2002 AbitaMan #2 Triathlon
By: The WM
May 26, 2002

The 2002 AbitaMan Triathlon Series consists of three races over a three month span, all held in the Mandeville area, on the north shores of Lake Ponchartrain.  Premier Event Management puts these on, and they do a first class job.  The second of the three, held yesterday as I write this, is the longest, and is centered at the yacht club on Lakeshore Drive at Jackson St.  The other two take place a mile or so east at Fountainbleau state park.

The 1000 meter point-to-point swim that started the race seemed easy, and I'm a poor swimmer.  Some of the good swimmers, those who would probably know, felt it was a little long. The water was barely cold enough for the swim to be wet suit legal.  I chose to wear one, along with, it looked like, about 40% of the rest of the field.  As soon as I waded in, I sensed that it was plenty warm enough to have done without one.  At packet pick up the day before there was a stiff breeze out of the east, which we would have had to swim against, but on race morning the water was almost totally calm.  We swam out 200 meters or so, took a left and headed east for maybe 600, one more left turn and swam to shore.

The 20 mile out-and-back bike was excellent.  Flat, fast, and (mostly) smooth.  A little spray paint applied to the road to highlight the few bad patches after the course crosses I-12 would be nice.  It would take a few hours, I realize, but I think it would be worth it.  The course was closed to traffic, or so it seemed.  Marshals controlled all intersections.  Unfortunately, there was some drafting going on.  Intentional, or not, I really can't say.  But, bike drafting is not legal in these races.  Everyone should know this.  The information sheets in the packets make it quite clear, so I guess people either choose not to read them, or maybe they do and just cheat anyway.  Also, there were some "packs" that formed off and on due to the volume of people on the course and the fact that there were only three swim waves staggered at three minutes to break things up.

The 4 mile run was good.  Totally flat.  The shaded portions were a welcome relief as it was starting to get warm out there.  As it turns out the course was probably 3.85 miles, which seems right if you were taking your splits.  The first 3 mile were marked accurately, but I know there is no way I ran a 5:30 last mile!  There were some spectators on the course cheering us on and that was nice, and unexpected.

The same folks from the Lafayette area who typically do well did so again.  John Deshotel was second overall, right behind Neil from Lake Chuck.  Gary Maurin and Jerry Richard went 1-2 in their age group, I think, and Phyllis Bazer won her age group, per usual.  There may have been other locals who did well in their age groups, but I was late for the awards presentation, and as I write this, the results have not been posted on the internet.

You can check for results at abitaman.com