Hello, my name is Chad Soileau and the following is my account of running the 2008 Louisiana Triathlon in New Roads, Louisiana. Just over 2 years ago I weighed 464 pounds and running a triathlon, much less 10 feet would have been an impossible task for me. I've always dreamed of running the Louisiana Triathlon and today I would get my chance.

I met a quite a few guys I hadn't met before at the BR Tri carbo load / new member social on the Thursday evening before the LA Triathlon. One conversation stands out in my mind. I'm by no means a veteran or an expert on triathlons. I have 5 under my belt now including the LA Triathlon but one of the new members asked me a very interesting question and I thought I could offer a pretty accurate perspective.

"I've been swimming in the pool at the Y now training and LA Tri will be my first triathlon. I've never done an open water swim. Is there much of a difference between open water swimming and the pool?" he asked.

I calmly removed the smile from my face and told the poor lad that he was going to drown. Heh heh. Not really. I bestowed my experiences on him and hopefully gave him at least a little bit of an insight into the differences between open water swimming and pool swimming. The only comparison between the two is that both activities are done in a liquid substance. The comparison, at least for me, ends there.

I prepared my transition bag, checked my bike and loaded up before bed Friday evening. Little to no sleep for my pre-race night is the standard and who was I to mess with tradition for the LA Tri. I got a couple hours of sleep but nothing more than that.

I arose at 5AM, dressed and was out the door for 5:15. The drive to New Roads took 45 minutes and I arrived just as transition was opening. I picked up my race packet and was pleased to find that Kenny Dunnaway, the race director for LA Tria, had honored my request and given me 464 as my race number for the day. Thanks Kenny!

Don, a fellow BRTri member who was volunteering for the race scrawled 464 in black marker on both my arms and my right leg. I found a good spot for my transition area and began laying out my gear. I forgot my earplugs again. Actually I forget my earplugs at every race so I guess it's now tradition to leave them at home. I chatted with Beth and the BR Tri members until it was time to get into race mode. They opened the water to warm-up at 7:30 and I took advantage of this time. I swam out to the first buoy and back with no effort. Could my swim today be different than my other open water race experiences?

8AM was upon me before I knew it and unlike my other races we were given pretty much no starting warning. I was still on the top of the ramp talking with Beth and fumbling with my wetsuit when a countdown from 5 was started. I was in the first of three waves so this was my start. I rushed to the bottom of the ramp trying to stay as far to the back of the pack as possible. The race was officially on!

The first 200 meters were tight and I had little room to swim. Just before I got to the first buoy I got double kicked in the chest and head. It was nowhere near the impact of Athens and it really didn't bother me at all. The guy that kicked me even apologized. Never during the swim at LA Tri did I ever panic. I struggled but not nearly as much as the other races. Dare I say that my confidence in the water is improving? I alternated between breaststroke and freestyle for the entire swim and exited the water after 22:34. Pretty slow but that's OK. The fact is I'm getting better at the swim and that's all that matters.
<SWIM 22:34>

I exited the water to see my parents, Beth and her son Garet cheering me on. After a quick wave and hello I shuffled into transition yanking at the zipper of my wetsuit. I tugged and pulled on the neoprene beast to what I am sure was an amusing 'wetsuit dance'. After a little more effort I was finally able to free myself. I grabbed my Team 464 jersey, slid on a pair of shorts and sat down to put on my socks and bike shoes. I've noticed a lot of guys don't wear socks when biking and running. I still haven't been brave enough to do that so I slipped on a pair of socks which I'm sure cost me 30 seconds of T1 time. I buckled my helmet, donned my sunglasses and clippity clopped in my bike shoes out of transition.
<T1 3:49>

The start of the bike course goes up a VERY steep hill to the actual road course. Prior to the start of the race BigP (Pat Keenan) was kind enough to help me gear my bike accordingly to prepare for the hill. As I left T1 I chickened out and decided to run it up the hill to avoid a fall that I'm sure would hurt my pride more than anything else. As soon as I turned onto the course my buddy Hunter was on the right side of the road cheering me on and wishing me luck for the race. Hunter was supposed to run the Louisiana Triathlon with me this year but he injured himself running a couple months ago so he couldn't train. Hopefully he'll get his first taste of an official race at T-Gator #2 in Lake Charles next month.

The first 3 miles of the bike course were on very smooth, scenic roads that skirted False River. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the course. The scenery remained but the road was riddled with potholes. More than once I swerved to avoid a tire popping, bike tumbling crater in my path that would have surely sent me crashing to the pavement. I saw the leader of the race coming the opposite way when I was around 4 miles from the turnaround. Man was he flying! There was nobody within at least a half mile of him. The 180 degree turnaround point at around 9.5 miles was the only time that I almost fell during the race. Slowing to almost a dead stop while clipped in is never a good thing. I was luckily able to generate just a little forward momentum after the turn to prevent the fall. It was close and I guess I learned that I need to work on directional turns. The ride back to transition was uneventful. Avoiding the massive road craters, I passed quite a few people that smoked me in the swim. Before I knew it I was back on the smooth road and headed back into the city of New Roads and the transition area. I sped down the hill and was hollered at by the volunteers because I didn't get off my bike prior to the dismount point. I guess I had my mind on other things such as unclipping and not falling over at 0mph like I did at Lone Star in Galveston. I rolled my bike into transition and prepared for the run.
<BIKE 1:01:02>

During the entire bike my stomach was grumbling and I had already planned that I would visit the port-o-jon before I went out on the run course. I went to an internal medicine doctor that treated me after my RNY surgery and talked to him about my special nutritional requirements for my racing and training. Lately, when I hit 30 - 45 minutes into training or racing I am running for a bathroom for bowel explosions. Some of my issues has to do with carbohydrate gel packs (which I no longer use) but some of it has to do with my compromised digestive tract. The Lone Star triathlon in Galveston was a perfect example of my issues because I spent 37 minutes of the run in the port-o-jons. He advised me that of the 2000+ RNY patients that he has treated this issue has never come up. In his words, "Nobody has been crazy enough to do what you are doing now!" He ended up prescribing some IBS medicine that I can take at will before training and racing.  I'm still experimenting with different substances such as peanut butter and other proteins to maintain energy levels during the race instead of using carbohydrate based products. The Louisiana Triathlon wasn't a long enough course to experiment so I only hydrated for this race.

Thankfully, when I got off my bike the feelings subsided and I decided to go out on the run course without visiting the port-o-john. I have my backup sheets of tp in my race belt 'just in case' so I can hold on to my supply of socks. If you ever happen to see me running or biking with one sock on... well... I had to make an emergency pit stop.
<T2 1:31>

The run start goes up the same hill that I went up earlier to get to the bike course. It's a very steep hill but thankfully the ONLY hill during the race. I started on my trek towards the finish line and the completion of my first Louisiana Triathlon. Surprisingly, I still had my legs after the swim and bike and was able to maintain a pace of just over 8 minutes per mile. For me, that's quick. Just before the 2 mile mark I passed Pat and Neil, fellow BR Tri Members, who were volunteering for the race by directing traffic. Both were screaming words of encouragement as I approached and passed them. They don't know how much that helped me as my pace quickened to pass the racer that I had been trailing for the last mile.

As I passed him he said, "Humph, I wish I had a fan club like you!"

At the two mile mark I passed another BR Tri member Double-H (Hunter) and his family who were volunteering for the race. I don't think I'd ever met Hunter before I turned the corner but you'd think I had known him for years. That's the way the support structure works in BR Tri. He and his family offered words of encouragement and pushed me along to the last leg of the race.

I thought it was quite cruel to see and pass the finish line of the race and then realizing that you had another 3/4 mile to go before finishing. The course runs right along the side of the finish and then around a big loop to the 'real' finish line. I saw my parents and Beth cheering as I made the turn onto the loop. I quickened my pace to 7:30 - 7:45 for the remainder of the race and finished as strong as I could. I felt the emotions welling up inside as I thought back on my journey but I held them back as I crossed the finish line. I ended up having a pace of 8:14 per mile! You must understand that for me that is running like lightning!
<RUN 25:31>

Overall Time - 1:53:36

The Louisiana Triathlon will be an annual event for me now. Having so many Baton Rouge Triathlon members participating and volunteering made it all the more special.

I hope you enjoyed reading my race report for the 2008 Louisiana Triathlon as much as I enjoyed writing (and living) it.

Next up, the May 4th Crawfishman in Bush, LA!