Got into a great rhythm after a couple hundred meters. Rode some feet for a while, and then broke off on my own for the last half. All things considered, good swim.

A couple days before the race we were told the water temp was somewhere between 78-84. And miraculously come race day the water was down to 76 degrees. There's no way. That water was easily hovering around 80 degrees. I'm all about wearing my wetsuit for the added speed, so I'm not complaining, but I completely disagree with not sticking to the 78 degree cutoff. I'll stop short of getting on my soapbox.

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HR was high from the get go, but hoped it would sort itself out and got down to business. In the first few miles, hit the first hill...everything was going great, I felt strong and I was passing people. And then I dropped my chain. Tried to shift back to the big ring but couldn't pick it up. I was pissed. Quickly unclipped before I lost too much momentum and fell over. Got the chain back on, no problem and got moving back up the hill easier than I anticipated. Got going again, made up the ground I'd lost, started to calm down and bring my HR down. A few miles later we hit another hill. Reminded myself not to make the same mistake as before. But alas, dropped my chain again, couldn't pick it up and was off the bike again to get the chain back on. Pretty sure the issue with the chain is the bike and not me since this hasn't happened before. Got rolling again, pushed and got into a solid, steady rhythm for the remainder of the ride. Luckily no more issues with the chain.

Not drop my chain

Threw my bike on the rack, bike shoes off, sneakers on, grabbed my race belt & visor and I was out.

I didn't drink enough on the bike. I normally never drink in a run this short, but grabbed a cup right before mile 1. A good portion of the run is out and back. At the turnaround I could see a bunch of girls not too far behind, so I picked it up (turns out they weren't in my AG though). The last mile was painful. A nice man caught up with me, and as he passed convinced me to pick it up with him. Huge thanks to him for pulling me in.

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This is a great race! Really well organized, tons of great volunteers, great spread of food at the finish and tons of fun!

PR of 3 minutes from last year.