Overall, I was satisfied with my swim. I made a point to stay closer to the bouys and away from the walls. The TT start allowed me to have pretty easy time of staying under control. I had some contact but was confident and worked on getting comfortable.

I could have pushed it a bit harder but I was trying to pace myself due to it being a longer distance.

I was not concerned with my transition time, as I wanted to take my time and remain calm. I stopped to apply sunblock and make sure everything was taken care of. I was close to the bike out, so I opted to run with my shoes on and mount slowly.

In future events, I will rubber band my shoes and speed up transition, where time is more of a concern.

I had read much about pacing on the bike. Since this was my first 70.3, I didn't want to burn myself out. Although I felt like my bike fitness was quite good, I was very cautious not to blow up my run. I tried to keep a quick cadence and a relatively easy gear. For the first half of the bike, I passed many people. Felt quite strong until I hit about the 45 miles marker and I felt the fatigue. I just don't have much experience at this distance and I'm still building fitness. My neck was sore and I tried to stretch it.

My nutrition seemed to work well. The Shiv Fuselage worked great. I timed my drinking so the Fuselage was empty when I arrived at an aid station. I used Nuun tables that I dropped in the bladder and then quickly emptied an aid station water botter into the Fuselage. I took a Gu about every 35 minutes and some Chomps at the 35 mile marker.

Just improve fitness overall. I was pretty pleased with the bike, but knew it would be a challenge. The course was flat, but there was a head or crosswind nearly the entire way. Only a short tailwind toward the end of the bike. When I was struggling toward the end I was passed by two p5's....I was able to catch them on the one climb on the course and then buried them on the downhill. That gave me some extra juice.

Once again, I was not overly concerned with my transition time. I was focused on remaining calm, applying sun block and making sure I had everything (hat, sunglasses, etc).

I had misplaced my race belt in the morning and found it late. I forgot to put Gu in the belt so I was basically relying on the aid stations. Don't forget the Gu!

I was concerned about the heat and the conditions. I focused on staying hydrated. I walked the aid stations and took a sip of water and then emptied a handful of ice into my hat. I also would drop a few ice cubes in my tri top near my heart and held a few in my palms and rubbing my wrists. I was hot, but never felt endangered.

I was determined to run the entire course (except walking the aid stations) and just focused on keeping the feet turning over.

Miles 9-11 were a dark place. I was struggling but kept moving.

Take Gu. The athletes guide stated that each aid station would have Gu, so I wasn't too concerned when I forgot my own. At the 1st stop, I spotted one packet. Another guy reached for it just as I did and I deferred to him. There was no more gu the entire course. I did get some chomps and ate about 1/3 of a cliff bar when I was feeling a little toasted of nutrition about mile 8.

As I approached and crossed the finish line I welled up in tears. I was suddenly very emotional, and I don't really know why. I can't say this has ever happened to me. I made it a point not to immediately sit/fall down. I didn't want to end up in a medical tent.

Eventually, I sat down and nursed some water. I ate an orange slice and a few bites of banana. Eventually, I made it to the athlete's tent and took a short ice bath. I looked around and found an empty chair near a vendor's tent and chilled out.


Overall fitness. I was focused on finishing well, and not really racing. My goals for this event were mostly training related: to put in extra off season miles to allow me to perform better at the shorter Oly distances.


Great event. New Orleans is not my cup of tea. This race was my 2nd choice (I missed the registration for Galveston, so this was the other early season race in relative driving distance).

The event, however was well organized and well put on. I would do it again, but would stay more toward the suburbs away from the hassle and traffic of N.O.