Ironman New Orleans 70.3, April 18, 2010

Of note to those experienced with Ironman and 70.3 series races filling fast - registration for this race was open till about 3 weeks prior to race day.

This is an interesting one, as they also allow relay teams. I met my sister in New Orleans so that I could race the entire race, and she and two friends could compete as a team (of course, my goal was to beat them...). I was able to fly in Saturday morning, but post-race logistics make it tough to get out Sunday afternoon, so I caught an early morning flight back Monday morning, back into ABQ before noon. You might be able to do it Sunday afternoon / night, but it would take some good planning.

Packet pick up is at the downtown Hilton; it included a mandatory pre-race meeting (couldn't get the packet till you had a “I was in the meeting” stamp on your hand). Meetings occurred every half hour, so it was not as constrictive as it sounds. You need to drop bikes off Saturday afternoon at Univ of NO, which should be noted, is NOT near the Hilton (at least not near enough to drop your bike off, and then conveniently walk back).

The swim was in Lake Pontchartrain, thankfully not nearly as murky as I had expected – I could almost see my hand as it entered the water. I sure couldn't see any nearby competitors or feet to follow, though. They started in waves which was good and bad – seemed like the waves went on forever... My wave was 5th to go, and they were still heading out when I came back into T1. There was a decent wind from the East so the first half of the semi-U-shaped-course-parallel-to-shore wasn't bad but coming back in was a bit rougher. There were enough swells to make it kind of choppy. The worse was the last turn in towards shore, as the wind/water/current made you have to swim almost diagonally. The buoys weren't many so sighting was that much more difficult. It was funny that at the pre-race meeting they made such a big deal about the large number of police / emergency / safety boats that would be out there. With the conditions, though, it was nice to know they were there.

The bike ride is FLAT. The two bridges you cross are the only two hills on the course. The course follows along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain for quite a while, but there are levies built lakeside, so you don't really get the views I was hoping for. Some houses you pass are beautiful, others still Hurricane Katrina-damaged (this was prevalent throughout town – just intermittent trashed houses, interspersed with nice homes, or homes in a state of repair). The headwind was sort of from the side so I never got the help on the return that I had hoped for. Still managed to average ~20 mph, though. We rode through a bayou district, and a National Wildlife Refuge which were interesting. I thought it was pretty cool to see herons hunting in the swamp.

I came into T2 and felt good right off the bike so was pleased with that. Started the run feeling good, thinking I had finally run a smart race, as I slowly picked off women one per mile for the first four or so, though it was tough to tell who was in my age group, who was a relay member, ...who was I really racing. Then around mile 8, I just sort of lost my mental edge and was feeling tired and hot and sloooowed down. I finally got my act together again, but not till the very end of the race. The run goes through a large park (I think it's an abandoned golf course, post-Katrina), and then just down a boring road to the finish. However, the last bit was fun – like Kona, you run the last portion up a signature road lined with people to the finish line – this time it was in the French Quarter, complete with wrought iron balconies. Crossed in 5:08, good enough for second place in my age group (first place crushed me by 13 minutes!). Went to the awards ceremony and was pleased to find out the top two got slots to Clearwater so I took mine, and started planning another trip in November. There was a post-race party in the park which was kind of cool, as you watched GIANT ships moving up and down the Mississippi behind the band. More free beer flowed, which was nice as we waited and waited for the last friend to finish.

The finish line is at Jackson Square, nowhere near transition so you do need to plan ahead as to how to get back to your gear at the end of the day. One of my sister's friends did the race in its entirety and took an eternity to finish, for which we waited. It was nice to see that bikes were still being guarded when we finally got back to UNO (after friend's post-race IV).

The problem with being a relay is that it seemed that relay team members had to hang out in transition while waiting for their team mates – meaning the runner roasted... On the course they did a very good job of keeping the aid stations well-stocked with ice, drinks, etc. I had heard that they had run out the previous (inaugural) year. Supposedly lots of first-timers showed up with no / empty bottles, so there was a larger need for supplies than they had anticipated.