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Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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New Orleans, Louisiana
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
79F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 26m 27s
Overall Rank = 723/1131
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 35/59
Pre-race routine:

Saturday up early to run the Packet pickup/late registration for the LA Skeeter run 5k/1 miler in Baton Rouge. Afterwards drop stuff off at house, pickup bike and head to NOLA. Get to the Hilton (Registration site) and similar setup as earlier. By then they had announced the swim was cancelled and replaced by a 2 mile run. Get my stuff (Bib 84)and checkout the expo but nothing caught my eye but I did get some more Body Glide. Checkout the Race meeting and nothing knew but as I am heading out I see massages for $1/min. Get a 5 min back massage as my lower back was hurting. At this point they had announced you could check your bike in the next morning but you had to be there before 6am. This was due to the weather that was coming thru. I decided to check my bike in anyway so I was off to UNO. Got there, parked and found my bike rack which was very near bike exit. Very nice. Rack bike, tie plastic bags around the aero bars and seat and head home. Just to be clear, at this point it’s a 2 mile run, 52 mile ride, and a 13.1 mile run. Not a standard distance by any means. On the upside it’s a guaranteed PR! Got home and wife made ribs Saturday night, very good!
Sunday get there at 6am and grab the first parking spot open which was a mistake as there were closer spots and I walked a lot farther than I needed to. Pack my stuff in, pump up tires, setup transition and pack excess back to truck. Twice leaving the truck I headed back as I forgot something. Head to the porto line, waiting and wonder how much time before start when I realized my Garmin was in the truck. Waited thru line, jog back (miss prayer and national Anthem), and get in line for the 2 mile run start. My wave was after the pro's and the Para athletes. At this point it was pretty cold and I was wearing my bike jacket and running tights. Guy next to me was shivering and I was fine.
Swim
  • 18m 44s
  • 1931 meters
  • 58s / 100 meters
Comments:

Was actually a 2 mile run. Garmin Auto sport mode had major problems with this. My fault as I forgot to change the first sport to run so it kept telling me to swim! Paced a guy for awhile doing the Galloway method (at least for the 13.1). Chat a little then he drops off. From there it’s just cruising as I am not going to kill it on this section.
Transition 1
  • 01m 38s
Comments:

Decided not to have the shoes on the bike this time. Slowed me up a tad but nothing major. Decided to dump the jacket for this but kept the tights on. Which in retrospect might not have been a bright idea. Read more to find out. Had a great rack spot right near Bike out. Very sweet.
What would you do differently?:

Went okay.
Bike
  • 2h 43m 30s
  • 52 miles
  • 19.08 mile/hr
Comments:

What a fun ride! Tried not to burn my legs and save them for the run. With the tailwinds I was flying but with headwinds I was crawling. Good example miles 8-10 I avgd in the 16 mph but miles 12-14 I avgd 24mph with top speed of 28 and that part was flat! I had two big scares, both on the top of bridges/ramps. Get to the top, start to descend and pickup speed and wind gust just causes bike to swerve, I correct but almost hit the wall. After that I took the downhill’s (that were not protected from the wind) slow. Since I was in the front wave I passed some people but got passed a lot more. Around mile 30 I pass the last rider heading out. She had a long day in front of her and quietly I wished her good luck. Didn't need to pickup anything from the aid stations as my two bottles were enough but at the last station I was looking for a powerbar and all they had was gels. Bummer. During the race it seemed to be the cool thing to come up to someone’s left as they were passing, very close, then pull in front. Annoying and it almost cost someone their race as they past me very close but the road veered left and he didn't see that as I was veering left with the road. He almost went down and I yelled he needed to give people clearance. After that I swerved just a little to force people to give me clearance when passing. Seemed to work, hate doing that but it was getting very unsafe. About 1-2 miles from the end I come across an ambulance with a rider down, couldn’t tell if he was okay.
What would you do differently?:

Overall I am very happy with my performance. I could have ridden harder but that would have cost me on the run.
Transition 2
  • 02m 48s
Comments:

Rack bike, lose helmet, put on hat, put on shoes, spray suntan lotion on and I am off. Look to move my race number to the front and found it was gone. Ahh, carp! Back to my bike and find it there with my jacket. Evidently when I pulled off my jacket it went with it. Snapped it on and ran out.
What would you do differently?:

NOt forget my race number
Run
  • 2h 20m 20s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

Went with a 9 min run/1 min walk. First thing was I noticed my shoes were tight. Turns out I had worn double socks for the ride and forgot to remove the 2nd pair. Stripped them and I was fine. The only issue with a 9/1 is that at my pace I am walking about the time I hit the aid stations. Everyone is cheering me on that I can do it. Yeah, I know walking is part of my plan! But couldn't get mad about it so just went with it and smiled a lot! While it was windy and cool it was very sunny meaning with no wind it would have been hot. I kept drinking some at each aid station and occasionally took in a banana. Tried to keep to a gel every 45 minutes and swapped between water, perform, and soda which seemed to work well. Now for my run splits:
RunSplit 1 (21:33 min) 10:47/mile 03:28:10 962/
RunSplit 2 (34:58 min) 9:43/mile 03:41:36 896/
RunSplit 3 (1:24:08 min) 9:54/mile 04:30:46 830/
RunSplit 4 (1:39:18 min) 9:50/mile 04:45:56 829/

These look great to me but unfortunately what the site doesn’t list is my last 3 miles which dropped into the 12:00/mile range. The last number is my overall position and as you can see thru runsplit 4 I was passing people but my last few miles I dropped a bit.
A few highlights of the run. One guy had done a crawfish boil in front of his house and was offering up crawfish and l almost had some. One lady in a black outfit with a lime green bikini. Good amount of fan support and really liked the run. The turnaround by UNO had tons of people and had to pick it up for that section. After last lap, head in, they call my name and I am done.
What would you do differently?:

More long ride/run training? Not do a duathlon?
Post race
Warm down:

Cross the finish line and the volunteer is looking at me like I may keel over. She hands me a bottle of water and asks me if I am okay. I state I am okay and have to admit I appreciated the smile. They take my chip and give me my finisher’s hat. Head over for Jambalaya and a soda. But I have to head home for my daughters concert so I grab my bike and head home. On the walk to my truck I pass an ambulance and they are loading someone into the ambulance. Obviously my day ended much better than theirs. Quick prayer for their quick recovery. On the way home I run my hand over my face and just tons of salt. When I got home and washed my face I got a very strong salt water taste. Definitely glad I drank as much as I did.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My knees are 100% yet and that two mile run wasn't planned. Next year will be even better

Event comments:

Guess I am doing it again in 2013 as they had a $150 special




Last updated: 2011-09-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:18:44 | 1931 meters | 58s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/59
Overall: 0/1131
Performance:
Suit:
Course: Run out and back
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 01:38
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:43:30 | 52 miles | 19.08 mile/hr
Age Group: 32/59
Overall: 646/1131
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course:
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:48
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:20:20 | 13.1 miles | 10m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/59
Overall: 0/1131
Performance: Good
Course: Two loop out an back, along the shore, into city park and back.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2012-04-25 8:27 PM

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Pro
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Baton Rouge area
Subject: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans


2012-04-26 7:44 AM
in reply to: #4173526

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Veteran
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Sparta
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans

Bummer on the no swim, a DUO would kill me as running is just not my thing. I love that you kept to the plan, kept smiling and sounds like you had a great time! Interesting on the 2-socks for the ride ... I ride with cages, but have not felt the need for doulbe socks ... is it a shoe fit thing?

Congrats!

2012-04-26 8:06 AM
in reply to: #4173526

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Austin, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans
Excellent race Gary! 
2012-04-26 8:22 AM
in reply to: #4173526

Member
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1001002525
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans

Nice job....I think I remember seeing you with the tights on.

I agree with the bike handling stuff on the bridges...got a little twitchy in spots.  Way to hang on!

I used to be a Gallowalker and have been trying to train myself out of it, but I'm not a good runner...wish I had gone back to regular walk breaks for this run to try to keep a more even pace.  I did stop and have one crawfish on the run course at that house.

We might be back, too...$150 is hard to beat for a half!

2012-04-26 8:27 AM
in reply to: #4174047

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Pro
4360
200020001001001002525
Baton Rouge area
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans
dwpiggott - 2012-04-26 7:44 AM

Bummer on the no swim, a DUO would kill me as running is just not my thing. I love that you kept to the plan, kept smiling and sounds like you had a great time! Interesting on the 2-socks for the ride ... I ride with cages, but have not felt the need for doulbe socks ... is it a shoe fit thing?

Congrats!

DW, thanks!  As for the socks, my shoes seem to be quite well vented or my feet get cold easily.  It was chilly at the start of the race and I wore the double socks to keep my feet warm during the ride.  Except for forgetting to take the extra pair off in T2 they worked great.

2012-04-28 2:19 PM
in reply to: #4173526

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Master
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St. Louis
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans
Nice race Gary!  Bummer the swim was cancelled again.  That bike ride sounded treacherous.  I don't remember passing so close last year.  Any idea why they made the bike 52 miles instead of 56?


2012-04-28 2:32 PM
in reply to: #4173526

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Pro
4360
200020001001001002525
Baton Rouge area
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 New Orleans

Mike, evidently recent storms had blown debris on the roads and they were unable to get them clear in time for the race.

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