard you can push yourself during each leg and still have something left for the next one. Each race is a learning experience about your fitness level in each discipline and race strategy. It is also a test of how deep you are willing to take yourself out of your comfort zone to perform to your highest potential. This race taught me I have definitely gotten stronger on the bike, but I need to work alot harder to get where I want to go.


Overall, this is a well-organized and fantastic race. The course was difficult, but fair. The volunteers were awesome and all aid stations were stocked as far as I could see. My only gripe was the condition of the roads. I know the director did all he could with what he had to work with, but I never want to ride roads like that again, unless I'm on a mountain bike! I would probably not do this one again just for the logistics of it. It was a long drive for me (flight for Bethany) and there are so many other drivable races to try in the future. Still, I've got nothing to say but positives about this one.