New Orleans Triathlon: The 2013 Recap

I was laying in bed this past Friday morning, minding my own business, enjoying a day off  from work. The only thoughts that crossed my mind were in anticipation of the Memorial Day weekend  that included the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, a seafood boil with my family, and much needed R&R.

During the fourth hour of the Today Show (what New Orleanian could resist seeing Hoda in various states of Kathy Lee induced discomfort?), I received a text from Katherine. She was checking to see what my plans were for Sunday morning, and if they could possibly include subbing for an injured runner during the final leg of her team's relay at the New Orleans Triathlon. I readily jumped at the opportunity to lace up, but only after reminding her that I did have plans to imbibe on Friday and Saturday at NOWFE and that my current 10K pace would clock me between 50 and 55 minutes to finish. After making these disclosures, it was set.

Saturday morning, Katherine and I made it to the race start to pick up our bibs and get a quick glance at the setup. Transfer of the running leg in to my name was complete, bibs and participant shirts were in hand, and we were off to take on the weekend. I continued with my plans to tackle the Grand Tasting for NOWFE in the Convention Center (check out great food photos over on my Instagram) and going to the grocery for pre-race nourishment. I was in bed early, knowing that I had a 4:45am alarm set. Getting to sleep was another matter all together. A sum total of about 2 hours of sleep was had pre-race, but that meant I was outside of Katherine's complex early to pick her up. I could tell by her text responses that she was not being a morning person, but we made it to the race start on-time and easily parked to get in to "transition" (the place where bikes / supplies are stored for use between legs of the race).

Katherine had a bit of a walk to the swim start, so we set a pre-race game plan with Bill the Biker (and our alliteration friendly fearless leader) discussing how long we thought each leg would take us and how we'd handle transitions to exchange the timing chip, etc. Katherine having been a strong collegiate swimmer ensured a quick time on her first leg of the relay. Seriously, that is an understatement. She rocked the swim and was back to send our biker on his way after less than a half-hour.

Bill took off on his 25 mile bike ride. It was at this point that I realized that Katherine had given us a strong lead over the other competing co-ed teams, and Bill's quick time on the bike would give me a substantial lead going in to the run leg. I also found out the day before that this team was the defending Co-Ed Team Champions from last year's relay. Katherine reassured me that it was all for fun and to just do my best. Talk about "No Pressure." Just as I was getting nervous jitters in my stomach, Bill cruised back after crushing his ride. I grabbed the chip from his ankle, attached it to mine, and took off on a 10K sprint.

The course was a double out and back loop on what a coworker described as the "ugliest stretch of Lake Pontchartrain." My pace was a consistent 8.5-9 minute mile; however in the second to last mile, I saw the runner from a competing co-ed team pass me. The black relay "R" inscribed with sharpie on the back of his leg was more searing when it passed than a scarlet letter. I maintained pace, unable to engage him in a footrace, and held my ground as I moved to the finish. As I crossed the line with a time of just over 54 minutes, Katherine and Bill were waiting and cheering me on. I grabbed the team's medals and distributed them to my partners along with an exchange of high-fives. We had finished in second place in our division, and everyone survived.

We were done, and it was a blast. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Sunday morning. What was even better is that I got to see several friends compete in their first triathlon with the Big Easy Sprint Tri (half the distance), and cheer them on as they literally got their feet wet in the sport. The race was well organized, and I'd be more than happy to participate again. The distances offered are a great way to get introduced to triathlons, and may even become addicting.