There wasn't an opportunity for a warm up so I got in when they sent my wave out, let some water in the suit, did a few strokes to check the goggles, then positioned myself at the very back along the buoy line. I got off to a slow start since I was DFL but for me it's worth it to avoid the masses.

My navigation skills are atrocious. I veered off course (on a point to point no less) badly at first but improved gradually. I barely had any contact with the other swimmers aside from an occasional bump, but took just one hard blow - right in my left shoulder, of course. It started to hurt about 20 minutes into the swim but was manageable.

While my time was slower than I hoped, this was by far the best open water swim I've ever had. I didn't experience any anxiety and felt very relaxed, maybe too relaxed since I was going so slow! My original goal for the swim was 40:00 and I adjusted that to 43:00 considering my shoulder problems, so I was off by a few minutes.

Sight more efficiently. I probably swam 1.5 miles with all the zig zagging. I need to build some confidence so I don't have to start dead last. And I need to rehab this shoulder. I can't let it be a limiter this entire season.

What can I say? I was overjoyed to have finished the swim so I moved at a snail's pace. I made a strong exit from the water, ran up the beach, got my wetsuit stripped (awesome, strippers are the best!!!) and ran to my bike. But then I slowed down. Maybe it was psychological avoidance of starting the bike. Who knows.

Quit the lollygagging and move more quickly. I could significantly improve my race times with better transitions.

Great ride for me. I didn't feel panicky or timid and was able to maintain a much faster pace at most times than expected. I was aiming to keep my HR under 139 and at times was able to easily get up to 20-22mph in this range. But then the horrendous wind started. At first I hoped it was only that one direction, that it would go away when we turned. But I swear it was blowing in every direction and followed us wherever we went. Everyone was struggling with it. At times I couldn't get above 14mph. By the end my legs were burning and I worried I'd struggle with the run.

My nutrition plan blew up as well. I was carrying 57 ounces of Gatorade Endurance and needed about 94 ounces total for my plan. I was going to pick up two bottles on the course, starting with the second exchange. But when I got there they only had water so I skipped it. By the third I was parched so I grabbed a water (without stopping or crashing my bike, yay me!!!). It turns out they ran out of Gatorade. Not ideal, but nothing I could do so I increased my gel intake to every 45 minutes to compensate somewhat. By the last exchange they didn't even have water and I was totally dehydrated and feeling it.

I don't want this to appear as complaining or excuses because this ride was really good. I was aiming for 3:30 and finished much more quickly and I enjoyed the closed course. I was hoping for some wildlife sightings in the swamp but all I got to see were several snake roadkills and one caterpillar. The caterpillar made me smile momentarily until the girl in front of me ran him over and sliced him in two. That was a bummer.

Around mile 20, one of the guys I had dinner with the night before zipped by and said hi. It's always fun to see someone on the course, except for the fact that he started more than an hour after me!

Nothing. This was my best effort and I was really proud of it.

I moved much more quickly but I really had to pee on the way out. It was critical. Plus I needed a moment to slip into my compression sleeves.

Pee my pants? That's about all that would have saved time here. Transition was massive and simply took time to move through.

I was a little worried going into the run since I was dehydrated, my legs felt trashed from battling the wind on the bike and my heart rate was high. I hit the first mile in about 8 minutes so I slowed a bit and settled into a comfortable pace. I grabbed Gatorade at every aid station and attempted to replenish some of what was lost on the bike, but everything I drank sloshed in my stomach so it was difficult. I battled stitches the whole time as a result.

While I was running a decent pace, I was definitely uncomfortable. A thought kept running through my head: How the heck am I going to do double this distance??? I tried to ignore the discomfort and think about the fun of the race and how proud I was just to be here. One year ago I was unable to complete even one leg of this race let alone the entire thing put together. I didn't even know how to swim.

I'd say mile 10 is where I started to wish for the end. I would look at the grass and have an overwhelming urge to lay flat on my back in the shade and call it a day. My legs felt like they weighed 100 pounds and I swore I was doing a 12-minute mile. Then a bagpiper started up and while it was cool, all I could think about is how they play bagpipes at funerals.

A few blocks before entering the French Quarter, some guy asked the athletes behind me what we got for finishing. One of them said "satisfaction." People who don't do this or understand it will never know the value of that satisfaction. It sometimes feels like an odd way to have fun on a Sunday - getting up at the crack o' stupid and putting your body through extreme physical and mental effort - but I couldn't imagine my life any other way.

The sound of the crowd got louder and louder and a race official said we had just 800 meters to go. I turned the corner onto Decatur street and instantly got chills. The finish chute was long and narrow and the spectators were several people deep. It was an unbelievable experience to be running through the French market toward such a spectacular finish. I was pretty emotional and had to hold my breath for a moment to keep from hyperventilating. This was definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Coming off the bike underfueled led to hydration/nutrition issues. The sloshing stomach prevented me from being able to have any gels and made drinking rather uncomfortable. I shouldn't have relied so much on the on-course support and should have had a plan for how to deal with variations. Otherwise, this was phenomenal! I was aiming for 2:05 and did it in 2:01. Can't beat that!

I slammed a full bottle of water and half a Gatorade Endurance immediately after finishing. Then I walked around the finish area, sat down for a bit and had a well-earned beer and some Oreos.


Limited training - I only had 8 weeks and gave it my best shot; shoulder injury - both the old and new.


I'll be buzzing over this experience for awhile. I'm already planning to go back next year, it was a fantastic race in a fun city and despite my whining about winter training, it feels really good to have done an HIM already this year. Laissez les bon temps roulez!