Jumped off dock not realizing that 1. 64* is shockingly cold and 2. I sank really deep. Cold took my breath away but I didn't panic I knew the wetsuit would float up. About 50 feet away I caught a glimpse of Garmin display and noticed it was still on menu. WTH? Why can I not get this right! Treaded water to get it going but in my rush I ended up starting it and now have a recording of all RUN time. Anticipated the current after watching others arc left. If nothing else, I have a talent for swimming in a straight line. I drank way too much as the waves washed over my head. Got into a good rhythm and cranked along until the diagonal which was confusing -people swimming on both sides of bouy. I just aimed for the green further down and the yellow turn bouy past that. Managed to avoid contact with anyone until I was 50 feet from the exit. A woman plowed under my right arm. So unnecessary. Picked the best stripper - in one swoop he had it from shoulders to below knees. Told me to sit and yanked the thing off in one swift pull.

Remember how to use Multisport mode on the Garmin. Gah. Otherwise the swim was about perfect. Glad I practiced a wetsuit swim because it is a little weird.

I was way too leisurely in transition. Put on more sunscreen which now seems pointless because I am so burned. I didn't leave shoes clipped in because I was afraid the distance from mount line to hitting the uphill ramp was too short. Also, I was at the far end of transition. It was at least 100 yards to bike exit.

Clip shoes and run. Go back to old sunscreen that actually works.

Glad I had plenty of practice in wind (even though I complained about it). Roads were relatively smooth with few pothole repairs. Expansion joints on bridges were terrible. Lots of dropped bottles and nutrition littering the road. Headwind on the way out was very strong. People were having difficulty. Rode 15.5-17mph on the way out, but on the turnaround I felt like I was flying at 22-24. Executed my plan well and set up for a good run.

My first race on the new tri bike and I didn't really have enough experience on her to know if my speed plan was accurate. This experience was an incredible difference from riding my road bike. Next time, go a little faster.

Again with the sunscreen and long run from bike in to rack.

Stop dawdling.

Run started off well. I felt great coming off the bike. At first stop I thought I should potty before it became urgent. As I reached for the handle a woman practically knocked me down diving inside. Rude! So I waited. And waited. A line formed. How long can it take? Finally. That was a dumb waste of time and next time it's occupied, just go to the next stop. I was right on target with my pace and really pleased with my performance thus far. Then at mile 4 I took a Perform to get some electrolytes. It was warm and tasted terrible. It just about came back up. Another half mile and my stomach was queasy. Not sure if it was the Perform or lake water bugging me. I've never felt nauseous like that and wasn't really sure what to do. I would run until I had to walk 10-15 sec to let me stomach settle then runs some more. I felt really hungry but didn't want to eat anything. Even water sounded like a bad plan. Ended up finishing the race with all of my nutrition. I sucked on ice cubes from mile 5-12 when I started feeling better. It was frustrating because my legs felt great and I knew I could have run well. People I chatted with along the way said they felt sick and they were sure it was the diesel in the water. I remember smelling it but didn't think much about that. My nutrition was spot on for the bike because for once, I did not have any cramping or dehydration issues. I was a little dehydrated from not drinking much on the run.

Try to swallow less lake water? I don't know. That was a first. Maybe I should have guzzled two cups of water as soon as I felt nauseous to puke and just get it over with. I kept thinking that's what I should do but was afraid I would feel worse.

Easy stretching.


Nauseau.


If you pay $200 for a race and you finish 2 hours ahead of the time limit, shouldn't there be food left? They know how many athletes are there. They ran out of pizza after they had already limited each person to 2 slices. I had a bowl of grapes and a beer. Who eats those grocery store brand chocolate chip cookies? It just seemed like the wrong place to skimp on necessary amenities. We left to go in search of food.

This was my first WTC event and my first HIM. I was really impressed with NOLA police being everywhere and never had any concern for safety. Volunteers were plentiful and friendly. Very few spectators but the ones that were out there were awesome. There was too much made about spectators needing to leave the harbor by 9:30am. As a result my husband saw none of the race because he feared he wouldn't get to the finish at Armstrong park. Next time we'll know.

Overall I was really happy with my performance. Disappointed about the loss of time on the run, but I still came in within my "perfect" goal of 6:15 and "good" goal of 6:30.