The swim was almost cancelled due to high E. coli levels, but they dropped significantly and we were able to swim! It was a decent swim for me, but I overheated in my full-sleeved wetsuit, so a sleeveless wetsuit will be my first triathlon-related purchase with my paycheck. Also, every other pull I seemed to get a handful of seaweed; definitely got annoying. My sighting was okay, got slightly off course twice, but recovered quickly. Note- the swim time includes a 400+ yard run to the transition, so I actually swam a bit faster

The bike was a great mix of nice open flats, challenging climbs, and technical descents. I kept my HR between 150 and 155 for the race, and it worked out decently well. I most likely could have pushed myself harder, but I was saving myself for the run. I actually did my best work on the hills, I passed 3 people, compared to only 1 on the flat. All I did was spin, and I only had one out of the seat effort. My gearing choices definitely helped. Driving the course was ESSENTIAL; I knew when to bomb down the hills that I couldn't see around the turn, and when to lay on the brakes. This was even more valuable due to the rain that began

Not much; more TiTS.

The run was a trail run! It was very hilly, with one incredibly large hill right around 1.5 miles. My legs didn't feel into it until around mile 2, and then I got in a great zone and went for it. I most likely could have ran faster, especially towards the end, but I hadn't viewed the run course in its entirety and didn't want to push myself too hard in case there were more hills. My run ended up being the 12th best, so I was very happy with that.

Go through the course beforehand

Hard race, wish I could have done better, but very happy with the results, especially considering this is my second olympic distance race, and my fifth triathlon, and I've been racing for less than a year with no previous endurance base.

Ended up being bib #1, it was sweet.

Challenging course, but very fun.