It was windy and there were a lot of descent sized waves. I was having a hard time with breathing and only made it about 250 meters and had to stop. I spent about 5 minutes treading water and trying to figure out what I needed to do. I calmed down some and started going again. Within minutes I hear someone asking someone if they needed help. I was thinking I wouldn't be of much use. Then my head hit something solid. I look up to see I have my face up agasint a kayak. The kayaker said sorry and they continued on towards the racer who was having issues. That didn't affect me much and I continued the last 500 meters of the swim with no problems. Breathing away from the waves rather than into them and just slowing down a little bit made a huge difference. I got into a good groove about half way through. By the time I was coming in I was ready for another 800 meters.

I think a 500 meter warm up swim would help me out a lot.

I was kind of slow on T1. Too many things to do. I know I can get faster at this.

It was windy. Heading into the wind was a struggle. Several fairly steep hills and several sharp turns in residential areas. I was very happy with the pace since I have had very little bike training this year. It took about the first 10 miles to get warmed up and really start feeling good biking. I think I will like the olympic distance better.

This went pretty well. A quick double check before I left and I realized I forgot my race belt with my number.

Maybe some zip tie showlaces.

I didn't push this. Running is by far my strongest of the 3 disciplines. I knew I blew it on the swim, so I ran at a fast/comfortable pace. I enjoyed it rather than pushing until it hurt. I felt great at the end and kind of wished I would have pushed it just a little harder.

Run a little harder.

Open water swim experience. Bike fitness.