I had noticed that the start for this race is not as chaotic as other races and people take their time getting in the water. I stood in the very front and ran towards the water. after I made the first turn, my heart rate shot up and I could not breathe. My chest was tight and I felt like I was in trouble. I started to doggy paddle and take a lot of deep breaths to relax. a few minutes later, I felt like I could start to move consistently in the water. My next problem was that there were no buoys to sight and I had not really look early. so I just tried to swim parallel to the beach and when when I could see the buoy, I felt better and headed to the finish.

Find a way to warm up and get comfortable in the water prior to start.

T1 went well. I was more worried about being comfortable because of the cold. Changing all of my clothing was needed.

If it was not that cold I would have not changed my clothes and saved some time

Overall the bike went as expected. I maintained a pace that was comfortable for me without pushing myself too hard. Goal the entire time was finish and control what I can control. The course was windy, but not unbearable. I drank water as I had done in training while it was hot so I ended up taking way too may pee breaks. The flip side was that I did not have any cramping issues the entire day.

SInce it was cold, I should have drank a lot less. I need to make sure I am taking water based on conditions of the day.

Run walk was the order of the day and I completed the event in better time that I expected.