New Orleans 70.3

Race Report

This race for me was alright. I was hoping to get a better finishing position but it seems like a lot of top athletes decided to turn up and race as well so the field ended up being pretty stacked.

I lost a lot of time on the swim which put me on the back foot from the beginning really as by the time I got 25 minutes into the race I had caught everyone bar the front pack. My power was pretty good for the first hour (336w) and the speed was averaging 47Km/ph mostly with a tail wind. I felt I was going well and was hoping to be eating into the advantage of the front pack however when I got a time split I saw I was just holding the same time. I got a bit deflated after this as there was no one behind me and what seemed like no chance of catching them. It was as if I was on a training ride as I couldn’t see anyone.
I lost a lot of motivation and power dropped off over the last hour of the bike. I started the run in 9th place.

Onto the run and it was in heat and humidity I have never experienced before. My heart rate was a lot higher then what it would normally be for the same pace obviously as my body was working so much harder to try and keep cool. Was a bit of a deathmarch. I caught 8th place and almost got 7th on the line.

Overall I would have liked to have swam faster as in the pool I’ve been swimming a lot faster then previously and it was a real shame that this didn’t translate to open water.

also as I said it’s always nice to compare yourself to the top guys but its a shame that races like this that are supposed to be development races (low points and prize money) are attracting some of the biggest names as how can you develop as an athlete if you can’t even win $500 of prize money. For the top guys the prize money doesn’t matter as there bonuses from sponsors are so good but for athletes like myself prize money is essential.

I know I harp on bout this all the time but it’s like a premier league team playing a championship team every week!

My next event will now be Ironman Texas on the 17th May. It’s really hot out here but I’m acclimatising all be it slowly! Fitness wise I’m in really good shape, much better then last year and if I can deal with the heat i’ll smash it. Saying that a 2h 50 marathon is good out here looking at previous results and I’m confident I can run that and bike around 4h 20 but talk is cheap and time will tell!