Started 3rd behind Carter and Paul(?) who were very confident in ~3:45. My goal was to go right off Paul's feet and hang on - setting me up very well to get out on the bike course at or near 1st. Two others going behind me were confident with their 4:00 targets.
They were sending us off every 5s. I jumped early to try to tuck in close to P. Right away, he was out in front and continued to put a gap on me. I was struggling with my turns. The guy behind me was right on my feet and I came close to bumping him at nearly every turn. My arms felt like trash nearly from the start and I never felt that strong or in a groove. ~250m I got tapped on the feet and assumed I was being asked for a pass. I grabbed the next wall and stood up to allow the pass and it turned out this likely wasn't needed. I waited for the 4th in our lane to go by then jumped in before the 5th (kinda tight, but I wasn't going to stand any longer).

not grab the wall for a pass unless I absolutely know I'm being tapped

better swim fitness. swim has been lacking, relatively, this year

also a comment: felt great in the pool yesterday, but the arms feeling a bit tired on the warmup this morning. This could be tied to the 1st statement above

awesome transition!
I est. the time to be ~ 1:20. I should jog this sometime with a watch just to get a benchmark for how fast it can be
not a big crowd in the run out to the bike as in past year. I jumped out of the pool and ran steadily to my bike visualizing my tasks at hand. I noticed RG's bike still next to mine (good sign as he likely my closest competitor on this day). I just needed to put on my helmet and glasses and I was off running. didn't spend but a few seconds stationary. RG did show up about the same time as I did and we both ran out of transition together. I had a good mount and the moderate downhill for the 1st quarter mile helps with keeping speed and getting the shoes on.
I will also note that my glasses were wet and foggy until I got up to speed, which was a bit dangerous I suppose, but managed fine.

nothing

like last year, I got into my shoes and just hammered it "biking scared." I passed two riders going up Main and then heard from a Volunteer that I was leading. I assume I had riders close behind and just kept hammering it. Upon getting up the hill my HR was screaming and my legs felt heavy. I was feeling pretty poorly mentally in a low spot. I ran the downhill strongly and was still leading going into lap 2; this and the crowd and getting my HR back down helped me feel rejuvinated.
RG had caught up to me at the beginning of lap 2 but I put the gap back into him going back up the hill (I didn't know this at the time because I only turned to look back but twice during the bike - he told me at the end of the race).

I didn't see anyone behind me when I took the last turn with ~ 1/4mi left before T2 so I rode the downhill at good speed, but easy. Took the time to get my feet out on my shoes and get the hr in check before my dismount.

Another note: I couldn't hear anything on this ride due to having water in my ears and with the aero helmet. I only made out a few comments from the Vol's and crowd. I usually can guage my placement by listening to if/when they chear on the next people - I had none of that intel on this ride.

more mental toughness.
this is >1m slower than last year. yes, it was raining and I didn't have a solid warmup, but the winds, being from the north were more favorable given the hills on this course. I should have been at or better than last year, in my view

very good transition. couldn't have gone much better, although I didn't get off the bike very gracefully, but I did keep it upright and moving forward.
despite thinking RG was a handful of seconds back, I was very suprised to see him show up as I was putting my shoes on......

better dismount is all

ran out of transition quickly, but not overly aggressive. my feet, due to the numbness, felt like bricks. it felt like I was running barefoot. This was somewhat humorous actually. Didn't bother me once I got into the run. After ~1/4mi I felt really comfortable. I was surprised that RG didn't pass me and really didn't care if he did because I felt good and confident that I could hang with him until a kick, if needed.
I just plod'd along feeling fairly comfortable and I guess I assumed, with less than 1mi to go, that I had the race since I felt good. RG caught me just as we exited the neigborhood and kept stride for stride with me for a bit. on the downhill he increased his stride and put 10yrs in me. I didn't panic and I waited for the uphill then kicked it in, caught him with ~50yrs to go and initiated a pass that I thought was strong. I had the step on him at the last 90deg turn before going into the finishing straight (which is only ~15yrs long; awkward). He responded aggressively- took back the inside step, and finished in full sprint into the remainder of the shoot. I had little chance of getting in front of him at that point (aside from tackling him) so I kept pace and followed him in. Defeated

saved too much for end. poorly decision making

great "backyard" race for the money. it is wonderful to do a race knowing podium is attainable - a very good motivator to show up ready to compete on race day