New Orleans 5150 - 6/24/12

The 2^nd annual New Orleans 5150 Triathlon was held on June 24^th, 2012.  The 5150 series, owned by WTC, is a non-drafting Olympic distance series.  All races are comprised of a 1500 meter swim, a 40k bike and a 10k run.  51.50k total, hence the name of the series, 5150.


About the Race

If you are evenly remotely close to triathlon you are aware that, for the past few years, New Orleans 70.3 and 5150 triathlons have had a rough go due to weather.  In two consecutive years, high north winds have caused unfavorable swim conditions in Lake Pontchartrain, forcing race management to cancel the swim portion of the race.  When that happens more than once, a race gets labeled and people stop showing up.  That’s understandable.  After all, who wants to train for months for a triathlon only to show up on race day and find out you’re now participating in an expensive duathlon?  It’s probably even more significant for professional athletes who choose races that play to their strengths only to show up and find the dynamic of the race drastically altered.  It’s not anyone’s fault, that’s just how it is.

No one realized that fact more so than Premiere Event Management, the crew that manages the New Orleans WTC branded triathlons, and lots of others around the country.  Following another failed swim attempt at the Ironman New Orleans 70.3 in April, 2012 (the second failed attempt in two years), PEM made a permanent change to the venue.  This applies to all future 70.3 races, the 5150 races, and even the Big Easy Sprint races.  The 2012 5150 race was the first attempt at the new venue.  There’s no way they could have planned this, but as it turns out, in the days leading up to this race, there was a tropical storm churning in the Gulf of Mexico.  Tropical Storm Debby was out making high winds and big waves.  PEM, who had to be more nervous than any athlete competing, was getting the opportunity to test their new race venue with a trial by fire. 

The new race venue is really not that radical of a change.  The swim is still in Lake Pontchartrain, but the swim start, transition area and finish line have all been moved down the road to the South Shore Harbor.  The idea is that the notoriously strong winds blowing over the lake won’t cause the water to be as rough and choppy in the protected boat harbor.  Prior to Hurricane Katrina, South Shore Harbor was the site of Bally’s, a huge floating casino.  The New Orleans Levee Board invested lots of money in the 80 acre complex complete with parking for up to 1200 cars, a 483-slip boat marina, and a two-story, 30,000 sq. ft. casino terminal.  Today, the casino is gone and the entire complex sits vacant while slowly deteriorating.  

My thoughts about the venue…

The empty main building for the former Bally's Casino at South Shore Harbor
(Photo Credit - Chris Granger, The Times Picayune)

There are some pros to this new race site.  The obvious one is that it’s unlikely that future events will have to cancel the swim portion of the race.  There is plenty of space for the race production (transition, expo, finish area, etc.) and still tons of parking for participants and spectators.  Race day access was pretty easy.

On the other hand, there are some cons.  The South Shore Harbor complex is almost completely deserted.  It creates a weird ghost town vibe.  Although, with some creativity, I think that could actually be embraced as part of the New Orleans experience.  However, there’s practically nothing for spectators to do at the race site.  Unless PEM comes up with something creative to keep spectators engaged and entertained during a race, I’d say keep the families and small kids at home.  New Orleans has so many iconic and scenic areas: Jackson Square, the French Quarter, the Mississippi river, etc.  This is not one of them!  If you’re coming to New Orleans because you think you’ll be racing in scenic areas, you’re wrong.  If you want to experience New Orleans proper, plan on staying a few days before/after the race. 

My Race

Having just completed the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco, CA a few weeks prior, I was feeling good, fit and restless.  That usually only means one thing:  I need to race soon.  Feeling really scrappy, I initially thought about making a last minute trip to Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 in Lubbock, TX.  However, after some verbal abuse from both my wife and my coach I decided to scale back my ambition a little and enter the New Orleans 5150, about four days before race day.  I’m not usually like that.  I’m the type of guy that likes to have everything planned out to the Nth degree before starting.  I don’t like too many surprises or chaos; especially in the days leading up to a race.  The fact that I was willing to do this tells me I’m getting much more comfortable and confident in racing.

This race was going to be my first complete Olympic distance race, ever.  My only other experience with Olympic distance was the second race of my life, at the Houston Triathlon in 2010.  However, I was completely new to the sport at that time and opted for the shortened swim wave (300 meters).  I was excited to tackle this distance for the first time and looked forward to using it as a fitness marker for the remainder of my season.

I found out that my friend John was going to this race also.  We decided to split the cost of travel and ride to NOLA together and share a hotel room.  When we drove up to the hotel we both quickly realized that, should trouble break out, we were going to be at a severe disadvantage without a firearm.  It was also visible to anyone with eyes that we were not a part of the Johnson family reunion that was pumping dance beats from the party room on the 1^st floor.  Still, we reasoned that we were only there for one night and it was cheap so we’d stick it out.  Side note:  For posterity sake, I’d like to point out that John chose the hotel.

As usual, I didn’t sleep well and race morning came way too early.  Begrudgingly, I got out of bed and began my pre-race rituals.  1.  Get all dressed up in my war paint 2.  Down a 5 hour Energy Shot 3.  Eat breakfast (no coffee) 4.  Take my first of what usually ends up being 2-3 dumps.  What can I say, it’s race day nerves.  TMI?  Well, triathlon isn’t all fun and games and spandex.  There’s a gritty underbelly to this sport and I feel compelled to tell the whole truth.

After setting up my transition space, I went for a brief warm-up then took a walk to the swim start area.  It was a looong walk!  The swim area is about 0.5 mile from transition.  This race started swimmers in a time trial format.  Athletes cue up in waves in a “self-seeded” format then jump from a boat dock one at a time.  There is a timing mat at the edge of the dock, so your race begins when you cross that mat to jump in the water.  This was the first race I’ve seen done that way and, personally, I liked this format.  It allows the fish to get up front and avoid people like me while still allowing people like me to find a spot where we think we can get on some decent feet to follow.  I thought it worked well as I had virtually no contact with any fellow competitors during the entire swim. 

Before jumping in the water it was obvious that, although we were in a protected marina, there was still significant chop on the water due to the strong winds.  I can only imagine what the day would have been like out in the unprotected areas of Lake Pontchartrain.  Without a doubt, the swim would have been cancelled again.

I can’t say that I’m particularly proud of my swim time for the 1500 meters (33:27).  Then again, I’m not usually happy about any of my swim splits.  It was a tough swim, but I still felt like I should have done better.  Although, after looking at the average swim times in the race results, it’s obvious that my time could have been much worst.  (This was the race that finally sparked me to get serious about my swim training.  I don’t accept being sub-par at anything else I do, so why should I accept being a slow swimmer?  Since June, I’ve drastically increased my weekly swim volume and have been making a concerted effort to get better.  It’s a work in progress, but I hope I can report positive results in future race reviews.) 

After the long run to T1 (my T1 time was 4:34 due to the long run from the swim exit), I was ready to hop on my trusty Scott Plasma and begin the bike ride.  The bike course is a two lap course that leaves the transition area westward on Stars and Stripes Blvd. at South Shore Harbor and winds along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain on Lakeshore Blvd.   

Within the first ¼ mile of the bike course, I was feeling good and had confidence that I’d have a solid bike split…until the first gust of wind hit me.  It was at the base of the Ted Hickey Bridge just as the roadway turns north onto Lakeshore Drive.  I was riding along minding my own business and carrying a lot of speed coming down the bridge when…BAM!  A huge gust of wind grabbed my front wheel and literally pushed me from the right side of the road all the way to the left side.  I seriously thought I was going down.  I locked up my brakes and started to brace for the impending fall, but somehow I was able to manage to stay on my bike and not eat the concrete embankment for lunch.  In retrospect, a disc rear wheel and a ZIPP 1080 front wheel were probably not the best choice given the weather conditions.  Tropical Storm Debby was causing some intense gusts to blow in off the lake front.  Now, I’ve ridden at windy venues like Ironman Texas 70.3 in Galveston, TX, but the difference is that the winds off the beach in Galveston tend to be very consistent.  On this day in New Orleans the gusts would come out of nowhere and catch you by surprise. 

The other factor that I didn’t consider prior to race day was the number of climbs in this 40k bike course.  Yes, this is pancake flat New Orleans, but the bike course takes you down Star and Stripes Blvd and Lakeshore Dr. with several small bridges, overpasses and one big bridge.  Since the bike course is two laps, you tackle those climbs 4 times each!

The combination of climbs and wind (climbs with a headwind ½ the time) made for a very tough bike course.  Initially, I was disappointed with my bike split time, but after reviewing the race results I realized that relative to everyone else my bike split wasn’t that terrible.

The 10k run course began at the transition area and was a two loop course following the same route as the bike course on Stars and Stripes Blvd. until reaching the Ted Hickey Bridge.  Instead of crossing the bridge as on the bike course, athletes run under the base of it and do an out and back section on the opposite side of the road. 

On this day, the 10k run course could better be described as a 10k death march.  I mentioned the strong winds several times, but there was another element working against athletes on race day:  Heat and humidity.  It was a very hot day as it often is when hurricanes/tropical storms are pushing in.  I felt cooked within the first mile.  I don’t mean to sound cocky, because I certainly did not always feel this way, but I can run 10k in my sleep.  Sure, it can be very challenging if you’re pushing the pace, but it’s not exactly a huge feat of endurance.  On this day, though, every 2 miles felt like 10 in terms of perceived exertion.  There is almost no shade on this run course and the hot sun coupled with the strong hot wind felt like running in a sauna.  I have never hurt so badly on such a short run.  I refused to allow myself to walk, but I’ll admit my pace for 1/3 of the run wasn’t much more than a walk.  It helped that there was so much support on the side of the road.  My coach and several friends from Lafayette including the semi-famous and dashingly handsome Mark Miller of Precision Bikes were all out there cheering us on.  Walking in front of them was not an option!  Somewhere around mile 3, I remember making a mental note to thank my wife and coach for their brutal honesty and keeping me from signing up for Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3!  I was able to dig deep and finish the last 1 – 1.5 miles of the run very strong, but I was DONE when I crossed the finish line.  I reckon that’s how it’s supposed to be, but on this day the effort did not feel proportionate to the results. 

Male (35-39) Top 5

I finished the race with a time of 2:37:20.  Well above my personal goal of 2:30:00, yet still good enough for 4^th place in my age group.  Initially, I was disappointed that I missed the podium again.  4^th-5^th place seems like a consistent finish position for me recently.  I was all ready to pack up and get out of NOLA so I could go home, analyze my race and lick my wounds.  However, I was riding with John and he won his age group, so he wanted to stay for the awards and his qualifying slot to Hy-Vee, the 5150 series championship race in Des Moines, IA.  I’m very thankful that we stuck around, because I had no idea that the 5150 series awards age group athletes from 1^st – 5^th place.  What’s more, 1^st – 5^th place all qualify for a free race entry to Hy-Vee (6^th – 15^th place also qualify for Hy-Vee, but they must pay the race entry fee).  Sweet!  Hy-Vee 2012 was now on my radar!  Suddenly, my race experience wasn’t so bad ;-)!    

All things considered, the New Orleans 5150 was a fun (read: painful) race.  It’s not exactly a destination race, though.  There’s nothing particularly nice about the venue or race courses.  It’s a shame that the races in New Orleans can’t finish in Jackson Square like the 70.3 used to, or wind through the French Quarter or Audubon Park, but I understand why that can’t happen anymore and I have to give PEM credit for all the effort they put in to find a venue that would at least give athletes the race they paid for.  I don’t envy their position.
Venue: 4 out of 10

Value: 7 out of 10