A 70.3 Mile Day in New Orleans
Prologue
I have been doing triathlons now since 2004. And besides the charity part, my main reasons for doing them are to stay in shape and because I enjoy a challenge. I enjoy it when people tell me that “You shouldn’t do that” or “You can’t do that”. Because that is usually when I sign up for it. But my perspective has changed concerning these races. Both my children are teenagers now, and I would rather see them participate in all of their activities than worry about mine. And the same goes for my wife, Christine.
Christine has watched me struggle, crawl, bleed, groan and lay comatose for hours because of all my training and races. And for years, she never considered the idea of doing something like that herself. But then she found a running group at the Y that started her running. I bought her a bike and she fell in love with biking. And the dynamic duo of Susan Hayden and Pat Fellows somehow talked her into doing the RocketChix triathlons in Baton Rouge. With the words “I would never do that” still ringing in my ears, she asked me to sign her up for both the St. Jude Marathon and the New Orleans Half Ironman. As soon as I clicked the button, she uttered three words: “I am insane.” Yes my love, you are. So I signed up too.
What followed was over a year of training getting ready for the marathon first, which she completed in December with a bum knee. Then it was a quick shift in gears to get more swimming and riding in to the mix. She was tired all the time (sounds familiar) and many times it was tough keeping both of us motivated. But as many of our friends know, we are a pretty determined couple who work very well together. We just had to time our ups and downs so they didn’t fall at the same time!
Race Week
Starting a couple of weeks before the race (about the same time as the taper began), the smack talk on the BRTri forum cranked up. And as I mentioned before, my good friend Paul Esch called me out. I have a bad record with smack, but I needed something to divert my attention and get me fired up. Christine just laughed at the whole thing. Our friend, Bob Bourgeois, who was riding down the New Orleans with us even mentioned that he would be gunning for me as well. Fine….a three horse race – first one to the finish line wins!
On Saturday morning, Bob and his brother Blake, showed up at our house to head to New Orleans. Blake has raced in the past but was sitting this one out. He ended up being a tremendous help and our best cheerleader that day. Using our GPS, Lafaunduh, we made it down to the Marriott for the pre-race briefing and packet pickup. That was interesting but uneventful in the grand scheme of things. After we left there, we headed out to drive the bike course and get some food.
We started down the bike course and I switched the GPS to food mode. We were hungry. We kept driving and looking, but there were no food places open anywhere. It was kind of eerie how this long after the storm they were still shut down. So we kept driving. All of a sudden, my GPS started rolling with Asian restaurants! And as I looked ahead, there were about 10 of them on the side of the road. I like Chinese food, but not the day before the race! We kept riding, saw what could be some interesting parts of the course and finally found a subway.
By the time we finished scarfing down our food, the bike check in was open so we headed there. It was a huge transition area! It took us 15 minutes just to find our designated bike racks. Fortunately for us, they were all in the same area. Unfortunately for us, they were 15 miles from the bike transition exit. That meant we would be pushing our bikes a long way on race day. Oh well. We racked our bikes, figured out good markers for finding them and decided to take a look at the water.
We visited the swim exit and drove to the swim start. The water was flat as could be. We talked about the swim a bit but not too much. Some of us were nervous enough already. Then we made our way to the house we were staying in. Doc & Sue Judice let us stay at their house and it was incredible. Their son, Rob, is Christine’s boss and he even left us some beer and wine in the fridge. If I didn’t have to race the next morning, I would have drank it all! Before it go too late, we headed to a local restaurant, Joey K’s, and had a great meal.
Of course, our designated driver, cheerleader, non-racer had his beer with dinner. We had ice tea. After dinner, we got to our house where the smack talk resumed. Not Bob. Not me. Paul drug his wife Marci into the mix and had her text Christine. Do you want to know what it said? “My husband is going to beat your husband!” It takes a lot to drag a wife into smack talking. High five to you Paul! After a few furious replies, everyone settled down for a nice long sleepless night. Yep, not much sleep.
Race Morning
Okay, this report is already 30 minutes long and the race hasn’t started. So where was I…..We ate some breakfast and headed to tranistion to set up our gear. And there were 1 million cars and 5 million people there. It was packed. Transition closed at 6:45, but our swim waves did not start until 8:16 (me), 8:20 (Bob), and 8:28 (Christine). That gave us plenty of time to get things straight and catch a bus to the swim start. Except they said the buses were full, so we had to walk a mile to the start barefooted. Poor planning on my part and their part.
All the way to the start, Christine was nervous. But we were moving. We finally got in the 500 person line for the portapotties and things started getting more anxious. By now, the pros had taken off and the race was officially started. And were will still in line to pee. Finally took care of that, picked up our chip and went to watch others take off. And that is when Christine got real nervous.
As we were watching others struggle in the water, her nerves took over. Bob, Blake, Greg Cole, Paul, Chris Boggs, and a few others came over and talked with us attempting to relieve her distress. Nothing seemed to be working. Paul was in the 8:08 wave so he took off first. As I was about to have to go get in line for my wave, she had tears in her eyes. Walking away was one of the hardest things I have ever done. And of course, I thought of this stupid Tom Jones song:
What did you think
I would do at this moment
When you’re standing before me
With tears in your eyes
I will tell you what I did. I walked to the swim start, put on my goggles and jumped in the frickin’ water before I did something I would regret. This was her race. This was her day. This was something she had to do on her own power and with her own will.
But just in case, as the horn went off, I immediately starting thinking of two people: Jesus, who I was praying to and Christine, who I was praying for. And that continued for the entire day.
The Swim
As I took off, I immediatly headed to the outside and got into a rythym. I felt good. There were a few bumps and jostles with other swimmers, but no drama and things were moving fine. And then the swim seemed to drag on. I caught up with some of the earlier wave swimmers and someone grabbed my leg. That cause my timing chip to slide back and I thought I was going to loose it. I kept praying for Christine because I knew she was in the water by now. The swim was going down hill and not in a fast “wheeeee” kind of way. Not too far from the finish, my goggle strap started coming loose as well. I was smart enough to put the strap under my swim cap, so it didn’t spring off. But it was one more thing to think of.
When I finally hit the beach to get out I was happy to be done with it. My swim time was 39:32 which was very slow for me. Not too happy with that, but it was over.
The Bike
I saw Blake as I came out of the water and he gave me a thumbs up. It’s always nice to see people you know out there. Marci said Paul was in and out, so I quickly put on my gear and started the 2 minute trip through transition. Yep, it was a long way to push a bike while wearing bike shoes.
As soon as I got on my bike, my stomach was cramping. It took 3 or 4 miles to settle down, but eventually it did so I started pushing to catch Paul. I also had to worry about Bob who had started his swim wave 4 minutes behind me. I was the hunter and the hunted! About every 5 minutes I would look at my watch and guess where Christine was. At this point we had a tail wind, so I just kept hammering away.
I got to the first aid station and they had no Gatorade. Only water. Hmmm. I had planned on using the Gatorade on the course for my electrolytes and eating the gels and water I had with me for calories. Oh well, maybe at the next one. I kept pushing looking for Paul and Bob all the way to the turn around. And when I turned around…BAM…I got hit with the wind. Crap. I hate the wind. I made it up to the cutoff at Hwy 11 and finally had a little break from it.
I was searching for Bob and Paul, but I never saw them. Where were they? After the turnaround on 11, I once again got hit with the wind….even a little harder than before. The next station was there and they didn’t have Gatorade either. Not good at all. I am a very big sweater, so I lose a lot of salt. The fear of cramps was creeping into my mind. That thought didn’t last long because when I turned back off 11, I hit the wrong side of a hurricane. Okay, it wasn’t that bad but this is my blog so I can say what I want.
As I made my way down the road back towards transition, I was not in a happy place. My speed had dropped to minus 3 miles an hour (yes, I was going backwards) and I was still trying to push. At this point, my prayers for Christine changed a bit. As much as I love her and wanted her to finish, I was praying she was safe in transition. Somehow I wanted to shield her from this wind, and I couldn’t physically do it for her. I found out later that this was one of those prayers that Jesus decided take care of His way.
At about 40 miles in, my quads started to cramp. No electrolytes for almost 3 hours was not working. I stopped and dug my S-caps out of my jersey and swallowed one. Probably too late, but I had a race to finish. A few miles down the road I hit the last aid station. They told me they were out of water and Gatorade. Are you serious? Well, if I weren’t worried enough about Christine, now I was worried she would be on the course with no support whatsoever. I was actually pissed at that point.
So I pushed harder on the bike. I wanted to be back at transition to either see Christine or know for sure she was on the bike course. I just wanted to know! And then we hit the overpass area. As I approached them I saw people off their bikes walking up the hill. The wind was still slamming us in the face, but I just kept grinding up. On the way down the hills, I topped out at about 18 mph. 18 mph downhill. That is just wrong! After what seemed like an eternity, I made it back to transition.
As soon as I jumped off my bike, Blake was at the bike entrance. He said Christine finished the swim, did a little dance, and then headed out on the bike. What a woman. I smiled as I ran the 189 miles back through transition to rack my bike. The smile faded a bit as I realized she was on the bike, in the wind with no Gatorade and possibly no water. I didn’t remember at the time, but she had her Margarita Shot Blocks on her bike so she had electrolytes. Yep, she is smarter than I am.
The Run
I changed shoes, hit the porta potty and stopped off to chat with Marci again. How was Paul and where was he? Doing good and 10 minutes gone. My mind was fried from worrying and the wind, so I didn’t care at that point. I told her he can have the victory. And that is when Susan Hayden jumped in my face and said “Go Get Him!” Yes mam! So I took off.
I have said this a thousand times, but I like to run. However, I do not like to run with cramped legs. But as weird as this sounds, I have figured out ways to do it. I knew my body needed salt and fluids so that became a priority. And since our 30% chance of rain and mostly cloudy turned into 85 degrees of full sun frying an egg on my head hot, the fluids would be even more important.
I caught up with Chris Boggs and he was in a joyous mood. We sang a few versus of “Water Sucks” from the movie Waterboy before I headed on down the road. I say headed on down the road, but what I meant was I was crawling slightly faster than Chris. After a couple of aid stations, I started getting enough fluids to plan an attack on my cramps.
I knew there was a finite number of steps I could take before the cramps would lock on. The key was walking just before that happened. Without a good visual marker, I started using the dashes on the road as my indicator. Initially I ran 15 dashes and walked 5. Usually when I got to 12 or 13 I could feel my legs tightening, so I would quickly stop at 15. Now for reference, when I was actually running I was running about an 8 to 8:30 pace. My walking was not too slow either.
And then I saw Paul heading down the other side. He said I had him, but I couldn’t figure out why. Until I turned the corner and saw the run turnaround. I was only a few minutes back from him. Shortly after, I saw Bob coming down the street, but he didn’t look well either. I kept my routine until I caught Paul and then we walked a bit. His legs were cramping as well. The heat, humidity and exertion on the bike did a number on a lot of us. And without the Gatorade on the bike, we were all behind the curve. I stayed with him a bit before I felt the pressure of being chased.
My system was working and the Gatorade and S-caps I was taking were starting to help. I eventually got my intervals up to 30 dashes running and 5 walking. At least for a while. The last few miles started a reverse progression of my intervals as my body decided it was done with me. As I turned on the finishing stretch, I had to run. There were too many people screaming at me. So I hobbled across the line, grabbed my medal and then started figuring out where everyone else was. I could celebrate later.
I made a quick trip to the BRTri command central to get the status on Christine. She was on the run! Thank you Lord! I made it back to the finish line to await Bob and Paul. Paul made it in about 10 to 15 minutes behind me. I know he was glad he was done!
Now Blake and I were waiting for Bob. Waiting for Bob. Waiting for Bob. And then Blake’s phone rings. Bob is at Tulane medical! Crap. Crap. Crap. We hustle to the truck where I get Blake set with the GPS going to the hospital. I headed back to the finish line to look for Christine. Now I am really nervous.
Christine was still out on the course and Bob was in the hospital. As the minutes and seconds passed by, I went from nervous to scared. I would walk halfway down the road before going back towards the finish line. What if they called for me on the PA system. Then I would head back down the road. Back and forth. I did an additional 5 miles that day, so my medal should say 75.3!
And then I saw her. She was running in with another woman from BRTri, Lea Shelby. And she was smiling! And I was crying…I mean salt blew in my eyes. She crossed the finish line. She did it. She really did it. This was her day. This was her race.
My wonderful wife had just done something that few people would ever consider attempting, what many people said she couldn’t do, and in some pretty brutal conditions. And she finished with a smile on her face. GEAUX CHRISTINE! I love you!
And now, for the rest of the story
Bob got off the bike feeling a little nauseous. He struggled on the run, but like most of us he is hard headed and pushes through the pain. He was having a hard time getting fluids down, so he drank what he could tolerate. At about 11 miles, he was reduced to a permanent walk. At mile 12, he was so dizzy he sat on the curb. Many runners asked if he was okay, and he responded that he would be fine. One didn’t believe him and informed on of the officers on the street. EMS was called and his vitals were extremely low.
After an IV liter of fluids, he felt a little better. The EMS wanted to take him to the hospital, but he knew he only had a mile to go. He took two steps towards the finish before turning back around and getting in the ambulance. He was done. His vitals were still low when he arrived at the hospital, but eventually they came up. Blake got him back to the race site just as they announced Christine crossing the finish line. With this being his first half-ironman, one mile short is going to be tough to deal with for a while. But his is alive.
The three horse race recap
Even though I hear the pro race had some drama, I felt ours was just as exciting. And it was close….for a while.
Bob was first out of the water with me trailing by 38 seconds and Paul back 2 minutes and 54 seconds. We made up some time in transition and I left on the bike only 14 seconds down and Paul cut his deficit to 1:58.
Paul shined on the bike pulling out to a 4:18 lead over me and a 4:49 lead over Bob. And with his blazing fast transition (while his wife kept me talking preventing me from leaving), he headed out onto the run 5:55 in front of me and 5:48 in front of Bob.
And then the best cramp runner took over. When all was said and done, I took his 5:55 lead away and slapped him with a 22:28 deficit. And Bob…..well, he still owes us a mile.
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5 Comments to “A 70.3 Mile Day in New Orleans”
Gratz to you both 
Great job Christine
Laufunda a classic Dynamite reference can only enhance this great race report
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Just read “Timbeaux’s Challenge” and I must say, I’m soooo proud of you and Christine. As a mother, I feel privileged in knowing Christine is my daughter. She is terrific – Geaux Christine! Tim, I’m also privileged in another way — knowing I have you for a son-in-law. May God keep you two healthy so you’re future challenges may be achieved.
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Great report Tim! I enjoyed reading it!
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I’m inspired by the story and now I’ll probably have to do a whole one myself. You guys are great and your relationship seems to be very similar to my own marriage. I hope that even though though IM NO 70.3 is done, we can remain friends and continue to inspire each other. And I’m sorry about the smack talk I gave, I was forced to do it…..
Marci Esch
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I love you!! I am so glad that we did this race together. I still cannot figure out why people want to keep doing them. I think I am done with the big tri’s. I will stick to sprints.
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