Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - Triathlon

First experience doing a time-trial start. Prefer the wave starts in the water to acclimate. This start had us jumping off the end of a pier every few seconds. Made sure the goggles were secure, but when I went in the left goggle filled with water. Went to my back and fixed it, but in 10 minutes it had filled again. Fixed again, then filled near the finish. Dealt with it until I came out of the water.

Sighting was decent, but on the diagonal line of buoys it was hard to distinguish between them and the up and down buoys [the course was like an "N". The course was also in a marina, so there was the faint smell/taste of gasoline. Plus when the guys on jet skis would pass, it would create huge waves. No complaints though, the swim had been cancelled at this race for the last two years.

Nothing really - expected to come in between 35-40 minutes. Took a while to get into a good rhythm, perhaps because of the current or unfamiliar conditions.

Wetsuit strippers did a great job. Not many swimmers were using them though. I take the chance anytime I can.

Even with the help of wetsuit strippers, T1 was abysmally slow. Took it easy because I wanted to make sure the HR wasn't too high. Also dried off a bit because I was bitterly cold coming out of the water. Got my socks on, gear together, applied some sunscreen, and headed out.

Go faster. Maybe practice transitions, take them seriously. Would have moved up several places in my AG by just taking 2-3 minutes off of my transition time.

Super windy heading out along, cross winds on the section of road heading south, and then headwinds along Chef Menteur Highway. Nice tailwinds on the way back. But extremely lonely and boring. The ride seemed to go by quickly, but there were parts of the ride on which I felt totally alone due to a lack of riders. Not sure if this is typical for 70.3's and 140.6's, or if it had to do with the time trial start. But super lonely and boring. Apart from that, got in around 800 calories [which was my plan] between solids and Perform. Fully hydrated and nourished.

Felt like I had a good ride that was in line with my expectations. Took it very easy into the wind and picked it up a little with the tailwind, but certainly didn't push it. Got in all of the hydration and nutrition I 'd planned. Had I not stopped to pee, I would have come in under 3 hrs!

Another slow transition. Was faster than T1, and I even managed to stretch a bit.

Super slow run, caused by the most painful muscle cramps I'd ever experienced. This happened at mile .25 and brought me to the ground. First my lower quad in my right leg seized up. Then as I leaned over to grab/rub it, the hamstrings cramped. Couldn't even stand, and was laying on the side of the course for a bit just trying to move my right leg. The muscle was completely "flexed" and the leg was locked. I couldn't move it at all. Sat for a bit, massaged it, took a Roctane and some water. I told my wife and parents that if I managed to finish the bike [i.e., not crash, get a mechanical, whatever - the bike is where things usually go wrong] I was finishing the race if I had to crawl. So that theory was tested less than 1 mile into the run...

By then a policewoman approached and asked if I needed medical help. I begged her not to call for the medics because I was worried they'd pull me off the course. I asked an athlete who looked like they'd done the bike relay for a salt tab, but he didn't have any. The policewoman offered me a bag of salt and vinegar chips (!), but I wasn't sure how that would have affected my stomach. In the meantime, flipped over onto my belly [this whole episode took like 10 minutes] and was able to bend my right leg, stretched it out for a bit and began to run tentatively. For the rest of the course I felt twinges like it would cramp again, but I just pushed through. Ran through the aid stations until mile 6 because I was afraid stopping or slowing would cause me to cramp. But decided to walk the aid stations after that and it felt fine. It was actually pretty luxurious to walk a bit. Muscled through the rest of the run, but it felt like if I took one false step I'd cramp again.

Not cramp. The 10 minutes on the ground and the super-slow pace obviously weren't part of the race plan. I felt fine aerobically, and except for some chafing on my chest I feel fine today. So it's not like i was going out too hard. I have done 70 mile training rides at threshold and come off the bike and run 7:45s per mile. And I took it very easy on the bike, and fueled according to plan. So I don't really know how the cramps might have been prevented.

Came through the chute, got my medal and water but I think I was grimacing instead of smiling. Met my wife and mom, walked and stretched a bit. Grabbed some pizza, red beans and rice, fruit, and the free Abita beer.


Cramping, as always. This time I cramped in my lower right quad, which never cramps. I totally avoided calf cramps [what I usually deal with] and consider that a small victory. I wish I could solve this problem, because I cramp on everything from super sprints to half ironman distances. I would like to ONCE run a race where I didn't cramp or have a fear of excruciating cramps. I would have been a LOT faster in this race if not for the cramps.

The other limiter was my transition times. I need to practice, or get comfortable moving through transition faster. I am a little OCD about my gear and sunscreen and all that so that tends to slow me down in T1 and T2. But if I'd shaved 2-3 minutes off of my transition times and avoided the cramps, I'd have been well under 6 hours. But I finished [my primary goal], had a TON of fun and more importantly, want to do another 70.3.


Fantastic race, great organization and management. Would recommend to anyone as their first 70.3. Glad that the swim went off without a hitch this year, and that the weather was picture perfect. Volunteers, post-race festivities and band were tops. Traffic leaving the park was a little crazy though. Ran into a local neighborhood parade twice, and then got caught in traffic for two separate festivals/parties and then hit race traffic. But it's New Orleans. There's always a party going on somewhere.