Swim. I must say the water was nasty. It smelled funny for sure and I was ready to get out. There was also a snake that someone had spotted. I didn't see it, but oh well...more motivation to swim faster. I had a leak in my goggles unfortunately, but just kept going. Quite annoying since they were the goggles that I always use and have no problems with. Stuff happens I guess. Just keep going!
Bike. The bike course was really nice in my opinion. Of course the temps were 90+ so I was worried about hydration and overheating, but the route was nicely shaded in many areas. I was thankful for this. The first and last 2 miles or so were a little rough on the road. Same stretch of road, but not the worst I've ridden on. The only thing I could really say is that the dismount line was incorrectly marked. There was a line on the course about 20 feet in front of the dismount line marked dismount. They really should have covered that, it was confusing. Let me not forget to mention road kill! I forget that in Louisiana there are all sorts of little critters on the side of the road that take on a really nice smell in the heat. I could do without smelling this again. Yuck
Run. The only thing I can say about the run is thank goodness it was short because it was hot. I actually felt good for the most part. Even though the run was only 3.1 miles it was very well supported. There were several stations with water, Gatorade and Iced towels. The teenagers that were staffing some of the stations were even nice enough to splash you with water if you wanted. They were loving it! So great to see younger folks getting involved in triathlon.
Final Analysis. Like I said before this is still my favorite race. The course, the support, and just the local flare and people make this race special. It's short, sweet and has the best post race food and party you can ask for. When you start the swim you can smell the jambalaya and other Cajun concoctions smelling so good! Talk about motivation. It was also nice to meet some of the tricajuns team. I sure wish this group had been around when I was living there. What a great group of people. Such a nice group to have in the community.
Thanks. Thanks again to my mom and dad for hosting me, feeding and supporting me. Of course the biggest thanks goes to my sister and event director. She woke up early with me, carried a bunch of crap and stood in the sun for hours to support me. Oh and all the driving she did...I'm thankful, because I was just so tired!
That's it folks. Here are a few pictures from the day!
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| My Driver |
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| Post race eats in Austin |
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| Post Race |
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| Race Swag |
