There was a rather long delay before the race start. The official reason was due to some of the half competitors taking longer on the swim than anticipated. There were also issues with the dock that we were launching off of. They could only allow 25 people on at a time, so we had to head onto the dock in small groups and then dive in. I had heard that the current had shifted and we would be swimming against the current, but I couldn't really tell other then the chop coming into my face.
The bonus of launching people in groups was that I never felt crowded on the swim and easily managed to find good lanes. The sun was behind the trees for the whole swim so siting the bouys was pretty easy.
Overall, I think this was a really nice swim course and definitely well set up.

Nothing different

Most of the reason this transition time is so long was due to the long run from the swim exit to transition, just over a quarter mile. I did "run" the entire path as it was all smooth asphalt. Once into transition, I quickly dried my feet and put on socks and shoes. Grabbed my helmet and sunglasses and got out of there.

Once I was in transition, I felt that I was as efficient as possible

The course is labeled as flat, but that can be slightly deceptive as there are some sections that are just enough incline for you to feel it and slow your pace. No major climbs though.
There was some pretty good headwind for the first half of the course, but I would rather have the wind at the beginning anyway.
Once we turned to head back, you could see the paces quickly jump! The ride back was either tailwind or slight crosswind all the way until we approached the bridge, at which point the wind was coming straight off the water at a good clip. It made the final climb up and over a little difficult, but knowing you're done made it all better.

My bike training has been really lacking since last fall and it showed. I need to get back to spending time on my trainer and rebuild my speed.

Not much to say here. I quickly got my bike racked and switched into my running shoes. Grabbed my race belt and water bottle and headed out for the run.

Nothing

My goal for the run was to try and keep it under a 10 minute pace and to run the entire course. Sounds sad, but honestly I haven't done that on anything longer than a sprint tri for the last couple years.
Heading onto the run course, you're immediately confronted with the bridge, which is a pretty good hill to start with. Loop over that and at mile 1 you hit the first aid station and then shade! From there it was a pretty nice run down the path. Because it's an out and back, there are tons of runners heading in both directions that cheer each other on.
Heading back, I was doing ok, but was getting worried about my stamina for the final climb back over the bridge. However, once I got there, the breeze, which was such a pain on the bike, actually helped to reinvigorate and cool me down for the final push! The course turns off the bridge and runs through the grass behind the pool and around transition (which is where I saw my family). Then it felt like we looped the entire park before I saw the finish! I made the final turn and was able to finish strong!

Nothing different

Once I crossed the finish line, I was handed a water bottle and gatorade along with a cold, wet towel. I have to say that the towel was probably the best part!
My family caught up to me at the finish and I hung with them for a few before heading over to the food tent. Grabbed a quick bite and then made the trek back over to transition to clean up my stuff.
I have to say that all the walking after to go from finish to transition to the car actually helped to keep everything nice and loose and prevent too much tightening or soreness.


My abilities


Rev3 has been running this event for 5 years now and it shows. Everything was well laid out and organized. The only issue that I would have is the huge delay in the start. While I understand that you don't want anyone to not get to finish, there are cut-off times for a reason, and if people can't make those times, it's not fair to hold up an entire event because of a handful of people. Rev3 should do a better job of policing their timing (especially in the swim). They delayed our start over 45 minutes because of a few half iron swimmers that were struggling to complete the swim.
Also, the food at the finish was not very good.

Those complaints out of the way, I still feel that overall this was a great race and venue! I would definitely come back and also would race a Rev3 event again in the future.