I felt like I meandered a bit, especially toward the end. The shore kind of faded in towards you then back away, so it was definitely messing with my head. I felt like I could have gone faster, but it turned out to be a pretty solid swim. It didn't tire myself out too bad, but I didn't take it too easy either. I did draft a guy for a while. In fact, I think we flip flopped on who was drafting who. Anyway, it looks like a lot of swims in my age group were in the high 30s and into the forties, so I'll take it.

Swim straighter, which probably would come with a few more open water swims. I'm comfortable and not afraid of it all, so I think I cheated myself a bit by not getting out there for a few more practices.

Transition was enormous. We came out of the water (really had to run about 20 yards in shin deep water), and I removed my cap and goggles as I got close to the shore. The top piece of my wetsuit came off easy, and the strippers took care of the bottom. Grabbed my suit and started about a 75 yard jog to my transition spot. Got the helmet and race number on, put on some some socks, sprayed on some sunscreen, grabbed the bike and ran about 40 more yards to bike out. Jumped on, got in the shoes easily, and took off.

Not much. I wasn't moving as fast as I would in a sprint because I wanted to make sure I remembered everything. Of course, I didn't remember everything. I forgot to put sun screen on my legs. They hurt badly right now.

WAY better than I expected. It just felt good to be on the bike. As for nutrition, I sipped on Gatorade and water when I was thirsty and took at miles 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 45. In fact, those gels were all I ate all day. Other than that, I just rode. I loved the tailwinds, got pissed and rode hard into the head winds, and ended up doing far better than I planned.

Nothing at all.

Pretty good transition. Once again, you had to run what felt like a mile just to get in and out of it. I changed socks, put on the shoes, stopped for a pee break, and then got on with the run.

Nothing

Bleh. My 3.5 mile spit was under 10:30/mile and I felt even better for a few miles after that. I was walking the water stops, walking 60 paces at each mile marker, and feeling good. Then I got to mile 8. I did my 60 paces, but when I tried to start running again, I felt like puking. Every time I tried running, I felt like puking. So, I just kept walking. All the way to mile nine I just walked. Feeling funky, but not cramping or anything. I decided to give it a go at mile nine, and I was able to find a way to shuffle/jog for a few minutes, then start walking again. Eventually, the queasiness in my stomach went down, and I was able to start jogging a bit more than I had to walk. Then I turned on to Decatur, saw the finish in the distance, and forgot about how bad I felt.

Chill on the gatorade in the first few miles. The temps had me worried, so I was downing the stuff. It came back to haunt me.

Beer and stumbling around. So basically, I was doing the same thing I used to do when I went to New Orleans. I did go to the awards after party. Not because I was getting one or anything, but because they had free Abita beer. Like I would miss that. It turned out pretty cool since all the pros were there to accept their awards (and $$), plus it was the first race Badmaan had won since her crash that left her with two broken shoulders. She got all emotional giving a little speech, and it was awesome just to be there and witness it.


Drinking to much on the run.


About the only thing lacking was ice. The drinks were cool, not cold. Other than that, the entire thing ran flawlessly outside of the weather. I really enjoyed getting back to New Orleans, and I had a damn good time doing this race.

Oh, and greatest finish chute EVER. It was slammed with people like you were doing a Tour de France mountain stage. High fiving everybody, cheers coming from everywhere... just an incredible energy in a really cool spot. I mean, you had the St. Louis cathedral looming to the right, the French Market on the left, and people EVERYWHERE! The last .3 miles made the pain of the first 70 disappear. (that pain came back that night though:))