Overall I'm OK with the swim. I didn't have the strongest start, but I seeded myself toward the back, and to be honest I haven't had much OWS practice this year, so I did about as well as I expected. Once I was about a quarter of the way into the swim I hit my rhythm and felt pretty good.

I forgot to take my wedding ring off beforehand, and spent the swim overly preoccupied with whether it was still on my finger. Added stress that wouldn't have been a factor had I been paying more attention beforehand.

I did not try a jumping mount due to lack of practice, and my overall transition time suffered as a result. I need to practice next year so that I'm comfortable with the technique again.

In the moment, I didn't feel like I did the bike all that well - I was in a low gear, felt like cadence was slower than I wanted, and didn't attack the hills all that well. But my pace is above my average, so I obviously did better than I thought. I'm sure all the long slow rides over the preceding couple of months both improved my baseline speed and messed with my RPE in a race setting.

I didn't check my bike computer before I got to transition in the morning, and it was failing to synch to any of the sensors. As a result, I was without cadence or speed in the race. So next time, make sure to check gear beforehand!

See comments in T1 re mount/dismount. Otherwise, I made it in & out without issue.

Below average run pace. I was exhausted right from the start and took multiple walk breaks. Clearly and indication of under-training.

More training

Absolutely stunning course, probably one of the best I've raced in the area. The point-to-point swim along the bridge was a nice change of pace from the usual out-and-back courses, even if the rocky shore was tough on the feet. Bike and run were both a good mix of rolling hills and flats, with nothing too extreme. And the venue is just beautiful. I would definitely do this race again in the future (doubly so if they could start just a little bit later in the day...).