Stop number 1? Bourbon Street! No trip to New Orleans would be complete without it. So many people “hydrating”…

It’s all about the engine! It rained off and on the day before the race so there was plenty of time to check out the Stennis Space Center. Pretty cool stuff!

Signing a poster  at the very packed pre-race pro meeting…

Mavericks!!! Fellow Maverick Multisport pros Mike Hermanson and Leslie Smith were also competing in NOLA 70.3

Unloading the car… Storms on Saturday meant the lines to get into transition on Sunday were really really long. (This would eventually cause a delay in the start time.)

My trusty Argon 18 and speedy ENVE 8.9s. It’s hard to make out, but all of the saddles on my rack were Cobb Cycling saddles. Coincidence? I think not.

Prepping my transition area and making sure my Napalm from Infinit Nutrition was ready to go when I got to T2.

Triathlon… Bringing people together! I was really excited to meet Andrew Hayes, another member of Maverick Multisport.

The three Mavs… One last group shot before heading to the swim start.

I was really excited to use my BlueSeventy Helix; luckily the swim was wetsuit legal.

Such a pretty wetsuit… Right? This was my first real swim in the Helix and I was super happy with the fit.

Alligator eyes… Trying to stay on course.

The run back to the transition area was pretty long, so I had plenty of time to strip off the Helix.

And I was off! The bike was a closed course so I don’t have many pictures, but to sum it up I’d use the words “flat” and “WINDY”!

The run course in New Orleans is a long out and back with several bridges to traverse with a stiff headwind coming off the water.

Oh… And NO shade. ABSOLUTELY. No. Shade.

10th place; 4:32

And the best post-race feature? Baby pools filled with ice cold water!!!