NOLA 70.3 2012 (Page 13): Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums

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NOLA 70.3 2012

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Sam Apoc

Apr 22, 12 15:08

Post #301 of 338 (3062 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [GMAN19030] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

It's too bad. This is a great city and I think it's had the most crowd of any race I've done (from random locals who like to cheer and party for anything), but this was ridiculous. I think the race should be 100% centered around City Park.

PaintIt

Apr 22, 12 16:28

Post #302 of 338 (2940 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Sam Apoc] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

So how much does Lance racing NOLA in 2013 affect the attendance? not that I have any inside info, or do I?

(This post was edited by PaintIt on Apr 22, 12 17:04)

japarker24

Apr 22, 12 16:32

Post #303 of 338 (2929 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [PaintIt] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

PaintIt wrote:

So how much does Lance racing NOLA in 2013 effect the attendance? not that I have any inside info, or do I?

Well, if LA does race NOLA 2013, that may affect the attendance.............

------------------------------------------------------------
2x IM Finisher. Only 10 more to go!

fly4awhtgye

Apr 22, 12 21:40

Post #304 of 338 (2653 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [japarker24] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I watched part of this event today and actually understood the swim cancellation and shortened bike course for safety. However, I am glad I picked Gulf Coast Tri instead of this 70.3. Between my parking spot and the .75 miles or so to transition, I saw at least 4 athletes take really bad falls off their bikes due to the horrible roads (one male was taken away in an ambulance and a female had her back wheel and tire completely come off her bike). I feel the poor quality road surface was a HUGE disservice to the athletes who raced. After seeing those falls, I'll never race NOLA 70.3, even with family in New Orleans!

GMAN19030

Apr 23, 12 6:20

Post #305 of 338 (2510 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Sam Apoc] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Since I'm in Houston I love that there's another 70.3 race in the spring in a fun city that's only 5-6 hours away. It makes for having good options.

I thought about registering for NOLA in 2011 but was a little skittish after hearing how badly the swim went in 2010. I'm not scared for my own personal safety, just scared the swim could be cancelled. So I didn't register and it was a good thing since the swim was cancelled. I figured I'd register for 2012 since what were the odds the swim would be cancelled again??? You figure that after 2010, 2011 and the 2011 5150 race that surely they couldn't have issues 4x in a row. Right? Right? We see how that went.

I know they're supposedly changing the venue for next year. It might be a case of too little too late. This race now has a horrible reputation. Registrations really dipped this year and the DNS rate was absurdly high. They're going to have to do a lot to get people to comeback to this race. Burke and PEM did a really lousy job running this race in the last year. We can gripe about the constant run course changes, scheduling the 5150 on the same day or not, the air show, etc. but those are minor inconveniences. The real issue they should have concentrated on was the swim venue. The swim venue should have been moved this year. Instead they decided to play Russian Roulette with the weather again and it bit them in the ass. We will hear the rallying cry about how the NOLA 70.3 will re-invent itself at a new location but it's going to be a struggle to bring a lot of us back to race.

James Haycraft

Apr 23, 12 7:33

Post #306 of 338 (2397 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [fly4awhtgye] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

fly4awhtgye wrote:

I watched part of this event today and actually understood the swim cancellation and shortened bike course for safety. However, I am glad I picked Gulf Coast Tri instead of this 70.3. Between my parking spot and the .75 miles or so to transition, I saw at least 4 athletes take really bad falls off their bikes due to the horrible roads (one male was taken away in an ambulance and a female had her back wheel and tire completely come off her bike). I feel the poor quality road surface was a HUGE disservice to the athletes who raced. After seeing those falls, I'll never race NOLA 70.3, even with family in New Orleans!

In no way possible could that be the fault of bad roads. I've done this race 3 years, grew up there and still go to NOLA relatively frequently and yes, the roads are awful. But the roads on the race course are not THAT bad except for right out of transition and out to Haynes blvd.
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Terra-Man

Apr 23, 12 8:25

Post #307 of 338 (2332 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [James Haycraft] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

2 years ago, I hit a deep seam coming off the ramp from the main highway, grabbed both tires on the way thru and gave my body and bike quite a "tourqe"...was fortunate to stay upright and for the tires to hold up

Sponsored by: Center for Breast Health at MS. Baptist Med. Ctr.
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Lou3000

Apr 23, 12 9:28

Post #308 of 338 (2238 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Terra-Man] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Yeah, the rough roads aren't the problem, I hit a seam last year and lost a bottle. Luckily I wasn't alone, it was a bottle graveyard at that spot.

BBB1975

Apr 23, 12 10:08

Post #309 of 338 (2171 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [fly4awhtgye] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

fly4awhtgye wrote:

Oh come on. Just goes to show that many people who do triathlons stink at bike handling.

Robert

Apr 23, 12 10:15

Post #310 of 338 (2150 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [BBB1975] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

This shouldn't be surprising, and since it is a known problem I'd suggest that people need to be warned at the pre-race, and the bad spots should be coned off or volunteers there to steer people away. Sounds like a poorly run race to me.....

We don't need to have our legs sawed off at the start of these races to prove what studs we are. Keep 'em safe and alive to come back again.

Just my humble opinion.

-Robert
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

LEGENDwaitDAIRY

Apr 23, 12 10:32

Post #311 of 338 (2127 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Robert] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

So um like the race is done and no race reports huh?

bufit323

Apr 23, 12 11:16

Post #312 of 338 (2065 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Terra-Man] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Terra-Man wrote:

I know that spot well, it coincides with probably the max speed of the whole course too, I think I was approaching that spot at around 34 mph last year (coming down the seabrook bridge). I knew the area enough to slow down some and brace myself for that spot, though it broke my heart to bleed off that speed.

BLeP wrote: "I'll never race Kona but I am proudly literate"

(This post was edited by bufit323 on Apr 23, 12 11:54)

kenb321

Apr 23, 12 11:49

Post #313 of 338 (2016 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Livestrong191] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Livestrong191 wrote:

So um like the race is done and no race reports huh?

Thats what I want too!

shannond

Apr 23, 12 13:12

Post #314 of 338 (1925 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Lou3000] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Yes there are some seams out there and a couple of tricky spots, but not much more or less than any race I've done. It would be nice if we could have had fresh asphalt for entire bike course like on that short section of the Chef, but I did not think the road was that big of an issue.
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jrielley

Apr 23, 12 13:55

Post #315 of 338 (1860 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Livestrong191] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I'll write mine up within the next couple of days and get it out. The roads were bad at some points but I thought really good at most. The wind and the 2 mile run created a clusterf*ck of people at the start of the bike and since it was only one lane and people were all over the road it was tough to pass. I'll post my full report when i write it up. Back to reality now.
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ThadB

Apr 23, 12 15:15

Post #316 of 338 (1805 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [jrielley] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

The seams in the concrete were not bad unless you were one of the athletes that crashed because of them (including me). I went down early in the race and saw three others down as well. I understand we all rode the same course, I just wish they would have been marked so we would have seen them coming. Once you got out of the neighborhood the roads were better but all the riders I saw down were all within a few blocks of each other.

Meats

Apr 23, 12 17:11

Post #317 of 338 (1740 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [kenb321] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

2012 NOLA WTC Duathlon Race Report:

Saturday:
Checked in on Saturday afternoon at the host hotel. Picked up swag bag and was routed through the expo. Standard issue race stuff, and a commemorative swim cap! Went to pre-race briefing. I honestly wish I would have recorded it so everyone could grasp how little information was given. Odd part of it though they mentioned having a swim next year at some new place? Wouldn't that take away from the awesome duathlon they host for all of the non-swimmers?

Checked in bike on Saturday, checked out transition area. Not bad, good set up with lots of room. Only about three bikes on my rack so I had plenty of room to move around. Bike in and out roundabout was a little sketchy as well as the roads leading out of the UNO campus. There was going to be no fancy mount or dismount for me (friends said on race day some folks ate it, but maybe due to their lack of experience on dismounts or just racing I am not sure).

Race morning:
Got to transition at around 5:30. Windy and cold outside, perfect duathlon conditions! Got gear unpacked, talked some smack to fellow racers, questioned all of the deep front and disk set ups I saw all around my rack. Stood around freezing my butt off and listened to the waves crash on the seawall.

Transition closed at "6:30" but people were in there well past 6:45. Oh well not like it was that crowded to begin with. Athletes were told to head to the traffic circle to start the first run (2 mile out and back). Pro men went off at 7am and pro women shortly after. Then they started the AG athletes at 7:15ish. Relay teams went first. I stood around freezing for seemingly forever while they sent out athletes 2 by 2.

Race:
Started the first run, and it went well. PRed my duathlon run split. I am certain they sent us on the route over the levee to the seawall just to see how rough the lake was. It looked like a challenge for good swimmers and a death trap for non-swimmers.

Got into transition and onto the bike. Took the right out of the roundabout and got my first fun gust of wind. Nice pucker effect but manageable on race wheels. Ride was great. I enjoyed the view of the abandoned six flags, government housing, and military vehicle graveyard or whatever along the way. I saw what I think was ONE race marshal but it could have been the camera crew that was roaming around. Drafting was almost encouraged for the most part, but hey everything is legal until you get caught right? What stood out to me on the bike course was the large amount of noticeably obese individuals that were going at maybe 13-15 mph with a tail wind, and one gear away from walking with a head wind. Whatever, "on your left _____" was a common phrase I used as they rode two or three wide (they didnt know about the drafting policy for the day).

Into T2, dumped the bike and got to running. Not much to it, I enjoyed the two loop run. I might have enjoyed finishing in the French Quarter, but I will never know. Sunscreen lady made me laugh every time. The nice people on the second turnaround had some run aid where it made sense and good music. The all girls crew before and after the bike corner were always prepared. I do think some stations ran out of certain items a few times, but I can not be sure. It was nice to see my family two times on the roundabout. Finished the race. Some nice man asked if I felt ok in a serious tone. I laughed and said "no I feel like shit" and he just laughed at me and said "you should" I just laughed and stumbled away. I dont know why but that was hilarious after the race.

Post race:
Live band playing NOLA style music, red beans and rice, jambalaya, and Abita beer. Good stuff but I couldnt stand the smell after the race so cookies and coke were lunch. Everything else was just scattered across the area and I'm not sure what else was happening.

In all I have been to races that have been less impressive, but not many. USAT Championship races that I have been in are 10X better than this event on all levels. This was my first WTC event so I have no basis of comparison to other WTC events. It just was not that impressive to me. It is definitively in the bottom 50% of the races I have been to not taking into effect the changes in race course, prices, and weather related issues.

Maybe I had high expectations, or maybe it was something else...

(This post was edited by Meats on Apr 23, 12 17:12)

PaintIt

Apr 23, 12 17:56

Post #318 of 338 (1688 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [PaintIt] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Sorry to hear that anybody crashed.

I wish I would have filmed the bikes coming out of T1 and around the corner onto lakeshore blvd. The bike exit was a straight shot for about 150 feet and then it turned 2 lanes wide 90 deg to the right. I cant even count how many people were trying to get into shoes around and after the corner. most were going so slow by the time
they got the shoes on it was pointless. Maybe it was as pointless as it usually is for most age groupers. Lucky I saw no wrecks in the first turn.

There are some wicked expansion joints in the traffic circle and near the Seabrook bridge but it is not that bad if you are paying attention to the road. I have been riding the race course for about 20 years as part of the local group ride and there is a wreck now and then but it is rider error most of the time. The others have been car related recently.

For those who came to NOLA I hope they had a good time despite no swimming and for those who bailed hope to see you again.

I will be be signing up for 2013 as soon as registration opens. hope to see you there.

jrielley

Apr 23, 12 19:32

Post #319 of 338 (1610 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [kenb321] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Hey. Just wrote my race report. Sorry it's long and sorry to link to my blog but I am too lazy to compress it and copy it here. http://140point6toglory.wordpress.com/...-1-nola-race-report/ Enjoy
My Blog - Twitter

3X-VO2-LT-FTP

Apr 23, 12 20:16

Post #320 of 338 (1578 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [jrielley] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

jrielley wrote:

Hey. Just wrote my race report. Sorry it's long and sorry to link to my blog but I am too lazy to compress it and copy it here. http://140point6toglory.wordpress.com/...-1-nola-race-report/ Enjoy

Interesting choice to run a disk in the back with all the wind.
Please forgive typo's and poor grammer. Most posting performed on my not so smart phone.

jrielley

Apr 23, 12 20:36

Post #321 of 338 (1560 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [3X-VO2-LT-FTP] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I ran a disk at all my races last year and a few were windy. And from what I've read the deep front is what causes the handling issues. But the only time I felt a bit unstable was the downhills but that also had to do with my headset bolts coming loose and making my front end shaky.
My Blog - Twitter

bt

Apr 24, 12 6:59

Post #322 of 338 (1472 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [Livestrong191] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

My thoughts from NOLA 67.1 2012:

Communication: After the initial delay in communication, when the RD was telling the NOLA newspaper that the swim was in jeopardy long before he communicated any issues to the registered athletes, there were several subsequent emails keeping us updated, so that improved over the days leading into the race.

Expo: pretty good, but without a FQ finish, I'm not sure I would have planned to stay down in the FQ/CBD area again...would save a lot of money and traffic for just getting around to stay in Metairie. But I suppose for a little vacation associated with the race, having to go down to the Hilton/Riverside area is fine. It's not the only race where the expo/packet pickup is not at the same place as the actual race activities, so no big beef there.

Bike checkin: We were glad to have received the email that bike checkin was expanded to include Sunday morning due to weather concerns. Things were blowing like crazy Saturday morning, and there were thunderstorms coming through. After driving the course and doing a little run along the lake front, we were able to go relax the rest of the day and then took our bikes with the rest of our gear on Sunday morning.
Plenty of space on the bike racks....esp with at least 2 no shows on our rack.

Swim: Not too surprised about the cancellation...it was pretty dang rough looking out there. A bit ironic, since my BF and I did the Republic of Texas sprint in Corpus Christi the weekend before for our "warmup" race, and the swim was cancelled for it, too. So we're 2 for 2 of tris turned into dus this year so far. :/

First run: I think they made a reasonable effort to spread out the athletes by keeping the start within the waves, and a time trial run start to spread us out a little further. It was sort of fun, but I'm not a good runner, so running extra miles wasn't really in my plan...but made the best of it.

Bike: Course....when we drove it, I had a few thoughts. First, that it sure goes out into BFE and looked like it would be pretty boring, but I really liked it on race day. Next thought when driving it was that we ride past a fairly poor looking neighborhood on the way out, and there are some falling-down buildings on the Chef Menteur Hwy, so I felt a little guilty going out there for this fairly indulgent activity on a bike that costs more than some of these people ever see in one place. But that's just my soft side. ;) Of course, that whole demographic thing changes when you ride and run past the huge homes closer to City Park.

Driving the course, we could see that there were lots of seams in the concrete that ran parallel to the roadway, some for long sections, and a bunch of short ones that make squares around manholes. I remarked to my BF that we need to be careful, because those are wheel-eating cracks/seams for sure. I saw two people who had crashed (medical was on the way for each, I was told), and multiple people walking back on the first outbound section on Leon Simon/Haynes. By driving the course, we were able to scope out most of the rough sections of road, but I guess I didn't notice the one on Leon Simon Blvd just before the turn onto Elysian Fields at the very end of the bike course. They had a volunteer there, but his warning of rough road was a little too late, as I hit it just as he was shouting "rough road on the right"....either he should have been stationed a little further up the road, or there could have been a couple of cones to push us to the left. I hit the rough part and sort of swerved left with many apologies to get out of that section. My BF's dad said he saw about 4 crashes coming into T2.

I actually had a pretty good bike for me, in spite of the wind. I found the wind to be the worst on the outbound section going out Leon Simon and Haynes, more likely because it was more a crosswind with some gusts and a little twitchy where we were exposed to the wind. Got blown around a bit going over the overpass and Seabrook Bridge. I understand they couldn't carpet the grated part of the Seabrook bridge because of the wind...no problem if you just rode straight.

Saw some drafting...no huge packs, but a few pairs and small packs. In opposition to another poster on this thread, I saw motorcycles with officials at least 7 or 8 times during the bike course. I was a little annoyed by some of the drafting pairs.....men, if you are drafting off of a girl (saw this a few times), then your man card should be turned in. Bad enough you're cheating, but you suck so bad you have to draft a girl? One dick passed me on the right when there was a completely clear lane on my left....just being a dick, I'm sure. And one guy who just had to pass only inches from me on my left (also with a whole clear lane available), which reminded me of the IMF thread from last year with the guy who caused a crash by doing that.

Aid stations on the bike...seemed to be well stocked and not running out of water like the first year. Main complaint here....the info provided at the race meeting with the graphic of the revised bike course indicated aid at miles 11, 26, and 41. The aid stations were really at about miles 17, 30, and 41. The spacing was fine, and they were well stocked, but really, RDs...it is not that hard to give athletes the accurate mileage for where these things will be. Either that or give us a generic statement that aid stations will be every 10-15 miles.

Run: In spite of my implosion on the run that turned into a death march, I really enjoyed the run course. I liked the two loop format, and the layout allowed me to break it into little sections to mentally push through it. Aid stations were great! Only beef is that my poor knees and feet do not like running on concrete. I don't know if I just need to strap little pillows onto my feet or what, but it just hurts me. I would convince myself when we ran from a concrete section to an asphalt section that it was going to be soft, just to make it feel a little better. Good spectators, shade in some sections. I had misgivings a few months ago when they said we would not finish in the FQ, but I liked finishing back where all my gear was.

Overall....prob would not do this again, in a BTDT frame of mind....there are certainly issues with the overall setup, but I would just warn that people go into this event in the future with open eyes and an open mind.

jillian_o

Apr 24, 12 8:20

Post #323 of 338 (1432 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [bt] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Here is mine

NOLA 70.3 (67.1) race report
___________________________________
http://www.fattytoironmom.com

bt

Apr 24, 12 8:49

Post #324 of 338 (1399 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [jillian_o] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Nice job, Jillian, in spite of the disappointment with the swim cx. Going to have to read your blog. I'm having (minor) weight issues and could use the inspiration. I think your journey is amazing! :)

jillian_o

Apr 24, 12 8:57

Post #325 of 338 (1385 views)

Re: NOLA 70.3 2012 [bt] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Thanks! I had gastric bypass surgery to help get the weight off, but I have kept it off for 2 years, and all the training for races has been all me.
___________________________________
http://www.fattytoironmom.com

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