Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

There were large swells - no white caps but quite a churn. I started in the second to the last wave. This meant that the lake was full of swimmers. From experience I know that even though I am not the fastest swimmer I am faster than everyone in front of me (or else I would not catch them).

It took me about a quarter of the swim to get the timing of the swells down so that I would not get a mouth full of water. With so many turns on the course the congestion at the buoys was evident.

My goal time for the swim was 35 minutes. I finished in 38:21. In better conditions I could achieve this goal.

Learn to bilateral breath to site without losing my momentum.

There were wetsuit strippers but they were in a grassy / sandy area. I did not want to get covered with grip so I did the stand and stomp methon at my tranistion area.

I got everything on and adjusted and run to the transition out. I ran past a few people and stayed to the left where I mounted the bike. No flying or anything - I just stopped and clipped in and I was off.

I still debate about learning the flying mount. Something to work on.

Starting at the end of the race there were tons of riders in front of me. I took it easy on the rough pavement and then got up to speed. My heart rate was in my race zone and I did not have any problems pushing my pace. I set my race watch to alert every 7 miles ( 56 / 7 = 8) to let me know when to take a gel. I was also able to use these split to gauge the speed on the course. The first 7 miles were into a head wind with some crosswind thrown in. I could feel the cross winds but they were not nearly as bad as last year. The time went by quickly especially on the back portion with the tail wind. It was easy to maintain 23 – 24 MPH. My heart rate was the highest in this area as I was keeping my momentum as I passed slower riders.

There is a fine line on how hard to push on the bike to be able to run fast. I am in the area but I do not have it completely dialed in.

My legs felt fine after the bike (no wobbling) and I was able to run to my bike rack. I

I politely said excuse me to a couple of people walking through transition but it really did not slow me down much. I was not going to make the mistakes of past races and try to save a few seconds and skip the socks. I sat down next to my bike and put socks on. Transition was still pretty quick.

Learn the flying dismount.

I looked at my watch as I ran out of transition. I had put myself in position to reach all of my goals. I wanted a 4:59 for this race and I thought it was possible to run a 1:35. Calculating the - time all I needed was a 1:38. I am not so good with the pace math in race situations.

The first mile went down well. I ran the first mile at 7:05 pace but I needed to use the bathroom (just number 1) bad. I have never needed to stop in a race at less than a full ironman. I guess I drank a little too much water on the bike (and the swim!). There was a single port-a-loo at mile one. I knocked on the door and it was occupied. The racer in the port-a-loo only took a few more seconds. However, it seemed like it took me forever. I entered the port-a-loo. It felt like gallons. Actually the total time was about 80 seconds for the pit stop. I knew I could make this time up.

I grabbed some water outside of the port-a-loo and started running again. I started to notice the heat. In training I have been able to make adjustments on my pacing. The 7:05 pace that I wanted to run was not going to happen. I dialed it back to a 7:30 pace and I was able to maintain. My average pace was still high because of the stop but it was slowly coming down. My goal was still obtainable.

The heat was taking its toll and there really was no shade for the first 9 or 10 miles of the run. I think that this must have been the hottest weekend of the year so far and my race pace goals no longer seemed realistic. I could run my paces 10 degrees cooler – but…

I started to grab ice and big drinks of water at the aid stations. I mentally broke the race down into 1 mile sections. However, trying to stay cool I was drinking too much. At around mile 6 my stomach started to ache. I believe that it was combination of too much water on the swim, bike and run. I had thoughts of pulling off and forcing some of the pain out of my gut. I never did but the thought was there.

I grabbed cups of ice and held them with my fingers in the cup. This acted like a huge heat sink and cooled me off. The ice would only last the 8 minutes to get to the next stop where I would refill.

My running pace slowly climbed up to averaging 8 minute miles. I saw my race time of 4:59 slipping away. I did not have the mentally fortitude to keep it from happening. I let it slip. My heart rate was in check but I was just not able to push the pace as fast I wanted to run.

I only walked the water stations for the run and the walking there was minimum. At mile 12 I knew the end was near and I tried to pick the pace up. I knew the fantasy goal was gone but I still wanted to finish strong. I was able to push the pace for the last half mile.


I started out a little fast. It was the pace I wanted to run but I could have spared a few seconds.

Last year a tri club had a kiddie pool filled with ice water. I looked around for something similar. At the medical tent they had several of these. I walked straight over. They asked me if I was okay and I said I was fine but wanted to cool off. I took my shoes off and sat down next to someone. My feet were freezing – it was painful. I laid down in the ice bath with my feet sticking out. My legs and torso were submerged in the icy goodness. I could feel my body lose all of that extra temperature.
They need these at all races!!!



Limited conditioning on the bike. Learning the line where to push to set up for the run.

Also, this year my wave started an 1:12 after the start of the race. My run was much hotter than last year.


I enjoyed the race. I improved all around but have some areas to work on.