Gotta Tri New Orleans 70.3!

It’s the day after my second Half Ironman. Funny thing, I’m stiff and sore, but the worst pain I have is in my sunburn and my wetsuit rub on my neck! What did we learn from the Oschner New Orleans 70.3 this weekend? Sunscreen and Body Glide are essential to a good long course triathlon experience. You would think after finishing Austin 70.3 last October with sunburn that looked like ahi tuna on both shoulders that I would learn. Must be the blonde in me, ha ha. Stubborn or stupid Hmmm….

What a great day it was in New Orleans. Lake Pontchartrain was choppy and took out quite a few swimmers. I had some rough early moments, but then became one with the waves and relaxed. Unfortunately, I probably swam 3000 meters instead of 2000 because I was all over the place. The waves were pulling you into the shore. I even had one chick in a kayak yell at me “Go left or you will hit the levy”. I was sure levy ping pong with my body would hurt, so I zigzagged my way back on course. I got out of the water about 5 minutes longer than it should’ve been, but no major damage done.

On to the bike! Transition was smooth. Thank God for wet suit strippers! Onto Roxanne (that’s my bike’s name) and away I went. My bike got tons of comments from the other riders. No exaggeration, I think about 500 people in the race commented what a cool bike I had (she’s hot pink camo). I wish they gave out style points, because she is definitely a statement on the ride! The best part was that after I Retuled my bike last month, I rode almost 2.5 mph faster than before! Sweet! The course was flat and fast! The only hills were the overpasses! I spanked the bike and entered transition. I was happy to see only about half of my age group competitors were already on the run so I was having a fine day!

Then the sun peeked its head out from behind the clouds and made all of us pay. It was 83 degrees and about 90% humidity. A hot, steamy day in New Orleans. Normally for me, this would not have been a problem, but the weather in Texas has been so cold that we had no training in the heat to get our bodies acclimatized. Lots of water, Gatorade, salt tablets and ice. I found a great new use for the Jog bra….it holds ice very well between aid stations and definitely helps keep your core temperature down! The run was not pretty, but I dug deep into my mararthon experience and realized the faster I ran the sooner I would be done. Not pretty, but got it done. I crossed the finish line in front of Jackson Square in 6:28 and happily had a beer to celebrate. That was the best tasting beer I think I have ever had! After a potty break and a silver blanket, it was back to the course to find Janet. The boys let me know that she was hurting coming off the bike and probably was walking it in. Happily, we spotted her running slowly but moving forward. She crossed the line and took her beer as well! A good time was had by all!! Janet’s coach Della Irby won her age group, so we had a second beer to celebrate!!

So again, what did we learn? Lube or Body Glide the heck out of your neck before putting on your wet suit if the water is at all choppy. You spend the whole time looking like a turtle popping your head up to try to see where you are going. Sunscreen after you take off your wetsuit in transition. The extra 20 seconds are worth it not to be whining about your sunburn the next day! And remember that God has a sense of humor…..Hydration and nutrition is the key to getting through to the finish. Will I do another one? Of course. Thinking about Miami 70.3 in October. Hmm….A salt water swim would be a cool new experience and I love Cuban food!!