Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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New Orleans, Louisiana
United States
Premier Event Management
73F / 23C
Overcast
Total Time = 7h 00m
Overall Rank = 2089/3000
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 552/644
Pre-race routine:

Stayed at my parent' house in N.O. Woke up at 4:30. Hubby & I drank coffee, ate a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, & headed out to the race. I took my routine Aleve & Immodium like I always do before a long run before we left. Sipped on water in the car on the way. The traffic was heavy getting to the venue. We should have left earlier. But we made it in time. I set up my transition & then Tim & I walked approximately a mile to the swim start.
Event warmup:

The walk to the swim start was my warmup.
Swim
  • 56m 20s
  • 2000 yards
  • 02m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim was really better than I expected as far as my comfort level. I never pushed my pace. Just tried to relax in the water. After the swim, I felt like I could have swum for another hour.
What would you do differently?:

Swam straighter, maybe pushed the pace a little bit.
Transition 1
  • 06m 36s
Comments:

I took it really easy. It was more important to me to have everything I needed. I didn't run to the bike because there were rocks under the carpet on the way to the bikes and I didn't want to mess up my feet. Walked with my bike because I was afraid of falling in my bike shoes. The bike start was about a million miles from the bike rack.
What would you do differently?:

Open the new can of sunscreen before the race. Put on sunscreen before the swim start. Practice running in my bike shoes with my bike for about 100 yards.
Bike
  • 3h 42m 56s
  • 56 miles
  • 15.07 mile/hr
Comments:

I felt really good when I got on the bike. Did well on the way out. The only problems at that point were that I really needed to use the bathroom and at the first bottle exchange, they were out of water & gatorade. I used the portapotty at that point. Luckily, I started with water & gatorade that I brought with me. I still had about half of that left. Felt much better after going to the bathroom. I really was enjoying the ride at that point. My speed was averaging about 17.5-18 mi/hr and I was comfortable. At the second bottle exchange, They did have water, but not gatorade. I got off my bike to get the water & pour it into my aero bottle, but not before I forgot to unclip & fell off my bike in front of God & everybody. How embarrassing! I wish I would have gotten those bike shoes years ago instead of 2 months before my race. But I was ok. Got back on & ate a gel & drank some water. Refilled water at the third. Still no gatorade. Glad I had extra gels in my pocket. The wind on the way back was bad & got worse. The course had us going over every overpass in East New Orleans, or so it seemed at that point. Slow going at about 12.5 mph . I was trying to save my legs for the run. I don't think I was too successful.

What would you do differently?:

Not fallen off my bike. Do more outside rides with my shoes. Get the shoes earlier.
Transition 2
  • 09m 18s
Comments:

Was wiped out after the bike, at least mentally. Afraid to run with the bike again. Walked all the way. Changed shoes. Visited the gross porta potty. Started running. Moved pretty slow on purpose because I was trying to recover from the ride.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to run with my bike shoes on with the bike.
Run
  • 2h 50m 45s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

This is where I really fell down. It was really hot & I'm not a good hot weather runner to start with. It was warmer than it was any day I trained. I took it easy the first few miles. Stopped & drank a lot of whatever they had & ate a get in the very beginning. Just when I felt like my legs were feeling better & I was finding a rhythm, my back started to hurt. That was about at mile 4. I was worried because there was so much more to go. So I had to take a lot more walk breaks. I actually hadn't planned on taking any except for thru water stations, so I was really disappointed & feeling very down on myself. At about mile 7, the back pain went away. But by the the heat was really getting me. The volunteers and spectators were very encouraging and I started to feel better. Took a few walk breaks after that, but felt pretty strong. At mile 9 we were in full sun and I was really suffering from the heat. I was nauseated & dizzy. I knew I was ok because I was like a human drinking machine. In fact I think the nausea was because of too much water & gatorade in my stomach. No more Gatorade for me at that point. I feel like I kind of wimped out because I took so many walk breaks. But at mile 10, I just tried to keep going. I still walked some, but I tried to stretch the running out block by block. I was really getting disgusted with myself for wasting so much time. Also, my family was waiting for me at the finish and I knew they were gonna start to worry because I was running so far behind schedule at that point. Somewhere around mile 12, somebody said "you have 11 blocks to go!". So I picked up the pace & started counting down blocks. Didn't walk anymore after that. When we turned the corner on Decatur St., I started looking for the chute & the time clock & I couldn't see it because there were so many people on the street. When I saw it I picked up the pace. Tim and my son & parents called my name & I knew it was almost over. I felt strong through the finish line.
What would you do differently?:

Not wimp out so much because of the heat.
Post race
Warm down:

Talked to my family and appreciated finishing. Walked around a little. Tried not to think about how bad I did running. My family was wonderful. They made me feel great about finishing. Tim reminded me that my second goal after finishing in 7 hrs was to finish in under 8 and the main goal was to finish the race in relative comfort, which I did. But I didn't feel like I had anything left to give physically after the race.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The wind, heat, and overall inexperience.

Event comments:

There was very little at the post race party. Racing in the New Orleans area, I've gotten used to great food, great music, & lots of beer trucks. All I saw was junk food & massage tents. They didn't even have cold water. It was definitely below par. Also, there's no excuse for the fluid shortage on the bike. I hope they look at that for next year & They should talk to some locals about the post race party. All of the finishers deserve a lot better than what was there.




Last updated: 2009-04-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:56:20 | 2000 yards | 02m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/644
Overall: 0/3000
Performance: Good
Suit: blueseventy sleeveless
Course: 1.2 mile point to point along the seawall.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 06:36
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
03:42:56 | 56 miles | 15.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/644
Overall: 0/3000
Performance: Below average
Wind: Headwind with gusts
Course: Out & back.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 83
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 09:18
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Bad
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Bad
Running
02:50:45 | 13.1 miles | 13m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/644
Overall: 0/3000
Performance: Bad
Course: Point to point from UNO to Jackson Square in the French Quarter.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Bad
Race evaluation [1-5] 4