This is a great place to swim for newer folk. The time trial start means that there is less bunching of people. Despite all the pre-race hype and other posts I had read, I didn't find the water any worse than other locations that I've raced before. The water isn't clear, but you are still swimming in lake water, so why would you expect it to be clear?

I had my best swim ever, so I wouldn't change a thing.

Very long run from the swim exit to T1. I think I truly only spent 2 minutes (or less) getting my bike gear on and out. Most of the time was running in so be prepared...

I was feeling great coming out of the water because I had taken a peek at my watch and saw the time. I couldn't believe how fast I swam, I just knew it was going to be a good day.

Nothing

The course overall is very nice, the initial road is a little bumpy, but otherwise, the only issue is the old bridge that you have to cross twice. Make sure to get off your seat for that one! I think there could have been another aid station along the way and they could have offered some food, but I managed just fine with my own nutrition and I didn't run out of water, so perhaps I'm just being picky.
I went into the bike hoping to have a 3 hr ride, which would have been my fastest to date (I have always been a terrible biker), but was completely floored to come in under 3. Even though I had invested most of the winter on bike training, I still didn't think I would see that kind of improvement. At this point, I knew that a PR was inevitable!!

Although I definitely saw great improvement on the bike, I did suffer down the 5 mile stretch along the canal. Not sure if that was due to potential undertraining and I was just getting tired right when we hit the windiest stretch or not.

Came into T2 on a high because I now knew that all I had to do to break 6 and get a new PR was to run 13.1 miles in 2:34 or less. There is something relaxing about knowing your goal is essentially accomplished.
That being said, I decided to still give the run what I had and see just how well I could crush this course!

This was a good transition for me. I am not one of those guys that can get out of shoes and jump off the bike, but I still know this was a tight turn around for my skill level.

So the run out was good. The sun came out and the temperature was rising, but there was a great head wind which definitely helped keep me cool. If you run this race, do not bitch about running into the wind, you WILL miss it when you turn around...
My plan was to run between aid stations and walk through them taking in water, gatorade and ice. Love the ice, take as much as you can, it really helps because the run is a sauna.
I wanted to keep a 9 minute pace, but this really fell apart when I hit the turn around. Funny thing, that headwind that felt so good, does absolutely nothing as a tailwind. My pace started to drop and my 8:50 pace dropped to a 10:00 pace.
I was able to find that adrenaline surge when I finally got up to the top of the bridge again and knew that I had only one last mile! I pushed the pain down and ran in that last mile with everything I had left.
I came up the the finish shoot and saw several of my friends and my wife and that gave me enough for one last push. I crossed the line with a time of 5:34:08! I had crushed my previous times!!!

Not really sure what I could have done to combat the heat and humidity. I live in Kansas City and we never got temperatures high enough to prepare my body for April in NOLA

Sadly, my legs gave out after crossing the finish line and I had to be helped into the medical tent for an IV. I will say that after receiving 2 bags of fluid, I felt great!


The heat on the run. I basically became dehydrated despite having drank everything possible during the run. I also had electrolytes and salt tabs, but my body just wasn't fully acclimated to the heat.


This is a race that I would highly recommend for anyone looking for their first IM experience. NOLA puts on a great race and the course is very forgiving.
Do not bother staying downtown, because the race is about 10+ miles away and that can make for a stressful drive in the morning.