The swim was satisfactory. I left a little time out on the course by swimming outside the pack too much.

Better navigation, more confidence to get in the draft.

I had a bad T1 because my zipper leash somehow got caught around my ankle inside my suit. Every time I pulled my suit it cinched down on my ankle. Just bad luck but something I need to watch out for next time.

More practice getting out of suit.

Didn't practice race nutrition. I had 2 sports drinks, 1 water, 2 gels, and 4 scoops of Perpeteum. I couldn't drink very much of the second bottle of sports drink. I felt like I had too much sugar in me. I was a little nauseous. For the last 45 minutes of the bike I took in no calories, only water.

Didn't gather race knowledge. I wish I would have known more about the bike. I went out and averged over 21 MPH for the first 35 miles and thought I was having a good day. I had no idea what I was in store for. Nearing the end, I couldn't even hold 17 MPH. I needed a race plan. I had no plan for pacing and it killed me. Towards the end I was getting a bit of hip pain. My shoulders were killing me because of all the seams in the pavement.

Practice nutrition on an equidistant training ride and gather course information. Stick with my nutrition. The lack of calories came back to haunt me.

T2 was ok. I spent a little time stretching because my upper hips were pretty trashed. Little did I know, I'd totally blown my legs out on the bike.

Mental strength. I let the last 20 miles get me down and I'm sure it affected my performance.

Disaster! The first 2 or 3 miles were ok as I was pacing near my goal pace of 8:00 and then I just crashed. I couldn't force myself to drink the Cytomax b/c I wasn't feeling well. I only drank water and took no gels. My calves were trashed. The hip pain went away during the run but I couldn't carry a pace. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I took in no calories during the run!

The bike led to the bad run, no doubt. I need to do more long bricks next time. Stick with my nutrition plan!

Illness. One week before the race I had a nasty case of gastroenteritis (stomach flu). A few days before the race that turned into some sort of respitory infection where I was coughing a lot, stuffed up, and gernally feeling under the weather. That definitely impacted my endurance and my strength.

Training. Next time I need to do more long distance bricks in the heat of the day. Starting a half marathon at 11AM in 85 degree weather is tough if you haven't trained for it.

Nutrition. Stick to the eating plan! Be very cautious about stopping eating just because you don't feel exactly right.

Pacing. Have a pace plan and stick to it. Considering racing with an HRM.
Come up with something quantifiable to know if you're over/under pace.

Race Knowledge. Know the course and know how to race the course.