This is
the first time I have ever flown to a triathlon which turned out not to be a
triathlon after all. This was an adventure. Less than two months earlier, I had
agreed to join Mary Beth Begley, Maggie O'Toole, and Trish Kelly in New Orleans
for the Ironman Ochsner 70.3. This was meant to be fun and not an A race for
any of us. Nancy Arena, Beth Edwards, and two of Mary Beth's friends were also
coming down for a long weekend of food, music, and other sorts of
entertainment.
We got to
the race just as they were closing the entrance to transition. Normally, I get
the race jitters and would have been a mess by now, but we had already learned
that the swim had been canceled and that an extra 2-mile run had been added to
the start of the race. Many of you know that I like the swim, and I suffer
through the run, so this turned the race into something I would never have
signed up for. In fact, it took all the pressure off since I really did not
care any more. My goal at that point was to cross the finish line. I was not
the only one with this attitude. In fact, everyone around me was relaxed and
talking and laughing. It was quite the social scene.
Once the
pro waves went off, they lined up the age groupers in our original waves and
had us start in pairs, just a few seconds apart, to help stagger the course
before we got on the bike. Maggie and I started together, and Trish and Mary
Beth started together. It felt very much like we were back in kindergarten on a
field trip. For a brief moment, Maggie and I considered holding hands while we
crossed the starting line. We were laughing as we ran and were even more amused
to see a few participants race in goggles and swim cap with one actually
running in his wetsuit!
The bike
was less amusing.
We
started off with a head wind, were hit with a cross wind, and then finished
with winds coming from everywhere at once. It was all I could do to get down
and keep my bike solidly under me. People were going down left and right. Early
on, I saw Trish at the side of the road with a girl who had crashed. Trish
yelled at me to get help and, in the second I took my eyes off the road to look
over, my front wheel went into the same joint in the pavement that had brought
the other rider down. I knew I was going down as I heard Trish gasp but
somehow, some way, I managed to wobble out of that crack and keep going. With
police support at every intersection and EMS crews scattered along the course,
it did not take me long to send help. Maggie did not go down but managed to
finish with three flats and only two spares.
The rest
of the ride was like this: wind, wind, wind, riding next to the endless levee,
a dead black voodoo cat lying with its tongue out in the middle of the road,
lots of long dangerous joints in the pavement, crossing over a draw bridge
(scary!), more wind, and why are there caterpillars all over the road? I saw
Maggie and Mary Beth a couple of times on the course, but no words were
exchanged - just small sympathetic hand waves. Even though the bike had been
shortened to 52 miles (because the recent storm had left too much debris), I
felt completely beaten by the strong winds on the flat course.
I have
never run more than 13 miles in one day, and my longest training run this
season had been a split 10-mile run so I found myself pondering the feasibility
of completing 15 miles. I seriously considered quitting several times but
stopped listening to the debate in my head and decided that I would feel worse
if I did not finish. The 2-loop run course was like a flower with several
petals. Because of this, I was able to see the others multiple times as we
wound around and around. They did not look as if they were enjoying this
either. Beth, Nancy, and the others spurred us on with their enthusiastic
cheering , ignoring our scowls and swearing as we passed by them. We all
finished in the scorching heat. Our savior, Elijah, picked us up again and brought
us back to showers and food, and we enjoyed the rest of our stay immensely.
Did I
like this race? It was hard but it was fun. The race was well supported with
plenty of water and fuel stops complete with sponges, Bonk Busters, and sun
screen. The volunteers at the water stops were mostly young kids (if they were
students from the University of New Orleans, I definitely feel old!) who were
energetic and fun. There was music on the course and a good band after the
race. The Blue Angels had been scheduled to do an air show but unfortunately
that was also canceled due to the winds. Having canceled the swim two years in
a row, the race director finally promised to look for a new swim location next
year. Will I do this again? I am thinking about it but I would stay for Jazz
Fest next time.
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