Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Good ride. I have been training in some serious wind this year so I was prepared. The first 3-4 miles were with the wind, I was going over 30mph without a lot of effort so I knew when we turned around it was going to be trouble for the next 20-25 miles. I tried to just lower my head, get into a rhythm and look forward to the tail wind on the return. There was 3 of us going back and forth passing each other all the way out. Once we passed the turn around and caught the tail wind the groups started to separate. On the second to last overpass I caught a female pro and passed her, I was really surprised to have caught up with her and drop her like that. When I got back to transition I knew I had a good ride because it was virtually empty.

There was some drafting, but what do you expect on a flat course with 25mph head winds and a time trial start 2 seconds apart.



Thee were several points where I feel I could have pushed harder but decided to do something different and save a little for the run.
Overall satisfied.

Long run in transition. Racked my bike put, helmet off, visor on, body glide on my feet, shoes on.
Pretty simple.

Nothing.

My legs felt great running through transition so I knew it was going to be a good run, for me at least. Exited transition with a guy from Minnesota and ran side by side with him for about a 1/2 mile and noticed we were running under 7 min miles, way to fast for me to maintain for 13.1 miles so I told him our pace and said I was backing off. Settled into a rhythm around 7:15 - 7:30 which is still faster than my training pace, but I felt really good so I just went with it. I felt good until the halfway point and that's when the blisters started underneath both feet. I was running without socks, but that is how I do all my training. I noticed my pace was slowing but I tried to keep it below 8 min miles. I caught back up to and passed the guy from Minnesota, he said the heat was killing him, I thought the temperature was perfect, but I am from Louisiana so I am used to it. At mile 10 I hit Esplanade and my left knee started to hurt so I stopped and stretched several times to see if that would help, but no luck. I knew I was close to the finish line so I just pushed through it and tried to finish strong.

Not back off in the beginning of the run. Not get blisters underneath my feet. Get more run training in.

Find my family and take the long walk to the tent to get some pizza and cookies.


Not enough run training, but had to take it easy to get to the starting line healthy for a change. My longest run was 10 miles and did not do any speed work trying to avoid injury.


I was very disappointed that the swim was cancelled. I trained very hard in the pool 3 mornings a week. I am a good swimmer so this did not work out in my favor. I had the fitness to break 5 hours so I am still bummed out about it.

This race is a pain in the rear end. I hate starting and finishing in a different location, especially for your family that are there to support you. Packet pickup and bike drop off is a pain, but it is what it is.
Volunteers were amazing!!! They were very helpful and extremely friendly. The Aid stations on the run were great, the volunteers were friendly and prepared as we went through their stations. I made sure to thank them as often as I could.

With all that being said I will still do this race again next year, basically its in my backyard so that makes it hard to pass up.